Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 5/26

Josie... you can IMAGINE slapping her! probably way better than actually doing it. Too funny. Love it!

Lynda think you're right, got a token Oscar for some technical aspect. but I felt this movie lost out because of the negative publicity of torture leading to info that led to bin Laden's capture. not a reason I'd use to disqualify a movie from awards. it didn't claim to be a documentary. best picture? not so sure.... I loved Argo. Best actress? think I'd give it to Jessica Chastain, but will need to re-watch Silver Linings.

I'm sure we had subtitles on but I had no trouble with dialogue on any of these. t I never know when it will be an issue, so we set up all movies with subtitles on. I don't notice them if I don't need them.

My FIL and MIL both managed to stay at home until the end. it was difficult sometimes, and they needed to hire some health care assistants for some things. their home was modified so they could use shower, toilets etc. My mother is still at home at 93. my brother cares for her, along with some assistance. She loves her cats. some people are so connected to their home or pets it is wrenching to pull them out. my experience with assisted living is not positive. the food alone would kill me.
I have an aunt in asst living who is doing well after at least 5 years. she lost most of her vision and hearing so needs help with almost everything. she lived with her sons for a while but they were at work during the day and she could not manage at all. she likes the food and needs help with meds, showers, almost everything. her mind is still good but not much else works.
 
Good evening ladies!

Congrats Josie!! Very happy for you and very envious too!!!! Looking forward to the day I can say see ya!!!

Did leslie sansones belly blasting 2 mile walk at lunch with the girls and had a blast! I wore 1lb ankle and hand weights and made it into a higher impact workout. Ran in place instead of walking, ice skaters instead of side steps, etc. really got my heart rate up. I also ran on TM this morning.

Garance...Never thought of not doing an active recovery week. I may just take a few days off of weights then start up sooner. This may work well. Did not do disc 21 back and biceps tonight. this can wait until tomorrow. After my workouts today and legs yesterday i needed the rest!

I read an article a while back about sleep and what it said was when you get up at night do not turn bright lights on. Perhaps this is what the More article meant? I get the kindle version of More. I will look it up and read it too.

Valerie...i am not a huge fan of supercuts. So many people love it but I thought it was just ok. Not one of my go to workouts.

Judy...looking forward to hear your thoughts on cycle max.

Have a great night ladies!
 
Hi Everyone,

Tonight I did X-Train Bi's & Tri's and the STS no equipment core workout. Those STS core workouts are awesome! I will be feeling that for the rest of the week. :eek:
Hard Strikes came in the mail today so I'll be able to do that later this week.

Garance-thank you. DH and I are going to do everything we can to keep FIL safe and comfortable in his home. I can't even imagine how hard it would be for him to leave, even if it might seem like the best thing for his situation. He is very happy there, even though he can't do as much as he once could. I am going to be contacting visiting nurses this week to see if we can set up a weekly wellness check or something of that nature for him too.

Deb-I've been using benadryl to help me sleep this week. I think I was down to sleeping only 4 hours a night last week and it was catching up to me. I got a little more sleep last night.

Josie-That must be an awesome feeling! Congratulations!:D

Valerie-I tend to agree, I would not want to be in assisted living either. I think it may work out better for some people than for others. I think you are right about the food too. FIL lost 10 lbs that he didn't need to lose when he was in the convalscent center. They had him on a special diet, and he hated every bite. I have never seen him look so unhappy as when he was eating dinner there.
Pets would be an issue for me, I can't imagine life without them. That would be devastating.

Lori-I think I'll be doing cyclemax tomorrow so I will let you know what I think of it.


Judy
 
Good morning and Happy Friday Eve!

I guess I am taking the rest of this week off from workouts. :(. I just can't seem to get up in the morning, not that sleeping in is a bad thing for me. Although today was not a scheduled workout day, since we didn't get back from class until after 10 last night, and I stayed up and read for a long time. I think I was over tired, you know when you are wound up and even though you are exhausted, you can't sleep?

Judy, I agree with trying to keep your FIL in his own home as long as he is able to do it..getting a visiting nurse is a good idea. The lady next door has someone come in each day, ( I don't think she is a nurse) and do things for her, until her daughter gets home from work..(hers is a dementia problem and she can't be left alone).. Some people do not mind assisted living, my MIL put herself on a list for a place she really wanted to go to, and when she was called, she moved in and put her house up for sale. Of course she had help from John's sister etc, but she was tired of being in a big house herself, could no longer drive so she figured she may as well be with people like herself etc and have company. Not your average ageing parent, that's for sure.

Josie, Congratulations! When is your last day?

Valerie, I don't remember Supercuts that much, ( too many workouts to keep track of!), but I think I liked it somewhat...of course I probably did shorter premixes so maybe I missed the dreaded parts you mentioned.

Garance, will have to check out that article....I can relate to sleeping in 4 hours cycles...however I only do one cycle a night it seems :)..

Lori, your co-workers must look at you and think "SuperWoman" with the weights on and running, ice skaters etc

Haircut and pedi tonight right after work....

Take care,
 
The assisted living my aunt was at even allowed pets. small ones. she never was a good cook so she likes the food. I could not eat any of it. I had trouble with the food she used to cook too! all processed food... bottled dressing, iceberg lettuce, no fresh fruit or seasonal vegies that I ever saw. some big chunk of meat... I don't eat red meat... and everything else processed and tasteless. even desserts were junk. I don't know how everything could be so tasteless because it always sounded good on paper, but blech. She's at a different place now and likes it but she barely goes out of her room without help. I agree that if possible keep people in their home. I know it won't work for everyone. being unable to drive really ends independent living for so many.

Deb, about your sleep issue. maybe I suggested this before but it helps me a lot. if you have a digital clock that glows, dim it. I need to put mine face down to hide the glow. that little bit of light wakes me up. even facing away from it isn't enough. I can reach over and roll it upright if I want the time. I always get up and pee, and do it without turning on bright light, just night lights. I can go to sleep when it's light , but in the morning I wake up as it starts to get light. definitely up by 5. I need 8-9 hours.

We're going on another several day vacation. sunday thru wed if the weather looks OK.
 
Hi Everyone,

Just a quick post-

Lori-I did Cycle Max this morning. It is a very challenging and good workout. I did enjoy it and I will probably end up downloading it. The download that I rented from Amazon ($1.99 for 7 days) was an extended version that lasted 1:20 minutes. At the 55 minute point (finish) it went back to somewhere in the middle. I rode the full time but after the 55 minute point I was ready to be done, so I road the last part easier, like a long cool down. I like Ride a little better. The music and pace of the workout make it (Ride) go faster for me.


On my way to work now, so will check in later,

Have a great day!

Judy
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did STS disk 21 for back and bis (59 min.). My left bicep feels really sore. The double wave load on the barbell curls was a killer for me.

Congratulations, Josie! I bet you just have the month of June left. The fiscal year begins in July, and June 30 was my last day a year ago.

Another doozie of a thunderstorm last night! I guess we are fortunate because there was no power outage for us. But our driveway is a mess--again!

Deb, I think that's what this woman does--4 hours, then up for an hour, then another four hours. Based on research into how we slept in the Middle Ages. Maybe we should all read Chaucer by candlelight during that hour of wakefulness--hah! She actually cites the Wife of Bath as exemplary of first and second sleep. The thing she doesn't mention about the Wife of Bath is that she was probably having sex during that hour. She is a very raunchy character who boasts about all of her marriages.

Lori, I don't think I could run with ankle weights on. Let me know what you think of disk 21. I am really sore in my biceps.

Valerie, you have so many vacations and they always sound so active--are you sure they aren't your work? Just kidding.

Judy, my mom had someone from VNA come in twice a week for a bit of light housekeeping and to help her in the shower. She lived in a nice little apartment until she died at 92. My mom loved to cook and was a good cook, so she took care of that easily.
 
sometimes you can find someone like a CNA to help with home care, especially for help in the shower or hair washing. My mother is getting help from a CNA and also a physical therapist who comes weekly to help her with walking. family can do laundry and shopping, but usually don't want to get into very personal duties, like bathing. better to have someone hired for that.

Yes, our vacations are usually quite physical.... to me, vacation means loads of exercise. I've never been much for shopping or beach sitting. but DH has so much time off this spring we may need to back off a little!. I knew he'd have more time than usual, but it seems like more vacation than work.

Have to do something yet today. I took a rest day yesterday.
 
Good evening ladies!

Well I did not sleep well last night either so I know how you feel Deb. no workout this morning or at lunch. Felt like falling asleep driving home too. Hate that feeling. Got home settled in grabbed my Ipad and started reading everyone's post....next thing you know after reading Garance's post about disc 21 well it motivated me to just do it and I did! Thanks Garance!!!! And yes wow! Felt those double waves on the barbell curls. I really liked this disc a lot but boy I went to failure real quick at the end.

When I run with ankle weights they are only 1lb and I hardly feel them at all until I did some front kicks. The girls at work are at least 10 years younger than me or I am old enough to be their mother! I crack them up for sure...but they all say they hope they have the energy I have when they get to my age. I have also inspired a few to workout that never did before and they are all looking great.

Judy...great that you liked Cycle Max. It really is a good workout just not as upbeat. Nice to have it to alternate. Never thought to check out Amazon to download. Thanks for the idea.

Valerie...I am the same way with my alarm clock and always have been. The slightest bit of light will keep me awake. I turn my clock face down and I make my husband turn his backwards. Glad to know I am not the only one like this!!!!

Have a great night!
 
Good morning and Happy Friday!! ( for those of us unlucy ones that have to still work!)

Why do the shorter weeks feel so much longer? Great minds want to know..

Valerie, I slept ok, John got up with the dogs at 4:30...I dozed a bit and got up at 5:15. I did read about the light source thing too, and we do have a digital alarm clock/radio that has a large number lit up face that can be turned down...I think I have to check it out...Hope the weather turns out good for your mini vacation..

Judy, that's strange how that rented version of CycleMax is set up...but at least you get to try it out and decide whether or not to purchase it....I still like DVD's for the premixes...sometimes a shorter workout is all I would like to do...

Garance, LOL about the 4 hour sleep pattern, and what to do in the mid time...Hopefully the rain is done for the week, we had storms Tuesday and rain Wednesday...yesterday was great...your DH should be able to get the hay done?

Lori, that's great about the workouts you have started at your office...and to get some to do exercise that had never done it before it awesome!

Hi Josie!

Work, no agility tonight and so glad it's Friday and no committments this weekend at all...YAY!

Take care,
 
Lori, thanks for the clock info! I thought I was being a little crazy but it makes a huge difference to me. at first I turned the brightness down but it still bothered me, so now I put it face down and it's much better. I can't sleep if it's light out, can't nap no matter how tired I am.
Fantastic that you've motivated others to start exercising. I got my neighbor to start cycling. both she and her husband do it now and have for years. she had some aches and pains at first, but I gave her some suggestions and said 'just do it anyway" and she did. it's strange how once people get off the couch they can do much more than they imagined. I don't think either will ever do big distances but they go often and enjoy it. I've had less success with family, who resolutely stay connected to their couches.

I did cardio supersets last night in addition to yoga yesterday morning.

I haven't done Cyclemax for quite a while. now that it's warm enough, we ride our road bikes or mt bikes often so I don't use the spin bike that much. I use it more in winter when outdoor cycling is unpleasant. DH uses it a few times a week and he likes Ride better but uses both.

Judy, that is a long time on a spin bike. I can ride outdoors for hours but the spin bike
hour seems really long to me, and I'm glad to be done. something about the posture is still hard for me.
 
Hi Everyone,

Last night I did X-Train Chest, Back & Shoulders with the bonus Core 1. I haven’t decided if I am going to do cardio this morning or take a rest day. I might do a short walk/run as it looks nice out. It got up to 90 yesterday and was very humid. We had thunderstorms in the evening so it cooled off a little.

Deb- I know what you mean about being exhausted but not able to sleep. I’m trying to go to bed earlier since I have a bad habit of staying up too late.

I can’t imagine FIL ever deciding to go to assisted living like your MIL did. I think that is really good that she made the decision, definitely not your average aging parent, as you said. I’m afraid that my FIL will never be able to make a decision like that. I hate to say it, but he has been showing signs of dementia and his thinking has been off for a few years now. Probably the best we can do is hope to keep him in his home until he gets to the point that he is no longer safe and has to go somewhere else. I feel so bad for DH, as he is having a hard time watching his father decline. At least we managed to get FIL to have a life alert system set up so if he falls or needs medical help he can press a button (he wears a life alert necklace).

Valerie-I used to think an hour on an indoor bike was a long time, but since I moved to Michigan I switched from more outdoor riding to more indoor riding. This past December I did the “Spinerval Challenge”, which was kind of like a month long rotation of Spinerval cycling DVDs that built up to the “Hardcore 100”, a 5.5 hour session (3 DVDs). I did that on Jan. 1 and rode 93 miles on my spin bike. DH won’t do any indoor cardio, and he really pays for it, as he gets completely deconditioned over the winter and has to start over every spring. I would love to get him on an indoor program so that he could stay fit all year.

I agree about getting a CNA or in home help for FIL. He has good and bad days, but I think that he is getting close to the point where the bad days are outnumbering the good ones and he will need more care than we can give. As of now, DH and I do his laundry, all of the yard maintenance, clean his bathroom (he won’t let us clean anywhere else in the house, as he has hoarding issues), prepare his medicine tray (he takes 11 prescriptions divided into 4 daily doses). We have 2 weeks’ worth set up at a time. He prepares his own food (from what I can see he only eats canned soup and cookies). We tried meals on wheels for him but he was just letting them pile up and not eating them so we cancelled it. And recently we started cutting his hair because he won’t go to the barber anymore. SIL lives in Colorado and only gets back here a couple of times a year, if that. She has somewhat detached herself from the situation and in all honesty when she does visit, she just acts like she is on vacation and will not do any of the work involved in helping her dad. That is all I'm going to say about that :(

Garance-it sounds like you and Lori had a great arm workout! I am looking forward to doing STS. Not sure when I will start, but thinking of later in the summer. I’m going to get it the next time it is the deal of the day. I should have gotten it the last time, but I wasn’t completely sure that I would do it. Now after doing X-Train for a couple of weeks, I am sure that I want to do the STS program.

Lori-I have never tried running with ankle weights! I have been using the weighted gloves for my upper body workouts and really like them.
Hi to Josie!

Have a great weekend!




Judy
 
Judy, you will love STS! I want to do it again but need to have a longer time stretch uninterrupted. DH has a few disks from it that he repeats as his basic upper body workout. 93 miles on a spin bike is incredible. DH and I used to go thru the "get back in shape' routine every spring, and got tired of it. decided it was easier to buy equipment and "maintain" rather than "rebuild" every spring. some xc ski areas are experimenting with big fat tire bikes used on snow. apparently few younger people are taking up xc skiing, and they're looking for a way to attract users. maybe your DH would like to mt bike on snow!

the hoarding issue is alive and well in my mothers house as well. it complicates everything. piles of stuff everywhere, and all mixed together so you can't assume a stack of greeting cards won't have bank statements mixed in. My brother has the hoarding issue too, and since he is caring for her, it won't get resolved any time soon. I've been told my sister's house is a mess too.
FIL wanted to stay in his house... he needed surgery (I forget for what) and worked like a maniac at physical therapy to get mobile enough to go home, and then promptly sat down and did zero after that. sat in a wheelchair and was able to transfer himself to the toilet, and not much else. he ended up dying at home after a drawn out process. one son was out of work and ended up spending a LOT of time helping them through the process. MIL did almost exactly the same thing less than 2 years later. they had a family friend who works as a health care aid. they hired him to spend many hours a week with both driving, shopping, cooking, laundry.
Everyone pitched in to help but it wasn't an easy time.

Lynda....we just finished the first season of "Enlightened". I'm at loss for the right words to describe Laura Dern's character. (She drives DH crazy.) she charges ahead like a bull in a china shop, usually with good intentions but such a ditz! oblivious to the impact she is having on everyone around her. so clueless and brash in how she's affecting ( and offending) other people. her speech patterns make me think of a lot of young women I hear talking but I don't know how to describe it. frantic? well intentioned, awkward, clumsy new age-y ditziness? Help me out here, please. I've never watched The Office...
 
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Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did All Out Low Impact HIIT, premix 1 which includes core 1 (49:22). I also went for a long walk last night with Max

HHH here today and tomorrow. DH decided to risk "the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm" (aren't weathermen helpful?) and cut a few acres. So far, so good, but I closed all of our windows before I left the house.

Valerie, yes, she's a total ditz, but wait until you see the second season. She manages something of a coup on dastardly corporate America. The problem is that all of the characters have issues--how about her boss? her former husband? She's gone through some kind of New Age therapy--think Deepak Chopra--and is "enlightened," the secular form of being a born again Christian, and she wants to make the world a better place. Interesting that your DH cannot stand her. I go crazy with Skylar on Breaking Bad. You have to admit that meddlers are always provocateurs and they inevitably create plot twists. In Game of Thrones, it's probably Cersei who gets the prize for her political intrigues.

Lori, I started with a 30 lb. barbell, went up to 32.5, then up to 35. The second round I could barely do 6 reps on the 35 lbs. My biceps are still sore.

Judy, you will really feel improvements when you do STS. I'm up to 30 lbs. on one arm rows, and a 45 lb. barbell on rows for the back.

Hi to Deb and Josie!
 
Hi Ladies,

No workout today, it’s my day off. Tomorrow I plan on running with my friend 3.5 miles and then doing my pure cardio DVD. Sunday I need to do the Plyio cardio DVD.

We are going out to dinner tonight and a graduation party tomorrow. I have been busy cleaning my files and getting rid of old things at the office.

Deb, my last day is June 27th.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Josie
 
Good evening ladies!!

Was so beautiful here this morning I decided to take Chester for a 5AM walk and we both loved it. Extremely hot here today so no workout out tonight. I do not have central air so it is way to hot to workout. I have a large wall a/c that is probably older than me. Just turned it on and it is cranking.

In the morning the plan is to walk Chester early, then do Ride when I come back.

Judy...good for you for getting STS. I noticed it was the DOD and what a great buy. You will love it. 93 miles on a spin bike. When I hit 50 mins I am pretty much done. That seems to be the time for me. Running with ankle weights is not for everyone. They are only 1lb and I really do not notice them. I only use them on my TM and doing the leslie sansone dvd as I run in place instead of walking. Don't think I would use them if I was running outside. I also use weighted gloves with some of my cardio and all of my weight workouts. The are awesome for Hardstrikes.

Josie... 27 days! Nice!!! Good luck on your run tomorrow. I really need to look at insanity again. Perhaps this will be sunday's workout. I will let you know.

Garance...for curls I am similar to you. Started with 30 then 32 then 34. And yes I also went to failure at 7. I tried for 8 but that was not happening. I am also using 30 for one arm rows. And for the first time since I do not know when my bis are sore! My legs were sore too after disc 20 and I was really surprised with that. Hard to believe a year ago I hated and never used weights!

Deb...the girls just bought Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs and everyone is excited about trying this out. The workouts are about 30 mins so time wise is perfect. I am not a fan of Zumba but this looked like fun.

Valerie..I knew you would like that about my clock. You are the only person I know that is like me. My husband thinks I am a nut! I have a eye mask I need to wear if I need sleep during the day.

Have a great night!
 
Hi Everyone,

I’m really excited about STS! I was so surprised to see it was the deal of the day!

Tonight I did X-Train Legs, Premix 1-Legs with rear delts, then Core Max workout 1.

Valerie-that’s funny that you mention mountain biking on snow. Chris (DH) has been talking about winter biking and we were looking at the snow bikes last winter at REI. Maybe next we winter he can try it out.

The hoarding does make things challenging. Piles of paper everywhere. Stacks of books and records all over. The garage is filled from the floor to the ceiling, as is the basement. At least FIL is no longer going to garage sales and bringing more stuff home. FIL has also been very sedentary since he came home from the convalescent center. He spends most of his time sitting in his recliner watching TV and sleeping. He still drives, in fact just got his license renewed. He doesn’t go far from home though and DH takes him to all of his doctor’s appts.

Garance-I’ll have to get a barbell set for STS, maybe I’ll look for one this weekend. Also, I need a few more dumbbells. 30 lbs for 1 arm rows is pretty good! I hope to get up to that.

Lori- running with 1 lb weights might not be too bad, although I wouldn’t do it outside either. I’m going to try Hard Strikes with the weighted gloves.
It took me a long time to work up to the 5.5 hour spinning session. Now I try to do 1 long (2-3 hours) ride a month, but most of my rides are around an hour or so. With summer here, I’ll be doing more outside and probably not as much indoor cycling.

Josie-have a great run tomorrow!

Hi to Deb!

Good Night,

Judy
 
Hey there and Happy Saturday!

Judy, nice timing on the STS deal! Sweet! :) Look at the Troy Lite barbell set..it's the one Cathe uses and changing the plates are the easiest. I have had 2 other types and they were a pain to change. I keep those bars set at a particular weight so I can just use them when I need that weight.

Lori, I have the same problem with the alarm clock...mine has an adjustment that lets you dim it somewhat, but then I can't see what time it is when it's light out! Always something right? LOL.. You really got those girls going! From what I have seen, anything with Shaunn T is a tough workout..

Hi to Valerie and Lynda & Josie,

Agility class, then stuff around here for the rest of the weekend....next weekend is the big trial and I have Keegen entered for 2 days out of the 3....hopefully he is as good as he was in April...

Have a great weekend!
 
Judy this is the first year I've read about bikes for snow. there's a big xc ski area and they were testing them this year to see how compatible bikes were with skiers and snowshoers. I never heard any outcome. it's a groomed area so soft snow gets flattened into corduroy which is I guess "rideable" with very big underinflated tires. mt bikers love terrain challenges. we tried our bikes on a beach but the sand was too soft and we just spun in place. I'd think ungroomed snow would be like that. a new way to stay in shape in winter.

I never ever considered riding a spin bike for long periods like that. I'm doing well to make it an hour. outdoors with the scenery changing it's no problem, but indoors I don't think I could do it.

Deb, my clock dims but not enough. it's easy to rotate it face down or set something in front or over it to block it the glow. it doesn't take long to "teach" your arm how to reach over and flip it or move it. I was amazed at how much of a factor that little bitty glowing light turned out to be.

DH came home early yesterday so I missed my workout as I was going to do it from 4-5.

We bought a gas grill the other day. I haven't had one in a long time. Any suggestions I feel like I've forgotten everything. cleaning, keeping things from sticking?
 
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