hi everyone!

Just checking in. :)

Back on the treadmill this week, after not walking on it last weekend. Darn heel spur, but the pain was also partially due to broken down aerobic shoes. i used to Jazzercise 5 or 6 times a week. (not for about a year and a half though) Going that many times a week, your shoes break down really quickly. But i just couldn't throw the expensive things away. :rolleyes: i thought, "they'll be okay for *just* walking." But they are gone now, and new shoes feel so much better!

i went though my exercise videos the other evening and have several i'm sure i'll never use. Would anyone want some Richard Simmons videos? i have 3 or 4.

Hope everyone has a great day - and also the upcoming weekend!

Hi Fellow Challengers,
Looks like everyone is doing so well. So far i have also stayed true to my commitment. worked out three times already and i am so very proud of myself.
Day 1 - Taebo Basic
Day 2 - Taebo Basic
Day 3 - Taebo Advance
I am also trying to get as much water in as possible, it's getting really hard though especially as the weather is changing and temperatures are dropping. don't get that thirsty anymore. nothing like a really hot summer day to help you get all those glasses down. Oh well guess i just have to put more effort into it.
i plan on taking my measurements on Monday coming up. last time i took it was about 5 weeks ago so i'm really looking forward to seeing those changes.
Well i do hope everybody has a great day.....BYE

Hey, everybody you are doing so great. Keep up the great work!

Well, I have held my own this past week with my commitments. I have done so much more this week than previous weeks, that I am not too disappointed that I fell a little short on my committed activities.
Here is a reminder of my goals:



I missed meeting my goals perfectly by one 50 min walk, one turn each of tummy exercises and back exercises and stretches. The good thing is I got in 135 minutes of bonus walking, which is above and beyond what I had planned.

Here is a table displaying this weeks activities, if anyone is interested:

Well, I didn't get to Curves last night as planned. Seems that my shoulder has other plans for me right now. :mad: I only hope that it's the fact that I just started back at Curves and bowling league just started back up-- ya know, using muscles in ways that haven't been moved in a while. ;) Lucky for me I've still gotten my walks in and have an extra day of bowling this week. Next week I'll be able to get in at least 3 workouts at Curves since I won't have bowling or an art class. :D

So that's the gist of my first week... Nothing spectacular, but I *am* moving-- which is definitely more than I can say for the last few months -unless you count the daily walks and massive stair climbing involved in going potty at work :lol: (heck, 8-10 trips at 19 stairs up/down *should* be doing something).

Keep up the good work everyone! Seeing you all do well keeps me motivated! And, as always, thanks for all you do, Monika. ;)

Nikki

Hey all!

Even though I am not doing exactly what I committed myself to do this week, I am getting something in. Working 10 hour days get me really exhausted at the end of the day, so I have been working out to WAP until my back starts talking to me. Monika, I use hand weights (2#,I think), but can't use them for the whole workout yet - they get too heavy!!! :)

BTW, my BIL has come home from the hospital! :yay: The weird thing is that they said it doesn't look like a heart attack, but they don't know exactly what happened. I am wondering if it was stress and just affected him differently (due to the CP). Anyway, I'm glad he is home and feeling better!

Just checking in to say that I got to the Y for the second time this week -- a little over half an hour on the treadmill and then half an hour of swimming laps. I also walked two times this week. I'm counting my weeks from Saturday through Friday, so I have one day left to get in my third walk. I usually manage to get out at lunchtime one day each week and walk, but this week has been so busy that both my walks -- and my YMCA workouts -- have been in the evening after work. Perhaps I can walk at lunch time tomorrow.

A friend pointed out to me that if I am doing two miles on the treadmill at a 7 percent grade, I am climbing a little over 700 feet each time I do the treadmill. (Two miles is a little over 1,000 feet and 7 percent of that is 700 feet.) I hadn't thought about it that way, but he is right. No wonder it feels like such a good workout -- 700 feet in two miles in a little over 30 minutes (I go 3.5 mph). I've decided that is really enough to push myself and I'm not going to try to increase either the incline or the speed of the treadmill.

Morning all,

Well I'm not going to go walking today. My week runs from Sunday to Thursday so this is the weekend for me. And I only have this morning to myself before I pop off to my sister's place for my adorable nephew's 2nd birthday party and stay for shabbat (the sabbath) until saturday night. Ironically, this morning I'm going to actually work, because I think all my walking last week has distracted me and not made me do as much work as I needed to (I work from home so nobody is looking over my shoulder). Yesterday I also defrosted the freezer and cleaned it and the fridge, along with washing the floors of the rest of the apartment - so I reckon that gives me some more exercise points. I had an evil flatmate who has just moved out (yay!) so I'm giving the flat an even more thorough clean than usual. So nice to be free of her. Now I've got the place to myself for six weeks until a friend moves in.

Next week will be a shorter one, exercise-wise, as Sunday afternoon at 4.44 the Day of Atonement starts - so with a fast day that will last until the next day at 6pm I'm not going to be going walking on Sunday (or Monday, obviously). I will be drinking lots of water though, and making a meal for a few friends before the fast starts. I'm wondering whether or not I should have carbs at that meal, since I'll be going into a fast. If I did I'd eat within an hour to keep to CAD rules, but I have been doing Atkins this past week or so. Everyone else always loads up on carbs before a fast because they 'fill you up' but then I know that that's not necessarily true... on the other hand to be fasting for 25 hours maybe I do need something... I'm not sure. I guess I'll decide on Sunday.

Have a good weekend all!

Deborah

Here We Go ...
 

Onto Week Two …

Build on success
…start with small goals that lead to larger goals!

Goals
Make goals for what you will accomplish this week. Be realistic, make them attainable. Challenge yourself, but don’t set yourself up for failure by promising more than you know you can do.

~ Remember to prevent injury during your workout!

~ How did you do with last week's goals?

If you didn't make them, is it time to set smaller ones? Remember to give yourself credit for what you did do!

~ Are you going to maintain the same level of activity this week? If not, can you take a small step towards increasing duration or intensity?

~ Consider adding a different health related goal …

Extra Credit
If your exercise routine is too inconvenient or requires a great deal of preparation, it might be hard to maintain. Identify potential trouble spots.

Is your program convenient? (Consider time of day, number of weekly sessions, schedule flexibility, accessibility to facilities, etc.)

Does your chosen activity require special, costly or time-consuming preparation?

well last week a fell short... i'd blame it on all of that overtime i did but thats been nearly a week now! lol.. i got in one of 3 yoga workouts but i got in all my walks (plus and extra mile :lol: )
intead of yoga i am going to do my dance tape 3 x's
and of course 4x + on the walks to work ..
been thinking about using that long way more often too! (not today though i'm already running behind.. what am i doing on my computer still? lol.. )
ya'll have a great day :P
Crysania

Week #2
 

I am doing pretty much the same committment for Week 2, as I did in Week 1. I will be increasing my effort as noted below:

Goals for Week 2 …
* I will walk 50 minutes 4x

* I will line dance 1 hr. 15 min. 1x (my class is cancelled for this week, but I going to try to get a ride to another class)

* I will do back exercises and stretching 7x (increased sets)

* I will do an 8 min ab workout 7x (increased sets)

My health related goal:

* Drink at least 3 liters of water daily (not an easy task for me)

Well, folks, that's it in a nutshell!

Today I walked 100 minutes, did tummy exercises, did back exercises and stretches, and drank 2 liters water. All goals were met today with the exception of water.

Good luck to you all in Week 2!

Well, I am in the same boat as Crysania, I worked tons of OT this week (12 hours), so I didn't quite reach my exercise goals for last week. But I did do WAP twice last week. I will maintain the same goals for this week, and if I have to work the OT, I will just do the WAP at home like before.

I am also having a hard time with the water - coffee goes down so much easier!! :nono: I will push myself to drink at least 2-3 litre of water daily.

Sunday we are celebrating my mom's 74th birthday at my brother's house - our family is very close and, although we are all older with our own families, we try to all get together for birthdays and holidays. It's funny how my folks really spoiled us kids while we were growing up (3 girls and 2 boys) - now we are the ones spoiling the parents!!! I thank God every day that my mom and dad are still around for me to spoil!

I only got in four days of exercise last week, not five, my target goal. I did do my two YMCA days, which are my more intense days, and then walked the other two days.

Monika, your extra credit questions exactly tapped into what I have been thinking about. To do five days of exercise (which for me, means Saturday and Sunday, plus three weekdays), I need to be able to get in one of the weekdays during the day -- usually by taking an extra long lunch break and walking at lunchtime. When I do that, I stay a little later at work to make up the extra time. Between family commitments and my own exhaustion, there is no way I can get out three evenings a week to exercise. However, there are some weeks at work where there simply isn't a day that I can take off in the middle of the day (this was one of them) and on those weeks I have to be flexible. At least I did not miss two consecutive days -- I exercised Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I have no solution to this issue -- there are only so many hours in the day.

I'm working my goals and the weight seems to be coming off more consistently. I know that drinking the water is the driving force. I just wasn't getting it all in before.

This past week was full of more activities in our yard. We knew it was going to hit freezing this week, so we pulled out our vegetable garden and cut down some perennials. I'm always so sad when that has to be done. But I try to think that I'm only tucking my perennials in for their long winter's sleep, and look forward to the spring when I'll see them again. But anyway, lots of work in a short period of time, since those freezing temps came early this year.

It's finally sunny today and going to get pumpkins and cornstalks to decorate my porch. A fun Saturday for sure.

Happy weekend to all.

---Carichie

Starting again
 

Well, I let it get away from me - I let my exercise program slowly grind to a halt over the past few weeks. I started again, with 20 minutes of exercise yesterday and today, and am SORE - it's just appalling how quickly my muscles (such as they are!) got weak again. Why did this happen? I don't know. I'd like to figure it out so it doesn't happen again. See, even the way I just said that: "happen again" reflects the feeling of lack of control I am having. That's really scary for me - makes me want to run the other way, forget the exercise, focus on something else - close that drafty back door! But I can't let myself do that.

No problems with food right now - that part is going better than I ever expected. But I know I won't keep losing weight if I fall back into my old sedentary ways again, not to speak of the health issue - my heart needs me to exercise.

So, with cautious but determined optimism, here I go again.
(BTW, you all are just doing great and you're all an inspiration to me)

I want to thank everyone on this thread. Seriously. I did not exercise last week (I was actually sick - had bronchitis and even missed 3 days of work - which I haven't done in years!) I signed on just to check in today and lay out some goals for the coming week but I was already thinking to myself that I just don't feel well enough yet. Well, after reading through all the posts I missed, I found myself feeling super-motivated. I hopped on the treadmill quickly - before the feeling went away! - and was able to cover 2.7 miles in 40 minutes. I started back in on Jog 2 minutes(5.0 mph)/walk 2 minutes (3.5mph) cycle, completing 7 jogging cycles. Not to be gross but I'm still super phlegmy so it was tough going. It was also upsetting because 3 months ago I was doing 5 cycles of 4 minute jog/2 minute walk. But I'll get back there. So thanks to everyone for sharing the motivation.

Goals for Week 2 (Saturday - Friday):

1. Complete 3 rounds on the treadmill, including the 7 cycles of 2min walk/jog.
2. Do 1 exercise video.

Looking ahead - goal for Week 6 - complete 3 rounds on the treadmill with 5 cycles of 4min walk/2 min jog.

Upncomer : Great news on your BIL, I hope he's feeling better.

Debmeg : Your walks sound really great, I'll bet its beautiful.

Liz175: I know I have to be careful with exercise scheduling. I do not want to get to the point where I feel its just a chore, something that I'm trying to schedule because I know I should. That can happen quickly when we try to over-schedule our lives. I think its better to try to keep it as something to do as fun or relaxation or stress-busting.

AntiM: Thanks again for setting this challenge up. It is really going to help me. I'm going to Florida at Christmas time and I really want to be able to jog on the beach - in fact, I can actually picture myself doing it - that's how badly I want it. For some reason, I have it in my head that jogging on the beach is really fun - can't explain it. Hang in there with your leg and exercise. It can feel so great that its easy to overdo it.