Pilates Cross-Trainers: May Check-In

[Brenda in WA]

JS Metabolic Conditioning from WS 3

That was HARD! I had to take a break and fold laundry midway.


Carol, my class is going very well! I'm enjoying it very much and am getting good grades so I'm happy so far.

[txhsmom]

I worked (at home) all day - because I'm so far behind. But, I got a lot done - so that was really good. It will take some of the pressure off for next week, although it's still going to be really busy. After work, we cleaned up the back yard - we had a strong cold front blow through Thursday night with 60+ mph winds and we had leaves and tree stuff all over the yard.

When it came time for a workout, I guess I was like Goldilocks - nothing suited me. I started out with Jessica's Barre Fitness DVD, but it hurt my ankles. Then I switched to her Pilates & Yoga workout from Walk Strong 3, but it didn't suit me either and I jerked it out of the DVD player about half way through. I did manage to finish

Pilates Nest - 10 Minute Pilates for Arms & Shoulders. It didn't annoy me at all.

Brenda - Metabolic Conditioning is hard! When I see it on a rotation calendar of Jessica's I dread doing it. Good job for finishing it. Glad your class is going well.

Christine - I did exactly that - showered and changed clothes. You never know. We get those cold fronts too from time to time to remind us that technically it is still spring and that stuff (snow) can happen.

To the Moms out there, Happy Mother's Day. I'm off to the shower and the grocery store early.

Carol

[donnamp]

Hi Everyone,

Inspired by threads on VF, I did a Pahla B workout:

Weight Loss Cardio for Women Over 50 - This was just what I needed today - not too hard, not too easy and Pahla provided a lot of encouragement and information about working out "at this age". It made a lot of sense - basically - we are still able to work out hard - but b/c of our declining estrogen we don't recover the way we used to and our bodies see this as stress which causes weight gain. Her approach makes sense - workout moderately, so you can do something every day while keeping your body from getting stressed out. I guess her point is - if you workout super hard and have to take a week off you will not get benefits and if you workout super hard and continue to push yourself to keep up that pace your body will perceive it all as stress and cause you to store fat. I went down to "moderate" years ago as my body just couldn't take the high impact/high intensity stuff any more and maybe that is why I haven't really gained weight as I've gotten older? I don't think it is from good eating habits, LOL, as that has always been the hardest thing for me to take control of!

Yoga w/ Adriene - Rose Yoga

DD and I will walk later - it is supposed to warm up! Yesterday we cut our walk short b/c it was more like November than May outside.

Brenda - glad you are enjoying your class. And, good job on getting that workout done - it is a tough one!

Carol - I have had those workout days as well. I worked for a bit yesterday but it was not productive b/c our systems were so slow. I may try again today b/c I really have a lot to do.

Waves, everyone!
Hope everyone has a good day!

Donna

[furmomof6]

Hello,

Happy Mother's Day to the moms!

DH and I went for a walk today. It was snowing here yesterday on and off, and so cold! Today it's back to sunny in the 60's.

Donna, I really like that thought process, and I agree as it pertains to myself. I mean, I'm in my early 40's so I'm not sure about the estrogen thing yet, but when I do too much it wipes me out and causes weight gain. I can't stay consistent feeling that way either. I have really been enjoying Theresa's live workouts, both the longer Pilates sessions and weight training, but I can already tell it has caught up to me. I need to scale back down to 30 minutes of mostly Pilates and maybe just one weight training session a week instead of two. I really want to keep the weights as part of my routine since I feel it's good for me as I age. Anyway, sorry for the ramble, lol!

Carol, glad you were able to get a lot done from home! I dislike those Goldilocks moments, but glad you could finally decide on something that worked for you!

[txhsmom]

Yesterday was a workout rest day. Instead I mowed the yard - well, I mowed 1/2, DS mowed the other half - and planted flowers in pots, etc. DS planted my two new Knockout Rose bushes for me.

I went to the grocery store early and managed to find a container of Lysol Wipes. I felt like I had struck gold - truly made my day. I bought one - per their limits - and there were only 2 more left. Hand soap is the only thing I haven't been able to find post CoVid19 - at least not the kind that advertises it kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. I also found some small bottles of hand sanitizer and bought my limit of two. When I got home from the store I was as excited as a kid at Christmas.

Well, now I have to figure out which rotation I'm doing next. And I'm having trouble deciding. I was thinking about repeating the Calm & Strong rotation and just doing the workouts I didn't do the first time. Hmm, I need to decide pronto.

Christine - We are scheduled to have 70s, 80s, and 90s the rest of the week. Maybe that's headed your way? I agree re your thoughts of keeping weights in your schedule, even if it's only once a week. I am on the other end of the age spectrum from you - will turn 64 this year - and you don't want to get old and not have any muscle. There are all kinds of reasons why that isn't good - gaining weight, quality of life, etc. I wish I hadn't spent the last few years doing primarily light weight/high rep workouts, because my muscles have weakened.

Donna - Nice workout! I do think there's a lot of truth in what Pahla B is saying. That pretty much agrees with what the Flippin' Fifty lady says.

Happy Monday all ~

Carol

[donnamp]

Hi Everyone,

I did another Pahla B workout today as a change of pace - Mini Band Cardio & Toning. It used a circular band and had a bit of cardio in the beginning, strength work w/ the band in the middle and cardio at the end. This is one of those workouts where it depends on the strength of your band as to how much you will feel the exercises. It is also something that is hard to balance b/c I have found that a too tight band will cause me to strain the muscles I'm not using but a too loose band will mean I don't feel much of anything. Anyway - this was a nice change of pace. It was long, too. 55 minutes. I figured I'd better get those longer ones in while I can - before we return to the office! Not sure when that is happening...but good to take advantage of some longer workouts while time allows! b/c it was so long I didn't do anything else, but I may try to squeeze in 10-15 min of yoga or Pilates this afternoon.

Christine - I agree w/ Carol on the weights - weights have never been my favorite (except FIRM style) but I think they are necessary to keep up your strength. Both of my parents are in terrible shape, in part, b/c of lack of exercise. My mother has terrible mobility and can barely walk down the hall to get her mail - some of that is due to not exercising and not moving. And, of course, she is in PT now but complains about it all the time. I fear that she is going to end up in a nursing home or something at some point b/c of her lack of mobility/strength.

Carol - good haul at the store!! LOL! Depending on how I'm feeling and where we are with the return to work - I may do Jessica's Summer of Strength in June. I think she mentioned in her newsletter that is when she is going to kick it off! You could also do her Core Week rotation....

I think this week's workouts for me will be a mix of Jenny Ford, Ellen, Pahla, and Jessica Valent. But we shall see how that all works out!

Hope everyone has a good day!

Donna

[cherimac]

I had a whole post typed and it disappeared.

Anyway, I took a few days off from posting. I was just busy. Today was Shoulders, Abs & Glutes Towel Workout
It was okay until the end when she did reformer exercises. I loved those.

Have a wonderful day.

[furmomof6]

Hello,

Shaped by Faith: Senior Strength Live

I did 30 out of the 45 minutes, and that felt good. It was definitely a complete workout at the 30 minute mark, she just repeated some things after that, and then finished with a 2 minute plank!

Cheri, is that Jessica Valant? I hate when you lose a post! It just happened to me too, but thankfully after hitting the back button a few times I was able to recover it so I just copied and pasted (except for this part I'm telling you right now, lol )

Donna, I know exactly what you mean about the band! Do you have the loops? I like those better.

Carol, great finds at the store!! It does feel like Christmas when you can find the basic, but necessary, stuff. I sure hope that nice weather is headed our way! It seems like mostly rain in the forecast this week so far. I'm definitely going to keep the weights in my routine, at least once a week!

Waves to Brenda!

[cherimac]

Christine-The one today was PN. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be JV, Thursday and Saturday Lesley Logan, Friday JV or PN. I really like mixing them.

[Brenda in WA]

40 min. stepping/watching

I've been on a JS roll but today I really wanted to finish The English Game on Netflix, so I stepped while I watched. It's a really good limited series, if anyone is interested in a Downton Abbey-esque show revolving around British soccer in the 1880s.