Pentagenarians & Beyond: 10/27/2024

So much to do and so little time today. DH actually beat me up this morning, as he had to go up to Oscoda today, north of Saginaw by about an hour and a half. Said he may not be home till 7:00, so I can get things done that are harder when he's working here all the time. Going to try and make an appointment with the Apple Store tomorrow for Derek's phone, but calling first to make sure there's at least a chance they can help, since while it's in E. Lansing, isn't near where I shop.

I've been working out at home for a long time, but initially when I was working, I did go in the evening, then I was able to change my hours to start at 8:30, and went to a 6 a.m. class that allowed me time to do aerobics, the weight room and get ready to go to work. Once, I stopped going there, I just worked out in the morning and along the way lost any desire to work out later. It's great that you are able to do it.

Diane Sue, I'm glad the doctor was able to help figure things out and hope that the prescriptions help. I've had Apple products only since the mid-80's because they all work interchangeably so well and are easy for me to understand how to use, but Apple does have absolute lock down control, which can be very frustrating at times.

Shannon all of Michigan except the western UP is also under high and very high fire danger warnings. Where I'm at, I don't think we've even had 2" in the last couple months and we went about 6 weeks with essentially no rain. We do not usually have dry falls. Though in time honored tradition here, while today is going to be 78, sunny and dry, Halloween has an 88% chance of thunderstorms. Though our predicted rain total is 1/4".

Valerie hope your ride today goes well.

Judy, concrete floors would be very rough on the body. Having great co-workers is a big plus, but can only outweigh physical issues so much.

Carolyn great job with P 30 Perfect Pump Upper Body and the Extended Stretch.
 
We are well past fire danger here. our fire issues are usually july august and maybe september. western WA is different from eastern WA. eastern gets much less rain because it is in the rain shadow of the mountains. western gets all the rain that gets dropped by the clouds running up against the Cascades. we pay attention to whether it is an el nino or la nina year. the pool of warm or cold water in the pacific determines much of the weather pattern. sometimes its a strong influence. not sure anymore what a "normal" year is. we get wet usually starting in mid september but rain here is usually light and long lasting. I have never owned an umbrella. a jacket hood is usually plenty. very rarely is there thunder lightning and hard rain. temps are usually mild here and we can do outdoor things all year usually.

diane sue that's what I thought it sounded like. hope the meds work. sometimes ignoring pain and working thru it is not helpful, a lesson I find hard to learn too. I always think it will help, but no.

I used to exercise early in the day mainly running. outdoors or on a treadmill. I never could increase mileage much without getting very sore and now I know the leg length difference probably was a factor. we have always hiked, backpacked, and biked so a variety of things. Ive done weights but not consistently. enough to have decent upper body strength that I work hard to maintain. damn osteoarthritis makes things more difficult. modify modify modify. as I get older Iam finding shorter more frequent workouts work best. I've splitting upper body ones in half and combining with a little cardio so I do something every day.

mostly been pleased with apple phones. windows desktops for the bigger screen. we have an imac that DH uses for photos. The windows systems are better for some kinds of work. and a lot cheaper. we needed them for both our jobs. its hard to switch to something else.

ETA did a 40 min walk this morning up and down hill in our yard. then did therapy exercise and then x train bi's and tri's. a couple modifications but not many. Im not sure about planks with the kickbacks so I did plain standing kickbacks. I used to do the planks so will give it a try next time. didn't quite make it thru the crazy dips. most of them. more than I remembered. did on a bench not on the floor with my leg up.
 
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No workout today. I had my annual appointment with the medical oncologist. No problems, but it’s always nice to get it confirmed.

Valerie, great job with the 15 mile road ride.

Diane Sue, it’s good that you saw your doctor about the ongoing pain. It sounds like she will get to the cause.

Shannon, great job with the total body work and Icy Core 2. Getting up early to work out was the only option that I had with my work and long unpredictable commutes. Atlanta traffic was awful then and it’s even worse now.

Waving hello to Cathy and Judy.
 
Tuesday I did a 30 minute Endurance Row and 10 minutes of Arms & Light Weights. Yesterday was a rest day. I had my massage appointment and have another one scheduled in 3 weeks. I’m going to go in every 2-3 weeks for a while. My knee is bothering me again and I’m going to see about taking the next few months off of work. I’ll go on leave or switch to seasonal. That will also give me time to decide if I am ready to retire.

Shannon-Great job with your total body weight workout and Icy Core 2. I like to do my own workouts sometimes too. Back when I was working my career job, I would get up at 4:30 to be at the gym at 5:00. Fortunately, I didn’t have a long or difficult commute when I was living in Iowa but I wanted to get my workout in before work. Now I am more flexible and do morning or evening workouts. The concrete floors have definitely taken a toll. I think my body is telling me it’s time for a break from Home Depot.

Carolyn-Great job with Perfect Pump Upper Body and the Extended Stretch. I’m glad that your annual medical appointment went well.

Diane Sue-I’m glad you got a diagnosis. I hope you get some pain relief soon. It was very warm and windy here yesterday. It’s supposed to cool down today and tomorrow.

Cathy-I agree, the social environment of Home Depot is fun for me but it doesn’t outweigh the negative physical effects of working there. I’ve lost count of the number of people that have had knee replacements and other surgeries related to their jobs. I’ve cut my hours down as far as I can, but even just 1 or 2 shifts a week is too much on those floors.

Valerie-Great job with your 15 mile ride, 40 minute walk, therapy exercises and xtrain bi’s and tri’s.
 
Yesterday I just did CDorner morning mobility for 12 minutes to move, because my back and neck were starting to bother me, probably from shifting positions to get comfortable all night. I have been watching costochondritis videos on youtube. Only watch reliable sources and check for background. I caved this morning and ordered this device that will be good also for thoracic spine, posture and back. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYNZBV3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I was watching Bob and Brad and they recommended this and gave a link to the founder of the item. I did lie on my foam roller for a bit yesterday. I put the order in this morning, and it should be here today. It is rather expensive, but I am ready to try anything. I should hear back soon on the x-rays. Hopefully everything is okay there.

I responded to almost everyone and lost it. I will try to come back later and try again.
 
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Today I did Lower Body Blast, standing segment only. That was 54 minutes, 263 calories burned, average heart rate 116, and maximum heart rate 149.

Judy, nice job with the Endurance Row and Arms & light weights. Giving your knee some time to heal is a good idea.

Diane Sue, good job with CDorner morning mobility. The Back Pod looks interesting. I hope that it helps. I have a yoga bolster that I use for stretching and it feels good.

Hello to Valerie, Cathy, and Shannon.
 
Hi, ladies. I hope you all are having a good day. Yesterday I did Cross Fire – my extremely modified, totally low impact version, LOL. I liked it when it first came out, so I’ve managed to keep it in my rotation. Of course parts of it don’t look anything like Cathe’s original, but I still get a fairly decent workout.

I’m late checking in today because I had my annual physical this morning. All is well. However, I am going to start taking hormone replacement therapy. I’ve held out as long as I can. But I’m so dang sick of these hot flashes that I finally caved in. I’m talking full body sweats, a sort of nausea (but not quite) before they start, and just so tired of being HOT. We will keep an eye on things, and my doc said maybe try to come off of them in a year or two to see if the hot flashes have stopped.

Oh, guess what???? IT RAINED ALL MORNING. Wow. It was awesome. First a brief thunderstorm came through, then a couple of hours of gentle rain. Not enough to end the burn ban, but every little bit helps.

Cathy – I hope you got lots accomplished with DH gone yesterday. I’m sure that felt great to really dig in. How’s the Apple situation?

Valerie – Wow, you’ve never owned an umbrella. That’s incredible. I’ve been stuck out in storms where an umbrella doesn’t do much good though, when the wind turns it inside out. Fun, fun. I wish I had as much opportunity as you do to hike. I love it. How is your back doing?

Carolyn – I’m very glad you had no surprises with the medical oncologist. Little Rock isn’t anywhere near as big as Atlanta, but I had to drive about 50 miles to get there, and far too often there would be wrecks on the interstate that would block traffic for hours. Thank heavens for kind employers who allowed flex hours.

Judy – I’m really sorry about your knee, and that you think it might be time to retire from Home Depot. But you are right – listen to your body! Got any plans for retirement, if that’s what you decide?

Diane – How frustrating to lose your post. Don’t worry about trying to retype everything. Just catch up with us on the next go-around. I sure hope your new brace helps. You definitely need some relief.
 
We are going to go ride while its decent out,. our usual 15 miler.
shannon dont feel bad about doing HRT. I swear that stuff saved my life. I was so SO miserable. whoops DH wants to leave, finish later.
Back after our usual 15 mile ride.

anyway, HRT. I had awful hot flashes starting when I was 46. I could not sleep. I was a zombie. was in a minor car accident that was my fault because I was so crazy tired. the flashes would cycle all night. hot flash, dripping wet in sweat, that would peak and dissipate, so I fell asleep for a couple minutes, and then go to terrible chills where I was shaking cold. that would then cycle back to another hot flash. I could not have survived this if it went on. I got on HRT as soon as I could. I took it for several years although I reduced the dosage as time went on. not a high dose to begin with. it helped immediately, like the first night after taking it. it was totally 100% worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I was mostly ok during the day but nights were terrible. I had this idea beforehand that I would "just ignore" the symptoms but that sure didnt work out like that. .

I have a serious rain ( seattle sombrero) hat I wore in the mountains when it rained. a goretex fabrid one with a big brim and a chin strap. not very stylish but very effective. in the lowlands it rarely rains hard enough to need one. I have a lot of Goretex clothes, jackets all have hoods. that's what I use. waterproof/breatheable is what all my gear was and still is. never bought an umbrella. people use them for hiking in the rain in open country if its not too windy.

carolyn good news from your doctor is always a lift, isnt it?

diane sue that's a weird looking device but hopefully it helps. I have a foam roller. I dont like using it, never found anything that it helped. I know many like it and think it helps. not for me so far. I hate that when I accidentally delete a post.
 
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Diane Sue-I'm sorry that you lost your post. I hope the backpod helps.

Carolyn-Great job with Lower Body Blast, standing segment only.

Shannon-Great job with Cross Fire. I'm sorry about the hot flashes, I'm sure the HRT will help. My husband retired two years ago and he's been enjoying doing projects and working on hobbies at home. I will probably be doing the same and also spending more time working out again. Home Depot is good exercise but it does get in the way of being able to workout at home as much as I would like.

Valerie-Great job with your ride.

Hi to Cathy
 
For some reason I had went back a page to read Shannon's post and when I came back my post was gone. I tried control Z and all I got was the last few words. Usually that works for me. Trick or Treaters are done. I used the Body Pod some before trick or treaters. I looked at the book some more and watched the how to use videos. Tomorrow I will try moving it around more as suggested in the usage guide. Ther guide has a section for health care practitioners use.

Judy, nice work on Tuesday's 30 minute Endurance Row and 10 minutes of Arms & Light Weights. I hope taking some time off helps your knee.

Carolyn, nice work on Lower Body Blast Standing Only today. I have a variety of equipment I use. The pilates woman I have been using has videos using some equipment, but the stretch ones I have been doing just requires a rolled up beach towel.

Shannon, nice job on Crossfire. I used to love that workout. I really felt like I was well worked. I have not done it in years. I would need to modify it a lot. Isn't there a low impact segment in the premixes? It has been so long I don't remember. Around the time I was last doing it I had a torn meniscus. I never went back to doing it. I hope you can get help with those hot flashes. I am glad I am well past that. I used to take black cohosh and it helped, but it took it a while to kick in and if I let up the sweating profusely came right back. We had some rain too and it was so nice. Not a lot, but a decent shower in the evening.

Valerie, I hope you got a good ride in today. I have found the foam roller helps with upper back area, but I hate rolling my lower body. It tends to be boring and the idea is to stay on a knot when found, not roll all over the place. If I lie on it vertically it helps open the chest and helps the spine. I roll toward the side a bit and it pushes out those back of shoulder knots.
 
Good morning, ladies, and happy November! It would be nice if fall would finally get here. The extended forecast looks pretty good, but we all know how quickly that can change.

Yesterday I did PHA2, the premix that includes 6-pack abs and the extended stretch. It was just a tad over an hour. I usually steer clear of technology on weekends since I’m chained to my desk all week. So here are my plans for tonight and the weekend. Tonight begins an experiment as I try to figure out some of those changes I need to make. I’m envisioning some sort of active mobility an body weight strength, but nothing heavy since I just did weights yesterday. Maybe some low impact blasts? I don’t know. I imagine I’ll hit play on my 80s music again. I’ll try to let you know how it goes on Monday. Maybe some of Cathe’s new workouts will fit here once we get them. Saturday and hopefully Sunday will be fast outdoor walks. I’m thinking I need to reduce the number of Cathe’s HIIT cardio that I do – not in the least because I’m bored with it.

Valerie – Wow, menopause hit you hard! Mine is nothing like that, thank heavens. Perimenopause was fine, no problem at all. But after menopause – Ugh. I had the same idea about ignoring the symptoms. My sister is a year and a half younger than me and is in the same boat. She’s still toughing it out.

Judy – I imagine just being free to do things together with your husband will be great. And since you’ll be working on various projects, you can always go back to Home Depot to get supplies and say hi to your friends.

Diane – How does the Body Pod feel? I hope it’s helping. Yes, there is a low impact “bonus” segment on Cross Fire, and there’s a “lower impact” premix that incorporates it and deletes some of the higher impact moves. I’ve tried that premix and it’s pretty good, but I like using the original, main workout and doing my own modifications. I tried some natural supplements for hot flashes – can’t remember which one, but not black cohosh. Anyhow, it didn’t work.

Hi to Cathy and Carolyn.

If I don’t check back later today, I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.
 
So weird. I got logged out here and it wouldn't accept my stored password. I ended up going in through the Workout Manager. Hopefully it stays logged in now. Just finished Gloved Up and Sweaty and SB Bonus Abs. Not sure why I stayed logged in on Roku and the Workout Manager, but not the forums. I think from now on we're just going to go directly to the Apple Store for phones, Nick needs one when he comes home in January. She was able to do everything that Derek's phone needed and got it reset to factory settings, so that we can get them traded in. I'll take both of them on Monday. Shopped yesterday and Derek and I left at 7:30 so no workout. You guys have been very chatty which is great! But, I have something to do this morning, and I'll try and get back later.
 
So glad we rode yesterday!. started raining later and is still going this morning. riding in rain is not pleasant. with all the leaves down it gets slippery for skinny tires.
today I will do a warm up and then upper body again. x train, maybe burn sets.

There was a big fuss about HRT long term effects then. for me, it was one day all is fine, the next day all hell broke loose. my doc didnt want to start me on HRT immediately. I was fairly young, and a lot of people go through an "on and off" period of hormone wind down. for me it was like a switch got flipped. I lasted about 3-4 weeks before going back to the doctor. I took HRT for at least 10 years. it was wonderful. literally a matter of hours after the first pill I felt normal again. I had tried every supplement/ soy product in that miserable month and nothing made a ripple. its definitely worth a try.
 
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This morning I did JS One Mile of Motivation, STS 2.0 Standing Core Metabolic warmup, and Chair Yoga. We had a telephone appointment with one of my husband’s doctors, then I went to Costco. A friend stopped by unexpectedly and spent the afternoon. All of those things made for a very full day.

Shannon, great job with Crossfire and PHA 2 with six pack abs. Enjoy your tech free weekend.

Valerie, I was plunged into menopause after surgery when I was 52. I took HRT for 14 months, but stopped when the negative women’s health initiative study was released. Fortunately my symptoms were manageable.

Cathy, great job with Gloved Up and Sweaty and SB Bonus Abs.

Hello to Judy and Diane Sue.
 
This morning I did CDorner step aerobics #427, 48 minutes, 261 calories, heart rate 137/162. 3,912 steps. I followed this with CDorner day 5 mobility challenge neck and shoulder stretch, 16 minutes, 25 calories. I also used the back pod again. I raised the time for each area to 45 sec (it says 30-60). I slept better last night and after using the back pod again, my rib pain has been very mild. It does not take too long to use. I kept the pillows stacked. I will probably remove one tomorrow. My dog kept trying to share the pillows. Odd that the rib pain in front comes from the tightness in the back. I generally feel quite a lot of pain in my mid and upper back.

Shannon, nice job on yesterday's PHA2 premix that includes the abs and extended stretch. Have fun working out what your needs are. I think I was not really happy with that low impact premix that was put together. It missed some of my favorite moves. That device is hard and covered with rubber. It is shaped well to get into spots that are tight. Much better than my rubber yoga tune up ball that I have used. Foam rollers are much softer.

Cathy, good job on Glovd Up and Sweaty and SB Abs. I have two different passwords for Cathe. I think one goes to the forums and one to the store and workout manager. I finally had to label which was right because I was confused whenever I would log into the store.

Valerie, good that you got your ride in early before the rain started. We are supposed to have a rainy weekend. I remember all of the fuss about HRT.

Carolyn, nice work on Jessica Smith One Mile to Motivation and STS 2 Standing core warm up and Chair Yoga.
 
Just finished STS Disk 13 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. I like Meso 2 so much better than Meso 1. No pushups today! A gazillion in Meso 1. LOL

Trying to decide if I want a calendar. I haven't been getting them the last few years.

Carolyn great job with JS One Mile of Motivation, STS 2.0 Standing Core Metabolic warmup, and Chair Yoga.

Diane Sue so glad to hear that your new pod is helping. The body can be so weird. I went to a massage therapist once because my upper back was really tight, and she said that it was being created because of the muscles in the lower back. I had no idea. The multiple password thing with Cathe can be so weird for me. I can use both of mine to sign in to the workout manager, only one works with my OnDemand, and only one seems to work for the forums. I have no idea though how I got signed out of the forums, when it still opened up all the other areas. Great job with CDorner step aerobics #427, and mobility stretch.

Valerie that's great that you got your ride in. Wet leaves can be so slippery. The zoo has a lot of wooden boardwalks and when wet they are slippery, but when there are leaves on them, I am so careful how I step. Riding would be even worse.

Hi Judy and Shannon.
 
the rain continues. yesterday I walked on the treadmill uphill for 35 minutes, did therapy work, and a section of stacked upper body. that was enough. I fell walking in our yard the other day. stepped on a piece of inner tree bark under wet leaves near our wood pile. there is nothing slipperier than that. Not a hard crash but an insult to my dignity!. a bike could be much worse. the county blows leaves off the trail ( its a county park) a couple times in fall because when wet, leaves cover all the bumps, holes, and branches. most of the leaves are down. still a little messy but decent.
having a lot of grief with my desktop. it cant upgrade to new system so it needs to be replaced. its getting harder to keep it running with it constantly needing updates. going to order a new Dell system this weekend I hope. cathy a lot of trails here use wooden planks called puncheon. especially if the planks tilt with age they can be incredibly slippery. wood gets a slime layer after lots of rain and its actually much worse than ice because novices don't recognize the hazard. .
I always order a calendar. they are kind of expensive. it hangs above my desk as a motivator. its got enough space to record things I may want in my face or events that dont get to the phone calendar.

yes, there was that huge to-do about the womens health initiative that made everyone afraid to use HRT for years. Its best not to take longer or more than needed, but suffering for years is not a good choice either. I was so miserable I would have drunk varnish if someone said it would help. Carolyn that abrupt change is one factor that makes it worse. I took it for years and then tapered off without issues. .
 
Today is my rest day. My trip to the Farmer’s market was quick today. Fall produce is nice, but there’s not a lot to browse. I avoid the food trucks where the lines of people gather when I’m there.

Diane Sue, nice job with CDorner Aerobics and Mobility. I’m glad that the back pod is helping.

Cathy, nice job with STS disc 13 Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. I always order a Cathe Calendar. It is a motivational tool for me.

Valerie, nice job with the treadmill, therapy work and part of Stacked Sets Upper Body. You’re right about the health study. There was so much discussion and fear when it came out.

Hello to Judy and Shannon.
 
Today I did CDorner Day 5 full body warm up stretch, 18 minutes and went on for 40 minutes doing stretches for costochondritis, some from a Pilates site till she started bending her back way over a foam roller and did the back pod moves and the stretch and strengthen moves in the back pod book, plus a few more thoracic stretches. That is it for me today. Maybe I will get in some cardio tomorrow. I have just been so sleepy throughout the day lately. I have been getting 7 to 8 hours so not sure why I am wanting fall asleep. Just dragging around. It started raining tonight. Forecast is off and on for the next two days. Hopefully it stays at election day not raining. We went to do early voting at the county place and I was hurting so bad. Would have stayed but cars were waiting to get in and people lined up to the back of the parking lot. So we will do it on election day.

Cathy, nice job on STS Disk 13 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. All of those push ups are not something I have ever looked forward to. Most things I have read about areas that are feeling tight and not functioning right are caused from another area in the body. The PT vids I watched showed a skeleton showing how the ribs have a hinge and when the back is not moving like it should it affects the ribs in the front. I thought I stretched and worked the back enough though, but I do know I have been cutting out a lot of chest work and shoulder work because of the pain and the past torn rotator cuff. So I am sure things are probably working against each other. I think my shopping and live accounts are different than my forums log in. When I go to the workout manager two pop up and I usually hit the one I do for forums, but I do get messed up occasionally. I might go look at the calendar, but I kind of need to start thinking of all of the Christmas presents I need to purchase.

Valerie, nice work on getting in the walk on the treadmill yesterday uphill and a section of stacked upper body. Sorry that you had a fall. It does do something to dignity when that happens. When I tried to ride that bike and couldn't hang on to it and let it drop, neighbors next door were staring at me. Thankfully they got in their car and left. That was sort of humiliating. Bike is up for sale. We may get me another designed for me. My husband rides through our neighborhood and up a hill to our daughters and back. That hill climb might be a tough one. I hope you are okay. I print up the Google calendar after I make sure everything is put in it on my phone or tablet. I hang it on the refrigerator and add any changes. Fitness stuff goes in my agenda book that has places to right every day and take notes on the side lines. That calendar might be kind of fun to have in my workout space.

Carolyn, I wish there was a farmers market around here. I know there are places to pick your own peaches and one is berries. When we lived north I went to one a few times, but it seemed everyone was selling squash and zucchini. Not much else. I would avoid the food trucks too.

Hi to Shannon and Judy!
 
I did a 30 min spin and the other 2/3 of stacked upper body . we are thinking about getting another cat and looked at the shelter near here today but saturday morning is too busy to even try. way too crowded. well try maybe monday. haven't had a kitty for several years since our last little guy passed away from kidney failure. we would get an adult, not a kitten. they're cute but no.

diane sue that's too bad about the bike. It never sounded like it fit you. I spend a lot of energy complaining about things not made to fit smaller women. I've complained about things in cars that dont accomodate shorter people. bikes frames are sized and proportioned for different size people. Bikes are very adjustable but if the basic frame is way too big it may not be possible to make it fit. I spend a lot of time on my bikes, all of which are Trek brand. If it doesnt fit and is uncomfortable, you wont want to spend a lot of time on it. hope you find something you like.
 
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