We're In This Together **APRIL**

Hi everyone :)

Man, my energy level is at 0 right now. TTOTM always gets me bad regardless of how well I eat or how often I exercise.

Today's workout is supposed to be 4DS bootcamp (cardio only). I really love that one. We'll see how I feel at 8pm :(.

Colleen
Enjoy your weekend!
I may have a solution to help with your little "accidents".
I have been pregnant a total of 8 times with only one live birth (Izabella obviously). Therefor my pelvic floor and bladder is not what it used to be. During several ultrasounds, I have had the pleasure of having to endure both obstetrical (full bladder, external) & transvaginal (empty bladder, internal) back/back. To ensure my transvaginal was successfully done, I had to fully empty my bladder (which I'm sure you know is very difficult after downing 1L. of water for an ultrasound). The radiologists always told me after I was done urinating, to wait a few seconds/minutes. After that, tilt your pelvis slightly forward. This will encourage the bladder to empty more. I use this method before workout out, and it does wonders. Sometimes I will even wait a few minutes after urinating, go put my workout clothes on, fill up my water bottle, get my room set-up, and then go back to the washroom. I rarely have accidents anymore (but hey sometimes they can't be stopped regardless). HTH!
Jen
I'm sorry you have to mow the lawn and landscape. It's hard work.
Gas prices are high here. $1.20-$1.35. Canada has always been very high though. No surprise.
I hope your job opportunity turns into a full-time position. I'm rooting for ya!


Have a great day :)
 
Jen - I am very much reading Trixxo's play by play of the road trip also. That sounds like good news to be partnering with another company for the internship. It will be just one more way to get you out there. Watch before you know it you will have multiple offers. I too walked yesterday it was fairly nice weather (which for us means it's not raining).

Turns out after I did Pyramid Upper Body I was already feeling it in my lats, then I remembered for Cardio Kicks on the previous day I used 1 pound hand weights. Who would have thought? The rest of my UB is sore particularly my biceps. Yesterday I was suppose to do Low Impact Challenge. But I wanted to re-visit Imax 3 so I could keep working on the choreography. That one is tough tough. I quit about 35 min in : ( Those jacks on/off the step make me have bladder issues and I didn't even push my kids out (c-section). So how do you explain that?

I also did Yoga Meltdown Phase 1 which I flubbed a little on because my UB was so sore. But I definitely prefer that kind of yoga. Thanks Nat

Today is my last workout of STS/LIC. Yippee, its CSS.

Oh and I got my cycling shoes which I wear a 7-7 1/2 normally. However, I decided to order an 8 just because I wanted to make sure they were plently big. Turns out with the conversion chart, I actually ordered a 10. So they are clown shoes. I don't know how I managed to screw up that badly.

We had buffalo burgers last night and they were absolutely delish. If you guys haven't tried buffalo it's fantastic. But don't get the kind in the Kryo pack. Get the freshly ground stuff.

Your day yesterday sounds very nice Nat, I'm sorry your not 100% today.

Hope your weekend is going good Colleen.

Sarah
 
Good morning ladies :)

Yesterday's workout was 4DS bootcamp (cardio only 30min) + Intensity bootcamp section (15min). My mom and sis came over and of course they insisted on fast food crap for dinner. We had Mary Browns chicken, fries, coleslaw and gravy. It was very fresh and yummy. I really needed that bootcamp to burn off some of the cals :p.

Today is supposed to be a rest day, but I may visit Yoga Meltdown as Sarah has me wanting to do it now. I forgot how much I liked it. TBL Weight Loss Yoga is still my ultimate fav w/Bob Harper. Doing all 3 levels is 60min and you get an incredible total body workout without ever leaving the ground. Those side plank holds make me sweat like crazy. I really feel Bob is in his element with yoga. He has the body to prove it ;)

Jen
Thanks for starting that thread over in OD. I'm really enjoying Trixoo's play by play of the RT. She is super cool to be doing that. Hopefully one day I can experience a RT before Cathe decides she's done with them. Perhaps next year I can convince someone to drive over with me and save the air fare. I should start putting aside some money now ;).
Sarah
Imax3 is so tough physically and psychologically. You really have to go to a "happy place" within your mind while doing it. Even 35min probably gave you an incredible sweat. Can you imagine if one day Cathe made an Imax4??
I'm glad you liked Meltdown. Jillian puts a nice twist on Yoga.
OMG the shoes! Can you exchange them? That's why I hate ordering shoes on-line. I did it once and they were of course too big and I got lazy and never return them.
The buffalo burgers sound fantastic. I would so love to try one of those! Speaking of food, I wonder if the RT has any desserts available (no not fruit). I would probably be the only one there scoping the buffet table for a little tart or pie :eek:.

Have a great day everyone :)
 
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Hello Friends.
For Cathe, it makes sense she gets out and goes on the road. Her club slows down plus purchasing drops when the weather gets warm. Stabilizing income and meeting her customers is a win/win for everyone.
Yes, I have enjoyed Trixoo too. Plus, Cathe's postings on FB. Did you hear the song that was played for Cathe?
CeciFit from Toronto is sending me Tracey Staehle's workout. She read my posts and wanted to unload some DVDs so she contacted me since she knows I am unemployed.
Do you know her?
Time to take a nap.

BBL
 
Hey girls! I'm back!

It was so stressful!:( I didn't realize that there was construction at OshKosh that wouldn't allow me to get on the highway I needed to get to Appleton and there were no detour signs that showed me how to get to it. I wound up driving around OshKosh for over an hour totally lost. OshKosh put in tons and tons of those stupid round-abouts all over the city. Not only were they roundabouts but they were double laned ones. I'd never driven through one before! There were lanes and arrows and yield signs and cars all over the frickin place! I was less stressed when I drove into downtown Chicago!:mad::confused: It's a miracle I didn't get into a car accident! After asking two different people how to get to the damn highway I finally got back on track. Then I get there and I can't get everybody's posts to my phone like usual (withdrawal!) and I was hit with major insomnia (only got about 3 hours of sleep last night). The food was bad, the corporate speeches excruciating (the last two hours felt like two days!) and I missed Mark and the kids. It just plain sucked all around.:( Thank God I am home!!

No workouts for me this weekend and I won't get it in tomorrow either.:( I'm looking forward to getting back on track Tuesday. This is my STS week so I'll be focusing on week 2 of Meso 2 with straight cardio. I can't wait! I noticed I tend to do a lot more high impact during my circuit weeks and I can tell it in my knees. I can't wait until the kids are out of school, too. I'm getting tired of trying to squeeze my workouts in before I have to get Dylan on the bus. It'll be nice to have carefree summertime again! :eek:

Thanks for the advice on the PF issues Natty! I'll have to try that. Newmarket sounds like a great city! I always thought it would be so nice to live in an area of the country where people are really into fitness. We aren't the worst in the country for lack of fitness and obesity but I certainly wouldn't call it a culture of healthy habits around here. People are always saying LaCrosse has a "drinking problem" which I would have to agree with. Healthy living isn't exactly on the top of the list but we do have a few colleges in town and you can often see the college students out running and such when the weather gets nicer. I've lived in worse places so I can't complain too much.

Oh, the weather is getting ominous outside. Very windy! I wonder if we're going to get thunderstorms tonight. Lots of tornadoes down south!:(

Good night girls!
 
Colleen-What a horrible trip. Hope you get time to recover from all the stress and the pains of corporate weekends. In MI, healthy is far from here too unless you live along the lakeshore (Lake MI) more than the others. Take your time getting back into it especially with lack of sleep.
Funny, Natty has a Mark, Colleen has a Mark and my new "friend" is Mark although on FB he goes by a different alias to protect himself b/c of his job.
Tomorrow, no Internship just errands and stuff to do here. 10 hours over the weekend. 3 hours to put on EXCEL plus doing another email piece Tuesday AM. Need to job hunt.
My graduation is 9 days away.
Time for bed, I'm getting tired.
 
Good morning :)

Yesterday I made more Lara Bars w/coconut, dark chocolate, almonds and apricot. Very tasty :p

Today's w/o is Intensity :eek:

Colleen
Your w/e sounded horrible and stressful. It's too bad it had to end up that way.
Funny you mentioned the round-about, we had one right near my house last year and yup, no one knew how to drive threw that damn thing! Well, I'm happy you got home safe and sound (although pretty tired). Take some much needed rest and recoup. I'm certain Mark and the kids were dying to have you back home too.
Regarding STS (lol I just typed in STD), will you ever be doing another rotation? I saw so many great ones I might want to try. One lady at my other chech-in asked me if I was going to pyramid down after I was done. I told her no way, I get bored and can't image doing strictly STS for 6 months! I need variety and 3 months is already long enough. I know why you broke free and did your own thing.
Jen
Bella is ok with her cut. She was good and let the lady do her thing, although she was making really angry and scared faces during it. I should post a pic! Too funny.
You mentioned weTopia and I meant to ask you about it? What is it again? Why is it so addictive?
So cool about that lady from TO is sending you DVD's. How very nice of her. I really liked the song, it was so funny! If I was Cathe, I would have cried. What a beautiful dedication.
I never knew about all that stuff w/Cathe and the RT. I love how she does that. I always wondered why she never chose to sell her DVD's at retailers though. She has her equipment sold at Wal-Mart :confused:.

Have a great day :)
 
Natty-your bars sound delicious.
WeTopia is a game on FB and it is addictive b/c it passively encourages you to keep building this beautiful little town with JOY. Once you hit levels, food and water goes to kids in need of food, water, homes and education. It allows to change things as the town gets bigger so that it makes some sense.
CeciFit works/lives in downtown Toronto. I think she may have been surprised on how much I knew about the city. It is nice of her, she remembered my posts about the program and not working.
Cathe chose her customers. Not many stores here will sell an advanced workouts like hers. Atlus decided to promote her and sell the equipment to retailers b/c the club step works for any step workout.

Job hunting today but slept in later than I wanted. Due to my frequent card of a place I don't frequent, I get a freebie lunch at Qdoba. Yes, I wll be visiting it again soon.
 
Oh man Natty those bars sound soooo good! I have to try doing that sometime! Do you add whey protein powder to the recipe? Dark chocolate and coconut are so yummy together!

I definitely am liking alternating the weeks of STS with circuits! I'm sort of pyramiding down like that lady on your other thread suggested since I'm doing Meso 2 on alternate weeks and will do the same thing with Meso 1. I plan to take a rest week in between those and I am hoping I can have the patience to make it a yoga week. We will see about that though! The last time I tried to do that I broke down at day 5 and did Butts and Guts!:eek: Hee!

The Cathe RT's sound like so much fun! I'm still not sure I'd be brave enough to work out in front of Cathe though! Especially since I'd be forced to wear shoes. I'll be tripping all over myself!:eek: I still want to do it someday though. It's on my bucket list for sure! One girl on the STS thread mentioned that Cathe has done RT at Disney in Orlando before. That would be perfect for us because then I could bring Mark and the kids! We could extend it into a family vacation and go to Disney and drive to the beaches if we want!

I've had that "Cathe kicked my butt" song in my head all morning! What an awesome little tribute!:D
 
Holy wind gusts! Almost up to 100km here! I hope there is no severe damage.

Today was Intensity, but being TTOTM for me, I got tired very easily and stopped right before the hiit section. My calves and legs were extremely fatigued. Every time I do high intensity cardio, my face looks like a tomato :eek:. I look really beat up.
I would love to go on a RT one day! I'm not sure how I would react to seeing Cathe in person.
Colleen
No, I don't add whey to the bars. You should make them with the kids! They are super easy! It only takes about 10-15min (longer when I let Bella help me). Honestly, they taste exactly like Lara Bars. You can add any combination of nuts, spices, dried fruit, chocolate, anything really, as long as you have the dates for the substance as it binds all the ingredients together.


Have a great evening ladies :)
 
Hello Friends.
Today, my power went out due to high winds for about two hours. A lot of the west side of MI is out.
No word yet from the company via my internship. But, my new "friend" suggested one which I put on that the company was recommended, no decision till later. Sometimes it's who you know instead of what.
Officially, hours wise I'm done with my internship although I will stay on for experience until I get a new job.
Have a great night. Bourdain is on so my pc will be off.

JT
 
Happy Tuesday, Friends!!
Starting a project today with my internship then meeting later. My attitude has somewhat changed about it b/c my hours have been completed plus no word at all from the partnering company. My new 'friend' suggested a job, I did pass along the compliment to the company cause I needed an edge. I am confident now I will get an interview but time will tell.
Dark clouds and cool air today.
One week till graduation, I'm excited. the crazy person emailed me a compliment yesterday and that was it. No problems.

Peace OUt. BBL
 
Good morning :)

Just getting ready to go to the mall and buy some summer clothes for Bella (she has no shorts :confused:). I hate shopping with her, so luckily Mark is home and will take her to the indoor playground while I do my thing. Are American's big mall people? Canadian's LOVE the malls. Not even to shop, just to walk and hang around is a big past-time for us folks. Some memorable teen years of mine were spent at the mall. Good times.

Today's w/o is STS TB. Hopefully I can increase my weight #'s a bit.

BTW, did you guys read the article about sweating? So interesting. I did notice as I have become more fit, I'm sweating a lot more than I used to. I never used to look like a train wreck after cardio :confused:. I guess that's a good sign.

Jen
Hopefully you get the interview, you deserve it. You ARE right, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Are you starting to feel things developing with your "friend"? I'm in awe of your patience, not just with that particular situation but in general. My patience was horrible in my 20's, but now that I've gotten older, I find myself getting better. It really is a virtue.

BBL!
 
Sorry I haven't had time to write. I have been reading just running out of time for writting.

Colleen - I'm sorry your "weekend" wasnt restful like it should be. I hate driving when I don't know where I am.

Nat- Americans do like their malls. In my area the old people meet there in the morning for coffee and then walk it for the exercise. Teens love the malls also. Although I think the new trend is for more of a "village" type mall.

Jen - Unfortunanty it is about "who" rather than "what". Thats why I was never very good at selling myself because I'm not aggresive enough to get myself out there. Every job I ever got was from a customer that I had met while working. Lord help me if I have to go back to work. Although I don't plan on it.

I went ahead and started my next rotation from Nat. I also already got my cycling shoes sent back. That even suprises me. Normally something will take weeks for me to return. I am anxious to do the "whole" cyclemax.

Going on a Cathe roadtrip is on my bucket list also.

I never used to sweat either. I think it was a combo of not being in shape and chronically dehydrated. Now I sweat and I stink too. : (

Yesterday was STS Disc 1 and a 3 mile walk. The walk was for the dog and my son. I had to get out of the house another big fight with one of my daughters. She got caught in a lie. I have always told them I don't tollerate lying. Of course she tried to run away. I let her go. It was hard. She came back an hour later. The problem is when my daughters are in trouble there is no punishment I can give them that will hit them hard. They simple don't care. If I ground them They will just read. If I take TV from them they will just read. I was trying to be creative with punishments and knew she hated the idea of hot lunch from school. So this was where I went, and it wasn't good. We fought again this morning before school about it. It sounds silly I know, but she is so angry and upset about this. Any suggestions anyone might have would be great.

Sarah
 
Hello Friends.
Natty-Patience IS a virtue. Things are developing with my friend-slowly. But, we live about 75 minutes apart and I'm not working plus don't know where I will land. In order for me to gain trust since my divorce and post-divorce relatiionships, I need it go slow and so does he.
On the job thing, I didn't actually put his name but I put enough info. that the CFO will know whom I referring to. It was part of an email but not the cover letter. I think it will be enough.
Sarah-Myself as well, I have a hard time selling myself even during an interview. This one, I am confident I should get, I need to sell it strong and confidence.

About malls, I went to high school in a small resort town on Lake MI so I didnt do my high school or even college at the mall. During high school, I hung out at a old drugstore that sold phophates and concretes plus ice cream. Today, I had lunch in the mall to get out of the house. Yes, the village malls are big here in MI. They look like small cities when driving in.
This time of the year in my area, many hang out in Grand Haven right on Lake MI on the riverwalk.

May 1st-getting closer.
 
Hello ladies!

Today at work is REALLY slow! Lordy. I felt like I was sitting so much at the conference between the long drive and all the stupid lectures and here I am again...sitting!:mad: Time to bust out that firewalker band in my desk!:p

Today was STS disc 16. I tried to heavy up on the chest but I still can only do two 20 lb dumbells for the bench presses. :eek: Oh well! I do seem to be able to go heavier on the chest flys than before. I made sure to update that on my STS 1RM on the workout manager. Man I love that Cathe provides that!

Jen- it is definitely who you know, unfortunately. It sucks that's the way the world works. I tend to be introverted so I have to force myself to get out there and network. Not to mention just trying to be sociable!:eek: My natural inclination is to just sit at home like a hermit! I really hope you get that interview!

Sarah- the only advice I can think of for you with your daughter is to stick to your guns and force yourself to stay calm and rational when talking to her about it. I know that can be damn near impossible when they are pushing your buttons though! I don't have teenagers yet so I can't totally put myself in your shoes but Lydia is already testing the waters (and she's only 5). I find I have to disconnect myself and release any emotion before I engage in a conflict with her. If I keep my voice even and cool she tends to react better. Who knows how this will go when she's 14 though. I'm a wee bit skeered about that. I totally feel your frustration and disappointment about the lying too. My niece (who is 16) has unfortunately had a history of doing that ever since she was little. It's tough on my sister since she's not her biological mom and yet she raises her 98% of the time. She rarely sees her bio mom except a few short weeks in the summer and now that she's older she doesn't even want to go to Illinois during those times. It's all about hanging out with her friends now. She is a good kid for the most part...unfortunately my sister rarely gets credit for helping her turn out that way. Tough gig, that one.

Natty- I used to like to hang out at the mall when I was a kid too! I have no idea if that's what the kids do nowadays though! Our mall isn't that great anyway, it's gotten pretty dated. Are you getting excited to start STS??

Have a good evening everybody! :)
 
Hello Friends,
Today is my last required meeting for my program, I graduate from it in 6 days. The tide has turned with my internship host company, not by my doing either. We met with a company on Friday whom is partnering up with my internship. They hired my internship company and was implied I would be offered a job too. During the meeting, I sensed I would not be offered. Now, my internship wants to everything by remote instead of meeting. My plan is to hand over the info I'm sitting on by finishing it so possible job reccomendation.
Networking helps, which I need to do to get a job but I am hopeful for the interview with this company. My commute will be long but it was a city I was planning to move to anyways which is much closer to my new friend.
Thanks for letting me air this out.
My primary workout has been walking lately. Gets me out of the house. Walking before kept me in good enough shape previously to pick up with Cathe in the fall with no problems.
 
Good morning ladies :)

Yesterday was a nice outing at the mall to buy Izabella some new summer clothes. She's growing like a weed! I had a very sentimental moment when I realized I had to leave the "toddler" section and buy her shirts at the "big kid" section :(. It's true, they grow up way too fast.

The mall that I frequent has a food court with a really great variety from all over the world. Thai, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Lebanese and of course Tim Hortons, KFC and New York Fries. A new place opened up called Cultures and they feature healthy fare like wraps, smoothies, assorted salads, ect. I had a delish brie and turkey pesto wrap w/beans and feta cucumber salad :p.

I'm changing my rotation a bit this week in terms of strength. I am supposed to do 2 w/o's of High Reps since it's an endurance week, and next week is supposed to be strength with STS TB 2 days. I decided to do STS TB this week instead because......ok I'm going to admit this.....I want to play around with my tower :eek:. I'm happy to report that I have increased my #'s in STS TB! I am definitely getting stronger in the chest/shoulder/back. I even matched Cathe in the shoulder tri-set section YAY!
Today's w/o will be 30min steady state (Imax 3-no blasts) + hiit 40/20 :eek:.

Colleen
What lbs do you use for chest flies? As for the chest presses, I think you might be able to go heavier if you use a barbell.
BTW, do you really use firewalkers at your desk?
I'm getting excited about STS for sure. I was looking at the STS/Shock Cardio rotation and it looks killer. Hiit and CCC in one week :eek:.
Sarah
I'm sorry about all the problems you are having with your daughter's. The best advice ever given to me was by my MIL (yes I said MIL). She raised 1 boy and 3 girls. She kept them in line by taking away things/privileges if they broke the rules. She was clear and consistent about her rules and never backed down or argued. She also gave/took away allowances. Mark says this was extremely effective. He even begged her one time to "spank him" instead of taking away his bike for 1 week LOL. We'll see if her advice works for me in 10 years though. Kids really know how to test and push your limits.
Jen
Walking is wonderful. Like I said before, very underestimated. Did you read that article about the Japanese? They WALK everywhere and limit their portions. Simple yet extremely effective.

Have a great day :)
 
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Whew! I just did part if Imax 2 to get some cardio in before I did STS disc 17 (legs). I thought I'd just start to get familiar with it so I did intervals 1-5 plus the warm up. I did like it, even though I didn't get everything. I love the blasts! I might just do those in future workouts if I don't nail the choreography or just feel like more straightforward moves. I see there's a few premixes with just the blasts. I swear, just like when I did Athletic Step, my brain feels fuzzy afterwards with all that choreography learning! I can definitely see how it forces your brain to work in a new way!:eek:
Now I'm procrastinating before I dive into disc 17.:eek:

Natty- Yep, I've done firewalkers in my office when we're slow. I did it yesterday in fact! I also keep dixie cups in my desk, a pair of 5 lb db (I'll use those for walking lunges or static lunges) and a pair of furniture sliders. I shut the door and lock it so the staff can't come in, although sometimes I'll forget and they'll walk in on me. I decided a long time ago that they must have figured out I'm a total nerd, so I don't get embarassed too much.:p I usually only do it when we're super slow (like 2 hours between scheduled patients ala yesterday...yikes).

For chest flies I'm up to 15 lb dumbells. I'm actually not sore in the chest today! Yay! Maybe I'm getting stronger there after all! :)

Jen- congratulations on graduating from your program! Are you able to get a walk in today? How's the weather? It's pretty cloudy and raining off and on here today. I'm bad about getting outside when it's nice to walk but I promised Mark I would make more of an effort to go on walks with him. He loves to be outside and go for walks and bike and since he's not into formal exercise these days I really need to support him to get some activity in.

Okay, I hear the STS music calling me from the bedroom! TTYL!
 
Hello Friends.
My walk is in doubt today due to clouds and cold air.
Happy to be graduating from the program, I believe there will be lots of celebration happening.
Went to The Golden Corral, big mistake. Buffets are dangerous.

JT
 
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