Every Day in JULY - first half over, BRING on the REST!

[Cleda]

Pam: there is never a need to apologize for missing or going a few days without checking in! we are always happy to have everyone, whatever and whenever!!! So ... not to worry.

Meal planning: Dh says I'm a picky eater and he's probably right. I only go shopping every few weeks. Partly because I dread the store (especially in pandemic times) and partly because I'm a bulk shopper. I always have to plan carefully (for the calorie/macro budget) and I do work the day around dinner (or try to). I always (try to) have options in the pantry, freezer, etc. But I don't cook fancy. Occasionally do some skinny taste dot com recipes that I have found to be keepers and my regular meals. Dh would cook, but he also likes to FRY things and use weird spices. NOPE ... no thanks. If I'm blowing my calorie/macro budget it's going to be on what I PLAN. Not to be polite. ha! But, life is smoother when I plan meals. (better chance of weight loss success). Just can't do more than 24 hours. Or maybe 48 if I'm planning leftovers. Sorry your back is not feeling well. Take care of it. (as I know you do!)

Lili: Some day I will do my unplugged. I have several of the seasons. I know, I know - I keep saying that. I keep getting side tracked by Peloton challenges. :: slaps forehead :: Oh well, it keeps me in the game.

Latest is the Pelothon. I have 6 instructors and the challenge this week is to do one class from each of them. This introduces us to new instructors. Badge awarded next Monday.

Waves to Helen & Kay and all lurkers.

Me, me and all me.

7/12/2020: This was a workout day of all workout days. Don't know why. Felt great and kept going. 30 mins. MW treadmill run, 45 minutes Sundays with Love with Nancy and Ally Love. Virtue: magnificence, 45 minute Power zone challenge ride with Denis , Cool down ride with Denis (only 5 minutes, and my called for strength workout - which was my favorite 10 minute stretch by Christine. (this completes week one of the strength challenge. I admit? It went quickly)

7/13/2020: On schedule was the last of the tough workouts for this challenge. Zones 4, 5 & 6. 60 minutes. Not sure I would have it in me. But low and behold? I did ... out of nowhere came this energy. I was shocked. Legs were fine, I felt fine and I matched Denis's rhythm and got in a groove. I surprised (even) myself!!!! So, Denis and Matt's 2 for 1 ride Power Zone 60 minutes, Denis's cool down ride, bike stretch, Adrian's Arm workout and Christine's core workout.

I should be tired. I don't know why I had lots of energy yesterday? I felt great.The rest of the rides should be endurance. I have a 90 minute one to do later this week. And I honestly feel that a lot of my new found non soreness is the extra time I'm taking to do cool down rides. Anywhere from 5-15 mins. And stretching. Just proves to me, I need to continue.

I've decided to make running my focus for the recess. More than 1 or 2x a week! We'll see how it goes. It definitely makes me stronger. Core is feeling stronger too. I know the add ons for the strength challenge are only 5, 10 and 15 minutes, but it seems to be the perfect amount without overkill. I will see how I feel in 3 more weeks (end of challenge).

Not a lot to report. Mid July already. Lather, rinse, repeat. And so it goes.

One more week of the power zone challenge. New one starts End of August. I have 4 weeks off. Uh -oh this could be a good thing or not. Time will tell and I promise to TRY not to talk about it ad naseum. (this one is going on, almost done, done, new one starts, etc, etc. Like I've been doing for the last 18 months. )

Stay healthy everyone!
make it a great day!
Cleda

[yogapam]

July 14.... Checking in with another gentle day....
~20 gentle minutes on maxi glider
~neighbourhood walk
~Essentrics class on zoom
~practiced Essentrics exam trademarks
~1 hour hip & leg focused yin for my cranky SI

Cleda - You are amazing with your rides and running! I’m a bit of a foodie, love trying new eats, especially when we travel.

[Helen]

PAM
Fully support Cleda's comment about how often anyone posts!!!

speaking of which, mine is a drive-by:
Wed., 15th Jul.
54min, Les Mills - Body Step 58, on 8"

[yogapam]

Hello everyone, another quickie....

Today’s offerings, still babying my cranky back....
~Taught Essentrics, two of my students came to the house & we practiced outside with social distancing on the the deck. Soooo nice to have human contact again. Just talking to my computer was getting old! The others were on zoom, set it up with my phone on a tripod.
~30 min gentle gliding
~1 hour hip & leg focused yin

Waves to all!

[Cleda]

Not a lot of time, so I better post while I have a spare 5 minutes. Don't feel like working out, but MUST. So I will post and then hit the bike. (this is why I don't like to take slower days - notice I didn't say "rest" day - I'm still going for every day in 2020).

7/14/2020: Chase Tucker Treadmill Hike. (I had to do a Chase tucker class for my badge/challenge Pelothon). I thought this would be something different. Not running, not the bike, not my usual. Well, I was right! It was different alright. lol. He had me doing inclines of 6, 9, 12, and 15. I was kinda tired, so I thought this would be mellow. WRONG. Ha! My speed was only 2.6 but boy oh boy did I feel this. It was quite interesting. 2 circuits - first one was 3 minutes at each incline, a rest at 6 incline for a couple of minutes and then 2 minutes at each incline, 1 minute at 5 incline and 1 minute cool down at 0 incline. And I did enjoy the variety. Followed with Emma's Core for my strength challenge.

7/15/2020: Matty's Lower Body Strength workout for the challenge followed by Ally Love's Core workout. Had every intention of doing the bike when I got home from work. Which didn't happen. I did the "Pizza Workout" instead (and it was delicious) . Weather was gorgeous (low humidity, sunshine) so we sat on the deck and watched the birds as we ate!

Anyway ... I have some catch up to do on my Power zone challenge. Two days off the bike was nice. Not ideal, but nice and this morning? I'm itchy to get back on and get semi-caught up.

I ordered a new FitBit (they are having a sale) for nighttime (sleeping) use. I have the surge which is only holding a charge a little less than 24 hours any more. I still use the ONE for my daily wear, but I wanted a sleep tracker so the new model (I forget which one -- $99 one which was on sale for $69) should do the trick. Graphs and charts are better than the Surge also. I've had the Surge for many, many years so I can't complain. My new Fitbit should arrive today.

I will go back and do shout outs later.
Gotta run.
Make it a great day!
Cleda

[Helen]

Thu., 16th Jul.
60min dog walk/run
64min, Zosha - Pilates TV - Waist, Balance, & Control; + Longer Leaner You; + Butt Blast & Thighs.
buddy dipped out, so took opportunity to do something she's not fond of (Pilates)

[LiliMagill]

I need to post daily so that I can remember what I did!
7/14 - inspired by Helen, I pulled out Christi's Still Steppin'. I started out fine, not even modifying. Then it got more and more complicated and I got more & more breathless. So I decided to stop it after the first half. I'll come back to it another time. Then 20 min. Fast Walk with Jessica and a dog walk.
7/15 - Paula B. Cardio something from YouTube. It came up on my feed, so I tried it. It wasn't awful, but I was ready to cut it short for several reasons: she never stops talking, none of the moves were all that great, and she never stopped talking! On the plus side, she did a ton of balance work. Next was UP 2016, a mile with Jessica, then some free style rebounding. We walked the dogs after dinner.
7/16 - 2.44 mile run this morning. I am planning on another Unplugged later, but we'll see.

Cleda - I've only done 1 hike with Peloton and it was HARD! The incline and the pace were tough. So far, none of the walks I've done have been more than 10 incline. I'm not even sure if my treadmill goes higher than that.
I am also not a fan of the grocery store, that's why I started the menu years ago. We do love trying all kinds of new things and we both enjoy cooking, so I always add new recipes to the plan.
Pam - Isn't it nice to interact with people in person? Even if we keep our distance, it's something.
Helen - I think I'll stick to Les Mills step for now. I used to love Christi and other more choreographed step routines, but I'm out of practice or out of shape or both!
Waves to Kay!

[yogapam]

July 17>
~20 min gliding
~practiced Essentrics sequences for my upcoming virtual exam
~yin yoga class

Lili - It was so nice to see two of my students in person! I am not a fan of complicated choreography, especially with step. I just end up frustrated!

Cleda - I have a Fitbit Charge 3. I bought it mainly because it’s waterproof, but I’ve grown to like the sleep tracking function.

Helen - I need more Pilates in my life!

Waves to all!

[Helen]

LILI
It's just 'out of practice' because fitness-wise, Christi is no harder than Les Mills Body Step - to the contrary ! The Power Peak tracks (there are usually two) are HARD!

PAM
My FitBit's a Charge 3 as well - so only remove it to put on charge.
I'm not fond of Pilates - appreciated it more once I grasped the nuances of it and was doing more than just what it looked like they were doing. I think good instructors made the difference for me there - talking about keeping pelvis still as if balancing a plate of marbles. That made a huge difference - but I still don't enjoy it - no fun music, no "get in the flow" choreography like Christi....

CLEDA
Have fun with the new FitBit.

WAVES for KAY, lurkers, followers, fans, ...

Fri., 17th Jul. with buddy
20min, Teigh & Gillian - Yoga Booty Ballet - Goddess Abs
35min, Christi - Still Jumpin' - Section 1 Mix
no dog walk - poured with rain ALL DAY

[Cleda]

That my fitbit didn't arrive yesterday. I got the Fitbit Inspire (since I use the ONE during the day!) and I'll be thrilled with my graphs. I know I will. You guys know me and my graphs. The Surge only provides the hours I've slept. I've tried to determine how long I've had the Surge and I'll have to look it up ... It's a very long time though. Anyway .... Thanks for the input. Looks like we have a lot of Fitbitters here. I burned out on the StepBets, so I don't panic about steps during the day. Since I don't wear it while cycling, my average is low. When I DO wear it when cycling and treadmilling, I end up around 18k to 20k. Sooooooooo we all know we're active, I don't need step numbers to tell me.

Pilates? I don't like it, but I DO enjoy doing Noelle's PowerHouse dvds and when I'm consistent, I definitely see a difference. I have long levers, bad back, overweight, I have a million excuses WHY I hate yoga and pilates. But none are valid. If I just did it and practiced, I know I could improve. But I need modifications. I have been doing a lot of core work with this latest Peloton strength challenge and am so pleased with the modifications they show and I feel like I'm actually doing it instead of staring at the tv going, HUH? are you kidding me?? LOL ... I also know, if I keep doing it with modifications and get stronger, then I'll move up. But I'm not overly anxious to get there. I do what I can do

Pam: The Glider? What is that ?? Like an EZ Glider? (I used to have one of them ions ago) or is it something else? Like a cross country skier? Or is it like the long rolled up mat thingee? Reebok had one or is it discs? I need to be able to picture it when you talk about it. (Brain visual here.)

Lili: My last two treadmills have gone up to 15 incline (the one before that was only 10) . I researched and bought them at the time because I had read (and do believe) that even going 2 mph on high incline can be the equivalent of running and it's a perfect substitute for the obese. Soooo That's why I got it. They are tough. And I must admit, took my legs 24-36 hours to feel better after I did it. (Of course, I did strength and curtsy lunges and they get me every time. I have a love/hate relationship with them.) Do you keep an exercise journal at all? I have a paper one and I keep it through the years (as is obvious every time I get into one from years ago!) ... That's the only way I can keep track. And if I don't fill it in right away, I have to go back into the Peloton App to see what I've done and reconstruct.

Hi to Kay and Helen !!! and any lurkers!!!

On to me, me and all me. I try to post more often so all of you don't get eye strain! (See it's not always all about ME.)

7/16/2020: Power Zone 45 minute endurance ride with Matt. followed by a 5 minute stretch and then Christine's Core (10 mins.) I really liked this one. Mostly planks. BUT she showed modifications and a lot of BEAR. Who knew I could do bear to progress to planks? I had no clue. I also had no clue that I have excess skin on me knees that hangs down on bear. the things we learn. Anyway. . I've starred this one to do more often.

I am really loving this strength challenge I have signed up for with my Peloton group. (one of my many groups). It's JUST enough to get something in daily. Sometimes 5 mins. sometimes 15. BUT ... it really feels good and I'm finding some classes that I might not find otherwise and/or do. So now I have them bookmarked. I love my Peloton app/groups/bike, etc. Could you tell???

Ok, I have a LOT of catch up to do on the bike. I have to get 2 more classes in for the Pelothon challenge - so that I can get that badge. I have to do my strength and I have to get in 3 more classes for my Power Zone Challenge (one of which is 90 minutes long) ... Guess I know what i'm doing today. I can and will get them done. But it's not my usual order. I usually have them done by Friday so that I can have a fun workout weekend. Oooops. Off to figure out which classes I do for the Pelothon.

Make it a great day.
Cleda