Using It - Sept 10 - 16

[Shadow]

Here we go on another week :)! I am enjoying seeing all the activity here and hope this week is another one full of all the great exercise we had going on in the last thread :thumbsup:!

I know what workouts I want to do this week but am not sure of what order I'll do them in. So I guess I'll have to remember to post after each workout ;).

Sunday - Legs (standing & floor), core/abs
Monday - Step cardio with intensity blasts
Tuesday - Kickbox circuits and core/abs
Thursday - Back, shoulders, biceps
Friday - Chest, triceps, core/abs

[Mitra]

I'll be playing it by ear a bit, depending how my back goes. It was seeming a bit better, then last night the pain down the front of my leg was back, so I think I'll be sticking with the backbends a bit longer. Next weekend we'll be going to visit our parents, so over Fri-Mon I'll just be doing minimal damage-limitation sessions.

[Lisa V]

Hi all,

Ok, I confess I haven't been posting in awhile :o! But I'm starting out with a fresh new week here, so here goes...

Today it's cardio & leg/back stretching-

Monday will be abs & uppers & my own routine of cardio kicking. (That's basicly the same as kickboxing but with more variety of kicks)

Tues & Thurs will be a repeat of today (if this foot pain I'm developing isn't too bad) Wed will be abs/uppers/kicking again and Fri is usually my rest day. l'm going to leave Sat open for now and do what I feel I "need" depending on how this week goes. It's actually our wedding anniversary & I'd like to go for a bike ride in the AM.

I'm going to take it one day at a time so I don't miss posting (& drive Shadow insane! :lol:!)

[Shadow]

LisaV - If there were a clapping smilie, I'd be using it :D! It's great to see you again - and what a great week you've lined up! Watch that foot and promise me if it starts to get worse, you'll skip the kicks and just do the upper body and abs, okay? And a happy (early) anniversary to you :) - and DH, of course :p!

Mitra - Sounds like a wise plan for the week! It will be enough to keep you going, but not enough to aggravate. With age & experience, comes wisdom, right ;)?

[Ottawa]

This is my last week before our Algonquin trip so I will get in more endurance type exercises like running and aerobics classes, vs. weights.

Sunday: 45 minutes on treadmill-fast walk/run interval
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 30 minute/walk/run/walk, Ultimate frisbee game later 1 hour
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday: planned abs work
Saturday:

[LisaS]

Su: upper body (heavy): seated row, one-arm row, lat pulldown, cable dips, no BP but some jabs & cross w/DB

Mo: 1) lower body (heavy): BS, DL, RDL, calf raise, hamstring curls (stab ball). 2) Balance clock, step downs (for ankle). Very noisy knees, bilaterally - no pain though. just rice krispies. unusual for me.

Tu: intervals (on elliptical) - interupted by dogs whining to go out - so finished with dog walk interspersed with experimental jogging. No pain, no swelling afterwards or on following day.

We: off (just the usual dog walks and such)

Th: something
Fr: something else
Sa: something

[daisy]

Monday

Abdominal crunches - 8 x 25
V's - 4 x 25
heel taps - 4 x 30

30 mins crosstrainer low rep/level 12 for fat burn
30 mins stairmaster low rep/level 10 for fab burn

[banshee]

LisaS, I like your plan for the week - very challenging! (grin) I just realized today that if I count my first session with the personal trainer, I actually got in 2 days of exercise last week, with 45 minutes on the bike Saturday. This week the plan is exercise bike today (45 mins) and maybe tomorrow (45 mins), then my first strength training session with the personal trainer on Wed. After that, it will depend on what the trainer sets up for me.

[LisaS]

well, it was planned in accordance with my general perfect-or-nothing general psych approach to things - if I had scheduled Upper, Lower, Intervals, Rest, Upper, Lower, Plyometric -- then on a given day if I couldn't do the plan exactly, I would do nothing. This way, the only thing "planned" is *something* which I can surely always do, even if it is a long walk.

[banshee]

I know that feeling - if I get too aggressive planning my exercise, I feel like I've failed, even if I get in my minimum 3 days per week. I just commented on it because it made me smile, and anything that makes me smile on a gloomy rainy Monday (that just happens to be 9/11) is worth commenting on!

[daisy]

Tuesday

ok worked with trainer and don't know what all of these are called, so i'm winging it!

tricep push up - 5kg - 3 x 15
tricep skull crusher - 10kg bar - 3 x 15
tricep stretch - 4kg - 3 x 15
bicep curl - 10kg bar - 3 x 15
bicep curl - 6kg free weights - 3 x 15

20 mins stairmaster, level 10, slow reps for fat burn

phew i'm tired but feel good and checked my stats, Lean Muscle Weight gone up 5lbs in 3 weeks! new fat burn programme must be working :rolleyes:

happy exercising

daisy xxx

[banshee]

Monday: 50 minutes of biking and 20 reps ab vacuums.

[cmcole]

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/images/smilies/clapping.gif To all those who exercise, even when they don't wish to do so. http://kyodai.com/bbs/Smileys/kmj/eusa_clap.gif (javascript:void(0);)

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/images/smilies/dancing.gif (http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=11#) http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/images/smilies/dancingbanana.gif (http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=11#)Dance along - at least you're moving !! http://kyodai.com/bbs/Smileys/kmj/daccord0oi.gif (javascript:void(0);)

[daisy]

Wednesday

Abdominal crunches - 2 x 100
Obliques on ball - 4 x 25 (2 sets each side)
Obliques with weights - 22.5kg - 3 x 20 each side

30 minutes cross trainer - level 12 fat burn
30 minutes stairmaster - level 10 fat burn
30 minutes brisk walk through woods with fluffy mutt:rolleyes:

daisy xx

[banshee]

Tuesday: 40 minutes biking. Accomplishment of the week: During my post exercise stretching, I was able to sit, legs straight out in front of me and bend from the waist to touch my knees with my forehead. This is the first time I was able to do this since I started back exercising. I got to the point of sidebend forehead to knee in straddle position a while ago, but this stretch requires more flexibility in the hamstrings.

[cmcole]

Didn't expect anything significant this week, due to hubby's absence, but got DS to drive me to a pond nearby so I could walk the dogs.

Walk turned into very brisk, developing into run. Expected to do the 3 km in probably half an hour, and finished in 21 1/2 minutes instead!!

Today, we're getting hurricane weather, so am not sure what will happen this afternoon with them. Obviously they will need some exercise, but I already got soaked with them going the one km that we cover in the morning walk, so I'm not looking forward to that again. It was especially disheartening, as I had already dressed for work, and had to do it again.

[Lisa V]

Wednesday:

I managed to get in jogging last night, even though MANY projects were calling my name. Funny how I forget about all the other stuff when I'm finally into my workout. (Maybe that's the key! :idea:)

Anyway, has anyone ever had success with resistance bands? I wanted to pick some up as a cure for the boredom of freeweights. (I mean, there's only so much up, down & curls you can do!

What I don't get is what happens when you get used to/outgrow the bands? Do you shorten them or do you have to go buy new ones?

[LisaS]

AFAIK you can only shorten them up to a point. Most manuf. have many different resistances, indicated by color - and you would buy more to have a variety, just like DB or free weights.

[cmcole]

Regarding bands - the answer is both.
They sometimes come in sets (got a set of 3 at Walmart), with each colour being a different resistance. Don't know if they are standard.
Also there are "joined" ones that looked like giant elastics, or tubes, or flat ones that look like elastic ribbons.
The gym on Base has tubes, although the trainer would prefer the flat ones.

The people at the gym have different ways of making them more difficult - either tie knots in them to shorten them, or hold them closer together. The closer your hands are, the more you'd have to pull to do the exercise.

You can even get tubes with handles.
And, yes, you can even get books of exercises if you run out of ideas - perhaps even the library.

[daisy]

Thursday -

Abdominal crunches - 2 x 100
Tricep pulldowns - 25kg - 3 x 15
Bicep curls - 22.5kg - 3 x 15
Bicep side curls (free weights) 6kg - 3 x 15
Tricep skull crusher - 10kg bar - 3 x 15

Stairmaster - 30 mins level 10 fat burn

daisy xx

[Mitra]

I'm just about to set off for a yoga lesson. I'm not sure what we'll be looking at today.

[banshee]

Well, the strength training session went well. I'm going to have to try the program he set up for me for a few weeks before I'll know how it's working, though, since yesterday was all about showing me the exercises. So the weights weren't as high as they could be, and we didn't do reps to failure, except on a couple exercises. I was tired at the end of the session, though. Let's see if I can remember what I did - dumbell chest press, bicep curl to arnold shoulder press, assisted pullups, assisted dips, leg press, stability ball leg curls, back extensions, resistance band oblique twists, lower ab leg raises while holding ball with ankles, ankle strengthening with balance mat.

I found out the pricing for the personal training, and I can't justify the expense for the 2x/week sessions, but I think I'm going to try for at least once a week and see how that works. I know I don't really need a trainer to tell me when I'm doing good, but when he praised me after a set for my good form or told me I did a good set, it was a nice little mood lifter. He seemed pleasantly surprised that I knew good form and was able to do most of the exercises without having to be told twice how to do them :p

I found out something interesting yesterday. I was doing a Google search on hamstring stretches, and ended up on a webpage article by a runner. One of the stretches on the page was the familiar against the wall calf stretch for the gastroc muscle, but under that was another stretch for another calf muscle, the soleus muscle. I had never heard of this stretch/muscle, so I decided to try the stretch. :idea: Sure enough, I could feel the difference. Then I tried it with my left leg - the one that has limited mobility due to shattering my ankle in college. Oh my! :eek: I suddenly realized that a large part of my limited mobility is because that muscle/part of my achilles is incredibly tight and shortened. So I have a new stretch that just might give me more mobility! :D I did the stretch a couple times yesterday, and I didn't think I was overdoing it, but my ankle is pretty painful today, probably from a combination of the stretches and the balance exercises.

There were a couple funny incidents - I almost couldn't use the leg press sled because I'm so short - I had to basically push up with my toes so that I could release the handle on the sled. Not sure if I could do that with a challenging weight level. And later he wanted me to try a sort of roman chair leg raise for my lower abs, but that involved getting my arms in some overhead slings to hang from. In order to do that I had to stand on a stool to reach the slings, except that even with the stool, I was too short to reach them! :p I think I'm the first person they've ever had that was this short (5' 0") because he and a couple other employees were scurrying around trying to figure out if they had anything taller I could stand on to reach the slings. :lol: They finally had to give up and figure out a different exercise for me.

[Shadow]

Mary - What an awesome report :D! Thank you for sharing all that with us :).

And :thumbsup: :thumbsup: to all you exercisers out there! It is wonderful to see such good reports here!

CMC - Thanks for the chuckle earlier in the week ;).

LisaV - I think the bands are a great way to challenge the muscles differently than the free weights do. As CMC said, there are a variety of bands and different methods to increase the resistance. I buy my bands from a PT company as they have higher resistance levels. But the basic bands sold at any retail store will be enough to get you started. I think if you can get a pack with multiple bands it would be best - some muscles are able to handle a heavier load than others so the more bands you have, the better ;). But I think that about any piece of exercise equipment :p!

[Lisa V]

Thanks for the bands info everybody. I'm going for the cool neon orange w/ black handles pilates set I saw last week. Some (like my husband:p) would say it's just for excercise so who cares what it looks like, but I think it motivates me. Whatever works!;)

[Mitra]

I have my new yoga practice to work on until I have my next lesson (in a month's time). Surprise, surprise, lots of hip/lower back/core stability stuff! Warrior, squats, squat to half squat, leg raising (starting with both legs in the air, then lowering one, keeping one vertical), some days lots of superman stuff, other days twisting (lying on back with arms stretched out sideways, raising and lowering one straight leg across to the opposite hand) and other such delights ;).

[banshee]

I have kind of been posting novels lately, haven't I? :D I find that giving a synopsis of these personal training sessions helps cement what I learned in my mind a bit more, plus I thought it might be helpful to others who might be thinking about taking the plunge. ;)

Did you notice that I've gotten in my 3 days of exercise this week already? :) I was planning on exercising on Saturday, too, but we just found out my husband's grandparents are in the hospital, so we'll be traveling this weekend. :( Depending on when we leave town, I may or may not be able to get to the gym.

[SherryJ]

Mary, would you mind sharing that website for the calf stretch? I seem to really have a hard time getting stretched after walking these days, and it's in my calves...

Thanks! :)

Sherry

[LisaS]

the soleus muscle lies under the familiar big calf muscle (gastrocnemius) and is the prime plantar flexor for the ankle when the knee is bent. It is an important postural muscle for standing and in normal gait.

Most stretches that involve the soleus will also be with a bent knee and then flexing the ankle to stretch the back of the lower leg.

There is one here at the bottom of the page:
http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Stretch.htm

there is also a good stretch from a squatting position - but it is hard to describe in words and I can't find a picture right now on the net.

Maybe Mary has even a different stretch in mind for this hard working muscle.

[banshee]

That is so funny, Lisa, because that's the exact same webpage I was looking at yesterday that introduced me to this muscle and stretch! The only thing for me is that I can't do the stretch against the wall, since my left ankle won't bend right to get a good stretch. So instead I use a foam block at the gym for physical therapy - it's about 3-4 inches tall I think. I put the ball of my foot on the edge of the block and then lean forward toward the wall. I've been doing this straight legged for years - the only thing I changed for the soleus stretch was to bend my knee. I think you can also do this without a block by placing the ball of your foot on the wall, but it's easier to do it without bonking your head against the wall if you have a block!

[SherryJ]

Thanks, Lisa...

The "pinformus" one really works my hips, and can be intensified by rolling one way or the other... owwwww... but in a good way, LOL!

Sherry

[Shadow]

Mary - Yes, we noticed what an awesome week you've had so far :thumbsup:! So about DH's grandparents - travel safely and I will be thinking of all of you!

[daisy]

Friday -

Abdominal crunches with fitball - 2 x 100
Obliques with 10kg free weight - 3 x 15 each side

crosstrainer - 30 mins/level 12/fat burn
stairmaster - 30 mins/level 10/fat burn

30 minute brisk walk with long legged dog who was desperate to get home cos it was raining:rolleyes:

daisy xx

[LisaS]

Sat: a few random exercises from GoAnimal
http://goanimal.com/exercises/exercises.html
diag dumbbell, fire hydrant, hover steps, figure eight (with db) - 2-foot and 1-foot, Med ball loop (with db), 1-foot 1-arm rows

[daisy]

Sunday

3 x 100 abdominal crunches
hip abductors (inner) 70kg - 3 x 15
hip abductors (outer) 55kg - 3 x 15

free weights -
chest pulldowns - 8kg - 3 x 15
flys - 5kg - 3 x 15
tricep skullcrusher with 10kg bar - 3 x 15
shoulder pullups - 10kg bar - 3 x 15
side bicep curls - 6kg - 3 x 15

resistance machine -
tricep overhead - 25kg - 3 x 12
tricep pulldowns - 25kg - 3 x 12
bicep curls - 20kg - 3 x 12
shoulder pullups - 20kg - 3 x 12

crosstrainer 20 mins level 12/fat burn
stairmaster 20 mins level 10/fat burn

daisy xx

[banshee]

Woohoo! 4 days of exercise this week! I was able to go in on Saturday before we left town because hubby had a haircut appt at 2pm. I went in with the plan to do 2 sets of each exercise in the program the trainer set up for me. I did that, plus some ab vacuums and some extra sets of the exercises I enjoyed. There were a couple exercise toward the end that I only got in 1 set because I suddenly realized I was running out of time. I was amazed that I was in the gym for over 1.5 hours, counting stretching time! :eek: I did:

Chest press 2x25
Stability ball leg curls 2x12
Lying leg raises with ball between ankle 1x8
Lying leg raises without ball 1x8
Assisted pullups, palm out 1x12, 1x10
Assisted pullups, palm in 2x10
Assisted dips 1x12, 1x6
Bicep curls to arnold press 3x15
Resistance band oblique twists 1x12 each side
Leg press 2x12
Ab vacuums 2x10, 12 second hold
Back extensions 2x12
Ankle strenghtening/balance 2x 45 sec hold, 2x 40 sec hold each side
Low rows 1x12The trainer had said last time that if I decide to buy more personal training, 1/2 hour should be enough time for us to get through 2 sets of the entire program. Since it took me over an hour to do it by myself, I have to wonder how he would get me through it in only 1/2 hour! :confused:

It was a good workout, but I was tired all day yesterday because after the exercise I was going like gangbusters the rest of the day trying to get everything done that we had to do before leaving town. Usually after a good workout, I'll take some time to just sit around and rest for an hour or so and let my body recover, but I didn't have time to do that yesterday. :( I'm sore today, but I've got a day to recover before doing more exercise. Hopefully it will be enough! :rolleyes: