The 2018 Exercise Motivation Thread

[Winchester]

Monday -
12/12 hours
18,208 steps for the day = 10.34 miles

Tuesday -
3.25 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 500+ steps per hour
18,265 steps for the day = 10.39 miles

My FitBit is wonky again, not giving me the steps I'm walking. I should be getting about 2,000 steps per mile. But I think it's over-compensating for miles. I kept resetting and resetting the thing, but it's off. I wish I could use my Flex for steps, but use the Blaze for heart rate information. The Flex has always been way more accurate for steps, but doesn't have the heart data that I want.

 

[foxxycat]

Not working out. Too hot. Been 95 tues and Wednesday. Still hot out. AC is on blast...ive been hauling hoses around to try to keep up with watering everything...does that count??

Winchester I found some stretching videos on youtube about PF. And lets see if the old tennis ball rolling helps...i remember we used it for our sciatic nerve attacks...i wonder if my muscles are too stiff so I know I should try yoga. .anyone else take yoga other than Norachan? I remember as a girl of 8 to 10 I would do the yoga program on the local channel every morning at 5:30am. Then they had that aerobics workout with the 3 women in a white room...the leotards and puffy hair...wow I eben found copies of these videos on YouTube...


For a bit of vintage videos..I still do some of those moves to this day..these ladies shaped my view of exercise as a girl..my mother was not interested in getting healthy..so I had to figure it out on my own...hence the dance classes then gymnastics then cycling and swimming...guess I am strange and do like working out.

 

[Winchester]

[RANT] This morning I did 3 miles on the treadmill. That should come out to around 6,000 steps, give or take a few. What did my Blaze show? 4,982 steps!! I even stopped in the middle of my walk to reset the Blaze, thinking that might help. Nope. I'm so....peeved. Frustrated. Angry. That's a lot of steps to be losing! Last week 18,000 steps got me to a little over 9 miles; this week, 18,000 steps is around 10 miles. I don't get it; checked my stride and that's all ok. And trying to talk to Fitbit is pretty much useless. That is all [/RANT]

foxxycat - furmonster mom had posted some beginning videos for yoga. I looked at them, but that was as far as I got. I don't want to do anything in this humidity. When it's really hot and humid, I get lazy. I hate sweating. It's been all I can do the past couple of days to get on the treadmill, let alone add exercise.

Wednesday -
3 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 500+ steps per hour
18,574 steps for the day = 10.55 miles

 

[foxxycat]

Yeah that fitbit is weird. I downloaded some app that measures my steps and it was off no matter what I entered so i deleted it. Sorry it's not working well Winchester . Yes I saw those videos and have done a few of those stretches this week. 14 more days until the doctor...ugg.

 

[maggiedemi]

When I use my treadmill, I just stay on it for an hour. I never counted miles. It might have miles on it, I never looked. It's pretty fancy.

 

[foxxycat]

I popped in at the gym. Bike for 30 minutes then that weight machine that has the bar and slots. Chest press and shoulder press then curls. I also stretched my back on that machine you step in and you hang over holding a weight plate on chest as you come up. It works buttocks and back. I just needed to stretch my back before i lift. Was uneventful. No crazy weights. I'm sure my upper shoulders will hurt in 48 hours...its always like that

 

[Norachan]

I haven't posted here for a while. We had a couple of cool days so I started doing short runs and longer walks. Then another typhoon went through, blew a load of trees down, caused a couple of mini landslides and made it very hot and humid again.

I've been keeping up with the yoga though. I did 90 minutes yoga this morning. I have an unexpected evening off today, so going for a long walk before it gets too dark now.

 

[Winchester]

Thursday -

3 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 500+ steps per hour
18,706 steps for the day = 10.31 miles

Norachan I'm glad you were able to keep up with things!

 

[maggiedemi]

I've never tried yoga.

 

[Norachan]

I've never tried yoga.

Yoga is the best!

You can do slow, deep stretches, easy routines, routines to work on balance and core strength, more dynamic flows that are good for your cardiovascular system. It doesn't matter how strong or flexible you are. The most important part of it is the breathing, so you can modify the flows and asanas to suit your body.

What kind of exercise do you like?

I had time for a 90 minute walk this morning, going to do about an hour of yoga when I finish work today.

 

[Winchester]

Friday -

3 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 500+ steps per hour
15,690 steps for the day = 8.17 miles

Taking a break today (Saturday).

The good news is that Fitbit has contacted me regarding the Blaze and I'll be working on some suggestions they gave me for step inaccuracy. Hopefully, we can get it working properly.

 

[rubysmama]

M maggiedemi : I've never done yoga either, but I really want to try.

Norachan : Is it best to do yoga on an empty stomach? Or at least a while after eating?

Winchester : let us know if you solve your Fitbit step problem, as mine is missing a lot of my steps too.

 

[maggiedemi]

What kind of exercise do you like?

I get on the treadmill for an hour and don't let myself get off until the hour is up. I set it to a fast walk. I don't get an arm work-out though because I have to hang on to the bars. I'm a tall person and a klutz, I just know I would go flying off and break my neck.

For weights, I took the little 3 pound weights off the barbell and I just hold them against my legs or butt when I do leg lifts.

 

[furmonster mom]

Went back to my trainer today after 2 1/2 weeks off. Had to confess that I didn't go to the gym as often as I should have. Part of the problem is that most of my ideal weight levels are at odd increments. Which he didn't realize until I texted him about it (Hey, what do I do if they don't have 27.5?). So, yah, regular gyms are going to be a little challenging for me.

Norachan , is there a book or guide that you would recommend for understanding various Yoga poses and terminology? I just sort of jumped into it with a friend, but since she's moved away I feel like I've stalled in progression. Finding videos that I enjoy has been... tedious... mostly because there's so many out there now to weed through.

 

[Winchester]

Saturday -
I hadn't planned on doing much walking, wanted to take the day off and I was busy in the kitchen for several hours. But then, the help team at FitBit did get back to me with some ideas and I ended up with 10,126 steps while walking around the house and on the treadmill last night. The Blaze is still way off. I'm only getting between 350 and 400 steps per 1/4-mile. A mile on the treadmill only gave me 1,500 steps, so for every mile I walk, I lose 500 steps, about 1/4 mile. Way under. Yet, if I walk around the house and count the steps out, the FitBit is spot-on. It's frustrating.

Anyway, I ended up with 117,600 steps for the week = 65.28 miles. That's according to FitBit. But who knows at this point? I had given my old Flex to Rick and he's never used it. I got it back, but he needs to find the charger for it. I'll charge it up and wear both and see where I stand on steps between the two (the Flex and the Blaze).

rubysmama I'll let you know when (and if) we get this straightened-out.

 

[furmonster mom]

Winchester , have you set your stride for the fitbit? I think there is a way to customize how long your stride is, so that the distance calculation is a little more accurate.
Generally, my running stride is a little longer than my walking stride; however, I've been working to keep it shorter which has actually allowed me to run longer.

 

[Norachan]

Is it best to do yoga on an empty stomach? Or at least a while after eating?

Yes, it's best on an empty stomach. A lot of people get up early and do yoga before breakfast. I'm not really a morning person (or a breakfast person) I usually try to limit myself to a coffee and a small glass of juice before yoga.

is there a book or guide that you would recommend for understanding various Yoga poses and terminology? I just sort of jumped into it with a friend, but since she's moved away I feel like I've stalled in progression. Finding videos that I enjoy has been... tedious... mostly because there's so many out there now to weed through

Terminology is difficult. The Sanskrit words for the poses are really pretty, but it tales a long time to memorise them. There are English terms for all of the asanas, but different teachers use different names for the same pose. For example, a pose I first learnt as standing pigeon is also called half chair pose and figure of four pose.

I have The Yoga Bible, which teaches you poses, how to get into them, breathing exercises and things like Drishti (gazing points) and Bandha (locks)


Only trouble is it doesn't have any flows, so you have to make the routines up by yourself.

If you want something more traditional you could look at videos that teach you the Ashtanga flow. Lots of different teachers demonstrate this, from there you could find a teacher who's style you enjoy.

I have a couple of favourite teachers. For me the main thing is whether I like their voice of not.

 

[Winchester]

furmonster mom Yes, I set the stride. Rick and I measured it out when I first got the Blaze, just to make sure it hadn't changed from the Flex and it didn't. We are going to re-check it this morning; we'll go outside, measure off the yards and let me walk it out.

FitBit got back to me. Since we've done all the troubleshooting we can do, they've offered me a 25% discount on another FitBit, not including the Blaze, the Versa or the Ace. If I get an Ionic, they're offering a 40% discount. I don't know what I'm going to do at this point. (They're discontinuing the Blaze, and that I think that's because they're starting to have so much trouble with it. A lot of people are complaining about inaccuracies with steps, heart rates, and so on.

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm not really a morning person (or a breakfast person) I usually try to limit myself to a coffee and a small glass of juice before yoga.

Same here, I'm one of the few people who hates breakfast. I do like breakfast food for lunch or dinner though.

 

[Norachan]

Same here, I'm one of the few people who hates breakfast. I do like breakfast food for lunch or dinner though.

Right! Skip breakfast and then have cereal for lunch or toast and fruit for dinner. I do that all the time.