It would be very hard for me to suddenly switch gears with training at this point - Saturday I have a long run planned, the first half is at MAF and I need a HR monitor for that. I briefly thought about switching to a Fitbit product since I have had zero problems with that, but hopefully the 235 I had was just a dud. It’s just irritating to think about almost $700 invested at the moment in electronics for running! That’s a lot of money to me. The rep told me less than 1% of their products were returned - I did tell him I found that difficult to believe.
Tornadoes are frightening. I grew up in the midwest and some of my most worst childhood memories are running for the storm cellar. Glad you are okay and hope power is restored quickly.
Well, I’ve had my new 235 for months now and it’s functioned very well. I got it (paid for it) after I broke the bezel on my old 225 when I tripped and fell. Garmin ended up replacing that one for free (I sent in the old one and they sent a new 225) so now I have two watches. I’ve been debating selling the 225 but now am wondering if I should keep it as a backup.
@sabaray – $700 for running electronics is nothing, especially if you consider what a good bicycle would cost
I will say (fingers crossed) that I have been using Garmin devices since almost the first GPS watch, and have never had a failure. I hope that continues with my 235.
My wife’s Fitbit Charge HR started to delaminates and when she called Fitbit, they just sent her a new one and find not ask that she return the old. I suspect she was not the first with this complaint. Garmin can be prickly to deal with. They heavily pressure retailers not to discount their products and I suspect that’s a regelation of a broader mindset. Fortunately, I’ve never had any problems with their cycling products.
For those that are having recurring problems with their Garmins, have you thought through exactly which features you actually use? I ask because in the absence of needing GPS functions, thre may be other products out there that work quite well for you at much less cost. The Wahoo TICKRX is one such product that comes to mind. It’s a “smart” heart rate strap with built in memory that records all of your workout metrics for later uploading if you do not care to carry another device (like your smartphone) with you while running. It is both ANT+ and Bluetooth connected and will interface with smartphones and many other third party devices for data uploading and analysis. Wahoo has a great fitness app that can be downloaded to a smartphone and because all of Wahoo’s products are open architecture, there are many excellent third party mobile device and computer logging and analytic applications that will work with the TICKRX. My daughter has one and thinks it’s excellent. She recommends it to those in her glasses and to her private clients who are looking for a relatively economical but high end workout tracker.
Did a really intense weights class - my trainer is doing a lot of constant motion stuff that would warm the cockles of MNM’s heart :-). He wants to start his own training business and i suggested the working name of Pound. (Get it? Pound as in work hard, pound as in lose weight. He’s a former Marine, tough guy type so it fits his branding.) Then I did a Pilates class but the instructor used me as the example to demonstrate to some newbies so I couldn’t catch a break. Suffering a little delayed DOMS though, which has not been helped by repeated walking up and down to my D’s 3rd floor walk up with heavy boxes in hand. I am supposed to try CycleBar tomorrow with my friend so I can’t back out!
Speaking of eyesight… Just had my vision exam. My eyesight (nearsighted) has improved from 200 to 100. Checked some sources online and one website indicated that as you get older—eyeball hardens and eyesight can improve. The bad—you will probably need cataract surgery later!
Cataract surgery is no biggie these days. Ten minutes and it’s done, and recovery is pretty easy. The hardest part was the interim between eye #1 and eye #2 and I had no glasses that worked. Had to get cheap readers until my eyes had adjusted to the new reality and I could be refitted. Life looks different without a yellow haze!
I am awaiting with wild anticipation getting to the point where my ophthalmologist tells me it’s time for cataract surgery. Gonna have replacement corrective lenses installed so I can do away with contacts and glasses. And hopefully I’ll be able to read a menu in a restaurant at night without a flashlight!!!
Question about batwings. I’ve been weight training during the year, my own moderate routine, and have seen positive results in toning my stomach. Legs, arms. When I tighten the muscles in my arms, there is no loose skin skin that wobbles underneath when I hold my arms out straight on either side. When I relax, there still is wobble, although much much better, probably at least 50% less than before. Is it normal to have some wobble when your muscles are relaxed. I know, silly question. But I just don’t want to be running after something that is impossible. I’m 135 lbs, 5’8".
What you’ve described sounds perfectly normal. In rough terms, your triceps run under your humerus and your biceps on top. They kinda just hang out when not in use. If not under contractile tension, they will wobble around if pushed or poked. I’m 5’8", 154ish with about 11% body fat and visibly muscular arms even at rest and I can do the same thing you describe. Bat wings are caused by a lack of muscle tone and size, fat deposits and loose skin. Through exercise, diet and nutrition, you can directly address the muscle tone and size and the fat deposits. Loose skin is trickier because you have less ability to remodel the elasticity of your skin, particularly as you age. You state though that there is no wobbling loose skin when you tighten the muscles. That sounds like you’ve done a pretty good job of eliminating your old bat wings. Don’t over stress it, just keep doing what you’re doing :).
I think batwings are an unfortunate part of aging- at least for women. I’ve reduced mine with upper body exercises, but at 64, they are still there to some extent.
MNK, I did CycleBar this morning so as you requested, I will review it relative to SoulCycle.
In my area, SoulCycles are only in the city - so the clientele was predominantly 20somethings (and me, lol) - CycleBar is in an affluent suburban location so their clientele was predominantly 30something mothers keeping themselves hot. Either way, they were both crowds with a lot of hot, fit bodies, present company excluded
Both had similar physical setups - retail area/lobby, a unisex locker area with phone chargers in the lockers, bike shoe rental, water bottles and towels, etc. Both had pleasant front-desk people and good instructors. Both impeccably clean.
Overall they were similar in concept, but I would say I liked CycleBar better for several reasons:
the CB bikes felt better / more intuitive ergonomically. Much easier to clip in at CycleBar. Controls were smoother.
I felt like when I was leaning forward or lifting my bottom, I was still comfortable and could focus on pedaling vs trying to find a comfortable / less awkward position.
you could see your RPM and where you were twisting the knob to get more/less tension. Moreover, they called out specific ranges to aim for (“for this song, put your knob between 5-7 and aim for an RPM between 80-90”) versus at SoulCycle where it was just “go faster, go harder, ok now take it down” without any sense of how high was up.
the music was more R&B / lighter rap and more accessible to me versus the more nightclubby, hard pounding electronic dance music and hip hop music at SoulCycle.
directions were clearer at CB, partially because it was easier to hear cueing over the music. The instructor didn’t have to shout to be heard, unlike SC.
CycleBar seemed less “dramatic”. At SC, the room was dark and the instructor was lit up and then after every song it would go dark, almost like a theatrical tableau / performance. At CB, the room was dark, but you could still see what was around you. It was darkened, not dark, if that makes sense.
At SC, you used small weights (1,2,3 pound I think) for upper body work. At CB, you used a bar (4 or 6 lb - I chose the 4 lb just because it was my first time but I could have done the 6 lb). I really liked the bar vs the weights; just seemed cleaner and neater.
The one thing I did not like about CB was that they periodically put your name up on the screen along with your stats. I didn’t really care, because who do I have to impress, but they did so in order of how well you were doing (meaning that you had to search for your name as it bobbled up and down in the listing) versus something like OrangeTheory, where your name is in a fixed spot based on alphabetical order, not performance. They could have just done it alphabetically or by bike number. However, you can ask for your name not to be there - I just didn’t know that. you could also have a pseudonym. Spinderella was the winner in our class
Overall, I’d say they really were 85% similar - for me, the comfort of the bike on CB tips it over for me.
That sounds really good, Pizzagirl. Thanks for the review. I think we have a CycleBar that just opened in my town. If I get injured (or when…) and can’t run, that could be a good option for me. I liked spin class when I had the right teacher.
It’s hot and humid again in my area (ugh)–I walked 3 miles early this morning and then did a Hips and Hamstrings yoga class at noon. All the talk about cycling got me to sign up for spin class at my gym. My gym is in suburbia and geared toward 30-something stay-at-home moms, so the spin class music is not what I heard when I took Soul Cycle with my D. Why are the lights off for cycle class? Is there a reason?
