Adding weights to a cardio routine is a great idea, jym! Good job.
Any suggestions for upper body arm exercises that take it easy on a bad shoulder? I was told by the trainer not to do a lot of things that lift over my head
Good form is critical but the following could work depending on the degree of your limitations.: dumbbell curls, tricep dumbbell kickbacks or cable push-downs, standing cable chest presses, standing cable rowing. Even lateral and front shoulder raises with dumbbells (going no higher than even with your shoulders. A lot of these can be done sitting too but if you do them standing it becomes somewhat of a whole body exercise and you tend to use lower weights (as long as you keep good form) which is a good thing.
Maybe curls with soup cans or dumbbells and tricep extensions with one knee on a bench or chair???
If you are just beginning and wondering how to select the right weight of your dumbbells, the rule is that it should be no more than the weight that would let you do 8-10 reps comfortably but still needing a period of rest after those reps.
Thanks.
@jym626 I would carefully stretch. How about swimming? You have to identify specifically what makes up your ‘bad shoulder’.
My left shoulder bothers me. I stretch it. Swimming makes it feel good to where if I am swimming regularly (breast stroke) any discomfort totally goes away. If I can keep off that side sleeping.
The technical stuff is way over my head, too.
Went for a run today, did a little over 6 miles. It’s Dec. 11 and I was wearing a t-shirt – I would have been fine in shorts and a tank but mentally have a tough time dressing that way in December. I’m not complaining – I love this warm weather.
Swimming requires time to have to wash/dry my hair and that’s not an easy process. Prefer to stay on land at this point. But good to hear it’s helpful.
I like the warm weather a lot but it’s really bad for my company’s business, so I’m watching my bonus deplete as the weather is unseasonably warm. Oh well. It all evens out.
^^ Well that’s truly a bummer!!!
That is a bummer for sure! I want the cold and snow, too - I want the skeeters to freeze! 
Plus, I want to wear my puffy down-filled hoodies and coats!
I have to put a towel over the treadmill display or else the miles go much slower or sometimes don’t even move.
Hello everyone! Once again I’m playing catch-up on this fast moving thread. 
H and I were in FL for 1 week; returned on Wednesday. We had a little rain and quite a lot of clouds, but still managed 4 days at the beach. It was warm (of course), but it’s been unseasonably warm here at home, too. H (often Mr. Negative) would say we just should have stayed home, but honestly the fares we got were SO inexpensive it was fine. We stay at H’s brother & sister-in-law’s place, and may well be returning for a month+ after the holidays. H’s brother hasn’t yet retired, so they’re not full-time snowbirds. Anyway, I alternated running days with walking days on the course I had mapped out last year – about 4.5+ miles.
Re: exercise machines – I much prefer the Arc machine, which I started using at my current gym. I watch the built-in TV as a distraction. When I run (treadmill or outside) I listen to podcasts. On the treadmill I either cover or turn off the display, a la @ohiopublic.
We have some holiday activities/events starting with a party tonight. In spite of that, I’m really not in a holiday frame of mind. We’ll be at the beach for the Christmas - New Years period, so won’t get a tree until we get there next week.
It’s 57 degrees at 8:30am in Northern Ohio on Dec. 12 - wow! I have a fun but low exercise day planned with D2 in the Ann Arbor area and then a visit to my moms. Took a nice pup walk this morning wearing only a lightweight fleece shirt.
Have a great day everyone!
Did my last parallettes workout in the beginners program last night. The toughest part was remembering the sequence of 10 movements that made up the flow. 5 reps of the flow and then did my usual body weight chest, arms and shoulder routine afterwards. Was definitely beat by the time I was done. Next week I’ll start the intermediate program and do a recovery week on my indoor cycling training. Today though, the temps are hitting upper 60’s and the skies are clear. I know what I’ll be doing in 30 minutes :).
1 1/2 hours of long slow d today in the woods. Steam/Sauna/Shower. Maybe a nap now.
64 degrees and cloudy here in Tennessee. 9 miles (I had planned 8) on a moderately challenging course. I didn’t look at my splits during the run (on purpose) and tried to go slow- but it wasn’t as slow as I wanted it to be. Done! I had talked myself out of post-run donuts but when I finished I had a text from H asking me to get him a couple if I went for donuts. So- I went. My daughter headed out on a bike ride and got 2 flats and only had 1 CO2 cartridge, so H had to go with the car and rescue her.
I am about to retire my Hoka Bondi 4s at 300 miles, which is extraordinary mileage for me on shoes. I used to always get at least 300 “back in the day” with harder (and heavier) rubber compounds, but now it’s more like 150 for me. I did Shoo Goo these Hokas on the edge that I scrape and wear down, but 300 is some nice mileage. I will admit to “retiring” some shoes a little early just because I have something I like better to replace them.
@MomofWildChild --glad to know I’m not the only one not getting great mileage out of the Hokas. I mostly run trails, so less wear than on sidewalks, but I just bought two pairs at once because they were on sale. How do you track the mileage?
I’m jealous of everyone’s weather. We continue to have steady drenching rains (this is a good thing, although I don’t enjoy it) but the temps have dropped from mid-50s to mid-40s. Sideways rain with wind behind it. The dogs hate the rain and spend most of our walks shaking it off, I end up soaked to the skin despite high-quality weather gear, and my usual three walks a day with the beasts (usually about a mile each time, but shorter because of the rain) are no fun. The dogs are restless from too little exercise at too low intensity–I’ve been swimming instead of running because it’s easier to be wet in a pool.
I have a 5K tomorrow morning at 8 AM and I’m okay about the race–so I’ll be wet, oh well–but I don’t want to get soaked getting from my car to the start!
dmd, I highly recommend draping a large garbage bag over your head and torso while you are walking to the start. You will be amused to see many other experienced runners wearing garbage bags Then ditch it right before the start (or rip it off at the gun and carry it in your hand until the first garbage can or just toss it on the side of the road where it will be surely picked up).
Google images of “runners wearing garbage bags” - it is a hilarious compilation.