Weekly Workout Thread 21st August to 28th August

[Lorelei]

Good morning to all.

OMG Mara that recipe looks DIVINE and I am going to have to try it! Love nanas, caramel, cream and coffee

Hoping the treadie might be here in a day or two, the elliptical won''t be in until the 25th to the store, so I am thinking we might have that in about a week. Mara you would be more than welcome, you could come and work out with me and then we could have a pub lunch with a ploughmans!

Hubby also wants to get a weight set / multigym too and has bought some lifting gloves

I am just waiting for the Arnold Shwarzenegger posters in his wardrobe

Anyway I digress, had a good workout this morning. As it seems to be thought that the treadmill burns more calories than the elliptical, I reversed my procedure and used the treadmill first for 20 mins then the crosstrainer for 25. The crosstrainer went much easier, so this seems to have been a good move to warm up. I was also able to crank the elliptical up more to average level 14 up to 18 whereas I normally do 8 to 10 for the majority then work up to 18 at about three quarters of the way. I could go a little higher I guess but I don''t want to exhaust myself. But I was kicking butt this morning and no more accidents thankfully! My leg is still sore though

 

[appletini]

I haven''t worked out, but I want to post because at least I am actually thinking about it. My company has a workout facility in the building and also has a variety of classes, including a boot camp that is twice a week during lunch. I think I might start doing that next week. I say next week because I will be on vacation for a few days this week.

 

[Lorelei]

'Tini you are more than welcome to post even if you don't work out! It would be great to do some if your company has the facilities. Once you start it is so addictive, I have been going to the gym now for nearly 3 months and I am very glad I did. Just chime in when you want, this thread is great for motivation and maybe use the company gym and classes when you feel ready.

Have a great vacation

 

[Cailet]

Oooo - What kind of machines did you get Lorelei? I''m still looking into a gym myself but the whole "buy your own and then workout whenever you want to without driving" thing is sticking with me yetl.... I wonder if I would be able to find something decent at one of those second hand sports equipment stores (play it again sports in WI)
Glad to hear you did so great this morning!!

Appletini - I''m jealous! I wish my company had something like that. I try to go on walks at lunch every once in a while but it''s hard to push it very far knowing you will have to sit back at your desk all sweaty for the rest of the day....


Well - I did an extra workout this weekend. 35 minutes of some pretty intense cardio - mostly using a step - on Saturday. I was just feeling the urge to burn some calories!

Yesterday I was really good! J wanted to get McDonald''s breakfast in the morning -- which I have gone along with a lot in the past (it''s the only thing I eat at McDs) but I resisted. I went with him through the drive thru and then went home and made some toast/fruit instead.

Slept late this morning (again!!) so I missed my morning cardio. Did some quick stretching and I might try to get a walk in at lunch. Then I''ve got my half hour tape all set and ready to go once I get home. We are going out of town this week too (not till Thursday tho) so I''m trying to be extra good now since I know I won''t be getting any exercise in at the end!

Hope every had a great weekend

 

[Rod]

Morning everyone. I guess we pushed a little too hard this weekend. Am major league sore this morning. I guess that''s a good thing though...........as I hope the old adage, "no pain - no gain" is true.

AppleTini.........welcome. I hope we help inspire you to take advantage of all the good things your office has to offer. Let us know if we can help you.

Cailet: Sounds like you had a good and healthy weekend. Good for you avoiding McD''s breakfast. Pretty empty calories designed to make you fat at McD''s you know. Did you see the movie about a guy who decided to eat McDonalds 3 times a day for 4 straight weeks. He did this for research and it was frightening to see how his body reacted to all the fat. His doctore begged him to stop towards the end because his cholesterol and sugal levels were dangerously high. It was amazing.

Anyway, to everyone.........I hope this starts another healthy, fit week.

 

[Lorelei]

hehehe Caliet, we ordered a Nordic Track elliptical and a nice treadmill to go with it! I can''t wait until they arrive then I won''t have to turf out in the car at 5.40 am in the morning. Tis cold in England that early

I know online I have seen some real bargains with reconditioned gym stuff so it might be well worth looking into, I would have only Hubby preferred new for some reason.

Well done for resisting the fast food, it takes practice but you feel so saintly when you do it

Owee my friend Roddeee - I hope you feel better soon!

Just think of how ripped you will look when your sore muscles heal

 

[Rod]

Thanks Lorelei.........I''m sure my soreness will go away. BTW.......We once had a Nordic Trac Ski machine. It was well made, but at that time, I just wasn''t into fitness in any way shape or form, so we just called it ''Modern Art'' when anyone inquired what it was. We ended up giving it away during our move to Florida. I wasn''t aware Nordic Trac made Ellipticals? Sounds like your home gym will be quite nice. Our new condo just received the fitness equipment and it''s all really nice including ellitptical, treadmill, free weights, weight stations, etc. I''ll use it occassionally, as I plan to keep my gym membership and use that as my primary fitness route though.

 

[Mara]

mmmm mcdonalds breakfast is my fave but we have it about once a year or so, a splurge. we got it on our way to PS a few weeks ago and it was so good, i savored every bite. what is it about microwaved processed eggs and sausage that are so friggin appealing? can someone tell me?!?!

i wanted to say that dinner last nite was great and the parfaits were DIVINE. BIG HIT. it tastes basically like a banana split. but only 350 calories and 5g of fat. the Starbucks lowfat latte ice cream was surprisingly good, esp when mixed with whipped cream, bananas, and chocolate..mmm!! i can see more of those in my future, esp since i checked out the Baskin Robbins website and found out just how much my one scoop of ice cream is 'costing' me...i was still going to do it once in a while but now i can just do the parfait and get more for my calories/fat and it's about 1/3 of the fat that the BR is.

so i didn't do anything yesterday, we had planned to do a family run/walk but i had to prep for dinner so greg went out on his own, ran 36 minutes and with his heart rate monitor he found he burned 600 calories. i was so jealous!!! that's like 2 days of workouts for me. men!!

i'm proud of myself for making 6 days of workouts last week, i was kind of sore yesterday but it felt good, the scale went under 150 at the gym on friday but it could have just been water weight...i know i look better so i'm still plugging along!!! i'm going to do 6 days again this week...class is tonite. this morning i am having kashi oatmeal for breakfast, and coffee....lunch will probably be a salad and then for dinner i'm going to make some sort of fish dish with veggies most likely.

i loved that bootcamp workout that lizzie posted, i am going to repost it here again so people can see it for this week. it seems like a good 'at home' workout if you can't make it to the gym.

here's to a great week for all of us!! welcome appletini! *thinking* about working out is an important step in the process...hehe. hope ya feel better rod. lol re: the no pain no gain!!! lorelei...oooh i'd love to come over. hehe.

 

[ammayernyc]

I''m (hopefully) back on track.

I rejoined Weight Watchers this weekend. Still down from when I originally joined but gained more than half of it back. Better than gaining it all!

I went to the gym yesterday and had my trainer today. I had the worst headache today though and working out was not fun. But... I did it. I just hope I can stick to the program and lose that 35 pounds by June!

 

[Cailet]

i loved that bootcamp workout that lizzie posted, i am going to repost it here again so people can see it for this week. it seems like a good ''at home'' workout if you can''t make it to the gym.

ooo - please post! i must have missed it in the other week....

 

[Rod]

Date: 8/21/2006 12:12:34 PM
Author: AmandaPanda
I''m (hopefully) back on track.

I rejoined Weight Watchers this weekend. Still down from when I originally joined but gained more than half of it back. Better than gaining it all!

I went to the gym yesterday and had my trainer today. I had the worst headache today though and working out was not fun. But... I did it. I just hope I can stick to the program and lose that 35 pounds by June!

AmandaPanda........as the Home Depot saying goes............."You can do it.......We can help!" You stick with us and let us know how we can support you. OK??

 

[Mara]

here's lizzies bootcamp workout plan from the other thread. i am tired just looking at it!!

maybe i will try some elements of these on tues and fri...my gym workout days!

she said the # on the left is # of minutes and that the first set is warmup and the last 2 sets are cooldown.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Mara,

Would you mind posting the info on Greg's heartrate/pedometer?? I've been looking into getting one but haven't found "the" one yet... This applies to anyone else who has one they feel is reliable, or at least decent....

ETA: And by info I mean brand, model #, etc ... thanks!!

Thanks!
Aussiegirl : p

Off for my run... I was thinking about it last night... If I get one of these new jobs I've been looking at, I'll have to give up this ridiculously loose and flexible schedule my current job gives me. I put in about my 40 hours, whenever I want... a new job? NO MORE 2:00pm runs : ( Okay, enough whining!

 

[aussiegirl23]

For Lizzie, or anyone else who''s read the "Bootcamp Workout"

Can you explain a few of these exercises to me? (sorry, my gym lingo is lacking!)
-jack & jab
-ski jack
-cross over
-bicycle

also, without weights/machines, what kind of thing are you doing for...
-bieps
-shoulder presses
-triceps
-obliques

okay, I know it''s a pain in the butt to describe these sorts of things in writing... but I''d really appreciate it!!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[Mara]

aussie...here are a few that i know or i think i know!! hehee.

i know ''jack and jab'' is like doing a jumping jack and then coming down you go into a jab (like a jabbing arm like kickboxing)..we do this in our kbox class.

''cross over'' for me would be something like your legs are up in the air straight and you come up and cross over to touch your opposite toes, OR it could just be coming up from a situp and crossing your body over to work your side ab.

''bicycle'' is like when you are on your back and your arms and legs kind of scissor back and forth like you are riding a bicycle. this burns after a while!!

i''m not sure about the ski-jack...i wondered about that one too.

 

[Rod]

Date: 8/21/2006 2:07:14 PM
Author: aussiegirl23
Mara,

Would you mind posting the info on Greg's heartrate/pedometer?? I've been looking into getting one but haven't found 'the' one yet... This applies to anyone else who has one they feel is reliable, or at least decent....

ETA: And by info I mean brand, model #, etc ... thanks!!

Thanks!
Aussiegirl : p

Off for my run... I was thinking about it last night... If I get one of these new jobs I've been looking at, I'll have to give up this ridiculously loose and flexible schedule my current job gives me. I put in about my 40 hours, whenever I want... a new job? NO MORE 2:00pm runs : ( Okay, enough whining!

Aussie.....I bought the Polaris. It's a three part system. Part one is just like a regular watch with the time of day etc. The second part is a satellite transmitter that is attached to one of your running shoes. It stays quite stable and weighs virtually nothing. The third part is the chest strap. You wet the sensors down before you put them on. I thought they'd be the annoying part, but they don't bother me at all.

I bought mine at a store that only sells higher end running shoes. I could have saved some money by buying on-line though. Fancy that.......going online to save some money

The price of the unit I bought (sorry am at work and don't recall the model number) was around $250 (US)

 

[Mara]

oh and aussie, i''ll get you greg''s watch/HR information tonite. polaris sounds familiar. my dad has a more expensive model but greg''s was about $110 and came with the watch that is a timer/watch/HR/calorie counting kinda thing and then the chest strap.

he told me i could use it for my kickboxing to figure out how many calories i am burning (or a close estimate) for my weight and height so i am excited. i''ll probably do that at some point this week.

 

[Mara]

this looks like greg's and he said it's Polaris:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007VB4JS/

retail was $110 so this seems about right. his is the same color. The F6..they have a women's model too I guess.

 

[Rod]

Thanks for the link Mara. Turns out mine if the Polar F610. Pretty cool unit.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Thanks you guys for the quick info : ) Might wait a bit to decide if I really want it... had no idea they could be so pricey!

Got back from my 3.5 mile run... Me TIRED! But it was gorgeous here today (and not in the typical sunny, no clouds kind of way)... me personally, I like a nice, overcast, ominous clouds, brisk wind kind of day... once in a while! It felt great running with the wind blowing in my face - definetly something you lose on the treadmill! The personal trainer''s exercises are making me ouchy, but good... hope they''re doing their job!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[Rod]

Look's like we're not going to have thunderstorms tonight, so I guess I have to run 3 miles

We're having salad with fresh baked turkey breast and the salad dressing we make with mayonnaise, but we're going to use the Vegannaise we bought yesterday which is great, tastes just like real mayo, but has no cholesterol, half the calories and healthy as opposed to bad fat.

I hope you all have a great evening!

 

[Mara]

Rod I want to check out this Veganaise, my coworker said she''s heard of it and Whole Foods has it. So now I want to check it out...I''m going there today to get stuff for dinner so I''ll see if I can find it. She said there is also something called NoMayo and she often uses that mixed with things like mustards etc and it tastes very similar to Mayo but is way healthier. So I might try that too for blends like in artichoke dip and stuff like that where the mayo is just one ingredient of 5 or 6 and it just needs some taste to blend.

 

[Rod]

Tell you what Mara........I didn't see NoMayo, but I'll report tomorrow on how our salad dressing tasted with the Vegannaise and if you buy the NoMayo, you can tell us how that worked for you. That way, if anyone can only find one or the other, they'll have seen what we thought of both

Thanks..........

 

[Mara]

hehe okay so i just was at the store, and got Nayonnaise...which I think is what my friend was talking about. It's a soy based mayo kinda thing. Anyway it looks pretty healthy...I did check out Vegannaise which they had also, but it had 9g of fat and mayo has like 12g so I really wanted something that was much lower. This Nayannaise stuff only has 3g. So we'll see! I probably won't try it tonite, but maybe tomorrow we can go grilled artichoke and then mix up this stuff with some dijon and lemon for an aoili kinda thing for the artichokes.

Rod I found this, how funny! Talks about Veganaise vs Nayonaise!! I guess it just is which you like better. Hopefully since we are starting with the Nayonaise first we'll like it better? HAHA. I saw on another forum someone said tuna salad with Nayonaise was really yummy too.
http://www.vegfamily.com/forums/printthread.php?s=17d61532e25196015353787a65221ec2&threadid=2162

 

[M155_L337]

I actually work at a local YMCA. If any of you have any questions feel free to ask! I’m also new...so I’m going to catch up this thread in one response. Sorry, it’s going to be a bit lengthy /

Lorelei:

As it seems to be thought that the treadmill burns more calories than the elliptical, I reversed my procedure and used the treadmill first for 20 mins then the crosstrainer for 25.

Actually, the elliptical is a MUCH better work-out than the tread-mill. The elliptical works more of your body, gives you better cardio, and is just plain fun to be on! Also, the tread-mill (though very convenient) is horrible on the knees and I don''t suggest using it everyday. Try running on a track or (if the weather wasn''t so hot!) outside.

Lorelei

Hubby also wants to get a weight set / multigym too and has bought some lifting glove

Get (or at least look into) the blow flex!!! Seriously, that thing is amazingly awesome!!!

AmandaPanda:

I rejoined Weight Watchers this weekend. Still down from when I originally joined but gained more than half of it back. Better than gaining it all!

Though Weight Watchers is a wonderful program, you HAVE to stick with it until you grow to the point where you don’t have to go to meetings anymore...you have the mental training and motivation to do it on your own! I feel pretty safe to say that we’re all here to help you!! Keep with it girl!

I see that you guys are talking about the wonderful condiment mayonnaise. This is my recipe for removing the cholesterol. It isn''t calorie conscious. All the fat-free recipes that I have found include tofu

:

1/4 cup egg beaters/starts
1/4 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. splenda
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup canola or vegetable oil

it’s much better for you than the canned stuff.

Another good recipe that I came up with is a good, easy, fast, healthy fruit smoothie.

Get some low-fat vanilla yogurt. Your favorite fruit (try to stay away from acidic fruits it’ll make your drink all yucky chunky) and some ice. Throw it in a blender…pour it in your to-go cup and hit the road! I usually just eyeball it the measurements depending on how much I’m wanting at the time. It’s pretty filling and definitely healthy!

Also, one thing that you guys need to keep in mind (and I’m sure most of you already know this: but for the ones that don’t) when you’re working out you MUST switch up your routine. Once your body gets used to working out the same way every day it plateaus. Meaning you don’t progress, you just kind of stay there. So, keep your bodies guessing!! You’ll see better results that way!

Again, sorry for this being so long!

~Kris~

 

[LizzieC]

Date: 8/21/2006 2:13:28 PM
Author: aussiegirl23
For Lizzie, or anyone else who''s read the ''Bootcamp Workout''

Can you explain a few of these exercises to me? (sorry, my gym lingo is lacking!)
-jack & jab
-ski jack
-cross over
-bicycle

also, without weights/machines, what kind of thing are you doing for...
-bieps
-shoulder presses
-triceps
-obliques

okay, I know it''s a pain in the butt to describe these sorts of things in writing... but I''d really appreciate it!!

Aussiegirl : p

Awww, I feel so honored that ya''ll like my workout!

My class this morning had 4 participants... 5 including DH. It was really good and really tough.

I hope I didn''t scare people off! We went through the five minute warmup, three 3-minute cycles, one 2-minute cycle, and five minutes of stretching in our hour (with all the little breaks and such). I''m already SO SO sore... it normally takes me 24 hours to feel the full brunt of the soreness, and since I did a practice workout yesterday afternoon, at about 12:00pm today I was just about immobile. Everything except my neck and my hands is ridiculously sore, seriously.

Mara- DH had his heart rate monitor on intermittently yesterday, and he definitely wasn''t going all out, but he logged 400+ cals.... he''s a big guy though. So I''d guess about 400+ for an average height/build woman doing it all out.

Aussie- My bad! I didn''t even think about explaining... and those are just my own little nicknames for the exercises, so there''s no reason you or anyone should have known them.

Jack and jab- one jack facing front, right jab to the front with body facing left, right foot in front, one jack facing front, left jab to the front with body facing right, left foot in front. So to the beat you go: jack, jab right, jack, jab left, etc. ***Make sure your heels touch the ground on every jack! It will save your calves.

Ski jack- Instead of feet going out to the side, you move them front and back. So facing front, right foot to the front and left foot behind you, jump to the beat, switching feet as you jump. Move your arms up and down in front of you, alternating just like your feet.

Cross over- In crunch position, put your left heel on your right knee. Support your head with your right hand and extend your left arm out. Bring your shoulder to your left knee by bringing your shoulder blade all the way up off the ground and twisting your torso to your knee. Do a lot on one side and then switch sides.

Bicycle- just like Mara said "''bicycle'' is like when you are on your back and your arms and legs kind of scissor back and forth like you are riding a bicycle."

For biceps, triceps, and shoulder presses I do have us using free weights. I personally am using 5 lb weights for biceps, 3 lb for triceps and shoulder presses.

Obliques- For this you lay on your back and bring your knees towards your chest with knees and feet together. Support your head with both hands, elbows pointing out the side. Then swing your feet (still together) to the right side while you also bring your right elbow down toward your feet (like you''re trying to get them to touch). I do a little double bounce on each side. So it''s swing right, right, swing left, left, etc. If you don''t feel your obliques crunching, you can bring your shoulder blades up off the ground a little bit further. This one really burns if you do it right.

Hope that helps!! It is hard to describe in text, so let me know if you have any questions!

 

[aussiegirl23]

M155_L377:

Okay, I'm not sure what you do at YMCA, and I'm sure you have your own experience, but one of the senior personal trainers who has been doing this for 10+ years told me it really is a "better" weight loss tool to be able to run outside or on a treadmill. The ellipticals our gym has at least are just legs (no arms), so I'm not really sure how those could be considered a "full body" workout anymore than a treadmill... Also, just in this past week when I've been running, I'm amazed and appreciating how much more energy it takes to do a 30 minute run than a 30 minute elliptical workout. I mean I was going about 66 minutes on the elliptical and not getting out of breath - what was slowing me down was my muscles aching. When I run though, I feel like I'm really working - getting my heart and lungs going... and I get out of breath! So for me, this seems like it's making me work harder. Yes, the elliptical "feels better" and is easier to get through, but doesn't that make it less benefical? About the knee issue - if you put a slight incline onto the treadmill it's not so bad.
I'm not trying to argue with you, just trying to understand what your argument is for the elliptical - and what your source is. That's all : ) And I know we all have our own ways of exercising and certain things work differently for different people... Not trying to criticize you, just trying to learn.

Aussiegirl : p

EDITED TO ADD: okay, this sounded really mean, I didn't mean it that way. Just confused about the conflicting advice!

 

[M155_L337]

The thing about the elliptical is that there is no impact on the ground when you’re working out, meaning: the joints in your lower body are free from any abuse. Although the treadmill mat is better for your knees than cement, there is still a significant amount of impact on your joints by running. My main pull for the elliptical (note: coming from someone with bad knees) is that it’s easier on your knees. As for your gym not having arms for the machines...that’s...interesting. As a fitness trainer, I would NEVER buy an elliptical without the arms. That’s like having a PB&J with out the Jelly! It sounds like your gym was cutting a few much needed corners in order to get more equipment. With out the arms, you are just working your legs…and honestly it would make perfect sense why you don’t feel like you’re getting your full work-out...it’s because you’re not! Get on an elliptical with the arms...you’ll change your mind, I promise.

Ultimately you have to do what you feel works best for you. If the treadmill makes you sweat, use it.

If you have time, ask your gym why you don''t have the arm bars...I would like to know their opinion as to why they went against them.

 

[aussiegirl23]

okay, I''m being cranky tonight - time for bed perhaps? I''ll certainly ask about the lack of arm bars on ellipticals... will get back to you : )

Aussiegirl : p <== CRANKY!

 

[Rod]

So......I''m really really pleased with myself. I came home from work and put on my running clothes and shoes. I stretched for a long time to loosen up the hamstrings and started off nice and slow, but at a consistent solid pace. I think the problem with my runs in the past have been speed. I tend to try to over do things and I was pooping out too quickly. So, I hit the first mile and felt just fine, then the 2nd mile, still OK, the 3rd mile, and then all the way home. I have never run 4 miles before!!!! I''m really please with myself. Tomorrow night it''s back to the gym, but I''ll have the opportunity to run again this weekend. I''m totally thinking about a 5K sometime this year!!

Mara: We had the salad after my run. I''m just stunned at how good Vegannaise is. It tastes exactly like mayo, but has none of the badness. It was so good, that I threw the open jar of mayo we had in the fridge out. I can''t recommend it enough. I''m sure the recipe Kris offered (Hey....welcome to our healthy family Kris

), but I''m more of a buy it in a jar kind of guy, as long as it''s good and good for you, which this is.

And, I do agree that the Elliptical is a better full body workout than the treadmill. Of course, I''ve never been on an Elliptical that didn''t have upper body as well, so maybe it''s a toss up if an Ellitptical is foot only. And, I also agree the Elliptical is much less impact than the treadmill as well. For me, unless it''s raining, I''ll run outside and do Elliptical inside.

Anyway, I was pretty excited about my run. Hey Coda, if you''re listening......I totally get the running thing. After trying for sometime, it''s just beginning to sink in that I like it. I really like it