<p>Got to try those rows on the Smith Machine this afternoon. I took out a mat and put it under the Smith Machine but the back end was next to a wall so I didn’t fit. I then tried the other direction and there was just enough room. Those rows are easier on the rest of the body. I found them quite easy to do - quite a bit easier than doing about 75% of my body weight on machines or free weights. I also found out that the mats weren’t very clean when I went to clean them after the exercise (should have cleaned them before). We have wipe dispensers in the office gym so cleaning them isn’t too much work but apparently most people don’t clean the ones there.</p>
<p>Also tried the bench press on the machine. Very nice for that exercise.</p>
<p>No workout, but I was sitting on the stabilty ball this afternoon and tried my one-leg pushups. Did one good one on each leg right off the bat, so I guess that struggling with that for a couple of weeks and it might have finally clicked.</p>
<p>We were too busy to exercise on Christmas Eve, but this morning I ran 3.5 leisurely miles in 30 min on my treadmill while DH was pedaling along on his exercise bike. :)</p>
<p>I went to the gym on Christmas Eve and discovered it’s much harder to get my heart rate up on the dreadmill than the elliptical. (The ellipiticals were all being used.) Today I just ate way too many cookies.</p>
<p>No. swimcatsmom, that’s what we call it here.</p>
<p>Speaking of dreadmills – I find that I can run on some treadmills as if it’s nothing at all, and then on others it’s a struggle. What’s with that??</p>
<p>Dreadmills can greatly vary in calibration, which is why some seem harder than others at the same setting. I didn’t realize this for a long time, but it’s true. I ran on one yesterday that was very “off”. Same HR as outside (loaded with clothes, YakTrax, icy and snowy roads and some inclines) and I had to use a setting of 3.7 mph (around 16:00 mile pace) to keep my HR under 135. That setting should have been a walk, but I was jogging. The thing was really mis-calibrated.</p>
<p>I think I’ve managed maybe 5 or 6 workouts this December. I just had to accept that until the retail Christmas season is over, I can’t do the workout schedule that I would like. I’m exhausted, I’ve lost too much weight, and I have no time with my family. Waaah, why did I do this to myself?</p>
<p>I can’t remember the last time I posted here. After a few false starts, I joined a group of women like me (late 40’s-50’s) in a bootcamp that meet twice a week. I love the camaraderie and the work. Two of the heavier set women started getting into shape almost immediately and have made so much progress. We text each other often to keep us on track. This is an inspirational group. Anyone interested in taking over my gym membership? Lol</p>
<p>That’s fantastic! I was sharing war stories with my sister-in-law at Christmas yesterday. She’s dropped 45 pounds and looks really fit. She’s done it with 5 mile walks on the beach in New Hampshire.</p>
<p>Bootcamp style workouts would be great, especially if you have a group egging each other on.</p>
<p>I’m taking another stab and gave my daughter Rachel Cosgrove’s book, plus signed her up for Cosgrove’s 90 days of free video coaching – basically a little motivational video e-mailed every few days referencing progress in the book’s program. It’s amazing how just a little reinforcement like that can keep you going when you might otherwise skip a workout… and then another.</p>
<p>iDad- Great post (the one about no time with your family starting to sound good…) I think I’ve had a little too much family togetherness at this point.</p>
<p>Re workout routine, you know when it’s working when your body craves it. Last week, during then rains here in socal, I couldn’t get out to run. So, I got on my old dread mill. Hated it. I wanted to run on the beach so badly with my girlfriends.<br>
I did learn that my 9 mo old puppy loves to run on the dread mill! I wish I could post a video link - it’s hilarious!</p>
<p>Well, I got in a bonus workout today, figuring that I may miss tomorrow and get my workout clearing snow. So, did a hard iPod nazi workout. Cranked the weights up. The superset of alternating 24 pound dumbbell presses on the stability ball and squat curl/press with a pair of 20 pounders was tough. I did manage eight burpees to finish off that superset – or actually it finished me off.</p>
<p>Three sets of rear foot elevated split squats got my legs burning. I did six of the pushups (with one leg on a stability ball) in all three sets, collapsing after the sixth one each time – man that’s a hard exercise.</p>
<p>Saturday was a recovery day for me (most stuff was closed anyways). My ankle and most everything else was feeling very good this morning. So I played doubles (fill-in) this morning. Play was so-so as I haven’t played much doubles lately but my ankle and knees were sore afterwards. My ankle isn’t as bad as it was last Wednesday - just a bit sore in certain positions.</p>
<p>We dropped by the New Balance Factory Outlet in Brighton this afternoon. Picked up tech pants, shorts, short-sleeve shirts and a long-sleeve shirt, all from $7 to $10. Quite a lot of good sale stuff. I didn’t look at shoes because we were a bit pressed for time. The forecast was for snow starting at 6:00 PM. It started a lot earlier. I think that I would have picked up a few more things if we weren’t pressed for time. For now, I think that I have enough stuff for working out.</p>