View Full Version : November fitness
Just thought I'd start this. It is helpful to keep me focused. This month I am sticking with 6000 steps ( did 30 days in October) and REALLY adding a strength or yoga once a week. I only did one yoga in Oct. and feel that I could do better. In October I had 12 days at over 6500 so if I can keep doing this with the shorter days and cooler weather I am hoping to up my steps for December.
Ok, I am back in again. Walked the dog today - 2 miles. (3rd day this week) Did not stretch this morning because I overslept. No sugar today but not enough fruits & veggies.
SnakeBlitz33
11-1-13, 10:41pm
Wow, this is cool. I like the idea of steps rather then miles/kilometers. Seems like a worthy goal. Do you have one of those little step counters?
Patting myself on the back. I rode my bike to work and back 3 out of 5 days this week! And the days I didn't ride it, I felt terrible. I actually don't really enjoy cycling, but I sure feel better when I do. I also notice my blood pressure drops significantly for quite a while when I do. I'm not losing weight, but there are other benefits, not to mention that my gas tank is still full a week after filling it!
Way to go, Tiam! And saving money at the same time - good for the fiscal health. :)
Tiam, That's great! What is wonderful is when the exercise might not be something you love, but you miss it or feel poorly when you don't do it. I'm waiting for that to kick in! Saving gas to boot!
I actually started running (yikes..running!) about a week ago. Just felt compelled to do it, and then looked up how to run when you're 60 and you don't want to ruin what's already headed south and I learned about Chi running which is very consistent with my interests in spiritual and physical "centering."
I am simply trying to run a few paces more each day than I did the day before. We'll see what happens. I always hated running, but this chi running is appealing to me, and I'm enjoying seeing progress in baby steps.
Also, to strengthen my core, I'm timing myself doing plank pose. Doesn't take long because I'm not very strong, but at least, again, I can shoot for a couple of seconds progress a day.
I am going to commit to this thread for the month.
Fri 11/1 - 2 hr. slow paced walk (yes, I am double dipping on trick-or-treat chaperon duty)
Sat 11/2 - 30 min mid pace walk with 2 big hills
Good for you, Catherine!
Mtn. Laurel, double dipping definitely counts ;)
Walked the dog again today. 2 miles. Yesterday, totally lazy. Slept in til almost noon. It was wonderful.
I am also going to commit to this thread for this month. I just got "DDP Yoga" DVD's in the mail, and did the first session today. This week I'm supposed to do only three sessions, which is GREAT. Slow and steady wins the race! My goal is to just stick to the month's program and work through the whole thing as DDP ("Diamond" Dallas Page) recommends. No impact yoga and calesthenics, but it got my heart rate up fast and stretched me out just great, even after the first run-through!
Gardenarian
11-4-13, 4:54pm
I'm in. Walking 10 hours per week, at least a little yoga every day.
I'm really inspired to walk as I'm having foot surgery in December and will be stuck in bed for a month, then on a knee scooter...
anyhow, getting my hiking in now!
Walked 1/2 hour this morning, and did pranayama (yogic breathing).
then on a knee scooter...
.
Those things are so amazing. They add a "cool" factor to recovery. Hope you have a speedy and pain-free one.
I have really slacked recently - so much that I put on a pair of my skinny pants, that used to fit just right, and I have a muffin-top. You don't know how un-sexy I feel today! Good news is I had already realized the downward spiral and worked out four days this week. One hour of hiking at a local park, dancing, another regular walk and a weight training session... now, just to keep active going forward!
Good work y"all, I am always interested to see what other people do to keep fit. It gives me some ideas and a feeling of admiration for all those who keep at it! I am very proud that I MADE myself get in my steps last night and today. I had resigned myself at 7 klast night that I just wasn't going to the the 6000 as I only had 4000. I gave myself a wee talk and while watching Bones on demand did it! Then today I had done lots of hard work around the house, but not nearly enough steps. It's a glorious day so rather than just collapsing, I took a walk in the new cemetery on the grass. It was great and I now have enough steps that I can finish watching all the things I wanted to watch!! Rewards are important. Keep on everyone- baby steps and lots of encouragement.
Nothing this week. :|( Too busy after work and then it gets dark. Tomorrow will be cold but I don't think it will rain.
The Storyteller
11-7-13, 1:53pm
I lost another pound, so I'm down to 171 this morning. This means I am only 6 pounds away from my ultimate goal of 165. I'm not really trying to lose weight now, just continuing to eat healthfully. It appears I have picked up a number of good eating habits during my weight loss journey, as portion size and food choices have become almost automatic. A few of the good food choices have fallen by the wayside (not eating as much fruit as I was at the beginning, for example, though still more than recommended), but other good choices have filled the gap. Still avoiding most preprocessed foods except for the occasional very small treat. Keeps me from feeling like I have to eat this way. This bodes well for my future efforts to keep the pounds off.
I have a feeling this isn't going to stop at 165, though.
I am getting a lot of good exercise on the farm. Most of what I am doing there is very physical, requiring a lot of walking and lifting. Reminds me of this Internet meme...
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/2d/73/20/2d73200c851e66b85f58178802a453d4.jpg
I'm not working nearly to that extent (although I did haul hay as a kid), but I like the idea of it. Makes me feel better about not making it to the Y much lately. :)
Storyteller - that is a very timely meme for me as well.... I was in the gym, and on purpose evesdropping on the trainer and her client (free advice, right?). The trainer asked how bicep curls were going to help the client in her everyday life - but a whole body workout with these *new* compound moves was the cutting edge recommendation. I checked out some of the stuff they were doing, and it was very simplistic and doable for anyone. BTW, her client was your typical little old lady.... her goal was to be able to get up and down off the floor. Based on the convo, she was making great progress. Fitness trends change so fast!
Tuesday was a rest day, but Wednesday I got back to the Couch to 5K plan. I joined in on week 3 since I've done it before - but even that week was hard... It will come back, though. Thursday was weight training. Friday I plan to run again.
De-motivator: got on the scale this morning and I am up 1.5 lbs.... I consider it due to the weight training. I think our muscles "swell up" when we first get back into a routine, and they tend to hold on to water for a short time....do you guys experience this too?
I'd love to join in on this to help motivate myself as well and see what everyone else out there is doing! I've always been pretty active but lately I've felt like I need to switch it up a bit. I like to exercise to maintain a healthy body, and do not really need to focus on the weight loss aspect of it. I continue to run as often as I can (usually about 2 or 3 miles) and some body weight exercise...especially pushups. The colder it gets the more difficult it is for me to push myself to run outside. Debating if I should join a gym again or just stick with doing some at home exercise plans!
Half way through the month YIKES! I have been able to do my steps 14 of the days. With the darkness earlier and the chilliness of November I am quite pleased that many of the steps were done outside in spite of the weather. I still have needed to supplement by walking around the house or in front of the tv, but I'm proud of myself. I even gave away a pair of jeans that were FALLING DOWN! Never in my life have any pants fallen down. Seeing progress is great for this 64 almost 65 year old.
The Storyteller
11-23-13, 10:27am
Today after skipping several days I weighed. Tipped the scales at 169! I now have just 4 pounds to go to my ultimate goal of 165, and well within my acceptable healthy weight range. I'm not really working on it, lately. Just sticking to my Mark Bittman vegan-before-6 diet (most of the time), watching my portions for high calorie stuff, avoiding preprocessed food most of the time, keeping active, and eating lots of fruits and veggies. I do need to get back into walking again, though, so I can raise my heart rate for a single period of 20 minutes or more. I'm not sure my current activity does that.
I mentioned I had lost over 50 pounds since April to a coworker. There was a long pause and she said, "I didn't realize you had 50 pounds to lose." She later mentioned it to her mom, who has met me a couple of times and she said, "Where did it come from? I didn't realize he had 50 pounds to lose!"
Guess I carried my fat well. :)
The coworker later saw me and said she can now see I have lost a lot of weight. My nephew saw me for the first time in months and said I look skinny. And that I need new clothes.
Life is good.
Nice going on the weightloss !
I walked one time last week. :( Of course when we were in Florida I did a lot of walking almost every day. But I am having trouble getting back into the swing. It is starting to get so cold, I'm having a hard time getting myself out there. Guess I'll have to start walking at the mall again.
I have switched to the 3 pood kettlebell for a fair bit of my kettlebell workout.
This has produced in just a month or so a huge increase in strength and muscle definition. I may be able to be Spartacus after all.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VmiYLATjApQ/Umi8PFILR2I/AAAAAAAAIvo/7XHoIoN11Mc/s640/Awesomized.jpg
Azure, I too am having trouble with the cold. Today is the first day in a long time I couldn't meet my goal...I did walk outside, but it was so windy and cold in spite of the glorious sunshine, I came in after 20 minutes, I needed 40 and could not be bothered to do it all inside the house. I don't like having to drive to get exercise, but I might need to do that this winter. On the plus side I have gone over my goal step number of 6000 a day every day until today, so I feel pretty good about things.
Bae, Doesn't that kettle bell say 106 lb? Good for you doing weights. I just cannot get to them.
Bae, Doesn't that kettle bell say 106 lb? Good for you doing weights. I just cannot get to them.
The beauty of weights, especially heavy weights, is they require very little time to produce great results. I think kettlebells are perhaps the ideal piece of exercise equipment, in terms of $$$ and time required. I can pick up our 175 pound rescue dummy, while it is wearing full firefighter gear (another 40-50 pounds) with one hand now and lift him over my head. With only about 2 years of work. And I'm an Old Guy.
Do not go gently into that good night....
Luckily, nswef, I work right across the street from the mall. So I can just stop in after work. When I remember. And of course, that means the dog is not happy because she didn't get walked.
I did make my goal yesterday. Proud of myself. Azure, the puppy will give you an extra stab at walking...I plan to go out today- 25 degrees, but sunny and not windy.
Bae, Those statistics are amazing. You certainly won't go gently!
How's everyone else doing?
I walked for 20 minutes inside yesterday. I was going to walk the dog later on but the wind was whipping around and the air temp was in the 20's before you even figure in windchill. So I skipped it. Too much wind and cold is really tough on my face.
Walking in the house does get old, fast, but sometimes is necessary. I have a feeling I'llbe doing lots of inside this winter so I have to make a plan so I don't go nuts with it.
I've now started doing many of my exercises while wearing this 50 pound weight vest, to increase the "fun", and partially simulate the load of wearing my air pack and other gear.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wkYy-ZacnTY/UpqBpfOeGUI/AAAAAAAAI6Y/qSu_u2DhUWI/s640/Awesomized.jpg
If you want such a thing, I recommend the vests from weightvest.com, several of their models are pretty much the standard for firefighters, they are *not* cheap, but are very well made.
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