We're In This Together **Nov 1st - Dec 31st**

Quickie post to check in with my workout today...Muscle Max! :eek: :eek: Wow what a great one!! Why on earth did I trade this one away before? :rolleyes: I managed to get it back again through trading a few weeks ago and just like when I got Trisets back, I'm so glad! My upper body is fried! :cool:

One thing I've noticed with focusing on HC so much is that while my chest and shoulders get worked nicely (and even my back and triceps a little), my biceps have lost some strength since STS. My arms felt like wet noodles by the time I was done!

'kay, gotta go and make some Christmas cookies. :) I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
 
Hello Friends.

Natty-Good luck on your new eating. Hope it works. Jamie Eason?? New people I never heard of, once again.

Colleen-MM is one of my faves. It's a standard for me like much of the whole series execpt for Imax3.

Update: Clarification. Male friend on FB. I had crush on him for years. We are actually friends. Not expecting more. He's an Examiner. We've had our share of issues though.
Last night at the Christmas party. Last year, bunch of women claiming they are no longer taking care of themselves cause they are old and no men. This year, NONE of them showed. I think it was a pact. I had a gut feeling one guy, whom I was involved with many years ago, was going to show and he did. The DH of my friend kept encouraging me to be where all the single guys were but I thought it better to let them wonder. It worked.
Not as big as job interview on Monday. Meeting with Block for taxes on Tuesday. Waiting to hear from Home Depot. Federal benefits approved but making a prob for student loan deferment.
Working out? Been starting up again and again at least 3 times this year. Right now, doing well with 1200 calories per day. Working out will shoot me up to 1800 BUT worth it. Muscle Max and Low Max will be my go to and 30/30.
 
Quickie post then BBL w/personals!

Saturday's w/o was PLyo Legs W2. I was complaining to Mark that the workout was not challenging enough and I needed to up my weight. I am so incredibly sore today :eek:. My butt, inner/outer thighs, ohhh man are they killing! I perhaps underestimated how powerful that workout actually is :eek:.

Have a good one!
 
Morning ladies!

So busy this weekend! Making Christmas cookies takes forever! This is going to be tough too, because although I can resist sweets in general, there is just something about a frosted Christmas sugar cookie that I find irresistable! :eek: So far, I've only given into one...we'll see how long I hold out before I have another! ;)

Yesterday's workout was Crossfire plus 20 minutes of HC December 101. I was so pooped by that time, I wussed out on the final 10 minutes of HC. :eek: Muscle Max REALLY fried my upper body! It is so awesome to feel DOMS in my biceps and triceps! :D I noticed that one has a couple of upper body premixes which I think I will make use of in the future. That one is a keeper, for sure! I can see why this is a go-to workout for you Jen!

Jen- CONGRATULATIONS on getting recognition from the Washington Post! That is huge!! :eek: As far as the women who decide to give up on themselves because their past 50...I'm afraid my mother is also one of those. Unfortunately, she actually started in her 40's. :confused: I just do not connect with my mom at all, unfortunately. I love her of course, but sadly we just don't "get" each other, which leads to a lot of strained conversations. :(

Natty- aren't the Plyo legs workouts the bomb? :eek: I can not wait to see what Cathe did in XTrain with the leg workouts. When I read she was modeling them partially on Plyo legs my inner geek squealed!
Oh how exciting to go to Cuba!! I just LOVE the Carribean atmophere and culture. I never get sick of being down there!

Have a great Monday ladies!
 
Jen - Congrats on the Washington Post mention of your blog. When will you here about your interview from last week?

I was so busy last week with decorating for Christmas. I used to LOVE decorating, but now it just seems like alot of work. Plus my husband and I had our first dinner party. We a 2 other couples over for dinner. I have always wanted to make homemade tortillas, so I did. We have fajitas, and they were great. Even my picker eater hubby liked them and he doesnt eat tortillas or Mexican food at all.

Nat - I hope you are able to go to Cuba. You guys haven't been on a vacation since we started this group.

Colleen - I don't even want to think about Christmas cookies. I just cleaned up my diet only to be faced with making like 10 dozen cookies.

Sarah
 
Its all good with the Post, one of their more familiar columnist is following me on Twitter.
Hope to hear about my interview from last week by Wednesday of this week. I will contact them if I don't hear from them.

Nat-Have fun in Cuba! I was told to stay away from the government run eateries per Anthony Bourdain. You deserve this BIG!!

Sarah-Congrats on the dinner party. If your DH didn't eat Mexican, you can call me.

Colleen-Love frosted sugar cookies too. Dangerous and delicious.
 
I'm back :D

So it's TTOTM for me. I'm tired, my energy is 0, and my LB DOMS is pretty bad. I attempted to do Imax1, but the forces were working against me -- I quit after about 15min. Tonight when I put Bella to bed, I may do a 2 mile Leslie walk + 30min Yoga Relax.

I really hope Cuba is a go for 2013! I'm going through withdrawal over here! It's hard because I've been going on vacation every year since I turned 20. One year I even went TWICE! I wish I had some pics to show you guys :(. All of them are actual physical pictures I developed and not saved onto my PC. I think Mark lost the memory card from my last trips, or else I could have uploaded them :mad:. Ahhh, I can taste the Mojitos right now :p.

Colleen
I love Xmas cookies! Oh heck, I love all kinds of cookies :eek:. I can never stop at one :eek:.
I love MM -- my biceps are always toast after it. I was reading on bodybuilding.com, and now I'm certain that my triceps are indeed my "weak link", stalling my bicep strength. They are both closely connected and you need to work both equally for them to grow. My tri's are so weak, but the truth is that I don't push myself when I work them. I was always wondering why my bi's are weak too, and now I know the reason!

Sarah
Question about Slow & Heavy, did you notice visible results & strength? I am this.close to downloading it. Does it resemble another workout, or is it unique in Cathe's collection?
Your Mexican food sounds super tasty! I make a Taco Bake often with layers of tortillas, beef, black beans, cheese, tomatoes, and serve it over salad w/sour cream and guacamole on the side. It's so damn good I rarely have leftovers!

Jen
It's awesome your blog is getting attention from the Washington Post! We have that newspaper, along with several others from the US, at the library.
You mean government run eateries in Cuba? Why?


Have a good day ladies!
 
Cuba has government run eateries where many tourists go. If you can, watch Anthony Bourdain's show in Cuba where they discuss it's ALOT better food at private homes but you would be paying 3xs as much. Equals to Tim Hortons or slightly hire for lunch.
 
Hi everyone :)

Yesterday's w/o was a 2 Mile Leslie walk + 30min Yoga Relax. I had a really rough night though :(. Bella is fully potty trained, but get this, sometimes she has poop accidents at night :confused:. I went into her room last night and it smelled pretty bad. I was like "oh no, she didn't". I go to check, and yup a big ball of poop in her undies :(. I don't understand how she can do that and not even wake up. By the time I cleaned her, changed her, washed the undies in the bath-tub, it was getting late. I did not end up actually falling asleep until 12am, and slept on-off until about 6am. I'm tired today so I don't know if I will do my scheduled workout -- which was supposed to be STS M2 Back & Bi's.

I wanted to show you guys some pics of Cayo Largo, Cuba (they are from Google - not my own). It has been by far the most beautiful part of the island we've been too:
Playa Paraiso (Cayo Largo, Cuba) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The beach (Playa Paradiso) is totally virgin, pristine, and isolated. You will find nothing except for a little hut which sells beer and rum. To get to this beach, you have to drive or take a shuttle bus from your resort. Did I mention this is the only nudist beach on the island? :eek:;). Mark and I did see a naked couple walking by :eek:. A lot of Europeans frequent Cuba, so most of the ladies go topless anyway. I can't find enough words to describe this island. It literally takes my breath away.

Jen
Thanks for the tip on Anthony Bourdain's show. I really like him. I will check it out.
 
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Well, I planned to take an Ellen/yoga rest week, but I'm finding I'm just not up for it. I need to sweat!! It dawned on me that with this month being so busy and full of holiday stress, I need to get my endorphins in. I'm not feeling overtrained at the moment, so I think I'll just do what I feel like. ;) I thought instead of Ellen, maybe I'll just do a medium intensity week. Today I did Cardio Supersets (premix with step), since that is sort of moderate intensity workout for me. I sweat nicely, but I don't push my limits too far. Then, while trying to plan for tomorrow I just couldn't help myself...I put a Hiit/lower body mish mosh on the calendar. I really want to do To the Max 30/20 Hiit premix plus Trisets lower body. :eek: Funny thing is, I feel guilty! LOL

I'm not sure what I'll do for the rest of the week, although I want to get Rapid Fire 3 in there (kickboxing workout by Susan Chung). That'll be a nice, moderate intensity/steady state cardio workout.


Oh man Natty- a nudist beach would make me blush all kinds of red and pink colors! :eek: I have been to all inclusive resorts where you can tell which ones are the Europeans by all the topless ladies. Unfortunately, since DH is a bit of a hick, he tends to stare...:rolleyes: No class, that guy, but I love him anyway! ;)
So sorry about Bella and the BM accident. :( That's the worst. Earlier this year, Lydia threw up in her bed while she was sleeping and never woke up. We came into her bedroom and smelled the vomit and there she was...lying in it :confused:. It totally freaked me out, like she could have choked in her sleep or something. We had to wake her up and change all her bedding, her pj's everything. SO nasty!

Sarah- ITA that decorating for holidays is just a lot of work. Fortunately, this year I got out of it as Mark did the tree while I was at work...woot! :D
Gotta run...later girls!
 
This morning I did To the Max 30/20 Hiit premix plus Trisets lower body, then I had a little extra time so I threw in some firewalker work and did a few sets of clamshells with the blue firewalker band. :D The tush is feeling nice and toasty now! LOL :eek:

Oh, and I wanted to mention I figured out a way to bridge the difficulty of doing the one legged hamstring roll-ins. Instead of having the other leg up in the air, I crossed that leg over the other at the ankle, so that I was sort of doing the roll-in one legged, but I had some support, too. I think about 75% of the weight was on the working leg, so hopefully I can work up from there. We'll see! :)
 
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Hello gals!

No workout for me yesterday. I was super tired :(. Today's w/o will be M2 Back & Bi's. Later on after Bella goes to bed, I may do another 2 mile Leslie walk + 30min Yoga Max.

Colleen
LOL you are too funny! You mention DH staring...and so I must admit...I'm usually the one who "checks" the ladies out -- not Mark :eek:. I'm sure he does too, but he does not make it obvious. I will say something like "did you see the t*ts on that chick??!!". I know, bad eh?
A mother's work is pretty nasty, actually. I remember when Lydia threw-up in her sleep :(.
Great job on your w/o's! I love that CSS step add-on! Hmmm, you've given me a great idea to add it to a strength workout this week! Thanks :D
I meant to ask you, what website did you tell me about not long ago that had a low shipping rate to Canada? I'm thinking an Ellen Barrett DVD would be nice for my off/Yoga days.


I hope everyone else is doing well :)
 
Hey Natty!

The website I told you about earlier is called Total Fitness DVD's. Here's the link to the international shipping rates.
Total Fitness DVDs - Your Total Source for Fitness

I like to spread the love between Collage and Total Fitness, since I want them both to stay in business and competition is a good thing ;). However, TF is a lot more popular on VF. So much so that people on there refer to "Mary's" instead of calling it Total Fitness. Mary Crowder is the one who runs TF, and she is pretty famous on there for her great, personalized customer service, as well as lower international shipping rates. :)

Hey, since you are thinking about getting some Ellen's, maybe you might consider getting Paul's Burn and Build as well as Anni's Fierce Force! :p I'm tellin' ya, you would love those two workouts! :eek: Plus, Burn and Build would allow you to get some use out of your 10 kettlebell..;). That is the perfect bell for that workout, you really wouldn't want to go heavier. Fierce Force was a total butt kicker, too! :D
Burn and Build DVD - Paul Katami
Fierce Force DVD - Anni Mairs

As for Ellen, my 4 favorites in order are:
1. Grace and Gusto
2. Fat Burning Fusion
3. Barefoot Cardio
4. Power Fusion

I really like Yogini and her Crunch Burn and Firm pilates, too, but I don't reach for them too often. I really didn't care for her Slim Sculpt or Skinny Sculpt, and I have a feeling you wouldn't either. I love Ellen, but she is one of those ladies who fears heavy weights and uses 2 lb'ers for "sculpting", which I just feel like is a waste of time. :confused: The other ones I mentioned are more about stretching, flowing motion that is just great for active recovery. :)

Sorry for the long winded post there...:p but hopefully it helped! :D
 
Good morning everyone :)

I had a really rough sleep last night. I stayed up late watching the last 2 episodes of Parenthood S3 on Netflix. I was crying my eye's out :eek:. That show always get's me bad. Then I had a hard time falling asleep :mad:. I woke up at 4am to hear my cat crying like a baby :confused:. She would not stop and so I had to see what was going on -- she wanted water and food :mad:. Come 5:40am and I heard the train blowing it's horn, AND the garbage truck sounding his reverse alarm. So there was "toot-toot-beep-beep" for 30min straight! I was like "seriously? Is this some kind of sick joke?". 4hrs of sleep at the most for me :(.

Yesterday's w/o was M1 Back & Tri's. I also did a 2 mile Leslie walk + 25min Yoga Max in the evening. I bought a yoga block, and it really helped with some of the poses where my hands need to be placed on the ground while in a standing position. I'm hoping my flexibility improves.

Colleen
Thank you for taking the time to provide all that great info! You are the best :cool:. I checked-out the website asap, and of course the only Ellen avail was Grace & Gusto -- it has pilates though :(. Might as well give it a go -- I've already embraced yoga so who knows, I might end up liking pilates. I also wanted to get Leslie's 4 Really Fast Miles. I can relate to her well because I'm a walker, and she has the same body-type as me. When I look at her, I see myself, which is very motivating. As for the other's, I don't want any more butt-kickers in my collection...for now :eek:. I already have Xtrain coming :eek:. Thanks again so much! I really appreciate it :).
 
Aw, Natty I'm so sorry about the lack of sleep. :( There is just nothing that will beat you down more than not getting enough zzzz's. Any chance you can sneak a nap in today sometime?

I think you will LOVE Grace and Gusto! :eek: That is my current favorite Ellen and the one I reach for first when I'm feeling over-trained. Honestly, I don't see anything pilates like to it, even though I know they describe it that way...:confused: At the very least it's pretty much all standing, flowing movements with a sprinkle of mat work at the end. Maybe it's pilates inspired? That one really is great for stretching out and elongating the side body, too, which so many other videos neglect a little. Love it. :)

Today's check in: Rapid Fire 3 (just the cardio). I liked it, but I think I liked the RF2 better. Gotta run! TTYL! :D
 
I love reading your posts so much. I was glad to have it to look forward this morning with my alone time. My husband was home yesterday and he puts such a crimp in the day. I have taken 2 walks this week and haven't tightened up the eating habits so am starting to drop lbs. :D

Nat - I'm so sorry about the potty accident. I check out the ladies also but I know my hubby does too. We both at the same time will give each other the look of :eek: Look at her.

I'm not big on pilates either. It's so repetative. Although I used to do it prior to Cathe. I did enjoy the Mari Windsor Ab one and I think I seeing results when I used to do it.

I am trying to figure out if I saw visible results wit the Slow and Heavy Nat. I would say no because I only did it for 3 weeks. Now maybe in the spring after X-train I might do a rotation with it every other week, for about 4 weeks.
I asked for a 50lb weighted vest for Christmas.

So are you ladies on-line shoppers for Christmas or do you go out and about?

I also havent had time to read all the questions Cathe answered yesterday and want to so badly. I don't have time today I have to make a cake for my fathers 76th birthday.

Sarah
 
Hi everyone :)

Yesterday I went to see my cousin's baby. What a beauty :). I've attached a pic of Bella holding her.

I came home and did Athletic Step. It was perfect...I ate a little too much Pannetone (a sweet Italian bread-like cake, very popular around the holiday's) at my cousin's house :eek:.

Thurs I did STS M2 W3 Legs. Ohhh man :eek:. I'm having problems sitting on the toilet (YAY). You guys know that's my fav type of DOMS :D.

Today's w/o will be STS M1 W4 Chest, shoulder's & Bi's + CSS bonus step segment (to get a little more cardio in while working my shoulder's too ).

Sarah
WTG on the walking and eating better. Dropping some lbs is great!
Happy 76th b-day to your father! I hope the party goes well :).
Thank your for the S&H response. That type of weight work intrigues me because I've never done it before. I can totally see my muscles going :eek: while doing it.
IMO I think women stare at other women more than men do. I can appreciate a good looking person (male & female ;)).
I like to ideally shop on-line, but the shipping $$ sometimes makes it not worth it, and so I have to venture out into the madness :mad:.

Colleen
So Grace & Gusto it is then! Thanks :D.

Jen
Hope you're feeling better :).

Marie
How are you and B doing? Baby's 1st Christmas! How exciting!
 

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