August Fitness Thread!

Anyone else need a little structure with their fitness commitments? In the past months (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?! BTW, I can totally tell the difference in my body from the workouts I committed to last month. It's working and I haven't been calorie counting as strictly as I was before the Fitness Group. Thanks for support everyone :)

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

5x5 weight-lifting program: Scroll down for calendar; click on links for informative videos

Stronglifts 5x5

Hal Higgons Running Programs: Scroll down, select distance, select level (novice, intermediate, advanced, walk).  This helped me train for a half-marathon last summer

Couch-2-5K: Never ran a 5K before? Here's the baby steps that get great reviews. Scroll down for the calendar

Thanks everybody for your well wishes.  Have taken a few days off and am hoping to get back to the gym today or tomorrow.  I hate my new foot wear, but I am getting used to it.  Read up on treatment, etc. and I really have no option but to take it easy. 

Trying to squeeze out as much sympathy as possible at work - I visit a different office everyday - spread it out - so I can rehash my story as many times as possible.  LOL. 

Home is another story - I get no sympathy there!  I guess they are on to me.

Everybody's workouts look great!

I am with you Dbacker, I like it when someone else who is an expert has figured it out for me. 

Glad to see you back, jenhelle,  and thanks for the great link to the burpee/kb swing workout - hope to be trying it soon!

Pobrecita despinamb! I send my healing wishes, too.

Last night I started my house-sitting and dog-sitting on the US side. I first went to a local grocery store that has lots of organic and specialty and healthy items. I found Ezekiel bread, blueberry multigrain cereal, egg beaters, and Rice Dream ice cream and peach sorbet. Had some mint carob chip Rice Dream as a post-workout snack...nom nom nom nom nom!!!!

I think I'm going to take the Ezekiel bread home and eat it there, so I won't try it until at least Monday. It was frozen, so I'm going to keep it that way for now.

After the store, I went to the gym that I had found online. I had a nice reception from the lady and a short tour, and then of course the lady offered me several different membership packages. I did tell her that if I liked the gym, I would recommend it to my coworkers, so before I left she filled my hands with 3-day free passes with her business card stapled to them. I did bring them to work today and left them where my coworkers can get at them.

Since I insisted that I was not at all interested in using the machines except the cable pulley, she did not demonstrate them and just showed me briefly that I *could* use them if I wanted to try them. So I warmed up in a little room that they had off the side, and then got started.

I was a little nervous and slightly embarrassed about doing my thing in front of so many people, almost all men, but it was ok. Nobody laughed. In fact, when I started doing the one-legged Romanian deadlift move, a girl piped up from where she was lifting in a corner and told me it was easier with a weight plate than dumbbells...and she was right. Then when I went to do the Bulgarian split squat, she also gave me a few pointers and even watched me complete the set. When I put down the dumbbells to go and do a split-stance cable row, she said, "Wait, don't give up! Do the other leg!" LOL I replied that I was going to do a different exercise and then come back and do a second set, and not to worry!

I found, too, that the men were helpful...when I started trying to figure out the cable apparatus, one of them helped me, and another helped me to adjust the weight. All in all, it was a good experience, and I would recommend that gym to anyone. Definitely going back on Saturday. They had never heard of a foam roller, though!

CP, I'm glad you had such a good gym experience!  It's so nice when everyone is friendly and supportive and you don't get any weirdos  :D

I'll have to give the weight plate for one-legged RDLs a try at some point!  I never even considered that.

Original Post by vyperman7:

Original Post by anthony_christianson: Tomorrow, back in the rack for Squats (190lbs), Bench (165lbs), Rows (120lbs) and 5X5 chinups + 15 lbs;

If you are doing rows tomorrow, doing chin-ups in the same workout is redundant. When doing a 5x5 routine you split your pulls up over the two workouts. One workout you do your vertical pull (pull-ups or chin-ups) and you do your horizontal pull (rows) in the the other workout.

I hear ya.  Chinups/Pullups are supposed to be done after workout B.  I did read that part.  Pullups and chinups are important to me so I do them 3Xweek, just like squats.  I do pullups (overhand) after workout B for reps and I do weighted chinups (underhand) after workout A for strength.  If I can do deadlifts after squats, I figure some chinups after rows are not going to kill me.  I have made very good progress in the pullup/chinup workouts, so I am keeping on.

Today, I finally stalled on benchpress at 165.  I only managed 3 in the 4th set and 2 in the 5th set.  I completed the squats, rows and chinups without a problem.

Tomorrow, a day off!

crazypotato98: That's an inspiring gym story! I love it! I've been thinking about joining a gym about a half mile away from my house when I heard they're running a $20 a month deal. I also just started working from home, and want a reason to leave my apartment.

I get nervous to be in front of people though, so I'm scared it will be a waste of money!

I forgot to update when I posted on Wednesday that I did a 35 minute run that day.

Thursday I took off since I had an insane work day running to meetings all over the city. I was sweating all day and climbed a million stairs, so at least I stayed very active!

Today I did another 30 minutes focusing on abs, and now I have to leave town for the weekend. I'm really bummed, because I don't know how i'm going to get a work out in this Saturday and Sunday when staying at my Sister-in-law's house.

I'm at 200 minutes for the week, but I need another 100 more to complete my goal by Sunday night! arrrghh!! I blame myself for not utilizing the week more!

Spooky - I highly encourage you not to worry about others at the gym- usually the boys are so into themselves and doing curls they don't notice what's going on around them.

************

Today NROL Break in WO B with modifications

Dynamic warm up - while worming up noticed hamstrings very tight so warmed them up more than usual.- thinking its left over from the static lunges on Wednesday

Ab work - used the captain chair and did 2 sets of 5 leg raises - I must have some muscles cause they weren't impossible to do- first time I've done them in years.  Then did 2 sets of 5 knee bent raises but used the pull up bar side cause the arms hurt when I had them resting on the pads- what's up with that?!

Next did 2 sets of 30 seconds elevated side planks and 2 sets 30 sec elevated plank

Deadlifts 2 sets 15 @ 105 lbs - upped these 10lbs from Monday's 

Step ups - 2 sets 15 @ 10lbs - used the 24in plyo step paying close attention to not pushing off with the non working leg!  

DB one arm shoulder press - I upped weights to 20 lbs was able to do one set @ the 15 second set I tried to hold non working arm overhead was only able to do 5 reps  dropped down to 15 lbs again and did the remaining 10 reps with non working arm held overhead.  I really like this variation that was introduced in NROL4Abs I mean I can really feel how it affects the whole core besides the shoulders.  Bonus!!

Close Grip lat pulldown - upped weight on this one too 2 sets 15 reps @ 75 

*******

Did about 10 minutes of some metabolic work did burpees, KB Swings, Knees to elbows ( mountain climbers) but elevated with hands on weight bench and medicine ball slam ( 20 lbs) Didn't do a whole lot but enough to get my heart pumping and breathing hard -  

glad I remembered to do my inhaler before I went to the gym I'm not sure if its smoke from nearby fires or just a lot of dust ( think it's mostly smoke) but the air is thick and can hardly see the mountains and with my COPD this makes breathing even more of a challenge, but today's workout was one of the better one's I've had in quite some time.  Seriously thinking of maybe trying out the boot camp/ crossfit class again tomorrow haven't been in months and need to get back to it

Rolled and stretched.  

Got in a good 40 minute workout before I trained my last client of the night.

Part 1 -  Full body lifting circuit style.. Squats - 60 seconds rest - Bench Press  60 seconds rest- Barbel Rows - 60 seconds, res, etc. Kept this up for 3x through each exercise. Went heavy on each exercise using a weight I could only do 5 times. This combined with the short rest periods, gave me a nice cardio component. I used to do this for five rounds, but with my shoulder I wanted to play it safe since this was my first weight workout I had done in awhile.

Part 2 - I did a conditioning circuit of burpees, dumbbell swings, and mountain climbers. Three rounds through with 30 seconds all out on each and 60 seconds rest between exercises.

** Best part of the whole workout was the huge glass of chocolate milk I had after..LOL

Hello everyone! Haven't posted anything lately, too much to do! I probably won't post much because of the fact that I have no time whatsoever except for the weekends to go on the computer. So, here's what i have to do athletic wise:

-Not including changing and all that jazz, about 45 minutes of gym

-2 hours of volleyball practice (I made the team!)

- walking to anf from school with about a 20lb back pack on my back (20 mins approximately)

So about 3+ hrs of activity a day. A lot (for me). I've hurt myself quite a bit, but nothing serious.

Well, I hope everyone's doing all right. Des I hope you feel better soon!! That sucks ):!

Stats: 37, F, 5'4", Goal weight: 125.  Weight: 133.4 (+.2), Body Fat: 34%

Goals:
* Cardio: 4 runs on elliptical (based on Spring Training workout). 1 C/T workout.  Results: Sun, Tues, Weds
* Strength Workout: 3/week. Results: Tues
* Yoga Workout: 3-6/week. Results: Sun, Mon, Weds
* Pushups: Work my way up to 25 easy ones from my knees.
* Plank: Work my way up to 90 seconds easy
(above subject to change as my fitness increases) :)

SAT CHECK-IN:
I'm going to try to get in a run tonight but I won't be able to fit the cross training workout in this week.  that's okay. next week will be better. same goes for strength and yoga workouts.  I'll probably do one of each tonight. Just depends on how I'm feeling.
For pushups: I did 5 on my toes, same as last week.  Considering everything I'm happy with that.  I did 15 on my knees. And I did a 59 second plank.
Wish I could figure out a better way to track my progress.

Went to the bootcamp / crossfit class this morning.  Hadn't been in over a month - felt great to be back.  Had to do an adjustment for one of the exercises due to the bum foot but other than that was able to pretty much get back in the swing and did pretty decent

Today was the card game- diamonds box jumps - I modified with step ups ( used 12lb weights)

spades, push ups

hearts - my favorite wall balls ( used 8 lb ball)

clubs - heel touches

jokers - 40 butterfly sit ups and 1 min plank and 1 min leg raises

there were a lot of new people at the class- only 3 people I recognized as regulars from when I was a regular.  

So far the foot isn't screaming at me too much.  I feel so glad I went and am anxious to get going again at least 2 times a week with my lifting 3 days.  - ( thursdays I'll take off to watch Project Runway  hehahaha)

Sat: I ended up working out after all. :)

• Strength: 20mins
• Cardio: 20mins
• Yoga: 14mins

Sun:

• Strength: Day Off.
• Cardio: 35 min run on Elliptical (level 2 mostly) with 5min warmup and cooldown on level 1. I added in a little hill in the middle to bring me up to resistance 4.
• Yoga: 14mins stretching
• Plank: 30secs + 60secs + 30secs
• DH and I are going to go biking this afternoon. :)  rained out

Happy Sunday, all!

Friday night was NROL 4 abs stage 2, workout B5:

• front plank and pulldown: 12 w/ red cable
• side plank and row: 12 w/ red cable
• swiss ball jackknife pike: 12
• cable kneeling cross-body lift: 12 w/ red cable
• deadlift (extra strength lift): 6/135, 4/155, 2/175, 6/155
• DB step-up: 3 x 8/50  
• DB one-arm push press: 3 x 8/35
• DB offloaded front squat: 2 x 8/20 + 37.5
• mixed grip chinup: 8, 7.5 using blue + green bands

I'm a dolt and just realized this week that the last two exercises were only supposed to be 2 sets, not 3-4 like the rest.  Duh!  Sadly I wasn't able to go much heavier and still get 8 reps.

Yesterday I went to yoga class for 90 minutes.  The instructor had us working on engaging our serratus muscles (keeping the shoulders pulled back and down) in various positions, which was really challenging especially in downward facing dog.  So my back & shoulders are a bit sore today.  Other than that yoga felt great - always does wonders at loosening up my hips.  We were also working on the bird of paradise pose - I can get up on one leg (using a shoulder strap - not flexible enough to hold hands) but can't straighten my leg.  But it was a lot easier this time than on my first try!

I left Seattle, made it past Vantage and Ritzville, Washington.

I am getting close to Spokane.  (440 total miles walking and spinning.)

Very cool, Shane! Awesome distance.

Second gym workout on Saturday was as enjoyable as the one I had on Thursday. This time the gym was much emptier, and I was able to do planks on the floor next to the equipment without worrying about being stepped on.

FBB Phase 2 Workout A1

Wood chop: 2 x 10 @ 25 lbs.

Plank: 2 x 60 s

Dumbbell squat with offset load: 2 x 10 @ 30lbs

Dumbbell alternating overhead press: 2 x 10 @ 15 lbs each

Single-leg bent-knee deadlift: 2 x 10 @ 20 lbs. These seemed suspiciously like the one-legged romanian deadlift I did last phase...

Chinup w/assistance: 1 x 4, 1 x 3. I'm not sure what to do about these now that I'm back home. I have a chinup/pullup bar that I hang over the back door of my house, but in NROLFW I did reverse pullups...to do chinups, I know I need assistance. Do I buy a band at Wal-Mart to loop my knee into? What about using a chair? What do you guys think? Any suggestions from those who have done chinups at home?

Alternating Lateral lunge: 2 x 10 @ 10 lbs each hand

Two-point dumbbell row: 2 x 10 @ 20 lbs

Stretched, but didn't foam roll because the gym didn't have rollers. I really liked that gym and will definitely recommend it to my workmates, since I will not be able to go back again. From here on out, the rest of FBB will be at home...

Good morning everyone!

I've decided to take a break from lifting this week between phases of FBB. I don't think she recommends doing this but I have come down with a cold (courtesy of my son) and seem to need the rest. I slept for almost 10 hours last night!

Anyway, I did a barbell complex this morning. I actually combined the two complexes from FBB. 3 rounds of 8 sets of each using 30 pound barbell:

• Deadlift
• High pulls
• Front Squat
• Push press
• Reverse lunge
• Squat
• Good morning

I could have definitely gone up in weight. The push-press is the only thing that holds me back weight-wise. Tomorrow will be a metabolic complex.

We took my dad to the air show this weekend for his birthday. We almost went on Saturday but rain in the morning made us hold off. It's a good thing we did because there was a horrific crash on Saturday. Very sad.

Crazy: So glad that your gym visits have gone so smoothly!

Shane: Love the update!

Anna: The new hair looks awesome! Love the new photo. I'm just biding my time, waiting for a yoga Groupon so I can try it out!

Dbacker: Sounds like the foot is on the mend! Hooray!

Winged: Congratulations on making the VB team! Yay!

Vyper: You. Are. Insane. In a good way! I love me some choco milk, too!

Cardio: ran 30mins on elliptical

awesten -  There must be some kind of telepathy going on among yoga instructors; my class last Wed also involved the bird of paradise pose, and the class my friend goes to (diff. yoga studio, diff. instructor) also had them doing the same thing last week!  My hamstrings are terribly tight and that was HARD.  Actually, we did the tree, bird of paradise, and lord of the dance consecutively, at which point I kept falling out of the pose.

No "real" workouts while I've been on vacation, and actually have been overeating a bit.  Did a  bit of walking Fri and Sat.  Sunday, I went scuba diving (two dives), and today, I went whitewater rafting for the first time (Class III+ rapids) and I am exhausted.  I fell off the raft twice, and then we got pinned to a rock and had to deliberately let go and drift down so the guide could move the raft back into the water. My arms don't really hurt, but I'm having an adrenalin crash or something.  I have to say, the... quality of tiredness that I have after these kinds of activities is different from that from a jog or a swim in the pool.

Romancoat - that is too funny!  I kind of love that pose even though mine is nowhere near as pretty as the ideal, LOL.

Last night was NROL 4 abs stage 2, workout A6:

• valslides push away w/ bent arm - 12
• swiss ball mountain climber - 12
• cable half-kneeling chop - 12 
• chinup (extra strength) - 6/blue + yellow bands, 4/blue, 2/red, 5/blue (couldn't get to 6) 
• DB split squat - 3 x 8/75
• DB 2-point row - 3 x 8/37.5
• wide grip deadlift on weight plate - 3 x 8/130
• DB alternating chest press on partial bench - 3 x 8/55

I guess I really need to decide if I'm doing the extra 4 workouts in this phase or not...

I love how it looks in its ideal (or close to ideal) form!  Kind of... grace and strength and balance all together.

Me, I look more like a crippled bird of paradise.

Original Post by romancoat:

I love how it looks in its ideal (or close to ideal) form!  Kind of... grace and strength and balance all together.

Me, I look more like a crippled bird of paradise.

 LOL, me too!