Cathe Fans Part 5

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout started with 4DS Upper Body Weights. Boy, I love this workout! I don’t do it more often because of the length (67 minutes without warm-up and cool down), but I should. I finished it nearly two hours ago and my arms are still feeling it. I followed it with Cathe Live 2014 Road Trip Step Class which is, in essence, just like F/S Shred Cardio but with a longer, more choreographed warm-up and cold down. Tough stuff! I think if our Road Trip had included a workout this hard last spring, I would have spent a couple of classes in the bar! But it felt good today.

Tami, good luck on your ride tomorrow! The weather sounds warm, but, hopefully, it will be dry and not too warm. Great workouts! Thank you for understanding this bizarre ‘unsettled’ or ‘off center’ feeling I have had this year. I think doing this long rotation is helping me understand that, really, I AM settled and can relax into a routine. But I just can’t quite shake it completely. I am thinking (today.....this may change tomorrow ) that instead of Bootcamp workouts in that BC week, I may do Total Body workouts instead. I am in the process of mentally creating a long rotation to get me through the winter (and, again, make me feel more settled), and want to revisit some of those workouts to see where they might fit in. I’ll keep you posted if I change.....just so I don’t confuse you (even though we are a week apart right now on the rotation). I have loved this summer’s rotation because it has been fun and flexible (which is what I was going for). But, no doubt, the next rotation will focus more on strength training than this one. My body really does still respond way better to that type of working out.

Thelma, wow on all the activity!! Great job!! And I love that your instructor recognized the pro in you. I am so glad to hear you sounding better. I did not have a Brazilian Blowout (my stylist really doesn’t like those because of the chemicals). I did a Keratin treatment. It has been pretty humid here the past couple of days since we have had some pretty heavy rains....and I will say this—my hair isn’t getting any fluffier. And that’s a good thing! We let it dry naturally after the appointment, so this should be about as bad as it gets and it is very tolerable. Today I will try blow drying and see how that goes. My aim is to stop using a flat iron since that is so hard on the hair. You make me hungry with all the Air Fryer food suggestions! Everything sounds SO good.

Laurie, sounds like another good workout. I will be interested to hear if you feel the benefits from the 15 minute stretch. I have mixed results in how I feel shorter (10-15 minute) stretches. Of course, it would help if I had some consistency in my stretching to really be able to assess it though! I looked at that August Rotation. What a terrific blend of workouts! I am going to book mark that one, even if I only do a week or two of it in between rotations. Love the variety.

Erika, hope you had a good week!

Enjoy the weekend.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

More landscaping this weekend, and now I just need to get the last of the plants into the ground. Had my hair appointment on Sunday. Was really nice just to relax. This morning I did Kelly's Step Boxing 2 Combined workouts.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts. LOL about that tough Cathe road trip workout, I would be with you at the bar. I don't know if I could have done a step class. I'm glad that the combo felt good. I will have to say the 15 min. really didn't do to much for the body, so I may have to increase the weight. I thought the August rotation had that aspect to it also. It had a nice blend of old and new. Or maybe it was old and new ones that I actually enjoy. Of course I will have to see if I'm wanting to do MIC.

Tami, I hope that your bike ride went well. So how fast is her race mode?

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies, I had a bit of a setback this weekend but doing better. Both my Achilles' tendons were very painful and swollen. I was practically walking on my heels because my feet wouldn't flex due to the stiff Achilles tendon. I'm still walking funny but better. Also, my left index finger swelled up and it was painful. I took an Aleve last night and it helped. I got a haircut on Sunday and also colored my hair; which was needed badly. I love that this place is open on Sundays. I was the first one there. Within 1/2 hour I drove to the salon, got my haircut and returned home! How convenient!

I was very fatigued during the weekend, probably because of all the workouts I did last week. No workouts for me during the weekend.
On Friday I did Restorative Healing yoga and Jessica Smith 4 miles from 6 Mile Mix.

The yoga studio has a challenge for the month of August. The grand prize is a one-year membership. There are 30 challenges and only one a day can be achieved. There's a lot of social media involved but someone competitive has emerged from me! It definitely is a game of strategy. Today I spent the entire afternoon strategizing. I achieve a challenge pretty much every day in August. I still have 3 spots that I don't know how I'll do. One of the challenges is to sign up for a workshop and you get a bonus point if you bring a friend to the workshop. The ladies I know didn't want to do it, there isn't a "rent a friend" service here but I was able to convince DH to do the workshop with me! I found me a friend! LOL
We are going to do a 2 hour Thai Restorative workshop on 8/30. I'm really excited about this challenge. I'm going to have to go take a yoga class on Saturday at 8:30 for another challenge point. In two weeks I think I'll have to go take a 5:30PM class because one of the challenges is to take classes with 5 instructors. I only take classes with 3 of them. This 5:30 instructor only teaches one class but it's a yin/yang. Easy!

My challenge for today was to take an early class. The first class today was at 8:15. I did 3 classes today. I know it sounds like a lot but the first 2 were kinds of restorative classes so easy.
Today's workouts were Ying/Yang, Beginner Gentle Yoga, and Barre.

I'll be doing Barre at the church tomorrow.

DH has yet to start his new job. He's still working for Tufts full-time but believes he'll be starting his new job next month. Not thrilled about this because it means traveling. He thinks he'll be traveling 2 weeks out of every month.

Laurie, doing great with your workouts! Sounds like it was a haircut week! I bet your landscaping looks great! Are you adding to what you did last year?

Isn't funny how you think you can't do all those back-to-back workouts but once there you do it. I think it's pure adrenaline at that point.
There's no way I'd drive to another town to do a PiYo class on a Sunday. I can't believe how busy I am here! It's a happy 'busy' though. I am really enjoying life here and the yoga challenge is spicing things up more. I have DH enlisted to help me. He is my photographer and my workshop friend! LOL
We went out to dinner to a neighboring town and I had to get a picture taken out of town with the studio's yoga gear. I had a t-shirt and DH took my picture. I have to have a picture taken practicing yoga outside the studio and another one doing an inversion pose. It has to be standing on your head with legs up. This can be done against a wall.
My acid reflux is very controlled. I'm not sure if the steroids are helping or if it's the fruit/veggie infused water I drink. I read that certain fruits and vegetables help with acidity so I'm doing that.

Laurel, fantastic workouts! Glad you had a nice weekend, were able to play golf, and that the Keratin treatment is working! Did the Keratin treatment take 5 hours or did that time also include a haircut and styling?
I hope this Keratin treatment will help you eliminate the usage of a flat iron. How often do you have to repeat the treatment?
Days are definitely getting shorter.

You have no idea how happy I am about having been able to increase my activity level so much. Not doing big weights yet because my hands can't handle it yet. I'm working on my balance because yoga poses that I could easily do before are very wobbly now. I'm also working on my planks.

We are loving our air fryer. Yesterday we made this one
https://www.skinnytaste.com/crispy-breaded-pork-chops-in-the-air-fryer/

Hi Tami, how was your race?

Hi Erika!

Goodnight ladies!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout started with LIS Lower Body Trisets and the core work from LIS Slide and Glide. So good! For cardio, I did spinning with Cathe’s Pedal Power DVD. I admit to waking up very cranky today (our bathroom issue is really bothering me as we approach three months post-destruction and nothing but excuses from the builder on why they can’t complete the job), but that spin workout was the perfect treatment! I feel much better now.

Thelma, love the sound of that challenge! I am sorry about your set back this weekend, but it sounds like you are in a better place both mentally and physically than you were for several weeks despite that. You are one tough cookie! I am sorry your DH is going to be traveling so much. But if you ever need a ‘rent a friend’, I volunteer! The keratin treatment, the color, cut and style took all that time. Plus lots of chatting with my stylist. We have become good friends (despite the fact I am her mother’s age....literally) with our common bond of living in Alaska and moving from Alaska to here at the same time. I will need to get this done every three months, but if I get healthier hair out of it be cutting down on the use of a blow dryer or flat iron, it will be worth it. And I am also toying with letting my gray grow in. I am not quite there yet, but I am really close to doing it.

Tami, congratulations on the race!! That is an incredible achievement (again), and I am glad you and your friend were able to ride it together. Great workout on Sunday. I think after that ride I would have opted for a day under a tree with a book. I am sorry you are getting smoke again, though. Hopefully the season will start changing soon and you get some cooler, wet weather.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Hi Ladies, I felt pretty tired today but I still went to the church for the Barre class. I got up early and was at the supermarket by 8 am, came back home for breakfast and then went to Barre class.
I decided to get a little rest and then got up to do a little house cleaning. Today I decided to do what an old friend does. One room a day. I did a little more than that. 1.5 bathrooms and vacuumed our main floor. This will be easier for me. I just don't have the energy to clean the entire house in one day. Easy does it!

Today's challenge was "Be Proactive" by sharing on social media a post from the yoga studio. Done!

The temp here on our deck felt like a very cool 70 to me. I was actually cold on the deck. Difference story in downtown BR, 5 minutes from here. We are lucky to get shade most of the day because it keeps us cool. In the afternoon the sun was very strong and I didn't feel hot but more like I was getting fried. This is a result of the meds I take. There is no way I can be in the sun without sunblock, sun shirt, and a sun umbrella and possibly a hat too. Not fun!

My Achilles tendons are better. The left one was the first one to get swollen and it's healing first. The right side is better but has a couple of days to go I think.

Tami, so glad you did so well on your race! Congratulations! Both of you should be very proud of yourself! We are proud of you!
Great workouts too!

The Achilles' tendons pain is definitely different than plantar fasciitis. I just can't believe how busy I am here, all in a good way. Life is really good for us here. A lot of convenient businesses around here. The only inconvenience is not having easy access to the specialists I need! Oh well, we can't have everything we want.

Laurel, really good and challenging combo today! OMG, I didn't realize you were still dealing with the bathroom issues. I'm so sorry about that. No wonder you were cranky today!

The challenge is a lot of fun. I really am in a much better place mentally and physically than I was a few weeks ago.
AWWWW! Thanks for volunteering for the 'rent a friend' position! LOL
A lady who just moved here from FL with her husband, always asks me to go to lunch with her and I always go with her. So I was hoping she'd do the workshop with me. At least she'll go to lunch with me at this restaurant where I'm supposed to order a "Buddha Bowl" as one o my challenges. Not sure I will like this vegan salad. It has greens, cukes, chickpeas, tofu, onions and Greek dressing. Seems to me it needs some feta cheese! On Friday this lady will come to the yoga studio to take a class and she will be helping with another challenge. Next time there is a good workshop I'll let you know to see if you want to do it, Laurel. You can stay with us! It will be fun to have DH do this workshop with me.

I'm glad the 5 hours at the hair salon were not just for the Keratin treatment! How nice that you've become good friends with the hairstylist and that she just moved here from Alaska! Small world! I really hope the Keratin will help your hair recover from the damage it may have from the flat iron and blow dryer.
OMG, going gray! I've toyed with that idea too but I am not ready yet. I keep thinking about a friend who decided to go gray and she looked so much older! Some women just have the right skin color to go gray and they look gorgeous. I just don't think it will work for me. I think I would have to really wear makeup to make the look work for me. Of course, since I moved here I rarely wear makeup so that won't work! I think we should order gray wigs, try them on in the comfort of our bathroom and then decide about going gray. I really want to do this and then send the wig back! LOL

Hi Erika! So good to hear from you. I bet it is a huge challenge to keep the puppy calm!

Now that the meds seem to finally be kicking in, the setbacks are less than previously for sure. I just have to listen to my body and do as much as it lets me do.
The air fryer we have is the Cosoti Stainless Steel 5.8qt. Wow! It's on sale too! You can get it for $100 with after applying the $30 off coupon!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NL1L4SL/ref=emc_b_5_t

They have a black one which has more presets. That is the older model but apparently, the difference is the stainless steel part. I was able to fit a 5lb chicken in there!

Last year we bought a Cuisinart air fryer/convection/toaster combo one. Now it's just taking up space in the pantry. We use the Cosori at least 2 times a week now.
If you get one make sure to buy perforated air fryer liners that fit your air fryer. Helps with the cleanup. The most amazing part is that the house doesn't get hot or food smells. Of course, faster cooking time is awesome.
I haven't bought any of the accessories they sell but I'm thinking about it. I must admit that DH is the one who deals with the air fryer. I prepare the food and he warms up the AF and then brings the basket to me so we can put the food in it. I want to try baking in it.

Hi Laurie!

Goodnight ladies!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was LIS Upper Body Trisets followed by Step Blast. We are having internet issues, so this is the second day I started a Cathe Live workout and had the internet die in the warm up. But, honestly, I am enjoying these older cardio workouts on DVD right now. Today’s step workout was an added mental challenge trying to remember all those moves! But since this one was a long time favorite of mine, I finally figured it out. Fun stuff!

Erika, I was wondering if you were still struggling with your bathroom project as well! Like you, we can at least use the shower. Right now it’s just the principle of the matter that is bothering me....well, and the appearance of our master bath. If DH and I could find the right materials to repair it, we would. Enough is enough! Glad to hear you are enjoying more pleasant weather. We are still pretty sticky down here, but it is pretty manageable most days.

Thelma, with all you are doing, it is little wonder you are tired! But it sounds like you have found a nice balance of doing what you want to do, taking care of chores, and listening to your body when it needs to rest. That’s a pretty chilly temperature on your deck. Our lows right now are hovering right around 70, so we aren’t getting much cool air, but it is way better than the lows in the 80s we had in Florida (or, worse yet, times I spent in Phoenix with my mom when the low would be about 100! ). I love your idea of buying gray wigs! Right now, I am starting the process of making my hair lighter to see how I like that. As my stylist says, if I can’t deal with it being light, I will hate it gray! So.....we’ll see. I am so glad you have friends who are joining you in these activities. Sounds like you really found an ideal place to live.

Laurie, new phones are a pain. I just changed mine out in June, and I am still working on it. But great workout this morning! Love that one for sure. What your daughter said about the keratin treatment is exactly what my stylist said as well. I don’t really mind the wave and curl in my hair, thankfully. The nice thing about getting rid of some of the frizz is I can actually see the curls and not just.....volume. Yes, us military spouses have a way of finding somethings from city to city that are consistent....like Ulta. Unfortunately I didn’t find Ulta until retirement from the AF, but since we haven’t retired from moving, it has been a great find.

Tami, hope you are well.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

We had thunderstorms last night, but a relief from the humidity this morning. It was so nice to wake up without having to deal with a headache. My workout was Kelly's Amped Up Cardio Workout 1 and CTX Chest.

Laurel, Great job on all the workouts, to bad about the internet issues though. Glad you are having a good time with the oldies, it has been forever since I did Step Blast. I always forget how really good these CTX workouts are, I was really struggling with the push ups this morning after the weight work. I think Ulta should use that for their marketing. Give the military and their wives a discount too. I put highlights in my hair, and being outside made my hair naturally get lighter. I was okay with it, so I think that gray will be okay. Now if I would get the white hair like my grandmother had, I would be really happy. On of my Aunts on my Dad's side has that beautiful white hair, and I resemble her a lot.

Thelma, Great job on the two classes, they really do sound good. Your body has been through a lot, so using the 3lbs is an accomplishment. Glad to hear that you didn't have to eat the tofu, I'm not a fan of that at all. I have tried to like it, but just can't. Enjoy your pedicure today. I will make sure that the fryer is on my wish list for Christmas. If I tell DH we can have really good sweat potato fries from it, I will probably get one. He enjoys those fries, and they never turn out very good when you bake them. I will post once I get the plants in the ground. We have had such hot temps after work, that even thinking about going out there makes me cringe. Today is so much better, that I'm planning on getting the rest of the plants in.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies ~ Sorry I missed you yesterday. I am very happy to report I have been filling in for our Title Recorder as of yesterday for remainder of this week and all next week. So YAY!!!! On learning and doing something new {finally!} It’s not hectic or stressful just a new thing to be doing so yesterday kind of got away from me.

Workouts: yesterday I did BURN Sets Ch/Back/Shoulders + a HiiT Peloton ride in the evening. This a.m. was BURN Sets Bis/Tris and going out to dinner tonight with my BFF. She is pretty booked on weekends these days so we scheduled a “week day” visit.

Erika: Sounds like a very busy summer with your boys, puppy, etc. as always. But it sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you for the kudos on my bike race. It was definitely tiring but I was amazed at how much my legs did not feel like Jell-O when I was done. Even the next day …… the PELOTON is paying off forsure! I love that you think of me when you see the commercials. I swear I could sell those bikes for them.

Thelma: Way to go with your Barre class! Sounds like you are continuing to truly enjoy those, which is so great. Love the “one-a-day” room cleaning. Great method! Love that you are so busy in your new life. But it is definitely a different kind of busy I am sure from when you were working.

Laurie: Sorry to hear about your headache and thunderstorms. We have had some amazing heat and now a thunderstorm is supposed to hit us tomorrow. Fingers crossed no more fires erupt around us. Excellent job getting in CTX Leander Legs. That is a sweatfest from what I remember.

Laurel: Amazing combinations of workouts!!!! WHOASA. That Cardio Core Plateau Buster sounds so good. All of that PLUS Leg Day. Way to go. I am happy for you that your internet is working better …. Always a bummer when that goes on the fritz. Especially since you use it for so many of your workouts. Like Thelma said, Thank God you have your DVD’s just in case.

I will talk to you ladies tomorrow! Tami

Morning Ladies,

What a great morning, it was in the 50's. Got in my plants, now I just need to put mulch down. I think that I might need some more plants next year. We will see how much some of these plants grow and spread before I do that. My workout this morning was Kelly's Circuit Burn Cardio & Legs Premix and CTX Back & Abs. Really having a great time with these one body part and changing up the cardio. I didn't realize how many boxing type workouts that Kelly has, and that is what I love for cardio. I was tempted to change the one body part next week, but I might stick with the CTX workouts for a while.

Laurel, Your workouts sound awesome, and tough. Looks like a lot of us are focusing on that lower body. I'm trying to keep with the theme of the cardio in the CTX workouts. They really do have a lot of step work in them. I just remember that my knees didn't enjoy the cardio, and the only one that I liked was the kickboxing one. I am still feeling the chest work from yesterday, and you are right that first set of slow is torture. Doing the plank work this morning was tough because of that, but I managed to get through it. I'm sure that the going totally gray would be a slow process, it can be quite the change. That is really nice that yours is coming in a pretty white though. My brother that is a year younger than me has more gray than I do, but then my Mom's father was gray in his 50's. There are only three of us that had the dark hair, the others where all blond so I think that has a factor in ours as well.

Tami, Great job on your weight work, and getting in your cardio too! Glad to hear that you are getting to explore and learn, I'm sure there is some relief in knowing that it is finally happening. So far all of these CTX workouts have been a sweatfest for me. I don't know if it is the cardio before hand, but I'm just dripping during the weight and ab work. While in plank big drops of sweat where falling onto my mat.

Thelma, Awesome work getting those step workouts done, and then going to your class. Sorry to hear about you friend backing out, but yes you really do have to give that DH of yours kudos for taking the time to help you with this challenge. Kind of reminds me of all the times I helped out my youngest dd during her cosmetology training. I have the short hair to prove it still. My youngest dd said that we girls need to go get some pedicures done, and I think she might be right. The feet are really looking pretty beat up. I think that when I try out the sweat potato fries, I will just opt for the frozen. It is so hard to cut those things as it is.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Laurie

Morning Ladies,

Had another good weekend, but no workouts. On Saturday I had a meeting at church, and as soon as I got home we headed out to a car show. Such a great day for that. On Sunday I did some more landscaping/weed pulling (seems this never stops). The new garden I made looks really nice, just need to get some mulch for the area. This morning my workouts where RAW Box, Bells & Bands plus CTX Shoulders & Abs. While doing the RAW workout my blue band broke. Now I for sure will be using the new elastic bands that I got for Christmas. I pulled the blue band, because it was right next to me. Oh well.

Today I am getting my tooth implant, so we will see what or if I'm allowed to workout tomorrow.

Laurel, Great job on the upper body workout, that really does sound tough. Love that you are able to get in your live workouts again. We are back to the humid temps again today, but the weekend was perfect. I'm with you on the cardio in CTX, but I don't think that I will ever revisit them again. Well maybe I shouldn't say that, because I could do all those workout without the step and do the high impact - low. The weight workouts always surprise me after the fact. I don't feel like I'm lifting that much weight, but that muscle always feels worked really good. I'm looking at those muscle meltdowns after the CTX, so I may be on the same schedule as you.

Have a great day!
Laurie