Pentagenarians & Beyond: November 16, 2025

So in the weird world of the internet, yesterday afternoon my passwords starting working everywhere I have Cathe accounts. This morning I did Metabolic Core, which is what I wanted to do yesterday. It's a really tough, but good workout. 45 minutes long and hits all areas of the core. Some standing, some floor, some with weights and some with no equipment.

In the things that made me laugh today category, my sister is now back in FL and today she had to clean the gecko poop out of their foyer area and evict a large gecko that had decided it was home. LOL It's an area between the outside door and the house, and I've never been there, so no idea how they get in when no one is home and going in and out.

Valerie I have a foam roller, but it's like the one Cathe sells and is firm, and yes, it can be very uncomfortable.
 
Valerie-I have Cathe's foam roller and the TRIGGERPOINT Performance Therapy Grid Foam Roller from Amazon. Cathe's is firm like Cathy mentioned. The TRIGGERPOINT one isn't as firm but it's not really soft. I think I'm going to look at the one Carolyn mentioned. I need a softer one too.
 
Thank you. my back is not very cushioned. this is left side of my spine/ribs from lower thoracic thru lumbar region. there is no way to use a firm foam roller there. there is no padding, just the visible raised irritated muscle. i ordered a softer foam roller and a round device in a base that looks like half a snow globe. all the hard plastic wands... would be very unpleasant. i tried one of the S shaped wands today at PT but it was very uncomfortable. I enjoyed the motorized vibrating hand held device we have but pacers are sensitive to the electrical interference and i cant risk triggering it all the time. this was a total surprise and required a fast trip to cardiology to get checked to see if something was going wrong. it wasnt. ive had the pacer since 2009 with the new battery last january so this could have been a BFD or as it turned out, totally nothing. this technology is all so amazing. i got a new home monitor with the replacement battery this year that transmits automatically. i do nothing but sleep in the room with the monitor. if anything causes a wrong signal, it sends an alertto cardiology office who called us. we happened to be fairly close by i got seen as soon as we walked in. they are wonderful to me. i cant say enough good about them.
Carolyn and judy, i will look up the ones you have and compare to the soft roller coming tomorrow. i want something i can use myself without forcing Dh to fuss over me. there is a very specific area that gets stressed tight and contracted. i like the foam roller idea but the one i have ( like yours Cathy) is brutal on my back. actually its brutal everywhere ive used it. deep tissue massage has not been a winner for me.
 
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Today I did P 30 Perfect Pump Lower Body, 31 minutes, 100 calories burned, average heart rate 105, and maximum heart rate 130

I also have Cathe’s hard foam roller, which I never use. My older daughter, who is a runner, sometimes uses it for her calves when she is here, but I hate it.
 
No workout today, as I was shopping, and I talked to my brother on the way home and he needs me to take him to his appointment for an injection in his back on Tuesday. Tuesday, the day I was going to go see Wicked. But his wife already had an appointment for a dental procedure and he only found out this morning he can do it. They've put him off 7 times already and he's just had it with the level of pain, which has been sending him to ER several times a week. So, since I can't do any other morning next week, I got a ticket for a 9:30 show tomorrow morning. First day it's at the theaters. I was only the 5th person to reserve a seat, so even if people show up and get tickets there, I doubt it'll be very full at all. And honestly, total ticket price was $5 so why wait and buy one when you get there. So, that will mean no workout tomorrow either as I have to get around early to leave. It's not nearby, since it's on the far side of Battle Creek and I have never been there, so adding in plenty of time.
 
Yesterday I did both of the LMR foam rolling bonuses and the anytime mobility bonus. Today I did a 45-minute Peloton walk and 10 minutes of stretching.

Carolyn-Great job with KCM’s Cardio Quick Fix, workout one and Perfect Pump Lower Body. I agree with you about Cathe’s hard foam roller. I just got it and am having a hard time getting used to it. I ordered one of the OPTP soft density rollers that you mentioned from Amazon.

Cathy-Great job with Metabolic Core. That’s good that you can see the show tomorrow instead of Tuesday.

Valerie- I like foam rolling but it can be pretty rough. I hope you like the one you ordered.

Hi to Diane Sue
 
Today I did Ice Low Impact Sweat workout #2, step with blizzard blast modified and skipped last plyometric blast, 36 minutes, 207 calories, heart rate 125/150, 2,662 steps.
I also did Jessica Valant downloaded Pilates & Physical Therapy Exercises for Scoliosis, 53 minutes, 103 calories. Total time was 89 minutes, 310 calories. My knee feels a lot better today.
I am trying to get online Christmas shopping done and feel rushed. The family changed our family day to the 14th of December since my granddaughter will be working through the holidays at the hospital. I also am hosting for my ladies group Christmas on the 9th. It just clicked that I need to get busy.

Yesterday I did Jessica Valant Full Body Weight workout using 8# dumbbells for most of it, 22 minutes, 70 calories. I followed with her knee strengthening exercises and PT for knee pain workout, 28 minutes, 59 calories.

Valerie I just have Cathe foam roller and a shorter bumpy one that I only would use on my hips where there is some padding. It hurts. I have been a bit worried about rolling on the spine. I quit using my back pod as well, since the booklet suggested using caution with osteoarthritis. Cathe's seems softer to me because my old one felt like a hard roll of Styrofoam like material. It was very old. I had to search for a long foam roller at that time since they were not popular.

Carolyn, nice work on Perfect Pump Lower Body. I use my massage gun on my calves. My right one gets tight for some reason.

Cathy, that is funny about the Gecko. I have had lizards get in my house before, but not a Gecko. Nice work on Wednesday's Metabolic Core.

Judy, good job on the LMR foam rolling bonuses and Anytime Mobility Bonus, and today's 45 minute Peloton Walk and stretching.
 
foam roller didnt get here yet but probably tomorrow. Im diligently doing my stretching/ab exercises and am feeling like its improving. not in leaps and bounds but i need the back brace less and need to sit less. also tried some capsaicin cream on the itchy areas and it helped. i only used it once so too soon to say for sure, but for the first time in many many months it barely itched at all. all the surgery and curvature is probably pinching some nerves causing the itching. its a nerve issue not a skin issue but its irritating much of the time. i read about capsaicin and it seemed to me like it might interrupt the "itch" signal. today, it did. its just a small area on my mid back.

we planned to walk this morning but heard that materials arrived and they can start the deck project friday morning. so instead of walking we cleaned off the remaining things from around the deck area for the tear off tomorrow. its just the deck surface and railings getting replaced. the structure underneath is ok. deck is 25 yrs old and still in decent shape but we are tired of cleaning and staining it every other year. building code also requires stairs to be wider than they are so we were not going to rebuild stairs with old materials. its wet here a good part of the year so synthetic like Trex is very popular.

after area was cleaned off, we got out the mt bikes and rode the neighborhood for 45 minutes. 5 miles.

i use the foam roller for a few things but not for massage. No. i tried, but no. i will get a better idea if this helps after i try this one.

i have no clue what wicked is although its gotten a lot of awards and attention. a take off on Wizard of Oz? can we get a review after you've seen it? im trying to imagine gecko poop. is it like a small iguana?
 
This morning I did JS 15 Minute Calorie Burst, 15 minutes, 115 calories burned, average heart rate 139, and maximum heart rate 164. That’s all that I had time for today.

Cathy, I hope that you enjoyed Wicked for Good in the theater.

Judy, nice job with LMR Foam Rolling, Anytime Mobility bonus, Peloton walk, and stretching.

Diane Sue, great job with Low Impact Sweat two, and Jessica Valant Pilates and PT for Scoliosis. Getting ready for Christmas can be stressful. Good luck with your shopping.

Valerie, I’m glad that you seem to be doing well. I hope the foam roller helps.
 
Today I did Caroline Jordan Osteoporosis Stronger Bones exercises followed by Jessica Valant Arm Workout with Dumbbells and ended with knee pain PT work, 45 minutes, 133 calories.
For some reason Caroline's peppy chattering about how great we were doing bugged me. Probably just my mood today.
 
foam roller came yesterday. easy to test without unwrapping. no, i cant use this for my back. this was slightly softer than the firm roller, but wow, not by much. my back said "no!". too hard to massage the area without getting the bony parts that don't enjoy it at all. so back it goes. giving up on the idea for now. way too uncomfortable. did a walk this morning with the neighbors at the state park, 2 hours because their puppy does not walk efficiently yet. lots more back and forth than usual.

our deck is gone now, only joists left. i thought Puss would drive us nuts wanting to go out but he seemed to observe and be curious, looking out the glass door at where his usual territory, but otherwise ok with not getting on the deck, his favorite place. the deck is 20 feet off the ground and is his main in/out route. he jumps up on the railing and surveys the scene before going down the stairs to do what he wants. he usually comes in this way. for a while until the surface is replaced, it wont work. no stairs either. we let him out today via basement door and he came in thru the garage. nothing new but less common than the deck door.
 
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Yesterday I did LMR Functional Barre Fusion and PT work. Today I did LMR Functional Lower Body. I'm enjoying this series and it's got me really looking forward to LMR 2.

Diane Sue-Great job with Low Impact Sweat 2,the modified blizzard blast and the Jessica Valent and Caroline Jordan workouts. I’m glad your knee feels better.

Valerie-I’m sorry that the foam roller didn’t work for you.

Carolyn-Great job with JS 15 Minute Calorie Burst.

Hi to Cathy
 
Today was a rest day for me. My former sister-in-law came by yesterday to help out with my husband and to give us some PT support. It’s always good when she has a day off and can come by to check on us. She helped him with some upper body mobility.

Diane, nice job with Caroline Jordan and Jessica Valant workouts.

Judy, nice job with LMR Functional Barre Fusion, PT work, and LMR Functional Lower Body. LMR is a good series. I’m starting to look forward to the LMR Elevate as Cathe posts more clips.

Valerie, I‘m sorry that the foam roller didn’t work for you. I never use it on the bony areas, just muscle.

Hello to Cathy.
 
Wicked For Good was amazing. Afterwards, I got my new license plate swapped out the dealership. thankfully they got it off because if they had had to drill it off it would have been $75 instead of free! Then I went to my parents. Today I did this weeks Live Complete Upper Body.

Valerie the Wicked movies are basically the story of how the Wicked Witch of the west became wicked. It's based on the broadway play, but was able to expand and more fully tell the story. The sets, casting and directing are all just dead on, and unlike the first one, tissues needed for the second. And Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's voices just blend so well together. Not sure how to do a decent review without sharing too much as most of the threads about it on social media are labeled spoilers and on Threads you can even black things out, so people have to deliberately click on them to read.
 
Today I did CDorner Old School aerobics all standing 80's music, 44 minutes, 278 calories, heart rate 130/172, 4,272 steps. Afterward I did Jessica Valant, crunch free abs, knee pain PT, and Neck Pain Relief, 33 minutes, 62 calories. Total time 77 minutes, 340 calories.

Valerie, I am sorry the foam roller was still too firm. I hope you can come up with something that is helpful.
Have you tried therapy balls that can help roll out knots? I have used them on my lats and hips when I have really tight muscles. We used to have a cat that would climb a tree and get in the attic of a house we rented for a while so we would have to open the attic to let him in. Other times he came in through the chimney all covered with soot. We didn't live there long. The roof leaked and owner had insurance people come out but never fixed the roof. That was when my children were small. A walk with friends sounds nice.

Judy, good job on yesterday's LMR Functional Barre Fusion and PT work and today's LMR Functional Lower Body. I enjoy the LMR Functional Workouts too. I am looking forward to the new ones.

Carolyn, that is nice that you have someone that comes and helps with PT and checks on you.

Cathy, I was looking at Fandango this morning and they had Wicked pre-orders on it, but no explanation on what it is about. Is it a musical? Something I read sounded like it was. My husband would not sit through a musical. I got my reminder for my tag today and they said I could get the new plate. I told my husband I would keep the old one. He does not like the blue one with the scissortail bird on it. It goes with my little blue car and I don't care if I get the new one. Although I think it is a lot better for seeing a plate number than the pale blue one.
 
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