The 2018 Exercise Motivation Thread

[furmonster mom]

Side planks are my nemesis

I cannot seem to get the hang of them...
How the hell do people brace their weight on the side of their foot?!! I don't get it! And then to add movement with the arm and leg that you are theoretically "not using"... gah!

I plan on climbing a wall tomorrow... something new to break things up.

 

[Norachan]

Side planks are my nemesis

I do a yoga plank, so it may be a little different to the one you do. Try putting your top foot on the floor in front of your bottom foot, heel to toe. You'll still get the core benefits, especially if you raise your hips up as a high as you can.

90 minutes walk and 90 minutes yoga on Friday.

30 minute walk and 45 minutes yoga on Saturday.

An hour of both today.

 

[Norachan]

I didn't do much on Tuesday, except for a 45 minute power yoga session.

Wednesday I did 90 minutes of slower yoga.

Thursday was horse riding!



Today I was a bit stiff and sore, thanks to those Mongolian style wooden saddles, but I did 90 minutes of yoga and a 90 minute walk.

Movie of the ride and the lovely critters we met.

Tateshina

• Norachan
• Jun 21, 2018
• 1

Horse ride at Noside Mongolian Riding Farm, Tateshina, Nagano. June 2018

 

[furmonster mom]

It must have been a horseback riding kind of week, 'cause that's what we did on Wednesday for our 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, it was furnace hot at the time we went out, but it couldn't be helped. Still, we did enjoy the ride, it was just us two and our guide. Good thing I'd been working on my hip flexors!

For my anniversary, my husband got me a Fitbit HR. I got him a classic Swiss watch. We had a good chuckle over the inadvertent "watch" theme. There is also an underlying joke there... He got me, the self professed Luddite, a tech gadget; I got him, the tech geek, an analog gadget. LOL

Nevertheless, the Fitbit does appeal to my slightly obsessive nature. I'm having fun with the app; tracking steps, heart rate, and food log. Tracking my sleep pattern has also been interesting. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get it to recognize my pilates/yoga or 5-a-day workouts.

 

[Winchester]

While I hadn't tried the treadmill this week, I managed to get some walking in all five days. I have my Fitbit set for 10,000 steps per day and a goal of 60,000 steps per week and 28 miles per week, over a period of seven days. But I'm not walking all seven days; I'm trying to five days and giving that muscle a rest during the weekend.

Monday - 10,104 steps / 5.26 miles
Tuesday - 11,051 steps / 5.75 miles
Wednesday - 12,030 steps / 6.26 miles
Thursday - 13.290 steps / 6.92 miles
Friday - 13,642 steps / 7.10 miles

5-day Total - 60,309 steps or 31 miles.
That's not bad, considering I wasn't on the treadmill at all. I walked around the house a bit every morning and tried for 500 steps every hour, even at work; it doesn't take long at all to walk 500 steps. If I knew I was close to 10,000 I'd push a little bit. I think I'll finish June this way and then try the treadmill, starting in July, see how that muscle feels. It's frustrating, though, because we've had some days when I could have walked outside during lunch, but I let it go for now. The muscle feels fairly OK, with some twinges. But hey, I'm trying.

I miss my treadmill. I miss my morning music. Walking around the house just doesn't cut it, but it's better than nothing.

 

[Norachan]

I'm not good with gadgets either furmonster mom I used to have an app on my phone that counted my steps, but I turned it off because I was getting into too many arguments with it.

Hope your muscles start to co-operate soon Winchester Is there anything else you can do besides walking?

I've had to work all weekend, but I did an hour of yoga yesterday and two 30 minute power flow sessions on my breaks today.

 

[Winchester]

furmonster mom You might want to read about Fitbits; there are some exercises that they won't "take" and you have to log those exercises in by hand. When I was using my Fitbit Flex and using the elliptical, I'd have to put the Flex in my shorts pocket because it would register the motions better than wearing it on my wrist. I have a Fitbit Blaze now and it includes the elliptical as a exercise, but it still doesn't keep a good record of the movement. It's frustrating. I like the Blaze because it keeps track of my heart rate.....but I don't think it's very accurate overall. I know it's not completely accurate with my steps. But it's way better than nothing. Good luck with your HR!

Norachan I just need to get off my butt once and for all. I keep starting out with exercise programs (exercise with and without weights, crunches, etc), but am not motivated to continue. I hate exercise. And I'm pretty lazy. Walking isn't exercise to me; it's fun. I'd much rather walk 3.5 miles on the treadmill than spend 30 minutes doing exercise.

 

[rubysmama]

I have a Fitbit Charge. I like it. But also don't think it's 100% accurate. Or even close to 100%. But at least it gives me an idea of what I'm doing. And sometimes motivates me to walk just a bit more.

I mentioned upthread, that it doesn't count steps if you are pushing a grocery cart. Like the elliptical, I guess. I'll have to try putting it in a pocket when I'm getting groceries, cause that's a lot of steps not getting counted.

 

[dalpaengi]

I went on the treadmill for the first time since May. That last month is when I was really too sick to do more than walk a few circles with my Mom at the local rest stop.

I'm proud of myself even though it will be hard to get back into the swing of things. It's only been my eating that I've strictly kept in check. I was way too stressed out to do anything else. But I'd like to post my progress more often.

As I read back through posts here, I'm motivated and inspired by you all.

I especially love it when I see people posting about the schedules they maintain and their gadgets. I'm happy for others when they find something that works for them.

 

[foxxycat]

Hi guys sorry I keep forgetting to check in! Been riding during the week the same route just about every day. 6 miles give or take. The road has a deadend and top of a leisurely hill so turning around and relaxing is the goal!

Winchester have you thought about getting a stationary bike for the days you have a hard time with walking? You can set it at easy setting to at least give range of motion to legs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I burn around 500 to 600 calories each time I go out on a ride but that was according to mapmyride app. Not sure how accurate but you should look into a second hand one for the days its steaming hot out so you can still get some exercise without dealing with muggy sticky ick...i know you really love walking though.

The thing I like about the bike is it doesnt put as much pressure on my knees as walking which I was not expecting.

Anyways i havent done any weekend rides lately. Been rainy and had too much junk in the truck to fit it back in but hopefully in July. This weekend looks to be a scorcher so not going to ride.

Good job everyone!!

 

[furmonster mom]

Well, we're hitting into the 110's these days, and even when the sun goes down it stays into the 90's until 5 am. Since I've never been a morning person, I've been taking my walks around 10 pm. It's still pretty warm, but at least the sun isn't beatin' down. Otherwise, it's indoor pilates, yoga, and 5-a-days (& weights).

I tried using the tracking feature to map my walk last night, but for some reason it stopped just at the edge of my driveway. Might be the way I had the phone attached to my water pack. Will have to try again another night.

I did find the manual exercise log feature; yoga and pilates are on the list of log choices. But it won't let me create an exercise, so my 5's will just have to be something else.

I'm running a kind of experiment with the Fitbit. I currently have it on my right wrist, which is dominant. Next week I will wear it on my left, and we'll see if/how the steps and heart rate track. I think after that, I will mostly just wear it when I'm exercising or to track my sleep pattern.

I consider the Fitbit a clever tool, but I don't intend to be dependent on it.

 

[Winchester]

foxxycat With all the gym equipment we have now, Rick would throw a royal fit if I even thought about a stationary bike! We have a ton of different stuff and we don't use any of it (I do love my treadmill).

This past week, according to my Fitbit dashboard:
Sunday - 6,036 steps = 3.14 miles (I don't ever do much on Sundays)
Monday - 14,006 steps = 7.29 miles
Tuesday - 17,025 steps = 8.87 miles
Wednesday - 16,115 steps = 8.39 miles
Thursday - 15,181 steps = 7.90 miles
Friday - 15,087 steps = 7.86 miles
Saturday - 11,223 = 5.84 miles (I don't ever do much on Saturdays)
For the week: 94,673 steps = 49 miles

I had some issues with my feet and at times my hip twinged a little bit, but nothing really bad. Because of the heat wave this week, Rick thinks I should let the treadmill go again this week and just walk around the house, get my steps in every hour at work and see how things go.

As for the Fitbit, I'm using the Blaze. There are a lot of issues with all of the Fitbits as to them keeping accurate track of mileage, steps, heart rate, etc. They told me to wear my Blaze about 2-3 fingers above my wrist. Don't wear it too tight, don't wear it too loose, etc. It can make you crazy. I figure that, as long as my resting heart rate stays between 50 - 56, I'm good. Since it got hotter, it's been hanging out around 56 - 57; that's to be expected. So many things can affect resting heart rate; heat, humidity, eating before bed, alcohol, etc. I've learned, too, that keeping a good walk every day will keep my resting heart rate lower.

 

[furmonster mom]

That's some incredible mileage Winchester!

I did get the Fitbits map track feature to work for me. I made sure to do it at a steady walking pace as opposed to my intermittent run/walk. Low and behold, what I thought was a 3.5 mile route this whole time was actually a 4.2 mile route. So, now I actually feel a little bit better for doing it in 55 minutes, lol.

My trainer and I have talked about not relying on the Fitbit as far as accuracy goes for heartbeat and steps for average daily movement. Even when using it for exercise, he warned the heart rate can be off by quite a bit, especially if the reading cycle is slow. The warning there is not to push harder just because the Fitbit doesn't reflect a "high enough" heart rate. If the Fitbit is off, that could actually result in cardio stress/strain. So we just look at the charts and HR zones in a more generalized "with a grain of salt" kind of way.

Something that has been frustrating me is that I tend to run out of breath when I run, so I haven't been able to push the distance or time on my route. I tried focusing on my breathing technique, but no success. I tried counting my paces; nada. My muscles are good to keep going, but my lungs still hit a wall. So my trainer got me on the treadmill and set a pace for me. First thing I noticed was that my stride seemed shorter on the treadmill. So, I will be focusing on that to see if it changes the game for me.

 

[Winchester]

furmonster mom Considering I'm not using the treadmill, I'm Ok with my steps. Rick says I'm a . I just keep plodding away.

Kudos for getting your map track feature figured out. I'm glad you got it. And kudos for walking more than you thought! (When I first started walking in at work, I used MapMyWalk. com to map out my 3.5 mile loop. Then I checked it as best I could with my car. Now I use my Fitbit and my iPod's fitness feature to keep track.)

I did a stress test last fall. At that time, they told me what my highest heart rate should be when exercising and not to go over that.

As for the Fitbit, when it really starts going wonky on me, the first thing I'll do is manually check my pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. That gets me a better check on my heart rate. The Fitbit's heart rate is usually a lot higher than what my actual heart rate really is. I think that, sometimes they do an update or an upgrade on the Fitbits and then when you go to charge the thing and put it back on your wrist, it goes crazy for a couple of days and then starts to settle back in again. And if you go to the Community for your Fitbit, inaccuracy is the biggest problem; a lot of people complain bitterly about that.....and I'm one of them. I will say, though, when I'm at the doctor and they check my pulse, it's always been right in line with my Blaze.

But one time, I was walking over to the library during my lunch break and I was walking briskly...I'm not a slow walker. The Blaze said my heart rate was 59. No, no way. That same day, I was doing my hourly walk around the building; the Blaze said my heart rate was 103. Again, nope. So it is frustrating.

If I do 3 miles on the treadmill, the Blaze will log in at 3.15 miles one morning and 2.5 miles the next. I started saying, "according to my Fitbit dashboard" because I do use it as my record when I'm not on the treadmill. When I'm using the treadmill, I use the treadmill's mileage.

Still overall, I like the Fitbit because it keeps me going. It "teases" me. If I look and see that I have 8,665 steps, well, I'll get off my butt and walk til I get 9,000 steps. Or I'll be getting ready for bed and see that I only need 200 steps to get to 14,000 steps. I'll make sure I get those 200 steps in. So for me, for that reason, the Fitbit is a good thing.

 

[foxxycat]

Winchester yeah i figured you would say that...just thought maybe time for switching out equipment? I got to get rid of the elliptical machine in my livingroom. It takes up too much room for the office. I haven't attacked the boxes of stuff in there yet.

This weeks high heat pretty much haulting all work. I rode on friday but it was super hot. Today taking it easy. I wish I could walk again but whenever I do some short walks my foot aches for weeks so kind of dead in the water so to speak. I plan on going swimming this week at a few swimming holes once the water warms up. Nothing like a dip on a hot day.

Take it easy in the heat folks. We had a coworker get picked up by ambulance today due to heat so please please take it easy and they are younger than I am...looks like I will hit the gym if I can muster the energy...now of they would keep it ice cold in there that would be great.


Keep up the good work everyone!!!

 

[Norachan]

Wow, I haven't posted here for a long time.



I have been doing yoga for at least an hour a day, and getting some long walks in too.

Friday I did an hour of yoga, walked for about four hours, then did another hour of yoga in the evening.

Saturday 90 minutes yoga and 90 minutes walk.

Sunday was two 90 minute yoga sessions.

Monday and Tuesday I did an hour of yoga in the morning, a long walk and then another hour of yoga in the evening.

There is a typhoon storming through here today, so no walk. 90 minutes yoga so far.

@jtbo are you still with us?

 

[furmonster mom]

Weight training today... yes, I know it's a holiday, and it's exactly the knowledge that there will be hamburgers, and sausages, and smacks, and snacks, and snacks, and lemon bars... so I intend to get a jump on some calorie burn! lol

Yesterday I did some Pilates and Yoga, and I realized something: I need to do a little more of that. Good lordy I was stiff. I guess that's what happens when I focus on only one type of exercise. Walk/run is great for getting that peak cardio, but I don't want to sacrifice flexibility and balance in the meantime. derp!

Have a festive and safe Fourth, folks.

 

[rubysmama]

Too hot here to do anything the last few days. So my exercise consists of walking to the fridge to get a cold drink.

 

[Norachan]

One hour of yoga yesterday, then I went to lunch with a friend and got my weekly dose of carbs.

90 minutes yoga and a one hour walk today. The typhoon has brought down a couple of trees and everything's looking a bit soggy and battered. At least it cooled things down a bit though.

 

[Norachan]

I've been doing Bikram Yoga this weekend. I found a couple of intermediate classes on YouTube. Maybe it makes a difference if you are dong it in a really hot studio, but it wasn't as challenging as I thought. I did 90 minutes Bikram on Saturday, 90 minutes of Sunday, followed by a 45 minute Vinyassa flow. I like doing Vinyassa, maybe Bikram isn't for me.

Back to my regular 90 minute flow today, followed by about 2 hours dragging fallen branches around and cleaning up last week's typhoon.