<p>Thanks mathmom. These things are expensive! Forgive me if this has been hashed over before, but for these swing and squat exercises, would a vinyl coated kettlebell be okay/ comfortable to hold? Is 15 pounds a reasonable starting weight or 10 or 20? Or perhaps bodyweight squats alone are best in the beginning?</p>
<p>3.3 mile run today. I think I’m ready to start working towards a half marathon, but I think I’ll look for a 10k to do in about 3 or 4 months first.</p>
<p>CJane, what is a widow maker squat?</p>
<p>blankmind, I think the term just refers to kind of a burn out exercise at the end, 20 reps that kind of kill you off…</p>
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<p>Body weight squats are fine for starting out. I’m actually doing HOPS challenge with bodyweight squats because I get plenty of squats with weight in my normal workouts. </p>
<p>It’s an odd quirk of exercise that doing a goblet squat with some weight under the chin is actually easier than not using a wieght. It serves as a counterweight that makes it easier to keep your weight back on your heels and do a proper squat. I didn’t really get the squat until the first time I held a dumbbell in the goblet position.</p>
<p>A vinyl covered kettlebell would be fine. So would a box of cat litter. Or a backpack filled with books. Or a 10 pound bag of potatoes. Weight is weight.</p>
<p>If you want to buy DBs or kettlebells, WalMart has great prices. Marshalls and TJMaxx usually have some fairly light kettlebells cheap, too. Hard to say where to start because weight is so individual and it moves up fast. I started out doing goblet squats with (probably) an 8lb DB. I think I’ve gone as high as 60 lbs, but that was in slow increments over several years. You could also do them with two smaller dumbbells held side by side if you wanted to get a pair for other exercises.</p>
<p>HOPS challenge on steroids again today:</p>
<p>12 reps of each of the three exercies non-stop, starting a new round every 2.5 minutes. Five rounds. 60 of everything.</p>
<p>bad day. </p>
<p>Was getting ready heading out to the gym. Then I realize my new desktop PC will not shutdown after I click the “shut down” button. It has happened a couple times before and the only way is to hold down the power button physically for 10 seconds.</p>
<p>Tried to do the system restore and that is going totally wrong too. Just watching the hard drive spin for 30 minutes on end w/o completing the restore process. </p>
<p>Totally frustrated now. Don’t know if this is a window 8 problem or this PC is just having a problem. </p>
<p>Anyone has an idea about where do I call for help - Staple (store where I got the piece) Lenovo (manufacturer) or Microsoft (software)?</p>
<p>Do a Google search for windows 8 won’t shutdown and you will find that this is a common problem. You should be able to find a fix in one of those threads.</p>
<p>Pushups, abs and military press. Abs were difficult which means that they are soft. My abs get the strength back quickly with a little work though.</p>
<p>It looks like our cold snap will be over soon.</p>
<p>I can not begin to describe how much I wanted to NOT run today. Long work day which included a fun but tiring field trip to Kentucky to one of our distribution centers. vERY cold day. Needed to pack for my trip to PA and we are supposed to have freezing sleet which might mess up my early morning flight. Somehow Ingot out there after work with the headlamp and did 5 miles. God knows what will happen in PA with snow expected there, too. </p>
<p>Good job, everyone.</p>
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<p>This is a great suggestion, and strength training has been on my list of things to get serious about for an embarrassingly long time. I am going to start with planks (and a book) - I had a herniated disc about 8 years ago and I have a fear of doing exercises wrong and causing an injury. I figure not much can go wrong with the planks.</p>
<p>Also, thanks to those who suggested various running pants. I know exactly what I want - a light to medium fleece that is not baggy but not clingy. If I had any kind of sewing skills I could probably make something myself. Instead, I will check out Marshalls and TJMaxx, although the ones here are usually pretty disappointing.</p>
<p>And finally, does anyone have advice about an armband for holding an iphone 4?</p>
<p>I think the right weight to start with really depends on your fitness level and what you’ve done that’s similar. I actually started kettleball swings with the heaviest thing that the Y had, which was not a real kettleball, but one of these things: [JUMPUSA.com:</a> 5 lb. Single Grip Handle Ball Medicine Ball](<a href=“5 lb. Single Grip Handle Ball Medicine Ball | JUMPUSA.com”>5 lb. Single Grip Handle Ball Medicine Ball | JUMPUSA.com) It was eight pounds. It’s hard to squeeze two hands into the ones the Y has, but was fine to start with.</p>
<p>amesie:</p>
<p>Campmor in NJ always seems to have the deals on fleece pants:</p>
<p>[Campmor:</a> Women’s Fleece](<a href=“http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000226_200368541?ip_navtype=AdvancedSearch&catFilter=&searchKeywords=200368541&ip_sortBy=&filters=Type~Pants~Pants%20(8)&ip_constrain=&pageSize=24&catType=&searchCategory=browsefilter&manNameFilter=&sizeFilter=&ip_state=&priceFilter=¤tPage=&colorFilter=]Campmor:”>http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000226_200368541?ip_navtype=AdvancedSearch&catFilter=&searchKeywords=200368541&ip_sortBy=&filters=Type~Pants~Pants%20(8)&ip_constrain=&pageSize=24&catType=&searchCategory=browsefilter&manNameFilter=&sizeFilter=&ip_state=&priceFilter=¤tPage=&colorFilter=)</p>
<p>The White Sierra and the North Face items on this page are 100-weight fleece, what LLBean calls “fitness fleece”. This would be ideal for walk/jog at 30 degrees. It’s the same weight as the Power Fleece tights, but without the stretchy/tights part. Great prices, too. I’ve got a couple pair of Campor’s house-brand 100-weight fleece pants. They are too big for me now, they are super-comfy. I’m not familiar with the White Sierra brand, but I would be shocked if the North Face version is baggy. The pricey hiking brands tend to be more “athletic” cut. Nice that they have them in two lengths. For fleece walk/jog pants, I think it would be hard to beat that deal on the North Face fitness fleece.</p>
<p>It looks like the Columbia Sportswear item is their version of Power Stretch fleece. 10% elastine means it’s tight/stretchy.</p>
<p>Today’s totals
Cals:1442
Fat:80 g
Carbs :43 g
Fiber:19 g
Protein:131 g
Sugars:27 g</p>
<p>2 whey protein shakes made with coconut and almond milks, a little goat cheese, large Fuji apple, some tea with splash of cream and liquid splenda, espresso solo with splash of half and half, filet mignon</p>
<p>Very low food totals for me today…</p>
<p>1612 calories
85 g carbs
66 g net carbs after fiber
122 g protein
17 g sugar</p>
<p>I’m a little amazed that I’ve been able to cut out the snacks. That’s the only change I’ve made. Everything that’s worth a darn as a snack is 100 calories a handful and it’s pretty easy to total up some numbers, one handful at a time. I look at it as a reset, to appreciate a small snack portion and call it quits. Doesn’t hurt that I don’t have any nuts in the house and I haven’t opened the wrapper on a 2-pound block of Cabot Seriously Sharp Ceddar.</p>
<p>Yesterday’s totals
Cals:1015
Fat:44 g
Carbs :110 g
Fiber:14 g
Protein:48 g
Sugars:23 g</p>
<p>Carbs were high because of eating chicken noodle soup, corn and crab chowder, an English muffin and 2 Fiber One bars. Note I was not trying to be low carb. A bad day can be a huge food trigger for me. A trip to the store last night and to Costco today should alleviate the shortage of good foods in the house. On a plus note, H brought some chocolate covered cheesecake dessert from work which I abstained from.</p>
<p>I decided to stop using the energy bars a month or two ago. Basically they are a terrible value as far as food goes. They are incredibly convenient but it makes it pretty easy to gobble down a couple of them. They are also relatively energy dense so there are a fair number of calories per bite.</p>
<p>I was at 1,500 calories yesterday and felt really full before bed. Of course I felt very hungry when I woke up but the feeling is gone now. Yesterday was low carb too. In general, we have fewer things in the house that don’t require cooking or preparation these days.</p>
<p>Guy I have worked with for 20 years is getting heart surgery. Pretty scary stuff. Getting healthy and fit should be taken a lot more seriously.</p>
<p>BCE, I second that. </p>
<p>I’m about halfway through Lustig. It makes my blood boil to read how the odds of being healthy while living in a sea of crap food are so stacked against us, as a whole. Yesterday I was out walking, and saw a nanny pushing a stroller of 8 month old triplets. Each of these sweet babes weighed almost 40 pounds. I suspect these blameless young people have a lifetime struggle with weight and metabolic syndrome ahead of them.</p>
<p>Yesterday was a different day food wise for me. Calories were fine but having a banana, a grapefruit and half of a sweet potato really pushed up my carbs and sugar.</p>
<p>Cals:1182
Fat:36 g
Carbs:126 g
Fiber:29 g
Protein:102 g
Sugars:58 g</p>
<p>That’s a lot of sugar from two fruits!</p>
<p>I should check my sugar from yesterday.</p>
<p>Just checked. 4 grams yesterday. Over 50 would be a lot for me in one day.</p>
<p>banana: 12.3
skim milk: 12 g sugar
sweet potato: 8.5
grapefruit: 20 g</p>
<p>Total : 52.8!!! Yikes!</p>