Beginner/Intermediate Check-In 4/9-4/15

khiway

Cathlete
Beth,

I thought about the 2 workouts long and hard and I think I am going to with the rotation with the Circuits. So I will do circuits Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings; walk 3 miles and belly dance class on Monday and Wednesday evenings; Thursdays Kickboxing and rest on Sunday. I am going to do this rotation for 2 weeks and then I will do the other rotation after that. I think splitting the workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays will help a little. Then the weather is going to be nice this week with no rain. I want to take advantage of that while I had the chance. Right now I don't know how I am going to feel after the belly dancing class. At least my morning workouts will 50 minutes or less except for Saturdays where I can exercise a little longer.

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
OK, I hope you can keep up with that!
I feel I am getting good results with the Gym Styles so I am going to keep on with them. Even though I have the same fat layer, it just looks a lot firmer and more youthful. I don't seem to be sagging anywhere anymore. The muscles underneath are making the fat the look less gross, I guess I would say.
I can't do high intensity cardio which is the only thing that burns fat on me. And I refuse to starve it off. But I did get another ace knee wrap. I am going to wrap both my knees before my low impact cardio and ice them afterwards and see if I can get some more cardio into my routine that way. I did pretty good with Kickmax yesterday. I did the combos and the leg conditioning work. I decided I like Kickmax after all!
Today I did Back, shoulder and biceps but added the t-bar rows from the pure strength back workout. I also added some more band rows seated. Cathe always short-changes her back workouts IMHO. So it felt really good and long enough I could justify not adding on abs. I did go for a 45 min walk after that.
Tomorrow is just stability ball abs and swimming, a light day but I do clean house so it is really exercise of sorts.
I hope Janet had a good time in Hawaii!
Beth
 
I looked at your last post with the 2 rotations. I think the first one looked more doable. It works very well to add on a 3 mile walk after your weights. I would think you could do upper body weights in the am, and then your walk and belly dance in the pm.
Were you going to try kickboxing and a circuit workout on THursday-2 workouts? I think that might be overdoing it.
Beth
 
Hi Beth,

Thanks for the advice on the rotation. I had started doing the 2nd one but I didn't get up early enough to do Supersets legs. I am glad I didn't do it this morning anyway. I walked this evening 1.3 miles going up and down hills and it took me 22 minutes. I was very winded in about 5 minutes just like I did when I was on the treadmill test when I was in the hospital 2 months ago. The cardiologist even told me that I needed to do more cardio. I think I actually need to do 5 days of cardio. I started the belly dance class today and it was so much fun and a lot of work. You are not only working your abs but you are also working your hips, thighs, buttocks, arms, and shoulders and moving your body in moderately flowing positions. My lower half is so sore probably because I walked before the belly dancing class. That's why I am glad I did do that lower body exercise this morning. I think that would have been to much for my body. So I am going to jump back up to the 1st rotation with the Gym styles for now. On Thursdays I wasn't going to do Kickboxing and Circuit. It would have been one or the other. I will let you know how I feel tomorrow morning. Tomorrow will be "Sweat Effect".

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
In my earlier post I should have said "I was glad that I didn't do that lower body exercise this morning" instead of I was glad I did do that lower body exercise this morning. I left out "n't".

Beth, I really like the Gym Styles too but I just need to do them long enough to see a difference. I am glad you are getting good results with them. Are you seeing any definition? How are you using them in a given week?

This morning I did "Sweat Effect". My legs are still just a little sore from walking and belly dancing yesterday. It will be about 24 hours before I work the lower body again. I guess I was so hyped last night I kept thinking about my workouts and the class. I guess I needed to do something outside of the house for a little motivation.

I hope Janet had a nice trip to Hawaii also.

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
Hi! I'm back from Hawaii and boy did I have fun!!
Didn't eat so great while on vacation and wound up gaining 2 pounds,even with all the steep hikes I went on! Oh well! lol
Weather was amazing, but the sun was fierce! Sunscreen makes no difference!!
Need to kick it back into high gear this week, but it's going to be tough because my kids are off from school this week. Hubby has them outside playing right now, so I am going to grab this opportunity to get a good solid workout in. Going to take it easy though, haven't lifted weights all week, so I am just going to do Body Fusion and add the abs workout. Since it is such a nice day today, I will also go skating or biking later.
Hope you all had a great week! Kimberly, have fun with the belly dancing!!
Janet
 
Hiya Beth,
Glad to hear you are getting good results with Gym Styles! I was thinking of purchasing those series. I know what you mean about the fat layer looking firmer. I have some belly fat, which I am working really hard on eliminating, but I definately see some definition under it now, where before it just kinda hung there! Much less gross now! lol
Janet
 
Kimberly, I really need to do 5 days of cardio also but my knees can't take it. We will see how I do with increasing my swimming and water jogging. I am using Gym Styles like this: one week I do the whole legs workout, the next week I split it into standing and floor leg days. I always do the upper body workouts as it. So each week I get them all in, but one week it takes 4 days and the next week only 3 days. I do feel that looking in the mirror my body looks firmer and more youthful-less saggy. No weight or fat loss though. To see more definition I would need to lose some fat. Your belly dancing sounds fun. I always work harder in a class than on my own. But classes are always held on a hardwood floor which hurts my feet. I work out on Berber carpet with a firm pad underneath, and sometimes a foam pad on top as well to cushion my feet.
Janet, welcome home. Isn't the food in Hawaii great? I remember eating lots of seafood and fresh fruit, but also macadamia nut cookies, muffins and pancakes and ice cream!!!
Today I just cleaned house but did stability ball abs and stretching and will swim this afternoon. Tomorrow we're taking a road trip into the mountains so no workout tomorrow.
Beth
 
Welcome back Janet!!! I am so glad you had a wonderful time in Hawaii. 2 pounds is nothing to gain while on vacation for a week. You did good. At least you did do a little hiking and that's considered exercise. My co-worker likes the belly dancing class so much she is wanting me to do a summer session with her. I am also intersted in Hula/Tahitian Dance, African Dance, Hip Hop Aerobics and a boxing class called "Jabbs". "Jabbs" uses a real boxing bag and since I have a Wavemaster boxing bag I thought I probably would love that. Beth thanks for letting me know how you use your GS. I am going to include them in the rotation I am doing now for a few weeks.

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
Hi everyone,

This morning I did Gym Style Chest & Back Supersets. I really like the no rest inbetweeen workouts. My total workout time on Mondays and Wednesdays in this rotation is approximately 1 hour and 77 minutes. I will check back in later tonite after my walk & class.

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
I only walked around a little today on our road trip to the mountains. We had our puppy with us and hubby did not want to "overstress" him by hiking any distance. Hah. That dog is in better shape than me and I certainly could have used some more walking. Well, it was really beatiful, about 76 degrees. Tomorrow I will do GS legs(all) with both knees wrapped but skip the leg press. Then maybe bike and swim in the afternoon since it will be 95 degrees here in Phoenix. We have 162 days a year of 90 degrees or hotter.
Beth
 
I wound up doing Low Max Tuesday,because I couldn't find my Body Fusion DVD.. and yesterday I did PushPull.
My knees are really sore from Low Max. That never happened before!Need to take it easy today on the knees. I am going to do simple cardio...maybe Basic step which I have never actually done..lol and I want to add Kathy Smith's upper body workout and abs today.
Beautiful day outside today, so maybe a nice long walk today too.
Have a great day!
Janet
 
How did the second Belly Dance class go?
Today I did Gym Style legs, power circuit abs, and some short lap swimming. After reading Cathe's post I think I have plica syndrome also. I'm getting signficant relief by ace wrapping my knees. I need to ice after working out too and take some Motrin or something like that. Hopefully I can avoid surgery. I think I"m a long way from that at this point.
Beth
 
I would love to hear about how the belly dancing went too!
My knees feel better today, so I am going to be doing Cardio and Weights today. I think I do better with circuit training. I am still not losing any more weight or inches..feel like I hit a major snag or something..so I am going to stick with circuit training for awhile to see if I can get over this plateau. Any suggestions?? I am following the BFL way of eating, and I rarely cheat..working out hard..upper body is looking much more toned, but I need to lose this lingering flab on my stomach and hips. Getting a bit discouraged. I feel that for all this hard work I should be seeing much more obvious results.
Have a great day!
Janet
 
The 2nd belly dance class actually went better than the first one. I feel it more in my legs and hips and I think that is because I walk up hills before the class. This is a lot of lower body movement. The ball of my feet kind of hurts when I do the class. It's hard to do the class with shoes on and if you wear socks you kind of slide a little bit. I find myself stretching more while I am at work. Wednesday I only made it in time to only walk 10 minutes because I went to get my hair cut and that took longer than usual. I felt like my body needed a rest day Thursday and Friday. One of my co-workers said it looks like I am doing something. She said the way my posture is and how my shoulders is.

--Kimberly C


"Here's to your health, to every moment, every week and month that you wake up to the privilege of another breath - another chance to get it right!" Oprah
 
Belly dancing sounds fun but hard on your feet.You probably spend a lot of time on the balls of your feet. That's where my feet hurt so I probably couldn't do that too well.
I am still very sore from my Gym Style legs. In fact, I know if my knees could take it and I did that workout 2 times a week I would definitely see more results. I literally feel every aspect of my leg and glute muscles screaming today. I iced my knees last night becuase they were really aching and that helped tremendously. That is going to become a regular routine for me. Ice after working out and later if I have any pain. Works great and my knees felt fabulous today. Even though all the MUSCLES were still screaming!
Today I just went for a brisk walk and then did Denise Austen Pilates. Tomorrow it will be Karen Voight abs/back then Gym style chest and triceps again. I'm getting very addicted to the Gym Styles. Pure Strength used to be my favorite but now I think Gym Styles are.
Janet, they say the best way to blast off fat in a plateau is to do some interval cardio like IMAX. IMAX 2 is really fun and the best IMAX in my opinion. It is not really that hard on the knees compared to some other Cathe high intensity workouts.
Beth
 
I was able to do the two workouts today, abs/back and then chest-triceps. They worked all different muscle groups. I've planned a rotation doing core, floor legs, standing leg conditioning like Kickmax (no squats or lunges) and upper body. I'm going to do bike, swim and walk for cardio-no dvd's-they are just flaring my knees. No squats, lunges or step ups either. Tomorrow is GS floor legs and stability ball abs before church. Plus a walk and bike after church. Happy Easter!
Beth
 

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