Friends in Fitness - Summer 2022

[summer breeze]

Good morning!!

Just saying hi and bumping us up!!

Hope you're doing well CAMBET.

[cambet]

Hi Summer Breeze,

Thanks for keeping us going. I got back home on Sunday evening. While I can be outgoing, I am truly an introvert, so spending so much intense time with others, even while enjoyable at the time, is exhausting for me.

Monday I did manage to do CHE: Wild Horse and Rope and Ride, mostly throughout the day to help with my hourly step goals, but also later to get in some movement and get in my steps. Made it to over 10,500 steps for the day.

Yesterday I made it to 7,000 steps and had planned to get in a 30 min CH but I got distracted by a long evening meeting with a friend and by the time I got home it was all I could do to eat dinner before I fell asleep.

I haven't gotten back to Chalean Extreme yet; I'm hoping to today. This week was supposed to be a stay-cation of sorts but it's not quite working out the way I had planned, so far.

SB - Thank you very much for your condolences, kind words, and support. The uncle who passed was a family favorite and overall great guy. I've never heard anyone speak a bad word about him. The memorial service was very small- only immediate family- and it would have been lovely but one of my older cousins who drove down from SC and who is known for creating drama at funerals came and made a complete spectacle of himself, crying out and carrying on. If we had been in a large church maybe it would not have been so obvious, but we were in a small chapel and there were only 50-70 people, so his behavior was over-the-top and annoying. I sat beside my dad to provide comfort (my mom was on the other side but she's not a very comforting person and she's still experiencing some confusion) and his grieving, and everyone else's was interrupted by this cousin showing out. It was very distracting, and in my opinion, disrespectful. Everyone was commenting on it after the funeral. BUT, I got to see relatives that I had not seen in quite a while, which is always nice, and I got to spend quality time with each of my siblings and some other relatives while I was there, so that part was good.

Well, as you say, it sounds like things are progressing well with your recovery. Good to hear that the stitches are out and the new hard cast is on and you're looking at 4 more weeks, which will hopefully fly by. It sounds like you are taking good care during the healing process, which is all good! I hope that you had a good visit with your friend from out of state. I imagine it was nice to have the company, even though it didn't make sense for her to stay with you. I'm really hoping to get back to CE today and having you to tell about it is helping to hold me accountable, so thanks for that. (I really like CE, but I feel so exhausted, in general, so it's going to take a bit of a push on my part to get back on track. If I really don't feel up to it, I won't but I think I can do it ).

[summer breeze]

Hi CAMBET.

Welcome back. I'm glad you got to spend some quality time with your siblings and relatives. Funerals are exhausting and draining. That's really too bad your older cousin had to disrespect the service in that way. I'm sure you were a comfort to your dad. My heart goes out to him at this sad time. I too am a social introvert. I like to see people and socialize but too much can be draining and I need my down time by myself.

Don't rush getting back to CE. When you feel up to it you'll know. It's not only a physical challenge doing a program like CE but a mental challenge too. Your mind and body both need to be ready for it. But I'll be here cheering you on when/if you're ready.

It was really fun seeing my friend over the weekend. A couple of other friends came by too so we had a nice little game night party going on.

Take care and have a wonderful day!!

[cambet]

Hi SB,

Yesterday was another busy day. Lots of work to do and I ended the afternoon with a long, intense (but good) meeting. I fell asleep shortly after I got home. I did CH: Cardio Round Up during the morning hours to help with my hourly step goals, and did some of CHE: Wild Horse last night to make it to over 10,200 steps for the day.

SB - Thanks for your supportive words (about my dad, the funeral, and my wack older cousin (insert eye roll)). You are so right about CE being both physically and mentally challenging! I think that's why I haven't gotten back to it yet. I am physically and mentally exhausted! I see now how unrealistic it was to think that I would get back and pick up where I left off. I'm dealing with a situation at work that is taking a lot of mental energy and, otherwise, with the traveling I have physically been very active. I had imagined that I would take this week off from work and start the day off with working out, but it hasn't worked out that way and I haven't had a good chance for a relaxing break. Now is just not the time to try to get back to CE, but I will soon, and you're right, I'll know when I'm ready, so I shouldn't rush it. Thanks for the good advice! (This really is a case of, in theory, I want to do it, but in practice, it's just not happening. I'm concerned about the strength gains I'm losing and going through DOMS again - it'll be interesting to see where I am when I restart - but I'm just not where I need to be to restart.)

I'm glad that you had a good weekend with your friend and it sounds like the game night party was a lot of fun. Yay! Do you have any other such plans on the horizon? I hope you have a good day!

[summer breeze]

Hi CAMBET.

Good job getting your steps in with a busy work day to deal with too. I totally agree it's too hard to pick it up if you're dealing with an intense work situation. I'm sure there will be some DOMS again when you start but you'll be prepared for it when the time is right.

I don't have any plans for more socializing in the near future. I do get occasional visits from friends and my sister here and there which is nice too. My SIL invited us to her pool but I explained to her it's just not a comfortable situation for me to travel in the hard caste and I'm still not weight bearing on that leg so I don't want to take the chance of further injuring myself with a fall.
The Dr. wants me to not do too much and keep my leg elevated as much as I can so that's what I'll do boring as it may be.
LOL. I think my DD and DS and his gf will go visit her though. She's DH's older sister and she likes to keep in touch with us which is very sweet.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

[cambet]

Hi SB,

The last two days have been interesting movement-wise. Friday afternoon the guy who cuts my grass was scheduled to come. The grass in the back had gotten quite high since I was out of town and didn't call him sooner and apparently it rained a lot. The last time he came there were lots of fallen branches and sticks and instead of moving them to be able to cut all the grass (like my former yardman would do, may he RIP), he just cut around them but didn't cut the grass where they were (they were close to the creek way in the back of the yard, so he just didn't cut that part). So, I got out Friday morning and got up all of the branches. There were, I would guess, over 200 branches, part branches, and sticks that I picked up; it took over on hour and made it to over 6,000 steps before 11:00 am (he cut the WHOLE yard and when I mentioned later that I had gotten up the branches he said that he had noticed and thanked me)! I did some CH (Down & Dirty and later, Bring the Heat) throughout the day to help with my hourly step goals. Made it to over 14,000 steps for the day.

Yesterday the woman who cleans my house sometimes came. I decided to do some pre-cleaning to help things along (since last time she came, which was over a year ago, she commented on how unclean the house was ). I got in 4,000 steps before she arrived and did my own organizing around the house while she was cleaning (I tried to stay ahead of wherever she was). I did CH: Wild Goose Chase last night to make it to over 10,000 steps for the day.

I've worked most of the summer; I've had a day off here and there, but for the most part, I've been on call with email all summer. So, I've decided that I'm going to put my out-of-office message on for this coming week and focus on my own things. I'll give email maybe an hour a day, if that much (there are some pending things), but that's it. So, I guess this coming week will be my stay-cation and I should be able to restart Chalene Extreme. I'm looking forward to having a week off.

SB - I think that you are doing a great job of being conscientious about the healing process for your ankle. It is nice that your SIL is still inviting you all over and keeping in touch. it's good that your kids are going and I'm sure that she understands why you can't. It sounds like between visits and other things, you're finding ways to keep yourself occupied while also taking good care. Hope you have a good day!

[summer breeze]

Hi CAMBET.

I'm LOL at your movement days. I'm glad the landscaper thanked you for moving the branches *rolls eyes*. That was quite a lot of work and great step count. I had to roll my eyes at your cleaner too. Umm unclean houses is kind of how she stays in business no? LOL

Well I like the sound of your staycation week. I hope you can stick with it and do the things you want and need to do for yourself. I'm here waiting eagerly for any CE reports you may have

I was looking at a youtube video on GD before and Jessica Smith was doing some deep squats in the video. I remembered how good they felt on my back when I was doing them a few months ago and I thought oh that looks good let me try a few. Then I remembered uh no I don't think that can happen right now. DOH. But I'm taking that as a good sign that I totally forgot for a second that I'm laid up with a broken ankle and I actually felt like doing some exercise.
It's the little things that keep us going. LOL.

Have a wonderful day!!

[cambet]

Hi SB,

Sunday I decided to try to get in 1,000 steps an hour (instead of 250) from 8:00-4:00. I did a lot of CH. I think that I did Giddy Up during the day and later Trail Ride. Made it to over 10,500 steps for the day.

My stay-cation has not worked out as planned. We had to hire a last-minute adjunct and some other things needed my attention. I have a meeting today (that I called), but I think that I'll be able to take tomorrow and Friday off from work. Monday I did CH: Country Swing during the day to help with my hourly step goals and later did CHE: Wild Horse to make it to over 10,500 steps for the day.

Yesterday I did part of Cardio Round Up and later all of CHE: Rope & Ride to make it to over 10,300 steps for the day.

Country Heat is really coming in handy these days. It's helping me get in movement and it's fun with good music. I had hoped to up my level of fitness beyond CH by now, but that's just where I am right now.

SB - Thanks for your reactions to my yardman and cleaning lady. I also rolled my eyes about the situation with him and was surprised that she was so critical. She kept going on and on about how glad she was that I had prepped the house for her arrival this time. She has a hard life (her granddaughter has dumped her kids off on my cleaning lady, so she is essentially having to raise her 3 great grandkids and she describes them as (mostly) terrors ), so I cut her some slack. She was glad to be at my house, even if she was cleaning it (she is a janitor by trade; she actually enjoys cleaning), because she said it gave her a break from her family. We had lunch and caught up some (I know her from church but we haven't seen each other there much since the pandemic) and she was glad to take a couple of smoke breaks outside in peace.

It's a great sign that you felt like doing some exercise! I think that for people who are accustomed to exercising, it's just a part of your being and you miss it if you aren't able to do it. So when you recover, you'll still want to be active and get back to it. I have tended to avoid deep squats because of my knees (I have a tear in the meniscus of both knees; it mostly does not bother me, but sometimes I can feel that something is off in there), but I might check out the video of JS's deep squats out of curiosity, because I remember that they seemed to help your sciatica/back area and I'd be interested to see her form and hear what she says about them. Well, you're trucking along, right, with 3 more weeks to go in the cast? Will you have to do any rehab after you get the cast off? Hope you have a good day!

[summer breeze]

Hi CAMBET.

Too bad your staycation didn't work out the way you planned but hopefully you salvage a couple of days for yourself. Getting over 10K steps each day is excellent though. It sounds like you have a nice relationship with your cleaner. I give her a lot of credit cleaning houses when she has great-grandkids to look after. Wow that is tough.

Yeah I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as the cast is concerned at least. It's actually a month since the surgery so hopefully the cast may come off in 2 weeks *fingers crossed*. I'm pretty sure I'll go into a walking boot next but if I can weight bear a little at that point I should be able to get around easier and do more things. I'm pretty sure there is some rehab I'll be needing at that point too. When she changed out my cast last time my poor leg looked so skinny and shriveled so I'm sure the muscle has atrophied. It's funny I had a dream last night that the cast came off and I was able to just start walking around. Obviously just my subconscious throwing random things around like most dreams. LOL.

Have a wonderful day!!

[cambet]

Hi SB,

OMG, I can't wait to tell you about the meeting that I had yesterday. I almost logged in yesterday after the meeting to post, but I had some follow-up things to do a the time. So, I met with our new Interim HR director yesterday about some personnel matters in my dept. Curious to know if she had experience in Higher Ed, I googled her to find out about her background and found that she used to work in HR for Beachbody. So before we got to the nitty gritty of our meeting topic I told her that I had googled her and saw that she used to work for Beachbody and that I was a huge fan and she just opened up and started talking about her experiences there.

She said that since Beachbody went public (which I didn't even realize that it had) all of the head executives have left, so it's essentially all new management/leadership (though Carl D is still CEO) and the culture of the place totally changed, which is one of the reasons that she left. Just to share a few interesting tidbits , she said that she had participated in several test groups (and they often have pre official test groups as they are developing new products that then evolve as they see what's happening with the test group) and when you are in a test group BB provides you with all of your meals and shakeology, so you don't have to prepare anything.

She has met most of the trainers, Tony H (very committed to his programs), Chalene (very nice), Shaun T (very nice), Autumn (not a fan), and many others. She said that when you're in a test group sometimes it's led by the actual trainer and sometimes they are not onsight (like in the case of Shaun T, since he doesn't live in LA) and it's actually led by someone else. When you work there you have access to all of the programs and shakeology and there was even a shakelolgist onsight who would prepare any type of shake you want.

She said her favorite programs were LIFTT and 21 Day Fix (though Autumn can be a lot to take), and TurboFire, and she got the BEST results when she was part of the test group for RevAbs. I told her about VF (she said that she had vaguely heard of it) and said that I didn't think the RevAbs was particularly popular here. I told her that I do Country Heat just about every day (she's not a big fan of CH) mostly for movement since it doesn't have any TIFTing and that I had made it to the Push phase of CE, but I had gotten off track because I'd been out of town. She told me a lot of other stuff; I had so many questions and I apologized for fan-girling over her experiences and the people she had worked with. After about 20 mins we were both like, well, we should probably actually get to the topic at hand. It was such a fun conversation (she couldn't believe that I knew so much about the BB programs) and we said that we would meet at another time to talk more about Beachbody stuff.

Yesterday I finished up CH: Cardio Round Up and did Bring the Heat last night to make it over 10,000 steps for the day.

Oh, wow, only 2 more weeks in the cast (*fingers crossed*)? Yay! Almost there! Well, from your dream it's clear that your body is ready to heal and move on! Hope you have a great day!