Strength Training Challenge
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I really wanna do this, but I don't know how to make an "alternate" while still recovering from a broken leg. But hopefully I can see something like this in a month or two. Great idea!!0
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I really wanna do this, but I don't know how to make an "alternate" while still recovering from a broken leg. But hopefully I can see something like this in a month or two. Great idea!!
So sorry you broke your leg. Hope you are healing up well. Maybe you can try and do upper body strength training while seated. Hopefully this thread will still be going strong when you are ready to join0 -
After dancing I did lower body and ads so I've gotten in my 1st strength for the week (yesterday was upper body). I did a ton of squat, lunge and pile combo's. Also a number of planks.
One of my favorite planks is a side plank called thread the needle. you are on your side, forearm on the ground and elbow directly under your shoulder. your top leg is slightly in front of the back for greater stability (you can always stack they but that is pretty advanced). Pressing into your feet and forearm lift your hips and legs (beginners can stay on their lower knee). Lift the top arm straight up and then hollowing out the belly bring your top arm down and through towards the back of the room - under your arm pit. then lift the arm back up towards the ceiling. After a set of 8 switch sides. You'll really feel this in your obliques!
Stick with it!
Jodios0 -
Jodios,
Not sure I am physically capable of doing that just yet but I'm impressed you can!
This will help you get ready for turkey day0 -
:flowerforyou: I did my strength training today while my beef stew was simmering so we had a great lunch when I finished.
:flowerforyou: Jodios, I add the upward row with releves using five pound weights......I do side planks for 30 seconds on each side and have been waving my upper arm around to distract myself and now you've suggested a more organized way to move it.....I added a third set of pushups on the mat.
:bigsmile: Barbie from NW Washington
“If it’s important to you then you will find a way, if it’s not you’ll find an excuse.”
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"Construction" season is over at my house and it is time for me to do some organized strength training, so I'm back. Hopefully I'll do a better job of it this time and avoid back pain. I'm a beginner again and will be starting with pushbacks and planks. Advice is welcome.0
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Did my weight training as well as I could this morning at my former employer's gym. It's a private center for current employees and retirees. Most of the employees are young and today I had to keep working around a few pumped up young guys who wouldn't yield the machines after two sets (house rules). Did what I could. Then I went to a wonderful class!! There were intense cardio intervals but most of the class consisted of repeating sets of complex muscle moves with a medicine ball.
Lots of great moves but one I really liked was a squat where you just keep moving. As you go down into the squat you lower the medicine ball as far down as you can directly in front of you with arms extended towards the floor and as you come back up you toss the ball in the air and catch it. You do the squat with the legs in a sort of plié and when you toss the ball up you try to straighten the arms during the motion. Kind of difficult to do the ball toss perfectly so you can keep the whole move smooth.
Be strong my friends. I love to read about the training each of you is doing.
Lin0 -
Back to the gym again today and did the weight machines. Added some weight on one set on several machines. A tiny bit of progress. Then to the fitness class. Another great day with a lot of upper body work (particularly arms) and core work. Enough work overall that moving my arms and shoulders tonight is a bit painful.
Hoping everyone is well.
Be strong.
Lin0 -
My strength challege must be working because my total body fat continues to decrease steadily as of late.
So off to the gym to get in a real work out. Got to work on that back fat!!!!!!!:smooched:0 -
did super sets with a Jessica Smith YouTube video. Not too sore today, but I'm definitely coming down with my DH's cold - drat! I might do some easy yoga later just to stretch out but not push too hard given I was up half the night coughing.
so here is my exercise of the week: sumo squats with weights: stand with feel just slightly wider than hip's distance. turn your toes out slightly (less than 45 degrees). Holding 2 heavy weights in your hands, palms facing you, squat down - butt goes back and hinge slightly forward from the hips, weights nearly touching the floor (or as close as you can get). You'll look like a sumo wrestler ready to pounce. Pressing through your heels come back to starting position. Do 8 slow (2 counts down and 2 back up). Then do 16 single counts.
Stay strong!
Jodios sniffling in N. Il0 -
did super sets with a Jessica Smith YouTube video. Not too sore today, but I'm definitely coming down with my DH's cold - drat! I might do some easy yoga later just to stretch out but not push too hard given I was up half the night coughing.
so here is my exercise of the week: sumo squats with weights: stand with feel just slightly wider than hip's distance. turn your toes out slightly (less than 45 degrees). Holding 2 heavy weights in your hands, palms facing you, squat down - butt goes back and hinge slightly forward from the hips, weights nearly touching the floor (or as close as you can get). You'll look like a sumo wrestler ready to pounce. Pressing through your heels come back to starting position. Do 8 slow (2 counts down and 2 back up). Then do 16 single counts.
Stay strong!
Jodios sniffling in N. Il
Feel better soon. Stay away from us this weekend and get better. We are trying not to get sick. We have no time off of work left for the rest of the year. Listen to your body and let it recover from the cold. Weights can wait a bit. Love ya.
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:sad: I fell on Tuesday morning while walking the dogs and landed on my seat on the asphalt......I hit hard but there were no sounds of crunching or snapping or popping and no sharp pains.......I got up and walked home. Jake made an appointment for me to see the chiropractor later in the day. He confirmed my suspicion that it was all muscles......they hurt a lot from the bottom of my glutes to the bottom of my ribs on the back.....He said that walking and dancing would assist the healing but I hurt too much to overdo. I made it to all three of my dance classes including the one where I teach half the class.
:flowerforyou: On Tuesday I watched my recordings of Skate Canada and saw a lot of skaters hit the ice harder than I had hit the street and the get right up and do more spins and triple jumps.......Jake reminded me that they were in their teens and twenties and would bounce back faster than I would.:laugh:
:bigsmile: On Friday when I taught the dance class, I felt like the skaters....during my teaching part I was light on my feet and didn't miss a step or need to stop and stretch.....then I came home and headed for bed and the ice pack.:laugh:
:flowerforyou: except for some yoga inspired stretching and squats, there's not much I can do..... I'll get back to strength training as soon as I feel better.
:bigsmile: Barbie from rainy NW Washington0 -
:sad: I fell on Tuesday morning while walking the dogs and landed on my seat on the asphalt......I hit hard but there were no sounds of crunching or snapping or popping and no sharp pains.......I got up and walked home. Jake made an appointment for me to see the chiropractor later in the day. He confirmed my suspicion that it was all muscles......they hurt a lot from the bottom of my glutes to the bottom of my ribs on the back.....He said that walking and dancing would assist the healing but I hurt too much to overdo. I made it to all three of my dance classes including the one where I teach half the class.
:flowerforyou: On Tuesday I watched my recordings of Skate Canada and saw a lot of skaters hit the ice harder than I had hit the street and the get right up and do more spins and triple jumps.......Jake reminded me that they were in their teens and twenties and would bounce back faster than I would.:laugh:
:bigsmile: On Friday when I taught the dance class, I felt like the skaters....during my teaching part I was light on my feet and didn't miss a step or need to stop and stretch.....then I came home and headed for bed and the ice pack.:laugh:
:flowerforyou: except for some yoga inspired stretching and squats, there's not much I can do..... I'll get back to strength training as soon as I feel better.
:bigsmile: Barbie from rainy NW Washington
Man, What a way to get injured. I almost did a forward faceplant at the gym yesterday and all I was doing was walking around the indoor tractk. I just didn't life my toe high enough and bam. I scrambled and saved my dignity and my face in front of all the people at the gym. Accidents happen. Get well soon!0 -
I went into the gym yesterday and signed us back up. The PT there walked me though the machines and I discovered I'd been doing a few things incorrectly. :noway: No wonder I hurt myself! :grumble: I also left one of the machines out of my rotation for now. Now if I can only entice DH to go with me it will make this even better. I want to go at least twice a week and more if time and energy permits. I've done a couple of planks, and a minute and a half is still my limit. It will get better. What is a side plank? I've seen comments that some of you are doing this.
Have a great day.
Katla in damp NW Oregon0 -
Not an inspired day for me but I did get to the gym----worked my way around the weight machines and then attended a fitness class. Lots of work with tubes today. After class I did a plank challenge. A lady wanted to be timed to 45 seconds so the instructor asked if I wanted to join in. I did. The other lady quit at 45 seconds and the instructor stopped me at 66 seconds. Thought my form was deteriorating AND the next class was coming in to set up......
Again, not at all pretty, but I did it.
Be strong my friends. Heal up, get well, whatever your obstacles, I pray they will disappear.....
Lin0 -
:bigsmile: :flowerforyou: cindylu, how fortunate that you were able to save yourself from a potentially bad and embarrassing fall.....I am usually able to do that....this thing last week was unusual for me but considering how much time I spend walking the dogs, the odds were that sooner or later something might happen.
:bigsmile: :flowerforyou: Katla, congrats on getting back to the gym.......it would be great if your DH would go with you, but I know that if I waited for my DH to be my workout partner, I'd be home watching TV instead of working out too much.
:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: LIn, if you're getting to the gym, you're way ahead of all the people who are home thinking about it.....congrats on your plank.
:brokenheart: I have had to let go of the idea that somehow I should heal faster than everybody else and realize that this injury will take a long time to heal even if I do all the right things. So I'll be doing more yoga stretches and a lot less walking and no strength training at all for awhile:brokenheart: :brokenheart:
:flowerforyou: Barbie from non-rainy cold NW Washington
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Question for Barbiecat:
I have been gaining and losing 2 pounds for the past month BUT my body fat has gone down by about 2 %. Since you've lost much more weight than me, please tell me if this has happened to you and what you did about it. For some reason that scale number means so much to me. I have been working out 6 days per week using a variety of cardio, strength, HIIT, and yoga. I drink 8-9 glasses of water per day. I am usually very close to my calorie allowance. I am just stuck and I still have about 20 pounds to go.
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DH has promised to go into the fitness center with me and I’m hoping today will be the day he does it. My regular yoga teacher is taking some time off so I’m planning to go to another one this morning, and the fitness center later.
Barbie: I think that yoga could be very good for your healing and strength since you’re temporarily unable to do your usual activities. It is worth considering.:flowerforyou:
Cindylu: Barbie will undoubtedly be better at giving you an answer but I can’t resist making a comment. There are many reasons for a woman’s weight to bounce up a pound or two other than putting on fat. One of them is TOM, which is not a part of my life anymore. In addition, muscle building can create a little temporary water weight and muscle itself is heavier than fat, but takes up less space. If your body fat is down 2% you are doing a great job.:bigsmile: :flowerforyou:
Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon
November goals:
1. Log every bite
2. Focus on fitness: cardio and strength every week
3. Drink 3 or more glasses of water daily0 -
DH has promised to go into the fitness center with me and I’m hoping today will be the day he does it. My regular yoga teacher is taking some time off so I’m planning to go to another one this morning, and the fitness center later.
Barbie: I think that yoga could be very good for your healing and strength since you’re temporarily unable to do your usual activities. It is worth considering.:flowerforyou:
Cindylu: Barbie will undoubtedly be better at giving you an answer but I can’t resist making a comment. There are many reasons for a woman’s weight to bounce up a pound or two other than putting on fat. One of them is TOM, which is not a part of my life anymore. In addition, muscle building can create a little temporary water weight and muscle itself is heavier than fat, but takes up less space. If your body fat is down 2% you are doing a great job.:bigsmile: :flowerforyou:
Katia49, Thanks for the words of encouragement. TOM, if I know what you are talking about, is still part of my life. Off to yoga and meditation.
CindyLu
Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon
November goals:
1. Log every bite
2. Focus on fitness: cardio and strength every week
3. Drink 3 or more glasses of water daily0 -
:flowerforyou: Cindylu, I never had access to checking my body fat but observation told me that my body was getting firmer so I guess I was losing fat.....weight loss is not linear and the scale is often the worst measure of success.......keep doing what you're doing, but pay daily attention to your food diary, noting the foods that have too much sodium (exchange them for something else), looking for foods that are entertaining without sufficient nutrition (dessert, bread, sauces, salad dressings, chips) and add more lean meat and veggies.....and never, never, never give up.
:flowerforyou: If your clothes fit better then it doesn't matter what the scale says.
:bigsmile: Barbie 0 -
I love how supportive this group is!
My back is still very sore so I'm sticking with yoga and pilates for the time being. I was feeling better today so did a cardio fusion version of pilates and still feeling okay. Still I think I might skip strength training this week until I feel a bit better…while frustrating I think this is actually good for me. I'm so tight and really need this slow down and stretching
Katia - are you still looking for exercises to do with a band? If so there was an article I saw yesterday on the Huffington Post website with Jessica Smith demonstrating a number of exercises using a band. It said she developed it for Shape magazine so it might be on their website as well. If you are interested and can't find it I can probably pull it back up and send you the link :bigsmile:
Barbie - hope you are feeling better…remember not to push to much (saying this to myself as well - not easy!) :laugh:
Cindy - agree with everyone else on the scale!
Have a great day, Jodios0 -
Jodios, I have rejoined the fitness center, but I am also interested in the bands and exercises with them. It seems like they would make a great addition to the "health toolbox" for times we are traveling or can't do our usual activities.0
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Katia - are you still looking for exercises to do with a band? If so there was an article I saw yesterday on the Huffington Post website with Jessica Smith demonstrating a number of exercises using a band.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: when I first read this I was imagining exercising to Stars and Stripes Forever and 76 Trombones........:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:0 -
I was feeling better today so did some easy circuit training. It was weird. I haven't done this DVD for awhile because while it seemed hard when I first started doing it, over time it became too easy. Given my sore back it was perfect for me at this point in time. I was very careful not to over do it and then followed up with 20 minutes of yoga stretches. so far so good :flowerforyou:
Barbie - LOL:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Katia - so did you find the "band" link or do you need me to? I think I might try it while I'm out of town next week :bigsmile:
Stay strong
Jodios
:flowerforyou: :drinker: :bigsmile: 0 -
Holy moley! I googled resistance bands and came up with a whole LOT of products. I was thinking of buying some from my fitness center but that is as far as I've gotten. I might just get a John Phillips Sousa DVD instead. :laugh: Advice welcome, both in product choices and uses.0
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My strength training continues with far better discipline than my posting to this community. :laugh:
Except for last week when I had to nurse a pulled groin muscle, I've kept up with 3 strength workouts per week, even when travelling. In fact, I now intentionally book myself into one of the large chain hotels where I know there will be a well equipped gym.
Early this morning I got in another hour with my personal trainer. She has introduced me to the large stability ball, which I absolutely love. We also did combinations of planks, squats with steps, standing with weights, and lifts with the medicine ball. I can never remember what any of these exercises are called, but I'm just happy to have her putting me through paces and correcting my form. I felt it all through my arms, hamstrings and glutes.
Jodios, may I also get a copy of the article with band exercises? I need some more variety using bands that are a little shorter than the tubes we have at the community center.
I'm inspired by everyone's efforts and candid sharing. Stay strong.
-Rori0 -
Go-go-go!!! Wow, what a lot of great energy and suggestions are being shared on this thread. I am so pleased to be a part of it. :bigsmile:
Just typing a short note tonight on my iPad to let you know I got to the weight room today and it was pretty much mine all mine while I did the weight machines. I loved up 10 lbs on the hamstring curl. Yippee!! The fitness class afterwards was a mix of kickboxing, Zumba, yoga, and compound moves with weights. Loved it!!
Be strong my friends.
Lin0 -
Here is the link for the resistance band article;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/resistance-band-workout_n_4159039.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
let me know if you try it out and what you think
Also, I found this free DVD on the Jessica Smith TV youtube channel. It is intermediate level. I'm sure if you search you can find other levels as well:
http://www.jessicasmithtv.com/video_posts/total-body-resistance-band-workout-video/
Jodios0 -
Jodios: Thanks for the links. I understand why these bands are so valuable for someone who has to travel regularly. I'll likely get some one of these days--before I go on a trip. :flowerforyou:0
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I am proud of myself for this week. I exercised 5 days so far, and three of them were at the gym doing strength training. The other two days were yoga. I do not have a sore back and am hoping to tighten up skin while gaining strength. I even bullied DH into going to the fitness center twice. I hope some day that he'll start going voluntarily and not because I'm nagging.:laugh:0
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