Lurker's Invitation November, 2009

Shadowpup: I did read you mathmatical rant and I think I did comprehend a bit of it!:eek: I hope that you will share with us what you find if do get a chance to read the material that guided the panels decision, in lay man terms hopefully!!!

I am curious to what other people are planning for handling the holidays! I can't believe that they are upon us already. I am going to workout as I always do, no change there hopefully! I am also on being conscious of my eating, but putting no limitations on it either. My goal is to maintain my weight from now until after Christmas and then redoubling my efforts for weight loss after that!
 
This year for the first time we're spending Thanksgiving at a neighborhood party. I'm not actually all that happy about it, but they are nice people and it will mean fewer leftovers ... it's just hard to spend the day sitting around chatting with near-strangers :eek::eek::eek: But DH knows most of them better than I do, and I'm sure it will be fun once we get started.

For workouts, last year I set the goal of gaining muscle! Decided that if I was going to eat extra protein, I could at least pick the healthiest items and play with nutrient timing concept to use them to feed new muscles :) I think it worked, actually, but I wasn't as good about recording weights so it is hard to say. I'm doing it again this year, and started again, with a revisiting of STS Meso 3 week 2. I did Shoulders Biceps Triceps as a timesaver, with 7 reps at 90% rather than 85%, but only two pairs of each triset rather than four. This was a good choice because it forced me to focus on what I was doing :eek::eek::eek: Shoulders always do.

Tomorrow should be some kind of low impact cardio or a break day, and Thursday I have STS Legs planned at 90% planned to finish with just enough time to shower before heading off to dinner. And maybe some Insanity for the evening, or perhaps Friday morning. Kind of like your rotation, Janie, with a little change to improve my recovery time.

Someone here suggested Slow and Heavy - Janie, was that you? It was really a good idea. I could tell that my form has improved, and my strength has improved too.
 
Michelle, You are going to love the new TV. You will know how every thing works in no time at all. Enjoy it! Craigslist is a great idea. Were you able to get your outside decorating done?

All symptoms have subsided! Isn't that great!

Good luck in the grocery time.:confused:

Deborah, I'm glad you blew steam out. You really needed to do that. I need to reread it and take my time at it. It's a little above my head. But I like to read things like that, makes me concentrate and grow as a reader.

I did keep a journal on what I was taking, now I can let it go, cause I have it all figured out. YEAH! Right now, no pain or any symptoms at all. I love life again! Oh! I agree, oatmeal, oatmeal, it has such great things in it. I try and eat some everyday. I hope you do make yogurt and Greek yogurt. Also while you are at it, try Kefir as well, and all with goats milk. YumYummy.

Insanity, is just that (as you know) but I am doing it. Slower but I'm getting it done and finishing. Love it! Can't wait to do STS series with Shock Cardio. Enjoy STS tonight.

I'm going to do Insanity Cardio Abs, but your way sounds more logical. I don't know yet. Then I decide on that day not to worry about what to eat or not to eat.

Laura, You are so thoughtful towards other people. I bet if they knew what you did, that they would be appreciative. Stretches are always nice aren't they? Great job on P90X workout. I think you were wise to modify.

Tell your friend to buy DGL and Mastic Gum extract. I'm very sensitive to meds even if they are supplements. For me, and what my body can handle is this: 1/2 DGL during three meals a day. 1/2 Mastic Gum 1 hour after breakfast, and an hour after dinner. It can sometimes be a hassle to split and divide meds, but it is worth it. Have her get some at a supplement store, if this works for her, then tell her now to buy at Vitaglo.com for half the price or more. Wouldn't want her to order it unless it works. If she spends more than $50.00 then she gets free shipping as well. It's a great site. Give her a hug for me and tell her I know what she is going through. I hope this helps her. It was a lifesaver for me.

Deborah, Thanksgiving, bet you'll enjoy yourself and make new friends. Give it a try. Love the idea on how you are tweaking the Meso workouts and Insanity. I also want to gain strength. You have a great strategy going for Thanksgiving and the day after. Let us know how it goes.

Got your pm, I'll send it out tomorrow or right after Thanksgiving.

I Feel So Good!

Janie
 
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Good morning all! It's absolutely gorgeous outside today - I think I'll really take a half day off instead of working, and take the dogs out. And the boys are really needing a ride ...

Janie, so great to see you post "Feel So Good"! Haven't tried Kefir. Hmmm ... something new!

I feel good too this morning. STS is sooo much fun, and I just love the sense of pushing my muscles up to (but not past) their limits. Speaking of which, this year I'm going to get more serious about looking at improvements, and am going to play around with ways to record them. Someone on this site went through and entered in each and every exercise for everything except STS! Might as well take advantage of it. And, I'm going to add in three 'test' workouts from STS Meso 3, to use as comparison, as well as the 1RMs. This is probably only the sort of task that a techie-mathematical-workout-field would understand so it's nice to be able to share my plans with the rest of you. Even my husband is nodding in a "well, if it makes you happy, then please do play with workout spreadsheets while on vacation" kind of way :D

More later, the outdoors is calling!
 
Did Meso 3 legs Disc 32.

Laura, First time for awhile, but got woke up from GERD last night. So, again will rearrange supplements to help me better. This time I'm trying 1/4 DGL after every meal (3) and 1/4 before bed. For Mastic Gum 1/3 after breakfast, 1/3 after lunch, and 1/3 after dinner. Just tweaking a bit, it will work eventually. At least I'm not in a lot of pain. Just thought I'd mention it so your friend may want to know.

Deborah, Your day sounds lovely. Was wondering, does your DH ride with you, or are you alone most of the time?

Kefir is a cultured milk starter, much like yogurt. It is a source of "friendly bacteria" derived from an ancient formula. It turns milk into a fermented drink. If using goats milk, it might not be as thick as yogurt, but it is still delicious and good for the body.

STS is such versatile workouts aren't they? Would like to know who went through and entered each exercise for every workout? Wow! That's amazing! Also would love to know what you've come up with when adding in 4 more scenarios to that. I could certainly use that spreadsheet too. Mind sharing it once you get it done? If it isn't rude to ask. You are so skilled!

Enjoy the outdoors, it sounds wonderful.

Janie
 
Glad to see everyone back on the forum - Hoping everyone has a great Thanksgiving too!!

Ok so last night I did CTX: S&I - I did not have a clear idea as to what to expect in this workout so I was worried - some of the other CTX workouts aren't my favorites - especially if there is a lot of hi/lo or kickbox in it - but this was just fun - not at all complex but a good step routine. I really enjoyed it. I picked up a 30lb barbell and used that for all of the chest presses - 1st set was easy - the 2nd - I was really feeling it. Then the staggered push ups -gee I was shaking. I got it done and felt good about it. Have to look to see what I'll be doing tonight. Typically I don't work out on TG - but I do tend to watch what I eat - I just don't go hog wild with food - small portions - but I also don't deny myself anything. Just a small taste of everything. :) Of course, little small tastes add up - so you still have to watch. :eek:

Shadowpup - I read through your mathematical rant as well & I really appreciate all the time and thought you put into it. Although, I am not in a position to completely understand all of the points you made - the fact that you were are passionate about it and have the background to really explore the panel's findings was comforting to me. I hope you share what you find out with us!! Go to the neighborhood party with a positive outlook - the fact that they have a party is quite impressive. Sometimes it is easier to carry on a conversation with a relative stranger than with someone you really know - think of all the questions you can ask as you try to get to know someone better? That can be fun!! Enjoy yourself.

Janie - Well - I really liked reading that you figured out what you needed to do to manage your GERD - but then I read that you woke up from it - :mad: -frustrating for sure. I am positve you'll be able to find the right mixture of supplements - just a matter of time. I didn't know what kefir was either - gee the stuff I'm learning from you guys - I'm just loving it. It exposes me to a whole new world.

Michelle - setting up the tv and getting it all situated takes a little time. I think you will like the DVR - tons of people tell me they never watch "live tv" anymore - you can tape things you planned on watching and then fast forward through the commercials when you play it back. I'm sure you knew that. Some people begin taping it and watch it just like 15 minutes later then when the programming is on so they can skip the commericals. I have to admit I don't tape too many things - I don't really watch anything on a regular basis on television to really take advantage of it. I do like watching old movies - I was just watching "All About Eve" last night - it is such a good film!!! I'll be interested in your new rotation in December!

Laura - well - I can't do a full center split - I don't think I ever could - but I was close. I was thinking that you are probably more flexible than most and could do things that a lot of others can't because of all the pilates and yoga. I don't know why I feel so tight all of sudden - it was like yesterday I couldn't stretch enough. I like your plan for the holidays - I try to do that too - except I can't find the time for a workout - I'm going over it in my head and there doesn't seem to be a good opportunity to get that done. :( I've done it in the past - so I'm going to try to work it in.

Well - it is doubtful I'll have time to post tomorrow - so I just want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and tell you that I am definitely thankful for this group!!! :D
 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying your day, I have already had a nice relaxing morning with the family. We had a nice breakfast and watched Beauty and the Beast together, forgot how good that movie is!

I am feeling worse today, that tickle feeling in the nose :mad: so I am thinking about taking the day off of exercise after all.I am starting to worry a little bit about the holidays now, as I have been taking it significantly easier on the exercise (luckily it is my 'recovery week" so it fits into my plan) but now have tons of calories ahead of me today! Yikes! After today I think I need to seriously reign in the calories in for a few weeks.....


Shadowpup: I hope you have a good time today with the neighbors! I was hoping you might give a little more detail to your protein strategy.. Do you avoid the carbs entirely? Or just load up and focus on the protein? You are working extra heavy & hard to pump the body up for eating protein? Are you making the spreadsheets yourself? Where did you find the entered workouts that some one entered? That would be helpful!~ I am also thinking I would like to be more accurate in my recording than I am...basically I just enter the workouts in the Workout manager, but I don't record the weights I used, which was ok when I had less DVD/workouts I could remember the weight, but now that I have so much more variety I find myself guessing at the weights I should use which is not very efficient nor effective in providing me with the results I want.


Janey: do you find the foods you eat effect your GERD? I am worried that my friend is using this as an excuse to disguise some eating disorder stuff she has had a history of in the past. She is basically not eating at all, broth and crackers but nothing else going on several weeks now. She says anything else makes her feel terrible.....I worry about her...have a great Thanksgiving!

Shoegal: I think our holiday eating strategy is similar...and your right it does still add up, especially since there is so much more variety available to nibble on! So what do you think of CTX? It is one of the ones I do really want to get, seems like you get so much variety in that series. Are there lots of premixes?

Michelle: enjoy your new TV! Now you need to get some downloads to see Cathe near life size!! Did you manage to negotiate the Tower into the deal?
 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope your day has been great.

Somehow I believe I have gotten terribly behind this week on the forum, although I have kept up with my workouts.;) Yesterday was CTX Power Circuits and today was All Step. I've enjoyed this month with CTX and 4DS but as is always the case toward the end of the month, I'm looking forward to a change of pace. Just not sure what that will be yet.

Shadowpup: I hear you on the modeling approaches. I haven't looked at the panel's report but I'd be interested in knowing more about their data.

Janie: glad your symptoms have become less frequent and milder. It sounds like you are on the right road for relief.

Laura: don't let yourself get too run down. I know that's hard this time of year. Right now I'm thinking that I will work on the 1RMs the last week of December.

Shoegal: DH loves his new television. He actually pulled out the directions for our surround sound speakers and hooked them to the new tv yesterday. Work like a charm. It's amazing how he finally got those speakers to work correctly by taking the time to read the directions. I haven't made that obeservation to him, but.... With respect to the DVR, haven't read the directions on that yet. All this new technoclogy is a little overwhelming right now.

Haven't got all the outside decorating done. Two strands of my lights went dead so I had to get replacements. And the weather here is just not cooperating. Hopefully, I'll get it done tomorrow. Then I can start thinking about the inside.

~michelle
 
GERD UPDATE: Aren't you guys getting tired of this? OK, I've figured it out. I've figured out, that you take the supplements 4 hours apart regardless when you eat. The supplements lasts 4 hours. So that's why in the middle of the night my GERD comes back. All I have to do, is have DGL on my nightstand and when I wake up, eat it. It starts to work, immediately, so I can go back to sleep right away. It's done, no more figuring things out. I've figured it out and managing very well. Thank God!

No workout for Joey and I today at all. We ate, drank cider, apple pie, pumpkin pie, Starbucks Ice cream, stuffing, turkey and a salad. Oh, and this pesto, dried tomato with cream cheese on top dip. O my:confused:, sooo good. I ate all that and felt absolutely good. Tomorrow we start again with our exercises. Every now and then you just simply need a break from it all. It didn't effect my GERD at all.

Shoegal, I do too, love CTX S&I. Glad you had fun. Great job on the workout. Sharing information with our friends is great isn't it? I also learn much from everyone here too. It's so cool.:cool:

Laura, You know, I don't think I've ever seen Beauty and the Beast. Hmmm, I should get that on Netflix and watch it. Sure hope you feel better soon. I too did not do anything but eat up calories, but oh, I did indulge and loved every minute of it. There are exercises waiting tomorrow for Joey and I, but today, we enjoyed food.

The foods I ate tonight is not at all what I normally eat, and as long as I was taking the supplements, nothing was hurting, nothing bothered me, it was like being normal, except ate way to much. Still not bothered by my GERD. I tell ya, these supplements are like a miracle. There is no reason on earth, if your friend takes these supplements, to just eat crackers and broth. I hope she didn't go back to an eating disorder, because she can eat as normal as anyone else. I hope she will be OK, and it does sound like she is making an excuse to go back to her unhealthy old ways. Don't let her! Nip it in the bud now. Tell her to read this.

Tell your friend this: During the start of the day, I take 1/4 of DGL(I divide this into 4rths), and 1/4 of the powdery Mastic Gum (I take the pill apart and divide it into 4rths) at 8am, then another at 12pm, again 4pm, again at 8pm and last time before I go to bed at midnight, I only take the DGL. When GERD wakes me up around 4, I take 1/4 of GDL. Works immediately. That's all there is to it. Now I'm normal again.

Source Naturals Mastic Gum Extract 500 mg or 1 gram: Tastes very bitter, just drink water with it.

Planetary Herbals DGL 380 mg or 1 gram: Need to chew this and mix with saliva. Taste like licorice, some people like it, others don't. I like it.

Michelle, I also love the change of exercises from a month of a rotation. I'm also looking forward to something different. Don't know what it will be yet. Any Ideas what you will be doing for next month? Your workout sounds great and hard. That is very impressive, especially All Step, that one is very hard. I have to tell ya, when Joey leaves again for Vegas or wherever, I'll go on the rotation you made up. It looks really good.

We have one huge star for our outdoor decorations. But, this year we will put up a tree, since everyone will be here for Christmas this year. We haven't had Christmas here for many years. It's going to be great.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate with you so you can finish up with the outside decorations.

Deborah, Did you enjoy Thanksgiving with your neighbors?

Hope Everyone had a great Thanksgiving,

Janie
 
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Hello out there - Thanksgiving was a long long long day - went to my Mother's at 10AM or so - left at 10PM or so - got home at nearly 11 - and Oh - I just wanted to go to bed. No exercise - :( but like Janie says - sometimes you just need a break. Ate too much of course - and this was with watching it - I sure was full!!! It was a relatively festive day - lots of hard work to have fun, isn't it? We all went around the table telling everyone what we were thankful for. It was corny but nice.

Sounds as if everyone had a good Holiday - need to hear what Shadowpup has to say about her Turkey day as yet. I hope it was good day.

My girls came over to my Mom's and they were super excited about it - prancing around the house and monitoring very carefully if something should happen to fall on the floor. They were also quite attentive to the dishwasher and the unwashed plates. :eek: When my sister's golden's came over Scout became irritable and didn't want to play well. She gets nasty, starts growling and wants to snap at poor Howie - you came over and gave her a kiss right on the mouth. Apparantly, that was crossing the line.

Janie - Like the sound of your Thanksgiving Day meal - sounds as if you had the right amount of fixings and enjoyed yourself. Everything sounded yummy! I'll get back to exercise today too - have to jump right back on the wagon when we voluntarily jump off. It's okay - we need some brief stints away from daily life to recharge. Sounds as if you figured out your GERD - those supplements do sound like a miracle - frankly - I don't mind at all hearing about it - something new for me to learn and perhaps the information will come in handy later on.

Laura - I love Beauty & the Beast - one of my favorites!! Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up with family and watching a film. I especially like watching movies in the morning - I know my DH would probably have some argument against it like it takes up the day - but for me - I actually stay awake and get through the entire movie. I can't tell you how many times we rent something to watch in the evening and 10 minutes into it I'm asleep!:rolleyes:

Michelle - well I suppose it will be a great day today to finish the decorating -DH and I have been talking about what we'd like to do. I like to change it up - and do things differently - I'm tired of the way the house has looked outside the past couple of years and I don't want to do it again. DH has been surprisingly compliant. Yes - isn't it amazing how helpful reading the directions is? I think it is in line with asking for directions on the road - they have to be the man & figure it out on their own. :rolleyes:

Ok - hope you all are having a good post turkey day!!! I'll check back later.
 
Joey and I did Meso Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps disc 33

Shoegal, Thanksgiving was a treat day that's for sure. Joey and I jumped back on the wagon today. All is good.

Your girls sound so darn cute! Sounds like they had fun too.

Got to get into the hot tub to soak these weary bones. LOL

I sure hope you can one day help someone with GERD. It's really very nasty.

Janie
 
Today's exercise was CTX 10-10-10 plus triceps. This month my head finally clicked on how to do tricep pushups correctly. Boy, they really do work the triceps. One more day with this rotation: CTX kickbox. Then, on to December. I scanned all my Cathes dvds this morning. I'm thinking that Saturdays in December will be a Body Max workout. Sister will love that.;) Now I just have to figure out the rest of the rotation. But sister requested all her cardio favorites which means Low Max, Step Blast, RS, and Step Jam. I think I might have to throw in an IMAX each week too.:D

Sounds like everyone had a great Thanksgiving day.

Janie, I'm glad you've figured out a routine for the supplements. You've done great sticking with your STS rotation this month.

Shoegal: aren't pups wonderful? But it sounds like you had a super long day. Hope you had time to catch up with some rest today.

I have been busy today dealing with Christmas decorations. I worked on my outside decorations but the wind just got to be too much. I just have a little left to do. So hopefully the wind will die down and I get finish tomorrow. Also put up the Christmas tree (artificial). I just love wrestling with that dang thing. Not too much swearing. It's already got the lights on it so I don't have to deal with that. Now, all I have to do is decorate it. But I think I've had enough with the tree today.

Not sure what is next on the list. I've got a pile of clothes that I need to take to Goodwill. Just need to fold them up and put them in a box. I've also got a few items that sister might fit into and actually wear. So, there will be a box for her too that I will deliver when I visit my family after Christmas.

Time to think about walking Ripken.
michelle
 
janiejoey said:


Was wondering, does your DH ride with you, or are you alone most of the time?
...
STS is such versatile workouts aren't they? Would like to know who went through and entered each exercise for every workout? Wow! That's amazing!
Janie
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Janie, I missed this part of your post! Sorry about that. I was distracted by the Kefir idea ... anyway, here's the site where I found the Cathe spreadsheets: fitfig.com . She has several different spreadsheets for Cathe under http://fitfig.com/tools/ , as well as pointers to all kinds of other fitness areas. I recognized many, but not all of them!

My DH doesn't ride. He started once, on my mare Robin, but he would not believe me when I explained that she would be kind to him as long as he was a beginner and didn't tell her what to do, but that the minute he started to take control, she'd likely dump him unless he rode her properly. She was just like that: children and beginners, good as gold. Anything they did was fine with her. Adults who act like they know what they are doing, but (even inadvertently) jerked or kicked or otherwise behaved rudely? Off they'd go!

Well, one day DH took Robin out bareback against all advice, and it just so happened she turned to go up the hill, but he didn't want her to go there. Well - he jerked on her mouth trying to get her to turn around, without giving her a little warning (she was trained to "listen" for body movement, so I'd look where I wanted to go, turning my shoulders and seatbones; I'd rarely use the reins with her unless I wanted a precisely defined step, like a dressage move.) Robin wasn't having any of *that* kind of jerky treatment. Still, she liked DH very much, and rather than give a nasty big buck, she simply gave a little hop to loosen him up, dropped her shoulder, and he rolled gently off. I saw the whole thing up by the barn, where I was working Atreides, who we'd just bought. Robin came running up to me looking quite pleased with herself. Poor DH was not very pleased and took longer to limp on up. He had very sore ribs. He also would not get on right away, and hasn't tried again since. Still, he feeds the kids, does all kinds of barn and pasture maintenance, and generally treats them as huge dogs or gigantic cats. But I ride by myself.


Well, Thanksgiving. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable day! Yes, all of you were right: it was fun to spend time with the neighbors, and have all kinds of conversations about the interesting things they'd been up to. Only the neighbors I like were there. Quite a nice day, very good food, and I did not have to scrub down the house :D We also ended up with nice leftovers :D

For workouts, I went with my plan of a hike in the morning, and then STS 38 Legs (modified) before dinner. Wow - I really felt it. I decided to treat the workout as though it were a test for 1RMS, and made a new personal record: 132 pounds for squats (40 weighted vest plus two 45 pound dumbbells plus weighted gloves). Almost as heavy on the deadlifts: 129. And, lunges at 100. I've gone a little heavier on the deadlifts and lunges, but not after heavy squats!!! Must be doing the form right, too, because I can feel the deadlifts in my lats today, and normally I don't. This afternoon, I decided to do Insanity Max Interval. The idea was to break down the muscles yesterday right before a heavy-protein meal with some high caliber carbs (and, alas, more refined ones that I should have eaten ...) and then today to burn off additional calories with interval training and plyo, to keep my body in muscle-building mode.

I am not sure I'm going to think this was such a good plan in the morning. DOMS are probably in my future. Insanity Max Interval is really tough! I was really dragging midway through, and hit the pause button to add a minute to the last few breaks. In hopes of loosening up, I also took a nice slow walk on our hills with the dogs, for about an hour. It might have helped. I'm still going to treat myself to a baby aspirin or two before bed.

Janie, I read your other posts about GERD, and it sounds like you have it figured out! I will have to write down what you tried. So many people suffer with GERD.

Michelle, you are becoming a real rotation expert! Your sis is quite lucky.

... ooops, pie in the oven just beeped, better get it out. more after dinner!
 
Good morning everyone. The sun is finally shining here in Virginia--and the wind had subsided to a breeze. This morning was the last day of the November rotation: CTX Kickbox. Those power lunges are getting to be more enjoyable. I can remember when I first did this routine, I just about fell over on the power lunges and couldn't get through half of them. Just goes to show what perseverance, hard work and a great group of check-in friends can do.

We'll be heading over to the boat one last time this afternoon. We didn't quite get everything done last weekend. Going to try to do a few things around here before we head out. First thing: vacuum DH's SUV. Ripken got groomed this week and DH's SUV is full of dog hair. Then maybe rake up the last of the leaves. Trust me ladies--the leave raking isn't going to take long thanks to the efforts of the teenage boy that does most of our yard work.

Shadowpup: love the story about you trying to teach your DH to ride. He is a good sport to help with the maintenance, but I can understand his reluctance to get in the saddle again. Hey, are you heading this way? Let me know if you have any time in your schedule. I haven't checked my work email in a couple of days so I don't know what surprises I have waiting for me. That's on my list of things to do later in the day. Thanks for the link to fitfig.

Hi to Laura, Janie, and Shoegal.
~michelle
 
Did Insanity Cardio Max Interval Plyometrics. Gee-man-eaze Bat Man!:confused:

Not sure what is next on the list. I've got a pile of clothes that I need to take to Goodwill. Just need to fold them up and put them in a box. I've also got a few items that sister might fit into and actually wear. So, there will be a box for her too that I will deliver when I visit my family after Christmas.

Michelle, I couldn't do push up for the tricep either for the longest time. Then decided to really look at what they were doing. Indeed it's totally different. Aw, you are so good to your sister. It sounds like a great rotation. Would love to see that one posted too.;)

Artificial tree for me too. Will be putting it up sometime today or tomorrow. I know what you mean.:rolleyes:

Deborah, Thanks for the spreadsheet site. looks fantastic.

That is such a kinda funny story, about your poor hubby. But so glad he's still enjoying them his own way. Bless his heart. :)

We knew you would enjoy Thanksgiving with the neighbors. You are just that way.;)

Congratulations on your new personal record. OMG! You lift so heavy. Wow! I'm always leary about deadlifts, so don't go for the heavy amount in that area. It scares me I might hurt my back again. So impressed with your weight poundage. Love your concept on building muscle. You did the workout so very hard, get some well deserved rest.

We'll be heading over to the boat one last time this afternoon. We didn't quite get everything done last weekend. Going to try to do a few things around here before we head out. First thing: vacuum DH's SUV. Ripken got groomed this week and DH's SUV is full of dog hair. Then maybe rake up the last of the leaves. Trust me ladies--the leave raking isn't going to take long thanks to the efforts of the teenage boy that does most of our yard work.

Michelle, Congratulations for finishing the rotation and your gains! YEAH!:eek: Have a great day with the sun out and working a bit on the boat and yard. I bet Ripken looks charming.

Laura, Shoegal, how ya all doing? I'm off to the hot tub.

Janie
 
ladubose said:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying your day, I have already had a nice relaxing morning with the family. We had a nice breakfast and watched Beauty and the Beast together, forgot how good that movie is!

I am feeling worse today, that tickle feeling in the nose :mad: so I am thinking about taking the day off of exercise after all.I am starting to worry a little bit about the holidays now, as I have been taking it significantly easier on the exercise (luckily it is my 'recovery week" so it fits into my plan) but now have tons of calories ahead of me today! Yikes! After today I think I need to seriously reign in the calories in for a few weeks.....


Shadowpup: I hope you have a good time today with the neighbors! I was hoping you might give a little more detail to your protein strategy.. Do you avoid the carbs entirely? Or just load up and focus on the protein? You are working extra heavy & hard to pump the body up for eating protein? Are you making the spreadsheets yourself? Where did you find the entered workouts that some one entered? That would be helpful!~ I am also thinking I would like to be more accurate in my recording than I am...basically I just enter the workouts in the Workout manager, but I don't record the weights I used, which was ok when I had less DVD/workouts I could remember the weight, but now that I have so much more variety I find myself guessing at the weights I should use which is not very efficient nor effective in providing me with the results I want.
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Laura, I never made it back on last night! Beauty and the Beast from Disney was one of my favorites. Have you read the first Robin McKinley book on Beauty and the Beast? She did a terrific job on the horses :) I didn't like the second version she wrote quite as much. ... this particular protein strategy is something I came up with after reading a few articles and books on Nutrient Timing, Berardi and so on. They recommend a balance of protein and carbs after strength training particularly. Normally I try and time my workouts for just before dinner anyway, since :eek: I am rather bad sometimes about working protein in earlier and tend to be slightly lower than advised by many for strength training. And, since some people say that carbs are processed better during the day, protein at night - but others say the opposite - to me the jury is out on that part so I do what's convenient, and the workout-hard-then-dinner has been fine. Women have such a disadvantage in gaining muscle anyway that any little bit helps, right? ;) I don't avoid carbs and even allow some refined ones in (bread, usually). That is partly because I love bread. Well - let me admit it - it is mostly because I love bread, and I have only cut it out when I did my really significant weight loss work. The research suggested that easily absorbed carbs are appropriate right after workouts as an adjunct to the protein, and although the authors want you to try their special drink, to me it is much nicer to have my protein in turkey (or something else yummy!) and enjoy my bread with a clean conscience. This could be a great approach or it could be a good example of a rationalization :) But so far it appears I'm getting stronger and not gaining weight, so I'm sticking with this plan :)


Besides these spreadsheets, I spent a little time googling for software in a reasonable price range that would help record strength gains. My ideal probably doesn't exist - it would combine my FitDay nutrition records, read data directly from my Polar the way that my polar software does, ditto for the GoWearFit. And it would compute 1RMs for me. And it would let me enter some things on the web, blackberry, or ipod, and also entirely run from my local PC so that I don't have to have an internet connection up and running :) Well, a person can wish, right? :) Still, I found a few packages that do at least a few of these things. There is one called FitnessAssistant that seems closest. It doesn't handle my cardio as well as the Polar Protrainer software does (I can just read in my cardio stats right off of my HRM, and store many workouts in a row, which is incredibly convenient) and I don't like the nutrition analysis as well as FitDay, but it at least seems to have the notion of 1RMs built in, and lets you graph strength gains. Anything with graphs tends to attract me as everyone here has probably noticed :eek::eek::eek: Another that looks pretty good is Athlete's Database Gold, and I found still another that checks individual exercises for overlap with body parts! Forgot the name of that one, but it was the first one I found. I found a whole raft of products that were aimed at helping figure/bodybuilders gear up for competitions, too. For now, I'm evaluating the FitnessAssistant and Athletes Database just to see how I like the different styles.

Janie, I haven't yet done the Max Intervals Plyo version - but I am sure I'll agree also that it is a real woweee of a workout! Good for you for sticking it out! Does Joey watch you while you do these? You mentioned he didn't join in at first - does he think you are Insane? :rolleyes: And now you deserve an enjoyable day afterwards, hope you get one!

Michelle, I bet Ripkin looks great! Did you go for a walk on what sounds like a gorgeous day in your area? Speaking of your area, I sent you a separate message, hoping we can work out times while I'm in DC. This is another of those crammed trips but there is one possibility ... one of these days we'll manage! And big congrats on those gains. Power lunges - hard!!! It's really neat to look back and see how much you've improved, and all of that improvement was well earned by perseverence. It's not easy to keep trying these moves that knock us flat, is it!

Today I'm feeling nicely worked from the combo of STS and Max Intervals, though not the DOMS I'd been dreading. Had been worried I'd pushed a touch too hard, into the really painful DOMS instead of the feeling of a workout well done. Fortunately my shoulder is the only thing twinging a bit, but since it is twinging, I'm going to skip the heavy STS Chest/Back until next weekend and substitute the new Kelly Coffey-Meyer that just came insteaqd: it's her body weight 30 minute workout. I usually go light/easy the first time I try a new workout anyway so this should be perfect.
 
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Hi all, quick update! I was supposed to fly out this morning, but had a weather cancellation ... and it being such a heavy travel day we could not find a flight that would get me to my Monday am meeting in time. Good news, bad news ... it means I had an early morning, need a nap, but get to be home another two nights :) Also, my poor cat is coming out of her depression early. I honestly thought my husband was exaggerating when he said she would collapse in a sad little heap for a day or two when I'd leave, and then get nasty tempered, and kill mice/whack our other cat til I returned - but she was quite the pathetic puddle of fur when I came back from the airport this morning. Hopefully she will skip the kill mice/whack Sadie part of the program!
 
Busy weekend - for everyone it seems.

Came home on Friday and started to deconstruct my Thanksgiving decor - put it all in the back room (actually my workout room) - and there is where it sits. . . . still. :( Have to put it all away - but there doesn't seem to be one available box for any of it. All sitting together it looks like quite a heap of stuff - when it is spread out all over the living room it looks like nothing. DH and I have come up with an entirely new set up for the outside Christmas decorations. We collaborated on some new ideas - I think it will be pretty. It isn't complete yet - well, nothing is - at all - but he worked up a mock up of the pine sprays we intend to use. I have a horrible feeling he is going to be all particular about things and be unpleasant to work with.

We went over to my sister-in-law's for another TG dinner on Saturday. The problem I have with this is that it seems to be an ideal day to start on all the decorating. I wanted to spend all day getting a good portion of it done. I managed only to set up the table with my Christmas China before we had to go but who am I kidding - this is going to take me a long time. :rolleyes: I did manage to get my workout in -and I sailed through my last little bit of November's rotation. Tonight I am thinking a Jari Love or a Christy Taylor workout. I shall be working hard on my Christmas decorations tonight as well and this is probably is the only thing I'll be doing for weeks. My mother managed to get all of hers up in a day - I suppose this means I have too much stuff but not to me - I just love all of it. I pull it out of the boxes -and I just oooo and ahhh at how pretty this or that is. I usually have a real tree in the living room - but use several artificial pencil trees elsewhere in the house. One in my bedroom and a couple in my exercise room.

Opps - have to get the day started. I have lots to do!! I'll check back later.
 
Good afternoon everyone. Sister and I started a Holiday Cardio Blast rotation for this month. This morning was Low Max. I enjoyed doing a workout that I know really well. Still had to keep the concentration going, but it was nice to concentrate on form rather than getting the steps correct. Ripken was puppy on the spot afterwards to give me a good lick down.

Shoegal: on the one hand, I'm thinking how nice that your DH likes to help decorate. On the other hand, I'm thinking, hmmmm, could have its downside as well. My DH pretty much lets me do all the decorating for Christmas. If I ask for his assistance, he will help on specific tasks but I can usually roll and get things done pretty well on my own. I did manage to get the outside decorations done, so that just leaves the inside. Our artificial tree is up in the living room, just not decorated yet.

We also have officially packed up the boat for the winter.:( Always a sad event because we love the boat so much, but it is supposed to get a little cooler here and quite frankly, when it's cold, I don't want to be at the marina on the boat.

I've got a little tinkering to do with the December rotation that I put together. Sister requested I add some circuit workouts which means some of the pure cardios will get changed. I will post when I get it done.

Hope everyone is enjoying this last day of November. Any cyber-Monday shoppers in our group?
~michelle
 
Joey is busy today, so won't make our workout (chest and back) today. Instead I'll do a cardio and do the chest and back tomorrow with him.

Sent soap out to Deborah and Michelle today. Hope you enjoy.

Deborah, I have to admitt :eek: that I couldn't finish the Insanity workout this time, not even when modified. But, I did what I could and the next time around will be better. I did enjoy the rest day, and started putting the Christmas tree together. We have a fake one. I love Kelly. Enjoy the workout. She's a really good instructor, and not easy.

Really glad you didn't get DOM's like you anticipated. It just means you are getting stronger still. Wise decision to listen to your body. You are good at this.;)

Have a great unexpected two days at home. Cat's do the strangest things, don't they? Poor thing. She must love you very much.

Shoegal, You and your hubby will work it out (decorating), you always do.;) I miss doing Christy Taylor, as soon as I'm done with this rotation, maybe I should get her out.

Sounds like you will be busy enjoying putting up your Christmas decorations. Hey, how about pictures, I just know it will be lovely.:)

Take care,

Janie
 
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