TA Meta and everything else - Fall/Winter 2020

[eventmom]

yesterday - yoga in the garden of serenity
today - TA hip 2.7 day 5 and DC from 2.1 or something!

ebianco - the music really makes the power walk workout. I'm happy about the migraines, just wish I could get rid of the constant headache. we'll see if my insurance approves the procedure. I tried one Cathe many years ago - VHS, like 20 years ago! When I considered getting trying some later it seemed the workouts were really long and at the time I had 50 minutes total for a workout, but she certainly is beloved by most VFers!

hi buzzer!

[Buzzer]

Body Beast Back... DONE!
Firm Standing Legs... DONE!

I was sore from chest, and my triceps were sore from doing chest, but the day ofter doing chest I did back. It was tough! I really focused to keep it out of my arms, and ended up sore all over from both workouts. Even my legs. Great workouts! I focused, and did Firm 12 minute Cardio between sets. I really love that workout! My heart rate gets up, and it isn't tough to just jump in and do the steps. Very basic and fun!

So I was dreading Body Beast legs. I hate the 15 reps and I hate working legs. I considered just doing leg presses and extensions and curls and calling it good. So I decided instead to do Standing Legs. Woof. I remember last time I did that, actually being able to do it. HA! I paused a LOT, and the 45 minute workout was extended by about 10 minutes with all my pausing. I used 15's as my heavy weight, which was stupid but I did it. I used 2-3 as my light. I used my high fanny lifter. I did all the reps, focused, and realized that workout is a booty kicker!! My heart rate was up, WAY up. I kept thinking "Yes, I am NOT in Firm shape." Of course, thinking now of adding in a few Firms to my rotation too.

Apparently I love all my workouts because I always want to add them into my rotation.

So afterward, I had a million things to do to get ready to go to my sister's house, and I was wiped. So wiped. I made cookies and breakfast, wrapped presents, then sat for a few minutes feeling wiped. I finally got my tired booty into the shower and that kinda helped. After that I could at least function enough to go to the shed and get suitcases and start packing and getting stuff together to go!! I think I overtrained!

I brought Linda's lounge room here with me (at the hotel), but I think I'm gonna take the morning off. First of all, I slept good but only like 5 hours, and second of all, there's two big dogs laying at my feet and I'm not sure they will let me get down on the floor to workout!!!

We had a blast. Fondue and fireworks. I enjoy doing the party with my sisters! I think we have more fun than the husbands do, but it's once a year so they all suck it up. Dinner is always good and they perk up then. LB gets to spend time with her cousins, which is always fun. Even though they are older than her (youngest is 18 or 19 and oldest is 23) they enjoy being around her. I love that they aren't kids that have their nose in their phone or roll their eyes at the prospect of hanging out with family. One of them even turned down a night with friends in a cabin to hang out with us! I love that.

So we are staying at a hotel, and we have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen and living room. It's like an apartment! And it was only $87 a night, plus $75 for BOTH dogs. Total steal!! It's gorgeous, and I am very impressed. We are probably only one of a handful of families here, and I talked to the front desk lady and she said they are really low on occupancy because of covid. There's a Courtyard near here that she said they shutdown for covid, and a few other hotels have shut down (not permanently, just because it wasn't worth staying open) and they send their people here instead. Even with that, there still isn't really anyone here. So sad, but we got an amazing rate!!!

So today will be swimming with LB and hanging out before heading home. DH drove separate and will probably head home early to work on the garage (or work on websites, I'm sure instead) and it'll just be a kicking back day.

I know my house is a mess, I left knowing that I wouldn't be happy when we got home. so I will delay going back as long as I can!!

Eventmom: long term gain, is what I am thinking with your migraines. You're been plagued with them for so long, if this ends up being the "cure", that would be worth it!

Ebianco: I remember, somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, some Cathe's I enjoyed. I just don't remember which ones! I remember hating her step, but her muscle work was good. I just need to go back and read reviews and threads, which I LOVE to do, and figure out with ones to use! Still loving my Body Beast, and I think I will go back to them as my base workout, but adding in Firm and Cathe's might give me more of a balanced workout in the long run! I remember Cathe worked some of the smaller muscles, unlike body beast which is all "big dumb muscles" and the small ones get worked by default. Seems like Cathe does some rotator cuff exercises and stuff like that.

Happy New Year to both of you! I"m excited for the New Year. I think it's going to be good. We didn't have a bad 2020, as much as went on. We still had a good year. I think being homeschoolers it didn't throw us for a loop as much as it did for other people. Let's see if 2021 we can return to normal!!

[eventmom]

TA 2.7 + 30 min power walks 90's music + her cooldown/stretch

buzzer - I hear you on variety. I have unloaded workouts that didn't do much for me, but have joyce, Margaret, michelle D., karen, tracey effinger, yoga, pilates... well okay you get it! And mostly I do TA but still need to have that variety when I want to change things up! Great job on the hotel deal! Enjoy, sounds lovely and a nice respite from day to day. I miss going to NM and being able to just hang out. While I'm here I have stalls, feed, work, try to catch up on things around the house - hard to take a break when you are 'home'.

hi ebianco!

[Buzzer]

Two rest days.... done.

LB and I swam (so I guess that was my workout on NYD) for 3 1/2 hours! We had the pool to ourselves and it was a blast. We finally left because I was getting cold and tired and we needed to eat lunch (it was almost 3!) so we left the hotel finally and sat in a parking lot eating lunch.

The drive home I was fighting sleep. Like, have to squirm to keep myself awake. it was bad! I did it, didn't snooze off, and kept fidgeting, cold air on me, and looking around so I stayed alert. We finally got home about 5pm, and by 5:45 I was in bed and asleep. The dog came in about 11:30pm and I tried to ignore him. He then put his nose under my arm and flipped it over his head so I would pet him. Honestly, I think he was worried about me. I pet him, then was awake for a few hours so I cleaned the house. There was mess from before we left that I had to clean up. I stayed awake until 2:30am then fell back to sleep until 6:15am.

So I skipped my workout because I was groggy. My body felt achey. Not sick achey, just achey. I ended up taking the day and cleaning the house pretty good, getting some laundry done, and just putting things back in order. It looks OK now, not great, but OK. OK enough for me to be OK with it.

Tonight I went to bed at 9, but then at 1:45am I was awake. I've been awake about an hour now, and don't know if I will have to take a nap later, will be able to fall asleep in an hour or so, or if I'm up for the day. My sleep schedule is all messed up.

Today I will either do Body Beast arms, or Firm upper body.

Eventmom: The hotel was amazing. I am thinking that if the price stays low LB and I will go there and see my sisters and maybe hang out at the pool for a little get away! Chances are DH wouldn't want to go, so the dogs would be able to stay home. Totally inexpensive vacation for us! We could even bring food and put it in the kitchen! AND cook! So cool. I loved it!

It is hard to take a break when you are home. I always feel like there's something to do and I should be doing it.

Ebianco: I hope you had a great New Years. Hopefully this year is calmer for you!

[ebianco]

Hi everyone,

Happy 2021!

Friday-I wanted something "different" for cardio and looked around at my collection, and took the plastic off Firm Ballroom Aerobics which I purchased sometime over the past year. And it was fabulous! It had almost every ballroom dance from Tortoise along with the warm up I like, and some fun sections from Hare too. I didn't do all of it but I skipped around and did about 30 minutes. Then I did Ellen Yogini the first 20 minutes for about a 50 minute workout.

Saturday-Cathe To the Max workout, everything but the pure step, so about 55 minutes. It was so challenging and fun! I added my own back, tricep, and bicep work into the HIIT, having read in the reviews that she goes heavy on the shoulders and chest. And I got plenty of leg work with all the cardio using the step, and plyos. There was also some metabolic strength towards the end. It was my first time doing To the Max. I avoided purchasing it in the past because I assumed there was complex step aerobics! I don't know if the 8 minute 'pure step' chapter is complex step or not, but it's really easy to avoid it. One of the premixes has everything but the pure step so it's really easy.

Today-Firm Ballroom Aerobics again (just a couple of sections) and Pure Barre Results Seat for a 55 minute workout.

Eventmom Yes most of Cathe's workouts are longer. Her PushPull/Superset DVD really stands out to me because they are both total body workouts in the 45 minute range. Pretty unique for her.

Buzzer Your getaway with the family and dogs sounded really fun!

Cathe's muscle work is really good. It seems like she does the same stuff as Firm, basic weight lifting-rows, pushups, bicep curls, etc. But somehow following her workouts have made my Firm workouts easier. I think she may do more reps and tempo changes. I've definitely been able to up my poundage. There are some workouts where Cathe works the smaller muscles. I've done some of her workouts lately where she did rotator cuffs, and supermans on the ball and things like that.

I'm excited about the new year too. I still have a lot of anxiety pressing down on me, from various stressors in my life. Usually this time of year I'm preoccupied about weight loss, dieting, etc. but this year I just want to be less stressed. I hope that's something I can accomplish.

[eventmom]

yesterday - TA hip 2.7 day 9 + TA cardio
today - yoga basics (Caribbean aerobics) then rode my horse in a clinic, then came home did ttapp basic + and 10 min of a barre

buzzer - I love having a kitchen when I am in a hotel - even if I want to eat some meals out I don't like to eat every meal out!

ebianco - here's hoping 2021 is an easier ride than 2020!

[Buzzer]

Firm Upper Body... DONE!

So I decided to go with this one, since I haven't worked out at all this year (so for the first 3 days) and I am feeling really huge. Might as well go all in.

I grabbed my 15's to start out with, and did over head presses and some upright rows and back rows, and a few other things. I am pooped! I can't lift these!! I am furious with myself, because 15 is my mid weight in Body Beast, and here I am not even able to do all the reps with them. I start doing side 2 of back rows.... wait. These aren't 15's. They are 2o's! What the heck! I was using 20's. No wonder they were heavy! Well by that time, I was already tired from lifting 20's, so even though I went down to 15's it was still tough. I switched to 12's for biceps (which was too little) and 5's for "light weights". I think I just did too much with the 20's because the rest of the workout was tough!

I liked the cardio between, and the endless abs. Like 4 or 5 sets of abs. I was getting rug burn on my back since the workout moves fast and I didn't have time to get my mat out, so I finally paused for the last set and put the mat down. My pushups I did with my hands on the bench. I didn't do great, especially with the cardio since I have been lifting more than doing cardio. However, I didn't do horrible with all things considered. I do feel like my guts are pushing into my lungs making it hard to do abs, but I think that's just because I am blown up right now.

I slept like poop. only like 4 1/2 hours. I tried to go back to bed, but didn't work. So I cleaned the house a bit, ate, drank a cup of tea, and just bummed around for a bit. Read the news. Caught up on stuff.

So if I need a nap today, hopefully I will get a chance to take one. We are meeting friends this afternoon then going to karate this evening, so I will squeeze it in.

I did good with eating yesterday. I am doing Trim Healthy mama, since DH and I both liked a lot of the recipes from it. It's kinda paleo in some ways, kinda keto in others. I just like the recipes.

Today I already ate some macadamia nut chocolates this morning, so not getting off on the right foot!! However, I have the rest of the day to be better so I will.

Ebianco: I keep reading about the crowds that will be in DC this week. I hope you stay safe and far away! Interesting times for sure.

Eventmom: I wish I would have paid attention to the fact we had the kitchen! I would have brought some extra food! That was nice. It was like an apartment. Felt more welcoming and home like too. We have done airbnb before and stayed in condos and I loved that. This felt kinda like that only more cookie cutter. It was fun!

So yesterday LB had a friend over and I helped DH with the garage. We got the window "bucks" done (placeholders for the windows). Well, he got them done, I just held pieces of wood in place and did some heavy lifting of blocks and bucks.
Yup, we are at the point of roughing in windows!! Long time coming for sure. I really thought it would be done by Christmas, now I'm hoping for march. It at least looks like progress though!

[eventmom]

TA hip 2.7 day 9 + 30 min power walk the decades

buzzer - oh crap on the weights but no way could I even do 15 for shoulders! that's amazing to me. Great progress on the garage!!!

ebianco - yes stay safe!

[Buzzer]

10 days to a better body upper body.... dONE!
Biggest Loser weight loss yoga, beginner (20 minutes)... DONE!

I don't know why I decided to do 10 days. It just was there, I didn't know what I was going to do, so I did it. It was fun! I used 5's for the heavy and 3's for the light, and I think I could go up in weight for the heavy. It was fun to do the cardio between sets, and I usually did something between the easiest one she showed and the advanced cardio she did. it was only about 30 minutes, so I added on the yoga and it was really good. Nice stretch and lots of plank holds so my arms got a nice burnout.

Yesterday we ended up running around all day. We made pizza from scratch which ended up taking an hour and a half. DH is allergic to eggs, so I made a fake egg from 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons water. It ended up really good! I liked it! Plus the added nutrition. it worked out for us.

So then we quick went to the park to meet LB's friends, who she has known since she was 3. Play play play, then went to other friends house for quick dinner and karate. We played a bit afterwards (maybe 45 minutes) then got home about 8:15pm. DH was out at the garage, it was freezing, I was hungry, and totally tired from not sleeping well the night before. He needed help, so we ended up being outside for about 45 minutes helping make door bucks in the freezing cold. He had a heater on, but it was on high so it was too hot if you got close and if you got further away to where it was comfortable, the cold air was more prevalent. We made it through though and ate dinner way too late before going to bed.

This morning I actually slept until about 5am! I was pooped though. So today is homeschool gym and doing some errands.

Eventmom: I have always been good at heavy lifting, it's cardio that kills me! The high reps I always thought I'd see results with because it's so hard for me. But I never saw good results. Heavy lifting though? I could do that all day!!

Ebianco: Hope your year is going good!!!

[eventmom]

tuesday - like 10 minutes of something
yesterday- day 10 TA 2.7 + dc 3.0

so Tuesday my dentist office called they had a cancellation - so I grabbed it and didn't really get in a workout, given the headache I had not sure I would have had much of a workout.

buzzer - sounds like you are making progress on the garage - it is hard to get outdoor work accomplished in the winter! glad you are getting done anyway.

ebianco - hope you are fine! yesterday was so so hard to watch on TV - I cried repeatedly and still break down sometimes. I can't imagine being close to what went on.