Checking in to say hi. It sounds like everyone had a great Saturday. Congrats to MOfWC on her amazing streak. To many more days and miles! Congrats to ohio on earning a 5 pound party!
Took the greatest 3 hour class yesterday on TRX Power and Strength Training. Anyone who walked in doubting you can do high load strength and ballistic power training on TRX walked out a limp dishrag and a believer, lol. The IDEA Coference has really been worth it.
Michael - the IDEA conference sounds great. Can the general public attend this or do you have to be certified personal trainer? I’m curious— what is attendee profile? Young/old, independent vs corporate, HS/university? Any updates on cardio training? I’m guessing there aren’t many cross fit folks there. Sorry lot of questions. I was a little upset that trainers at my club didn’t know anything about IDEA. Seems like you would want to continue to be engaged with new info?
Michael- that sounds like a great conference. Ohio- I think a lot of trainers are really out of the loop.
I have a friend who likes to try a lot of different classes. She reminds me a lot of a former poster here. She sent me this email. I feel very boring with my “one foot in front of the other” routine.
So I had one “exercise win”, one “exercise fail” and an “exercise want to try.”
The “win”? Bellicon Trampoline classes. http://www.belliconstudio/classes I took the Bellicon Move (the introductory class) - which was more like doing yoga / pilates on a mini-trampoline - but it was surprisingly effective and I feel I got a real workout (and burned a lot of calories to boot). The Bellicon is the Rolls-Royce of mini-trampolines - it uses bungee cords instead of metal springs, so it has a really nice bounce. Think about the kinds of moves you do on a BOSU - it feels like that, lots of moves that engage your core and balance on an unstable surface, but you can use a much wider range of motion on the trampoline than you can on a BOSU. And even “light’” cardio moves (jumping jacks, squats, etc.) are far more challenging on the trampoline. As I said, I just took the introductory class since that’s what they recommend for first timers - the other classes offered are more cardio in nature and I’m doing one of those with a girlfriend in early March and I feel confident I’ve got the balance to do it. The studio is downtown and not something I can integrate into everyday, but as a now-and-then class when I’m in the city it’s a nice alternative!
The “fail”? Aerial Hammocks. http://www.risinggoddessfitness.com/aerial-hammocks-for-adults/ This looks fun and kind of Cirque du Soleil-y, right? Well, I had the strength and flexibility to do the class, that wasn’t the issue, but you are essentially dangling in a harness from the ceiling and you are doing a lot of arabesque, upside-down moves - and you are SPINNING kind of uncontrollably as you do them. Ugh. Upside-down isn’t the problem - I spend enough time in downward dog - but the spinning was too much, and I was so dizzy I had to take a break and regroup, and afterwards sat in my car and blew through more carbs than I should really have since I needed to settle my stomach, and cancelled the rest of my workouts that day and just walked. The instructor said it takes a few classes to be able to work through the dizziness. I didn’t think it was really much of a workout anyway - you did some stretching moves with the silk hammocks, but nothing you weren’t already accomplishing through any basic yoga or pilates class - it felt gimmicky to begin with, and then with dizziness on top, no thanks!
A running friend of mine used to use bungee cords to pull and push? from a starting position so his runners would gain that explosive speed. The body can’t adapt to new things unless it tries new things!
That’s why all runners that want to go faster need to incorporate speed work/ intervals into their routines. If you don’t try to go faster, you won’t go/get your faster. I’ve always been a proponent of my track distance runners doing sprints during indoor season so they (bodies//minds?) can realize that these legs can and will go faster.
I guess I’m similar in exercise as I am at the beach. At the beach, I don’t need the jet skis and fancy boats, just give me a cheap beach chair and a kayak. In exercise, give me a trail or pavement to walk or run, a simple bike and a couple of typical gym machines - I definitely can’t see myself on a trampoline or aerial! But so interesting to read about!
What is the magic of the yellow line re: the ticket, MOWC? That seems pretty silly.
A trainer I used to work with at the gym opened her own studio and offers classes with mini-trampolines. She specializes in weight loss and many of her clients are working their way to participating in the classes as the models she has have a maximum weight load of 250 pounds. Looks like the Bellicon has several different models - would be a fun workout for a change but I don’t know that I’d want to do it that often. The aerial hammocks would be a definite “no” for me.
MOWC–Thanks for the report on the two fitness options from she-who-cannot-be-named. My younger D did aerial yoga and loved it.
With the idea of trying new things, I signed up for a class at another new fitness option in my area–Title Boxing. Going to a yoga class later today.
Sabaray- This very chichi boulevard extends out from our big, gorgeous park (Percy Warner Park) and has huge, gorgeous homes and is one of the “old money” parts of town. It really is lovely. It is several miles long. There is a grassy median and the area is called Belle Meade. It was decided that cars should drive only in the right lane (except when turning) and the speed limit is low. Runners and walkers are to be facing traffic and against the median. So- not against the curb/edge of the road where you would normally be. When I first moved to TN I was trotting along on the left side facing traffic and a runner stopped me and warned me. There are signs, but I didn’t notice them. So- there is a yellow line which defines the land you are supposed to be in for running. You are supposed to be single file. I get all that, but this was early Saturday morning, she was single file but just outside of the yellow line. I thought a warning might have been a nice gesture…
The classes sound like fun @MomofWildChild but with my proprioception and motion sickness issues I think I would need to pass on both!
4.5 mile walk today. I feel sort of stiff and sore, not sure why. Hopefully the yin Yoga class later this afternoon helps.
@ohiopublic, IDEA is the preeminent umbrella fitness industry educational organization in the country. They offer major annual conferences on the east and west coasts each year as well a load of other conferences and courses. Their website has a ton of information on industry developments, education and resources. Most of the attendees are personal fitness trainers, group fitness trainers, studio and facility owners and managers but the conferences are open to the public and there are always some attendees who come just for their own personal edification. The classes range from various workouts involving a broad variety of modalities and programming, to workshops that combine lectures and hands on workouts that illustrate the concepts, to straight academic lectures on developing trends, marketing, career development, specialty topics such as nutrition, aging population, programming for pregnant women, programming for people with certain chronic medical conditions, exercise theory etc. My daughter and I spent most of our time taking all the TRX courses which covered topics such as HIIT, Circuit Training, Training for Power and Strength, because these were particularly relevant to the studio we are opening. We also took a class on power and strength training with Keiser pneumatic equipment because we had never fully explored the use of those machines.
Mad Dogg (the parent corp for spinning and some other systems of working out) also presents the the World Spinning and Sports Conditioning Conference twice a year, once on each coast. This is the other major league conference frequently attended by fitness industry professionals. The main difference between it and IDEA is that there is a heavy emphasis on Spinning classes, workshops and lectures and modalities of exercise using equipment sold by Mad Dogg, but while in some sense it is a particular corporations trade show, the substantive content is also very diverse and excellent like IDEA’s. Again anyone can go (and gawk at the Spinning cult members who attend 
).
That’s settles it . I’m coming down and running in a speedo and no shirt. (Ski mask to limit my family embarrassment should it get national coverage!)OUTSIDE the yellow line!
Let me know when you plan to do that, Ohio! I’ll start collecting your bail money now.
Like FallGirl, today was a walking day for me - 4 miles of recovery as yesterday was 8 miles of hills. Just got back from a trip to the P-A-R-K with Mr. Sabaray, Sabadog and Sabapup. My trainer was out of town last week so I did a Barre class and a Reformer class that was extremely challenging but I needed to keep the work up.
I was going to mention that I got my giant binder of information from Precision Nutrition. I haven’t made much headway but it looks like a lot of useful information. If anything I’m more convinced I’ll need the coaching. No radical quick fixes.
A minitramp class sounds super fun. I enjoy bouncing on the Bosu. I might need one with a handle to hold onto, though, like preschoolers have.
Swam 3k today. I have to commit to putting a few 3k swims in a week. Yesterday’s 5K results were unclear. I only had gun time posted and since I started way in the back, this doesn’t reflect my true time. Oh well. I should have worn a watch.
I remember my Mom telling me way back that a mini tramp reverses aging.
http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/rebound-exercise-improve-health-burn-fat/
Ohio- that would be AWESOME!
Sabaray-if you want to check in with our friend on the Precision Nutrition I can give you her email. She would love to hear from you.
Running in a Speedo and no shirt? - THAT’S CROSSING THE YELLOW LINE - TICKET!!!
Had a bit of a cold, pretty minor but a little seems to have settled in my chest and I can feel the gunk and doing some coughing. Got out for a 2.5 mile walk just now and that was enough- breathing in the cold air wasnt ideal. Won’t push it the next day or two.
I had an interesting conversation with my very good runner company president the other day. (Our no. 2 exec). He’s been having some knee pain and said he thinks it’s from always crossing the same leg when he sits. I told him to avoid hiking that one hip. He was impressed! (Things that win you points in corporate America). Unrelated, but I got a really great promotion on Friday, but one component of it means I won’t be retiring very soon! I was told that I have a good work-life balance.
Holy cow, that photo with the yellow line - it is not intuitive that the “law” calls for running that way. Crazy.
MOfWC, your coworker is absolutely correct that he needs to re-examine how he is sitting. We usually pay no or little attention to things we do automatically. I had a PT who was into Feldenkrais, and she taught me the concept of “dynamic sitting.” Here is a good summary:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1984945-lessons-from-feldenkrais-part-2-dynamic-sitting/
It is not BS, I tried and use it.