August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

[Miss Behaving]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Marshy, those balancing postures are hard!!! I always fall over too. My trainer (who did lots of dancing and yoga) explained to me that it is about how strong the small muscles in your back are. But persist!!!!! I used to think that I couldn't do them because I was naturally clumsy, but I found that I got better quite quickly.

Looks like everyone else is doing well too!!

[Pamina]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Hi all,

I used to do yoga too and really enjoyed it. I'm off to visit my dad again next week so won't sign up for any classes at the mo, but it's on my incremental list of things to try out.

I've taken to a roundabout route to a newsagents that's about a 30-minute walk in total with bits along the river - yes, Beck, it's the Thames and very soothing! Picking up my paper in this way is a simple thing to include in my daily routine. I found I can powerwalk 15 minutes of that which leaves me about 7 blocks short of the newsagents and gives a reference point for improvement. So I slow down for the second 15 minutes while picking up my paper.

DG - congrats on the 'old new' clothes! I can SO relate to that, and it's wonderful! I'd had no weight loss this week but the last two weeks the inches have finally started falling away in leaps and bounds - can't wait to get WAISTED!! And, it turns out a woman in my WW group does belly dancing and offered to start teaching a bunch of us in her converted garage. Shake and Shimmy - I like the sound of that!!

[Doggygirl]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Good for you on that run Beck!! I'm LOL thinking about your little dog almost tripping you up. (well, I wouldn't laugh if he HAD tripped you up...) Mr. Doggy did what's called an AD with his dog Ferguson - it's an endurance test where the handler is on a bicycle and the dog is on a leash - they go 20km (about 12 miles for US folks). Believe me - when he started conditioning for that it took some time for the both of them to stay "upright" for any distance!!

mwo2 - GOOD FOR YOU!!!

Marshy, you and Mame's posts and some others are getting me interested in at least trying yoga, which I have never tried. I always figured I was too clumsy, inflexible, etc. I should see if they offer a class at the Jr. College. I know what you mean about finding a way to keep motivated to GO to the gym. The best way I've found this time around is to make it a part of my EARLY morning "start the day" routine. LOL - that way I sorta sleep walk through it and it's over before I'm fully awake.

Mame, did the evening routine work for you again today?

Pamina, your route sounds good the way you have it set up - so you can gradually increase the "power walk" portion over time. I can't wait to get waisted too! That's my most stubborn body part. The jeans I shopped for in my closet are all "regular" waisted (not the low waisted things that look horrifying on me that are in style these days!). That made it particularly gratifying when they buttoned! Inches is WHERE IT'S AT and I think a pair of test jeans are a better barometer than even a measuring tape. So now I have to dig out my next pair of test jeans.

I had a good 80% workout today - still burned over 400 cals according to EK. In the past I have *tried* to not be chatting on the circuit - it really does negatively impact the quality of the workout. This week I just decided that I will be as polite as I can but tell folks I CAN'T chat until after my workout. The good news is that for the most part the same folks are there at the same time every day, so it won't take too long for people to just know that I'm not being unfriendly - just focusing on my workout until I'm done.

:b&d: :sofa:

DG
Day 77 AFHFE(xercise)F(reak)

[Miss Behaving]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Hi all,

Beck - a friend's husband was out for a run with his dog and another doggy tripped him up and he broke his leg in 3 places and was on crutches for 18 weeks!

Pamina - the walk along the Thames sounds lovely, and your post brought back lots of memories - I used to live at Camden Lock and walked along the water all the time.

DG - am so jealous of you fitting into your clothes! I recently put on 5 kg in 2 weeks .... it was a couple of months ago while I was starting the AF thing and at the gym every morning ....... then lost them all over about 3 weeks and have been yo-yoing ever since. [Menopause alert] I think this is hormones and I'm going to get the Dr and//or naturopath to get everything sorted once I have caught up on myself!

And I cheated a bit tonight ......... didn't go to the gym, but did have a nice long-ish walk after leaving work a bit early. It was very nice to be outside - we have had soooooo much rain!! Tomorrow I do weights ...... My duathlon goal is fast approaching with no runing training ...... might try one on the weekend and see how far I get before O2 deprivation hits me!

For those of you getting into yoga, it is well worth persisting! I think some people give up because it doesn't feel like a challenge and too much like stretching. Sticking with it gives you an appreciation of just how much strength and flexibility it takes to hold some of the poses. And for those of us who are nearing or over 50, there are some studies coming out now that suggest that yoga/tai chi and other related forms of exercise are a very good preventitive for osteoporosis and joint complaints!! - they are no impact but still strengthen muscles. (and weights are too!)

my lavender bath is calling me!

[Marshy]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Aunty Mame;377053 wrote:
For those of you getting into yoga, it is well worth persisting! I think some people give up because it doesn't feel like a challenge and too much like stretching. Sticking with it gives you an appreciation of just how much strength and flexibility it takes to hold some of the poses. And for those of us who are nearing or over 50, there are some studies coming out now that suggest that yoga/tai chi and other related forms of exercise are a very good preventitive for osteoporosis and joint complaints!! - they are no impact but still strengthen muscles.

I totally agree. OK, OK, I've only taken one class so far :H but I can see myself becoming a convert. Today I can definitely feel some of the muscles that had a 'workout' - not sore, just noticeable. There were three women in my class who were late sixties/ maybe even early seventies who were giving the 'youngsters' a run for their money!

DG: Give it a whirl! I think I've maybe been a bit put off by some of the, ah, pretentiousness that can be connected with yoga but the group I went to felt very comfortable and down-to-earth - a wide age range, men and women, all different sizes. And even though I was the only one totally new to yoga, it was a beginners/'easy' level group so some other people were wobbling while trying to hold poses as well!

Happy exercising everyone!!

[Miss Behaving]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

I also meant to mention that there are lots of good instructional videos on YouTube for anyolne that wants to try in the comfort and privacy of their own living room (particularly for those poses that make you fall over!!)

[Doggygirl]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

On Yoga, that Youtube (eh em, PRIVACY) option seems like a good way to "try before you buy."

Here I am still reading and posting away when I said I was gonna get back to work quite some time ago!! Oh well...this will count towards my much needed "me" time.

Mame, that long walk sounds a lot more fun to me than running training sounds!!! Good luck with your weight training tomorrow! [menopause alert] I HIGHLY recommend getting all your hormones tested, and with a doc who is not afraid to treat women using bio-identicals - especially if you feel like you put lots of effort into diet and exercise with little to no results. Difficulties with weight management is just one of many symtoms. I am SO GLAD I found this doctor. Believe me - the results I'm seeing (still have to work at it though) were just not happening before - that was so discouraging. [/menopause alert] That lavendar bath sounds great!

Marshy, your yoga group sounds like a lot of fun! I always like "unpretentious" in just about everything. Revise that to "everything."

Do we need to go scrape Caysea off the tennis courts and properly return him to his wife this time????? (remember how we failed to properly return him last time he passed out on the courts!!)

Today was another good Curves workout - EK says 450 cals burned. I'll take that!! I also used my Curves Bucks (the play money earned for losing weight and inches, and also earned in some of the silly games!) to buy my ONE HUNDRED WORKOUTS T-shirt. (today was #102 since joining way back in Nov 2007). I can't wait to earn the 1,000 Workout shirt. There is a lady I see nearly every day who has one. I know from conversation that she is over 65 years old, but you would never guess that from lookin' at her.

The Land's End and Eddie Bauer catalogs are sitting here calling my name. I tend to order from them since they both have tall sizes which I need in pants. I really really need to resist the urge. But there is a pair of rain boots with an argyle pattern on them that I think I HAVE TO HAVE. With matching hat of course.

OK - where are the other ABBERCISERS!!!! :b&d: :sofa: Come out, come out wherever you've been hiding!!

DG
Day 78 AFHFE(xercise)F(reak)

[Miss Behaving]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

DG - want picture of the boots and hat!

formal weight training went west today, but that was because we did the last of our shifting and everything was much heavier than I thought it would be!! And after we finished I thought that I wouldn't even be able to bend over to tie up my shoes, let alone pick up any weights ........!!

another lavender bath awaits!

[Doggygirl]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

OK Mame. You asked for it, now you get it. My Very Oddball Tastes Revealed!

The Boots.

The Hat.

I think I spent too many years in corporate suits and something just snapped.

OK - I'm heading to Curves soon - will work out today with the 6AM Loud Crowd. (but they are fun!)

DG

[Pamina]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

DG - how.... colourful!! That actually cheered me up. The weather here is crap, again, and I could use a pair of those wellies. And I'm in the middle of a bloated-crap-time-of-the-month day when all the power goes out of the power walking. Even though my ex-BF, who is in the UK now in between consultancy contracts abroad, has decided that calling me every other day is a good idea (!!!!) and I feel like throwing my mobile in the Thames. So my brain could really use the power walk but the sluggish system won't cooperate. ARGGGH!!

[Deep breath] The good news is that I keep pushing my ass out the door and walking the walk, at whatever pace those legs can handle today. Tomorrow is another day. This too shall pass.

Mame, surely lifting furniture/boxes counts as enough weights for one day. And DG, well done on the 100-day T-shirt!! That reminds me that when I first started modding with MWO I used to put silver stars in my calendar for all my AF days - I should probably take that up again for all the exercise days and watch them add up. It was very motivating.

[Miss Behaving]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

DG - they are GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to a friend's birthday tonight and they are exactly the sort of thing that I would love to get her!!!

I know what you mean about the relief of not wearing corporate suits!! I now only have a couple fo quite smart jackets which I leave in the office and if I need to go to a meeting (which I try to avoid most of the time!) I can just throw one over my usual black t-shirt and stretchy pants!!

Pamina: yes it does count as weights - my body certainly thinks so this morning!!!

Good on you for getting out the door though ........ it will all get better when you are over your bloated feeling! Ex BFs can be so tiresome!! I'm going to start on stars as well - and I'm thinking about different coloured ones for different things!!! I like the idea of a veritable rainbow of rewards!!

[Beck]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Hi everyone,

managed my run this morning. that's a good thing. I've got dog duty this week as my kiddos are away - he is making me a bit nuts and I walk him and walk him. I don't really count it as exercise though.

Glad to hear everyone is well. DG, the wellies made me laugh...are you considering the orange hat???

Feel better Pamina.

[mwo2]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Got my workout done! Upped my sit-ups on big ball to 2 sets of 25, need to get that tummy flab gone! Did 20 min on the gazelle and then walked 2 miles to get my un-broken car! I also do this arm workout that is so easy, so it somewhere...Madonna and Gwenyth's trainer has them do it...she doesnt believe in alot of weights on arms. dont know why anyway....

stick your arms out to the sides, point your pinkies to the sky now rotate your arms keeping your pinkies pointing up, do that til you feel it and then do it some more...:H keep your shoulders relaxed and down, don't lock your elbows..try it you'll like it..

Love the wellies you must look right smart walking in the rain!

[Pamina]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Thanks for the commiseration, guys, today is a better day!!

It's not quite raining cats and dogs but a steady grey drizzle. I still went for a walk in the park before going to the market and for another bit on the way back. It was really nice to walk underneath all the trees protecting you from the rain, and I found a new path I haven't seen before.

Beck, I would count any and all exercise, dog and no dog. You can then include that in the 'rainbow of rewards' - I really like that, Mame. Don't have enough different types of exercise yet to need all those colours, but it will be another step to work towards. Meanwhile, thanks for the arm rotation MWO2! It's easy enough for me, and my arms sure can use the work.

[Doggygirl]

August Abbercise!! GET OFF THAT SOFA!!

Rainbow of Rewards!! LOVE it!!

Pamina, sorry about the grey weather and also not feeling your best to go with it. Shiney stars as the antidote sounds like a great idea! Good for you keeping up the walking and finding a new path to boot.

mwo2, I tried to visualize that Madonna / Gweneth exercise you described and I don't think my brain got it right!!

Beck, I'm LOL at the image of you and that unruly puppy. Just think how many calories you must be burning in aggravation alone. The orange hat is obnoxiously cool, but I think the hat that matches the boots might be more versatile in the long run??

Mame, double thumbs up on your comfort clothes and a jacket for "emergencies." Our dress code is SO much more relaxed since starting our own business.

Today is my day off but wanted to report that I DID work out yesterday at curves and really pushed hard since it was the last workout of the week. AND I got all the way to bucket #5 in the bozo bucket game which I suck at. I won a little hand held massage thingy.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!! Seriously - has anyone seen Caysea posting anywhere??

DG