January Exercise Challenge

valstar · 01-28-2008, 03:54 PM

Hello All!

I can see clearly now the plateau is gone!

Thanks for the support. I started a new Pilates class today (7:30 am) and I am already sore! 3 workouts, 2 lbs to my January goal!

Val

pizzicato66 · 01-28-2008, 05:43 PM

Rock on, Val! I'm in awe of your early-morning workout routine!

salsa1877 · 01-28-2008, 09:00 PM

Wow...I have been slacking on the posting. I have been incredibly busy lately, but I have still managed to get in my workouts. 2 yesterday and 2 today. It is still possible that I will make my goal. But on a GREAT note I ran .75 miles straight tonight.

Getting close to the mile mark. Okay I am officially setting a workout goal right here and all of you can witness it. By the time that I get to my 1 year bandiversary I want to run 5 miles straight. I can do it, I can do it. That means increasing a little under .25 miles/week so it doesn't seem that far fetched.

Val - Congrats on breaking the plateau. Those things are a pain in the butt, however when you break through it is a great motivator to keep you going.

Becky - I have found that with the treadmill if you vary what you are doing then it isn't quite so boring. I warm up for 5 minutes then run for .75 miles (as of tonight) and then for the remainder of the hour I vary the incline and the pace. The treadmills we have at the gym show your pace around a .25 mile track so I change everytime I make it around the loop. During the time that I am walking I am thinking about what I want to do next and it makes the time go by faster. When I am running, I don't worry about what I do next I just pray that I don't die.

Frangi - Take care of yourself. It is probably good that you took a break. Shoulder pain scares me, so if it doesn't go away you need to see a doctor.

Dave - Where are you????????? He is more MIA that I am.

Okay I need to go take a shower, I don't smell pretty, but if I didn't sit down and write this right this minute, it wouldn't have gotten done.

Good job everyone...3 days to go and then we are in our sixth month. HOLY COW!

TexasBecky · 01-28-2008, 10:21 PM

Squeezed in another treadmill workout today.

18/20 days of exercise

TexasBecky · 01-29-2008, 10:57 AM

Frangi, how is your shoulder today? I think you're wise to give it a rest. Like Salsa said, see the doctor if it isn't better soon (like today). You have to pay close attention to pain that is radiating into your left arm. It most likely is just a strain from hiking, but it could be something serious.

I've also been wondering why we haven't heard from Dave. Hope everything is ok.

Salsa, thanks for the treadmill tips. Mine has a variety of preprogrammed routines that change the speed and incline automatically. It helps alot. I also have a t.v. in the room so I usually watch Good Morning America while I workout. I got in an hour on the treadmill this morning. Looks like I'm going to make my January exercise goal.

19/20 days of exercise

Frangipani · 01-29-2008, 06:26 PM

Becky and Salsa, my shoulder is fine now. The pain has gone away completely, and I didn't even need to take any medication today. The problem was, as you said Becky, probably just strain from the hike I took on Sunday -- which did involve a few short stretches of rock scrambling in which I had to use my arms to pull myself up the trail.

Fortunately, my day of rest yesterday took care of the problem. Thank you for your kind concern.

Becky, how is your Mom doing this week? Congrats on making your goal this month -- you have done a fabulous job, as usual!

Dave, we would love to hear from you! I hope all is going well.

I resumed my workouts today. My short break did me some good -- I felt strong and rested.

Have a great evening everyone!

Crazy Ates JANUARY Exercise Challenge

29/30 Exercise Sessions

Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

valstar · 01-30-2008, 11:33 AM

Frangi, I'm glad your shoulder is better. Hope everyone else is doing well. I agree with all, where is Dave? I hope he is moving along. If you are out there, check in!

Got in another couple of workouts. 1 more workout to my January goal!
Today is my 5 month bandiversary and I am .5 lbs from my mini goal. I think I'll hit the big 5-0 by Friday! My lowest weight in 15 years!

Take care all!

Val

gometros · 01-30-2008, 12:53 PM

I lost a lot of time due to a bad cold and not working out because I couldn't breathe. I'm going to have to make the effort to add a second night dring the work week in February.

Crazy Ates January Exercise Challenge
5 / 13 Exercise Sessions

Frangipani · 01-30-2008, 06:25 PM

Hi Val -- Thanks

! And congratulations in advance for hitting two major goals in the next few days!!!

Sandy, welcome back! Sorry to hear you were sick, but glad to hear you're feeling better!!!

I got two workouts in today, my usual one hour of cardio and one hour of weightlifting (legs/lower body today) at the gym.

I saw my primary care physician today, who is really into fitness and exercise. (I know this because he also belongs to my gym.) Anyhow, I talked to him about my plateau and he told me that I really have nothing to worry about. He told me that with the way I have been working out lately, I have almost certainly gained muscle mass, hence the plateau.

I of course, knew this and you wonderfully supportive Crazy Ates have told me this as well. That said, it really gave me peace of mind to hear it from the Dr.

Therefore, I have finally decided to quit worrying about this plateau, the scale will move when it wants to move, and that's that................

Crazy Ates JANUARY Exercise Challenge

31/30 Exercise Sessions

Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

TexasBecky · 01-30-2008, 09:50 PM

Val, I can feel your enthusiasm coming through in your posts. You've got a good routine and a great attitude. Its obviously all working for you so keep doing what you're doing.

Sandy, glad to see you checking in. Remember any exercise is good. If you've been sick, start back slowly and add a little more time as you feel better.

Frangi, I'm so glad you had a quick recovery. You barely skipped a beat. And how nice to get such positive feedback from the doctor. I agree completely with your decision to quit worrying about it. You know you are literaly working your butt off. Try to stay off the scale for a while too. It just doesn't tell the whole story.

My mom is doing better. Thanks for asking. She is 70 and still mentally quite sharp but physically she's a wreck. She survived ovarian cancer in her 40's but has had a multitude of other issues in the last 25 years. She has severe osteoporsis that lead to the broken hip. She'll probably be in the rehab facility for a couple more weeks and then she and my dad will spend a few weeks at my house before they return to their own home. She broke her leg below the knee last year, so unfortunately this routine is still fresh in my mind. I am one of those baby boomers sandwiched between finishing raising my children and starting to have to care for my parents. Anyway, that's way more info than you asked for.

I got in a very high intensity hour on the treadmill today and made my January exercise goal. WooHoo for me!

20/20 days of exercise

salsa1877 · 01-30-2008, 11:17 PM

Okay I am going to make this challenge if it kills me. I got in two workouts yesterday and 2 today. That means that I only have to do 1 tomorrow. And I think that is exactly what I am going to do. So here is the thing that made me angry today. When I go to the gym in the afternoon I workout until I have burned off all of the calories that I have eaten during the day, especially if we are going to go out to dinner because I can never have an accurate count from restaurant meals. Today however we didn't decide that we were going out until right before I left work and headed for the gym. Meanwhile I had eaten 650 calories during the day (eating to many carbs/calories in the morning because I am still too tight during that time!). So I figured that it took me a total combined time fo 30-40 minutes to eat those calories BUT IT TOOK 2.5 HOURS IN THE GYM AFTER WORK TO BURN THEM OFF!

How unfair is that. No wonder we are the fattest country in the world. And I made decent food choices throughout the day: Oatmeal for breakfast, homemade chili for lunch, and a protein bar for after school snack. Ugh could you imagine how long you would have to be in the gym to burn off a big mac meal!

That calculation alone will keep me running as far away from McFlabbies...ugh I mean McDonalds as I can get.

Well off my soapbox and off to bed. Swear all I did today was workout and work. Oh wait...that is all I did. I hate the middle of the trimester grading times. So stressful. I have found that the gym does help with that though.

Night!

Frangipani · 01-31-2008, 07:16 PM

Happy January 31 everyone! Tomorrow is a new month, which means a whole fresh new start for all of us.

I did another "Triple Header" today -- one hour of weightlifting with the trainer (arms/upper body), a 30 minute abdominals class, and a one hour yoga class. By the time I finished this routine I was fatigued and hungry, but the three activities compliment each other well.

Becky, I am glad to hear that your Mom is doing better. My paternal grandmother had severe osteoporosis and suffered many broken bones as the disease progressed, so I know first hand what a debilitating disease it can be. I am sorry to hear that she (and you) are having to go through all of this.

One of the major reasons I felt it was important to add weight training to my workout regime is because I have read over and over again that resistance training is one of the very best ways to prevent the loss of bone mass as we age. I would therefore like to encourage you to add some sort of resistance training to your weekly routine as well. Doing so is especially important for both of us, since be both have a family history of this disease.

You can start out slowly and build up -- and it doesn't have to be a time consuming thing at all. In fact, I read the other day that doing just one set of each exercise to failure (i.e., until the muscle is so fatigued that you are unable to do another rep), can be just as effective as doing multiple sets. What this means is that you can get a significant weight training workout in as little as 20 minutes per session. Here is a link from the Mayo Clinic website that discusses this.

Weight training for busy people: 5 timesaving tips - MayoClinic.com

Anyhow, congrats again on making your goal -- which is really a tremendous accomplishment considering all of the challenges you had this month

Have a great night everyone!

Crazy Ates JANUARY Exercise Challenge

34/30 Exercise Sessions

Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico