Today I did 30 minutes on my favorite stairmaster while finishing the Netflix series "Afflicted." Today was a day I found it harder, just a bit more challenging, doing my cardio. Sometimes it's unclear why one day is harder than another. The body always has surprises in store for us, and I like hearing what it has to say. Well, sometimes.

One of my fave gym cliches: "A body in motion stays in motion."

Go you! You have to start somewhere. The thing is to start and keep going at the pace that's right for you. If you tried to start with running a 5k you'd quit because that's not realistic.

My last two days I mostly met my exercise goals just working- lots of running up and down stairs and moving people. Tomorrow should be a bike to work day- fingers crossed. Couple of things could get in the way.

Today was 42 minutes on the stairmaster. Allllll the regulars were there. Miriam was walking around the gym for exercise. The perfect mother was on the elliptical. The perfect daughter was on her computer in the locker room. And Taylor was in the sauna. Today Taylor told me that she thinks the perfect daughter has a perfect body. And Taylor doesn't even know that in my mind I call the perfect daughter "the perfect daughter." The perfect daughter has the body of maybe a playboy centerfold, and Taylor's very short and twig-like. I asked Taylor if she has always had her body type, and she said yes. It's more like a child's body even though she's in her thirties. Taylor generally eats all her calories (from 500 to a supposed 2000) between 8 and 10 pm. I'm still pretty fascinated by that. :koolaid:

Today I treated Jackie to lunch, but after lunch, we walked around the nearby neighborhood, reminiscing about homes we knew about and area business. Then we went up to the Rose Gardens and walked for awhile up there, decompressing about stressors in our lives. After we finished walking around the Rose Garden, we went out to the Beaumont district, and we stopped by her friends house, to visit her friend.

By the time I got home, this afternoon, I just caved and sank into my very comfy living room chair.

I'd say I only got about two hours worth of slow walking exercise, but my legs and feet feel it, as well as my back and arms.

Today I did 42 minutes on the stair master and 30 minutes on the weight floor. Here's what I did on the stairmaster:

Four 10 minute sets with each level for 2 minutes (then a 2 minute cool-down after the 4th set):

Level 5: full arm support using railings with hands at hip level
Level 4: same as above
Level 3: same as above but side stepping, 30 sec. lft. 30 sec. rt.
Level 2: semi-support of arms using railings at chest level
Level 1: balance support only, with hands lightly on railing in front of me

The first set is easy, the second set harder, and I'm really sweating by the third set, though nothing like the men, who often sweat buckets, thankfully. I sweat from my face and neck, and lower arms and lower legs.

I finished a GREAT documentary on Netflix called "The Bleeding Edge" about the politics of healthcare. I strongly recommend it for those of you with interest in the topic of how the FDA approves new medical procedures. Hint: BADLY! In addition to the systemic info, there were also some very interesting personal experiences shared.

I went to the gym after the opthamologist so my eyes were dilated. My gym has a welcoming robot that lets you in only if it recognizes your eyes with its sensor. Interestingly having my eyes dilated caused the robot not to recognize me. That's never happened before but every time I tried, it said, "I have detected your irises but I do not recognize them." I had to knock on the door until a member opened it. The member who opened it was Gayle, the old Ricki Lake producer. She said she worried I was a burglar but decided to open it after a few rounds of my knocking. She's someone I'm not so crazy about but I guess I should be since she is the one who let me inside.

Miriam was there, the plump elderly curmudgeon who directs cabarets. She's really warmed up to me. I get a smile from her, even though she's not one to smile.

Happy exercising, exercisers. Oh and one more of those sayings: "My work-out is my morning coffee."

Today I was about to go to the gym and a good friend, an old colleague, texted me to ask if I had time to talk about something personal. She actually wrote "persona," so somehow it took me about 10 minutes to realize she had meant to write "personal" and that I should contact her (The text read: "Can you talk? Persona."). So instead of go to the gym, I made a quick decision to walk in the park. It was 5:30 in the evening and I walked for two hours, catching right before sunset- a beautiful time to walk. I live half a block from a huge endless beautiful park (Riverside), and the weather was perfect, so it was a very nice choice.

She talked to me for about an hour and a half about her abusive relationship, and I know her partner well and am well aware that it is an abusive relationship- physically, emotionally, and verbally. I try not to alienate friends when they are in abusive relationships, since it gets to the point that no one else can handle listening to them, and everyone needs an ear. She got it all out and then did ask for advice, which is the only time I like to give advice, when someone is ready for it. I worked on hashing out a safe plan for getting away and also validated her feelings. So it was deep. We usually talk extremely casually, often because the partner is there, and we don't want to trigger the partner- the whole control, suspicion, walking on eggshells thing.

I feel so relieved that I made the call and didn't just ignore the text and go to the gym. I wouldn't put that past myself, not realizing how serious a situation is. Instead I veered toward the park and called her and said, "I have all the time in the world to talk to you." She got teary and said she didn't know what she'd do without it. It was an intense reminder that if a friend reaches out, it's important to make room for it, that they may not have anyone else who can listen to disturbing details that they need to discuss so that they can get validation and feedback on what to do.

Anyway... it smelled so good in the park. There is nothing like nature.

[quote=nycfem;1223086]

I went to the gym after the opthamologist so my eyes were dilated. My gym has a welcoming robot that lets you in only if it recognizes your eyes with its sensor. Interestingly having my eyes dilated caused the robot not to recognize me. That's never happened before but every time I tried, it said, "I have detected your irises but I do not recognize them." I had to knock on the door until a member opened it. The member who opened it was Gayle, the old Ricki Lake producer. She said she worried I was a burglar but decided to open it after a few rounds of my knocking. She's someone I'm not so crazy about but I guess I should be since she is the one who let me inside.
QUOTE]

When I was reading the above section I was hearing Mission Impossible music. That sounds really cool - I want to use spy ware to get into my gym! There is a spy museum in DC that I haven't been to yet - but it's on my list. I live in a relatively small town, however, there is still some crime. My gym is open 24 hours during the week and I wondered about the safety for the staff that have to work around the clock to check members in. I wouldn't want to be there at 2 in the morning when it's just a big glass door that opens like doors at Walmart. Hmmm... maybe there's something else that goes on late at night - I've not been there late at night yet.

I'm so glad that you took the call and that she knew you were someone she could talk to. I hope she gets out of that unsafe relationship. Its so hard to watch something like that and do nothing but if the person is not ready to leave then no offer of help will help. Sending good juju for your friend.

I tell ya what - walking around Wally World can be a marathon depending on how long you are there! And an obstacle course if its crowded! :cheesy:

Hahaha, I did not get to ride that day. I was dressed and ready and went out to load up my bike and the sky opened and it was pouring buckets. It was supposed to be just cloudy and maybe light rain, which I would have ridden through. My ride is not beautiful lakeside, but it's nice. The roads to work are sucky full of potholes and traffic circles that people don't know how to navigate and I've almost been hit a few times in them. But we have nice bike path that has been extended recently and I can mostly stay on that for my ride until I get to the neighborhood that my job is in. Then it's back to dreadful potholes but lighter traffic. I also have to go through a casino lot and thus have to watch for drunk drivers there.

i did get out to do some yard work and i am thinking about the 30 day yoga challenge again....

At lunch today I went off my eating plan. Like way off into carb land. I came back with a food baby. I gave it 2 hours for my body to digest but I still had that food baby and felt like a pregnant whale. But I decided that even pregnant whales could probably walk on a treadmill if they had feet. So I went to the gym.

That's right - I'm a badass.

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Last Sunday of August.....
 

I am terribly exhausted from yesterday's activities, but today I made up my mind to get some form of exercise in.

I moved my new plants into Eddie's bedroom (with help).

I took my favorite old make-do chair, the lawn chair, outside onto the deck, which now sits below the umbrella, so I can sit outside when it rains.

I had my helper move the big wood and glass top table into the vacant space formerly occupied by my lawn chair.... so I can sit my laptop on it, while watching tee-vee type programs, etc.

Then I vacuum'd up the carpets and in Eddie's bedroom (thankfully the vacuum cleaner is ultra light weight).

I broke into an sweat, so now I need to shower, before committing the last bit of energy I have to make something to eat.


Sometimes, I have to practically beg myself to move, when I feel so tired. I didn't beg at all. I just took an no-nonsense approach and said to myself:

Move! <<<<<<~~ this word will prove to be lifesaving, for sure.


~K. :bunchflowers:

finished some yard work and 30 min of yoga

I am very curious about this yoga challenge. I'm not bendy or stretchy enough to do a lot of yoga poses but I like the meditative aspect. Are you doing this based on some thing you found on a website or just on your own?

That's a lot of good exercising Kätzchen - and to me sometimes the hardest to stay motivated to do. Good job! :)

Gemme you are a wealth of information! I had no idea about the whale >> dolphin transformation. That's very exciting!! :cheesy:

https://youtu.be/TXU591OYOHA

a coworker introduced me to this youtube channel and i have done the 30 day challenge all the way thru (it took me more like 45 days) this was a few years ago

i mostly work out on sunday so i want to try alternating treadmill with yoga, or maybe treadmill one day and yoga another day of the week (i work out at home so i have limited resources)

i have a dr appt this week and it will depend on that the dr says (a year ago i was advised to exercise 150 hours per week) recently my heart rate has been high so not sure what the drs will say...hopefully i will get the drs ok and go for it!

I should be doing my chair workouts, but alas I am not.

:flying: I ran for a connecting flight Sunday morning! Does that count....:giggle:

OOPS!!! 150 minutes :blush: (feels like 150 hours!)

Thanks so much for sharing I really like that lady I think I'm going to try to do that in September. Although I doubt very much it'll be every day it'll probably be a couple times a week. If I get to healthy too fast my system might go into shock. :cheesy:

I believe in you - you can do it! :cheerleader:

You used the word run in that sentence so I figure it counts!

Oh thank goodness! That seems much more doable!

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I woke up excited about going to the gym after work tonight. I've got my bag all ready to go when I go to work this morning. Does that make me an official gym rat? Or do I have to lift weights to be a gym rat?


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I was in Ohio visiting my mom for five days, where I did not exercise. My mom gets lots of exercise taking her dog on at least two long walks every day. But I wasn't really eager to go out in the heat.

Today I went back to the gym and had a great work-out, 36 minutes on the stairmaster and 30 minutes on the weight floor. It feels good to get back to my routine! On Tuesday I go back to school (work), so it will be trying to keep up my summer work-outs.

Hope everyone is enjoying their exercise.

I did an lot of walking yesterday, and today.

One of my new goals is to walk at least one hour per day, even if my legs continue to throb or my back is screaming at me (I don't take pain killers of any kind, medication wise).

I checked in today with my primary care doctor and she said to stick to one hour or less, of walking per day. So that's what I'm going to do. If it the weather turns rainy or snowy, I can always go to an big store and walk around for a bit, rather than use an electric shopping cart. But I'll still use the E-cart when I go grocery shopping. :balloon:

:cheerleader:

K. :bunchflowers:

32 minutes on the stairmaster, and 20 minutes on the weight floor- for a total of 52 minute workout at the gym

I went back to Toddlers and Tiaras. I missed it. The competition is quite engaging. And the psychology of the families are interesting. It's kinda boring but interesting enough that I thought I'd give it another try. Tonight's pageant: Disco Fever theme.

Gym a bit empty due to labor Day weekend. Closes at 6pm due to holiday weekend. I exercised up until it hit 6pm and felt like somehow that was exciting.

Happy exercising, all!

yesterday morning I swam a few laps in the campground pool....hiking today if its not too hot

Today the gym was closing early for Labor Day weekend. I did 40 minutes on the stairmaster. I put it on the wrong settings. Guess I just wasn't paying attention, so that threw me off, but I just went with it anyway. I watched the pageant theme Sugar and Spice on Toddlers and Tiaras. What makes it exciting in these competitions is how you never know if a toddler is going to blow kisses or have a temper tantrum. There is some suspense there.

I saw Judith on the way in sitting on the locker room couch. She said, "Oh, hey, Jennifer!" It was nice.

Happy exercising!