Cathe Fans Part 5

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a long one but also a fun one. I did the cardio premix from Step Jump and Pump right into Cathe Live Sweat, Jump and Pump, which is a tough metabolic workout. Oddly today I enjoyed revisiting the cardio from Step, Jump and Pump, though I still refuse to ‘strike a pose’ as Cathe requests in the step part. Anyhow, I followed it all with some Pilates and yoga, which felt good.

Thelma, great workouts. I am glad you were able to distract yourself a bit from your concerns about your injuries. Hopefully you will get some good answers and actions on that today. I haven’t seen that our burn ban has been lifted, but we did see somebody burning leaves when we went for a walk on Sunday. I think given how dry we were that the ban is most likely still in place. But because we have had rain, I don’t expect anybody around here to pay any attention to a ban. The unwillingness to follow basic rules is not my favorite characteristic of the people around us, to be honest.

Laurie, great workout. Sounds like your DD and DH are making great progress on her new home. Since we have lived in so many rentals, I have long been pretty disgusted by carpeting. It really just holds on to everything. We do have some in our house now (spare bedrooms and my workout space), but I hope to never have carpeting again in the main living area or master bedroom of whatever house we are living in. Fortunately there is a move away from carpeting in housing these days, so that might actually be possible to do.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workout on Tuesday was walking. It was a long day going from one appointment to the next. I got home at 5:30 from my 3:40 eye exam at a clinic 5 minutes from house! That's how long I had to wait. The morning was taken by my ortho appointment where I had to wait almost 45 minutes. The commute there is 45 minutes each way.

My shoulder surgery is tentatively scheduled for some time on 12/28. I won't know the surgery time until the day before.
The doctor recommended surgery needless to say. I was like let's do it next week! He said it couldn't be done that fast because I need clearance from a neurosurgeon because of the issues with my neck. I also need clearance from my primary care and in my case that is my rheumatologist and also need blood work. If I need neck surgery now, then that surgery needs to happen before the shoulder surgery. At least all my doctors are in the same building!

Luckily, I got an appointment with the rheumy on Friday at 9 and with the neurosurgeon on Monday the 11th at 10:40. The rheumatologist always gives me a lab order ahead of time of my next appointment and I already had that order. I'm going Wednesday morning to the lab, so she can have my labs by Friday.

The surgery will be arthroscopic, which is the least invasive. It will still be a painful and long recovery. I am going to stop PT now because it isn't helping. I will start passive PT the second week after surgery and will see the surgeon a week after surgery. I already have a couple of PT weeks scheduled.
When I wake up from surgery, I will already have the sling on, so I have no idea how the heck I'll get a shirt on. I think I need to buy ginormous button-down shirts so I can put my good arm through the sleeve, but simply leave the right arm under the shirt and have enough room to button the shirt.
The doctor told me only sponge baths during the first week for the upper body.
The PT thinks the first three weeks will probably be the most painful ones, so I'll definitely need the pain meds those three weeks.

The contrast didn't go down to my bicep, so we don't know if there is something there. The radiologist thinks I have something there that blocked the contrast, but I can't remember the name of it. If there's something wrong with the bicep the doctor told me he will be prepared to fix it, then. I also have a little arthritis and he will scrape that off.

Surprisingly we got some rain on Tuesday night! The forecast had our chances of rain at 4%. There may be a little more rain on Wednesday morning. The wind is blowing like crazy though.

Laurie, great workout! I love those Low impact Hiit workouts!

Your DH and DD are working hard to get her place ready for her to move in. The condo must look very nice already with the fresh paint and no stinky carpets. Do the hardwood floors need to be redone?

I am OK in the nerves department now. I just want to get my shoulder fixed. The neck part is what scares me.
Thank goodness for baby gates. I wonder how kids survived before baby gates! LOL

Laurel, great workouts! I cracked up when I read the part about you refusing to strike a pose for Cathe! Too funny!

People here aren't good at following rules either! They usually burn leaves after a rainy day, even with the burn ban. I honestly don't know how people would find out about the burn ban. I have signed up for the county's emergency alerts, but I can't imagine everyone has done that.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Did another good workout this morning with Heather. Chest, Back & Shoulders, and I went as heavy as I could.

DD went to her condo yesterday evening, and she pulled the carpet out of the dining room, bedroom and bathroom. Yes the old dude had carpeted the bathroom. She said that the tile floor underneath was filthy, so she had to give it a good scrub. I don't understand why he covered the tile floor. It has those 1" squares, and is in really good condition. DH was over there yesterday, and got to meet another couple in the condo complex. They said they where so happy that Vic is gone, apparently he was not well liked. The condo was only owned by him and his mother previous to him, so he really didn't do anything to this place. Well except for the carpeting all over the place.

Laurel, Awesome job with the workouts, and for not feeling the need to "strike a pose". I have never done that pose either, just feel silly doing it. I will be doing some pilates with Heather in the near future. I'm glad, because I think it will be a good change of pace for me. One of the things that I have noticed, Heather really does like to work the core. Our house does have carpeting, and when we built, the bathroom was designated to have it also. I nixed that right away, Can you imagine the mold that would grow? Just yuck. I so much prefer hardwood in the main areas, but like carpet for bedrooms. Guess that comes from my parents house, and having to step onto a freezing cold wood floor every morning in the winter.

Thelma, Great job with the walking workout! Your day really does sound like it was a long one, but glad to hear that you have a solid plan. I'm sure that you will have to deal with some pain, but getting it taken care of and not having to deal with the constant pain in the shoulder will be a relief for you. Hope all goes well with all the pre-surgery stuff. I'm very happy that DH and I decided to help DD on Saturday. I think that she was a bit overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done. Now she is quite happy to tackle it by herself, and of course she has a few friends that want to help her too. Hoping that she will be into her new place by next week. She does have to have the floors refinished at some point, but they are so nice that she can do that in the future. I think that she just wants to be in her new place, and we really would like her out of the house. Love having her with us, but it will be nice having just the two of us again.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a 45 minute spin followed by Cathe’s live class from last week which was Metabolic Mania. Like yesterday’s Live workout that I did, this one was focused more on using weights to keep the cardio up than on really working the muscles. I really like this type of metabolic workouts because there is less jumping but a great cardio effect.

Thelma, that sounds like a very long day. I am glad they were able to schedule a surgery date so quickly. I hope everything falls in line when you get more answers on your neck next week. No doubt you are overwhelmed right now by all that is going on so take care of yourself. You are fit and strong, and that will help you without any question. Well, I just read they lifted the burn ban here as well, even though we are still in a drought. And, like you, we had crazy wind yesterday. I really don’t quite understand.

Laurie, great workout. I have really felt tremendous benefits from adding yoga and Pilates to my routine. My back is so much stronger today than it has been in years, and I credit those two forms of movement with that because they are the only thing that has changed in my routine for several years. Hopefully you enjoy doing Pilates with Heather. We had carpeting in our bathroom in the first townhome we lived it, and it was horrible. I never understood carpeting in a bathroom or a kitchen. Just…..no. When we lived in Europe, none of the rooms in any of our houses had carpeting, so I kind of had to get used to the cold floors in the bedroom in the mornings. It is much better with wood than tile though! And a nice soft area rug.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Wednesday were walking X2 and Gentle Yoga.

I found out today that the shoulder surgery is practically a whole day event at the hospital. I have to be at the hospital three hours prior to surgery for prep, which includes a nerve blocker. The surgery is about 2 hours long, then post op recovery time. I won't know my surgery time till the day before, which makes it difficult to book a pet sitter. Now that we have dogs, we can't leave them alone for more than 4 hours at-a-time. They need potty breaks, so the pet sitter will be here two times on surgery day.

Apparently, surgeries have to be done in a certain order, so they need to wait to see what surgeries the patients need. The long surgery time scares me and got me totally overwhelmed.
Somehow the PT appointments I booked on Tuesday got deleted, so I rescheduled them again. PT will be three times a week. DH will drop me off and will pick me up an hour later.

One of my friends told me that when her husband had shoulder surgery, she bought him cheap t-shirts and cut a hole around the shoulder area for his PT sessions. This was a great idea, so I experimented with an old sleeveless t-shirt. I simply cut along the shoulder seam. This allowed me to step into the t-shirt and pull it up my body, instead of pulling it over my head, so it's safer.
I cancelled the expensive snap t-shirts order. Somehow when I went to search for t-shirts on Kohl's.com 'adaptive' t-shirts came up. I had no idea what that meant, but these are clothes made for people who have difficulties getting dressed. Their shoulder seams have either velcro, snaps or buttons and have a wider neck/shoulder area. Who knew this type of clothes existed! Luckily, they were on clearance, for $9-$11! Hopefully they'll work out well for my needs.

It was very windy and cold here all day.

Laurie, great exercise!
I am so glad your DD made such good progress getting her new home ready to move in. She clearly learned from your DH and you and is very motivated. I wouldn't have the floors refinished it they're in such good shape. I have no idea why people used to install carpet in their bathrooms! I am sure you and your DH will be happy to have your privacy back.
I know I will be very happy in a few months knowing that my shoulder is fixed.

Laurel, great workouts. I love those metabolic workouts.

I am totally overwhelmed, but preparing ahead of time as much as I can help me a lot during the recovery time.
I pray I don't need neck surgery just yet. I am pretty sure I eventually will need it given the fact that the orthopedic surgeon wants me to get clearance from a neurosurgeon.

I think it's ridiculous that the burn bans have been lifted.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Had another good workout session with Heather this morning. I did Low Impact Tabata and No Equipment Booty Workout. I thought the booty workout wouldn't be anything effective, but was I wrong.

Laurel, Great workouts, that live one sounds fun. I to enjoy using the weights for cardio, and probably for the same reason (no jumping). My workout tomorrow will be very similar to what you did. I think that is one of the reasons that I'm enjoying these workouts with Heather, she really does give a good mix in her rotations. I'm one of those types that doesn't enjoy having to think about my workouts. That is one of the things that DD will have to invest in, area rugs. Her condo will sound a little hollow without having them.

Thelma, Awesome job with the workouts! Oh my on the long day that you will go through with the surgery. Glad that you where able to find something that will work for your clothing option. DD was tired last night, so she opted to stay home. I can't blame her, she has been working really hard on her place, and also working. Tonight she is going to be watching the baby while my oldest goes to the airport.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a fun combo. I did Cathe Live Cardio Boxing Bootcamp 2 into Cathe Live Metabolic Core. These were both filmed during the pandemic and it reminded me how Cathe did some very different (for her) workouts during that time. I may need to revisit more during my next metabolic week.

Thelma, great workouts. Your surgery day does sound like a long one. Hopefully you can find another responsible pet sitter like you had last time. I had no idea they made clothes like that! I was going to mention yesterday (but forgot) that when I dislocated my shoulder and then got frozen shoulder, I lived in men’s shirts. They were roomy enough I didn’t have to worry about getting my arm into them…..they would just slide on. And I eventually mastered buttoning them with one hand. I wasn’t able to pull anything over my head for months (and still can’t if it is tight). Your option sounds better than mine, though I did grow to love how comfy those loose men’s shirts were.

Laurie, great workout. I love the idea of low impact Tabata. Every time I just leaf through the Cathe Live workouts, I realize I could probably do metabolic workouts for six months straight without repeating any of them. I get overwhelmed with the whole ‘so many workouts, so little time’ concept during these weeks. It has been a super fun week, but I am also looking forward to getting back to more dedicated strength training next week. Like you, I don’t like thinking about my workouts too much, and find that much easier when I am doing a standard strength rotation than weeks like this one which is more a la carte.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Walking and Tracy Steen Killer Leg Day Circuit.

Our forecast is predicting showers on Saturday and heavy showers for Sunday morning! I hope it's true!

Laurie, I love the sound of that Low Impact Tabata and No Equipment Booty Workout! Good job!

Your DD has been working really hard! Good for her for giving her tired body a break.
It really will be a long surgery day. I feel bad for DH because he'll have to sit at the hospital waiting for long time. He will be working while he waits, but I'm sure the hours will still feel like days!

Laurel, great workouts!
Our pet sitter volunteered her husband who is usually her back up. She wouldn't recommend anyone else because no one else is insured in this county. We have a 'meet & greet' appointment on the 21st.

Men's shirts are definitely roomy. DH is slim, so his shirts are not as roomy as I would need them if my arm were to stay under the shirt's body. I was really happy to discover the adaptive clothes. I ordered a fleece poncho that has magnetic snaps down the front and the sides. I also ordered a wedge pillow that was highly recommended by people who've had rotator cuff surgery. Apparently, you have to be in an inclined position and have support under the arm. The wedge is wide enough to provide support under my entire upper body. I want to have a way to sleep in my bed too. I don't want to sleep in the recliner sofa. I have ice packs in the freezer, but my friend told me that the DIY ice packs are better, so I need to make a couple.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Another really good workout with Heather this morning, it was Low Impact Strength and Cardio Workout with Dumbbells. So far for me this has been a non dread rotation. I don't think that has happened in quite a while.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. First stop is the church to decorate for Christmas, and then we head to dd's house for Baby R's first birthday. His actual day is the 22nd, but this weekend is when dad's family is around. I don't think that the grandson will care. DH bought the gift about a month ago, he sure does love having a boy around.

Laurel, Awesome job with the workouts! Interesting that there where so many metabolic type workouts during the covid timeframe. Yep the so many workouts so little time is one thing that can make that exercise adhd come out in me. I want to do them, but sometimes there isn't enough time or my body just says no way. I know that I will probably have to make the new Gloved up and Sweaty workout low impact. I have noticed that my knees are much happier since I have been doing this rotation.

Thelma, Great job with the workouts! Hope that you get that rain. We may get some snow this weekend, even though today is going to be in the 50's. Still feeling the booty this morning, so I'm for sure putting that one as a favorite. Good thing that your DH has work to occupy him while he waits. DH is going to DD's condo today to do some carpet removal, or painting. He hasn't decided what yet. Of course Saturday will be dedicated to the party, but I'm sure we will be heading over to help her on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a 30 minute spin and Cathe Live Scrambled Sweat. The latter workout focused more on weights than cardio, and I wanted that as I go back into dedicated lifting next week. I think those first few reps with heavier weights will still feel heavy though.

Thelma, great workouts. I hope you get rain this weekend. We are supposed to as well starting tonight. But the chances keep falling so who knows what it will look like. Sounds like you have a really good plan in place for taking care of yourself post-surgery.

Laurie, great workout. I am glad your knees are enjoying the rotation as much as you are. I hope you have a fantastic time celebrating your grandson this weekend. How has it been a year already? I’m sure he won’t mind the early celebration. It just means another celebration is yet to come….and then Christmas.

Enjoy the weekend.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice weekend. We had a very rainy weekend and got about 2.2" of rain! Thank God! This is the most rain we've gotten in months! This whole week will be on the cold side and nighttime temps below freezing.

I continue with my preparations for the surgery, buying things that I will need. I've been watching videos by people who've gone through the process. I learned that this surgery had a high failure rate, which is why you're immobilized for so long. I also learned that the incisions are not glued my other incisions were, so there's a risk for infection. The stitches are probably dissolvable. I'll wait till the doctor tells me how soon I can take a full when I see him 5 days post opp.
The pain is going to be bad and I'm not going to be able to do anything other than gentle walking because I don't want to mess up my shoulder. I have the feeling that the first two weeks I'm going to be sleeping a lot due to the pain meds.

I tried one of those dental floss pick things to floss my teeth week. OMG it was quite an adventure! My jaw was killing me because I had to put this thing in mouth carefully in order to get it to my back teeth. Once I got the thing between a couple of teeth it got stuck cause they're so close together. So, there I was with this hook thing inside my mouth! These things are tricky to use, needless to say, but I think I figured out what will work for me.

My big wedge pillow came over the weekend and I think it will work. At least I have choices and not just the sofa.

My workouts over the weekend were yoga, walking, Abs, Cathe's mobility 1, Tracy Steen Inner/Outer Thighs.

Laurie, I am so glad you're having such a good experience with Heather's rotation! Great job!

I can't believe the baby is almost a year old!!! I hope everyone had a great time at the party. I am sure your DH is loving having a little boy around.

We finally got a good dose of rain! I'll have to remember to check Heather's booty workouts! The inner/outer thing I did Sunday was great. It used weights and a resistance loop.
It sure sounds like your DD is going to be able to move into her new condo next weekend!

Laurel, great workouts! I am sure you'll surprise yourself with how stronger you'll feel during those few reps next week.

I hope you got rain too. We were under tornado warning on Saturday night, and it got pretty windy for a little while. Someone said that as the tornado got close to us, it split in two and went in different directions. I don't even know how that happens, but I'm glad it did!

I think I have a good plan for taking care of myself post-surgery. DH doesn't want me to cook ahead of time. I need to have another conversation about that with him, because he has no clue how much I'm going to need his help.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

The birthday party was very nice, and the b'day boy was very good. He was sleeping when we got there, and he slept about another 1-1/2 after we got there. So he was in a very good mood. So we left our house just after 8am to go to the church to decorate, and then we changed clothes at church and headed to dd's house. We didn't get home until after 5pm. Sunday morning was pretty much church and then we did some Christmas shopping on the way home. After that I did a little sewing.

I didn't workout this weekend, and this morning was Heather's Yoga Inspired Full Body Workout. I really do enjoy these yoga inspired workouts that she does. I think that I burn more calories doing them this way than the power yoga that I usually do.

Laurel, Great job with those workouts! Have a great time with your weights this week. I to am surprised how fast this year went, and that the g'baby is already going to be a year old. He is crawling all over the place, and trying to do the couch shuffle. DH is sure having a great time buying trucks and cars, after being a dad to two girls, he is making sure that there are things with wheels in dd's house.

Thelma, Awesome job on those workouts! Nice that you had so much rain. Just to bad it has to come with the tornado warnings. I love those pics, it is the only thing I can use for my tight teeth. You do have to make sure that you get the pics that have the thinner floss. I love the Dr. Fresh flossers, they don't get stuck in my teeth. I have had expensive brands break on me. Sounds like you are ready for the surgery.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Ours was good. Saturday we spent on errands and cleaning out the garage. And yesterday was more errands and household chores. So it was productive if not much fun. Like Thelma, we got a ton of rain Saturday into Sunday morning. We had a tornado watch here, but our storm was mostly heavy rain, some wind and tons of lightening and thunder. Our grass is greener now than it was in August, which is kind of crazy.

For workouts, on Saturday I did Jessica Smith’s Cardio Core Ball workout and yoga. Yesterday was Ramped Up Upper Body Shoulders x 3 and Fit/Split Boxing Bootcamp and Legs and Glutes workout, including the F/S core work. Today was Ramped Up Biceps x 3 premix and a 45 minute spin. So far the Ramped Up Upper Body workouts are feeling kind of easy, so I definitely need to up my weight next week. I usually find these premixes pretty tough, so I am pretty surprised by this.

Thelma, great workouts. I definitely think you need to not do much if anything for the first couple of weeks after your surgery. I know that will be so hard for you, but, boy, I couldn’t think of anything worse than you having to go through the surgery again. I hadn’t heard about a tornado your way! The ones up in Tennessee were horrible. Some parts of Alabama got stronger storms than we did, but ours was pretty benign…..and very wet which was great.

Laurie, I am so glad you and your grandson enjoyed his birthday party. My dad had three daughters, so when my nephew was born, the first thing he bought him was a tiny little football. The memory makes me smile. I have no doubt your DH will show your grandson the wonder of automobiles. Great workout this morning.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I saw the neurosurgeon today and my neck is in bad shape, but I'm not anywhere needing surgery. The doctor prescribed PT. I'm going to move to the PT place! I've been cleared to get the shoulder surgery done.
I saw a lady at the hospital who'd had rotator cuff surgery just 10 days ago and she looked great. I got to see the sling that I will most likely get. It's this huge thing but it has a padded cradle for the arm, which is great. I didn't realize the sling gets wrapped around the waist, but it makes sense because you're supposed to be immobilized.

Two of the adaptable tops I ordered came and they'll workout great. I can definitely step into them, but I don't think they'll be big enough given the size of the sling. They'll come in handy.

I watched a video tonight of a lady who'd undergone rotator cuff surgery. She did the same thing I did when I had my bunionectomy and never had any pain. She started taking the pain meds long before the nerve blocker wore off and she said she never had any pain.

My workouts on Monday were Walking and Tracy Steen Low Impact Hiit and abs.

Laurie, great job with that yoga inspired workout!
I'm so glad the baby's party was great!

I didn't read your post until later in the day, so I missed your comment on the flossers. I ordered a different kind, so hopefully they'll be the kind I need. I am ready for surgery. I just want to get this over with.

Laurel, great workouts! I am so glad you had a good weekend! I am glad your grass is green again!

I ordered an inexpensive hospital bed side table tonight. It will help me have everything I need right in front of me. I'm doing everything I can to make my life easier, so I don't have to be moving around too much. I would be devastated if I broke the shoulder repairs.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This morning was Heather's No Jumping HiiT. Another good hiit workout.

Laurel, Awesome job with all those workouts, and being able to up the weights! Nice job getting all those chores/errands done. Once dd if moved into her condo DH will finally be able to get his truck back into the garage. I know that he doesn't want it outside once we really start getting snow. I love that your dad and my dh did pretty much the same thing with their new grandsons. I have decided that I'm just going to let him pick out the toy's, because he knows what boys like to play with.

Thelma, Great job on the workouts! Dang on the neck information, but glad to hear that PT may be able to help. I think that you will do great with the pain management. That is a very important to manage that for your recovery. Don't blame you for wanting to get the surgery over with.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Ramped Up Upper Body Triceps x 3, Cathe Live Love Me Some Cardio Kickboxing and 20 minutes of Peloton Pilates. It all felt good today.

Thelma, great workouts. And I am SO glad to hear you can work on your neck through PT and not surgery. That has to be a huge relief for you. I think your idea about pain medication is a great one. If you can keep the pain from starting, that will help a great deal in just how you feel overall. I’m glad the adjustable tops will work for you. It really sounds like you are prepared, which is fantastic.

Laurie, great workout. No Jumping HiiT sounds just wonderful, to be honest. We buy Christmas gifts for families in need every year, and DH absolutely loves shopping for young boys. One boy we bought for this year is really into cars, and I didn’t think I was going to get DH out of the store. He was having so much fun. I love that.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Tuesday were Walking, Yoga and lower body Barre.

It's a good thing I bought the wedge pillow and tried it before my surgery. This thing is hard as a rock and Tueday morning I noticed my upper back and neck were hurting. I will give the recliner sofa a try or try to figure out a comfortable position with this wedge by putting pillows on top of it.

Laurie, I love a good no jumping Hiit workout! Good job!

I really hope that taking the pain meds per the prescribed schedule will keep me from having terrible pain.

Laurel, great workouts!

I am glad I don't need neck surgery. I pray that I can manage the pain, so that I'm not in agony.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies

This morning's workout was Heather's Arm Toning & Strength. I was able to go way heavier than Heather, so that was a plus. I don't know if she uses light weights because she needs to. But 10lbs as the heaviest was just no going to work for me.

DD should be in her new place sometime this week. DH and my nephew will be hauling her bed upstairs tonight. DD spent last night cleaning the master bedroom, her office and the bathroom.

Laurel, Great job with the workouts! At this time of the year I can either find my DH in the seasonal or toy sections of the store. We went to Fleet Farm, and boy do they have the really good boy toys. Of course DH wasn't interested in all the cool tractor toys, it had to be racing. At some point the grandson will be getting a green tractor, just because of my Dad. Now that we have been spending a lot of time at Home Depot for items to fix up dd's place, that has really been interesting. DH and dd are off looking at doors, and I'm still in the lighting section.

Thelma, Nice job with your workouts! I think just getting a variety of pillows will work best. You can arrange them how you need them, and of course get them nice a soft. You are going to do great!

Have a wonderful day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Cathe Live Burn Sets Legs with Heavy Weights Express and a tough 45 minute spin. The leg workout is, again, one Cathe filmed during the pandemic and is five sets of three exercises—squats, lunges, and deadlifts—with different variations for each set. All exercises are done for 12 reps. Such a good no nonsense workout that really allowed me to go heavy. Good stuff.

Thelma, great workouts. I am glad you tried out that pillow! I hope you can find something that will allow you to sleep in your bed and not the reclining sofa.

Laurie, great workout. Congratulations on sticking with such heavy weight. And congratulations to your DD. I hope the move goes smoothly and she loves her new home. You made me laugh about being in Home Depot. We have been spending quite a bit of time there as well as we continue buying tools for finishing our deck project. This weekend we went in there for one thing (screws), and ended up wandering around through the entire store and, well, ended up with way more than one thing. Who knew shopping in a hardware store could be so fun!

DH is off work tomorrow and Friday. We will, hopefully, be finishing our deck this weekend so I probably won’t be back here until Monday.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Wednesday were Walking and Gentle yoga.

I was in panic mode about my upcoming shoulder surgery. Hopefully everything will be OK.
I figured out my sleeping situation, which is a huge relief. I'll be able to use the recliner too. Thankfully putting pillows over the wedge worked out quite well. It turns out that our recliner sofas are very comfortable. I was not able to reach to controls on the sofa once reclined, but the loveseat was just right for me.

I had PT for my neck and the PT massaged my upper back and gave me a couple of exercises. I was really tense, which makes sense given how stressed I had been all day. My ice packs came yesterday and took them to PT to show the PT so she could tell where they should be placed on my arm.

Laurie, great workout and good job going heavier than Heather.
How exciting about your DD moving into her new place! I'm sure the baby will love the toys your DH picked for him.

Thanks Laurie. The PT thinks I'll do great too given my preparedness, mobility and my body awareness.

Laurel, great workouts! Nice leg workout format!

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Another really good workout with Heather this morning. I did 30 Min. Low Impact HiiT. Kelly posted that she will be putting out some heavy strength workouts at the beginning of the year on her app. I'm going to seriously look at them, and will probably do a combo of her strength workouts and Heather's HiiT / yoga etc.

DD's bed is in her new place, and she hauled some clothes over last night. I fished the canned food out of my pantry that she eats, and I think I will make sure that she takes some of the frozen meals that she eats out of the freezer. There is no need for us to keep them when I know I will never eat chef boyardee. She is still a little kid in some ways. We will be heading to Costco on Saturday, so that she can stock up on other essentials.

I will be babysitting tomorrow, so will not be online. Have to be at dd's by 7:30, and I will have to deal with traffic.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts! The leg workout really does sound like a good one. I think that we walked out of Home Depot with more than what we intended to purchase also. Glad to hear the we are not the only ones that love that place.

Thelma, Nice job with the workouts! Sounds like you had a really good PT session. Glad to hear that you found a way to be comfortable, and good for you trying it out beforehand. I don't know that I would be that prepared.

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, Thursday was a long day due to a doctor's appointment 90 minutes from here. My workouts were just two walking sessions.

The struggle of getting comfortable in bed continues. I thought I had the set up just right, but it was making my shoulders roll forward in a weird way. I'm trying just a blanket over the hard wedge and a neck pillow. The recliner is probably going to be my best friend at this point. Of course every day the comfort needs might change, which I think is what I'm finding now.

Laurie, great workout! A Kelly/Heather rotation sounds great and definitely something you will enjoy!

Sounds like your DD is in her new place now. I'm sure you're very proud and happy that she's a homeowner, but also happy to get your privacy and kitchen space back! LOL. Hopefully learning how to cook is in her future.

Enjoy your time with your grandson!!

Have a great weekend!
Thelma

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a good weekend. Our weekend was a very busy. I spent the weekend cleaning, getting the clothes I will be able to wear post-surgery refreshed and putting the stuff I won't need away.

I can't remember if I told you this, but my adaptable shirts came, and the sleeveless t's are perfect. I can open the shoulders, step into the shirt and pull it up.
I had DH swap the handheld shower head from the guest room to our exercise room because we have a tub there. The hose in the handheld shower heads in the guest and master bedroom are not flexible at all. It was like wrestling a giant snake. I can't imagine doing that with my left hand. It is not a critical issue right now because DH will be helping me bathe, but even DH said it was a pain to deal with the hose.

My workouts on Friday were Walking, Gentle Flow Yoga, Tracy Steen Legs.
Saturday: Walking and Cathe Mobility I.
Sunday: Walking x2 and Tracy Steen No Repeat Legs and Abs.

The rain we were supposed to get didn't come as predicted. We got a little rain. I didn't check the rain gauge, but if we got 1/10" of an inch was a lot. It's now turned very windy and cold. Monday night's low will be around 17!!!

Laurie, I hope you had a great time with your grandson!
Laurel, I hope you and your DH managed to make a huge progress with the deck!

Have a great week!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Had a very busy weekend. My babysitting gig was of course awesome. He is such a great little guy. On Saturday I headed to church to arrange the poinsettia's on the altar area. Walked in to a interesting arrangement of material that was being used by the Sunday School program. After I got home from that, dd and I went to Costo and spent a lot of money. We needed a bunch of things, and dd was able to get some pantry items. On Sunday I didn't get home from church until after noon. This is really a busy time for me at church, with choir and of course Christmas Eve being on a Sunday. I spent the rest of the day baking cookies, which where super hard to resist.

My workout on Friday was Heather's Killer Abs Workout. I don't know that it was killer, but I really enjoyed it. It was 10 exercises and each exercise was 3 rounds. I didn't workout on Saturday of Sunday. This morning's workout was Kelly's RAW Total Body Drop Sets/ EXPRESS. Kelly used weights that where 15, 20 and 30's, and it was a good one.

Thelma, Great job with all your workouts! Nice job getting everything situated before you have the surgery. Like I said before, I don't know that I would have thought of everything like you have done. We don't have a shower head like that in the "kids" bathroom. Probably should think of doing something like that, because it has a bathtub. We have one of those in our shower, and is very flexible. Right now I'm going to do Kelly workouts to replace the ones that Heather has placed as full body workouts. Tomorrow will be my first Pilates workout with Heather, so I'm hoping that it is a good one.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I hope you are doing well and had a good weekend. Our long weekend was stupidly crazy busy. This deck is proving to be more work than we had believed mostly because the original construction was so poor. We had pieces of the support stringers for our stairs falling off when we removed the steps. Not good. But, thankfully, we repaired all that, got the new steps in and have the railing up as well. We need to finish the lighting in the railing and then do some cosmetic work on the outside of the deck and stairs, but functionally speaking, we have a working deck again. I am so glad we did this because I feel our deck is now ten times safer than it was.

I managed to workout every day, finishing up my first week of the Ramped Up Upper Body workouts on Friday. Saturday all I managed was a 45 minute yoga session with Kristin McGee focused on a healthy back. I sure needed that. Yesterday was Ramped Up Shoulders x 3 premix, and I went up a little in weight over last week which was good. I followed it with 4 Day Split Kickboxing and Legs workout. Today was Ramped Up Biceps x 3, and I also increased weight in a couple of areas on this one. I followed it with a 45 minute spin.

Thelma, great job keeping up with your workouts despite having so much going on right now and so much on your mind. Like Laurie said, you have thought of way more ways to make your recovery better than I ever would have thought of. I’m surprised you didn’t get any rain. We had quite a bit Saturday night and it spit all day yesterday. Of course now that DH is back at work, the sun is out, but like you it is chilly and windy here.

Laurie, great workouts. I am glad your daughter got moved in to her new condo and you sent the Chef Boyardee with her. I remember enjoying some of those cans when I was in college. Not something I am sure I would open up these days unless I had to. Sounds like you have been busy with the Christmas season. I did get to do some baking yesterday because DH had signed up to take cookies to his work Christmas party today. Of course, I had to keep some for us. It was nice last night to end a long weekend with a little taste of Christmas.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies! I'm in deep cleaning mode. I attacked part of the kitchen on Monday afternoon. I've been trying to do things lefthanded, so the kitchen won't be bad to clean. I tried cleaning the toilet lefthanded and that went better than I expected.

I've been watching educational videos by one shoulder orthopedic surgeon. He said that the more damaged the tendon, the harder it is for the surgery to stick. From what I understood tendon retraction indicates that it is an older injury, so I will have to be extremely careful to make sure I don't injure myself. I've also watched other videos by a woman who had the surgery and she's been very helpful. She read about a study that found the riskier time to damage the surgery. The riskier time is at 6+ weeks. It makes sense because apparently at that time you start spending time without the sling. The risk of injury happens when people think they can fully use their arm. I think it's more for non-compliant patients. I intend to stay with that sling on, for as long as it takes.

I thought of another thing I need two hands for today. I have to inject myself every two weeks with my RA medicine. It's like a giant epi pen, but I do need to pinch my skin with one hand and inject with the other.

I also decided to buy an ice therapy machine because the ice treatments are crucial in order to manage the pain. This thing is a little cooler that you fill with water and ice or water and frozen water bottles. It has external hoses that connect to a bladder, and it constantly pumps iced water up to a bladder that goes inside a sleeve and wraps around the shoulder. It even has a remote control that you can program to run the pump at certain intervals. I've been looking for a used one on eBay, but they only have the ones with the knee pad. People put the pad on in the mornings and leave it on all day, they simply disconnect themselves from the cooler when they want to do other things. They even sleep with it on. With this thing I won't have to worry, about finding ways to hold an ice pack around my bicep and over my shoulder.

I've been letting my hair grow on/off for the last four years and I'm thinking of cutting it short, in order to make our lives easier. I don't think I can do it. DH is just going to have to spend a little more time helping me with my hair.

My workouts on Monday were walking X2 and Tracy Steen Abs.

I think I have good news on the shower hose flexibility. I thought it was stiff due to lack of use, so I started articulating it by bending it every few inches and even pressing against the wall then bent. It made a huge difference! I'll keep doing that as much as possible before my surgery. The only thing is that I can't figure out how to make the water flow out of that shower head! LOL. This handheld shower head is the center of a biger shower head. We'll figure it out!

I got a shipment notice from Cathe. It's definitely bittersweet.

Laurie, I am so glad you had a great time babysitting your grand baby. You sure had a busy weekend! How is your DD doing at her new home? I'm glad you took her to Costo to get some pantry items.

Great workouts! I can't wait to read what you think about Heather's Pilates workout. I hope to be able to do standing leg work such as Barre and Pilates.

I think it would be really bad not to be prepared for this surgery. If you're going to bathe the baby at your house, a handheld shower head would be very useful. I am so glad I figured out what to do to make the hose more flexible.

Laurel, what a weekend! I am so glad you guys decided to work on your deck because it doesn't sound like it was very safe! Hopefully another crazy busy weekend is all you need to finish the work.

Great workouts! I hope you got your DVD shipment notification notice too!

It was disappointing to not get the rain that was predicted. Monday afternoon turned windy. The wind really picked up on Monday night and by Tuesday morning temps will be around 20 degrees.

I am a planner and thinking ahead will keep me from getting more stressed post-surgery. I am sure it will be a struggle to learn to live with the sling on 24x7.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

The pilates workout was very good, it was some standing and some floor work. Of course the 100's showed it's face. The workout was Pilates Fusion // Full Body HiiT.

DH and DD moved everything that was in our house to her condo. The only thing they couldn't do was get the items out of the storage unit. The wind yesterday was so cold, it just wasn't a good idea to be out in it for any length of time. We woke up to temps in the teens this morning.

Laurel, Wow that is so good that you decided to redo that deck. To bad that you had to go through extra work, but now you for sure know that it is safe. Awesome job with all those workouts! Of course seeing that you did 4DS kickboxing made me smile. Of course you need to keep some of those cookies for yourself. I still have to make the whiskey cookies, they are on my to do list still.

Thelma, Great job with the workout! You are going to be really good with that left hand after all of this is over with. I like the way Heather does her workouts in HiiT style. It really does help that she does each exercise, and then you repeat. Couldn't believe that I was sweating so much during the workout. I got my shipping notice, so I'm hoping to pop those into my rotation in the next year. I'm really interested in the barbell workout. I know that she is a certified Les Mills Bodypump instructor, so that means she can't put out a workout like that. Just hoping that some of that sneaks into the workout.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Ramped Up Upper Body Triceps x 3 followed by IMAX 4 with double blasts. I surprised myself by going heavier with the triceps today than I did last week. I really didn’t think I would be able to after how dead my triceps felt last week….but I did. I wonder how they will feel tomorrow.

Thelma, great workout. I think you will be very good with your left hand by the time you heal from this surgery. But I also think it is great that you are taking the time to practice with it now. The ice therapy machine sounds amazing. I am glad you have done so much research into the possibilities of re-injury. This is just one of those things you will need to be very patient with. I sometimes wonder if it isn’t taking Cathe so long to recover because she re-injured herself along the way. I, too, got my shipping notice. No doubt seeing that was bittersweet, but they will be there for you when you are ready for them.

Laurie, great workout. Pilates and HiiT are not too activities usually paired with each other. I bet is was great. And, yes, the 100’s always appear in Pilates. I am glad your DD has the bulk of her things moved now. Moving in the cold and dark of December is definitely no fun. 4DS Kickboxing is still so much fun!

DH is off work until after the New Year, so I may be a bit sporadic in checking in, but I will try to check in as often as I can.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, the temperature early Monday morning was 21 degrees.

My workouts on Tuesday were Walking, Yin Yoga and Tracy Steen lower body.

Laurie, great workout! Sounds like a great workout! Those 100's are killers!

How exciting that your DD is living in her own condo now!

I may be fully ambidextrus by the time I'm done with this surgery. I think I would also like Heather's Hiit style workouts.
I didn't know Cathe was a certified Les Mills Bodypump instructor! I'm sure they will be great workouts.

Laurel, great workouts!
I'm glad that I've taken the time to research and prepare as much as possible for this surgery. Good question about Cathe's shoulder! I just think it's a slow recovery and I have the feeling she had a big injury. Overuse and age are big factors in these injuries.

How exciting that you also got your shipping notice!

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Cathe Live Wicked Lower Body and Core followed by a 45 minute spin. We had Bagster come pick up all the old decking material and scraps from the new deck today, so DH and I spent about 90 minutes last night carrying all that wood from the garage to the street. And my body was absolutely exhausted this morning. I am really surprised how well my workout went. And the good news is they just came and picked up all that wood, which is a huge relief for me.

Thelma, great workouts. I agree about Cathe’s injury. She had been complaining about her shoulder for about two years on Live before her surgery. But the good news with her is she has had full mobility from very early in. She just can’t lift the weight she used to. And, honestly, at our ages, mobility is really the most important thing.

See you tomorrow if DH gives me the time to post.

Laurel