Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 10/28

fox2star

Cathlete
Good morning,

Trying to get myself motivated to do a workout. I have been trying to be good with eating, and getting workouts in. We had Chinese last night not too bad. I gave up ice cream and replaced it with Greek yogurt, something I didn't think I could do.

As for the storm, we are not really doing anything to prepare for it. . I guess we are hoping that we are far enough west of the center of the storm by the time it gets to NY. John read that they are considering shutting down the subway system in NYC. Talk about paralyzing an area. I guess that will mean businesses will be closed etc. The subway is the way most peolpe get around. There was a big Trade Symposium this week in DC that got cancelled due to the upcoming storm. I wasn't going, but know a lot of people that were.

Still cold and rainy here so no outside work getting done today.

Take care,
 
Deb, do a workout, you'll feel better. I forget the number, disk 34? cranked thru it yesterday so only one disk left and I'll be done with sts again. I increased weights on several moves and did all the reps. we were going to hike today but its raining so maybe will ride later instead.... if it dries off a little. whole week looks wet. blech.

we usually don't need to do much to prepare for storms. I make sure I have propane so we can use the camper for cooking if the power is out for a long time. usually plenty of food on hand though I move things around a little so I don't need to open the freezer or main frig. get out the candle lanterns & flashlights if they aren't handy. it's common in winter so not that big a deal unless we get a lot of snow. a big windstorm is scary since we have lots of trees and you never know which way they will fall.

Hope it isn't as bad as expected. Big cities are creepy to me... I don't like all those millions of people squashed into what seems like a small space.
 
Good morning,

I just finished 35 minutes of CC #7. Whew...
047.gif


Valerie, Good job on finishing STS for the ? time?? I ended up doing High Step Circuit, I wanted to get both cardio and some weight work in. We have lots of candles, and flashlights. We have been very lucky around here, apparently our power lines are not in the path of any trees, I can count on one hand the number of times we have lost power in the 28 years we have been here.

I agree with you on big cities, especially NY. Nice place to visit etc, but would never want to live there.

Work, then obedience class tonight, if all stays calm around here weather wise. I can't imagine having to cancel class for rain, but very high winds maybe.

Take care,
picklewave.gif
 
I visited NYC & DC when I was in college. Ok, but never wanted to go back. I like wide open spaces& mountains, just the opposite. don't get enthused about restaurants, plays, and all the jam-up of people. crowds, ugh. shopping? no. not a "city" person.

Hope this storm moves thru with a lot less intensity than they expect. It certainly sounds like preparations have been made and events cancelled to minimize the number of people who will get stranded if it's as bad as predicted.
the company I used to work for bought another that was in NY area. Technicon. went back there for training probably 25 yrs ago but that was the last visit.

I'm not sure about sts...maybe 4 times? I've never done it without some interruptions and seldom do the all the legs. I've done them some, but didn't this time. we ended up doing a 25 mile ride yesterday, dried out enough and very mild, low 60's. 2 hours. that's plenty for legs.

HSC is a good workout. I have it, haven't done it in a long time. I'm going to stick with LBB and maybe the GS series and then we have a week of vacation. I don't bother taking a week off after STs anymore. DH uses STS as his only upper body workout, just cycles thru one of the sections over and over. I need more variety.
 
Hi Deb and Valerie--

Back from my conference and really had a great time. All of my talks were well attended and received with enthusiasm. Probably the best conference I have ever attended because I wasn't worried about missing classes, getting behind with teaching. It was also very warm, in the high 70s the first few days, so I had an opportunity to wear some summer dresses I wisely brought along. The following two days were chilly, but I brought clothes for that too. Came home yesterday into Albany, so there were no cancellations or delays. Today they keep saying how awful the storm will be, but so far, it's been nice, even sunny, and only a little gusty. It's supposed to get worse after 4, so I will head home before then. I think we are a bit too far inland to worry about storm surges or even too much rain, but the wind could be a problem. We'll see.

Took off a whole week from exercising, but unless the power goes out, I will get back into it tomorrow.

Trying to catch up with my e-mail and other stuff.
 
Good morning,

Wow the storm has really hit NYC and areas surrounding there hard. It's still raining and windy here but nothing like what they are experiencing.

Garance, you got back just in time, lucky you were able to fly into Albany. It must be a pretty long drive from there to home? How is the weather there today? It sounds like your conference went well.

Valerie, 4 times doing STS is amazing! did you order the new series? I think you would like it. Maybe you didn't because I think I was going to sell the spinning DVD to you or Josie, I don't remember who at the moment, but hey, it's only 5:20 am, and I am barely awake. :)

Hi to Josie, and Joan,

take care,
 
Wow Lynda you lucked out.... getting your travels done just before things went to hell. I haven't tuned in to the TV coverage but watched a little last night when it looked like the forecasts were right and cancelling and closing things down was the right decision. watching all the coverage I was concerned you might be in Indiana longer than anyone wants to be, since so many flights got cancelled. it looked like people simply couldn't get out of where they were. even here, the airport area hotels are packed to the rafters with people whose flights were canceled, and many of them were going nowhere near NYC.
Glad your conference went well. Hope you have power and are not sitting in the dark.

Deb, I've been using STS over and over in some manner since I bought it. the first time through I did each week twice, so it took 6 months. If vacation interrupts, I back up a bit and continue. I treat it almost as an ongoing upper body workout. I don't do the legs as much. I'll take better notes next time and decide which leg sections are worth repeating and aren't too "jumpy". meso 3 legs involved a lot of airy stuff but I don't remember meso 1&2 very well. I have notes for weights I used but if it's hike & bike season I don't do other leg workouts often.
I ordered Xtrain. orginally I was going to buy the spin disk from you but decided to buy the series. even if I don't like every disk, I like variety. we are going on a weeks vacation in 2 weeks so I'll fill in with whatever looks good when I hit the exercise room.
 
Hi Deb and Valerie--

This morning I did KCM's Cardio Quick Fix, both workouts (45 min.).

Well, we did have some wind, but only an inch of rain, and no power outage. For us, this was not as big a storm as Irene for upstate. New Jersey looks the worst, especially the shore where we like to vacation. Very sad if those beaches are destroyed, as well they might have been. Sigh! I loved living in NYC but the idea of being there without the subway or bus system working seems impossible. One of the conference participants was from South Africa and he was planning on staying in NYC for a few days before returning, and I really feel bad for him, because this is obviously not the best time to be touring the city. I also wonder when he will be able to get back to S. Africa. Several Brits and a couple Australians, too, were there, and I wonder how their travel plans went.

Deb, Albany is the closest airport to Williamstown--approximately 1 hour, 10 min. away. Hartford is almost 2 hours. I really did enjoy the conference and it has inspired some new projects for me.

Valerie, I really wish I could get going on STS again, but I keep procrastinating, and now with this new series being released, I don't want to start it and then stop for the new stuff.

Well, I'm off to start reading Edith Sitwell--a new project for me.
 
Good morning,

I have been awake since 3:00 so I figured I might as well get up. Exhausted though. It still rainy here, but nothing like NYC and surrounding areas.
We had our air conditioner guy come to take a look at what he hast to do for the roofers to replace the garage roof. Two of our a/c units are on there, and they have to be completely uninstalled for the roofers to work, and then reinstalled again. $$$$$$ ugh.

Valerie, I actually like the heavy leg workouts in STS, and I don't think I did any of the plyo leg ones. Where are you going for vacation? staying in a hotel? I am so looking foward to the new series, it sounds perfect for me, shorter workouts, and no step workout!

Garance, Lots of people are stuck all over the country apparently. You don't realize how many people travel through the NYC area every day on their way to somewhere else. I will have to Google Edith Sitwell to see who that is.

Not much going on here, work, then feed the trick or treaters until we have to go to agility class. I have to find the dog's costumes, we are supposed to dress them ( and us if we want) up for class, plus decorate a jump.

Take care,
 
Deb, isn't it amazing how much it costs to pay people to do things? labor is expensive! Had to get our furnace checked for wear and tear, $150 for about half an hour of work. course, the guy had to drive here and back. so we do it every other year.

I did Cardio Trisets yesterday in addition to yoga in the am. Haven't done that one in a while, and sure enough, th position in mountainclimbers makes me forget to breathe! mostly I got through it without trouble. that one is fast, and good when limited time.

the plyo ones were in meso 3. I did it before but I remember a lot of jumping. I don't remember the leg ones in meso 1&2 since it was quite a while ago. next time I do sts I plan on doing the legs since it wil be winter and minimal bike/hike opportunities. rain, rain. more rain.

incredible how much having one geographical area closed down affects all airlines.

Edith sitwell is not a familiar name for me either.

We are almost done watching Band of Brothers. wow. just wow. an amazing series. my only criticism is that it doesn't have subtitles. the dialogue is fast and uses lots of military lingo. a lot of the action sequences with helmets and uniforms it's hard to keep straight who is who. but amazingly realistic and as far as I have checked, accurate. there was one sequence where the german troops are singing Silent Night and as soon as I heard the first words I could sing the rest of it in german. I don't speak german but they taught us that song in german in grade school. . I am pathetically uneducated about WWI & WWII. but you can run to the computer and pull up maps and see where these guys actually were, most of the towns still exist.
 
Hi Ladies,

Back from a short vacation and regretting being here at work. It is getting harder and harder to come to work. We have a bunch of idiots running our department and all they
do is bombard us with meeting after meeting without any results. Just a waste of time!!

I will be going to yoga tonight, I really need it. I did come back with a little mad money from Vegas so I will add that to my stash ;)

Deb, I don’t care who I get the spinning DVD from. I know that Valerie want one of them and Garance will have one available too.

Hi to Joan, Valerie and Garance!


Josie
 
Hi Deb, Valerie, and Josie--

This morning I did High Reps upper body (39 min.).

Gosh, I cannot believe how bad things are in NYC and NJ. If you could see these multi-million dollar homes on the Jersey shore and those gorgeous beaches totally destroyed, it would break your heart. I guess beach front property is no longer such a great investment. A lot of the places in Avalon are second homes that pay for themselves through rentals during the summer. I wonder how many of them will be rebuilt. I also wonder if we will be vacationing there this summer. Don't know if the house we usually have is still intact, since it was only a block away from the beach.

We live too far back from the road to get any trick-or-treaters--which I guess is a good thing because we don't buy any candy and have it around as a temptation.

Deb, didn't you just have AC put in a couple years ago? That would annoy me, too, if all of that had to be done again because of roofing. Edith Sitwell is a writer of both poetry and fiction, but I am especially interested in her poetry because Plath was, and her copies of Sitwell's poems over at Smith have a mountain of marginalia commentary that the curator over there thinks I should see and write something about. Sitwell is, I believe, in a group of authors called the "English eccentrics." Hell--they are all eccentrics--the Romantics, the Bloomsbury group, etc.

Josie, I didn't order the spinning disc, so I defer to Deb. You will definitely enjoy retirement. Meetings are awful and the other reason, after paper-grading, that I retired.

I love Cardio Supersets, especially the premix with the step at 47 min. It gets the job done!
 
Good morning,

We went to the class last night which was a combination Halloween party/agility class. Treats for the dogs and the humans. Games playe, costumes worn, fun for all.

We only had one group of kids last night before we left for class. Very strange. Maybe the weather.

Valerie, it was the squat rack leg workouts is STS that I was thinking of... instead of plyo. Used the turbo bar as a squat rack and wore Cathe's 20 lb weight vest.

Josie, the spinning DVD is your once it gets here :). Are you planning on retiring soon?

Garance, Yes we had the AC put in a couple years ago. With the system we have, there are 2 units outside one of the bedrooms that has a porch, which is the roof of the attached garage, a flat roof porch. When we had it put in, the heating/cooling company guy said make sure if you ever replace this roof,, you DO NOT let any roofer guys touch these units. So, hence the removal and reinstall by them. It's not a complete install etc, all the electrical lines are there, they just need to disconnect the units and I guess bring them inside the bedroom to be out of the way for the roofers. House owning...it never ends. I hope they are able to rebuild the shore where you vacation in NJ. It is all so sad to see all that damage and lost lives etc.

Time to get ready for another great day at the office!
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did After Burn (54 min.). I actually prefer the LIS to either Crossfire or To the Max, which I think I may sell at Amazon.

Deb, I briefly tuned in to DWTS last night, but quickly left when I saw Kirstie Alley was still there. I just find her repellent for some reason. Sounds like double K had fun last night. What did you have them dressed up as? (Don't eat the leftover candy, Deb....or maybe just one mini-bar per day......or 2.......or )

Daylight savings this weekend, so we get an extra hour of sleep and it won't be so dark in the morning. Yay!

Hi to Josie and Valerie!
 
I'm looking forward to that hour too. my yoga class starts when it's pitch black out. nice to have it light again. DH isn't happy because he has call this weekend, so gets an "extra hour" of work. another vote for the LIS series. I'll use LIS and GS until xtrain is released.

Deb, I don't think I had the weight rack when I did STS legs. I know I don't own a weighted vest. unless I just subbed my 15 lb bar.

we're getting started on some home projects and spent most of yesterday looking at laminate to replace our carpeting upstairs. brought some samples home, took them back and got some more. I can't wait to get rid of my rose colored carpeting. it was a popular color back in the late 80's but was a big mistake in decorating. the color is not intense, but some lighting makes it look more pink, while in some light it's a rosy beige. regardless, nothing ever goes with it. it's 20+ yrs old so goodbye and good riddance. we're doing one room( my office) first to be sure we like the new material. if it looks good we'll continue with the rest of the upstairs. we foubnd a store where the owners can advise and have done a lot of remodels so it's vastly better than Lowes where no one knew much of anything.

Kirstie Alley has always driven me crazy. strange mannerisms, her hair in her face & tossing it, annoying speech patterns. No.
 
Happy Friday!!
banana016.gif


This week dragged for me, so glad it's almost over. I think the weather has something to do with it. Cold and rainy all week, but can't complain too much when you see what is going on in NY/NJ.

Garance, yes Kirstie is still on DWTS. I have no idea how she stays on. Who is her fan base? I have not liked her since she was on Cheers, and I really didn't watch it much back then. I guess she was good in Baby Talk ( ?) I think that is the name of the movie with John Travolta. I have not done Crossfire or To the Max for a while either, but then I haven't been doing much. I am hoping the new workouts get me more motivated.

Valerie, I think I mentioned before, we put laminate in our back hall, and all the way down the stairs to the basement. it was the best investment ever. I wish I would have put it in the kitchen. Next time.

No plans for us this weekend, except a meeting with our financial guy, and I hope he has our stuff ready for my retirement plans...scary.

Oh and YAY for the extra hour of sleep!

Hi to Josie, and Joan,

Take care,
 
When we built this house we wanted an exercise room but wanted to live here a while to decide where to put it.
we have a huge daylight basement. built into a slope, two sides have huge windows so it's cool and quite bright, not dingy and damp. so we sectioned part of the space and finished it into an exercise room, bathroom. did a ceiling, walls, industrial carpeting. thought carpet would be warmer and easier on our feet. FF a year or two. we knew the carpeting would have to go. it got stinky and hard to clean. we ripped it out and put in laminate. must have been some of the first laminate every made. had to be glued down. it's still there and held up amazingly well. looks nice, easy to clean. so I am sold on laminate.

way back then I put hardwood in the kitchen against the builders objections. it was a great decision. I have always loved it. nice to stand on. easy to keep clean. looks lovely. need to be sure you don't have water leaks but that's true for most flooring material. so, I'm sure I'll like laminate upstairs.
we are still in limbo about the bathroom. it's a big space with a walk in closet and I'm hearing people do not put laminate in bathrooms so we may use more of vinyl tile like Duraceramic. we need to replace the ceramic tile in shower and around jacuzzi with something cleanable. we get nasty hard water deposits. I gave nup trying to clean the shower, it's pathetic and has been for years. nothing takes off the deposits.

did yoga yesterday morning, a couple miles on the treadmill later on. Did you check out the thread over in open discussion about hip thrusts? there's a link to someone demonstrating how to do them. guess they will be part of the new workouts.

finally, might get a clear day without rain today. been raining every day, all day.
 
Hi Deb and Valerie--

This morning I did KCM's Plateau Busters, both workouts (45 min.).

Sounds like it will be a chilly weekend. I plan on seeing the new Denzel Washington film, Flight, which has received very good reviews, and we're going out to dinner on Sat'dy night to our favorite place.

Deb, my problem with Crossfire is that it really has only one workout on it that is low impact, and I cannot do the floorwork at the end of it justice, and it's barely 39 min. long. To the Max has a lesser impact premix, too, but it's very repetitive with the low impact tabata done twice, and many of the bursts also done twice. I know I sound like a broken record, but why can't Cathe have a modifier like KCM on her workouts?? I have no confidence in the new cardio workouts, but will probably like the weight ones and maybe the one low impact cardio hiit.

We have laminate in our kitchen and really love it. Also in one of our bathrooms, so I don't know why it would be a problem, Valerie. In the kitchen, the laminate is often mistaken for tile. We also have laminate in our addition that looks like hardwood and fools everyone. Really pretty grain to it.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
Happy Friday Ladies,

I will be going to Yoga and a sculpt class on Saturday and just Yoga on Sunday.
My DH and I are going to a gala event tonight. I hope that whatever they are serving tonight is good. I’m so tired of these events 

I’m so ready to retire at this point because things are just getting worst at work.
I had told my DH that I could probably stay another 3 year until he retires, but some days I just want run out of here. He told me that I could retire not if I wanted :)

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Josie
 
Good morning,

Up at 4:00 with Kylee and I decided to just stay up. I see a nap in the future.

Valerie, my exercise area is in the basement too, but it is not like yours, that's for sure! It is finished in 1950 style with knotty pine walls. We did some updates, new ceiling, new floor, but in the end, it's still a basement, very cold in winter and humid and hot in the summer. It has a fireplace that we have never used, because we never had it cleaned, or checked. Not that I would want to build a fire befoe doing a workout. :) I didn't want hardwood in the kitchen, because we have it everywhere else, except the stairs, and I am so sick of cleaning it. I also worried about stains with water, dogs tracking into it etc. Not that ceramic is any easier to keep clean. I am always fussing about the grout, hate, hate it.

Garance, I know what you mean on the 2 recent workouts, I don't even think to reach for them. I am really excited about the new series, and wish she would be quicker in getting them out. I know it is a long process, with the quality of her workouts, I am just impatient I guess.

Josie, retire now! LOL

We are meeting with our financial guy at 8:00 this morning, not much else, a lot of house stuff, like all weekends. I think I will go and put the spelt in the bread maker, and get that going.

Have a good weekend!
 

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top