Beat the Blues - 2/19

S

Stargazer

Cathlete
Hello gang,
Another rest day for me. The biweekly (men’s) poker game was at our house last night and they play (loudly) until 11 pm. Not really so late for normal people, but late for those of us who get up at 4 -4:30 am. Needless to say, I was a little short on sleep this morning. So I just came to work earlier (we can do that here)

I’m also quite sore from bootcamp, especially my chest which is confusing to me. After reading the comments yesterday, I’m wondering if I would benefit from doing that workout all but core and then all core.

Pinky, I hope you got a good night’s sleep. It sounds like the family thing is going okay. It is so hard to find the right balance between graciousness and firmness, especially when the family dynamics are a factor.

Hello Elizabeth It sounds like you are getting the most out of timesaver. I’ve only tried each workout one time. They live up to their names, that’s for sure.

Tracy it sound like you are back at it with a vengence. It is so nice to be so excited about each workout. I’m thinking you are doing a ttr if you are lifting upper boy 3 x per week. Is that right? In the original ttr, I believe she lifted upper body 2 times and then a the third time was bi’s, tri’s and shoulders only. So those 3 parts got 3x per week but chest and back only 2 times.

Sabine, so glad you are recovering so quickly. But ugh on the food issues. I remember when my daughters had their wisdom teeth out and the dr told them NO corn products, especially corn chips (eg. Doritos) for 6 weeks or something that seemed an eternity at the time (lol) but your diet is PURE TORTURE. One of my biggest pleasures in eating is crunching (Love raw veggies) I’m amazed you made it through PS legs. That workout has a huge dread factor for me (so does LL) when I’m fully fueled. I wish I could make a better suggestion on how to get more nutrition. I’m also curious: isn’t this forced diet a problem in terms of (ahem) fiber intake (and output)? Oh and thanks for the heads up on Christi.

LoriH How do you do it?

Hello Brenda, LoriS and Stacy-MN.

Thank you all for being so kind when I’m acting like a baby and feeling sorry for myself. I’m not one to reveal myself to others. It makes it very very difficult to get any true insight and all but impossible to get any help.

-joy
 
Good afternoon everyone~

Joy, you know we all have bad days and we've all posted them here! If you can't let us know when you're having a downspell, who can you tell? Bootcamp can be very rough, plus some days your body/mind just doesn't have what it takes for whatever reason. Just take a deep breath and do something you enjoy (what about one of your stretch tapes?) Hope today is better!

Tuesday I did Imax and Power Hour then took yesterday off. Today I may try Body Max or Step Blast, but I'm feeling a little wishywashy right now.

My father flew in yesterday and took 2 of the younger ones to my sister's house in Virginia for a night so I'm lying on my bed, the babys sleeping, the windows are open (its over 50 degrees today!) and I don't know what to do with myself - I should be working out but its so nice and quiet...

Sabine, thank you- I'm sure I'll love S&H! Hope you're healing well today.

Hellos to everyone out there- I'll check in later to see how everyone is. Of course the baby just woke up.

Brenda
 
Good Morning everyone,

Just got through with Reebok Rhythmic Power w/ Petra Kolber. This was one of my first video workout purchases and it's kind of comfort workout. Even though it's not very advanced, I still get a good workout and I love Petra's personality.

Joy- glad that you felt comfortable to come here and vent. I think at times we all get fed up and need to pout, whine, and otherwise act like a child. I think it's because as adult women we spend so much time taking care of others and being the reasonable, level headed ones.

To answer your question about the fiber issue. Actually, it hasn't been that bad. There were a couple of days when things were at a stand still and now things are relatively back to normal. I think it helps that I drink anywhere from 64-90 ounces of water a day on top of other beverages (coffee, diet cola, orange juice, etc.). I am also having oatmeal once a day (and getting SOOOO sick of it) and I have these Yoplait Nouriche yogurt smoothie things that pack in 6 grams of fiber per container. So, I'm hanging in there although this a good time to not be a new relationship as many bodily functions (like the excessive drooling) are currently very unattractive.

Pinky- You had asked about good, non-boring intermediate workouts. Unfortunately it's a short list. A lot of the Reebok videos (like the one I mention above, and Reebok Step Rhythm and Moves) would qualify in this category. Jay Blahnik and Kari Anderson (both together and by themselves) have good workouts that I would consider high intermediate. I like both Classic Cardio and Classic Step which features both of them as the leads and Jay's Step Revival. Some of Franny Benedetto's CIA workouts are less intense and have good choreography. Also, Christi Taylor makes some terrific workouts that are high intermediate to advanced that are not as impacty as Cathe and have amazing really fun choreography. Quite a few people would consider Christi advanced, though.

The company still treating you with the dignity, graciousness, and respect you deserve?

Big hi's to Brenda, Tracy, Elizabeth, Lorisax, Lorihart, and Shywolf!

Possible March rotation

Since February is coming to a close I was thinking about what to do next month. I always take a look at what Cathe posts and I also came up with a version of a tank top/beach butt rotation.

week 1
Monday- PP upper body premix 2 times + abs
Tuesday- step cardio
Wednesday- CTX upper body + abs
Thursday- floor cardio
Friday- MIS
Saturday- IMAX 1 or 2
Sunday- rest

week 2
Monday- Leaner Legs + abs
Tuesday- step cardio
Wednesday- Power Hour
Thursday- floor cardio
Friday- PS Legs and Abs
Saturday- Cardio Kicks
Sunday- off

week 3
Monday- Pyramid Upper Body + abs
Tuesday- step cardio
Wednesday- Body Max upper body + abs
Thursday- floor cardio
Friday- Muscle Endurance
Saturday- Cardio and Weights
Sunday- rest

week 4
Monday- Pyramid Lower body
Tuesday- step cardio
Wednesday- Slow and Heavy Legs
Thursday- floor cardio
Friday- Bootcamp
Saturday- IMAX 1 or 2
Sunday- rest

What do you all think? Am I nuts for thinking this could work?
 
Hello All;

This morning I did Rhythmic Step ...I will master this one!

Sabine I like what you've come up with. Like you I look to see what Cathe posts. I want to focus on a mix of cardio and endurance. I really need to up it as I would like to lose some weight.My weight loss is slow about a pound a week but I want to up that to about 2 per week, summer is coming and living in the south it gets really hot here.
I'm thinking maybe mixing up the Intensity and Body Blast series, not sure yet.

Hellos's to everyone!
 
Hi Sabine,
about your rotation...
it looks like weeks 1 & 3 are more upper body and 2 & 4 are lower. Is that right? The only change I would need to make for me is in week one where I would do the imax workout on tuesday and the step cardio on saturday. I know my legs could not manage either imax on the day after I did MIS. For some reason, MIS really really gets my legs, especially my inner thighs. Other than that it looks well balanced.

I have one philisophical ? about rotations - do you get more out of one by repeating a workout or by changing them around? Or does it depend on the person? For example, would I be better off (as in see more benefits) doing say PLB for all of the leg workouts for a 4 week cycle? Or does this depend on the individual and their goals?
-j
 
Hello, hello...:) Beautiful day outside, it will be in the mid-60s this afternoon, can't help but smile.

Joy, don't apologize for how you feel. You are perfectly entitled to feel a certain way about yourself in certain situations. I have great lifting and cardio days, then I'm suddenly beseiged and humbled by horrible ones. There are days when I slip off my clean eating wagon. The next session/meal is always another opportunity to do better. I try to keep perfection out of my fitness routines, otherwise I wouldn't do it at all. I push my anal self into other things in my life, but I'd be damned if I'd let it ruin my fitness quest, which is the only thing that's keeping me sane these days.:)

Brenda, take a nap!:) That's what I do when I'm so FREE I don't know what to do next. A friend of mine goes out for a manicure, but I simply doze off. I'm insomniac, so sleeping undisturbed is a luxury for me.

Sabine, I knew it would be a short list. But THANK YOU so much for taking time to give me one. I did check out Christi Taylor's web site and think her style is very similar to Cathe's. Looks like a lot of fun though. I will definitely check out the other workouts you mentioned.

ShyWolf, I did RS last Saturday. Wasn't so bad. I expected to really mess it up.:) It's a fun workout, although I'm not fond of those triples around the step. Not so happy with them in SB either, but overall, RS and SB are a great challenge.

Thank you all for asking about the "family thing". So far things have been pretty quiet. They keep to themselves while I mind my own business. There's nice but strained small talk at the breakfast/dining table. Good thing we have a small kitchen table that can only seat 4 people. This keeps me from having to sit with them and come up with something "interesting" to talk about. So far our talks are about my boy, whom I can see they are very fond of. Aside from that, I let my husband take care of family dynamics. His family, his responsibility.

I know yesterday I said I'd do PH. But I was tired from lack of sleep the previous night so I rested. I did PH this morning though. Upper body only. I'm also depressed because my doctor told me to rest my knees for a week. Therefore, I can't do any lower body workouts.}( }( }( This means cutting step and kickboxing as well. What else can I do for cardio aside from taking a long walk outside?

I'm not sure what to do for next month, although I LOVE, LOVE your rotation, Sabine. I just might have to tinker on those lower body weeks, or I can use the first half of week 1 then the first half of week 2, and so on... My knees really need a break. I'm thinking of taking the rest of February off for my lower body then easing back into my lower body workouts using only the floorwork sections of PS-Legs and PLB, the ankle weight segments of L&G, and LL without any weights. Man, I am so NOT happy about this, but at the same time, I know my knees will only get worse if I keep working them anyway.

Joy, about rotations... I think it really depends on what your goals are. My main goal is strength and I've always alternated between PS and Pyramids for strength. For a change, I switch to S&H. I've had good results by using just these three series. I alternate between two workouts to keep the boredom away and to keep my body from getting used to one way of working out. Even when doing PS, sometimes I switch things around by starting with a smaller muscle/isolation exercises (biceps/triceps) then moving to a muscle group/compound exercises (back/chest). I've also seen better muscle confusion with my body these last two months where I've alternated between a strength week and an endurance week. There is no one magic formula really, and experimentation is key. It's the only way you get to know how your body will respond.:)

Hellos to Lorihart, Lorisax, Elizabeth, Tracy and Stacy-MN.


Later,
Pinky
 
Sabine- I love your rotation, too. I may tweak it a little to fill in workouts I don't have but I think I'll follow it. What are we going to call March? Spring is almost here so we need to start thinking about the wardrobe- soon it will be time for shorts and, ack, bathing suits.x(

Pinky, I missed my window of napping opportunity! The baby woke up and its no longer quiet, the plumber is coming, the kids are coming home from school soon. :-(

Going to do Step Blast right now...
 
Hi Joy,

Yes, you are right. I purposefully made it alternating weeks with the emphasis on either the upper or lower body. I was inspired by the tank top rotation. But my lower half needs help also and I think I would burn out doing that much upper body for 4 weeks.

As with any rotation I would encourage people to change things/make substitutions as they see fit. I do this with Cathe's rotations all the time as I don't have all of her workouts (yet;-) ) and even if I did, there are some great videos by other instructors that I love to do (like Christi and Franny, etc.).

As far as doing the same workout, like PLB, I'm not sure what the answer would be regarding effectiveness. In the rotation I created I did a different leg workout on the leg weeks simply to have something different to look forward to (or dread, depending on your perspective). I like to think that this rotation works on the muscle confusion principle where your muscles respond better because they never know what to expect and can not be acclimated to a workout. But when you think of people who do gym workouts, they tend to do the same things over and over again and make gains by pushing through and adding more weight to take it to the next level. If could see an argument for both styles. If you were up for it, maybe you could try something where you do all PLB or alternate between that and another workout and see what happens? I'm sure you wouldn't be worse for doing that. Maybe it's just what your body needs (like a month with one lower body workout, a month of variety, a month with one etc.).

Anyone else have any thoughts?
 
Me again,
I'm trying to put this post at the end of the topic even though I'm talking about Sabine's rotation.

I would definately be interested in trying this rotations(with tweaks, of course) Sabine, are you planning to start this in March? Or do you want to wait until you are eating more food? Is anyone else interested?
-joy
 
Hi Joy,

Yes, I would probably start this rotation in March. I will check out what Cathe posts as her March rotation and if it is better than what I thought up then I may put mine on the back burner and do hers. However, the more I think about mine, the more I like it.
 
Hi everyone,

Pinky invited me to join in your group. I'd like to, if that's okay with everyone.

Actually, I don't have a lot of time to correspond today. I didn't get a chance to work out today either. My younger son has had a cough for several days, and it continued throughout last night. Luckily he seemed to more or less sleep okay, but it kept me up to the point where I just couldn't fathom getting up at 5 am and exercising before work. I hope to do one of the KPC premixes, or else CTX kickbox, tomorrow, along with some ab work.

Is there anything in particular that you all want to know about me--is there a list of things that you have newbies divulge, or do I just jump in and whatever we talk about, we talk about?

Anyway, I've got to get going now. I have to say that I didn't even have time to read all of your posts for today now. I just have been thinking about joining you, and thought, even if I only have time for an introduction, I should go on and do it today. I look forward to talking with you all. Thanks, and have a good evening!
 
Hello everyone! Sending a big smile to all. Did TS 4 today- LOVED IT!:) Afterwards, I stretched to work on my splits and also laid back on the ball to stretch my back and shoulders- felt good! Then I watched #5 and some of CTX- I've got some great things to keep me happily busy.;) We had a few pieces of the interlocking flooring in our workshop, so DH placed them on the floor and man, let me tell you the difference it made on my knees- I thought the carpet would be thick enough but the pad is so much better for me. I'm used to jumping in martial arts but we have the thick *foam* flooring in our studio to absorb most of the impact. I'm thinking of trying the Pyramids premix (upper and lower body) sometime next week. Will let you know.

Sabine- glad to hear that you're getting better! I remember the drooling part- not fun at all! But you've maintained such a terrific attitude through it all. Your rotation looks great- I'm still reading and learning so much from all of you.

Joy- I echo what Sabine and Pinky said. I'm the same way (I think MOST females are)- I don't like to reveal myself too much. I'd rather just handle things myself. But there are times when we do need the support of others and let our hair down and afterwards we feel lighter and more ready to handle what comes our way. WE ALL experience ups and downs and can certainly empathize with you. And yes, I'm getting alot from TS- Cathe packs a bunch into 45 min or so!

Pinky- take care of those knees! I can imagine it must be tough esp since you really love working out. Do you have access to a pool- maybe some swimming might be good. I can also feel for you about the insomnia- I've had it the last few days. Get some rest, OK?

Hi's to Brenda, Lori(s) and shywolf (hope I didn't miss anyone- if I did, I'm sorry and a BIG hello to you! Hope all of you had a great day!

Elizabeth
 
Hi Lisa,

You must divulge your name, SS#, your worst childhood memory, your favorite comfort food, which movie star you have a not so secret crush on (okay, I'm totally teasing you:p ).

Welcome! Nice to have you join us. Just jump on in and share as much or as little as you feel comfortable. This check in is a great place to get motivation, to blow off steam, to get support, and talk about whatever.

Look forward to your posts!

P.S. I have a not so secret crush on Johnny Depp!
 
Hello everyone-
What a surprise!! My body rebelled on me today and I ended up taking an unplanned rest day - I guess I was trying to get back into things too quickly. What I didn't expect was that it was my lower body that said "no more" - I would have thought after doing PUB twice in one week that my upper body would have been hurting more - but my glutes are soo sore I can barely sit or walk. I'm a little concerned because Sat. I am supposed to be going on a 5 hour hike with some friends.

Sabine- I think your rotation looks awesome - it would be fun if we were all doing more or less the same rotation.

Maybe we could change our check-in name to "Sabine's beach bodies" or something like that.

Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow, we'll see how I feel when I wake up.

Good night everyone.
Tracy
 
It's kinda late and I don't know if anyone else is out there to read this post, but Tracy, I love "Sabine's Beach Bodies".

Lisa, I am very happy to see you here.:7 We just jump right in and talk about anything. Feel free to speak your mind.

Sabine, I have a not so secret crush on Keanu Reeves, especially the Keanu Reeves of Speed where he was a hunk, baby! I know he's not a very good actor:p but I just love that face of his. So cute.

See you all tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Pinky
 
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