August Fitness Group -- All are Welcome!!!
Anyone else need a little structure with their fitness commitments? In the past months years (since Sept 2010), a few of us certainly made working out and exercise a new, healthy hobby. Makes a person feel proud to accomplish goals, right?!
This will go throughout August in hopes that a whole month is enough to start a new, healthy habit of working out regularly. Tell me what you want to accomplish this week. Studies show that if you write it down, and say you WILL do something, you're more likely to stick to your word. It doesn't hurt to know that you'll report how you did either. No judgments here. If you missed a workout, let's talk about it and get you back on track. That's what we're here for :)
Set your own goals and keep us posted. I plan to update my progress every time I do something active.
You are OUR inspiration. Talk to us. Tell us what you've done. Drop by and see how motivating it can be to read about the progress of others. If you're feeling behind, talk to us. We're here for you.
Informative "How-To's":
Dork -to-Diva: Great pictures of how to perform a routine
Think that squatting is bad for your knees? Or that squatting will make you bulky? These, and other squatting myths debunked in the Learning the Squat series 1, 2, 3, 4! And after you're convinced (because you will be), Lurn to Squat Good -- E-ZY!
5x5 weight-lifting program: Scroll down for calendar; click on links for informative videos
Hal Higgons Running Programs: Scroll down, select distance, select level (novice, intermediate, advanced, walk).
Couch-2-5K: Never ran a 5K before? Here's the baby steps that get great reviews. Scroll down for the calendar.
Original Post by oldguysrule:
mommy: Oh, s***. I did the wrong link anyway, lol. Here is the one that I thought some women might like.
ooooh I like this...military men heheh :)
Yes, link appreciated, purely for instructional purposes, naturally.
45 minute breaststroke. Tried to work on my screwkick, which made me sink a bit more & take in more water with my air than usual. Didn't rest at all though, & had energy throughout; chilled out some tension in legs & arms. Maybe I'll just keep swimming badly and enjoy it all the more.
jane--my hubby's been practicing swimming too, as he wants to do a sprint triathlon but has limited swimming abilities. Seriously, he can't swim 50 meters without stopping!!! I give him credit though, he goes to the beach at least once a week to practice, and today was the first time he made it to the breakers from the shore (about 50m) without stopping. :) Good job to you!
Aw, well done mommyhawaii's husband! That's so cool, that he's taken on a real performance goal, as well. Nice that he's got your support :) Swimming correctly's actually hard... especially in open water. Would he take a lesson? Or maybe you're teaching him?
And thank you! I seriously might just stick with my ugly kick, just because it gets me across, and it still kind of makes me feel like a dolphin :/
No lifting :( , but I did spend a few hours hanging out with my daughters while we cooked :)
OGR: I've never had any trouble with the Swiss ball jack knives after I learned how to get on and off the ball. The first time I tried to get into position to start I nearly died laughing as I kept rolling off the sides :D
Roman: take care of yourself and keep safe.
Roman: Hope you are spared from the flooding. Be safe!
Deb: I am familiar with those cooking marathons. Mine usually start in the fall, when we start grilling less often. I had to laugh about the getting on the swiss ball part - I think we've all wrestled with the ball.
Tuesday night's workout
Boxing training - Warm up - knee rolls, jacks, side and front arm raises w/ resistance band, punching with resistance band; punching w/ trainer - pads; heavy bag punching; calisthenics: 50 leg raises, 2 minutes of jacks; 10 mike tysons, twisting toe touches, standing opposite toe touches. -
22 minutes arc trainer - 350 cals - level 5 -7; resistance 25-40.
Foam rolling
Mike tysons: Trainer sat on my feet and I layed back on the mat with knees bent and raised myself up from my back to a standing position. 10 times - made me feel like Mike - strong, like bull. It was so cool.
Oh and bier I used to do some fencing when I was younger. It was lots of fun :)
I was thinking the other day about all the activities I have tried/participated in over the years. As well as the fencing: Running Weight training Aerobics Swimming Tennis Cycling Line dancing Dancing Trampolining Field hockey Netball Badminton Archery Crown green bowling Circuit training Horse riding (English and Western)
I'm sure there are more that I can't remember, but I was impressed at the variety of things I've had a go at over time :)
ETA: I knew there were definitely some biggies I was missing: sailing, wind surfing, canoeing, walking/dog walking. Seems incredible that I could have gone from being active all the time to being so inactive in a space of about 5 years. I may not have done all of these things at the same time, but I usually had at least 3 or 4 of them going. I'm so glad I made the effort to turn things around and get back into moving, even when I don't get there every day :)
I'm back.
I stopped tacking for a while and gained 2 lbs and all. But I'm back to tracking and such. Back on horse.
Goal
1. get back to tracking calories every day
2. Get back to exercising 3 days a week
I know you can do it. No luck necessary! Kudos.
I was the only one to show up to boot camp again. It was a sadistic combination of sprinting, floor presses, planks, and push ups. They did ask me to give a testimonial for the gym before I go away to school. I did some kettlebell swings and practiced my front squats afterwards. My heels don't want to stay on the ground. Someone jacked the 40lb bell, so I used the 50lbs. My glutes will thank me later.
smashley--what a trooper! I think I were the only person at boot camp, I'd be sooooo nervous....do you pay for the boot camp? If not, it's like free personal training!
Yesterday a client said she wasn't going to continue training because I'm causing her too much stress with her workouts. She said she likes predibtability, and that when I introduce too many new exercises she gets too overwhelmed. :( I said that I appreciated her telling me this (it was only the 3rd time we worked together), and that I can modify programs to best suit her interest. She said it was ok, and that she was going to try to join a gym near her house...granted, this gym is new BUT it's a "big man" gym, meaning there's lots of huge guys lifting extraordinarily large weights. And she's a 5 foot 3 inch Chinese woman that only starting lifting weights a relatively short time ago.....and she also complains that she has all these ailments although they're really normal aging pains (she's in her mid 50s). Sigh. Oh well. I tried, and she said there's a possiblity she'd want to come back and train with me. I really don't know how I can cause someone stress....little old me?! :P
Workout for today:
Spin (20 min); moderate to warm up and one legged drills, since my left leg if far weaker than my right and I need to change that!
Weights:
Lateral Hack squat with rotational twist (3x10)
Bent over inverted Row/Bosu ball jump
DB incline chest press/Single leg squat
TRX abs!!! Pike, Saw, Pendulum
KB Swing (10) + Burpees (10) x5
Stretch and foam roll....now onto my first hot yoga client for the day. :)
I'm behind on updates!
Day 2 (8/3/12):
- 20 minutes elliptical
- 35 minutes lifting
Day 3 (8/6/12):
- 35 minutes lifting
- 6 minutes elliptical
Day 4 (8/8/12):
- 35 minutes lifting
1st workout in Phase IIIof NROLFL (A)
Cable Horizontal chop - 2x10x50 - put the pulley at waist height and it was harder than at the top.
DB Single arm snatch 2x5x35 (each side) Going to try 40 next time
Alternating Strength
Widegrip deadlift 3x12x95 (go heavier next time)
weighted T push ups 3x12 (15 lb dbs x2)
BB reverse lunge from box 3x12x45 (3 level step - used the empty bar cause I wasn't sure I was coordinated enough to do this with the BB rather than dbs)
Alternating
DB bent row 3x12x40
squat and press 3x12x40
Metabolic - 5 minutes
barbell matrix (45 lb bar)
2x10 Bent row
2x10 front squats
2x10 OH press
The thing that bugs me about the NROL programs is that the combinations either have me running all over the gym or require an elaborate and tedious set up. Tonight, I had to set up the squat cage for deadlifts and bb lunges and then did t-push ups outside of the cage and yes I had two oly bars set up. It was either that or use the deadlift station and clean the 2nd bar up and over my head for lunges. I just didn't know what spot was better to hog. There are just not that many options. The weight room in my gym gets crowded and I guess I feel a little uncomfortable about using the squat cage for things other than squatting. I also don't want to hog more than one station.
Anyone else feel this way?
Original Post by oldguysrule:
....
sburrious: Thanks for posting HR info. I’m finding that interesting and useful. Have you ever tried measuring your max?
....
No. I just use the maximum that I've measured on my HRM, which is 183.
NROL4A Phase III, WOB
Warm up, mobility drills
Integrated Stabilization
(Skipped the "alligator drags")
Dumbbell offset farmer's walk - 2 x 30 steps x 40 lbs
Dumbbell overhead offloaded farmer's walk - 2 x 30 steps x 25/15 lbs
Power
Barbell jump squats - 3 x 5 x 65 lbs
Medicine ball push-pass - 3 x 5 x 6 lbs
Density Training
AMAP in 10 minutes
Dumbbell reverse lunge with offset loading - 5 x 6 x 40 lbs/side
Dumbbell incline bench press - 5 x 6 x 40 lbs
AMAP in 10 minutes
Dumbbell 1 and 1/4 squat with heels on plate - 4 x 6 x 40 lbs
(Forgot to do the extra 1/4 squat on 1st set)
Close-grip chin-ups - 3 x 6, 1 x 2
Metabolic
Squat/push-up ladder: 3, 6, 9, 6, 3; completed in ~ 3 minutes (no rest); 146 avg HR, 153 max
Even omitting the alligator drags, this is probably the strangest workout I've ever done.
Ran 3.1 miles in 31:30. Then ran 1 mile in 8:50. Happy with it.
Good Morning all. Still working on putting some weight on. I'm up about 4 pounds since I went from deficit to surplus. I'm about halfway though Strength 1 NROL and loving it. Did 2 hours on the bike this morning but felt "lethargic" about 10 seconds per mile off what I consider a decent pace. I think since I;ve reduced my mileage and focused more on lifting my performance will suffer.
Question: I'm putting weight on. The ultimate goal is to increase muscle and reduce bodyfat. I'm wondering if I should "overshoot my goal by 5-8 pounds then work my way back.
The alternative would be to reach my goal weight and try to alter my body composition.
I think overshooting is the way to go.
Original Post by sburrious:
Even omitting the alligator drags, this is probably the strangest workout I've ever done.
I absolutely LOVE NROL4Abs - I guess I am a strange person, but I just found the exercises to be so fun and challenging and because they are strange it melds well with my strange life!!
I am just dying to finish NROL4Life so I can get back into the Abs
Tuesday I did NROL4Life stage 3 WOB I think - I did increase weights fro 3 pt row from 30 - 35 I also was able to do DB bench 4 reps @ 30 lbs - if I had a spotter I would have done more but my right shoulder was getting wobbly and I didn't want to risk injuring it again. but yay - I am almost to pre injury reps
I increased weights on squats to 75 and did 80lb for 7 reps
Also Single Leg romanian deadlift up to 30- I find the higher the weight the more balance I have?! How can that be!
I am going on vacation tomorrow won't be back until Thursday- my plan for vacation is party, party and oh yea party!
Bootcamp costs money, but it's less than personal training. I've been solo before, but yesterday, she was a nut.
Todays workout
MS4
- one arm push press 4x6x25
- close grip asst. chin ups 4x6
- pushups 3x10
- one arm row 3x8x25
- kneeling cable grip extension 3x12x6
- side bridges 3x30s
Glute/inner thigh workout
- side jumps 5xside
- standing hip adductions 2x10x7
- standing hip abductions 1x15x10
- hip thrusts 3x10x45
- step ups 1x5x50-the box was wobbly
- single leg deadlifts 2x5x25- I find them easier w/ weight.
- kbells wings 1x12x50, 1x10x60
