Cathe Fans Part 5

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

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

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

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

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

Morning Ladies,

Sorry that I wasn't online yesterday, I stayed home because I had a sore throat. My voice was limited in volume also. I was able to do my workout, and that was RAW Kettlebell Kickboxing. This morning I did Heather's 30 Min. Full Body Metcon. Of course the raw workout is my favorite, and the MetCon was really good also.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be off work until the new year. I probably will not be online very often, because during that week we will be going up to see my parents.

Laurel, Can't believe that you hauled all that wood and then did double blasts and a legs! Great job on all those workouts! I didn't realize that Cathe had been dealing with that injury for so long. Totally agree with you on the mobility as we get older. I just like that I can get on the floor with the grandson and get back up, so I will keep on doing those stretch/mobility workouts. DD called last night and was wondering how you can tell if her stove is pre heated. Of course this is a super old stove so it doesn't beep or anything when it is warm enough. DH and I both had to laugh because we really don't have to think of things like that with our more modern appliances. She does have a preheat light.

If we don't talk again Merry Christmas!

Thelma, Awesome job with the workouts! Glad that you enjoyed Heather workout. I'm going to try one of her leg workouts from her new Express series tomorrow. She does the band work in the warm up, and she is using 40# for bridges. Now that is not as much weight as Caroline uses, but I can always add more. Your prep work still continues to impress me.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Walking and CG Abs.
I had PT for my neck and the PT showed me the little neck, hand and wrist exercises I'll be able to do post-surgery.
I also spoke with my surgeon's nurse, and I won't have to take the sling off to do any passive movements prior to my first post-op checkup like other surgeons prescribe. Thank God because that was a scary thought to me.
I have accepted the idea that I'll have to sleep on the recliner because I slide down the wedge pillow during the night and that is pushing my shoulders forward, which bothers me a lot. My ice therapy machine arrived, so we'll be testing it over the weekend.

My new DVDs arrived on Thursday! I can't wait to try them even if I don't use a heavy weight. I may be able to use the barbell without weights.

Laurie, great workouts! I'm sorry you weren't feeling well.
Have a wonderful rest of the year. I'm glad you're going to see your parents. I hope it's not too snowy there yet.

I don't remember how an older stove indicated that the oven was pre-heated! I'm glad you guys remembered there was light! LOL
Speaking of mobility. I am worried about my mobility post-surgery. I don't know how much of that I'll be able to do. I guess I'll learn during PT.
The Heather workout I tried was one of the express ones. I loved that she used the resistance loop. She used it in the beginning and later on during the workout.

Laurel, great workouts! Cathe posted on FB the live workout's pictures, she looked so funny in her reindeer outfit. I loved her makeup!

I am a planner. I don't know how people can decide what their meals will be the day of or hours before! I don't cook every day though. I make two big meals that feed us dinner for four days. On Thursdays we may have a sandwich or quesadillas and always make pizza on Saturdays. We always go out to eat on Fridays. I guess we'll have to plan meals for Fridays since we won't be going out to dinner on Fridays for a little while. We are definitely creatures of habit.

Our weather man posted an outlook for the next month and it's not looking good in the rain department. He said he doesn't see us getting out of the dry pattern we've been in.

We're again in dangerous fire conditions! I am not happy about this. The chances of rain for next week have gone down. We're down to occasional rain on Monday and a couple of showers Tuesday and Wednesday.
I love your smart oven's non-oven functionality! I'm glad you're liking it.

I'll have DH send you an email from my yahoo account to give you an update. We just got new phones and I'm glad we did because I'll be using its voice recording functionality to do my most of my typing.

Merry Christmas to you both!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was very nice and quiet. It rained all day yesterday which made for a perfect day of sitting around and watching Christmas movies. After all the work we have done this past month on the deck, it felt good to just sit for a few hours. Unfortunately DH came down with a cold last week and managed to give it to me, so I am a little under the weather, which made the quiet Christmas that much more welcome.

For workouts, on Friday I did Ramped Up Back x 3 premix and Cathe’s new spin workout, Cycle Sweat, which was really good. On Saturday I did Cathe’s new Kickbox workout, Gloved Up and Sweaty, which was a pretty moderate 39 minute workout that was easily modifiable to low impact in what was meant to be my recovery day. There was nothing new in this workout, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. On Sunday I did a 45 minute spin, Ramped Up Shoulders x 3 premix, and Cathe’s new Killer Legs workout. Again, this was a moderately intense workout that could easily be made harder or easier. I could feel my legs after it for sure. Yesterday was Ramped Up Biceps x 3 and LITE Rev’d Up Rumble, and today was a 20 minute Recovery spin and Ramped Up Triceps x 3 premix.

Thelma, great workouts. I hope you got some rain yesterday. I saw where we are still in a severe drought as well, so the rain yesterday was very welcome. Thank you so much for having your DH send me an email after your surgery. I didn’t want to ask because I knew he would probably be looking after you. But I will be so thankful to hear how the surgery went. I am a planner as well, but I do a loose weekly menu and vary the days depending on the weather and when DH gets home from work. We used to have pizza once a week and eat out once a week, but we tossed those habits out with the pandemic and never went back to them. Our new habit it to barbecue both days on the weekends year round since DH is the primary cook for those meals so I get a welcome break.

Laurie, great workouts. I hope you got to talk to your grandson on his birthday and I hope you all had a wonderful time sharing Christmas with him and each other this weekend, Christmas is so fun with children around.

We are changing our internet service tomorrow so I may not be able to check in. But Thelma please know I am thinking about you. I will be so anxious to hear from your DH when he has a chance to let me know how you are doing.

Laurel

Hi Ladies! The Google Fiber people cancelled on us for today, so we still have internet. I think there is a problem in how they laid the cable earlier this year through the neighborhood. I am not surprised by that at all. Anyhow, it gives me a chance to pop in to say hi. I am still feeling a little not great with this cold, so my only workout today was Killer Legs with the Bonus Barre section. The last time I did Killer Legs, I had done a spin before it. It felt much easier today. I need to remember that and up my weights next time. But it was good for today when I am trying to keep my heart rate down a bit.

Thelma, I am glad you enjoyed a nice holiday. You sound fully prepared for the next six weeks, and because of that, I think you will heal up nicely and quickly. I hope you get a surgery time today and are able to get some sleep tonight. I will be thinking about you tomorrow. Take deep breaths as much as you can and know you will be better than new before long.

Happy New Year!

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

This will not be long, because I had a ton of e-mails waiting for me on my first day back in the new year. I didn't workout at all, but did see family and friends. My Dad is doing good, but he was a little cranky when we went to visit. I guess that he wasn't as bad the next day when my brother and his girls went. It was good to see him, and of course spending time with my Mom.

My workout this morning was a youtube workout from NML (ex Get Healthy U instructor). The workout was Full Body MetCon (Thrusters), this one had 100 thrusters incorporated throughout the workout. I followed the low impact option for the most part.

Laurel, Thanks for the information on the new workouts. I have not had a chance to look at them yet. Every instructor that I like is kicking of the new year with some great workouts. Great job with your workouts despite the cold. I to have been suffering from a cold that I think turned into a sinus infection. Hope you are feeling better.

Thelma, I'm so glad to hear that you are doing so well, and will be keeping those healing vibes going on my end. Sounds like all your pre-prep really helped.

Have a great day!
Laurie