Workout Routines

[Deleted]

It is hard to get out of one's comfort zone, but just making the effort to do so is a good thing.

[thyme4change]

I just have a bunch of sex.

[Happy prose]

Maybe one of you can give some advise...since sept, I've been going to gym about 5x a week. I do 30 minutes on the tread mill @ 3.7 mph and a 3 incline. Then I'll do 3 machines of either arm or leg exercises with light weight. I fel good, but I haven't lost a pound. What gives?

[Artemis Windsong]

MU - you do have the variety that the trainers want. I think a person needs to go back to the strength training from time to time in order to keep it.

I am a reformed machine addict. I asked for and got two Women's Health complete workout books. One book is 15 minute high intensity routines. I have come to love the circuits. My first choice was the bikini workout because it targets the core and hips. I am getting better muscle tone which is hard at my age.

I am back to bribing myself to do cardio between the workout segments. My reasoning is if I get my heart rate up for 5 - 10 minutes, it will stay up while I do one segment of 5 exercises.

[Artemis Windsong]

Happyrose - it could be your diet. The WH recommendation is 10 x your desired weight in calories per day. Reduce sugar and refined carbs in your diet. Eat high quality protein. WH (and MH) magazine is online and has great routines and nutrition ideas.

[Happy prose]

Holy cow! It's definitely my diet. I want to be 125lbs, but I eat way more than 1250 calories a day. I think dinner does me in. Breakfast and lunch is yogurt, fruit, etc. dinner I usually do some kind of beans and brown rice, but the amount I eat has a lot of calories. I guess I should find a new protein for dinner.

[Happy prose]

MU..be careful with the weight lifting. I'm seeing friends my age (50) all needing hip replacements. And the runners all need new knees.

[Artemis Windsong]

Dinner and afterward is my downfall, too. WH recommends plain yogurt and put in your own fruit. I don't know how much you eat of the beans and brown rice. The Doctors tv show recently had a segment on eat this and not that. I like FF refried beans but they are calorie dense, also. Beans are good for lowering your bad cholesterol and for the fiber. Brown rice is also metabolized slower.

Tailoring your nutrition needs takes a lot of study and trying out what works. The Zone Diet plan can help balance the protein, carbs and fat. I cannot live on what they recommend. Therein lies the weight problem.

Two lunch/dinner options that work for me are homemade chicken stir fry and Ramen Noodle chicken oriental salad. FF cottage cheese for breakfast.

I have started expirmenting with adding a teaspoon of oil mid-morning and mid-afternoon. According to Dr. Oz, using safflower oil will curb the craving for fats and sugars. The teaspoon full is about 40 calories. On WW they recommend a tablespoon of oil a day.

It's too soon to tell if the change is working or it's working better with the new exercise routine. Some of the websites have a nutrition/calorie option to help in that area.

[Happy prose]

I get my oil with canola oil used to sauté onion, etc for my beans and lentils. I do the plain yogurt with real fruit too. I was thinking of turning my bean meals maybe into vegetable soup with beans. More veggies, fewer beans per serving.

If you don't mind sharing, what is your exercise routine? I was always a walker, but just started the gym in September.

[Happy prose]

Starting this morning, I'm changing things up. So far I added 10 more minutes to the tread mill. And instead of just "clean" eating, I'm going to count calories. What a drag!!!!!!!!

[Artemis Windsong]

Happyrose - Right now I am using the Women's Health Complete Exercise Book.

It has really nice photos and explanations on how to do the exercise as well as options if one exercise is too hard. In the back are routines. I am doing the bikini 6-week as I really need help below the waist. WH also has a book of 15-minute routines. They are high intensity but a person can go at their own pace.

www.menshealth.com/ For some reason I cannot find the women's health magazine online. The men's has routines that you can use.

[Artemis Windsong]

Jan 30, 2012 13:15:00 GMT -5 Muscleup said:

Another suggestion that I do (did) is write down everything you eat during the day. That will be an eye opener.

I agree and I do track my food intake. I read that people who look at their food consumed log before eating will eat 30% less.

Right now I am looking at magnesium deficiency since my DD had a fainting episode. I am very short. I took a list to CVS and looked at the labels. All of them were magnesium oxide which can cause diarrhea making the deficiency worse.

The list of foods high in magnesium was interesting. I asked DH how much chocolate I would need to eat - he said 4 pounds. .

[Artemis Windsong]

Somewhere I read a Snickers bar was an allowable exercise snack. www.outsideonline.com/fitness/nutrition/Snickers-Bar.html

[Happy prose]

It's funny, yesterday I wrote down my food to track calories and I came in under my target of 1250. We'll see what today brings. I'm going to see if my library has that WH book. (I'm a library junkie too) off to the gym..I could use to firm up lower body too. Seems no matter what I do, I have extra meat on the hips!

[Artemis Windsong]

My fitness center offered a free bootcamp workout as it's their customer appreciation day. The special for a one yr. membership was one free month at the center plus snacks today. I reupped today as my membership is due on 2/15. They said I got the same rate as last year. plus one free month. I get reimbursed at $20 per month from health insurance so my membership is almost free. (I have yet to see the money in my checking account for the reimbursment. It's a new policy)

I am going to a free Zumba class on Saturday at another fitness center. I did a free Les Milles Bodypump about 2 weeks ago. I couldn't fit in the free bootcamp today. In Dec. I bought at a discount coupons for the variety of classes.

The plus side of a PT is they figure out your routine and push you. They keep track so you do the same thing on both sides when you have sweat pooling on the floor and can't remember your name much less which leg you just did lunges with. ;D The short answer is when you enter Zen.

The Snickers article takes longer to load than it does to read. One to 2 sentences and nutrition list.

MU - thanks for coming back and keeping the conversation going.

[Artemis Windsong]

Flexibility:

'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater’. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of s**t.

Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings,
we simply continue to fly... on a broomstick.
We are flexible like that.

[Happy prose]

Love it!

I (think) I ordered that exercise book from the library. Is it called WH Big Book of Exercises? Anyway the one I reserved had good reviews on amazon. If I like it past a months worth, I'll buy it.

Question for MM...what are drop sets?

[Happy prose]

Well that sounds like it would kill me. Lol how do you have any strength left after the first set to start over with the heavy weight? Anyway, I'm not good at curls yet. I do 3 sets of 12 with only 20 lbs, and it whips me. My arms are weak. My legs are a bit stronger. I'll get there though!

[Happy prose]

What do you mean by opposite muscle? Bicep do triceps? Or do you mean arms, do legs?

I do my upper and lower on different days.

[Artemis Windsong]

Les Milles Bodypump is what this particular club uses. They bring in Zumba peeps from a sister club for a heart health free class. Usually the dance section at this club is cardio hip hop so they can use their own music/routines. These extra classes are better than going to the movies for me. A great diversion.

I cannot bring myself to do boot camp. It feels like Crossfit to me. I did that for a while and could barely get through the warm up. It was the pull ups that got me. If I were younger, I might be more interested.

[thatchica]

I live 2 blocks from a university sports center. I take spinning classes 5 days per week and lift weights as well. I am 36 now and I have noticed a major difference in my muscles from just 5-6 years ago. Getting old is no fun.

I was overweight most of my life. Then when I was in my late 20s I decided enough was enough. My health was at its peak when I was 31-33. Then I had life stress and became a caregiver for my mother. She passed in 2010. From 2009 to 2011 I gained 40 pounds that I desperately want to get rid of. So I am back at the gym. I always used math to lose weight before. Basically counting calories in vs calories out.

I have been spinning for a couple months now and just started back with the weights. Luckily at the sports center, training is included. So the trainer set me up with low weight/high rep exercises. The spinning instructor is a good friend of mine and so she pushes me a lot and now that I live 2 blocks from the sports center the excuses for not going don't work. Now if I don't show by a certain time, they come and get me.

One thing that helps/hinders is who you are friends with. When I hang out with people that are health conscious, I work out more and eat healthier. For a couple (2009 to 2011) years I was close friends with a woman that was very overweight and didn't care about her health or body. When I was around her, I ate worse. I was caring for my mom I wasn't able to leave the house often. After she died I was depressed/lost for a while. When I started back at the gym my friend actually got mad at me and stopped talking to me. I tried to get her to come along with me, but she accused me of trying to change who she is and that she was happy with the way she was. Well what I didn't care for is who I ballooned into when I was with her. Now I focus on surrounding myself with healthy people. Another friend of mine and I are on a diet together. We go to a nutritionist together and support each other through the journey. Being around people that want to be healthy is much better for me and keeps me in check. Hopefully by the time summer rolls around it will show!

[Artemis Windsong]

My condolances on the loss of your mother. The empty spot is usually there.
-------------
"Now if I don't show by a certain time, they come and get me."

Nothing like being wanted! I am glad for you.

It's true. Overweight friends will get you overweight. I looked at my friends and they all work out, are slim, and try to eat correctly. All of us are over 60 yrs.

It's tough to get muscle tone at that age and it takes a lot more exercise. Sometimes I feel like one of those long balloons. I get tight in one area and it squeezes to another . The big thing is I am there doing it.

I am lax in the cardio area.

[Happy prose]

That chick...my condolences as well. You sound like you're on the right track and I'm happy for you. Good luck!

Artemis...get going on the cardio! Yes it's boring, but they say that's what we benefit most from. A beautiful body does you no good if your heart fails. Hit that treadmill tomorrow!

[Artemis Windsong]

Can I do Zumba tomorrow? It's free. ;D

[Happy prose]

Zumba is great if you can keep up. Dance away!

[Artemis Windsong]

I almost kept up. I did sweat. I won the best door prize - a work out bag. They gave us a free facility pass and a red dress pin for wearing red.

I have a wellness plan so I went and checked in at my fitness center and did a quick workout. I didn't change out of my jeans.

I am tired.

[Happy prose]

Good for you, and you can do it again! Today I did 35 minutes on the treadmill, and just a few arm exercises. I hope to kick it up a little tomorrow.

[Artemis Windsong]

I would rather wip/rip than treadmill. I would rather do jumping jacks than bike. I would rather climb steps on the precor than stride or run. I also do a great fake jumping rope.

Today I did a quick abs and halo circles with a ball, waist circles with a kettlebell and thread through the knees.

Then my downfall. Cheese and saltines during the super bowl.

[Happy prose]

Superbowl day does not count. Period!

[Artemis Windsong]

Whew. That is a relief.

I did 22 minutes split 10 mins. at the start & 12 mins. at the end and got my HR up to high according to the machine. I also did my other workout. I was going to do 2 sets because I was tired and hungry. At the end, I decided to do the last circuit all the way through. There are 3 circuits, and each circuit has 5 exercises that are to be done one after the other then start over.

Some nosey 20 something had the manager come look at me when I started the floor work. I wouldn't have noticed except I rolled over to do the other side plank with twist under. Let's see what would be alarming.

Tired, hungry, exercising just might give that sunken, hollow eye look. And a scowl. I would say I looked normal for the gym peeps.