40+ Workout Challenge (New Every Month)!

fitnfun1

Hi everyone,

We are a group of ages 40+, and we change our workout challenge every month. We have a common challenge, but you can pick and choose what activities work for you. I hope you will join us!

December's Challenge:

40 minutes of cardio 3-4 days a week
3 days of Strength Training/added 10 minutes of yoga/Tai Chi/Pilates/stretching


This is how this will work:
Monday: 30-50 min Cardio (This allows for a variety of dvds with different time frames)/10 min.
Tuesday:20-30 min Strength Training (same option of a 20 min dvd or 30 min dvd or free style)/10 min.yoga(etc)
Wednesday: 30-50 min Cardio
Thursday:20-30 ST/10 min.yoga(etc)
Friday: 30-50 min Cardio
Saturday: 20-30 min ST/10 min.yoga(etc)
Sunday: Rest or Cardio optional

If you are like me, I like to find Aerotone workouts, meaning strength and cardio in one like a kettlebell workout. These would work for either type of day.

I myself am hoping to lose 8 pounds by January 1st. I bought the 30 Day Shred and will be using on my ST days.

Let's do this!

mspix

Thanks for the new thread and challenge!

Welcome back Sherrill, it sounds like your trip was amazing!

I like the layout of the new challenge, giving room to adjust for personal preference and style

My week was like this:

11/28 Monday: 40 min TJ+ 20 min Yoga
11/29 Tuesday: 40 min TSculpt + 20 TJ
11/30 Wednesday: 40 min TJ
12/1 Thursday: 20 min TJ+10 min Kettlebell + 20 min Yoga
12/2 Friday: No time, GAH!
12/3 Saturday: Helping my daughter move
12/4 Sunday: Not determined

I am finding myself getting bored (gasp) with TJ...so after doing some research and reading reviews, I ordered Amy Dixon's 'Give me 10 more' workout. It looks like fun, and I just love the whole 10 minute workout concept. Not that I stop at 10, but it is nice to mix n match based on mood, lol.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

fitnfun1

I think I'm going to have to hit the Wellness Formula tomorrow. By the end of the day, I was too tired to finish all my working out. I'm sure next week will go better. I always start off better on a workout schedule if it isn't started in the middle of the week.

mspix - Glad you found the new thread. I hope the others will join in soon. You had a good week! Here is mine:

11/28 Monday:
Rowing, stationary, moderate effort 35 min/Walking 10 min./Stair Climbing 5 min./Mini trampoline 3 min./Cleaning 10 min.
11/29 Tuesday:
Kettlebell 15 /TJ Remix 30 /Mini trampoline 5/ Stair Climbing 5
11/30 Wednesday:
Stair Climbing 10/Mini trampoline 5/Hiking, cross country 35
12/1 Thursday:
Walking 40/Mini trampoline 5
12/2 Friday: TJ 20/Stair Climbing 5

As you can see, I really slowed down by the end of the week. I do think I'm coming down with something, but I will use my supplements to say "No Way!"

Have a great weekend!

fitnfun1

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fitnfun1

Sorry, I was testing to see if it would post a link in my feed, but it didn't. :ohwell:

fitnfun1

I started the 30 Day Shred on Saturday. This is a challenging workout, and it is only for 20 minutes. I'm on level one this week. I hope I don't get bored with this too fast. It's not a very "fun" workout, but it is a good one. I'm more of the dance type of gal so circuit training/boot camp is a little boring for me.

Saturday: Circuit Training 20/Shopping 60
Sunday: Circuit Training 20/Shopping 120/Cleaning 30

I think I finished my holiday shopping today too! I'll have to double check tomorrow.

I hope you gals are doing alright. Check in soon!

fitnfun1

mspix - I forgot to ask if you were feeling better. How are you?

mspix

FitnFun, I am very curious to see how you like the Shred. I think we are very similar in our tastes in workouts and the reason I have not picked the 30 day shred is exactly as you say, worried I will get bored/not enjoy it. I am looking forward to the Amy Dixon I ordered. Also going to take another stab at the Booty Barre workout, primarily to mix it up some, but there is also an element of ST in a portion of the workout. The biggest 'con' to the BB is that it is an hour long. I am finding I like to mix it up and am really fond of workouts that vary in length from 10 min to 40 min. But, I figure one day a week won't kill me!

The cold is out of my system, thank you for asking I have added some vit C to my nutritional supplements, so hopefully won't have to battle that again anytime soon!

I like your shopping workout! I did about 3 hours of that myself, on Sunday. Oy! Not quite done with the Christmas list, but fairly close.

Looking forward to everyone's check in's!

Missed three workouts Fri-Sun due to a crazy schedule, but am back at it today!

Monday: 40 min TJ cardio party 2 + 20 min yoga

fitnfun1

I am glad you are feeling better, mspix, and TJ is a good one to do after being gone a while. I need to get my yoga back in the rest of this week.

Checking in today. I think I am now fighting a cold. I was dragging a bit so I decided to just walk today. I did 60 minutes of walking or about 7,000 steps. I think that is equal to around 3.5 miles. I will take it! I hope to be perkier tomorrow and am taking my Wellness Formula.

The 30 Day Shred is okay. I can handle 20 min. of circuit training. If it were any longer, I would be bored. I had Slim in 6 back in the day, and I hated it, but loved the results. I think doing one level for a week or more is going to get tedious for me. I think I will have to mix in some other workouts during the week so I don't not feel like exercising.

However, the workout itself is intense the entire time, and I bet some results will happen. I think I will most definitely be at level 2 next week though since I'm getting used to this one fast.

One positive note for eating. My fiance and I are eating out less. It will also save us some money too. I figured weekends only for about 3 meals maximum. We do eat at Subway for one of them.


Sherrill and GiGi - I hope you make it to this thread!

mspix

I hope you feel better! Colds are so annoying in their ability to drain the energy right out of you Walks are a great way to get some movement without zapping you, good job!

Sounds like you have a good plan in place for eating. We don't eat out often, but Subway is a favorite of mine.

Today I fell back on good old TJ, tomorrow I am going to mix n match several small workouts.

Tuesday: 40 min Turbo Sculpt + 20 min Turbo Jam

Sherrill and GiGi, looking forward to your updates soon!

fitnfun1

I wonder where Sherill and GiGi are? I know they don't post as much as we do, but it would be nice to see them on the new thread!

Anyone else out there want to join us?

Today was Day 5 of 30 Day Shred (I think). I'm losing track and probably need a calendar to mark up. Level 1 is getting easier, so I will be rotating in level 2 next week. I am getting a little bored, so, I will add some dance before this workout. I think I will be diving up my schedule for morning/afternoon/evening and do some yoga in the evening according to our schedule. I had to get used to the new workout before getting back to our challenge.

mspix - I think I needed a break from TJ since it was getting a little easy for me, and I wasn't seeing any more results. I think I'm going to rotate some of the harder workouts in though since I love those workouts! My weighted gloves from BB are tearing and the little ball fillers are coming out. I need to sew them up before using them again, but I will this weekend to add some resistance.

Okay gals, let's see some good weekend recap posts. It's been an interesting week!

sherrillg

I found it!! Sorry guys, it's just been unbelievable trying to play catch up since I got home. Please forgive me! Here's what I've been up to:

Sun 11/27 - walking (shopping) - 90mins
Mon 11/28 - walking/jogging - 17 mins; swimming - 30 mins
Tue 11/29 - waking (easy) - 90 mins
Wed 11/30 - walking (average) - 60 mins
Thu 12/1 - running - 40 mins
Fri 12/2 - ST: 30 mins; swimming - 30 mins
Sat 12/3 - (Arthritis Jingle Bell 5K) running/jogging - 60 mins; walking (average) - 60 mins
Sun 12/4 - walking (easy) - 60mins; swimming - 30 mins
Mon 12/5 - ST: 20 mins; swimming - 30 mins
Tues 12/6 - rest day
Wed 12/7 - (26th Anniversary) Elliptical - 30 mins
Thu 12/8 - walking (average) - 45 mins; crunches & squats

Proud moment #1: Saturday I had the girlies by myself at the run as mom was working. They RAN the 1K! Had to carry Kenzie for a short part of it but Rylee RAN the whole thing and we finished at 5:48 - not too shabby for 3 year olds! Then they were both sound asleep by the 1/2 mile mark of the 5K and slept the entire way and thru all my walking afterwards and back to the car where they woke up while I was transferring them to the car!

Moment #2: cut my 5K time by almost 3 minutes. One of these days I'm going to do one and NOT push a 50lb stroller filled with 50lbs of kid! Wonder what the time differential will be then??? :-)

Thanks for the message, guys. I really didn't mean to drop of the face of the earth! :-)

mspix

Fitn: Sounds like you have a good plan! Thanks for mentioning the gloves, I have a pair of those somewhere, that could really make a difference.

Sherrill: Holy WOW on your 5k! And how wonderful that your girls ran with you So very cool! You are so dedicated to your workouts, and I love how you include your grand daughters Great couple of weeks, glad you found us!

So far:
Monday: 40 min TJ cardio party 2 + 20 min yoga
Tuesday: 40 min Turbo Sculpt + 20 min Turbo Jam
Wednesday: 20 min TJ + 20 min Ab jam + 20 min Yoga
Thursday: No time!

I am thinking that I may do the Booty Barre tomorrow, just for a real change of pace. It is a tremendous challenge for this old bod, and I haven't done the workout for several months.

Thanks for the inspiring updates, it is so nice to know there are others out there facing similar challenges :flowerforyou:

mspix

Well, being a creature of habit, and being short on time this morning, I defaulted back to TJ. I think I will do the Booty Barre on weekends when my schedule is more forgiving.

Friday: 40 min TJ
Saturday: 60 min Ballet/Pilates/ST+cleaning+shopping+Hubby's Christmas Party (warning!warning!danger!danger!)
Sunday: TBD

Have a great weekend!

fitnfun1

OMG Sherrill - you are too awesome! What an inspiration you are. Congratulations on your 5K and your proud moments. Your post makes me want to get more into gear! Thank you so much for finding the time to share.

mspix - The weighted gloves did make a difference for me. I hope you find them. I hope you are either able to avoid the danger or just give in to it and have some fun (one day won't ruin all the work).

I have good news! I weighed myself this morning, and I am finally back to pre-Thanksgiving weight and progress. The 30 Day Shred works! I lost the 2 pounds in this week that I have been solely using it (plus some walking).

I also discovered that my body changes on a dime. If I am bad, I quickly gain weight, but if I'm good and stick with the new program, I can quickly shed as well. I'm sure this will change once I get in the final 10 pounds, but I'm happy to see the changes coming more easily now.

I want to thank all of you for helping me figure this all out. When you are 40 and older, you need cardio, strength, flexibility, and mind/body exercises. It's good for everyone, but especially for us 40 and up folks.

:flowerforyou:

sherrillg

I got up early today and worked out at the Y before taking the girls to their audiology appt (all is good, they indeed CAN hear, just choose not to :grumble: ). I had planned to sleep in but thought better of it when i was lying in bed at 6am!

FRI - 12/9 - 20mins - running; 20mins - swimming; 60 mins - misc walking/playing (children's museum)

Tomorrow I'm doing another 5K (last before foot surgery next week). This is a much tougher course with a lot of wind and a huge hill. Hoping my wrists hang in there! Otherwise, i may be booting the girls out and making them run the hill! :laugh: Probably won't be on until Sunday (have a going away dinner party for a friend too). Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

hooty006

interested in joining this workout challenge..hooty006 is my name and james tipton on facebook

fitnfun1

Hooty (James) - Welcome! So glad you are joining us. The good news is that so far it looks like our challenges are getting us all some results. Please do let us know what workouts you are choosing since we are always looking out for new ways to shake things up.

Sherrill - good for you! I am not a morning person, so to get me to workout that early would mean a big bucket of ice water dumped on me. :laugh: I know what you mean about the kids and their hearing. They ignore us until they either hear their name or are finally interested in something a they go "What?" Good luck on your 5K. If you need any pointers for staying fit after your foot surgery, I'd be happy to give you a few. I did still workout after I broke my foot. Would you believe walking with the crutches can get you to break a sweat? Take care of yourself, and prayers and positive thoughts for your surgery.

mspix - I know, TJ is a good one to fall back on when you are short on time. Since we know the workouts, it seems to be the easiest to grab and do before you have to go. Is the Ballet Barre workout good?

Today I did 2-3 hours of holiday shopping. We went to our outdoor mall so lots of walking around. I ended up parking on the top level due to few parking spots left, so that meant some stair work too. When I got home, I did level 1 of 30 day shred. After the day off, I was winded on the first circuit, but then I was fine the rest of it. Very strange.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

fitnfun1

I'm re-posting this month's challenge to remind myself to get with it. LOL!

Monday: 30-50 min Cardio (This allows for a variety of dvds with different time frames)/10 min.
Tuesday:20-30 min Strength Training (same option of a 20 min dvd or 30 min dvd or free style)/10 min.yoga(etc)
Wednesday: 30-50 min Cardio
Thursday:20-30 ST/10 min.yoga(etc)
Friday: 30-50 min Cardio
Saturday: 20-30 min ST/10 min.yoga(etc)
Sunday: Rest or Cardio optional

mspix

Hi everyone! Sounds like good weekends for all!

Sherrill, I had to LOL (in sympathy) re: your girls. Kids are so....special. :laugh: I hope your 5k went well!

FitnFun: Your shopping workout sounds like a lot of fun! Interesting that one day off of Shred would cause you to be winded. It seems you are managing to stick with it, potential boredom and all! Good for you! Booty Barre...wow. I totally forgot how intense it is. I also forgot that it DOES have segmented workouts (that made me very happy). There are four segs, warmup, arms (holy OW!) abs, and the longer one being the all over workout. My legs and inner thighs are still sore! So, my plan is to incorporate parts of this workout in a couple times a week. The longer workout really had my heart rate up! The Amy Dixon workout came over the weekend, I am really looking forward to doing that one tomorrow.

James: welcome aboard! As Fitn said, please tell us your workout choices, I am always interested in what works for others.

Here is to a great week!:flowerforyou:

sherrillg

5k on Sat went very well. it was very cold and a tough course and i think 43 mins was quite acceptable!

Sat 12/10 - 5K, walking most of the rest of the day
Sun 12/11 - ST: 35mins, water jogging-15mins, walking-60mins

tomorrow is a pre-op appt, not sure what/if i'll get to work out :grumble: going to push hard Tue & Wed before surgery on Thu. haven't quite figured out what i'm going to do post surgery and here is why. I will be flying to Indiana (home, lots of relatives) 4 wks post surgery. Technically I'm not supposed to be walking on it until 6wks. Last surgery I got rid of my scooter at 4wks and hobbled on my heel. (i can't use crutches because of the arthritis in my wrists) I'm hoping that recovery is a good this time around because I'm a bit worried about navigating a plane change with the girls on my own so I'm leaning toward being even more conservative during the next month to hopefully ensure that I'm physically ready. Make sense?? (oh, and by the way, this would not have been an issue if they hadn't rescheduled the surgery twice AFTER i bought the tickets!)

fitnfun1

Monday and Tuesday has been extremely busy, but I managed to do the 30 Day Shred. Tomorrow I want to do something else, maybe plus the 30 Day Shred. We shall see. I still want to do my 10 min. of Yoga stretches so I can be on the challenge schedule.

Sherrill - I had no idea how much navigation was involved for your surgery. Do you have a gym near by you with the arm bicycle machines? They work really well for getting your heart rate up for cardio. Here is a list of things I did when I couldn't walk:

1. Arm bicycle machine.
2. Kickboxing workouts while sitting on my butt - upper body only
3. Kettlebell workouts - upper body only
4. Strength training moves sitting in a chair (yeah, like the cheesy sit and be fit videos)
5. Floor Pilates
6. Ab work
7. When my foot was a little better - rowing machine with wrapped foot to cushion it.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Something was better than nothing. I tried doing Yoga thinking it would be okay, but most of the poses require feet. The Pilates was much easier. One word of warning, the elliptical machine was the worst! I thought it would be all low impact when I was ready, but the pushing of the foot to work it was very painful.

mspix - I'll have to look out for the Booty Barre - that sounds intense! I don't really know Amy Dixon either. There are so many trainers out there.

After this month, I will be on the hunt for another round of workouts. What is the latest craze these days? I don't think I want to get Turbo Fire. I once took Turbo Kick classes which are like the Fire routines, and I felt like a wind-up toy that was wound to fast. LOL! Anyway, let me know if you have any ideas for new workouts.

Wonderful Wednesday to you!

sherrillg

Mon 12/12 - pre-op appt most of the day but managed to get some walking in
Tue 12/13 - cleaning - it's that nesting thing knowing that I won't be able to do a thorough cleaning for a couple of weeks - heck, i even oiled my butcher block countertops! Crazy how our minds work!

FitnFun: Thanks so much for the ideas. Yes, I do have access to arm bicycles at my Y. They have ones that are just arms and also a couple that have elliptical legs but while seated. Sounds promising. I have kettle bells and medicine balls of varying weights at home. I'm going to take a good 4 days with absolutely no exercise as a break to ensure that I give myself time to heal.

James: Welcome - just sent you a friend request

mspix: another funny kid story...eating out tonight, Kenzie was not eating and playing instead. I say "We are going to go home and go straight to bed because you are misbehaving" she responds "ok, thanks Grammy" - What the heck???:noway:

mspix

Monday: 60 min: Amy Dixon Give Me 10 More
Tuesday: 40 min: Turbo Cardio Party 2
Wednesday: 60 min: Amy Dixon GM 10 More

Sherrill: How frustrating on the rescheduling! I don't have any other suggestions regarding post surgery workouts, sounds like Fitn had some great ones!
RE: kid story, LOL!
I have one, too...My 5 y.o. gbaby girl, Jaiydann performed a cartwheel in her front room, then asked her mommy if she saw it. Her mommy replied 'no, I had my back turned'. Jaiydann responds, 'But you have eyes in the back of your head!'.
Totally cracked me up!

Fitn: I think you would find Booty Barre very challenging. It actually frustrated me on a couple of occasions, primarily because some of the positions are just really unfamiliar. I think, too, that knowing we have similar tastes, that you would like Amy Dixon. Her cuing is fantastic, she is very helpful without being over the top, the moves in the dvd I have are easy to learn, but very challenging to master. I may pick up more of her workouts.
Here is a video clip: http://www.collagevideo.com/workout-video/amy-dixons-give-me-10-more-6012

fitnfun1

Sherrill - I am so glad you are getting ready while you can. I'm the same way. If I know I won't have the ability or time, I will clean. In fact, I have a funny habit. I clean my house before leaving on vacation. I can't stand coming home to a messy house.

mspix - Amy Dixon looks great! So inventive with her moves. That one video looks good. I wonder if she has a workout set that could be used for a month challenge. I am on the look out.

Today, I was almost about to not workout. I think I finally felt blah about doing that workout again, and I wasn't up to doing the level 2. I pulled out my favorite 20+minute kettlebell workout. I figured it does almost the same type of cardio plus toning that Jillian's workout has. I might need to do a few minutes of ab work to get it all in. I still have 10 min anyway to do.

James and Gigi - I hope you stop by soon so we know how you are doing.

fitnfun1

I have to take today off. Some bug sneaked up on me and I'm not feeling so good. I'm taking my Wellness Formula, so I hope I will be fine by tomorrow. Rats, I had good momentum going. I hope you are all well!

mspix

Drat! I hope your Wellness Formula kicks the tar out of 'it'. I hate it when I lose momentum!

I got my 40 of cardio in today, was hoping to get another 10-20 of Yoga before the end of the night, but late night drop ins kinda messed that up. Ah well.

Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, might mix in some lighter stuff, I am still rather sore from Miss Amy Dixon, lol!

sherrillg

Surgery went very well. I've basically been asleep since! :-) Decided since I don't have to do anything until Monday I'm going to keep the pain meds at the higher level to ensure that i stay DOWN and keep the foot UP. :-) Will check in as I can. You guys go exercise for me, ok??? :-) take care

mspix

Sherrill, I applaud your plan! I hope your recovery is without complication!

Friday: 40 min Amy Dixon (this is like a circuit training set) 10 min Yoga

I tried to go 'light' with some dance workouts and just couldn't do it I need that higher burn! If I am not sweating and breathing hard, it just doesn't feel like a real workout. Probably won't have much workout time this weekend, busy shopping/baking/holiday prep schedule, so will count Sat/Sun as rest days and try like heck to stay within my calories!

Have a great weekend everyone!

fitnfun1

Sherrill - I'm so glad the surgery went well. Your plan is a good one. I had to stay off my foot for a while so all the swelling would go down. No cheating and let your family help you through this time.

mspix - Now I'm really curious about the Dixon workout. Did you like it? I'm the same way that if I'm not sweating enough, I know it is not enough, but sometimes we need to go light to confuse our body a bit once in a while. Even the P90X program which is fairly hard core from what I hear has a Yoga day to be light one of the days.

I didn't lose too much momentum since I took yesterday as my day off. Today I did Hip Hop Abs and some yoga. I had to do something else besides the 30 Day Shred. I'll be back to it tomorrow, but it does get boring after a full week of it. I had so much fun with the HHA. I knew I had to enjoy the workout to get through it since I'm not 100%. Don't worry, this one wasn't as tough as the other two in the series so I took it a little easier.

Have a great weekend everyone!

fitnfun1

Checking in real quick. I did the level 2 of 30 Day Shred. OMG! She wanted to have us feel like we were going to die. She succeeded. I have never done plank jumping jacks before. Again, OMG! I survived though and will rotate this one in for the week.

I couldn't sleep and woke up around 4:15 am. I caught the infomercial for the 10-Minute trainer. Although a "boot camp" format, this could be a good set to get. I'm still thinking about the next round and next month's challenge.

Have a good day everyone!