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<p>I was really surprised at how hard it is to do pushups with your hands on two hex dumbells instead of on the floor. It must use slightly different arm muscles. As I was doing those “T pushups”, I wasn’t having trouble getting to the T position with an arm up towards the ceiling. I was having trouble doing the actual push up on the dumbbells. I’ll probably scale that one back to “t pushups” without the dumbells for now.</p>
<p>Do you angle them, have them horizontally or vertically aligned with your body?</p>
<p>Ever try finger pushups?</p>
<p>Today is tennis day for me. I’m going to try to do two miles afterwards. No problem sleeping after tennis.</p>
<p>I have to run to Sports Authority to pick up a few cans of tennis balls. Will look at the discount racquet for my favorite shirts in L. The L shirt is almost wearable (L in Adidas running is M for normal clothes). I think that I’m a week or two away from cycling it into my regular running shirts. The XL shirts are getting a little long but they fit perfectly on my shoulders and they fit loose. The Ls might actually be better at picking up the sweat as they are more form-fitting.</p>
<p>When I lived in Dallas I watched a Dallas Cowboy at the gym do those pushups against the wall where you are basically standing on your head. idad will be there any day!</p>
<p>Good luck on Saturday MOWC. I’m doing my 5k “race” on Sunday. I did my walk/run on the treadmill today and have advanced to the blazing speed of 36 min and 26 sec to finish 5k. On Sunday my major goal will be to run for 5 minutes at a time. It’s supposed to be 95 degrees here so that should make it more fun than usual.</p>
<p>Well…went shopping at Kohl’s yesterday and bought a cheap pair of sz 10 jeans! Yay! I have gone from a size 14 to a size 10 in pants! Can hardly believe it! And they are comfortable to boot!Now I just need to lose more on top! Still need an XXL or
XL top…
At least I am out of plus size tops!</p>
<p>More of the same for me at the gym today. I go away tomorrow for a ladies retreat up north for the weekend. Food is served family style and you don’t order…it is whatever is on the lodge menu for the day. Will be very hard to eat clean. I am taking a cooler with some cooked chicken breasts,hard boiled eggs, fruit and veggies. Has me a little worried since I have no control over the food served. Will be taking lots of walks on the trails in between scrapping!</p>
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<p>The dumbbells were aligned vertically, in line with my body. I suspect it’s a wrist and hand strength/comfort issue. It puts a lot of pressure the hands where they are grasping the dumbell as opposed to a hand and fingers spread out on the floor. A proper pushup is a tough exercise for me. I don’t have a lot of margin, yet. I was doing them from my knees until a month ago.</p>
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<p>Not anytime soon! That’s a 194 pound lift while doing a handstand. Both elements of that are out of my league. I’m just an old fat guy.</p>
<p>NM - yay! You will get there with your tops, too! Just keep working your upper body muscles and your arms, and in no time you will be wearing size L tops.</p>
<p>MOfWC, I know what it feels like for a competitive spirit to be “on the sidelines”. Good luck with your run/walk, and please don’t push yourself too hard.</p>
<p>I think that it would be easier and less stressful to have the dumbbells angled inward.</p>
<p>For harder pushups, just put your feet on the stairs and your hands on the landing. If the landing is big enough, then you can do this in increments.</p>
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<p>Yeah, that’s what the ladies in the Spartacus class are doing: the t-pushups on an incline using a box. I think I’ll be OK doing them on the floor without weights for now. It’s all good. I’ve got to get stronger. One of iPod nazi’s Phase III exercises is feet on the stability ball doing a hamstring roll in (rolling the ball towards the butt and back) alternating with a push up to work the upper body. I’ll just keep plugging away.</p>
<p>Thanks BunsenB! I will be very pleaased if I get to a L top…don’t think I’ve ever been a M since pre-puberty! Always have been considered “busty” since middle school! 
Have been working my arms like crazy as I would love to wear a sleeveless dress for the wedding next summer. Started some tricep dips this week…ouch!</p>
<p>Congrats, NM!</p>
<p>Yesterday I had a stress test–results perfectly normal, TG!–and when I told the doctor I wanted to lose 10-15 lbs he said, “You don’t look like you need to lose any weight!” </p>
<p>I could have kissed him. 
But I still need to knock of some of that abdominal fat…</p>
<p>NMinn:</p>
<p>You’ll get there. Once the inches start coming off, it’s surprising at how quickly your sizes change. Every pound you lose is taking a little bit off everywhere: face, neck, shoulders, chest, belly, butt, thighs, ankles, arms, wrist. When you are losing weight like you are, it’s a steady march through the clothing sizes.</p>
<p>NM- That’s great! You are working hard and I agree with idad that the sizes will keep coming down. Great progress.
Blankmind- Good luck with the 5K (and the weather).</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ll push too hard, because I want my daughter to have a good experience.</p>
<p>Great work NM! When you move down to a size ten ALL jeans can be considered skinny jeans. </p>
<p>MoWC - slow and easy!</p>
<p>Blankmind - good race on Sunday. I will also be doing a 5K that morning in NYC. Just hoping for nice weather. I had planned to do a major event in Kingsport TN in October, but some family stuff is going to take precedence.</p>
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<p>Hah. When you upload your runs or walks to the NIKE+ site, a video pops up with some track star lady pumping you up about a new fast time or a new distance or whatever. Sometimes it’s Lance Armstrong. Anyway, I uploaded a 4k walk the other day. Just walking. And, the video of the nice track star lady who lives in my computer pops up and with all kinds of enthusiasm says:</p>
<p>“I know speed when I see it…”</p>
<p>I’m thinkin’, “who? me? Is you talkin’ to me?” :)</p>
<p>Played two sets of tennis this afternoon. I was fairly tired afterwards but I did run down every drop shot and won both sets fairly easily. Hit a big number of aces as my serve was really smoking. I was planning on running a few miles afterwards but don’t feel like running right now. I probably need some calories.</p>
<p>Sounds like it is racing weekend - good luck to the runners.</p>
<p>Spartacus round two today. Followed by six Boyle intervals (max effort for 15 seconds followed by as long as it takes for heart rate to get back to 75%). I feel like I’ve been dragged around the Coliseum by a chariot.</p>
<p>I will confess that maybe I “didn’t hear” the 30 second timer between exercises for a few seconds here or there, but I kept pretty much on schedule: 60 seconds for each exercise, 30 seconds rest. Two sets.</p>
<p>I did close to 60 seconds of all ten exercises in both sets except for the “split lunge jumps”. That one is start with a lunge, then jump up and reverse the legs, landing in a lunge with the opposite leg position. Now, I can barely do a lunge without fallling over. And I don’t have much of a vertical leap, so landing that jump is very very iffy! Plus, it’s hella aerobic launching my body weight “explosively” 
into the air like that. It’s not long before I’m panting like a dog. I can do about 45 seconds before throwing in the towel.</p>
<p>Did the T-pushups with no weights. That’s plenty hard. It’s a combination pushup, side plank, balance exercise. Love it, but it’s hard.</p>
<p>I also struggle with the lunges with a side twist. Another combo leg, core, balance thing. I’ll get there, but it’s going to take some reps on that one. The side lunges – legs split, lunge down and touch dumbells to the floor at one foot – are groin muscle killers. Gotta be careful not to hurt myself on that one. I’ll still be feeling that tomorrow.</p>
<p>Did 15 reps of the squat press with two 14 pound dumbells. Thought I was going to die at the end.</p>
<p>Who’s gonna try this Spartacus thing next? All you need is a pair of vinyl coated dumbbells from WalMart. 5 or 8 pounders would be gracious plenty.</p>
<p>At the rate I’m going I would probably drop the dumbbells on my head!</p>
<p>^^^ That thought has crossed my mind, especially after about 12 reps of squat presses. I’m more worried about hurting myself on these lunges. My ol’ fat guy legs aren’t limber like a young whipper-shapper any more, but I am able to get a little deeper on a squat now, so I guess I’ll probably see improvement if I just keep at it.</p>
<p>I hope to log on here someday soon and hear that you are all healed up. I know it’s gotta be driving you crazy. I knock on wood that I’ve now gone seven months of “moving more” and haven’t put myself out of commission yet. The closest I’ve come was doing the face plant walking in the state park.</p>
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<p>I’m very tempted :)</p>