Barefoot & On the Mat October 2020: Blue Moon Edition!

[JustSandra]

A quick post and run (I'm at work!).

So nice to see everyone!

No workout yesterday as Life got in the way again, and today is my planned rest day.

A big hello to Sherry!

Beth: Congrats on the new teaching job.

Gotta go -- waving to all!

[luvcritters]

Hi everyone. Hope you all are well. I'll be having shoulder surgery this month. The A/C joint needs repaired and a completely torn rotator needs fixed. And something else about removing a piece of the clavicle at the A/C joint. The pain comes from the A/C joint. The rotator was a surprise that showed on the MRI. I wanted to get my wrists fixed first but the doctors decided for me.

Beth, thanks again for the YouTube practices. I still lift weights with the man once in awhile. Lifting seems to lessen the pain. Yes, he's still around. It'll be a year on Halloween.

Sandra, hugs and ear skritches to the boys. Meow Meow let the man carry her and even let him rub her belly. She ran through the house and he was surprised she can run so fast. She can run as fast as any 4-legged cat.

cyana, hang in there. Only a few more months of busy season.

Garrie, I might be down your way in December if our plans don't get messed up. Maybe we can meet if your schedule allows.

Hi to everyone. The wrists can't hold the phone any longer.

Take care everyone.

[sherry7899]

Good morning! I forgot to post yesterday. I did a half hour Body Project cardio, which I really enjoyed. It was one of the "Beats" workouts. I am taking a rest day today, but I may do yoga.

Linda-I am so glad to see you post. I have been worried about you. Best wishes for your surgery.

Beth-congratulations on your class!

Cyana-I hope you can get some time off to relax over the weekend.

Paine-I have a whole canister filled with flavored teas. I really need to drink them instead of snacking! I'm really picky with flavors so I'm down to only a few types now. One favorite is cinnamon vanilla from Stash tea. I love pumpkin, but I never found a pumpkin spice flavored tea that I like. I am lucky to be able to shop at Wegmans. They have a huge selection of tea. I honestly prefer hot chocolate, but that is less healthy I have a few different flavors of that also, of course!

Pam-I hope you enjoyed your trip.

Anny, it is very nice to meet you !

Pat-I think I had that Yee dvd and did not keep it. I get all his titles mixed up, so I am not sure which of his I have left.

Garrie, I will have to check out your video on Facebook later today.

YogaGal-nice to meet you also! I enjoy Sarah Beth's more mellow practices. I am not into any of her power yoga classes, though.

I am sorry if I missed anyone.

Have a great day!
Sherry

[Pat58]

I've got to fly by again! Yesterday I accomplished:

~ Margaret Richard Good 'N Strong, vol. 2 workout 1
~ 50 mini ball crunches
~ Felicia Tomasko Ayurvedic Detox: Pigeon Hip Series (Glo)
~ Evening walk (1.17, 25 mins)

[Garrie A.]

Yesterday's workout:
-TAUGHT Dance & Flow class (in the morning)
-STS Mesocycle 1, Disc 3 (Legs )

Dance & Flow is a class that I'm offering at the community center I teach at. It's similar to PiYo and Michelle Dozois BodyFit 360, but with my own spins (and performed barefoot, of course). The first half is a mix of cardio dance, yoga, and lower body focused bodyweight training (including balance work) while the second half (performed on the floor) is upper body and core work followed by flowing stretches. We have new mics at the studio, and for some odd reason I couldn't get it adjusted right this morning. I felt as if my voice was straining over the music even though the volume ratio was the same as it had always been when I teach.

Anyways, then I did my STS workout in the afternoon. I initially planned it for Thursday, but my back felt a little stiff that day so I decided to take it easy, stretch my back out, and move it over. The leg workouts are the ones I always dread. Unusually, I don't dread any of Cathe's non-STS leg workouts (except for Lift It HiiT It Legs), but I particularly dread the Meso 1 leg days. For my second round, I'm doing things differently for Meso 1 and 2 (legs only). I decided to ignore the weights listed on my workout card (60% of 1RM for the first week) and play it by ear. For a few of the exercises, I went lighter then what my workout card stated. It told me to use 35s for squats and deadlifts, but I used 30s and this felt better (but by no means easier ). When Cathe does the squats in the Meso 1 leg routines she follows them with a long set of calf raises. I always have to put my weights down after the squats, as my forearms begin stinging during the calf raises. I use Select Techs for weights heavier than 20 lbs., and I don't want to drop them mid-set. Surprisingly, I felt as if I could've gone heavier for the two gliding disc exercises and the lateral step ups. My glutes have some lovely DOMS afterwards, which calls for a nice hip opening yoga practice today.

[Garrie A.]

Pat: Good 'n Strong is one of my favorite Margarets. I love the beautiful Fall scenery.

LINDA!! My fellow VA Mat Maven! So good to see you! I, too have been worried about you. Sending ((((HUGS)))) to both you and Meow Meow. Best wishes for your shoulder surgery. Congrats on the one year with "the man." And I would love a meet-up in December.

Beth: Funny you mention Rodney's Yoga for Athletes; I've been looking all over my house for it for months. I still couldn't find it and decided to get it off eBay. Classes are still going well. They cleared room for two extra 10x10 spots, so 12 participants are allowed for each class. Each spot is marked off with tape. Circuit stations around the room are not allowed. For the fitness area/weight room (which I never use since I prefer to use my home gym and DVDs ), they divided the equipment into three separate rooms, and some equipment they are not allowing participants to use. Pools are open for lap swimming and water classes only (except for Ai Chi, which uses the therapy pool; that class is not available at this time).

Paine: Glad you slept better!

Pam: The funny thing is that I never really got into more complex step choreography until about two or three years ago. Before that, I was a big Firm junkie and for step cardio mostly did Karen Voight's Energy Sprint, Keli Roberts Ultimate Step, Gilad's Step at Waikiki, and a Lisa Wheeler Method step workout (Step Up To Dance, which was the most complex I ever got to). I still love those workouts, BTW. My first experience with complex choreography was six years ago. I tried a Michelle Dozois/Tracy York step DVD and hated it. HATED it. In fact, I still have PTSD from it. As an aside, I should pull it out again and see if I can do it. Four years ago, I tried two step DVDs (Cathe's Step Blast and Christi Taylor's Totally Cool Step) and loved them. Loved them! The hoarding began--starting with Cathe and Christi, then moving on to CIA workouts, Seasun Zieger, etc. And I've fallen in love with most of them. I still have to try a few Patrick Goudeau DVDs I was gifted a year ago (one of which I rented from Netflix, and just like Michelle and Tracy, have PTSD from it).

I'll be back later to chat and post today's workout. Waves to all!

[toaster]

Garrie Dance & Flow sounds fun! Are you going to film any of those classes! I think I would like you better than Chalene. Sorry you had mic problems; that's frustrating. I had no mic for the outdoor yoga class on Wed and felt like I had to practically shout in my soothing yoga voice, haha. I might do that Yee video today! It may be the only video that I had on VHS that I actually re-acquired on DVD (I didn't have nearly as many VHS, and my tastes changed as well). It sounds like masks are not required at your gym? All gyms and yoga studios are required to have masks indoors at all times here in NY; that will be an adjustment when I start to teach next week.

Pat you must be busy! That pigeon routine sounds lovely.

Linda, so glad you checked in with us, and WOW, one year with the man! Will he be around to help with the surgery recovery? I'm sorry you have to go through that. I was thinking about doing another YouTube video today if I can, although it seems like I have a lot of tasks this weekend. I imagine that I'll be doing less videos now that I am getting back to live teaching, but I don't want to abandon them completely.

Sherry, Wegmans! Funny that we are both from NJ and now both shopping at Wegmans - in different states, haha. That would be one of the hardest things for me to give up if I had to go to a new area! I agree with you on Sarah Beth Yoga - I really like her yin and restorative, but when I have tried to do some of her challenges, some of the practices get way too flowy for me. (As a side note, whenever I try to see how I am doing on YouTube and search for "yoga Beth," I get nothing but her videos! )

Happy Saturday all! It's a pretty cold morning here (47*F right now), but at least it's nice and sunny.

[Paine]

Cathe Turbo Barre (Ballet Barre Leg Conditioning workout plus Final Stretch)

I got a nice lower body workout with Cathe's Turbo Barre. Cathe has a relaxing 7 minute final stretch on that DVD that I enjoy.

Pat, I love Margaret's Good 'N Strong DVD.

Sherry, I'm picky about teas too. I've bought tea samplers to try a bunch out and most of them I haven't liked but thankfully I've found a few I do like. I too need to be mindful of drinking tea rather than snacking. I'm going to have to try cinnamon vanilla from Stash! Thanks for mentioning it. One of the best cinnamon teas I've tried so far is Good Earth Sweet & Spicy herbal tea. It actually tastes sweet as is, without any sweetener added. Oh man, I love hot chocolate too but it is less healthy and I prefer to eat my calories rather than drink them. I wish we had a Wegmans where I live!
https://www.goodearth.com/collection...feine-free-tea

Linda, I hope you have a successful surgery. Take it easy as you heal.

Garrie, I admire you for pushing through the Meso 1 leg workout you dread. If there is too much dread, I usually give up.

[sherry7899]

Garrie, your classes sound great! I am way too shy to take live classes, but yours sound so fun!

Beth-that is funny! I love Wegmans! We have friends who moved from living near one (Maryland) to rural upstate Michigan. I think all they have for groceries nearby is Walmart and one grocery store. They really miss Wegmans! I've actually mailed them chocolate chunks to bake cookies because those two stores that they have near them have been out of them for months.

Paine, I will definitely look into that tea. I am guilty of adding honey every time I drink tea. Thank you for the suggestion. As far as hot chocolate, I bought a few different kinds from Target's site including dark chocolate, milk chocolate and peppermint. I still have a tin of Trader Joe's salted caramel hot chocolate ....I think it might be expired! My son did not like it, my husband does not drink it and I can't finish it by myself.

I think I am making meatless pumpkin chili and cornbread for dinner. I want fall food tonight The chili could be vegetarian, but I use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. Both recipes are from Sally's Baking Addiction site. I have not tried her cornbread recipe yet. I will report back later. I've made the chili before and it's fantastic! Our 21 year old son won't be home for dinner, so I'm making something he won't eat...he hates vegetables (sigh...). I am very into cooking and baking-hope no one minds my rambling about what I make.

[Pat58]

Settled back in, time to say hi. It's a glorious day here so I'll be doing some gardenasana.

Sherry - I tried a pumpkin chai from Adagio and couldn't detect any pumpkin. The vanilla sample is much better.

Garrie your dance and flow class sounds fun!

Hi Carolyn, it's nice to bump into you here!

Beth I prefer skullcrushers too, and the seated Pilates tricep work like shaving. I also like the overhead extension. It's good to hear you can teach at a studio. Where I live we can attend gyms but for some reason all the yoga studios are still doing Zoom or outdoor classes.

Paine I see you are still enjoying Margaret Richard's workouts. I bought Sculpture on your recommendation some time ago - I'll put that in my rotation when I finish Good 'N Strong.

Hello to everyone! Better get off this butt and exercise it.