[CreativeSparkle]

Whew, I just exercised. Hooray! I'm hoping to get myself into a routine and be more consistent. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and some stretching. Nothing too intense, but it was movement.

It looks like it's been almost a couple weeks since anyone has posted. How is everyone else doing with their routines?

[ScrappingForever]

Hello ladies!

I'm so sorry I've been missing in action around here. As most of you know, I'm over on Facebook a lot, really working on growing our business, so if you ever need to find me, that's a good place to start! In fact, I'd love to have you join us on our Fit Club page there at www.facebook.com/fitclubtoday. It's where we're doing the push-up challenge that JoEllen mentioned. That was the challenge for May. We will be doing a new challenge for June and will be putting up a poll to let our fans choose which one, so join now and be part of that.

I am going strong on my workouts, of course. I'm on week two of the second month of Insanity. Once this is done, it will be time to start training for the 1/2 marathon we're running in September in Virginia Beach. I will also be getting Turbo Fire, the new Chalene Johnson workout, as soon as that comes out, as well as Body Gospel which will be in the Beachbody store this Friday. I don't know when I'm going to get the time to do all of these, but that's immaterial! At the very least, we can use them for our Fit Club workouts.

Our Square Foot Garden is going great! Everything is growing like gangbusters and we're having salads made with our lettuce and spinach, plus the few little strawberries that we're getting this year. So fun!

I'm so glad to see that our steady gals are still hanging in there. Steph, definitely keep working on that Chi Running form. Even without the workshop, I think you will find what the book teaches is enough to get you started and change how running feels. Jenna, you should look into it, too. It totally changed how I feel about running!

Vaughnde, I'm glad to see that things are moving along to help find a solution for you. Keep us posted, okay! And Wendee, so glad you're getting back into it! Just do something every day, and before you know it, it will be a habit! Join us at the Fit Club and we'll give you that push you need, right JoEllen?

Hope you all are having a wonderful day! Time to get ready for our Fit Club!

[Jenna]

Howdy. LOL I have been gardening & keeping up with my C25K stuff. I am doing a hybrid of weeks 1 & 2 - running 1 min intervals until I just can't (feel like I will face-plant into the treadmill). Then I revert to the 30 sec intervals of week one. It's really irritating, I have never been a weak person, but I am also close to that time of the month & that's when my hormones really flare up & cause the weakness I think I have told ya'll about. I get weak, shaky, dizzy, my head starts swimming, & then my muscles all feel like they do after a super tough workout & turn to noodles. I get to the point that I can't trim my nails, fasten a bra, or climb the stairs. So I have learned that when my legs start really feeling heavy, or my vision starts to blur or I get hot all of a sudden I back off or my legs will just give out. One of these days I will be able to afford an endocrinologist! LOL In the mean time, I am still hanging in there.

Jan the garden looks great - I finally took some pics of mine & need to get them scrapped.

[KatieGrace]

I hope it's okay to jump in here. I'm trying to get fit and healthy and seeing others be successful is encouraging. I've got a host of health conditions but the most difficult is diabetes. I almost died in February due to a prescription drug reaction and since then I have been trying to get back to a healthier lifestyle. I exercise at least 30 minutes a day and stick to my 1200-1500 calorie a day diet. I think the biggest thing I learned this time around is eat what you love, just figure out how to make it healthy or fit it into a daily calorie allowance (the carb restrictions are the hard part). I've been doing a lot more cooking, but I'm enjoying my meals much more. So far I've lost 30 pounds with about 30 more to go. At sixty I'm not trying to get into a bikini, just trying to spend quality time with my kids and grandkids. I hope it's okay to share this website,sparkpeople.com. I just love it and it's absolutely free. They have so many useful tools on there. You can track your food intake (I don't use their menus, I just put my own food in). You can choose from 100s of foods or put your own in and it will tell you the calories, fat, carbs, etc. based on the amount you ate. You can also put your own recipes in and it will calculate the info. The fitness section will tell you how many calories you burn for certain activities based on how long you did them. You can plot out a walking or running route and it will tell you the distance and calculate calories burned for the time you took to walk it. I found out that going around the block in my subdivision is exactly 1 mile. There's lots of specific focus groups if you want to get involved with the message boards (I haven't done that since I spend most of my time here.) They also have newletters with encouraging tips and information. Good luck to every one who is trying to get healthy.

[dawnsmemories]

Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well! I realized it has been what seems like an eternity since I had been on this, so I wanted to check in! I have been keeping up with my work outs! I check in on Jan and Mike's fit club and Theresa's fit club over on FaceBook often. I am redoing ChaLean until I decide what I am getting next.

I am going to finally meet Jan in person! I have known her for 4+ years now and have never met so I am excited about that. While meeting her, she will 'torture' me with some workouts LOL. Actually I am going to try out some of the workout programs I am debating between.

I do read your posts through my email so I have been keeping up with everyone. Keep moving towards the healthier you!
Blessings!
Dawn

PS - welcome Katie to the group!

[Vaughnde]

Dawn...You will LOVE Jan! She's a sweetheart! Lots of fun in person as well as on SG.

Back to walking full time at the Mall with dad but going slowly. I am only able to do 4 laps around right now. My ankle is still half frozen and I need to do more of the rubber band exercise thingy with my ankle. I do some walking around the house too...Yesterday I got quite a bit wrapping some Lion Brand Wool around the bottom part of my ironing board (set up upside down) to work as a niddy noddy in preparation for dyeing. So that gave me a good workout as it took most of the day with breaks in between for my back. This morning I plan to walk to church because we are having an Icecream Social in between services and I plan to have some. Yes, I'll have breakfast long before I go and this will be a nice snack. I'm not a big eater so I doubt I'll have a lot of icecream. Redeemer's has begun their summer hours starting today so services will be earlier and the walk will do me good even if I go slow down there. It's 4 blocks from my house. I plan to leave my house early so I can get there in good time.

[StephRN]

Hi everyone,
Jan, thanks for the encouragement.

V, I'm so glad to hear that you're back on your feet. That slow-n-steady thing is the way to go when rehabbing. I found that out the hard way. I'm very impatient with my body. I have to force myself to acknowledge my limitations.

KatieGrace, welcome. It's so good to have you here. I'm really impressed. You've been through so much in this last year and having you jump into fitness is awesome. I look forward to seeing your posts and progress.

I've been MIA for most of my last fertility cycle. I'm feeling so yucky; I finally forced myself to workout today. I gained at least 10 lbs from this last cycle. Ugh. I feel stiff and uncomfortable.

I did CE Burn Circuit 1 and Insanity Plyo Cardio. I am modifying everything to low impact to accomodate my injuries. I'm supposed to start physical therapy again and I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully it will help me get the pain under control.

working out today was good. I've been really emotional and bloated from the the meds and now I'm just tired. It's good to be tired from physical exertion.

I haven't done much with the Chi Running yet. I have the DVD and it's really good. My plan is to start when I get some of this extra weight off my poor feet & knees.

I have to say, the recovery drink is amazing. It saves me from crashing. And, I'm really excited about Turbo Fire. I wish we could pre-order it.

I hope eveyone's having a goal-reaching success filled summer.

Hugs & good thoughts coming your way.

[ScrappingForever]

June 18 is the day Turbo Fire hits the store! You know I'll be one of the first in line!

[StephRN]

I'll be standing behind you. It will be awesome.

[KatieGrace]

ScrappingForever, on 06 June 2010 - 04:42 PM, said:

June 18 is the day Turbo Fire hits the store! You know I'll be one of the first in line!

What is Turbo Fire?

[Jenna]

did lower body weights & my running yesterday - Bryan wasn't feeling well today & he is my workout buddy so I haven't worked out yet but plan to do upper when it cools off some.

[ScrappingForever]

Turbo Fire is a new workout program by Beachbody, headed by a trainer named Chalene Johnson. Chalene is famous for Turbo Jam, Turbo Kick and ChaLEAN Extreme. There are several of us here who have used all of these and absolutely LOVE anything that Chalene does, so these are a must have.

Turbo Fire takes Turbo Jam to the next level. It's HIIT training, High Intensity Interval Training, which means the workouts takes your heart rate up and gets you burning fat, and then brings it back down again and then takes it back up again. It's been proven to be one of the best ways to burn fat and get the metabolism really rockin'.

BTW, I had a big WOW today! I went to buy new shorts, because my size 4s are getting too big. I was aiming for size 2, but tried on some size 0s, just to see, ya know! And lo and behold, they FIT! OMG! I'm in size 0. At age 46! This is just crazy to me! I've never been this small! Ever! Thank you Beachbody! As I keep saying on Facebook, I'm still grinning.

[StephRN]

Wow, Jan. You are inspirational. A size 0. OMG. You are totally convincing me that I can get back into my size 6 clothes. I'm so small-boned I could be a 2 someday. Hopefully, sooner than later.

I did Burn Circuit 2 and Insanity Cardio Resistance. My L knee was really hurting after my Sunday workout. So I really went for low impact on the Insanity. My calorie burn went down but my knee feels okay. I'll have to be happy with that.

Have I mentioned that I'm really excited about Turbo Fire. Can't have too much Chalene. Love her style. I'm just waiting to press that order button.

I also wanted to mention that I found a hydroponic store close to my house. They have some amazing set ups. I really want to try it out with a dwarf cherry tree this winter. Organic cherries would be so yum.

I hope everyone else is doing well.

[Jenna]

that is awesome - I would love to be in a 6 again one day. I am NOT small boned. LOL My mom has small/med bones for her height (she's 5'8") & my dad is large boned. My first midwife said I have a wide enough pelvis to deliver a 10+lb baby... um, thanks? LOL I wore a 5/6 in jr high & high school & at that time I measured out at about 13.5/14% body fat (part of our health class). I just want my old figure back.

So my knee is killing me today - swollen & stiff, but I did upper body & plan to ride my recumbant bike or at least walk on the treadmill tonight. Working on getting all my water intake in too - 32 oz so far, which puts me a bit behind where I'd likt to be for this late in the day.

[StephRN]

Jenna, I can totally empathize with the knee pain. Mine is better since I've really been careful keeping everything as low impact as possible. I also take Ibuprofen 2-3x a day to help with the swelling.

Great job on doing the upper body. It's awesome that you're being creative/flexible enough to keep going even with a sore knee.

I did Burn Circuit 3 and Insanity Pure Cardio. There's nothing better than working out to exhaustion and hitting the bed after a warm, soothing shower. Ahhh, life is good.

[Jenna]

hoping to get lower body & running done today How are ya'll doing?

[StephRN]

Burn Circuit 1 and Plyo Cardio done. I increased my weights on a couple exercises. Yay. My HRM is on the blink. Darn. So, I'm not sure how many cals I really burned. It feels like alot. LOL.

[KatieGrace]

I'm doing well, exercising every day (recumbant stationary bike and treadmill) and sticking to my diet plan so my blood sugars have been really good. 35 pounds gone so far and I feel so much better. All of you sound like you're doing well too. Keep it up!

[StephRN]

Wow, congrats on the 35 lbs. That's awesome. WTG.

[jeschaff]

I did Burn Intervals and Ab Burner today. I have a family wedding August 14, so I hope to be as ripped as possible by then, not that anyone is likely to notice but just in case...and I still need to find something to wear that shows off my fabulous arms, great legs, and much smaller waistline!

Steph, may I suggest experimenting with Chi Running's Body Looseners before you exercise? I've been using them before my runs and whenever I need to de-tense and they're really helpful. I'm thinking they'll help your knee problems and whatnot. Let me know what you think.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week. I know we've all been pretty quiet on this thread, so I hope that means fun!

[Jenna]

got my weights in today but missed the running - too much housework & errands

[ScrappingForever]

Wow! You ladies are all doing so well! So proud of you! KatieGrace, 35 pounds is awesome! Keep it up!
Steph and JoEllen, so proud of the way you are working this. Keep being consistent ladies! That's what counts!

I'm hanging in there. Doing the 3 Day Shakeology Cleanse and am starving! LOL But I'm down 3 lbs in two days, so I'm not going to complain. The trick is keeping it off once I go back to real food!

I'm on my Recovery Week this week, hence the cleanse. Next week, I'll be starting to train for our 1/2 marathon in September.I'll be doing the weights from ChaLEAN Extreme in between and throwing in what Turbo Fire I can here and there. Two more days!!!!

Have a great day everyone!

[ScrappingForever]

Turbo FIRE is in the HOUSE! Just ordered the regular version and the Deluxe DVDS! OMG! So excited!
If you don't know what this is, and would like more info, PM me.

Steph! Run, don't walk!

[StephRN]

Oh Jan, I just ordered it. I can't wait to get it. Yay. I love Chalene. This will be so awesome. I hope it comes quickly.

[dawnsmemories]

I ordered it also! Actually I had to call Jan as I was out of town with limited internet access so Jan to the rescue! LOL Can't wait for it to arrive.

We came back from a week with the in-laws on our annual fishing trip. My MIL said she was going to learn how to cook healthy but that got blown out of the water since she added butter to EVERYTHING, and extra cream or sugar to everything including fruits. Oh well, she is a great southern cook and it all tasted good. Our tummies were not used to it and shew that was rough. We are all now going threw withdraws of soda, sugar, butter, etc. I am starting a detox tomorrow so I will be ready for Turbo Fire when it arrives! (I heard some people had shipping confirmation already so I am hoping to get mine soon!)

I did exercise some... I walked several miles a day just between the 2 houses (up hill) and then down to the river. One day we walked in the river ~2 miles total in a strong current on slippery rocks so that was my big workout. There wasn't running areas as the ground was either high grass with divets or the big gray pointy rocks and I know I would have hurt myself really bad. I was picturing my ankle getting broken LOL

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and to work off these pounds I had gained. I will actually step on the scale tomorrow am to see the damage.

Great work everyone!
Dawn

[Jenna]

I did lower body today & ordered chi running on ebay last night - I am hoping that the book alone is enough to help make running more safe for my hips & knees since problems with those joints are in my family. I want to make sure that I take care of my body - my mom has no cartilage left in her knees & walking is incredibly painful. Anyway, I am excited about Turbo Fire too but it's not in the budget. I am going to be working again (for the first time in 7 yrs) whenever I find something that allows me to be home when the kids are home. Maybe when I am making some money to help out I can afford to enlarge my fitness library. In the mean time I will keep plugging along with my workouts.

[StephRN]

JoEllen, thank you for the suggestion re: the chi running looseners. I signed up for a one-day workshop but had to postpone d/t infertility stuff. So, I'm trying to figure out when would be the soonest I can go. I really want to add running to my workout schedule. By this time next year, I want to do my first sprint distance triathalon. I have a very long way to go. But, it will be worth it. You already look great so the wedding will just be a chance to show off your dedication to hotty-ness.

Jan, your dedication is inspiring.

Dawn, I'm glad you had fun and I'm sure you'll be able to get that weight off quickly.

Jenna, WTG on your lower body exercise. Danny started out with just the book. I'm sure it's totally perfect to get you going. I ordered the DVDs 'cause I don't want to spend my evenings reading technical stuff. Which is odd since I'm not a very visual learner but the older I get the more I enjoy utilizing that medium.

I did Burn Circuit 2 and Cardio Power & Resistance. I was able to increase weight on a couple exercises and a few of the Insanity exercises were a little easier this week than last. It's so awesome to make progress even if the scale hasn't yet gotten a clue.

I'm letting go of my scale addiction. Now to get rid of the food addiction....sigh.

[StephRN]

Burn Intervals; Ab Burner; Pure Cardio done.

[dawnsmemories]

I have done my 5K faithfully since returning from our trip... today, I am now waiting for the UPS man so I can do Turbo Fire!!!

Have a great day everyone!
Dawn

[KatieGrace]

The weekends are always a little harder. Finding time to exercise and eating right while I am out and about is more challenging but I think it was a successful weekend. I'm still hanging in there.