Catherine...Your doing great...keep up the good work!!

Great job keeping up with your workouts with all of the extra stress you’re been under lately.  I’m glad your Dad is doing better.

Thanks Shaun, Lisa and RJ - it’s great to have confirmation… and even though the changes can’t come fast enough I am enjoying finding that I can get into some things I haven’t been able to for a while. Yesterday I made a complete mess of my room trying on all my clothes and all the stuff I couldn’t wear last summer now fit well again… but it’s the dead of winter with 6 foot high snow banks outside… hopefully all those things will be to big by summer!!

I attached a few pictures of our house that were taken after our last major dumping that required shoveling 4 times, just not to get barricaded in by the snow!! The snow banks you can see are not quite 6 feet by the one at the end of our driveway is where the city plows have piled it up high. I’m glad we live on a side street - it would be impossible to back out without assistance on a busier one! Our poor Japanese Maple is almost completely covered by the snow and you can barely see the top of the table on our deck at the back of the house… I’m thinking maybe we should shovel off the deck.


Day 20 - front body weight routine - plus 1/2 hour elliptical at GoodLife. 1000+ calories burned. Had to figure out some new machines again today - some I really liked for the particular exercise (adductor, lateral raises, hamstring curls) others not so much (seated rows). Some of the machines hit my muscles differently than the equivalent exercise I do at school - some better, some I found a bit awkward. But I figure it is good to change things up for this week.

Tonight I took Bev out for a movie. She is the co-worker who started me out on this path at Christmas (read the page 1 of my thread) and I just wanted to show her my appreciation. She is proud of me too… she can see my efforts and the changes I am making. I feel so much better about myself, but I still have a long way to go. We had a good chat after the movie over a chi tea (with soy) which is something we don’t often get time for at work.

The following is a question I posted on Bree’s thread - again I am copying it here since it is my question… either place is fine for me… so long as Bree doesn’t mind having her thread used for discussion. Thanks

I wanted to get in on the supplement question. My knees have been achy too since I started this mission and I believe walking the treadmill is the culprit over any of the weight exercises I do. I asked my doctor about those very supplements (glucosamine and chondroiden (sp?)) and she would not commit to recommending them for me. I’m not positive she got my point though. I mentioned that my dad has Rheumatoid Arthritis and that I have had some bouts of achy hands after the odd long computer session, she only said that it wasn’t protective against RA. However that wasn’t really my question. What I wanted to know was will it help my knees (and other joints) now that I am exercising regularly? I’m going to stay away from the treadmill as much as possible, but since I have one at home it may be tempting some days to just jump (aka walk) on it rather than making it to the gym to use other “kinder on the joints’ cardio machines or the pool.

Thanks for any advise offered!!

Good job Cathrine, as far as the treadmill goes try to avoid the incline, do you have a good pair of shoes? A lot walking and running problems relate to your shoes,lack of good support can attribute to everything from knee problems to back problems. As far as the supplements go, they seem to work for some but not for others,I think it is because they are considered natural medicine.

Good Evening

Shawn - I do have a pair of new balance shoes that are only for use on the treadmill. I’ve had them for a few years, but they have not been heavily used until recently. They were recommended for my pronation (I’ve had foot problems in the past, but they seem to be in check now). I’ve never had achy knees like this before, but then again I’ve never really used the treadmill like this. I’m going to avoid the treadmill for a while, but when I do try it again I will keep it flat and see how the knees react. I should be able to avoid it until Easter Weekend.

Today I was debating what to do for my workout. Since I have access to GoodLife gyms this week I had two options. Go to one location to try out a new cardio machine (kinda like a glider where you swing your legs back and forth opposite to one another - don’t know what it is called) or go to a downtown location and go for a swim (only a few locations have pools). I opted for the swim to take it easy on my legs, and I was interested to see what swimming in a salt water pool would be like. I did call ahead to ask if it was a lap pool which the girl said it was, but was horribly disappointed when I got there and saw the pool was maybe 10 or 12 meters long. Also it was too warm to really swim hard in. I got in and moved for about 45 minutes, but there was no reason to count lengths - it only took 6-8 strokes to cross and that was without kicking once the entire time I was in there. So it was purely an arm crawl swim. I did run a few widths, but that didn’t last long as dogging the few other swimmers was a pain. I would have liked to do more, but after my last two days, maybe a light day is not a bad thing. I will go hard again tomorrow.

Tonight I listened to Scott’s live teleseminar. Good to put a voice to the name Bree!!
I took notes. I have to admit I have been avoiding making a very important life move. I completed my B. Ed. last year and managed to get back this year into the High School where I worked as support staff for 2 years before I went back to university. But I have an Elementary Teaching Certification (Grades 4-10) so I am limited in what I can teach there. I have done a some Science (Gr. 9) and Spec. Ed. but it is not really where I want to stay. Yes I have some great friendships with some staff and coaching the swim team is very rewarding, but I really can’t stay there long term. I want to change boards, because I can’t see myself staying in Toronto long term. I have to take the steps to get outside my comfort zone to make the move to achieve the life I really want and not just stay were it is easy. Now that I have put it out here I can’t hide behind anonymity. Part of my moving plan has to include taking the steps to get my resume out to the board I wish to be hired in. I have been “caught up in the fixin to get ready syndrome” as Scott put it tonight, so if I drop off a bit from the site it is because I have finally Started to Move on this goal. (As much as I enjoy reading all your threads, and posting my activities… it does eat up a fair bit of time, and I need to prioritize)

So there it is, I have written a bit of it down.  I have more to do.  I just need to get the ball rolling and then momentum will take over… I know it has as far as getting the exercise thing down… I’ll just have to learn to juggle now that I have more than one ball going.

Thanks again for listening… I hope that is not too much info, but you guys are so supportive I know I can be honest.  Thanks.
C.

Good luck on getting what you want Cathrine, if you work at it hard and steady, stay positive, you will surely get what you want.

Good luck Catherine!  You have done so well on your exercise, I’m sure you will do just as well on your other life goals.

Thursday - day 21 - went to the other gym to try out that new machine. It’s called a cybex (that might be the manufacturer ... not really sure) but it was 1/2 stair climber, 1/2 elliptical - it was Ok, but maybe a bit much for me yet. I just used it for my 10 minute warm-up. Then hit the machines to do my weights - front body routine (see outline of my workouts on page 1 of my thread). I think I over did it early in the week as I am still feeling quite tired. Took me a long time to get through my workout. Also I need to pay more attention to my eating, small but more frequent meals.

Friday - day 22 - wanted to take a rest day, but had an orientation booked at the gym in the morning. Basically the trainer (guy from the gym - not my trainer) showed me how several machines worked, most of which I knew and did one set on several of them. He checked my form and reminded me of timing (something I still need to pay attention to). When I told him that I was working with a trainer and told him a bit about my program he immediately started criticizing it. I just had a private chuckle. Ya, this guy seemed to know what he was doing, but he didn’t have the all the details and for now I’m sticking with what the guy I’m employing says!! At the end he asked about diet and recommended a week of cutting out all fat and sugar (inc. all fruit) from my diet to see quick results. While that might work, I think the changes would be likely to trigger migraines for me. I told him I was on a marathon, not a sprint. (I heard that somewhere recently .. was that on the teleseminar?) After the orientation, I just did 1/2 hour on the elliptical… too tired to do any more. Went home and had a nap!!

Saturday - day 23 - workout with my trainer Mike. Back body routine. Good workout - I just don’t like the last set that starts with shoulder press and ends with lateral dumbbell raises. My shoulders were still burning form the raises and I had to go straight back to the press. Ouch!! I can still feel the burn!!

After the fact edit:  Did an hour of easy yoga in the eveining - yoga for back and yogo for neck and shoulders potcasts (my two favourites for stretching and releasing tension in my problem areas) There is one shoulder stretch I have to watch… I don’t feel it at the time but this is the second time after I’ve done it that my left shoulder feels like I pushed it too far.

Good stuff Cathrine,sounds like a great Saturday workout!

Thanks Shawn - you always make sure to reply and I appreciate the continued support. I discovered a new thread this weekend that Pennyn pointed me to. The “Now and Then Full Body Photo Challenge”. I saw the dramatic change you have achieved. It was a great dose of inspiration. I’ll have to pop on to Deb’s thread and thank her for such a wonderful idea. It may be a bit after the fact, but maybe we can re-awaken that thread… it really is terrific to have visual confirmation of what is possible!!


Sunday was a scheduled and badly needed rest day. I was able to take a few steps toward my other life goal of getting hired as a full-time teacher.

Today (Day 25) was my first day back to school/work after march break. I was almost late because I forgot to re-set my alarm back to my early wake up time. (I rarely change the alarm and just have it set for my early mornings. If I don’t have to get up then I just hit the snooze button several times and go back to sleep until I really do have to get up.) Luckily I only slept late about 20 minutes and I didn’t have a first period class, so I did manage to get my workout in before my classes started. (But I had to go with wet hair!)

I don’t usually give the details, but here are the specifics of todays workout - if I remember correctly - left my spreadsheet at school.

Day 1 - FRONT BODY

Warm-up - 10 min bike

SUPERSET 1 (4 sets)
-Flat Bench Press 12+ reps (55, 60, 65, 65 lbs) Feel ready to go up a bit more next time
-Bodyweight Squats 20+ reps to failure! (Body weight only for first set, added a 25 lb? bar without plates for last 3 sets)… and I’ve only been able to do all 20 reps in the last week or so!
-Reverse Crunches 15 reps - moved from a bench to the floor to make it easier on my lower back

SUPERSET 2 (3 sets)
-Dumbbell Flyes 15 reps (all sets 15 lbs)
-Stationary Lunges 10 reps - I still find these very challenging but I’m getting better at connecting to the right muscles.  I think I should alternate which leg I do first because I always find the right (second) leg so much harder - partely because I still push off the back leg a bit too much.
-Crunches on Ball - toes on wall - 20+ reps

SUPERSET 3 (3 sets)
-Front Dumbbell Raises 15 reps (5 lb plates - no dumbbells available!!)
-Leg Extensions 20+ reps to failure! (30 lbs)- I am doing higher reps than in my 1st program and find I have had to decrease the weight a bit - oh the burn!! (Found that I could to a heavier weight last week on the machine’s at GoodLife - goes to show you how different machines can function differently!!)

SUPERSET 4 (3 sets)
-Barbell Curls 12-15 reps (all sets 25? lb bar)
-Cable Pushdowns 12-15 reps (30lbs)
-Crunches 20+ reps to failure!

No problem Cathrine, we’re all working towards the same goals? Great job on the workout!

Yesterday I was listing to a Fit Girl podcast on leg training and it talked about tight quads causing knee and low back problems. I’ve had low back issues for years (more likely caused from being tossed by a horse than my quads) but my chiro did comment on how tight my quads were in comparison to my hamstrings when I started going to him in November. So today I spent some time working on stretching throughout the day (students thought it was a bit weird when they came in and I was standing beside my desk holding my foot to my butt).  I just did 1 hr of LSB on the bike but got off every 20 min to stretch again. Not sure if it has helped yet, but time will tell.

Take care

Iteresting, good information Cathrine!

I finally caught up on your thread, and you are doing so amazing! Sorry to read about your dad, how’s he doing? I quit smoking a few years ago, hard at first, but now I often forget that I ever smoked. And I smoked for 14 years! (started at 14)

Hope your knees are feeling better soon.

Bree

Thanks Shawn and Bree

I was planning to give an update on my Dad today, so your timing was perfect Bree. It has been two weeks since his Heart Attack and he is doing just fine. Still taking it easy, but he is starting to get out and about with my mom and she finally feels she can leave him home alone for a bit. He has also managed to stay smoke free!! I guess he did hear us and I think talking with his room mates at the hospital the morning they were all released helped him realize that now is the time to quit. He says he finally hit his “rock bottom” and cold turkey is how he’ll do it. He did it with another addiction many years ago - so I think his attitude is to deal the same with this. He has tried aids to help him quit in the past, but they didn’t work for him. He didn’t think much of the idea of acupuncture when I suggested it to help him with the cravings.

This reminds me .... I want to review CPR with my parents so if they ever do need it they will know the basics. The procedure has changed so much it would be good for me to review it too… it is much simpler now… supposed to be more effective, but I’ll never get over the fact that you don’t even have to check for a pulse now and give compressions automatically when breathing is not normal!! (Sorry that was my rant ... they change it too often!!)


Today’s workout (day 28) Day 2 - BACK BODY

Warm-up 10 min bike

SUPERSET 1 (4 sets)
-Lat Pulldowns 12 reps (70, 80, 80, 80 lbs)
-Lying Leg Curls 12-15 reps (20, 22.5, 22.5, 22.5 lbs - because I do it on a flat bench I have to be careful of my low back and keep the wt down - on the seated curl I could do almost twice as much without too much prob - might this be contributing to a muscle imbalance in my legs - front (quads) vs. back (hams)?)
-Planks 45 seconds - was doing them on the bosu ball, but it has gone AWAL so toes and elbows it is - I know I couldn’t do that in January when I started!!)

SUPERSET 2 (3 sets)
-Seated Cable Rows 12-15 reps (60, 70, 70lbs)
-Sit-ups 15+reps
-Step Ups 60 seconds (with knee ups or 4lb med ball raises)

SUPERSET 3 (3 sets)
-Dumbbell Rows 12 reps (25lbs)
-Side DB Laterals 12-15 reps (5 lb plates)
-Calf raises 15 reps (body weight)

SUPERSET 4 (3 sets)
-Shoulder Press 12-15 reps (35, 40, 40lbs)
-Barbell Curls 12-15 reps (all sets 25? lb bar)
-Cable Pushdowns 12-15 reps (with rope grip - stayed at 20lbs today)


After my workout I didn’t have to be anywhere so I took about 1/2 an hour to have a good stretch, do some more ab exercises and a bit of yoga. Felt good. Tonight a long hot bath is in order.
The focus on stretching my quads does seem to be having a positive effect on my knees, but I am feeling yesterdays long bike (first one in a few years!!) in my hamstrings today.

Glad to hear your dad is doing well Cathrine and your doing great too!

Got on the scale this morning and I am finally down enough to announce I’ve lost 15 lbs total to date. This last 5 has been slower coming off, but I’ve been sick, my dad was in the hospital and last week was march break (did hard workouts, but less activity in general). I still think I may be fighting something and am not feeling like I have full energy back. It may also be because my “program 2” is more demanding. I am aiming for weight training sessions 2 days in a row (they are quite long - about an hour each day) and a day of cardio, repeat, then a rest day. I have changed things around a bit here and there (life happens), but that is what I am shooting for.

Day 29- It was a tight schedule today, but I got my workout in. Front Body routine. To be sure I would get it all done I did my ab and other floor exercises at lunch, because periods were shortened today. I got to the weight room on my prep and got through all the other exercises in time to join a few other teachers in the pool for a short swim before the long weekend. It was just a slow “work out the kinks” swim, as I am still feeling tightness in the legs and lower back from Tuesdays bike. Knees are not too bad after the squats, lunges and extensions - still focusing on stretching the quads. Now I just have to figure out how to get through the next 4 days without a gym and just the treadmill.

Good for you!  Great job!

Great job on the weight loss.  Enjoy your success.