Pentagenarians and Beyond Week beg 7/28

[Traildoggie]

I think you need disks for S&G. I've done that one a lot but not recently. I'm pretty sure the disks got used a lot but they are flat, light & packable. I think I use 8 lb but weights somewhere too but for travel you could substitute a cans of soda or bottles of water.

Deb, whatever works... 30 minutes of something/anything beats "nothing" hands down.

we did a 30 mile ride this morning. went pretty well though still troubled with hand numbness. think we will have to do more adjusting.

yoga yesterday morning and also tomorrow. She had us do handstands tuesday. I'm pretty much amazed but all of the "older" women in the class did them. the Medicare contingent kicks butt! the younger women did not get up. I've tried once before and didn't make it up but this time it seemed pretty simple. we do them one at a time against a wall with our instructor assisting us minimally... there to help so nothing gets out of control. I was amazed, it was not hard, really. Shelley is a fantastic instructor and spent the hour preparing us for it. interestingly, a handstand is considered a level 1, a headstand a level 2, and a shoulder stand a level 3. I've done a shoulder stand before and for me that's the easiest, which is backwards on the difficulty scale. this was my first handstand ...in my life!! she has us walk our feet up a wall while on our hands to show us the proper posture. that's easy too, so by the time we get to the actual handstand, it was quite reasonable.

 

[fox2star]

Happy Friday Eve Day!

2 more days and then the weekend...

Had a good class last night with Kylee. Keegan and John stayed home and "couch-potato-ed."

Garance, can you post a pic of one of the photographs? or maybe she has a site or something where we could see her work?

Lori, do you like Cathe's yoga workouts? I have never even viewed them...

Valerie, yes I would need to pack the disks, not sure I want them taking up room, I try not to pack too much stuff when I travel...such a pain to haul around. Electronics alone need their own carry on bag! LOL..I am embarrassed to say that we have not even taken the bikes out yet this season....maybe this weekend. Great job on the handstand by the way!

Hi to Josie, & Judy,

Nothing much here, work, then hopefully I will feel like taking Keegan for his C25K workout. or should I say he will want to go for his C25k workout? Lazy slug that he is!

for now..

 

[garance]

Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did Burn Sets ch, ba, sh (50 min.). I also took Max for a walk after dinner last night.

Deb, I sent you my photos of her photographs via e-mail. I don't know how to post them here. The one titled Honey Dip is from a series she did that alludes to Plath's bee poems, which I wrote a whole chapter about in one of my books. She is actually bathing in honey in many of them. I think if you google her you can see several of her images online. Sounds like Kylee enjoyed her special time with you. When are you off to California?

Kind of muggy here today.

Handstands? Yikes, Valerie, I wouldn't have the courage to try. I'd end up with an injury for sure. Good for you!

Hi to Lori, Josie, and Judy!

 

[labnick]

Good afternoon ladies!

Today will be a complete rest day. Going out with the girls tonight so I wanted to sleep in a bit so I would not be falling asleep in my margarita tonight!

Deb...I completely hear you on electronics having their own carryon! This is so true now a days. I do have Yoga Max and do like it. I have used it a few times.

Valerie...unbelievable with the headstand. NOWAY would I even attempt that. What is a shoulder stand. I have all thoughts going through my head and can not picture what this would look like.

Hi to Judy, Josie and Garance!

 

[Traildoggie]

Really, it was nowhere near as hard as I thought. she rehearses us with a bunch of moves that put your body in similar postures, using similar muscles.
we practiced supporting ourselves on our hands, walk our legs up a wall behind us so we are at a 90 degree angle. that is really easy after doing once or twice. the handstand is not much harder. some people think it's easier. we do handstands against a wall so balance does not have to be perfect.... you won't go all the way over. you can put feet against the wall or just tap against it to feel you're vertical. Believe me, no one was more surprised than me! but everyone else was trying so why not. the 4 oldest people did it and the two younger ones did not get up... but that's OK, I didn't get up the first time I tried it maybe 6 months ago. I think we were supposed to do these in gym class in junior HS but we got no instruction at all, and got a bad memory of failing because we had no idea about technique..

the shoulder stand you have your hands clasped together, head up, balanced on your forearms, the rest vertical. you pull your arms toward each other and it's very stable. I'll try to find a picture. and add it on. you can strap your arms with a yoga strap to remind you what direction to "pull in". Shelley always calls me her "muscle girl" because thanks to Cathe, I am strong.... even if not very skillful ... & can power my way through. I can't imagine doing these things without an instructor I totally trust for judgment and knowledge..... plus she spots each person herself while they attempt.

Lori..enjoy those margaritas... love those!!

we have so much electronic crap in our camper I think that's 10% of the load!

http://whatwouldyogido.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/forearm-stand.jpg

that should be a link to the forearm stand... sorry, I was calling it a shoulder stand and it's not. If you do it with a spotter and next to a wall it's not that hard. most of the fear comes from thinking you'll topple backwards.

 

[fox2star]

Happy Friday!

I cannot wait for this day to be over.

Garance, those photos were awesome....I liked the table one better though...I kept feeling that honey all over and it was creepy! I guess that's the sign of a good photograph right?

Lori, how was the night out with the girls?

Valerie, hats off to you for even attempting those hand/elbow/head stands! Wow! is all I can say. I know you say they are not as hard as they look, but I think that is because you have done a lot of work to get to that level, even though you think it's a breeze, it's a lot of core strength to hold a pose like that.

Hi to Josie, & Judy..

Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?

Work, then a nice relaxing Friday evening, my favorite day/night of the week.

 

[Traildoggie]

Shelley has forgotten more about yoga than I'll ever know! she spends much of our hour working up to an "apex" pose at the end of the hour. she has us do things that get the right muscles engaged and makes you aware of the correct posture. if you look at the pic, she has her shoulders back and a normal arch in her back. you need to squeeze your arms and shoulders toward each other, and if the rest of your body is lined up, it wasn't hard. you need some upper body strength to make it happen, and thanks to Cathe I have that. I do NOT have very good balance or athletic skills but take it step by step.

just to balance it out, there are some very basic poses that even total beginners can often do, that I have no hope of doing because my femurs don't rotate outward. lotus? dream on. I'm no closer to that than I was my first day.

forgot to say I went to yoga in the morning, and did Burn sets bi's and tris later.

 

[labnick]

Good morning ladies!

Rainy here today but that is ok it's FRIDAY!!!! Yeah! And I leave for vacation tomorrow!!!

Girls night was fun. Ate too much but I knew that was going to happen. So trying to be good today. No workout this morning...got home late so there was no way I was getting up. Tonight is T25's doubles night. Can't remember what the schedule is but I know I will be completely spent after doing 50 minutes of it.

Our plan is to be on the road by 11AM to allow DH some beach time. He loves the beach. I on the other hand just bought a 7ft beach umbrella for me to sit under. We do not even look like we belong together. It's comical. We are about 2 hours away from the Cape which is nice.

Valerie...wow that picture blew me away. What strength! I have always wanted to really do yoga. I enjoy it when I do it but never do it consistently.

Have a great weekend ladies!!

 

[garance]

Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did All Out Low Impact Hiit and Core 1 (49 min.).

Enjoy your vacation, Lori! I like a big umbrella too, so I can read. I get plenty sun at the ocean when I go for walks, but sunbathing is not my idea of fun.

Valerie, it's wonderful that you have such a good instructor. I've taken yoga classes, but could never really enjoy them. My mind would always wander and I think I was just bored. Maybe if I had a less somber and better teacher I would have continued. I also tried Pilates and didn't like the instructor at all.

Deb, according to the photographer, honey actually stings at first, and she needed to have a couple people to "spot" her because the honey was so heavy and viscous she feared she couldn't get out on her own. The photos, though, are so beautiful--golden and luminous. Honey has a long literary tradition for poets--mellifluous speech, the honey-tongued poet--and the all-female hive (during the winter) is especially rich in metaphors for a woman poet. The Table is part of a series of photographs she did in New Zealand.

Nope, nothing going on this weekend. DH is trying to do second cut hay, and I'm just doing my same old, same old--housemax, shopping, a bit of writing. I am looking forward to the final episodes of Breaking Bad, which begins on Sunday night.

Hi to Josie and Judy!

 

[Josie]

Hi Ladies,

No wo for me today, will be taking the kids swimming later. My DH is out of town and won't be back until tomorrow, so no big plans or the weekend.

My DD and I are going grocery shopping for healthy foods and snacks. Now that the kids won't be here we plan on trying new healthy recipes.

Lori, have a great vacation!

Garance, I'm with you on yoga and Pilates. My mind also wonders and I get bored with it.
I have given it a try several times but it has not worked for me.

Hi to Deb and Judy,

Josie

 

[fox2star]

it's the Weekend

Agility class, hair cut & color, pedi....busy, busy!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[irongrl]

Hi Deb, Lori, Lynda, Valerie & Josie,

I haven't been able to post much lately. We took the day off yesterday to paint FIL's deck. We ended up working all day and much of the evening to get the first coat on. We didn't get home until after 9:00 pm. This morning we take one of our cats in for her senior wellness exam then back to FIL's to finish the deck and do the yard work.

I ordered a pair of RYKA Influence shoes, they came Thursday. Haven't had a chance to workout with them but they are very nice and cushioned! Seems like they will work well for higher impact workouts.

I was able to do a short spinning workout yesterday and hopefully will be back to a normal workout schedule tomorrow.



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Judy

 

[Traildoggie]

the instructor sets the tone, and ours is relaxed and involved. everyone jokes back and forth and always ...always, there is laughing. we just have a good time, it's not all sedate and serious. much is shelley, but the rest of us regulars keep the tone light and enjoyable. the other class I used to go to was similar but this one is better...same woners, different location. the 2 owners are also the main instructors. maybe I was just lucky finding it? I haven't gone to classes anywhere else.

gotta go move some wood, maybe more later. I'll be gone a few days next week too. Have fun everyone!