<p>I’ll describe this as best I can. For my 50th a couple of weeks ago, one of the cards I got was priceless… on the front was a picture of two very elderly women in a convertible. The passenger had both arms up in the air, like you would do when you ride a roller coaster. The driver had her right arm up in the air and her left on the steering wheel. They’re wearing big sunglasses and visors. You open the card and it says: “Pearl looked around for the flag, then realized with horror that the sound was coming from her arm-dangle. Happy Birthday.”</p>
<p>I laughed so hard, because my personal trainer told me (before I showed him the card) several days afterwards that the majority of people (especially women) avoid the exercises that minimize the arm-dangle and how it drove him nuts.</p>
<p>I am thin and don’t have “flab” but my arms are beginning to dangle, despite the workouts with weights. I am 52 and I have just started to notice decreasing elasticity in my skin. It’s skin, not fat, but I don’t know what would possibly make my skin more elastic.</p>
<p>Arm dangle, bat wings -LOL! DH calls them flaps and *alierons<a href=“he%20loves%20movies%20about%20airplane%20disasters%20-%20have%20I%20ever%20mentioned%20that?”>/I</a></p>
<p>iPod nazi says that the pushup is the single best exercise in the whole world. Works the core, all the muscles of the shoulders, arms, and chest, and it’s lifting a lot of weight so it burns calories and increases metabolism like crazy.</p>
<p>I’m just waiting 'til my increasing strength and decreasing weight let me do them from my feet. I’m doing knee push ups now, which are still plenty challenging to keep good form.</p>
<p>I suspect that “chest flys” would also be really good. Lie on your back on a stability ball or bench. Start with two dumbells in outstretched arms straight up. Then, lower them in an arc so the arms are straight out to the sides, parallel to the floor. Then, back up to straight up. Arms can be slightly bent at the elbow, but the angle has to stay the same. It feels like it works the back of the upper arms, big time.</p>
<p>Yeah that must be it. That would explain why the bag of dried Anaheim chiles I brought home infected my kitchen with meal moths. The billions of meal moths in that bag must have hated the heat in the chiles so much they dumped generations of larvae right there inside that sealed bag.</p>
I was doing good eating today. Had grilled chicken breast and roasted broccoli and cauliflower and strawberries for dinner. The cabernet , however, isn’t lowcal!
<p>Somebody post back so I know I’m still alive and this isn’t College Confidential at the Pearly Gates! This was a first. Did my iPod nazi workout tonight. Felt strong throughout. Even felt solid on the ball squats with lateral raises and the wall sits with lateral raises. No extra pauses. </p>
<p>Then, I hopped on the exercise bike for the hard intervals at the end: 10 seconds fast only 20 seconds recovery, repeat ten times. Somewhere during the intervals my heart rate hit 100%. Must have been the tenth and final fast burst when I gave it a little extra. That’s a first. Sure beats the alternative: a heart rate of 0%…</p>
<p>I really enjoy this workout. Five minutes warm up on the bike. Twelve different exercises, 45 seconds work and 45 rest. Then, 11 minutes on the bike of hard intervals and cool down. Forty five minutes start to finish. Works every muscle in the body and the intervals get the heart rate maxed out.</p>
<p>Sounds great idad! I had my heart rate a few times around the 205 bpm for a little while. This is above my estimated max heart rate by 3-4 bpm. </p>
<p>Worked out for an hour and a half this morning as my workout buddy wasn’t there…had a hair appt. Did an hour on the bike and the half hr on the dreadmill. Worked really hard on the bike but eased up on the walking. Drinking water now and having my breakfast…one Betterstart light English muffin(1 WW pt) with a veggie sausage patty (2 WW pts) and an apple (2 WW pts). Calories 80 for veggie patty, 100 for English muffin
and 65 for apple so 245 total calories and 5 WW pts. Really want to keep track of what I am eating!</p>
<p>Shhhh . . . there is some consternation in the health and nutrition world over some inconvenient and persistent studies that keep finding that drinkers are leaner and generally healthier than non-drinkers. It’s tricky, though. Drinking too much is a very bad thing. But a glass of nice cabernet every day probably helps you stay slimmer and healthier:</p>
<p>I went to my first ever spinner class today and really enjoyed it. Kept up, too, which pleases since I’m 51 and haven’t done much exercise all winter. Of course, tomorrow I’ll probably be too sore to get out of bed.</p>
<p>Whenever I walk past the spinning classes, the lights are off and a young woman is yelling at the sweating masses. That would make me feel very hostile.</p>
<p>It got pretty steamy in there with all the huffing and puffing and yelling. But I liked the sense of suffering en masse. And enjoyed the tunes - a lot of rap, a departure for me.</p>