It's a month whose name sounds indefinite: May I?

But we'll change it to one that's full of certainty: I will.

This is the place to log your physical effort in this beautiful time of year: Your runs, your gym time, your yoga sessions, your purposeful walks, your hikes, your ambles.

Take a step. Make a move. Pick up something heavy.

We're the maintainers moving in May.

Tuesday, May 1st:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at eight, aerobic intervals, happy because an enormous standing fan was turned directly on me
60 minutes shoulders, triceps and biceps, doing my bench pressing with the Olympic bar loaded with tiny little weights.
45 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic intervals, resistance lowered to seven, very punishing for the last quarter of an hour

This was a hard workout and I am going to be feeling it by tomorrow morning. That, I can already tell. Also, this is weird, but there are tiny little veins visible in my face, mostly around my eye sockets. I suspect this is indicative of strain of some kind. It will be gone in a day or two.

Gym season is over and running season has begun (for me). Yay May!

F.

Great pic of you running through the woods Saef!

This was my first Tuesday not working Weight Watchers, so I was able to get to the gym. I took U-Jam (hip hop dance class), which I've only done a few times and not in at least 6 months. I did the best I could, had fun, and sweated! The instructor was great and made a point to learn my name. Hopefully I can make it my new Tuesday routine.

May 1: 60 minutes U-Jam

Totals for May:

1 day
60 minutes

Yes, Michele, I suddenly became tall and Nordic. It happens quite suddenly and spontaneously after you do enough Pilates ab exercises on a floor mat in the gym, working on that "long and lean" look. You grow four to six inches, your torso lengthens if you're short-waisted and your hips simply disappear: Poof! That's all it takes, lots of Pilates and wishful thinking.

Wednesday, May 2:

45 minute spin class, with me feeling weirdly good, in spite of a restless night during which I found it hard to sleep and got hungry around 1 AM
15 minute Pilates routine afterward, at which I am improving slightly. I wish I had my two instructors there to check my form, though. When it comes easier, I'm sure my form is off and I know there are modifications I could make to challenge myself.

Tuesday, May 1: 2.5 mile run on the bike path. Focused on speed and NOT TAKING WALK BREAKS, to considerable success.

Now that I'm picking up weight lifting again I need a place to log the weights and reps, so here I am again. I can't seem to stick to logging on this thread all the time. Maybe this time will work.

Wednesday 5/2:
AM:
warmup, 28:46 run, 2.2 miles, semi-hilly, cooldown, stretching
PM:
Smith machine, weights include weight of the bar (which is 20#):
Squats @35#, 12 reps
Bench press @35#, 6 reps
Deadlift @35#, 12 reps
Squats @35#, 10 reps
Bench press @30#, 9 reps
Deadlift @40#, 12 reps
Squats @35#, 10 reps
Bench press @30#, 7 reps
Deadlift @40#, 10 reps

then a few minutes of abs (bicycles, etc.) + stretching

May 2: 30 minutes Turbo Kick (kick boxing class), 30 minutes strength training class

Totals:

2 days
120 minutes

Thursday, May 3:

45 minute spin class, because the instructor is now holding this on Thursday rather than Friday. I preferred to go to the Friday class but must adapt -- be flexible -- be open to change -- be agile. (This rhetoric is coming from my job, where the ability to change and forget the past is highly prized.)
15 minutes Pilates routine afterward, with me definitely getting better, except at holding my legs tightly together when they're raised up. I need to consult with a trainer or guru about what to do, and what bodily imbalance is causing this. My legs are pretty strong but there's something that's weak. It's not my abs, it's my legs.

Wednesday, May 2:
-20 minutes on the elliptical
-3 x 8-10 arms weights. Felt very weak. ~20 minutes.

May 3: 60 minutes Zumba

Totals:

3 days
180 minutes

Friday, May 4th:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at eight, aerobic intervals, with a big fan turned on me
60 minutes shoulders, back and biceps, as this is my lat pulldown day
45 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at seven, and once again, oy, those last 10 minutes ... That's the whole workout. Getting through that.

Muggy at the gym today, and brilliantly green and damp outside. after a spectacular thunderstorm at midnight that woke me up and sent me to the upstairs windows, closing and locking them. The cat seemed annoyed that I disrupted his sleep, as he'd been pressed up against my right hip. "Dude, you'd better move," I told him. As the only male in the house, he is the Dude. The Small Dude, but the Dude nonetheless.

Thursday: 15 min yoga stretching session

Once you are settled back into your apartment, do you have any interest in increasing your household by one new kitty?

May 4: 40 minutes Stair Climber-- resistance 9 and 10

Totals:

4 days
220 minutes