Poll About workout habits

[Hedgehogs4]

I have never heard of Krav Maga. What is it? 

 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Cross Fit is exactly the sort of thing that appeals to me.  When I was in high school I participated in weight lifting compeititions and ran cross country and track, in college I went to the Air Force Academy, left because of a vision problem, and became a trainer at the gym of my new university.  I love sports where you are working for individual PRs, but in a team environment.  I don't like "team sports" (basketball, soccer, etc.) 

 

One thing that is weird but that I love to do is watch old seasons of The Biggest Loser- such a fun and motivating show! 

 

Take a look at the book You Are Your Own Gym sometimes- Love this book!

 

Ok,ok, I'll get out my running shoes... 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Oh, and here's a little story I like to tell to moms...

 

My mom was a "jogger" for most of my childhood.  In retrospect, it turns out she was a DARNED fast runner (18 minute 5k!) but at the time as a kid I didn't know the difference.  Anyway, when I was about 13 I decided I wanted to run to, and so she taught me how.  We went on to run three marathons together- really great bonding time.  I think if I lived nearer we'd still be out jogging together! 

 

So encourage your daughters (and sons) once they are old enough!

[Karen in CO]

I have never heard of Krav Maga. What is it?

It is a self defense martial art developed by the Israeli special forces. It is fast and hard. It emphasizes a strong offense so that you can walk away from bad situations. Here is a demo video. I am not that fast or strong, but I work hard at it. It makes me feel lean and mean even if I'm not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ignz0VLLwA

[Hedgehogs4]

Monica in Switzerland, One of the reasons I love CF is that all of our family does it together. We all go to our own classes, but the kids' coach will often have family workouts or special occasions when we join their class. Sometimes my son comes to my class with me. My DH also goes to a CF class before work and whenever we can do it all together, we do. It really is an excellent bonding time. Also this weekend my son is going to compete in his first Olympic weightlifting competition, and we will all be there to support him in that. exciting!

 

Karen in CO, Krav Maga looks devastating. I can see why you like it! Watched the vid with my son, and he thinks it's cool. He is a very testosteroney thirteen right now and would like to hit things. I'm sure he would enjoy this.  :smash:

[Mom-ninja.]

I had to vote other because I do basically everything. Run, yoga, HIIT, barre, weights, etc. I like being sore because it shows I worked out hard enough

[nwmama]

It is a self defense martial art developed by the Israeli special forces. It is fast and hard. It emphasizes a strong offense so that you can walk away from bad situations. Here is a demo video. I am not that fast or strong, but I work hard at it. It makes me feel lean and mean even if I'm not.

 

DH and I used to something like this when we were first married....then we had kids. I bet he'd love to do it again though. I should see if there is something near us that we could do together.

[Heatherwith4]

I walk for exercise once or twice a week. I want to do much more, but it's just not happening right now. I am going to have to figure out a way to work it in more often to avoid seasonal depression and to get my weight down.

[Lori D.]

Well, of course it varies -- if I get derailed, I may not workout for a month to 4 months. ;) BUT when regular:

 

3 times week = "intervals" of brisk walking with jogging for 3-4 miles (35-45 min.) -- OR -- swimming laps, .75 to 1.0 mile (35-45 min.) Sometimes on days other than those 3x/week, DH and I walk the dog briskly around the neighborhood (about 2 miles), and have good chatting time.

 

re: why of working out

Swimming laps has been the most important aspect of fighting reoccuring depression for me. The deep, regular breathing to get oxygen to the brain, and working the body hard which releases endorphins and helps create seratonin. I've been swimming laps off-and-on since our DSs were toddlers. The walk/run intervals, I've added in the last 4-5 years for variety when the pools are closed over the holidays, and to help re-set my metabolism thermometer to burn more to help drop a little weight. But also, I always feel MUCH better emotionally and physically -- it's a great way to work off frustrations, and getting outside and getting that alone time helps with my mental attitude. :)

 

Some years ago, I was faithfully doing the core stretching/work at home (The Core Program by Brill), but have fallen out of the habit and really need to get back to it. 

 

re: soreness

After the first day back after extended time away from working out, I am sore for a week or so, lessening after successive time I work out. Once back into the regular routine, not sore, although sometimes muscles feel tired if I pushed harder. The only other time I experience longer-lasting soreness comes with doing some completely new activity that uses muscles in new ways.

 

re: workout as family time

For family bonding over working out, DH goes to the gym with DSs, or we would go on an occasional family hike or go play tennis at the nearby park or high school courts after school hours or on weekends.

[freeindeed]

I typically get in 3-4 workout days per week, sometimes 5. I will feel soreness a couple of days a week. I do a variety of things: step, strength training, weights, dance moves.

[MariaT]

I walk about 2 miles in the morning before breakfast. When I get home the dog is up, so I take her on her walk. Then I make breakfast.

 

 

If I don't do it in the morning it doesn't get done. It's when I can do some thinking and planning on my own.

Maria

 

[Mystie]

I have more energy and just handle day-to-day life with 5 children better when I take the time to exercise. For the summer, I just walked 2 miles every morning, but now I'm doing couch-to-5k (interval running training) at a neighborhood gym. I also have a fitbit and usually get 10k steps a day, but I have to work for it - reading and blogging are sedentary hobbies. :)

 

Walking didn't make me sore, but interval running does. Epsom salt baths and stretching help, though.

 

Other things that help: drinking lots of water (80-100oz per day) and vitamin D in fall & winter months.

[rutamattatt]

I am also an "other".

 

I do mixed martial arts 3 times a week right now.  We just completed a four month intensive training for our black belt testing which involved taking five classes a week, plus conditioning and running on Saturdays as a group.  Was running on my own two days a week as well.   It was INTENSE, but can I tell you - I felt better than I have in my life!  Now that the testing is over (and I passed!), I am back to taking 2-3 classes a week and running twice a week.   And I don't feel nearly as good.  Starting back to sparring and grappling classes this Friday evening.  I miss it!

 

I have a membership to a gym at a local church, and I meet a friend there two mornings a week at 8:30 to run.  The kids know I will be home to start school by 10:00.  It helps to have a set schedule AND someone meeting me there for accountability.  It also helps that my kids are old enough to stay home alone while I go.  

 

I simply have to work out for my mental health.  When black belt training was getting ready to begin, we had a lot of personal issues here at home, and I almost dropped out (after investing four and a half years to get to that point!).  My DH pushed me to still do it, and while the time commitment was extreme, it was the BEST thing I could have done to get through the tough stuff at home.  Yesterday was another tough day, and I wanted to skip my class.  But I went and afterward I felt SO. MUCH. BETTER.

 

I am not sore now after every workout, but I am after some depending on what we do.  (Four count wall kicks make me whimper for my mommy...)

[Hedgehogs4]

I am also an "other".

 

I do mixed martial arts 3 times a week right now.  We just completed a four month intensive training for our black belt testing which involved taking five classes a week, plus conditioning and running on Saturdays as a group.  Was running on my own two days a week as well.   It was INTENSE, but can I tell you - I felt better than I have in my life!  Now that the testing is over (and I passed!), I am back to taking 2-3 classes a week and running twice a week.   And I don't feel nearly as good.  Starting back to sparring and grappling classes this Friday evening.  I miss it!

 

I have a membership to a gym at a local church, and I meet a friend there two mornings a week at 8:30 to run.  The kids know I will be home to start school by 10:00.  It helps to have a set schedule AND someone meeting me there for accountability.  It also helps that my kids are old enough to stay home alone while I go.  

 

I simply have to work out for my mental health.  When black belt training was getting ready to begin, we had a lot of personal issues here at home, and I almost dropped out (after investing four and a half years to get to that point!).  My DH pushed me to still do it, and while the time commitment was extreme, it was the BEST thing I could have done to get through the tough stuff at home.  Yesterday was another tough day, and I wanted to skip my class.  But I went and afterward I felt SO. MUCH. BETTER.

 

I am not sore now after every workout, but I am after some depending on what we do.  (Four count wall kicks make me whimper for my mommy...)

 

I love this post...it is helping me to get the motivation I need to get back to more intense training...I am feeling sluggish and have gained weight, mainly due to the past two months of being "off" with my nutrition and not as many workouts. It has been hard to find the "why" in the midst of losing my mom and trying to still keep the household running. I would really like to get serious about the nutrition again, try running more as I think that is simply one of the best ways to simply burn the calories, and push harder to make some pr's with weights. Thanks for the inspiration. 

[skimomma]

I checked "running" because that is what I do the most.  In the summer is alternate running, biking, and swimming.  In the winter it is cc skiing, swimming, and running.  My "minimum requirement" is 5 days a week.  7 is what I prefer.  It usually shakes out to 6.  I have been doing this for years now and it is just part of my routine.  I do triathlons, running, and ski races to motivate me.  I am almost never sore except during "changeover season" when I am on skis or a bike for the first few times.  My dd is a skier so I usually go when she has team practice.  Dd is old enough to work independently at home for an hour so I usually do any other kind of workout while she is doing something on her own.

[skimomma]

I have a question for the swimmers.  How do you construct your swim workouts?  I am in a huge rut right now.  I just go and swim 1.5 miles in laps (with a warm up and cool down).  I like the tuning out feeling (I gets lot of my menu-planning done during that time) but am starting to get really bored.  I used to put together more interesting workouts when I needed more breaks in my swim.  But I don't need that anymore and found it too time consuming to look at my plan and change gears.  

[Cosmos]

Ruth Kazez has a bunch of swim workouts on her site. This is one page of Lunch Time Swims, but there are a bunch more elsewhere on the site.

 

But I just do a boring bunch of laps. I just get into my swimming zone and plow away. I think disconnecting my brain is part of what makes me feel so good after swimming. Once I realized that, I gave up on the workouts and just swim.

[Guest]

I do yoga with my kid, which isn't much, but at least it's something. The muscle soreness isn't because of the yoga, it's in spite of it.

 

It's very hard to get out of the habit of being The Amazing Martyr Mom and say that i NEED to take care of this body, but I do if I want to be a mother instead of a no-it's-not-really-my-grandmother since he was born right before I turned 43.

[Artichoke]

Another vote for other.

 

I walk with friends in the morning 3x week. It's only about thirty minutes in the early am. Dh and I take a yoga class together twice a week in the evenings, and I do cardio and weight machines three or four times a week. Occassionally, I may take another class at the Y with friends. We go to the YMCA as a family and everyone participates in something while we're there. It seems like a lot, but the Y is close to our home. I think the key to working out while homeschooling is either doing it early in the morning or at a time when there's something for the kids to do as well.

[SamanthaCarter]

I meet DH during his lunch break at the YMCA on T/TH. The kids are in Childwatch. It kind of throws a wrench into our homeschool day, but we continue because it's the only way DH and I have found to actually be accountable for exercise. It has helped me stamina-wise, and it's nice to check in with DH since sometimes we feel like we barely talk without children trying to be heard over us. 

 

How do people exercise at home?? Where's the space and the peace?

[Tsuga]

I meet DH during his lunch break at the YMCA on T/TH. The kids are in Childwatch. It kind of throws a wrench into our homeschool day, but we continue because it's the only way DH and I have found to actually be accountable for exercise. It has helped me stamina-wise, and it's nice to check in with DH since sometimes we feel like we barely talk without children trying to be heard over us. 

 

How do people exercise at home?? Where's the space and the peace?

 

Beachbody workouts are designed to do in a small living room. You need, for most of them, to be able to hold your arms out in one direction, and then about two huge steps in the other direction. So I guess for me that is about 5 ft by 10 ft? Something like that. They also explain how to modify for even smaller spaces. These are workouts you could do in prison (and people do).

 

Insanity is zero equipment. ChaLean Extreme takes weights; Les Mills Combat requires nothing, though a weight and/or gloves are helpful. P90 requires a chin-up bar and weights, I don't know about anything else. All can be modified with bands. It is a HUGE reason I like Beachbody. Once you buy the video, provided your DVD player doesn't break, there are really no excuses. (Oh yeah... and in P90 and some of the others, they actually write out the entire workout in the booklet, so even without a DVD player, if you've seen it once, you can do it.)

 

If you are exceptionally tall, there are a couple exercises you can't do with low ceilings. You have to put your arms out instead of up.

 

I do it before they wake up now. They used to wake up with mommy no matter what time it was, so I had to work out after they went to bed. That was rough!

[Lori D.]

I have a question for the swimmers.  How do you construct your swim workouts?  I am in a huge rut right now.  I just go and swim 1.5 miles in laps (with a warm up and cool down).  I like the tuning out feeling (I gets lot of my menu-planning done during that time) but am starting to get really bored.  I used to put together more interesting workouts when I needed more breaks in my swim.  But I don't need that anymore and found it too time consuming to look at my plan and change gears.  

 

Because I swim laps to relieve depression, I need to swim constantly for 35-45 minutes with elevated heart rate and regular deep breathing, because that is what releases endorphins/seratonin, pumps the most oxygen to the brain, and releases stress, so *I* need  to stick to continuous laps, pushing hard, to get the most out of a swim workout to fight depression.

 

The friend I swam with for several years had a workout routine of about 30-35 min. that was something like this:

8 laps normal pace (4 freestyle, 4 breaststroke)

8 laps using kickboard (freestyle kick)

8 laps using fins and hand paddles (freestyle)

8-12 laps of "timed sprints" (freestyle) -- say your time goal is 1:15; you swim 2 laps at fast speed, stop and check watch; if you took less than 1:15, rest until that time is reached, and then do the next 2 laps at fast speed; if you took 1:15 or longer, go straight into the next set of 2 laps at fast speed

8 laps cool down (4 freestyle, 4 breaststroke)

 

You might also look for "swim workout ladder" routine; the ladder routines help you increase overall speed by doing short amounts of laps at a higher speed, resting for 10-20 seconds, and then doing another short set of laps at a "pushing yourself" speed.

 

And, here's a big stack of swim workouts to choose from to target different aspects: 100 Swimming Workouts.

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[SeaConquest]

As a certified couch potato at the moment, I have to say that this thread is very inspiring. Thank you!

[fourisenough]

I said 1-2 days a week, but that is my school year routine. During the summer, I walk/run 5 days per week (at least) with a good friend who is a classroom teacher. Unfortunately, without the motivation of an exercise "date" with a friend, I'm much less disciplined during the school year (and, to be fair, I'm also much busier).

[Hedgehogs4]

 

 

How do people exercise at home?? Where's the space and the peace?

 

This was always my problem!! I would never do it at home. Never, never, never. Also, because I find exercise to be an entirely unpleasant thing, I hate to do it at home.

 

Now we have a few things in our garage that we will use for a quick work out (kettle bells, a pull-up bar, rings, jump ropes) so as a family we can do a CF thing if we are not going to the gym for some reason. This is fun--but again, I needed to realize that where I am concerned, I must be active with other people or I have NO motivation. 

[Hedgehogs4]

. All can be modified with bands. It is a HUGE reason I like Beachbody. Once you buy the video, provided your DVD player doesn't break, there are really no excuses. (Oh yeah... and in P90 and some of the others, they actually write out the entire workout in the booklet, so even without a DVD player, if you've seen it once, you can do it.)

 

 

 

I should have done a multi-quote but didn't see this before...but the no excuses part didn't work for me. I had to get out of the house. I had this aversion to working out at home. I don't know why...I guess because I hate it so much. I just needed to get out of the house. I admire people who do it on their own at home.

[melmichigan]

Three days a week I run/walk (building to 5K), then walk to finish off my three miles (both on treadmill @ home), then do BBM strength intervals.  Three days a week I walk (treadmill) or swim (YMCA), or if I'm really short on time I do BBM's aerobic HIIT.  If I'm feeling lazy I just make sure I get at least 5 miles on my fitbit.  

 

If I had to be outside or at a gym to exercise it wouldn't get done, not lugging five kids.  My treadmill is in my mudroom, which was designed as a sun room with big French doors.  My treadmill is right in front of the door so I can see outside.  My kids know that this is my time and go to to their older siblings if they need something mundane.  They only come to me if it's really important.  I do take everyone to the Y one or two days a week to swim.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

How do people exercise at home?? Where's the space and the peace?

 

You need to exercise where you feel comfortable. I HATE, with a passion, working out in a gym. I love it at home. I don't worry about people looking at me, dirty equipment, yucky smells, driving time, and child care. 

 

My kids do their thing while I'm working out. For most of it they are still sleeping. If they get up before I'm done they know not to bother me. Sometimes they watch me or talk to me until I'm done. Rarely, they join. 

 

I have my own exercise room set up. It makes me happy. 

 

You could not pay me to work out in a gym. 

[Tsuga]

I should have done a multi-quote but didn't see this before...but the no excuses part didn't work for me. I had to get out of the house. I had this aversion to working out at home. I don't know why...I guess because I hate it so much. I just needed to get out of the house. I admire people who do it on their own at home.

 

Yeah, I totally get that. I am the opposite. I am out of the house so much that I just cannot do one more "activity" so working out at home works for me. It really depends and it's like art... there is no one right way to do it!

[73349]

I don't do anything.

 

I joined a gym for the year in 2013. I enjoyed it well enough, but it's a 15-minute drive from my house, and the childcare is closed from like 1-5 PM! I hoped it would give me more energy, but it didn't. (Weight is not an issue for me.) So I canceled my membership.

 

But now I'm having minor back pain from time to time, and I know not working out is the reason. I think I need some DVDs. Beachbody (etc.) fans, which ones do you like best?

[Tsuga]

Whitehawk, depends on the source of your back pain. ChaLean extreme is something I'd recommend for building muscle and not too high impact. If you have not worked out in a while, I would suggest starting with that or something fun like Hip Hop Abs. Just to get in shape. If you want to like, transform your body, then move on to the "extreme" videos like P90X or Insanity (or the short versions, P90X3 or T25)--but I wouldn't start with those if you're having back pain and you don't know where it's coming from. First see if overall fitness, stretching and muscle tone can help, and then if it does, crank it up.

 

Oh, and I hear that for beginners, the PiYo (Pilates-Yoga) DVDs by Chalene Johnson are good, but it also has some weak reviews.

 

Good luck! I have never done a video besides Beachbody but I have friends who like Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred. I do not know how hard that is, though. Just don't want anyone to think I'm a Beachbody coach (I am not, and I don't drink their Kool-Aid, er, Shakeology, either). :)

[warneral]

6 months out of the year I bike and build up to long distances. I'm now done with bike season and am doing workout videos/treadmill but need to work at making it a habit.

[trulycrabby]

I do Bikram yoga 3-4 days per week, lift weights, walk, and do HiiT twice a week.

 

If I had more time, I would add vinyasa yoga to my practice, but right now it's just not possible.