WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MARCH 2012

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Barbara, When I read “Younger Next Year” and near the beginning of the book, the author said that it was absolutely necessary to get a heart rate monitor and join a gym in order to benefit from the book, I almost closed the book and returned it to the library without finishing it. I believed that dancing and walking the dogs would serve me well enough. Fortunately I kept an open mind and now I have a heart rate monitor and I found a way to do workouts at home that are comparable to some of what people are doing at the gym. I love my dancing and walking and can’t imagine my life without them. What is most important is something I learned on this thread when I first got here….the best exercise is the one you’ll do. My ankle weights are made by Altus. I bought one set at Big Five and the heavier ones from Amazon. They have sandbags to add and subtract weights. I do my leg exercises in order from the ones I do with heavier weights down to the one I do with lighter weights so I only have to adjust once. I love the feeling of sore muscles after a workout because it tells me that I have challenged myself.

:flowerforyou: Yvonne, I am glad you’re using ice on your knee. The chiropractor told me “ice is your friend”. I hope it feels better soon. You have an awesome amount of work to do and can’t afford too much down time.

:bigsmile: One of the things I like that I learned from both SWSY and NRWLFW is that building muscle happens when you do fewer repetitions with heavier weights. Doing two sets of eight repetitions with a heavier weight is much more time efficient that doing hundreds of repetitions. I’m looking at making some changes as soon as I finish the 100 squats a day for 100 days challenge (it’s gotten so easy and natural that I do about 300 squats a day). Right now I do most of my squats while holding a dog on a leash outdoors in the dark or while brushing and flossing my teeth, so adding weights isn’t practical. I can get a better workout with fewer squats holding weights at my shoulders or doing upward rows, or overhead presses between squats. I’ve also started doing lunges and can balance well enough now to do lunges with a five pound dumbbell in each hand.

:flowerforyou: And speaking of squats, the squats I do are plie squats (feet farther apart and toes pointed outward). I have ballet in my background so these are more natural for me and they are easier to balance while doing something else.
Here are some links to demonstrate the plie squat (sometimes called sumo squat) google will probably find you dozens of other videos.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/exercises.asp?exercise=161
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http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts/ss/howtosquat_6.htm

:bigsmile: I am starting to see results from the weight training sessions and that is a really great motivator.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: My 30 minutes of sitting down is over so it’s time to do something else.

Barbie from NW Washington where it has been rainy and chilly enough all day that hubby built a fire.

My life today is so great today it should have background music

March goals:
*walk the dogs for an hour or more every morning no matter how cold, wet, windy, or snowy.”
* Yoga three days a week
*100 squats a day
*strength training two days a week (three would be better)
*17,000 steps a day


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"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want the MOST for what they want at the MOMENT."

"The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed