Well-Trained Bodies- August

[Soror]

New month everyone welcome!

 

[Soror]

Short on time this morning, hopefully I'll have a time for an update later. I have more painting (2nd coat) on the shed and then outside work after teaching this morning. No official exercise today.

Have a few more minutes before teaching.

July was pretty good one. I greatly exceeded my exercise goals especially so in biking and swimming.

I have met the Daily Dozen food goals every day for 51 days and reduced my meat and sugar intake.

Weight has been up and down a bit with hormones, soreness, food and water intake. Currently up due to period due today and eating more for the last 2 days after some days of not eating enough. 

I've been following this (sprint)triathlon training plan with the idea of maybe trying and compete an outdoor one in September- of course that is really tentative if it will even happen, if I will comfortable doing it, and if that is a goal I want to pursue now. I do like having something to work towards but don't know this is the right goal.

August plans:

2x week biking; swimming; walk/run; strength

Daily Dozen

More sleep!!! I've been working mornings and nights for 2 weeks+ and it has totally jacked with my sleep. I have a few evening classes coming up but not near what I have had.

Getting back to some of the tweaks to help w/ weight maint. and lose

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by soror

[Ali in OR]

Happy August!

I started the month with 2 more Foundations of Yoga videos--Chair Pose and Headstand. I decided my goals don't really include headstands at this stage of life, but I'll leave it open as a possibility! I am interested in increasing shoulder/upper body strength, so much of it was good. I did use a wall to do the actual headstand part, and it wasn't as pleasurable as when I was a kid.

August goals:
Exercise is going well. I'm really preferring what I do now to the treadmill work I've done for 20 years--working a lot more muscle groups. I don't know if I can maintain during the school year, but that's not August here, so exercise goals for this month:

• HIIT workouts on Wednesdays. It's grocery day and I like getting out early, so the shorter, intense workout will fit well. And I enjoyed the challenge when I tried it this week.
• Finish Foundations of Yoga. I've done 30 of the 45 videos, and there are a few longer "practice" videos at the end I might skip. I'm kind of eager to get to sessions that combine many moves rather than just focusing on one, but at least I'll know how I'm supposed to do the moves now.
• Step up my bodyweight circuit days (TTh). Try 3 sets instead of 2, maybe find a new bodyweight workout, maybe try dh's bootcamp.
• Continue cardio 3 days/week, bodyweight/yoga 2 days. Add a 6th day of something--more yoga or a walk.

Food goals

• Lose 2.5 pounds. I totally missed my July goal and even gained half a pound, so again, this would get my BMI out of the "overweight" range for my height. It is so hard to maintain the mental focus that this takes, but I know what I need to do. Plan my eating on MyFitnessPal, aim for 5 fruits/veggies per day, hit my numbers for protein (58 gm) and fiber (25 gm), be near my calorie goal (1500). If I do all of that 6 days/week I should be able to do this. But in the midst of stress or celebrations, it just doesn't feel like the most important thing to do. So, trying again. Fresh start. Off to enter today's food in MFP...

[Matryoshka]

I took Weds off on purpose, but then somehow also didn't get to anything on Thurs... I had planned to just take a Nordic Walk and call it good - the weather looked like it would cool off in the evening, and the forecast was clear.  But then we had a pop up thunderstorm, a huge one with microbursts and everything, and I just let it slide - so missing my 5 days again. 😞   Yesterday I did do a NW, and then came home and did an OT workout too, so I'll still get 4 days in if I get things in today - the plan is another NW then OT - weather looks good.

It's a new month - big goal is to get to 5 days every week!  And make sure the weight doesn't creep up anymore - if it comes down again, even better.

[IvyInFlorida]

Hi everybody, happy August!

So I'm 23 weeks along today and baby boy and I are still healthy.  He has been moving a lot during his fairly predictable active times and everyone has been able to feel him, which is really neat.  Food aversions are gone, but I still get periods of nausea every few days that seem to be here to stay.  I'm really glad that I have been able to and wanted to eat healthy food throughout July--tons of fruit and vegetables.  I'm able to eat meat now but it's not something I really *want* at any given time.  I'm sure my protein intake is pretty far below normal for me, but then again I'm not strength training right now, so no big deal in my opinion.

Some other positives from July...I'm pretty happy with how I'm handling the weight gain issue.  I was worried that the influx of hormones would make me eat way more than I should (PMS was always hard for me in that regard!) and/or that I would freak out over all the changes after working so hard to lose weight in the last 3 years.  I definitely "popped" in July in a dramatic way!  While I am sort of surprised at how quickly I lost muscle, in general I feel like the weight gain is moderate/normal so far and I still have good habits in place. 

Stuff I'll be struggling with in August (and beyond, ha)...I'm carrying baby boy VERY low and holy cow, the strain on my lower back and the pelvic pressure!  It exhausts me.  Just doing my normal bustling around the house doing chores takes up 100% of my energy and my back is killing me by lunchtime.  Also, if I am on my feet too much, I get uterine cramps that my OB is not too thrilled about.  I'm supposed to drink water and lay down whenever they kick in.  So morning walks are out.  I do still swim 3x a week if weather permits (we are having such a rainy summer!) and if I am not having cramps.  But I am definitely not going to be able to be active by any stretch of the imagination until after I heal up from delivery.  I am trying to force myself to slow down in general and ask for help more with physical tasks, but that is a hard mental shift to make!

No goals for August, really.  Just try to enjoy the last weeks of the second trimester, keep up healthy habits, rest as much as possible!

[wintermom]

I'm popping in for a quick check-in. I'm recovering well from my little concussion (?) and have a good routine to minimize the head-aches. I've been able to play tennis, bike, hike and do my strength/stretch exercises. I'm taking it easy, though, and building in lots of rest.

Stay well, everyone!

@soror Thanks for starting the new month! Great job in the healthy eating! All the best with the triathlon pursuits. I've always wanted to get into that area, but I just never found the time to train for all 3 disciplines on a consistent basis.

@IvyInFlorida Glad to hear you are doing so well in your pregnancy! The carrying location can be so tough to deal with. I remember carrying high so that baby kicked my ribs and breathing was uncomfortable. I think all that pressure lower down would be tougher, though. You can do this!! Enjoy your floating time in the water, where gravity doesn't work against you as much. 😉

[Jenny in Florida]

I did my end-of-month for July on the previous thread. So, here's me pondering goals for August:

• Maintain my current weight. I've coasted in at about 129-130 pounds and would like to keep within a range of just a pound or two either way. 
• Keep meeting/exceeding my Fitbit goals (13,500 steps, about six miles, six days a week). I have discovered that my sweet spot for goals is just barely hard enough, but also very possible to exceed. So, in practice, I do more like 15,000, seven days a week, but this way I can fool myself into feeling like I'm crushing it.
• Continue doing gentle strength training three days each week.
• Look for more ways to increase both intensity and variety in my activity. 

We took a step towards that last one by ordering bikes yesterday. After our excursion on the rental bikes a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling very strongly that I really just wanted a bike. Nothing fancy or expensive, just something I could at least use to peddle around the neighborhood, on the theory that biking around and around the same old neighborhood would provide at least a squinch more variety and interest over just walking around and around the same old neighborhood. I was about an inch away from ordering a cheap cruising bike from Target when my husband reminded me that:

1. I had struggled with even the low inclines on the trail when we rented bikes without using the gears, and the bike I was about to purchase was a single speed.
2. We both drive teeny cars, meaning that we would have to put a bike rack on one or the other of them in order to haul even one, let alone two, to a park or trail.

So, after some quick research and kind of agreeing that we were taking some chances, we ordered a pair of six-speed folding bikes that should fit in the back of my car. Even from Amazon, the shipping is kind of slow, and we may not see them for over a week, but I'm looking forward to the experiment.

In terms of walking motivation, I signed up for two additional virtual events yesterday. One is a 5K with a portion of the proceeds to charity that I can complete any time during August. Still trying to get my pace up for these events. The other is a challenge for the total number of miles I will walk throughout the remainder of the year. I chose a goal of 750 miles (starting from June 1, because that is the point at which I have good records for this year), which, again, is just enough to hold my feet to the fire while not putting me in any real danger of failing.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Jenny in Florida

[Soror]

I'm so happy to see everyone.

Ivy glad to see you still feeling better and the food aversions aren't so bad. Glad you are able to swim too.

wintermom- glad to see you are inching better but I'm still worried 😞

Jenny- you are crushing those goals, very, very awesome.

Ali- you are doing well with trying new things and continuing to keep with your goals. Thisis a new month for food and weight.

Matryoshka- I hope this is a better one for staying to your goals, some months are just harder and this heat has been brutal.

[Soror]

I felt horrible this weekend and still a bit like a truck ran over me. I think the lack of sleep and pushing myself exercising hard caught up to me when my period hit. I haven't felt so bad in months. I laid around half the day Saturday and then yesterday the same. We were supposed to do some work outside but ended up getting a bunch of rain so couldn't have done much. It was nice to have a lazy weekend as we've had so few of those. Hopefully the weather is good next weekend and we can finish working on the shed then.

I did go on my bike ride Sunday, I had planned to go with a friend so didn't want to back out. I didn't feel great and wasn't fast but she was new to trail riding so it worked out.

She told me that she has some friends and they do all kinds of outdoor sports together and said I should come sometimes. I told her to please let me know I'd love to go if it works for my schedule. They might be kayaking soon (and I have a kayak so that works well).

Today is supposed to be strength and walk/run---we'll see thus far this am I'm still not feeling great.

Edited August 3, 2020 by soror

[Laura Corin]

On 8/1/2020 at 11:29 AM, soror said:

More sleep!!! I've been working mornings and nights for 2 weeks+ and it has totally jacked with my sleep. I have a few evening classes coming up but not near what I have had.

Getting back to some of the tweaks to help w/ weight maint. and lose

Sounds good.  That morning and evening schedule is brutal - sleep is so important.  Thank you for starting the thread.

On 8/1/2020 at 4:27 PM, Ali in OR said:

I started the month with 2 more Foundations of Yoga videos--Chair Pose and Headstand. I decided my goals don't really include headstands at this stage of life, but I'll leave it open as a possibility! I am interested in increasing shoulder/upper body strength, so much of it was good. I did use a wall to do the actual headstand part, and it wasn't as pl

I started working on Headstand a few months ago, but stopped after a few weeks - my neck was making alarming crunchy noises and I decided not to push it - there's lots of shoulder/upper body strengthening that I can do separately from that.

On 8/1/2020 at 4:45 PM, Matryoshka said:

It's a new month - big goal is to get to 5 days every week! 

You often exercise twice in one day though - I know it's not what you want to miss three days, but you are still packing a fair bit in.

On 8/1/2020 at 9:49 PM, Dreamergal said:

So the new goal is push for 5 days a week minimum. Else we have to do less of the family thing and more the individual exercise. I think more equipment is in our future. I have never rowed a thing in my life, but looking at a machine thanks to @Matryoshka. If Nordic poles recommended by her and @Laura Corin worked well, I am quite wiling to try. No proper exercise is not an option and while family exercise sounds nice, truth is kids are holding DH and I a bit back. So must see how that works.

I'm still considering a rowing machine - not for now but for when the mornings and evenings are so dark here in winter.

On 8/2/2020 at 10:49 AM, IvyInFlorida said:

  I do still swim 3x a week if weather permits (we are having such a rainy summer!) and if I am not having cramps.  But I am definitely not going to be able to be active by any stretch of the imagination until after I heal up from delivery.  I am trying to force myself to slow down in general and ask for help more with physical tasks, but that is a hard mental shift to make!

No goals for August, really.  Just try to enjoy the last weeks of the second trimester, keep up healthy habits, rest as much as possible!

Glad that you are able to eat better - swimming and slowing down in general sound good.

21 hours ago, wintermom said:

I'm popping in for a quick check-in. I'm recovering well from my little concussion (?) and have a good routine to minimize the head-aches. I've been able to play tennis, bike, hike and do my strength/stretch exercises. I'm taking it easy, though, and building in lots of rest.

Glad that you are feeling better - taking it easy sounds good.

20 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

So, after some quick research and kind of agreeing that we were taking some chances, we ordered a pair of six-speed folding bikes that should fit in the back of my car. Even from Amazon, the shipping is kind of slow, and we may not see them for over a week, but I'm looking forward to the experiment.

I'd love to know how this goes.  We used to have a rack for our Ford Focus, but it was so painful (literally so for Husband's back) to use that we didn't end up cycling much.  We donated our bikes in the end.  We now have a VW Golf and it would be really interesting to know if we could fit bikes in the back of that (with the seats down).

---------------------

July?  Well, it went better than I expected - lots of movement, a surprising number of steps, and more yoga than I expected.  My study/yoga room is now set up - it needs repainting and a new cover for the sofa, but it's going to work.  No weight gain in the end, despite a fair number of take-away meals.

August plan: Walk every day, three of the days Nordic Walking.  Yoga every day - I'm working through the calendar I designed.  Calvin has done yoga every day for thirty days, so I'm really hopeful about that too.  Food?  The raspberries in the garden are over but we have a couple of blackcurrant bushes.  I made blackcurrant and maple syrup puree to have with plain porridge for breakfast, and tonight (if Husband goes to the coast for fish) we will have salmon with blackcurrant and ginger sauce.

http://www.mamatouille.com/2012/07/salmon-with-blackcurrant-ginger-sauce.html

My main August plan is to kick my own butt into getting a proper house cleaning regime - the house was very clean when we move in, so now I want to keep it that way.  I posted a separate thread about a 30-minute cleaning schedule.

I don't have good pictures of the house yet, as it needs repainting, but I took this of the Victorian shutters.

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Monday--it's a barefoot cardio day. I decided to try one that focused on abs and ended up with a kickboxing ab workout by my regular barefoot cardio gal, Jessica Smith. I've never done kickboxing before, so there were some coordination issues (she shuffles while constantly twisting side to side for the ab workout--I could not get the rhythm!). But there were also a couple of high-intensity intervals in there, so it was a really good workout and I was sweating hard at the end.

So August is all about mindful eating, and I've been successful the first two days! I'm entering my food for the day into My Fitness Pal in the morning, making sure I have 5 fruits/veggies, and enough protein (fiber goal is usually fine if I have 5 fruits/veggies), all within about 1500 calories. And I've stuck to the plan so far. 1500 calories can make me feel a little hungry, but if I'm getting enough protein and fiber within that I'm okay. Not full, could definitely eat more, but it's enough. So today I was 2 pounds lighter than Friday. Yeah, I'm not really believing that's real either and it will surely bounce up a bit tomorrow, but since I'm so often shocked that I can gain a pound or two in a day, it's nice when it goes the other way for a change!

@IvyInFlorida You brought back memories of my 3rd pregnancy--the back ache, shuffling to the sofa for a rest (that was third trimester--you have that to look forward to). We moved into this house when i was 7 months pregnant and I took a video of the outside of the house, walking all around it, and it's hysterical now because I was just huffing and puffing the whole time. With just walking.

@Laura Corin Yeah, I could feel my neck was not happy with even my short headstand against the wall. Not feeling the urge to work through it!

@wintermom Keep healing!

@soror I hear you on the sleep thing. I was doing so well last week, but the last two nights I've woken up around midnight and it takes hours to fall back asleep. Hope tonight is better for both you and me!

[Jenny in Florida]

14 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I'd love to know how this goes.  We used to have a rack for our Ford Focus, but it was so painful (literally so for Husband's back) to use that we didn't end up cycling much.  We donated our bikes in the end.  We now have a VW Golf and it would be really interesting to know if we could fit bikes in the back of that (with the seats down).

 

I'm fairly sure my Spark is smaller than your Golf, so if this works for us it would definitely work for you. 

I'll keep you posted. 

[Soror]

My pains seemed to finally have gone. But I didn't sleep well at all last night and we are supposed to swim today. I don't know how I can fit in a nap and I desperately need one.

Stupid pandemic is causing stress and worry for the kids, especially dd1 who really wants to branch out and make some more friends this is horrible timing and she is at a rough age.

I only walked yesterday.

I was hoping to get back in the swing today but that is not looking promising. Maybe I can squeeze in a power nap at lunch and swim a bit today?

[Soror]

18 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@wintermom Glad you are recovering and taking it slow. Keep safe.

@soror Sorry about the sleep. Your general day sounds packed and you work out so much one top of that. Can you take a short power nap ? 

@IvyInFlorida Sorry about the pain, but glad you are swimming. Even though it is hard, glad you are considering accepting help. It's a hard mental shift but do it.

@Jenny in Florida I never knew portable bikes existed. Thanks for that. Please let us know how it is going. I think I will move ours to portable if we can store them better. 

@Ali in OR Glad the mindful eating is going well. I find that eating beans and reducing on the fruit in a 1500 calorie diet keeps me fuller.  

DH's Nordic poles arrived. His was customized to his height too and he thinks the customization according to his height is better. I did not use his. Our goal is to make exercise better.

Have a good week ladies !

Nice, now you and dh can walk together.

20 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Monday--it's a barefoot cardio day. I decided to try one that focused on abs and ended up with a kickboxing ab workout by my regular barefoot cardio gal, Jessica Smith. I've never done kickboxing before, so there were some coordination issues (she shuffles while constantly twisting side to side for the ab workout--I could not get the rhythm!). But there were also a couple of high-intensity intervals in there, so it was a really good workout and I was sweating hard at the end.

So August is all about mindful eating, and I've been successful the first two days! I'm entering my food for the day into My Fitness Pal in the morning, making sure I have 5 fruits/veggies, and enough protein (fiber goal is usually fine if I have 5 fruits/veggies), all within about 1500 calories. And I've stuck to the plan so far. 1500 calories can make me feel a little hungry, but if I'm getting enough protein and fiber within that I'm okay. Not full, could definitely eat more, but it's enough. So today I was 2 pounds lighter than Friday. Yeah, I'm not really believing that's real either and it will surely bounce up a bit tomorrow, but since I'm so often shocked that I can gain a pound or two in a day, it's nice when it goes the other way for a change!

@IvyInFlorida You brought back memories of my 3rd pregnancy--the back ache, shuffling to the sofa for a rest (that was third trimester--you have that to look forward to). We moved into this house when i was 7 months pregnant and I took a video of the outside of the house, walking all around it, and it's hysterical now because I was just huffing and puffing the whole time. With just walking.

@Laura Corin Yeah, I could feel my neck was not happy with even my short headstand against the wall. Not feeling the urge to work through it!

@wintermom Keep healing!

@soror I hear you on the sleep thing. I was doing so well last week, but the last two nights I've woken up around midnight and it takes hours to fall back asleep. Hope tonight is better for both you and me!

Good job tracking the food. I did some kickboxing early this year and really enjoyed it, keeping up was a good challenge to my coordination.

On 8/3/2020 at 6:39 AM, Laura Corin said:

Sounds good.  That morning and evening schedule is brutal - sleep is so important.  Thank you for starting the thread.

I started working on Headstand a few months ago, but stopped after a few weeks - my neck was making alarming crunchy noises and I decided not to push it - there's lots of shoulder/upper body strengthening that I can do separately from that.

You often exercise twice in one day though - I know it's not what you want to miss three days, but you are still packing a fair bit in.

I'm still considering a rowing machine - not for now but for when the mornings and evenings are so dark here in winter.

Glad that you are able to eat better - swimming and slowing down in general sound good.

Glad that you are feeling better - taking it easy sounds good.

I'd love to know how this goes.  We used to have a rack for our Ford Focus, but it was so painful (literally so for Husband's back) to use that we didn't end up cycling much.  We donated our bikes in the end.  We now have a VW Golf and it would be really interesting to know if we could fit bikes in the back of that (with the seats down).

---------------------

July?  Well, it went better than I expected - lots of movement, a surprising number of steps, and more yoga than I expected.  My study/yoga room is now set up - it needs repainting and a new cover for the sofa, but it's going to work.  No weight gain in the end, despite a fair number of take-away meals.

August plan: Walk every day, three of the days Nordic Walking.  Yoga every day - I'm working through the calendar I designed.  Calvin has done yoga every day for thirty days, so I'm really hopeful about that too.  Food?  The raspberries in the garden are over but we have a couple of blackcurrant bushes.  I made blackcurrant and maple syrup puree to have with plain porridge for breakfast, and tonight (if Husband goes to the coast for fish) we will have salmon with blackcurrant and ginger sauce.

http://www.mamatouille.com/2012/07/salmon-with-blackcurrant-ginger-sauce.html

My main August plan is to kick my own butt into getting a proper house cleaning regime - the house was very clean when we move in, so now I want to keep it that way.  I posted a separate thread about a 30-minute cleaning schedule.

I don't have good pictures of the house yet, as it needs repainting, but I took this of the Victorian shutters.

 

 

I think you did an excellent job exercising last month, even more so considering you moved in the midst of it all.

@Jenny in Florida getting new bikes is very exciting, I hope they work well for you guys.

[Ali in OR]

I was going to sleep through the night. Then around midnight one smoke detector starts beeping once every 30 seconds or so. It went off when I was cooking dinner and dh says this it its way of letting you know it went off that day. ??? Anyway, I think I'm the only one who wakes up from it, and I don't know how to get it to stop. But I found my ear plugs and also put a pillow over my head and that seemed to work. And I actually fell back asleep.

Today I got over the mental block and did my bodyweight circuit 3 times. I was going to wait until Thursday, but then I remembered that last Thursday my legs were still hurting from Wednesday's HIIT workout, so I just went for it on a Tuesday. In total, 150 jumping jacks, 75 squats, 45 girl push ups, 45 lunges (that's 45 each leg as I tell dh), 90 crunches, and three 1-min planks. Could never have done that at the beginning of summer. Then I did just one Foundations of Yoga, Half Moon Pose. And decided I need to keep up a Saturday yoga practice so I'm not always trying to do it after the bodyweight circuit!

Hope you all have a good day.

[Laura Corin]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:57 PM, Dreamergal said:

So pretty. Love the color of the hardware against the white.

Thank you for sharing. This brought back so many memories because I grew up in a house with all of the window latches like these, We had window sills with windows that had these as fasteners so I was always sitting with one of these digging against me. We also used to close our wooden shutters like these every evening to prevent bugs coming in and I remember going around shutting them before we turned the lights on. New construction windows where you raise them and no windowsills. I love the detailing on the top too. Ours was not so elaborate but we did have a lot of things like the cornices and tray ceilings too. Lovely details.

I forgot all about your workout plan and got mega distracted sorry, but trust you are doing well 😊

Thank you.  I grew up with shutters, when I was too small to push the latch across and had to use a stick - opening and closing them now feels really nostalgic.

16 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

 

I'm fairly sure my Spark is smaller than your Golf, so if this works for us it would definitely work for you. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Thanks#.

7 hours ago, soror said:

My pains seemed to finally have gone. But I didn't sleep well at all last night and we are supposed to swim today. I don't know how I can fit in a nap and I desperately need one.

Stupid pandemic is causing stress and worry for the kids, especially dd1 who really wants to branch out and make some more friends this is horrible timing and she is at a rough age.

I only walked yesterday.

I was hoping to get back in the swing today but that is not looking promising. Maybe I can squeeze in a power nap at lunch and swim a bit today?

Sorry things are difficult - hope you managed to nap.

3 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

I was going to sleep through the night. Then around midnight one smoke detector starts beeping once every 30 seconds or so. It went off when I was cooking dinner and dh says this it its way of letting you know it went off that day. ??? Anyway, I think I'm the only one who wakes up from it, and I don't know how to get it to stop. But I found my ear plugs and also put a pillow over my head and that seemed to work. And I actually fell back asleep.

Ear plugs are my saviour - I wear them every night.

Today went well.  It's rainy, so I just took a brisk walk at lunchtime up through a wooded valley and back down a farm track.  A good strong yoga after work.

Food: breakfast - porridge, blackcurrant puree, zero fat Greek yoghurt and half a peach; lunch - beans, tomatoes, avocado, turnip, oatcakes with pumpkin seed butter; supper - something Chinese that Husband is cooking, including Chicken breast and tofu.

Edited August 4, 2020 by Laura Corin

[Soror]

22 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

I was going to sleep through the night. Then around midnight one smoke detector starts beeping once every 30 seconds or so. It went off when I was cooking dinner and dh says this it its way of letting you know it went off that day. ??? Anyway, I think I'm the only one who wakes up from it, and I don't know how to get it to stop. But I found my ear plugs and also put a pillow over my head and that seemed to work. And I actually fell back asleep.

Today I got over the mental block and did my bodyweight circuit 3 times. I was going to wait until Thursday, but then I remembered that last Thursday my legs were still hurting from Wednesday's HIIT workout, so I just went for it on a Tuesday. In total, 150 jumping jacks, 75 squats, 45 girl push ups, 45 lunges (that's 45 each leg as I tell dh), 90 crunches, and three 1-min planks. Could never have done that at the beginning of summer. Then I did just one Foundations of Yoga, Half Moon Pose. And decided I need to keep up a Saturday yoga practice so I'm not always trying to do it after the bodyweight circuit!

Hope you all have a good day.

We had our firealarm go off in the night the other night too for low battery, I don't know why it always does it in the night. Great job with your workout!

On 8/4/2020 at 8:25 AM, Dreamergal said:

 

DD is my walking companion 😂. I bought her a kid's hiking pole. I go out when she naps. I cannot walk nordic with her. But we go around once a day or more and she walks with her stick.

@soror Sorry about the sleep. Glad the pain is gone. I recommend a power nap. But yeah, I would hold off the swimming if you are not fully alert. Sorry about DD, is there any way you can have socially distanced or online friends ? DS too has just about hit the wall. But what saves it is the social distance basketball he plays with his friend. He also plays video games with his friends and cousins. I gave up on screen time. 

Same routine. Biking, nordic walking, elliptical, playing with DS. No plan, just doing everything regularly for now. Ramping up the exercise, we know we have to slow down at some point if school starts. But for now "banking exercise" so to speak.

Have a good day everyone ! Will check in later.

Thanks, we ended up not swimming at all with temps considerably cooler than usual.

18 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Thank you.  I grew up with shutters, when I was too small to push the latch across and had to use a stick - opening and closing them now feels really nostalgic.

Thanks#.

Sorry things are difficult - hope you managed to nap.

Ear plugs are my saviour - I wear them every night.

Today went well.  It's rainy, so I just took a brisk walk at lunchtime up through a wooded valley and back down a farm track.  A good strong yoga after work.

Food: breakfast - porridge, blackcurrant puree, zero fat Greek yoghurt and half a peach; lunch - beans, tomatoes, avocado, turnip, oatcakes with pumpkin seed butter; supper - something Chinese that Husband is cooking, including Chicken breast and tofu.

How are you liking your back currants?

[wintermom]

Glad everyone is doing well and keeping active. 

It's been raining a lot, so I've missed out on several tennis matches the last few days, including 6:30 this  morning. I've not done much biking or walking either. Eating has gotten very "snacky." On the positive side, my head-aches are pretty much all gone and light sensitivity is also much better. Perhaps the rain has helped me by forcing extra rest time. 😉 

[Laura Corin]

13 minutes ago, soror said:

We had our firealarm go off in the night the other night too for low battery, I don't know why it always does it in the night. Great job with your workout!

Thanks, we ended up not swimming at all with temps considerably cooler than usual.

How are you liking your black currants?

The blackcurrants are great.  I grew up with Ribena, which is a blackcurrant cordial that had a reputation as a health drink after it was distributed to children for free during WWII to provide vitamin C.  So blackcurrant is a taste of childhood for me.  Tonight is something different though - blackcurrant with fresh ginger on salmon.  Veg was delivered from the local farm today too, and it looks great.

We once were kept awake all night by someone's smoke alarm going 'beep' all night in the next flat.  They had gone away for the weekend.

@wintermom glad you are still improving.  It was very rainy here yesterday too - the paths were quite soggy when I NW at lunchtime.  On the one hand it was a bit slippery, on the other, the spike of my poles went into the ground well.

Today: NW at lunchtime, yoga after work.  I woke early so swung my work day early.  I'll finish work at 4, do an hour of cleaning (I missed my half hour yesterday because of book group) then yoga before cooking supper.

Food: breakfast - the usual, porridge, yoghurt, fruit; lunch - mixed green beans with pesto, oatcakes, Marmite, pumpkin seed butter; supper - salmon with blackcurrant and ginger, steamed green beans, roast squash with sumac.

[Soror]

wintermo- so glad to see you doing better!!!

Laura- I never even heard of currants until I was an adult here. Food is sounding yummy!

I am not feeling great still, I think I'd feel ok if I got more sleep. Worry about various things and messed up sleep schedule from working evenings has totally screwed me up. I'm so behind. I think I was running on adrenaline last week and it cuaght up to me. Stress is leading to stomach pains. So, I guess my revised plan this week is catch up on sleep and try and settle some things (that I can settle). 

[Ali in OR]

Slept through the night!

Did my HIIT workout this morning--same as last week as that feels pretty much perfect right now.

Yesterday I bought a box of peaches--the last of my preserving wish list for this summer. I think they'll be perfect ripeness tomorrow, so I'll put up a bunch of little containers in the freezer that we use with yogurt through the year, then I might can some quarts. And we'll eat some fresh. We're supposed to have a little rain tomorrow morning (our first of the summer), so that sounds like a perfect rainy day activity. Today, I'll get dd up and going then do the grocery shopping.

[Matryoshka]

@Dreamergal Black currants (and red currants) are a type of berry that I only recently found out are a completely different thing than dried currants.  Very popular in Europe to make both juice (and cordial!), jelly, and puree/sauces like you'd make from other berries.  Silly me thought that dried currants were dried currant berries.  Nope, dried currants are made from tiny grapes (Zante/Corinth grapes).  Yeesh. (I literally didn't believe the person who first told me this - I mean, obviously dried currants are dried currants, right?  Apparently not.)

Edited August 5, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

Waited too long to take a walk on Sat - got too hot - so just did an OT workout, but I added some rowing sprints at the end to make it to an hour and get my 12 min of zone hr.  Took Sunday off, then Monday was a NW/sprint, and yesterday the tropical storm was coming through, so I just did an OT workout which was long enough without adding much except I added an extra rep to the cardio block to get the hr minutes in.  Need to go shopping today, so might take the day off, or might get something in this evening.

@wintermom glad to hear your head's feeling better!

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

wintermo- so glad to see you doing better!!!

Laura- I never even heard of currants until I was an adult here. Food is sounding yummy!

I am not feeling great still, I think I'd feel ok if I got more sleep. Worry about various things and messed up sleep schedule from working evenings has totally screwed me up. I'm so behind. I think I was running on adrenaline last week and it cuaght up to me. Stress is leading to stomach pains. So, I guess my revised plan this week is catch up on sleep and try and settle some things (that I can settle). 

Thanks! I'm very happy to be feeling better. I hope you feel better soon as well.

@Laura Corin  I LOVE black currants! One of my favourites because of the tangy flavour. We had a black currant bush in my backyard growing up. Fresh off the bush, black currants are VERY strong. Kind of like raw rhubarb (which we also had). I discovered that they can be eaten raw, but they are much better mixed with at least some sugar. 😉

I still buy black currant jam regularly. I like the fact that they don't have seeds like raspberries.

Edited August 5, 2020 by wintermom

[Matryoshka]

@soror - I made the Superhero muffins, and they are yummy!  So at least one thing I can make with beets.  I think less is more... maybe I'll try a red velvet recipe again and go less heavy on the beets (I've been wanting to make 'authentic' red velvet cake or cupcakes since I discovered the origin of the recipe was from WWII when sugar was scarce and they used beets to stretch the sugar - it was only later that it became a boatload of both red dye and sugar...)

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

@soror - I made the Superhero muffins, and they are yummy!  So at least one thing I can make with beets.  I think less is more... maybe I'll try a red velvet recipe again and go less heavy on the beets (I've been wanting to make 'authentic' red velvet cake or cupcakes since I discovered the origin of the recipe was from WWII when sugar was scarce and they used beets to stretch the sugar - it was only later that it became a boatload of both red dye and sugar...)

That's  like carrots in my mum's Christmas pudding recipe. 

Did I give you my favourite beetroot recipe? We get beetroot  from the farm every week at present 

http://forrecuisine.blogspot.com/2019/12/roasted-beetroot-with-yoghurt-and.html?m=1

[Matryoshka]

18 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

That's  like carrots in my mum's Christmas pudding recipe. 

Did I give you my favourite beetroot recipe? We get beetroot  from the farm every week at present 

http://forrecuisine.blogspot.com/2019/12/roasted-beetroot-with-yoghurt-and.html?m=1

That sounds super-interesting!  The mix of flavors sound yummy!  Anyone know where to get 'preserved lemons' stateside?  Have I just not noticed them?

And now I'm worried about buying red onions 'cause salmonella outbreak...

[Laura Corin]

28 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

That sounds super-interesting!  The mix of flavors sound yummy!  Anyone know where to get 'preserved lemons' stateside?  Have I just not noticed them?

And now I'm worried about buying red onions 'cause salmonella outbreak...

Preserved lemons are used in North African food, like tagines. Middle Eastern too, I  think. Yotam is Italian-Israeli-British. You could substitute lemon or lime zest and it would still be good I thìnk.

[Matryoshka]

13 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Preserved lemons are used in North African food, like tagines. Middle Eastern too, I  think. Yotam is Italian-Israeli-British. You could substitute lemon or lime zest and it would still be good I thìnk.

Ah.  I have a tagine recipe that has me peel a lemon and then blanch the peel twice before adding... maybe that would do it.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Soror]

7 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

@soror - I made the Superhero muffins, and they are yummy!  So at least one thing I can make with beets.  I think less is more... maybe I'll try a red velvet recipe again and go less heavy on the beets (I've been wanting to make 'authentic' red velvet cake or cupcakes since I discovered the origin of the recipe was from WWII when sugar was scarce and they used beets to stretch the sugar - it was only later that it became a boatload of both red dye and sugar...)

Glad you liked them. Very interesting about red velvet, I'm certain my children wouldn't believe me about that!

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

That's  like carrots in my mum's Christmas pudding recipe. 

Did I give you my favourite beetroot recipe? We get beetroot  from the farm every week at present 

http://forrecuisine.blogspot.com/2019/12/roasted-beetroot-with-yoghurt-and.html?m=1

thanks for the recipe!

[Soror]

My accomplishments today:

- short easy walk and played around on my climbing rope (my shoulder is still aching from painting last week but I climbed some anyway- I've got to move it though as now it isn't much of a climb on my deck)

-nap

And the big ones--

Knocking several stressful to dos off my list that have been hanging over my head.

I'm feeling much better physically and mentally, maybe just maybe, I can get some actual exercise in tomorrow.

I'm teaching tonight but only until 8:30 and don't have another night class until next Monday and Wed and they are only until 8:30 too. I'm not accepting anymore night class requests. I've got in my classes for my raise and it wrecks my bedtime needed for early teaching.

[Soror]

I had difficulty falling asleep and finally resorted to melatonin but ended up with a decent nights sleep after that.

Planning some yoga today. Maybe some strength work. My shoulder is still really sore so I'm uncertain what is best to do with it.

Swimming this afternoon.

Working more on my list of unpleasant things to do today!

Hope to actually meet step goals.

[wintermom]

11 hours ago, soror said:

My accomplishments today:

- short easy walk and played around on my climbing rope (my shoulder is still aching from painting last week but I climbed some anyway- I've got to move it though as now it isn't much of a climb on my deck)

-nap

And the big ones--

Knocking several stressful to dos off my list that have been hanging over my head.

I'm feeling much better physically and mentally, maybe just maybe, I can get some actual exercise in tomorrow.

I'm teaching tonight but only until 8:30 and don't have another night class until next Monday and Wed and they are only until 8:30 too. I'm not accepting anymore night class requests. I've got in my classes for my raise and it wrecks my bedtime needed for early teaching.

Congratulations on the raise! Well done. Remind me what you teach. I've been doing some summer French reading with my neighbour's 7 yo dd, and I'm really enjoying the teaching younger children experience again. 

Glad you are feeling better both physically and mentally. 😃

[wintermom]

I went for a hike yesterday with a friend in between rain showers, but missed out on early morning tennis. I'm going for a bike ride this morning with the same friend. Early morning tennis is scheduled for tomorrow morning. 

I've gotten back into my stretching and push-up maintenance routine. My aging body really needs the daily stretching! My lower back was sore from tennis on Monday. Pain is a wonderful motivator! 😉

[Matryoshka]

4 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

Arabic store or good ole amazon. Bit on the pricey side though you don't have to use much. I bought this now since we do not go regularly to the Arabic store and mine ran out.

https://www.amazon.com/Casablanca-Market-Preserved-Lemons-Grams/dp/B0189VC0LI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2PDQRO4U145UC&dchild=1&keywords=preserved+lemons+moroccan&qid=1596726450&sprefix=preserved+lemons+mo%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-3

 

Thanks!  How long do those last after you open the bottle?  The big drawback to trying new ethnic foods with special ingredients is that if you only have one recipe to use the (often pricey) ingredients in, they go bad before you're ready to use them again...

[Ali in OR]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I've gotten back into my stretching and push-up maintenance routine. My aging body really needs the daily stretching! My lower back was sore from tennis on Monday. Pain is a wonderful motivator! 😉

What is your maintenance routine? I like the videos that include warm up at the beginning and stretching at the end, because I don't really know what to do on my own.

Today I just did 2 sets of my bodyweight circuit so that I would have time for 2 yoga videos: Table Top Position and Extended Side Angle Pose. I tried searching for other bodyweight circuits yesterday, but I want just a recipe of exercises and reps that I could print out on a piece of paper, not a video or slide after slide of demonstrations. I will keep searching for something of at least the same difficulty as what I'm doing, but maybe different exercises or different order or something just to mix it up a bit.

Today is peach processing day. Can't say I love it, but I do love the results. Hope I can find enough containers and enough room in the freezer for it all.

[Laura Corin]

1 minute ago, Dreamergal said:

I keep opened bottles in the fridge. We use it up within 3-4 months. I don't know shelf life beyond that.

Sounds about right.  I have had them go off, but only after many months in the fridge.  I use them more regularly now and, as you say, 3-4 months hasn't been a problem.  I'm roasting beetroot tonight and might make that again.

Gentle walk with a friend at lunchtime; will do yoga after work.  Very busy at work so the yoga will be good.

Breakfast - the usual porridge, yoghurt, fruit; lunch - left over roast and steamed veg plus more yoghurt; supper - tomato with buffalo mozzarella and basil, roast beetroot in some fashion, maybe a grain.

[wintermom]

52 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

What is your maintenance routine? I like the videos that include warm up at the beginning and stretching at the end, because I don't really know what to do on my own.

Today I just did 2 sets of my bodyweight circuit so that I would have time for 2 yoga videos: Table Top Position and Extended Side Angle Pose. I tried searching for other bodyweight circuits yesterday, but I want just a recipe of exercises and reps that I could print out on a piece of paper, not a video or slide after slide of demonstrations. I will keep searching for something of at least the same difficulty as what I'm doing, but maybe different exercises or different order or something just to mix it up a bit.

Today is peach processing day. Can't say I love it, but I do love the results. Hope I can find enough containers and enough room in the freezer for it all.

My stretching routine is a combination of physiotherapy stretches for my upper-back and neck, some quasi-yoga standing balance poses and stretches, and 20 - 40 push-ups. Takes me about 10 - 15 min. 

You can probably google stretch routines for various body areas and then start building up a repertoire of stretches you like and are helpful for you. 

[Jenny in Florida]

Nothing new and different to report here. My husband's folding bike and both helmets have arrived, but we're still waiting on my bike. In the meantime, I keep walking (and walking and walking), doing the occasional exercise video and trying to remember to do my strength training three days a week (although I missed Wednesday this week). 

Work has been very busy this week, which makes it more difficult to carve out time to get out and walk during the day. The double whammy is that is also encourages me to snack all day in order to stay awake and focused. I'm trying to hold the line, but I'm not having fun.

[Soror]

No official exercise yesterday either. A small bit of walking.

My husband got out of here late and I made a big breakfast for him. Then I was on the phone sorting out medical bills and my parents came to drop something off and we had homeschool to do. After lunch I did my errands and we went to the pool but it was so cool I wasn't in there very long.

I did get a lot of errands ran and more things knocked off my to-do list.

Today we are supposed to work outside, dh is home so hopefully if the weather isn't crappy we can finish the shed this weekend, a girl can dream.

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by soror

[Ali in OR]

Finished my week with the original barefoot cardio video again. I like ending the week with this slightly longer but not intense workout. I'm already wondering what is going to need to change when school starts up in September. I won't have as much time in the morning.

Spent the morning processing peaches yesterday. Got 30 small cup containers in the freezer. I use these with plain Greek yogurt and granola through the year (when I'm not using frozen blueberries or strawberries). I only had 7 peaches left over, and that's not enough to do all the peach things I want to do, like can some quarts, so I went out and got another box and have those ripening on my counter for either tomorrow if they're ready or Sunday. Housecleaning today to leave the weekend open for other projects.

[wintermom]

Tennis was excellent this morning. The temps were great, no wind, and no back pain. I'm going to either walk or kayak with a friend later today. I hope it'll be kayak!

 

[KathyBC]

Hey you dependable posters, thanks for letting me drop in and out.
Had a phone consult and two masked in-person physio visits. Diagnosis: hip bursitis. Told to rest or run less for a few weeks. Since work has been crazy, that was too easy. He did ultrasound on hip both visits, I got some hip exercises, he taped up my plantar, gave some plantar exercises. Nothing like someone to observe and correct your clamshells, lol. I can feel them doing something now, haha.

Doing prescribed exercise sets daily, running 1km + walking 1km once per week (instead of running 2.7km 2x week).

Just pulled out an old Zumba dvd, did a quick 20 minute routine with weights. Man, my lower back is stiff. Felt awesome, though. Really got to get my glutes working, I literally have a lazy a$$. Always dumping on my quads and other body parts, poor things.

Did my annual work shoes purchase. DH and I are off to purchase a new mattress today.
I think I will work yoga back in, focusing on lower back, stretching and relaxation, do not need any more hip opening!
Will add body weight circuit back in as well. Would like to get lake swimming now that summer weather has showed up, just need a buddy.

[Soror]

19 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@wintermom Glad you are recovering and are playing. I love the "no wind and no back pain: sentence 😀. Happy Kayaking !

@Ali in OR  Your canning and putting up sounds impressive. In the same boat about wondering how much exercise will be impacted when school starts.

@soror Glad you swam and most of all you feel better physically and mentally.

@Laura Corin Nice to see you back to a routine and settling in the new house.

@Jenny in Florida I love how you said you keep walking, walking, walking. You always hold the line. 

Quite an upsetting week. An Indian lady who was out jogging early before her kids woke up was murdered over the weekend in a safe trail. We don't know her personally but through 6 degrees of separation.  What is most upsetting for me is her kids are between my kid's ages. I keep thinking and praying about them. Nothing we can do concretely except money. So many mothers do that, get up and run before their kids wake up. It is sobering and a reminder that life is so fragile.

The weather here is cooler, so we are out more. We are in the final countdown week before school starts. 

Have a good weekend ladies !

That is horrible 😞

[Laura Corin]

I'm sorry to hear about that @Dreamergal

[Ali in OR]

I'm the only one up (except the dog and cat). Love this time. Sipping my mocha, planning my day, enjoying peace, quiet, and the light coming through the window.

Started the day with some yoga. Learned Garland Pose, Goddess Pose, and added a third, Wild Thing Pose because it was only 3 minutes. The remaining videos are all longer, so TTh I'll probably only have time for one each day. Looks (and smells) like I have enough ripe peaches to can quarts today--one batch of 6 or 7 is enough for us. Peach & blackberry crisp with dinner tonight. Peach ice cream sometime in the coming week. Yeah, I know those last two don't quite fit in with the goal of losing 2.5 pounds this month, but the goal of enjoying the blessings of summer while we can is taking precedence. I think it's going to be a long, hard winter.

[Jenny in Florida]

First of all, @Dreamergal - I'm so sorry to hear about the tragedy in your community. 

I finally dug my way out of the work crisis yesterday afternoon and had a chance to breathe again. I did miss my step goal on Thursday, because I spent so much time glued to my chair trying to make headway on that project, but I got back on track yesterday. (Well, I forgot to do my weights, but I'll make that up sometime today so I get my three times for the week.)

Food yesterday:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with cinnamon and a sprinkle of pecans. Unsweetened applesauce. Coffee.
• Morning snack - Granola bar.
• Lunch - Taco Bell tostadas. (Apparently, they will be removed from the menu soon, along with some of the items my husband likes, so we decided to grab at least one more round.)
• Dinner - Hummus with crackers and carrots.

I talked the dog into going with me in the car this morning and drove to a nearby town with nicer walking paths. We made it out there before it got too hot and did three miles while seeing some greenery and wildlife (including a baby alligator). So, a nice way to start the weekend.

It turns out that the foldable bike my husband ordered arrived broken/missing a part that is essential to allowing it to fold. We're trying to figure out how to return it, now, since we can't fold it to put it back in the box. We ordered through Amazon (although from a third party), so I have put in the return request and we'll see how it goes. He's currently researching other options.

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Thanks @soror and @Laura Corin

Whole community is upset. Cops are patrolling trails now. 

So sorry to hear about this tragedy. It must be so shocking to you, especially. Prayers to you and your community. 

[wintermom]

Ds 18 and I went for a bike ride to my favourite river spot, swam in the bay, and then biked home again. It was amazing and refreshing, as it's pretty warm. I will definitely be repeating this delightful 'work-out' as much as I can.

I'll be kayaking with my friend tomorrow, and we'll go in my same favourite bay on the river. There's a great place to launch boats from and park vehicles.  

[SKL]

I got my black belt today, yay!

Still doing 3+ miles a day (walking hills), but I think I should up it to 3.5+ as soon as I clear some sedentary to-do's.  I have successfully convinced (forced) my 13yo runner to go to the national park with me so she can run while I walk.  I hope that lasts.  She has to admit it's more fun than running around a track a gazillion times.  But it's not easy to work it in before sunset.  (She was going to sports practice almost daily for a couple weeks, but then they suspended school sports activities.  :/)

I've been pretty good for the last 4 days about eating, as well as yoga & TKD practice.  I hope it continues.  But there is a party tomorrow that involves cake ....