Starting Nov 1

sleepyjen

You look fabulous, Meg! I like that top, too. And I"m glad to hear someone else is as silly as I am about sticking to a plan. the assistant director of my gym got back to me--I emailed her last week as the new squat rack says you can't use the iron plates on it, and I need it for the split squat. She says "sorry, use the smith machine until the new plates come in next week!" yeah, no, and I have no more wiggle room for days, so I'm just going to hope she doesn't notice Must be done for the 12th!

Please don't shank anyone, Clam. You won't handle jail well, given how much you hated house arrest. Glad to be back at work?

6B today. I didn't like the push press much--it pulled in weird ways on my shoulder muscles. I imagine it'll get better. Other than that, it was fine. Mercifully brief. I added 17 minutes of HIIT at the end, running intervals on the treadmill.

ramalem

Clam - I've got 15 more weeks to go... who knows what's gonna happen between now and then And please don't shank anyone. We'd like to still talk to you

Jen - Thanks The top is one of my faves and I plan to wear it post pregnancy too (it's maternity) but I just love the color. I HATE the smith machine. Way to be a bad *kitten* he he.

I got my first non new rules workout in today and somehow even managed to run a mile (1/2 mile at a time) without peeing my pants, which I consider a win! YAY!

sleepyjen

Good for you, Meg!

I have a work meeting this morning and then I"ll continue working on my syllabi. Hoping to get a walk in later, but rain's coming, so we shall see.

Blueberry09

Morning ladies :flowerforyou:

Spotty wifi in this hotel - will check in again later

Have a most wonderful day!

sleepyjen

I did 6A again today and managed to hold up 8 seconds before dropping on my first negative chin up thing. After that it was never as glorious. 65 for the second set of split squats, 80 consistently on the lat pulldown. Knees on the bench for the pushups. Then 17 minutes of HIIT.

Hope you're all well!

ramalem

Jen you're a super star!

I am begrudgingly staying out of the gym today due to some sudden and strange lower back pain. Hopefully it goes away and I can get in tomorrow before yoga... boo.

sleepyjen

Hey, thanks! Sorry to hear about your back. How does it feel today?

Today I had leftover frittata and homemade sausage for breakfast; alas, I"m meeting my friend for lunch in just two hours. I'm going to need to find room! It's her birthday, so there'll be at least a glass of wine in there

I need to buckle down for work. It's hard to do so when it's so nice out! And loafing is so fun!

ramalem

Back is better today due to some stretching and a pretty painful but productive hip/butt massage from my DH... He's been a real trooper lately. Your breakfast sounds amazing! I had a glass of wine last night and it was absolutely divine!

Good luck getting motivated today - I don't have much to do at work today so I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty bored

sleepyjen

We went out with another friend who is going through a rough time right now and is kind of, um, a difficult woman; so after lunch, I took my friend out for drinks and dessert. So I've had salad, wine, sangria, and tres leches cake so far for lunch. Mmm! So caloric!

I'm glad you're feeling better, Meg!

Blueberry09

Morning :flowerforyou: It's Friday!

It's just been crazy since we got back. Arrived home safe and sound on Wednesday. It was a good trip - the last couple of days were very long! I gotta say, Washington is a beautiful state! Of course nothing beats the mountain views but the golden fields of grain in Washington are breath taking! Unfortunately there was a lot of smoke in the air so vision was limited Although it kept the temps down to low 90s instead of 101 it was supposed to be.

The plan was to get back on track yesterday but it was DQ Blizzard day for charity - you know me - I will do anything for charity . At least we walked there lol. Today my youngest 'son' and his girl are coming for the weekend :laugh: . I haven't seen him since March when we went to Denver. Needless to say there will be lots of food and drink. I guess I start again Monday lol. The scale was up 8lbs on Thursday morning but it was already down 3 this morning. I didn't drink much water while we were away so I'm pretty sure that's a contributing factor. I'm not going to sweat it - happens all the time after vacation

Luv the baby bump Meg! Hopefully baby finds a comfortable place to rest - for both of you Good job keeping up with your goals.

I have to laugh at you Jen :laugh: I am the exact same way about stopping something in the middle so I know exactly what you mean. It's just so easy to suggest it for someone else Awesome numbers on stage 6. Are the DOMS getting any better?

My goal is to start lifting again after Labor Day but I think sitting on the bike did a number on my back :sad: Wearing a helmet and trying to keep my head from buffeting in the wind strained the muscles, I think. I had to take Advil after my walk for ice cream yesterday. Riding the exercise bike didn't bother it (but my *kitten* was sure wondering why 5 days sitting on the bike wasn't enough?) so I will ride again this morning and try running again next week.

Enjoy the weekend! How many sleeps before CA Christina?

sleepyjen

DOMs are definitely better. I did 6b/2 today and promptly went out for burgers. good source of protein and all that!

Sounds like you had a great vacation overall! We're not taking ours until January.

Blueberry09

Burgers sre the BEST source of protein. Especially if you put bacon on it

Where are you going in January? Our next trip is another cruise at Christmas.

sleepyjen

Maui! We're excited.

Blueberry09

I'll bet. I've never been to Hawaii but it's on the list!

Blueberry09

The kids just left We had such a nice visit but ate and drank way too much :laugh: Diet starts again tomorrow! A few days late - oh well! Better late than never right?

My back is still hurting :sad: I sure hope it's better come September 2! I want to start lifting again. Maybe I will walk in the mornings for the next two weeks instead of pushing it running. I can always ride the bike if it rains. It is supposed to cool off to the low 70s by the end of the week - I won't be unhappy to see this humidity leave that's for sure! We are not used to it so when we get it, it's UGH! I'll take the desert over the tropics any day

sleepyjen

We've had a few really nice days here--low humidity and sunshine, fallish temps. I'll take it.

Sorry your kids have left, but I'm glad you had a good time. I'm trying to find the motivation to go sort out the garage and set up the beadboard planks for painting. We can't cut and mount them to the wall until that's done, and now that the floor is in, it's the only thing keeping us from completing the bathroom. kind of a huge thing, but still.

Blueberry09

set up the beadboard planks for painting.

Did you mean headboard? If not, then I have no idea what you're talking about lol

sleepyjen

Nope, beadboard! Like so: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1610836,00.html

sleepyjen

I wish there was a "seriously, I wasn't NOT doing anything" option under cardiovascular exercise. I used my walk hour in the afternoon to sort the garage, set up sawhorses, unpack the unwieldy box of wainscoting trim, unwrap it and peel off the stickers they used superglue to adhere to the FRONT (why?) and then paint them. It wasn't an off day, just not a true cardio exercise

Today, I'm ticking the easy stuff off my list ("call for chimney cleaning") and then headed to the gym in a bit. then I have a meeting. Then I have to move the trim pieces and unpack/peel stickers off of/set up the wall planks and paint them. Then go back out four hours later and do it again. I'm hoping that by the end of tomorrow they'll all be painted with two coats and we can start sawing and installing. The planks lock together but need to be glued and then nailed to the wall. That part sounds like a breeze compared to installing mitered corners of the baseboard and chair rails. Our walls aren't plumb. I learned this installing baseboard on this tiny corner in the kitchen where no angle I cut was right--I ended up having to have a significant corner gap that I filled with wood putty. It was a nightmare. This tiny bathroom also has a tiny corner, so I'm having flashbacks.

6A/3 today. Halfway!

Happy Monday!

Blueberry09

You have way more patience than me Jen - I could never do what you're doing.

Quick walk this morning - back is still twinging I want it to go away now so I can get back into it. Busy day for me trying to get caught up on everything while I was away but I'll try to check back later.

Happy Monday :flowerforyou:

ramalem

Morning ladies! I'm not ready for Monday yet ha ha.

Had a pretty productive long weekend and got more of the trim in the house painted. Did the middle floor bathroom and kitchen, which leaves the living room to get done before the end of the month to meet my self imposed goal. I also ended up making three batches of jam and a pie - good riddance to all that fruit I had laying around! We even got to ikea and bought new dressers for our room to make the move of hubbies stuff from babies room to our room easier. And here I wanted to have a lazy weekend ha.

I only got three workouts in last week due to some back issues, but I'm hoping to get at least 4 in this week. I also really need to clean up my eating. I've been getting lazy, and I'm truly nervous to step on the scale at my Dr. Appointment next week. :embarassed:

Jen - I'm super impressed with all the work you're doing. Can't wait to see some of the finished product (I bet you can't either). Also congrats on being halfway through Stage 6! You're blasting through it.

Blue - Sorry about your back, that's no fun. I'm glad you had a good time on your trip though!

Blueberry09

This group seems to do everything in tandem - whether it be headaches or sore backs LOL

Jen, you should really get some sort of activity tracker to record all those 'non-exercise' things. I'll bet you burn a lot more than you think. Speaking of which - you should have seen how many steps and stairs my fitbit gave me while on the motorcycle!! I think I had 61 flights one day LOL I've driven that same stretch and it never gave me extra while in the car. For some reason the motorcyle caused more movement. Other than that, I don't often get credit for things I haven't done. Once, climbing the stairs at an Oilers game I got credit for 24 flights. We were sitting high, but not that high :bigsmile: I rely on it to give me my TDEE and find it fairly accurate.

Meg, you were a busy bee too! I'm impressed with all you DIYers! My stools still haven't been recovered Right now we're in the middle of landscaping - well at least getting quotes for. The only drawback to moving into a new house - and it ain't cheap! We'd kill each other if we tried to do it ourselves LOL

sleepyjen

Meg, I've been thinking of you as I paint--thinking how much I'd hate to do a whole house worth of trim. I'm finding the roller actually works pretty well and so it's zipping along.

I've debated getting a fitbit but I'd just rather spend the money on other things Thai food, for instance. And I suspect it'd just make me more frustrated with the scale.

It is pretty amazing that you both have back issues this week, and not in a good way.

Today I realized I've been holding my arms too wide for the underhand lat pull and had an easier time when I pull them closer together. However, I stupidly forgot to stretch my arms before I started my workout and pulled something right away doing the three negative chin ups (btw, got 10 seconds for the first one--could also be part of the problem!). By the time I did my 8th lat set, I called it a day--it was a little pinchy. Nothing serious, but I've learned not to push it too far. I squatted 70 lbs and probably could have done 75--my issue seems to be stability rather than heft. Our new squat rack has a basketball-court type floor--very shiny hardwood--and it makes finding the right position with 75 lbs on your back more challenging. 85 for the lat pulldown through all 8 sets (I remembered my add-on 5 lb weight), more knee-on-bench pushups. I did 10 minutes of HIIT before I had to leave for a meeting, and then walked 5+ minutes with my heavy work bag, so I'm counting it, too

I need to go wrestle with my car hood now. Have a good night!

Blueberry09

I need to go wrestle with my car hood now. Have a good night!

You're a mechanic too?? :bigsmile: You gals impress me so much!

I was up at 2:30 this morning - couldn't sleep :yawn: My kitty has taken to peeing on the carpet and bath mats again. She's done this before and it seemed to correct itself. But now she's at it again. We already keep our bedroom door closed during the day but she likes to sleep with us so she was doing a number on the bathmat in the middle of the night. Bathmats at least are easy enough to throw into the washer but carpet is a little harder to clean and/or replace. According to my husband, 'she's destroying the house' and she has to go. He likes to make issues bigger than they actually are but I'm still worried about Nyxon. I can tolerate carpet or bathmats but if she starts to pee on the furniture or the bed, that's something else entirely. I'll take her to the vet and see what they say - if they can even tell anything. I wish animals could talk - it would be so much easier if she could just tell us what's wrong.

Needless to say there was no workout this morning. It was raining so no outside run or walk anyway. The weather is starting to cool off so morning runs should be a bit easier. No more humidity - YAY!

Have a great day! :flowerforyou:

sleepyjen

I'm so sorry, Blue. Ther'es nothing worse than a sick pet and a spouse who is less than supportive. I wish they could talk, too. I'd definitely start with the vet, though. S/he might be able to tell if there's a medical issue or suggest a pheromone spray or something along those lines to discourage her from doing that. Do you have enough litter boxes? Does she use them, usually? Cats can be finicky about what kind of litter they use.

There's a spray I used in the basement to clean up cat pee, when they decided that a pile of dust was a great box down there; the spray is supposed to deter them from peeing on stuff again. Nature's Miracle, perhaps?

Good luck. Little Nyxson's a cutie, and I hope she works this out.

Blueberry09

Thanks Jen. I know Wes has been spraying something but I'm not sure what it is. Vet appt Friday. We shall see how it goes! We definitely have different views on the situation.

So my day today was spent tromping around one of our field sites in coveralls, steel toe boots and a hard hat :laugh: I can't believe how much my back hurts! Those boots are heavy! :bigsmile: Got a ride in on the exercise bike before hand. My day tomorrow is prep work for a staff BBQ and baseball game. Gonna be a tough day :bigsmile:

sleepyjen

Sounds like you got some exercise just having to wear those boots! Have fun today at your bbq. I have a "retreat," which is just the pretty word for "all-day meeting."

Got lots of painting done yesterday and 6B/3 w/o HIIT--I was beat. I did up my weights, though, for my 3rd set--25 for the backward lunge, 30 for the row, and 20/ea hand for the push press. I don't hurt as badly today as I expected

ramalem

Hi ladies!

Jen - seriously you're killing it on stage 6! Way to go. I also pinched something doing Negative Chin - ups which actually caused me to have to stop lifting for while last summer grrr. And yes, trim... sigh. I managed to finish the kitchen (aside from the window frame) and now need to start on the living room. It wouldn't be so bad if it were only baseboards but the window and door trim is a giant pain in the *kitten*. Have a great "retreat" today!

Blue - so sorry to hear about kitty. That is hard and frustrating. I agree - if only they could talk things would be a lot easier. Keep us posted on the vet appt. Steel toe boots and a hardhat huh? Awesome. Have fun with the BBQ prep and game today!

I've had a pretty good week. Got my workout in Monday and then yesterday got out for a 3 mile power walk and stopped 2 times along the way to get in some body weight leg/arm workouts. I am headed to yoga tonight and am trying to get the courage to get my swimsuit on and go swimming during lunch tomorrow. We'll see how that goes!

Blueberry09

What an awesome day! Weather was cool - maybe low 60s and overcast but at least it didn't rain! We BBQd steak and chicken and sausage with baked potatoes and Caesar salad. It was a lot of fun. I didn't play slo pitch but a group of us played umpire in the stands. A good time was had by all!

Got in a bit of a run this morning. It was really cool - maybe mid 40s. I broke my mile best pace by 20 sec - did it in 11:30! I think the cooler weather helped my pace. But then I started feeling it in my back . I think I'm going to keep to the bike for the next week to give my back a rest.

Nice numbers on your 6b Jen! Does your "retreat" involve a lot of food too?

Maternity suits are so cute, Meg! Swimming is such great exercise too! I often think of swimming but it would take me so long to work up to a decent number of laps. I'm not even sure I could swim an entire length :laugh: It seems like so much effort to only get a bit done. At least with running you can walk lol

I think Christina is off to CA this weekend! Have a great time! Let us know how your princess makes out in Disneyland

sleepyjen

So how has Nyxon been doing?

Way to get those workouts in, Meg, and thanks for the kudos. I have to say, after seeing that "weightlifting standards" thing and clocking in as "hey, you don't work out!" I was a little sad. But my muscles are big, so I can't complain, really. I wonder if people who do, say, 5x5 tend to lift heavier sooner b/c they're doing the same lifts over and over--if I were continuously deadlifting, I'd theoretically be adding more and more weight. But I don't, so I don't.

I might get in the next one today. We have a full day of faculty development; if I wasn't leading part of the second half, I'd split, but alas.

And no, Blue, not a lot of food--or at least not interesting food. Ok food. I did have a nice lemon square though. Today I plan to have several cocktails.