September 2019 Add 'em up Goals Challenge ~All welcome!

[Leonana]

Vannie, the octopus sounds neat.

I'm glad you are having nice weather. We are getting cooler weather tomorrow, possible rain. Our version of cooler, lol.

[Catahoula Cate]

Sherry, glad you are enjoying Jessica's workouts so much. I have a dvd of hers that I should get out and revisit.

Vannie, the octopus sounds neat and way to go to keep up with the running! Did you see Jeremy Ethiers recent youtube clip on how to target lower abs vs upper abs? The exercises he did are out of my league but I thought his explanations were good and I can still target them in a "Katie friendly" sort of way.

We are definitely heading into Fall mode. Some of the trees are starting to change and our temperatures are heading into the 60's already. I'm finally getting my act together and getting more yoga in my daily routine. The traps are still tight but not as bad.

Waves to Scarlett and MT!

[Vantreesta]

This morning I attempted wk14 day1 but the humidity was making me feel ill (haven't felt top of the world for a few days now anyway) so I cut it short, 55 min instead of 70. I decided to try 9:1 intervals but only made it to minute 19 before I switched to 3:1. Instead of my usual YFR I did Eoin's Power Yoga for Happiness Daily Dose of Bliss.

Katie, I got that notification but haven't watched it yet.

[Leonana]

Went to Five and Below, which just opened here. They have some fitness equipment, so I picked up an ab wheel for $5, because I watched the video you mentioned, Katie. However, I can't go all the way down or come up, lol. So it doesn't seem to target my lower abs, but it only works my upper abs. I don't have the strength to do it with correct form. Good for the back and shoulders though. I guess I'll keep trying it!

[Vantreesta]

Be careful with your back on the ab wheel, Sherry! Make sure you don't let it sway. I got rid of my ab wheel years ago bc I was too worried about my lower back. I'm sure it's a good tool, just really be aware of your form.

I am the queen of crabby today. I have no idea why. Sigh.

[Vantreesta]

This morning I did 10 min on the bike trainer then broke the shrinkwrap on a 2011 Denise Austin DVD, Sculpt & Burn Body Blitz, and did the warmup, Cardio Sculpt and cooldown sections. Then I tried Cassey Ho's 30 Day 100 Glute Challenge day 3 and didn't finish. I'm giving up on it. I don't enjoy it so will find smthg else to get in good glute work. I put off dog walks first thing bc it was pouring, so since I couldn't decide what stretch to do I walked the dogs, just a short one. For some reason I am extremely crabby and irritable today so the walk was frustrating. I know I do better walking one at a time bc it's so hard when they need very different speeds. Came back and did CLX Dynamic Flow Yoga, which I hadn't done since 2013 and didn't remember at all! Definitely more strength yoga than stretch or restorative.

[Catahoula Cate]

Sherry and Vannie, I tried an ab wheel years ago too and realized I didn't have the strength for good form so gave it up. What I'm trying to do now, after watching Jeremy Ethier's clip is when I do my pelvic tilts, I'm just concentrating more to make sure I'm activating the lower, the upper and then together. I'm going to try to do this for the rest of the month and see if I notice a difference. I would love it if I could do an actual reverse crunch some time.

Vannie, when you had your hamstring injury way back, did anything come up about high hamstring tendonitis(HHT)? I've been having trouble sitting on my right butt cheek for a while because of pain(feels jammed up where the hammies attach to the sit bones) and it doesn't feel the same as the piriformis which I think I've maintained staying released pretty well. I've looked up some links and the HHT makes sense to me. I see my PT in a couple weeks to discuss it with her as it's been going on since I released the piriformis on that side. Really seems to be a domino effect to old injuries. ~sigh~

The last two days we got just under 2 inches of rain so no walks. Beautiful day today but I think I'll let the moisture soak in before I try walking. It's pretty spongy right now.

I think I've worn out my Barbara Benagh Yoga for Stress Relief dvd. The passive neck segment gets stuck more and more. I will probably get a new one. One of the few dvd's I have that I will replace.

[Vantreesta]

Katie, yes, I have dealt with HHT (so has Sandy). That tendon is what I actually tore in the splits fiasco, but I have had troubles with it on my good side too. Sandy and I both had decided to stop stretching our hamstrings much and work on strength and foam rolling. Unfortunately I didn't do the work part when I stopped the stretching and while the HHT improved a fair amount, the hamstrings on the bad leg have never been as tight as they are now! I am struggling to regain the flexibility in them. My right side isn't as flexible as it used to be either, though I can still do standing forward bends with my hands flat on the floor (after warming up.some bc the left side is so tight). It's definitely a domino effect, like you said. My recent hip issues have likely stemmed from weak glutes causing tight piriformis causing tight TFL causing inflamed ITB.... And yeah, it definitely doesn't feel the same as piriformis pain, donut holing right in the middle of the buttock. I saved a document on HHT in my laptop. I'll have a look at it and email it to you if I think it might help.

I sent you a link a little bit ago about TFL, ITB and glute med. Interestingly, I did the strength tests on that video as well as a couple others and they indicate my glute meds aren't weak! So either I did the tests wrong or smthg has changed! Probably did the tests wrong.

[Vantreesta]

Friday the 13th!! Not as good as Halloween but it ranks up there!

I was supposed to run today but my hip started hurting again overnight and my glutes on that side have been hurting too so I decided to just stretch and roll today. But then I decided to go out and pull weeds bc I love today's weather so much, so now pretty much everywhere is a little sore, even though I was out less than 1 1/2 hours. Will aim to stretch while supper is in the oven.

[Leonana]

Thanks for the ab wheel tips. I noticed the lower back issue right away. And was disappointed that it didn't target my lower abs. I mostly felt it in my shoulders. Well, at least it wasn't expensive!

Vannie, I hope the hip is feeling better.

Katie, I haven't been doing pelvic tilts, although Jessica talks about pulling in your belly button in her workouts. I need to try that, as I can't do ab moves without tweaking my lower back. I watched a video on how to do it, and she also raised her legs, something else I can't do.

https://youtu.be/JPaiq9wd7ko

Jessica does those moves frequently while on the floor, and if I can get the right form, I'm hopeful I can do them too. I usually sub the Pilates 100 for her ab moves, for some reason it doesn't bother my lower back. I also sub Pahla Bowers exercises for pelvic prolapse, which I find really helpful too.

https://youtu.be/kRp4R3iCh9k