Timely as I am taking a TRX class today! Have used it, but not a full class per se.
That Gotta Go running skirt could be a real winner. I know HS girls who kind of have to go as they race for some reason, and their teammates are all aware of it, and it becomes just something that that girl does.
I’m a little confused about how this is not a skort, though.
It’s a running skirt – that’s what this company makes. There are shorts underneath the skirt. In this model, the shorts have the little trap door to facilitate the bathroom process. You could call these a skort, I suppose. I have a coupld of their running skirts – wearing one for a race this weekend – I love the pockets.
I run short distances so I’ve never had a problem (yet) for which I would need this!
Regarding TRX, I also ran the question past my daughter who is one of the most sought after group TRX instructor’s at the largest most upscale athletic facility in Center City Philadelphia. The only way she would ever combine timed intervals with defined reps is where she has the class, for example, do three exercises in a sequence of one set each with X number of reps each in a 5 minute interval and makes sure that the exercises and number of reps are such that she is confident that it is within the ability of everyone in the class to do it within the 5 minutes. She then instructs that those who finish early have the option of doing a 4th exercise like mt climbers to run the clock. At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone stops, takes a break and moves on to the next sequence. The 4th exercise is purely optional and the group stays together. The programming of each 5 minute interval is based on the class composition to make sure no one gets jammed up or left behind. She programs for those with higher fitness or ability levels by throwing in the optional exercise. She Adolph discusses at the beginning of the class how to scale the resistance levels with TRX so everyone can self adjust to maximize their ability to do each exercise.
Sign me up for a class with your daughter, Michael! I did a little research on last night’s instructor - she’s a recent college grad working on her masters in campus recreation (?). She also teaches classes at the other gym I belong to, which I didn’t know because I don’t attend their classes - they’re just awful. It appears she has some certifications but I didn’t see anything about TRX. This class was an anomaly among others I’ve enjoyed.
One of the challenges for the studio is really the staffing. I live in a university town and several well regarded instructors have moved on as their education has concluded or other opportunities have presented in other cities. My Pilates trainer is no longer accepting private clients because she’s overwhelmed by demand and teaches a number of Reformer, Barre and TRX classes as well.
Normally the classes are designed in circuits - three exercises in sequence for one minute of each exercise; then repeat the circuit for a shorter duration (30 - 45 seconds of each exercise); then a final time for 20 seconds of each exercise. Then a quick break for water, recovery, set up the next circuit. The classes are 45 minutes long and I usually have no problem completing the workouts because they’re not self- directed; there’s a lot of “take one step closer to your anchor point” throughout to make each exercise more challenging than where you started from. In any event, yesterday was enough to encourage me to take a break from TRX classes she’s teaching.
Welp, no swimming for me this weekend. My appointment for the Holter monitor is tomorrow morning and I’ll have it on for 48 hours. And then my consultation appointment with the pain center is on Monday morning. Everything feels like it’s falling into place which is an enormous relief. I feel like I have a really, really great team now.
Of course though it falls into place during the last week of the semester. My last class for the semester is Monday. I’m taking an incomplete in all of my classes but I only have my term papers to do.
My pain was really horrible last night. Today it is much, much better. Still achey but I walked probably a mile or so today 
I started the tapering process for prednisone. I’m only going down at 2.5 mg every week and a half so it’s going to be a verrrry slow process. But at least I see a light at the end of the tunnel!
The weather is absolutely gorgeous here and it’s supposed to be really warm. Guess it’s time for me to start breaking out the sun protection stuff!
BB, you are very brave to be posting on the pre-diabetic thread. Some of misstatements being asserted as “facts” are downright scary - like being overweight, what you eat and whether you exercise have nothing to do with the onset of type 2 diabetes. I also suppose some of the posters there have never heard of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. And one of the posters said that they are staying away from the “exercise” thread because of hostility. I’m staying far far away from that thread! You and one or two others there are the only voices of real knowledge and wisdom!
Thanks, Michael. I pop in periodically to check. Oy.
I joined a gym this week! Yay, me. :D/
Those of you who have been around this thread forever may remember that 5 years ago I had major back surgery for a ruptured L4/L5 disk, and I’ve been afraid to put a lot of strain on my back, so I stopped lifting. The surgeon told me no running, either.
Sitting in a chair for a living is taking its toll, though, so I needed to do something.
It’s kind of sad and pathetic how weak I’ve gotten - bench press is down a third, the number of push-ups I can do is down by half. Hopefully this comes back fairly quickly.
I am reluctant to do anything compressive on my spine, so squats are probably out, which is too bad.
I really need to work on my core, but have to find a way to do it without re-injuring my back.
This gym is hella fancy (the Boston Celtics use this as their training facility, although their areas are completely segregated), so it should be fun. They’ve added something called UXF since last time I was a member here - they’ve put some artificial turf down and added a bunch of functional stuff like a weight sled and giant ropes and a bunch of TRX and what-not.
There’s a 6am spin class tomorrow… yeah, who am I kidding. 
Welcome back to this thread and exercising @notrichenough ! Really, that’s a long time away and even being able to do half the push ups seems not too bad! Slow, safe and sure - you’ll get it back.
3 miles tonight in SUNSHINE!!! 20,000 steps today baby!
@notrichenough, while prudence dictates that you get evaluated to determine any limitations you still have, let me just comment that there’s a universe of body weight based exercises that you can do that will provide tremendous strength training without subjecting your back to the stresses of external resistance. Want to work you chest, do push-ups and its variations which can progressively lead up to one armed push-ups. Want to do presses, do assisted handstand or shoulder stand presses and build to doing them without any leg support. Work your biceps? Do chin-ups. Work your triceps? Do dips. Body weight squats working up to one legged pistol squats. Pull-ups for yoúr back and other muscle groups. Work in TRX, rings, stability balls and BOSU. Compound multi joint movements like burpies. The strength gains you can achieve with body weight training done right are amazing. I have focused on body weight training for the last 6 months and am doing things I haven’t been able to do since my 20’s. And the best thing is that there are no external compressive forces on my lumbar spine. For a really good primer on starting a body weight routine, take a look at Your Body is Your Barbell by BJ Baddour.
Welcome back!
@abasket, @MomofWildChild, thanks. I don’t post too much on here but I’ve stayed current.
@MichaelNKat, there’s a lot of good trainers at this gym so I will get some good advice, I’m sure. I’ll check out that book. I like to lift things up and put them down, though. 
Not sure I could do even one full-weight pull-up or chin-up right now, but there’s some machines that reduce your weight that I can use though. Presses, ehh… I have structural issues with my shoulders that make those painful at anything more than light weights, unfortunately. It’s always been a hole in my workouts, but what can you do. Pushups, my long-term goal was to be able to do 100 at once. I got into the 50s, now I can barely make the 20s. I always wanted to bench 225 just because it looks cool with that much iron on the bar. Yeah, pretty deep… 
Never made it, but I was always afraid to go past a certain point because I didn’t have a spotter. We’ll see this time around.
What sort of evaluation should I be looking to get?
@notrichenough, the first level of evaluation I would suggest is to get a current evaluation from a good sports orthopedic doc of what medical limitations you current have as a result of your surgery. Are there certain movements or exercises that should be avoided or other limitations that a trainer should be aware of in designing a program for you. With that in hand, a trainer should then put you through the a battery of assessments to determine postural alignment, functional stability and mobility, flexibility and current strength. With all of that data in hand, a program of exercise should be developed that meets both your needs and and goals.
In this regard, you need to think about what your goals are and why. Do you want to train to enhance your performance in particular sports? Are you looking for general fitness and functional movement. Are you looking to “sculpt” your body to achieve a particular look and to what extent do you want to pursue that? Are you looking to build strength and what type and for what purposes - functional strength, relative strength, absolute strength?
I note your past goal of being able to bench 225. Ask yourself whether that goal is still relevant to you and if so why? Is it a goal that serves you well now, particularly given the shoulder issues you describe and the impact heavy benching has on your shoulders over time as we age. I used to max my bench at twice my body weight, something that is no longer relevant to me. In fact, I haven’t done a bench press in 7 months as I’ve explored intensive body weight and enhanced body weight (with a weight vest) training based on gymnastic movements and the core functional movement patterns. I find that the ability to move my body and have the strength to do some of the things you see on American Ninja Warrior to be much more exciting to me than how many pounds I can bench. Doesn’t mean my goals are right for you or serve to diminish yours, but you need to ask yourself the right questions of what you are seeking to achieve and why so that a trainer can design the right program for you. Similarly, doing 50 or 100 push-ups is fine if you are seeking muscular endurance as opposed to strength or power but what is it you really want? If it’s strength and power, there’s no reason to do more than sets of 12 push-ups. Increase the challenge by incorporating variations such as Archer push-ups and others designed to be a progression to 1 armed push ups. Do suspended push-ups on a TRX with your feet and hands suspended to increase the core stability challenge. Do explosive plyometric push-ups. Do wide, narrow, forearm push-ups. Ever see Jack Lalanne push-ups? YouTube it, it’s insane! Do 10 sets of 12 reps of high load intensity push-ups instead of 50 or 100 regular push-ups if your goal is to develop strength and power. Hitting a number simply for the sake of hitting a number, whether in your max bench or the number of push-ups you can do is fine, but think about what your goals really are and whether training that way facilitates reaching those goals.
@BunsenBurner, O.M.G., post 64 on the pre-diabetic thread. I want to scream! I’ve got to stay off that thread or I’m going to have an aneurism ;). I’ve got to remember what Dorothy said: " There’s no place like home" and stay here on this thread, lol.
Is that a serious post? (64 on pre-diabetic).Scary!
Haha - I visited the pre-diabetic thread BEFORE here and it was #64 that prompted me to write a comment to please seek a doctor’s guidance - not CC!!!
I succumbed. I had a moment of weakness. I posted. Oh boy, I may regret that.
Michael! Sleep is your friend! I look at your time stamps and yikes!
I was definitely headed for metabolic syndrome and that is what Mr. Sabaray is strugging with now. I firmly believe diet and exercise are the first steps to prevent Type II.
Had a quick Barre class yesterday and a session with my trainer this morning - I’m very glad she’s back! She is a BASI trained instructor and was out at their headquarters for a week working on continuing education. She came back with some very challenging new exercises. It’s amazing how a change in position can impact the difficulty of an exercise! I have another Barre class tonight and then Reformer tomorrow after I run. I cancelled my class scheduled for Sunday because I need a rest day. There’s a wait list a mile long so I know there’s no way I could get back in, even if I wanted to!
My new shoes arrived and I’ll be trying those out tomorrow. They are very green. I was thinking the extra $55 might have been worth it!
I looked up those shoes - I LOVED the green - bright and sassy - go get those miles Sabaray!