Thanks Elisa. I will remember to go at my own pace. I just hope the music is decent and the guy who said he would help me shows up and that I don't steal the bike from the class bully and... and. :dizzy: Should be fun.

Mel: I don't think anyone is going to think twice about your "binge" on almost healthy food if you are doing this overhead squats. Please be careful though not to let the exercise that is meant to keep you in working order take you out due to back pain. The pot will now go back to the stove and leave the kettle alone.

Okay. I'm off. Everyone have a great morning. :coffee:

Spin class! You are bold! Was it fun?

Don't tell anyone, but I've been pondering taking a yoga class once a week. I absolutely abhor stretching and never, ever do it, but I'm feeling constantly still and sore with the weights, HIIT and running so I'm thinking it mightn't be a terrible idea, so long as I can actually sit through an entire class. ;)

Today was my run day. Snore. I think I must have done some good work with the bb rows yesterday because my shoulders are very very stiff.

Mel, you are doing fantastically with those OH squats! 75lb hardly makes you a weakling! I can't wait to start working on them once I've finished with NRLW. Fun!

Re Meg's comment in the maintainer's chat, perhaps we all need to get t-shirts like these: Weights are for Girls or perhaps we need to make our own. :)

baffled - Yoga is pretty fun. I'll sometimes do it at home but a class is good motivation. I also like the tshirt. I'd want it in pink.

Ok I think I'm going insane. Today I am feeling a bit down because it is not my weight day. Why are weights only every other day? :) Am I the only one?

Nelie, you are not. I agree that weights should be every day. Weight day is much, much more fun than running day. Of course if we were like Mel and did a 5 day split, we could do them every day but my dog would hate me for it. Also, if I did weights every day I'd be absolutely starving every day instead of only 3 days per week.

I think yoga is something I am likely to absolutely abhor, so the class would probably be necessary. Or not. I don't have to do any exercise I don't want to do while there is so much exercise I do like. I'd just like to not be so stiff and sore once in a while. This is the great paradox of weight training. In order to become strong and functional and all the rest, you basically have to cripple yourself 3 days a week so that all this functional strength is purely theoretical outside the gym. The people I know who don't lift weights don't seem to have any trouble sitting and standing from the toilet. :lol:

Um, I think I might be procrastinating. I'm going to get back to work.

baff - I don't mean to be the "all classes are fun...woohoo" kind of girl but yoga has been a great addition to my workout. Depending on the instructor and the type of yoga, it can be an amazing workout...seriously! I do Power Yoga which just means that it's a quicker pace through the movements so, while it's not cardio, it gets the heart pumping a bit and, more importantly it's a phenomenal strength workout. I get a great stretch too but more than that, it changes each time I go. Sometimes it's more shoulders, sometimes more legs and sometimes more upper body. Try it, you might like it!

:D

I agree that you're not :crazy: Nelie! I loathe cardio but do it out of necessity. But I :love: weights and would do them every day if I could (but I limit myself to five days a week). A couple of years ago, I remember lifting 13 days in a row just because I was having so much fun. :dizzy:

Am I the only one who falls asleep at night planning the next day's workout? :lol:

Funny you should mention this. :yes: I have this problem too after leg day. :D
Baff: I love stretching out after my lifting workouts. It's like the dessert of my workout. I do it immediately after my core work and spend as much time as I can morphing core work into a cooldown stretch routine. I don't take yoga as well. I just don't think I have the patience for it either but my mind is opening to new things and perhaps this may be something new for me to approach. Maybe just enough classes so that I can take it solo after my workouts. I'm not very good at playing follow the leader. :p

Nelie: I could lift six days a week too. :strong: Love it. There is nothing else like it for me. But after about four weeks of five or six days in a row I need time off. When it starts to feel like work then it's time for a rest. Actually the three day a week program outlined in the New Rules has been frustrating for me for this very reason. I'm still sticking with it and allowing myself to explore other forms of cardio in the meantime.

Speaking of which, :love: the spin class. I had nothing to fear earlier this morning. There were three gentleman in the class who were wonderfully helpful. They adjusted my bike, explained all of the moves the instructor would call out, provided tips on form, called out advice for me during the session and told me where to buy my shoes. SHOES! No one told me there were special shoes involved. :dizzy: It was great! The class was pretty small. I think there were maybe six to eight bikes and they were arranged in a circle so everyone is facing each other. Fortunately, the guy in front of me was one of the better spinners in the group so I watched his form through most of the session. Prior to the class one of the spinners explained how important it is to engage your core during the class and how it is necessary for the legs to do all the work. Then he laughed and said, "I've seen you out there on the elliptical, you have great core strength, you're going to have no trouble standing on this bike." :o ;) Anyway, twenty minutes into the class my arms were covered in three layers of sweat. By the end of class my entire shirt was drenched from neck to waist. This wasn't my typical cardio workout. After class one of the other spinners took me aside and said that today's class was particularly challenging. My comment was "really?" :^: Wow. Because, I did it the whole way through. This is a huge milestone for me. Three years ago I could barely hold my on on a treadmill at 3.5 with no incline. Today I spun my heart out and loved every minute of it. Good stuff. You know though, I expected to feel a little more soreness in my quads and hamstrings after this class. For me, this was purely cardio and yes, I did have that tension cranked up as tightly as it would go when prompted. As for the that hard narrow seat, that 's a different story. :rolleyes: Now, does anyone have any suggestions for the sore rump I have? :D

Lydia - Another spin convert....:yay: I'm soooo glad you liked it. Really? It is the ultimate cardio, isn't it? You can't imagine unless you try it. If people think it's like riding the exercise bike, forget it! Now for the questions...the shoes, yes, they have nice fancy shoes blah, blah, blah.. I know they're useful and I'm sure I would love a pair but even when I was going at least twice a week, I still never bought them. You don't need to, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not that I'm saying I wouldn't buy a pair, ;) just that you don't need them. As for the sore bum :o I found that went away really quickly. I don't know why but I just got used to it and I never bought the gel seat cover because I knew I would leave it behind (hee..behind, get it??)

Today, spinning, tomorrow yoga!

:D

Nelie Thanks so much for writing in response to the Stinky prone jackknife...no I haven't attempted it again yet...on friday I will...Today I did workout 1b and boy am I out of shape...those lunges are Crazy killers!!!!

Gosh Lydia, that was just such an inspiring story for so many reasons! Great nsv's all around - thanks for sharing.

I never took a spin class, but I used to ride my bike pretty often. The seat will hurt you the first couple times, but it does go away fast-ish. I guess our rumps just get used to it. :D
I'm guessing it won't hurt you after the 3rd (or maybe 4th) spin class if you start going regularly. When I started riding my bike almost every day the soreness only lasted for about a week, I think.

HTH

Lydia- gel shorts! They make all the difference in the world. I found a pair of nike bike shorts with gel padding at Marshalls for a great price- sheer luck. If you are going to dio it regularly, they make all the difference in the world.

No exercise at all yesterday, but I did cardio this morning. Today will be a long one with no gym. Back to normal :crazy: tomorrow!

Mel

Thanks Fran. :^: It was a really cool experience to be surrounded by new people who recognized me and were supportive in helping me enjoy this new experience. Something that just doesn't happen everyday.

Gel Shorts:chin: Time to go shopping. I'll hold off on the shoes though. I think that perhaps I will fit the spinning in at least one day a week if not two. I really want to get over this break in period that LALALA and Elisa refer to in their post. And yes :yes: Elisa, count me in as a convert. Although yoga, we'll see. Might take me another year. :rofl:

Mel: No workout day for me today either. The boys are off for spring break this week. They have been great sports about going to the gym every morning this week so today is their day off. We have a playdate in the neighborhood that will probably last all afternoon. I think of these as my recovery days both physically, mentally, and socially.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and praying that the gym will not be packed. A friend of me called the other evening and asked if I could introduce her into free weights. :D She is a member of the same gym as I so I don't feel like I have to try to teach her everything she needs to know in two hours. I've done this before. :devil: Anyway, I'll let you all know how it went.

I am also reading a book that has been great at filling in the gaps for me left by the "Eating for Life," and "New Rules of Lifting for Women." It's been out a while and written by a sports nutritionist so many of you may have already read this book, "The Good Mood Diet." Oh wait, it was referred to by Lou Schuler :doh: Anyway, I've been enjoying it along with the Chai protein drink after my morning workouts.

Have a great morning everyone. :coffee:

Lydia - you think you'd trust me by now!

:D

Hey all,

I did workout 1A this morning. I do really enjoy 1A more than 1B. I love my squats. This morning I did 140 lbs + my bar so for a total of about 160. I also did 70 lbs on the step ups. Although I'm not sure how well my little step will hold up, it started creaking a bit. Uh oh :)

Although the real proud moment today was that I moved to the 2nd step on my stairs for pushups. I started at the 4th stair and that was challenging but I moved onto the 3rd stair and this morning I thought I'd try the 2nd stair even if I couldn't do it, but I could. I'm getting closer to 'real' pushups :)