Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 9/19

[Traildoggie]

good morning.

yesterday we did some shopping. our snow fence has some major problems and needs repair. way too windy yesterday to do anything so maybe today. the wind here is relentless. we have attic access opening in the garage ceiling sealed off with a ton of insulation on top. the whole thing got raised up by the wind blowing across the roofline causing air pressure problems in the attic. we put a bracket on the cover so it doesn't get displaced again.
yesterday I did x train burn sets ch, back and core 1 didn't start soon enough to do the whole thing but this was enough. I need padding! using a step as a bench and its so awfully HARD to lie on. I used 15, 20, 25 lb weights for most of it. I have two yoga mats on the floor but neither has any cushion. that's too hard too. its funny, our other house we have a concrete floor with wood look laminate on top and it feels positively cushy compared to this. I guess it was both surfaces feeling so unforgiving that got my attention. I will try a bath towel for the time being and look for a floor mat with some cush to it. DH is happily using the new elliptical. it is much harder to use than our old one. the old one he was exercising at level 12 and this one level 6 is killer.

 

[FitGran]

Today I did a light yoga workout as usual. I find that I need more recovery time between workouts and yoga helps me with that.

Valerie, the step bench is definitely hard and the ridges are not comfortable. I have an SPRI mat that I use when lying down on the step. It’s the first mat that I bought when I started exercising at home. I have tried a towel, which is better than nothing at all, but it doesn’t provide the cushioning that I want. The SPRI mat is too thick for push-ups, but it provides great cushioning for my knees, back, and shoulders. Cathe also has a small mat for use on the step with her new items.

Hello to everyone and I hope that you are having a wonderful day.

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

I’m back home! It was a very long day. Bad choices made that on any other day wouldn’t have been. I left Marquette at 7:15 to get to the place I wanted breakfast at when they opened at 8 and that was fine. But then as I headed east again, the sun was getting high enough to cause issues. My visor is no where near low enough to block it until it’s quite High, so I decided to drive through the refuge at Seney. And while that was fine, I forgot when I did it that it was Sunday. Left there, and I had to decide to go back north to the highway I prefer, or south to the one I don’t like. I opted south again forgetting it was Sunday. Any other day those choices would have been fine, but Sunday is when all the weekend travelers head home from the UP. I Got to St. Ignace and the line of traffic to get on the bridge was 1 1/2-2 miles long and stopped more than going. You get the people staying in the left lane who want to take cuts, and even when you do get to the exit, you have to merge with the traffic on I-75. It took me over an hour to get to the toll booths. Usually there aren’t more than a couple vehicles in front of me at the booths. So, by driving through the refuge and getting stuck in line, I added two self inflicted hours to my drive. Though the drive through the refuge was nice and relaxing.

Yesterday, Derek and I went and hiked Hogback. Pretty challenging. Going to try to add pics. In places the path is nothing but rocks, others it’s big rocks and those of course are during the steeper part. Took us an hour each way, I quite liked seeing that a pretty hefty number of the people we passed were in my age range. We discussed the fact that while we saw teens and 20’s and 50+ the group in the middle seemed almost absent. Friday when I got up there and I went and walked along the bay for a little over an hour. Felt I was lacking a dog since most walkers had them. LOL And they were all very well behaved. It’s a great path and runs for 19 miles along the bay.

Valerie, I’m thinking about adding Cathe’s new step mat to my Christmas list. I’ve used mine, which is cushy, but way longer than the step and it gets in the way.

The last two pics are sideways and I can't get them to change. Those are pics of the actual trail. My legs were a bit short and I had to really stretch and time and use small trees to haul myself up.

 

[Traildoggie]

I have an extra runner rug with rubber backing I put between my two yoga mats. will see if that works temporarily.
I saw that mat cathe is selling for the step. I wonder how well it works if you change the step to an incline. I was going to try a thick towel next time. plenty of time to think about it as I dont get things delivered here. takes too long unless you order way ahead.

cathy how did you get pictures to mount here? I only did it once and it was an awful process but long ago.

I fully understand about the visor not being anywhere near low enough! DH cant understand why I complain about that. I always always drive with the visor down and always have.

today we did a big repair project on our snow fences. its a lot of work to haul everything around and steth out the metal fence and then attach plastic snow fence to it. the wind here tears everything apart. the first wire fence we tried came apart in a year from the relentless wind so we got something sturdier. of course then its much heavier and harder to straighten out and attach to posts but will probably hold up for a few years.
I have a beach towel that doubled will dover the top of the step nicely will see if its soft enough. I dont want to get too much "stuff" in the room,.

cathy this is I'm sure variable. here, here in the northwest there are state patrol troopers who post useful traffic info on twitter. I'm not a big fan of twitter, but for traffic info its good locally and for interstate hwy issues. we have a state traffic report (WSDOT) that shows backups and traffic info , but the twitter feed often has things hours earlier. important things, like the interstate being closed by a bad wreck or a wildfire. it is not 100% for sure. it varies with the personnel on duty at the time. it's also something I use as passenger but not useful if I'm driving.

 

[FitGran]

This morning I did Rev’d Up Rumble+the Extended Stretch. That was 51 minutes and 303 calories burned. My average heart rate was 123 and maximum heart rate was 161.

Cathy, what an unfortunate series of mishaps on your trip home. At least you made it safely.

Valerie, you could fold your yoga mat in half to try on the step. I don’t have a problem with either mat staying in place in the incline position.

Hello to Diane Sue and Judy.

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

I did Boxing Hiit Express this morning. Starting to get things ready to go to my sisters as I'm taking some of my food along. Plus did laundry, so I can pack tonight as I'm shopping tomorrow. Probably no more official workouts till next week. But, I'll get in at least 3-4 hikes, plus dog walks a couple times a day.

Valerie I have an app that shows all the highway info for Michigan. Speeds, accidents, construction etc. I knew very well that there are long backups on Sundays during the season, I just, in the moment, forgot it was Sunday. You can bet that won't happen again! Sounds like putting up that fence is a heck of a workout!

Carolyn great job with Rev'd up Rumble and extended stretch.

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

Oh Valerie, you asked about pics. I’ve had a really hard time in the past. This time I put them on my lap top and was able to adjust the size. I find the only way they will load for me is if I choose the smallest size. Why two went sideways on me, I have no idea.

 

[Traildoggie]

cathy I'm a klutz with pics. dh has the laptop. I dont use it much and we don't have any pics there. or at least I dont think we do. I remember using a picture storage service or something? trail something? it sized things down so they were usable. well ..........congrats on done getting it done, sideways or not.

I have one yoga mat that's Manduka brand. it has absolutely zero cushioning. its bigger than the average matt too. DH got it for me but I never liked it. it doesn't slide on the floor so good for staying in place, but it's HARD as concrete . My other mat is more cushiony but even the two together are unpleasant and I'm not that needy. I'll see how it works with a thin rug in between. I have thermarest pads we used for backpacking but they seem too cushiony and slide like crazy on the hard floor..

I have a friend Im trying to motivate into regular workouts. she is having knee issues so i'm thinking of workouts with resistance tubing or bands. Travel fit? I didn't buy the boss bands series. is it reasonable for a newbie? does it have the usual shorter premixes? I'm sure she doesn't have weights but might buy some bands. she has tried and failed to keep up a routine before. I though of cathe and kelly coffee meyer, the Start Here dvd. and of course utube but not sure of her electronics. I personally find dvds much easier and more flexible than streaming. she would not sign up anything long term since she hasn't stuck with anything before. ideas? TIA.

 

[WD]

This morning I did CDorner Intermediate Step #147, 34 minutes, 207 calories, 3,315 steps. I followed this with her 10 minute post step workout stretch, 17 calories. That was all I had time for. I got interruptions with the doorbell as the electric people were needing in my yard and they were digging up behind the back fence getting ready for building houses. I guess we have all of the boxes in our back yard and they had to dig up and move our rock in the planter to put a line in and then put the rock all back. Gertie couldn't go outside which was inconvenient. We had a vet appointment with our new holistic vet. Much closer and he seems nice. Nothing big there, she is healthy. When I told him the heargard often makes her sick and comes back up, he gave her a year injection and said it goes through the system slowly over a year and is less likely to make her sick.

Cathy, great pictures. I always have problems with sizing and getting pictures up. I do usually put them on the laptop and resize first. It is kind of a pain.

 

[FitGran]

Today I did Total Body Giant Sets, a timesaver premix. My time was 38 minutes with 147 calories burned. My average heart rate was 109 and maximum heart rate was 133.

I hope that everyone is having a good day.

 

[FitGran]

Valerie, I just saw your question about band workouts for your friend. I would not recommend Boss Bands Total Body or the Glutes and Core for a beginner. They are great workouts but are challenging in my opinion. I actually think that you would like the Total body for yourself for the upper body section. LiTE Body Weight and Bands or ICE To the Mat Legs and Glutes might be better options.

 

[Traildoggie]

carolyn thanks for your thoughts. I think most cathe is too hard for what she might be able to do. I'm in decent shape but some of cathe is too much for me to take on anymore. I can do serious weights but the high intensity cardio with jumping is off the menu now. my friend has started things before but never kept going so I don't want to recommend anything intimidating. I'm going to look on utube and see if I can find anything. I think 15 minutes of something would be a good goal for her. nothing with squats lunges, etc, I think some simple upper body moves and some core would be plenty to start with.

we did a hike today with our neighbor. 5 hours up and back down. it as absolutely lovely out. cold to begin with with patches of snow, and gorgeous blue sky and leaves changing color. we were sure we found moose tacks and then bear tracks but also a large number of other prints. we were guessing elk? they were cows. there is a big ranch up near the area and they must have lost some cows up in higher elevation. they wandered over toward us so absolutely no doubt. we decided to call them black elk. what a let down when you think a herd of elk is lurking in the trees

 

[FitGran]

Good morning. Today I did P30 Low Impact HiiT which was 31 minutes and 196 calories burned. Average heart rate was 126 and maximum heart rate was 150.

Valerie, Jessica Smith’s Walk Strong dvds would be great for a beginner. She also has free short workouts on YouTube that your friend could try. The dvds are available on Amazon.

Hello to Diane Sue, Cathy, and Judy. Have a wonderful day everyone.

 

[irongrl]

Hi Everyone,

Monday I took a rest day and did a Yin Yoga session. I also spent some time afterwards using the foam roller and stretching. I really needed that. Yesterday I did Ramped Up Upper Body after work. Today I did XTrain Cardio Leg Blast and a short Peloton ride. It's getting cooler here and it's been raining for the past two days. Summer is definitely over.

Carolyn-Great job with Rev'd up Rumble, Total Body Giant Sets and P30 Low Impact HiiT.

Valerie-Great job with the hike. I hope you can find some workouts that will be good for your friend. I agree with Carolyn about Jessica Smith's WS dvds being great for a beginner.

Diane Sue-Great job with the CDorner Intermediate Step workout.

Cathy-Great photos! That hike sounds really nice. Interesting about the age range of the people you saw. It's great that so many over 50's were out there.

Have a great week!

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

Hi from North Carolina! I got here yesterday. First half of the drive, 6 hours, was in light to moderate rain. I had woken up at 3 a.m. and looked at the radar and went &*$%! Reset my alarm from 5-5:30. Woke up and decided that the radar looked all green for the times I would be headed down through MI and IN, and decided to head out at 6. Rain ended just this side of Lexington KY which was good, because the last 6 hours were the more challenging with all the ups and downs and curves. If anyone has driven 75 south you know that when you hit TN you start climbing and climbing for miles. My Yaris did it like a champ! The views were gorgeous. I could have done without the semis though. Took me almost exactly to the minute 12 hours to get here. We're going to go into town today and check out some things, and I think she said maybe stop at the falls that is between here and town.

Valerie I hope you find something for your friend. The thing with Cathe's band workouts, is that you'd really need both the Boss Bands and the regular bands because they do different things and the boss bands won't work for a lot of portions of the older band workouts. I love the Black Elk. Our local township page regularly has posts for loose animals but they are generally returned home as soon as someone can get a trailer to them. A lot trickier to return them, in your landscape.

Great job keeping up the workouts everyone!

 

[Traildoggie]

Cathy....the only time I did that drive was before the interstate was built so its been a while! strong work getting up and rolling early . rain does make it a little more challenging. our drive to and from MT is in the 12 hour range so I understand what a delight that kind of day is. in decent weather we break up the drive by camping and riding somewhere for a few hours. this trip we had the camper so we didnt have to do anything but buy gas and roll on, no stops for food or bathrooms. .
yesterday we did a bunch of driving but all our potential destinations were all WAY too busy and different from what we expected so we ended up back at home after a frustrating day. yellowstone NP is repaving roads ( endless process) so we ended up in a monumental traffic jam with one lane of the 2 lane road closed. still peak tourist season. not a good day.

this ranch has tons of different kinds of beef cows ..... brown, white with long horns , black. most seemed herded back down out of the high country for winter so these were a few rogue critters. we've seen cattle in the same fields with grizzly bears, with everyone minding their own business, so seeing cows and grizzly bear tracks in the snow in the same area is pretty normal here. along with moose tracks. we did see a big bull moose yesterday in our travels. not from close up but a huge guy with massive antlers. probably what all those ATV people were looking for.

I advised my friend to look at jessica smith. I dont know what equipment she owns, if any. she's my age (OLD) so I doubt she wants to invest in a lot of gear but I thought resistance bands with handles might be a good tool. boss bands seems like overkill for her so not recommending. a program already set up with specific exercises showing good form is much better than trying to figure out something on your own and easier to stick with.

 

[FitGran]

This morning I did Boss Bands Glutes and Core, no floor work premix. My time was 37 minutes and 153 calories burned. Average heart rate was 112 and maximum heart rate was 142. Cathe and team used the green medium strength loop, but I lowered mine to the orange after about 10 minutes. It was just too hard for me to do the moves with the green loop.

Judy, great job with Yin Yoga, Ramped Up Upper Body, Cardio Leg Blast, and the Peloton ride. I haven’t done a Yin Yoga in quite a while. I need to find one that is shorter than Travis Eliot’s 55 minutes.

Cathy, I’m glad that you made it to NC safely. Driving on the highway in rain is no fun. You must be in western NC with the mountains and beautiful views.

Valerie, Jessica Smith is a good choice for a beginner and she doesn’t use a lot of equipment. Her mother, Debbie, is on the dvds with her and she shows easier modifications, although none of Jessica’s moves are difficult. Debbie might use 5# dumbbells and Jessica 8#, but not a lot of dumbbells are needed for her strength workouts. I remember Jessica saying once that Debbie has knee issues and she adjusts her moves for that.

Waving hello to Diane Sue.

 

[FitGran]

Valerie, if you look at the video clip from Today’s Cathe Live you can see how the Boss Bands and Loops are used in the workouts.

 

[Traildoggie]

I did look at the clip carolyn. no way could she do that. not beginner moves. I'm having a challenge getting her to do anything! of my three long term friends she's the only one who there is even a slight chance of motivating. I think (now) she has no gear at all. she went to a gym at one time and worked with a personal trainer but that was long ago. different mind sets...I found a gym enormous motivation to figure out how to do things at home! ugh all those people sweating all over everything, standing in a line to get what you needed. no way. I cannot stand ear buds .... anything in my ears at all. they hurt, never fit so I had to listen to all the noise from other people. I like music but not right in my ears. always hated the sensation. whatever. were hiking again today.

yesterday we did a mt bike. uphill for 4 miles, ate lunch, and then dh got on his bike to find the tire flat. totally flat, not just soft. so we had to walk/roll it back downhill and then some illegal ATV's zoomed by not even slowing down on a narrow rough gravel road . 8 of them. reckless assholes. the trail is closed to them after mid september but more arrogant jerks who think the rules apply only to other people. got their plates and reported them to the forest service personnel who were near by. hopefully they got ticketed. that revenge helped a little with losing our downhill fun ride. they get the trail for the summer and its clearly posted at the trailhead, closed to motorized after sept 14 but maybe they cant read? jerks . hope it cost them a few bucks. .

 

[FitGran]

Today I did P30 Perfect Pump Upper Body. That was 34 minutes and 166 calories burned, average heart rate 120 and maximum heart rate 155.

Valerie, I hope that your friend can find something that you likes. My gym was small and family oriented. I did aerobics classes and my husband played racquetball. The owners sold to a large national gym in the early 2000’s which is when I stopped going. The large gyms are a totally different experience, one that I didn’t enjoy.

Have a wonderful day everyone.