Pentagenarians & Beyond: May 25, 2025

[FitGran]

Today I did a premix from Great Glutes, no floor work and no stability ball. My time was 40 minutes, 139 calories burned, average heart rate 109, and maximum heart rate 150. I haven’t done Great Glutes in years.

Shannon, great job with Strong and Sweaty Bootcamp double it.

Valerie, nice job with the walk and getting the work done at your house.

Hello to Judy, Cathy, and Diane Sue.

 

[irongrl]

Yesterday I did a 30-minute Full Body Strength workout and 15 minutes of rowing. Today was an active rest day. I did 30 minutes of stretching and PT work.

Cathy-Great job with Live Boom Boom Pow Kickbox and STS Disk 2. I hope your Mom adjusts to the ramp soon.

Shannon-The weather definitely affected the impatiens. Hopefully they will thrive and make it through the summer. Great job with the Strong & Sweaty Bootcamp Premix.

Valerie-Great job with your hike. I hope everything goes well with your husband’s knee surgery.

Carolyn-Great job with the Great Glutes Premix. I haven’t done that one in years either. I should do it again.

Hi to Diane Sue

 

[SRP]

Good morning, ladies. Yesterday ended up being an unplanned rest day. I started to do Perfect 30 HiiT Low Impact, got to about the third drill and quit. I have never liked that DVD, and I just couldn’t make myself do it. Besides, my knees hurt. More on that later. So I did some nice, long stretching.

Valerie – Our summers are very difficult for a lot of the pretty blooming plants. The combination of high heat (90+) and high humidity (sometimes also 90+!) just destroys them. And then if we have potted plants, the roots just get too hot above ground. Some people who really devote a lot of time to their gardens find a way to make it work, but most of the landscaping around here uses the same tough plants that are adapted to the heat. I’m glad DH is going to get the surgery. I’m sorry he has to, but it definitely sounds like the right thing to do. No sense in enduring and suffering! And YAY! DH likes the kitty! I’m so glad he’s finally taken the little guy to heart.

Carolyn – Good work on Great Glutes. I don’t have that one.

Judy – Good job with your strength workout, rowing, stretching and PT. Are you going to work at HD again this weekend?

Hello to Cathy and Diane.

I don’t know if anyone remembers a while back when I talked about a new workout schedule for myself, making use of the “Lift, Move and Restore” theme. I’d intended to lighten things up a bit and give myself more restoration time because of – well, basically because I’m getting older I guess. Then, dumb me! I felt much better and decided I could ramp up the workouts again. Well, duh. The reason I felt better was because I had actually listened to my body, but apparently my memory isn’t so good because I promptly forgot that lesson and jumped back into harder workouts. I’ve been doing that for maybe a month or so, and it’s starting to take it’s toll. You know that really fun workout I had with the “double it” Strong and Sweaty Bootcamp? The old knees still aren’t happy about that. So I need to scale it back again. Sigh. This is definitely one of those times when I’m trying with all my might to ignore the effects of aging.

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

Yesterday I did an AOLIH mix and shopped. Today I did STS Disk 3. Derek was on TV again. This time with the Mountain goats. There 2 females had twins and triplets. Apparently triplets are exceedingly rare for the species. I'm aiming to go back out there mid September but all the babies will be past the really cute stage. It's easier for me to drive to see him. Read I don't have to go through any big cities, and it's far easier and cheaper for Nick to fly home. We'll see him in August.

Valerie I was sad that the only pronghorn we saw were along the highway and just laying or standing. Would have love to come across them on our drive through the park. It good that your husband's surgery schedule is getting set up as it sounds like he really needs it. My Mom flipped yesterday and was apparently being very positive, that like NEVER happens, but it was nice for my Dad to have a break. I hope you figure out how to take kitty with you.

Shannon those days with no work are super boring. When I was working for the State it seems like it was feast or famine. We had times when we had so much work we were doing 8+ hours of OT a week. Nice paycheck but really exhausting or having hours of down time a day. That wasn't so bad after I'd been there a long time, because I was building up almost a day off a pay period, so I'd just go tell my boss I was taking the afternoon off.

Carolyn I'm glad you didn't have any major damage from the storms. I rarely do all of Great Glutes, but I make up workouts from parts of it.

Hi Judy and Diane Sue.

 

[FitGran]

Today I did Jessica’s Walk Strong 3 Cardio Step Jam. That was 32 minutes and 184 calories burned. My average heart rate was 118 and maximum heart rate was 143.

Judy, great job Full Body Strength, rowing, stretching, and PT work.

Shannon, sometimes we need those unplanned rest days.

Cathy, great job with AOLIH mix. Derek is becoming a local celebrity.

Hello to Valerie and Diane Sue.

 

[WD]

I have not been working out. I did lots of research and discussed things with my arthritis doctor and a doctor recommended by my primary doctor and arthritis doctor. My daughter was going over medical stuff too. She has patients that have had the procedure done. I got the kyphoplasty done Tuesday so have been following orders and not lifting bending or twisting. Resting a lot. They said to start walking and add time each day. I feel good but am doing what I am supposed to do. My grandson stayed for 3 days to help and play with Harvey since I am not playing fetch at the moment. I have had bone density issues starting in my late 40's. They gave me boniva for a while which always seemed to make my back hurt and it would feel better it started wearing off and start up again on the next dose. I also used Fosamax for a while. I do not drink alcohol, follow a good diet, take bone support supplements, exercise, so I do not know what is next. Some come back and say it is osteopenia. rheumatoid arthritis can lead to the problems with osteoarthritis. The doctor did say with with osteoporosis I am likely to have more fractures.
I need to change up exercises I do. On some of the medical center stuff they say crunches, bending over to touch toes, oblique twists, and those moves where you sit on the floor and turn to the side and look over your shoulder can cause a fracture. I am thinking how much worse that is when I have added a dumbbell or medicine ball with things like a Russian Twist.
Oh, and I do not know why the lady that called with results said T5 and T7. The doctor said just T7. I took the mri disc in with me.
We have had so much rain. My roses look terrible. I think they have fungus or something from sitting in pools of water. The leaves are fine, but the flowers terrible. I went out this evening and cut off flowers where I could reach without bending.

Shannon, what kind of work do you do? I do remember you talking about lightening up your workouts. I do that and feel so much better and end up blowing by hitting much heavier weight and more of it or more impact and long workouts. If I hit too many step workouts in a row I am sure to start having achy knees and I love step workouts. I never cared for Perfect 30 Low Impact. I do not really like workouts that have drills in them.

Valerie, nice that you got in a hike, but sorry your husband's knee did not test out well doing it. That was nice that you got to see a lot of wildlife out. That is great that your husband misses your cat. I guess you are both kind of attached to it now.

Carolyn, nice job on JS Walk Strong 3 Cardio Step Jam. I like that one, and the fact that with her step workouts I only need to get out the high step.

Cathy, good job on STS Disc 3 today. Seeing the baby animals would be fun. Well, that is nice that your mom had a positive day for a change.

Judy, good work on yesterday's 30-minute Full Body Strength workout and 15 minutes of rowing and today's 30 minute stretch and PT work. Impatiens are so pretty. I have not planted any in years.

 

[FitGran]

This is my rest day. I’m catching up on some housework and making bread today.

Diane Sue, I’m so happy to hear that you are doing well after having that procedure done.

Hello to Cathy, Judy, Valerie, and Shannon.

 

[Traildoggie]

Dh's knee didn't improve much so we decided to drive home yesterday. it was either friday or saturday. 12 hours, the last 2 hours in terrible traffic. ugh. we left later expecting to arrive in the metro area later, but somehow we made up the time and got here too early, it was pretty awful. we had a good visit and accomplished what was needed. we may not get back for a while. While driving, DH also had a crown break off so we need to get that fixed before he can get the knee procedure. dental procedures must be spaced out a long way from orthopedic ones, sometimes months, so need to get dental done first. our dentist suddenly retired so we are seeing a new person we have not met before, hopefully monday. Did not need that!
Puss did ok in the basement but was very glad to see us. he managed to get into a few things and open doors and drawers but nothing serious. we think its best to leave him here and not deal with the drive and a bored cat in a different house.

diane sue take it slow. spine issues are hard to deal with and dont heal as quickly especially with osteoporosis. i am cautious on bending/twisting moves. i do limited versions and have good range of motion but i dont do quick moves like in workouts with twisting. I can still do crunches, bicycles, toe touching etc. and most core work. I do mostly things where my back is supported. I eased into it carefully. i just walked at first. there are plenty of things you can do and skip risky moves particularly when you are healing.
some of us didnt pick our parents wisely. my mothers family all had major lumbar spine issues and were all literally "facing the ground" by the time they reached 80. I inherited some of that tendency but the surgery i had should prevent most of it. all the good habits in the world wont avoid some deterioration. Damn, we're old! not fair but that's the way it is. Gotta work with what you got. i am getting good results from the plaquenil and have not been on it for that long. not even 2 months. sometimes it takes a while.

it was so nice to hear DH admit to missing the cat! they get along well, something I wasnt sure would ever happen, but as soon as he got to go outside his indoor behavior improved .

the hike and yard work we did in MT were definite proof to DH that he cant live with the knee as it currently is, even with a brace. he really didnt want to do a surgery but now is convinced. we got the house duties done and it will be ok to leave it for a while.

cathy there are a lot of pronghorns in the yellowstone area. they are more common than they used to be and there are fewer elk. they have their babies in june and many have twins but we weren't sure if we saw a baby or not.
groups are working to remove the bottom barbed wire in fencing and replacing it with smooth wire. pronghorns run like the wind but they dont jump and get blocked by fencing. they try to wiggle under but the barbed wire snags a lot of them. removing the barbed section makes it easier for them to travel more widely. we had a pronghorn family in our yard last summer.

another dustup with my sister doing monumentally stupid things with her phone. if the power goes out, or the telephone service goes out, you might need to turn some things back "on" again. i dont think thats asking for any genius on her part.