Cathe Fans Part 5

Morning Ladies,

This morning's workout was Shoulders + Thighs. Went heavy on the weights for shoulders. The thigh work was with the band. Overall another good workout with Michelle.

Laurel, Nice job with all the workouts! I kind of deduced that you had forgotten to post what you did, because you are always get those workouts in on the weekends. I also stopped pretending that I was able to do them, and just went for the floor option. So much easier on my knee. I hear you on those announcers, they really do get annoying after a while. I much prefer listening to the radio announcers. That Dallas game was a blast to watch. The Packers really had great improvement from how they started.

Thelma, Love the workouts! The dance one sounds like it was fun just from the title. Glad to hear that you are getting more rain. We had some sun. This whole month has been cloudy, with a few days of sun.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies, my back has been killing me. I think it all started when I started sleeping back on our bed over the weekend. I can't get my upper back to relax no matter how much I massage or move.
I'm 5 weeks post op and my PT told me that I am exactly where I need to be as he took my arm into an overhead raise while I was lying down. It did hurt a little and it was also scary.
I've also been feeling a lot of tightness around the shoulder and bicep areas, which give me this sensation that a rubber band has been stretched to the max, then snaps back. I'm getting a sharp shooting pain in my bicep and one shoulder incision areas. I've iced a lot today.

I'm more uncomfortable now than I was right after the surgery.

My workouts on Wednesday were walking, GinaB Sweat, Dance & Tone Latin Style and abs.

Laurie, I love the sound of that workout! Great job!

I love the dance workouts!
I hope some of that snow melted over the weekend!

Laurel, great workouts and congratulations on your MFP 15th anniversary! Good for you for choosing to exercise!

I am definitely seeing small improvements with my shoulder.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Body Part Back with bonuses, Cathe Live Cardio Kickboxing, Low Impact HiiT and Core, and 10 minutes of hip focused yoga.

Thelma, great workouts. But I am sorry to hear about the increasing pain. Did you talk to your PT about that rubber band effect? I would think there is some pain that will come from the changes you are taking your body through (like sleeping back in the bed), but that ‘snapping’ sensation sounds not so great. Hopefully it is nothing, but if I were you, I would ask about it just to be sure. No doubt this is frustrating for you so long removed from the surgery. The upper back, for me, is the worst place to try to alleviate tightness. I hope it eases up on you soon.

Laurie, sounds like another great workout. This is a hard time of year to find motivation, and this year seems particularly hard for me. I do think a tough, focused rotation will help me get through these winter doldrums I seem to be experiencing at the moment and at least make me feel like I pushed myself in one area of my life. Maybe I need to craft up a spring cleaning rotation? Because, boy, do I need to focus on that more.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

This morning's stretch was awesome! She used a yoga band, which is something that I don't have. I used my lowest weight tubing, and I think that worked just fine. I loved every part of this routine with Michelle, which was Full Body Mobility. By the time I was finished, I could really feel a difference so I'm guessing that is why I loved it so much.

Laurel, Great job with those workouts! Oh yes the spring cleaning rotation is going to be on my things to do. Have you been experiencing sun or overcast like we are. That is one of the things that I really don't enjoy about winter around here. I'm sure that you remember that from being up in Alaska, but there it was just dark. We had at least one day this week that was sunny. One would think we live in Seattle without the rain. Just makes for little motivation.

Thelma, Nice job with those workouts! So happy to hear that you have pinpointed the reason for your upper back pain. Your PT is awesome, and so glad that you are getting the feedback that you need to move forward. Yep keep rubbing those surgery scars, just makes it so much better in the future.

Have a great weekend,
Laurie

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice weekend. Ours was good and very busy. We adopted a little dog, and she is a bit of a special needs dog. She was hit by a car on 12/31 and she walks a little wobbly. She is 10-12 years old and is a total sweetie. Vets think that there was a problem with her legs prior to the accident. We have two high steps at the front door, which were challenging for her, so DH built her a ramp. Much better! Everyone accepted her right away! Anyways, we've been busy with little Gigi.

The rain we were supposed to get never came, which was disappointing because we're almost out of drought conditions.

Saturday was a rough shoulder day. My shoulder was a little angry from Friday's PT and got angrier on Saturday. My right shoulder blade was not happy either. On Saturday night while in bed trying to get the shoulder comfortable, it hit me that the very flat pillow I use wasn't letting my shoulder lay flat. The PT had told me to lie flat for the shoulder to drop, but I thought the low pillow was OK. It wasn't! Once I ditched the pillow I got better!! No pillow for me!

My workouts on Friday were walking and standing abs.
Saturday Walking and Tracy Steen Lower Body Build and Burn. The leg workout was a great one. I wish I'd been able to hold weights on both sides!

I had another victory with my shoulder on Sunday. I was able to wash my hair unassisted! Yaaay! I had to do a shallow squat and bring my head to my hands as much as possible, but I did it. It was a booty workout too!

I had a new PT (to me) on Friday, and he massaged my shoulder like there was no tomorrow. It hurt, but he really got into the incisions. he told me that I was entering the dangerous period where people hurt themselves because they're feeling good and strong. I can see why that happens because I feel good and a little strong, but the range of motion isn't all there. I am being very cautious. He said the pull/snapping feeling is normal because things are tight in there. He said I should feel that less and less going forward, so far, so good.

Laurie, great workout!! Is a yoga band a long strap with loops? If so, I've had one of those for years, and it's awesome for stretching.

I am so glad I've been able to figure out what was bugging my back too!

Laurel, great workouts!!! I can't believe you finished your latest rotation already!! Congratulations! I can't wait to read about your next creation!!!

Massaging the bicep helps. I was icing a lot over the weekend. My incisions are starting to flatten out. I have 3 little incisions and they were pretty raised but kneading them hard is making them flat. The large incision at the armpit crease is another story. I am digging into that thing, so hopefully it will soften up. I'm using vitamin E and cocoa butter on my incisions because people say it helps fade the incisions. I think it might be helping. I'm still in the healing process, but I think they will fade away, just like my belly incisions did.

Have a great week!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day here so we got outside and started our winter clean up on the yard. It felt so nice to be outside working in the sunshine for a little while. Then we ran a ton of errands. Yesterday was a very cool and rainy day so aside from a couple of errands, we spent the day at home where DH worked on a puzzle and I baked some goodies to send to my sister in Colorado.

For workouts, on Saturday I did Jessica Smith’s Cardio HiiT from the Walk Strong 3 series and 45 minutes of yoga. Yesterday was a 60 minute spin followed by 30 minutes of Peloton Pilates. And today was STS Meso 2 Disc 13/Chest, Shoulders and Triceps followed by Cathe Live Cross Fire Quick Fix Plus Core. The STS workout felt great. I might just end up really enjoying this rotation.

Thelma, great workouts. I am sorry you had an uncomfortable shoulder weekend, but hopefully now that you have figured out the pillow issue, it will feel a little better. I am glad they are massaging the area and that the PT confirmed that snapping feeling is normal. Yay on the new pup!! Lucky Gigi has definitely found her way to a loving home. I am glad she is getting along with your other animals. Like Laurie said, you and your DH are just wonderful in adopting these pups. I am really surprised you didn’t get any rain, though. We had a nice, gentle rain for hours yesterday. And today is sunshine again so I am hoping spring starts doing its thing.

Laurie, great workout. And yay for another baby in the family. My sister has been through a number of biopsies over the years so she always said it was not a matter of if but when she got breast cancer. But she was vigilant in her mammogram appointments, and that is how this was discovered. But cancer just isn’t an easy thing to go through ever. Having three out of the last four days being sunny and warm-ish (for this time of year) has done wonders for my mood. I am surprised how much this winter has gotten under my skin.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

Well the first thing that I want to talk about is the new workout series that Cathe posted about. I'm all in on this Lite Move & Restore. I was thinking that I probably wouldn't be able to order some of her series anymore, it they where to high intensity. Guess I was WRONG, and I'm happy about it. I hope that she has some really good rotations with other series.

I made a quilted door hanger for Valentine's day. It turned out so cute.




My workout this morning was Michelle's No Jumping Sculpt & Tone. Used 3 and 5 lb weights, and she went through three different segments. She used songs to start and end the round, so the first part was sculpting, then core/abs, and at the end was floor legs work. So with each song change, she did different moves, and repeated those moves until the end of the song. I found if fun.

Laurel, Great job with all those workouts! Your weekend sounds awesome. Can't believe that you will be heading outside to do cleanup of the yard already. We are still waiting for the snow to drop again. Of course it will not be this week, since we will be having some temps in the 50's. Glad to hear that your mood is so much better this week. I'm sure getting be outside helps a lot. We had some sunshine yesterday when I left work, but this morning was foggy again. I need to make my mamo appointment.

Thelma, Love the workouts! Good news on the progress, and maybe getting to lift some weight. Dang on the massage being so brutal. I always feel like massages are brutal, probably because I don't get them very often. You are getting them all the time for these PT sessions. It's always fun to find a pattern for a quilt. There are so many, and I have so little time. I think that you would enjoy some of Michelle's workouts, I really enjoy watching some of the background people. I don't feel bad when I'm not doing something right, because some of them are not either.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies, since my brutal bicep massage on Monday I've been getting the stabbing pain and I hate it! I had PT on Tuesday afternoon with a different PT, and she kept it gentle. She gave me an ice cube massage! I'd never heard of such thing, but it felt sooo yummy! She held an ice cube with a washcloth and rubbed it gently on my skin. I can't tell you how amazing that felt. All I know is that I said, if I were a cat I'd be purring right now! She laughed. It really was able to target the particular area I was feeling the stabbing sensation in. The PT told me it's part of the healing process of the bicep repair.
On Thursday I'll be 6 weeks post-op, which means I'll be in the next therapy phase. I will be doing assisted passive movements, meaning I'll be able to assist myself in moving my arm. Next week is also my last week of PT 3X a week. Thank God! I'll be going twice a week for a while.

I don't know why PT leaves me extremely exhausted. You would think I'd just finished one of Cathe's killer workouts! I think it's more the outing that leaves me exhausted, since I've been a hermit for 6 weeks.

I got two walking sessions in on Tuesday and did a leg finisher.

I forgot to mention Cathe's new program last night! I love the sounds of it. I think she said the pre-order starts on Wednesday. Like Laurie, I didn't think I'd be buying more of Cathe's programs, but this one sounds like what we've been hoping she'd come up with for a long time. I don't think I'd buy anymore of her strength programs going forward. I have enough workouts and God only knows when I'll be able to lift weights again.

Laurie, what a beautiful quilt!! Fantastic job!
Great workout! I love the sound of that workout and I like the fact that she used small weights. I could do that with my left hand.

I won't be lifting any weights any time soon. I really think when I enter the strength therapy phase, I'll start with a 1lb weight. The 1lb dumbbell I used today is strictly for my wrist. All I move is my wrist while I hold the baby dumbbell. The massage I get at therapy is just to the areas that might be bothering me and it's only for a couple of minutes.

I would be very distracted by the people who aren't doing the moves right in the workout!
Is Michelle's last name Briehler?

Laurel, great workouts!
I am so glad most of your plants look like they survived the freeze! I really think that spring and gardening are going to help you feel better.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was STS Meso 3 Disc 15/Legs, the core work from Body Max 2 and my new favorite workout Gloved Up and Sweaty, which felt great on my tired arms and legs.

Thelma, I love the sound of the ice massage. Hopefully that will calm your bicep down a bit. I have always found going to PT somewhat exhausting, and I don’t quite know why. I think it is a little because I am always a tad anxious about what they are going to try that day. I am glad your sessions are going to be down to two a week going forward. Great workouts!

Laurie, I forgot to mention your quilt yesterday. It’s beautiful. I so admire your creativity. Anyhow, I’m glad you got some extra sleep this morning. Some days that’s what is needed. Cathe doesn’t do too much foreshadowing of her DVDs in Live, but I think I have mentioned that over the last few years she really has migrated to shorter, more functional workouts. She does very little pure cardio anymore, with kickboxing being the primary exception. And she has been adding in much more mat/floor work over the past year than she has ever done. So I think this series is something of a natural migration for her as well, at least as it relates to her teaching if not her personal workouts. I’m hitting that pre-order button today as well. You had me laughing about seeing Michelle’s son in a workout and having a ‘Criminal Minds’ moment. I had one of those a few years back when we were looking at refrigerators, and I saw one labeled ‘2 people’…..and my mind automatically went to ‘it will hold two bodies?’ That’s when I realized I read too many crime novels.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

This morning's workout was a good one with Michelle, I did Chest & Back. This one was a different timeframe. Her previous ones where 30 sec, this one was 40 with 3 sets vs. 4 sets. This was a tough one, and I went heavy. I have been using the stability ball, and have found that I have to take the weight down a bit vs when I was using the bench. Must be because of the instability. I also hit the buy button yesterday, and was super please that these will be out this summer.

Laurel, Great workouts! You went for the Meso 3 legs, those where some of the better workouts in that series. I guess that Cathe is experiencing the same thing as she ages too. If I remember correctly she is a year younger than me. One would have to believe that her knees have to be feeling all the years of high impact. Oh that is so funny about the refrigerator. I probably would have thought the same thing. I was looking at my books, and realized that I'm already 2 books behind in my In Death series. That is the series that I just reread and was caught up. She just cranks those books out.

Thelma, Nice job with the workouts! I think that we will all enjoy these new workouts, and by the time the get here you will be able to do them won't you? She is talking about light weights, so that should be a positive. We will see what option is the best for selling the workouts. I know quite a few people that have had good success with marketplace. DH and I like to watch the older series of shows that we either didn't watch when they aired or want to watch again. When I'm downstairs sewing, I start watching these series. Right now I'm watching NYPD Blues. Never watched it when it came out, but I did watch Hill Street Blues, which had some of the same people in it.

Thanks,
Laurie