Mileage Monday - Back To Strength

My efforts to make friends with my hand weights again is going well. Last week I managed only one day, but that's OK. I want to take it slow. This week my plan is two days. I already did my strength routine for today, and I'll do it again on Thursday. Then next week I may try for three days. We'll see.

I do find myself enjoying my strength training workouts more since I've cut out the ab routine. I had such a long ab routine (20 minutes just for ab work), that I found myself really dreading strength training days. For now I don't plan on adding any ab work back into my routine. I may pick and choose a few moves to add back in further down the line.

I'm doing OK with my cardio workouts. I have to say it again, if I don't get my workouts in early in the morning they tend not to happen. I had a few days like that last week, and I regretted not getting those workouts in. So far so good this week.

Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Burgin, KY in Mercer county, and I have about 1 mile to go until I reach Harrodsburg, KY in Mercer county. It's actually 1.1 mile I have left to go. I plan on doing the elliptical tomorrow, and I typically just do 1 mile on the elliptical. I may have to push another tenth of a mile to get to the next town. I've been thinking about increasing my mileage on the elliptical for a while, so this might be a good excuse to do that.

Here are the pictures I have from the virtual walk site for the last week.

Mile 805.6 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 806.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 809 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

(photo credit - Virtual Walk site)

Make it a great week, and Keep Moving!

Mileage Monday!

This might be the last Mileage Monday I post for a few weeks. I thought I had more of a backlog of pictures, but looks like I'm all caught up after this post. Next week, I'll be out of town for about nine days, but I should have at least 4 or 5 pictures, so I might squeeze in one more Mileage Monday post before I go.

Still going strong with my cardio workouts. Strength training is another story. My hand weights and I need to become reacquainted when I get back from vacation. I haven't done consistent strength training since late November 2013, maybe even October. So, it's time to get back to it. At least I'm back into consistent cardio workouts, which for me is more important. Strength training is important, but for me to keep moving is even more so.

I've also been fairly good at getting my workouts done in the morning. I may even start earlier than I do now. Normally, I wake up, have coffee right away, and check email. I get sucked in, and that's my problem. If I get up, get dressed, and get my butt on the elliptical or some other workout, I can get all that out of the way, and THEN have coffee. That might be tough. We'll see. I can be a zombie first thing in the morning. Don't talk to me until I have coffee, or you might lose your head. Nah, I'm not that bad. We'll play it by ear though when I get back. I need a cut off time in the morning though so I don't get sucked in.

OK, on to the pictures from the virtual walk site!

Mile 782.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 785 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 786 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 789.6 (Leslie Sansone for 3.5 miles)

Mile 792 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 793 (elliptical for 1 mile)

I will try and have one more Mileage Monday post before I leave. I also plan on writing up some posts this week to auto upload while I'm gone. Maybe do a few posts this week, and a few posts while I'm gone. I do have things I want to write about, I've just gotten side-tracked with other things. And of course, I will be writing up a vacation recap when I get back. Within a few weeks of returning if not sooner.

Keep moving!

This Week’s Workout Schedule

(photo credit - www.fitsugar.com)

I love all the trainers on The Biggest Loser. So glad this season has started. I always ask myself every season who I would choose if I could have one of these guys train me. I usually flip flop, but I think I’ve settled on Bob. He can kick your butt, be sympathetic, AND take no excuses from anyone. All at the same time. Plus he seems to have a great sense of humor (I love his laugh). Dolvett is a close second, and Jillian is a close third.

I’ve decided to plan out my workouts for the week from now on. Leslie Sansone’s October challenge made me decide to do that. Having my workouts planned ahead of time made me get it done faster and earlier in the day.

This week’s schedule looks like this:

Monday – Full body strength training and 5K With A Twist DVD

Tuesday – Elliptical for 1 mile

Wednesday – Full body strength training and 5K With A Twist DVD

Thursday – Elliptical for 1 mile

Friday – Full body strength training and 5K With A Twist DVD

Saturday – Elliptical for 1 mile

Sunday – Elliptical for 1 mile or take a rest day depending on how I feel

This schedule does not include any marching in place I will do as I watch TV or my YouTube subscriptions. It also doesn’t include biking. Hopefully I can get my workouts done early in the morning this week. That’s my goal. At least the strength training.

Hope everyone has a successful and active week. Keep moving! Who’s your favorite Biggest Loser trainer?

Leslie Sansone’s October Challenge – Final Week

It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of Leslie Sansone’s October challenge.I’ve done fairly well at sticking to the exercise routines. I did swap some of the walking miles for biking miles, but I was active every day. Monday’s are my weigh in days, and this morning I am still down 2 pounds. I was down 2 pounds last Monday, and it’s holding steady. The schedule for the last 3 days (she’s giving everyone a day off for celebration on the 31) is up. Here it is.

Monday, October 28 – 2 interval miles (she suggests The Big Burn dvd. It’s on youtube I think)

Tuesday, October 29  - 2 miles and core strength training

Wednesday, October 30 – 2 interval miles (again The Big Burn)

Thursday, October 31 – No structured exercise, but she says to celebrate by being active.

For today, I took a 2 mile (or almost) bike ride with my niece. So, that’s going to be my workout for the day. I’ve enjoyed this month’s challenge, and I hope she does another one soon. I like having a schedule to follow. I might make up a weekly plan from now on. I seems to follow it better and actually get it done sooner than if I have no written plan.

Have a great week, and keep moving!

Leslie Sansone’s October Challenge: Week Four

(photo credit - www.sharecare.com)

Hey hey! Leslie Sansone has this week’s schedule up already. Good deal. Only ten days left of this challenge, Time flies when you’ve got daily assignments. I think I may plan my weeks from now on. I usually just play it by ear. During this October challenge, I’ve been adding all of the workouts to my calendar, so every morning I have an email sitting in my inbox yelling at me until I get it done.

Week four looks like it’s right up my alley. I may add in my elliptical on one or two of the “strength training only” days though. I want to keep that up. Looks like I’ll be doing the 5K With A Twist dvd a lot this week. Fine by me, that’s my favorite DVD. I did that a lot last week also.

Here’s the plan for this week.

Monday, October 21 – Full body strength training only.

Tuesday, October 22 – 3 miles.

Wednesday, October 23 – Full body strength training only.

Thursday, October 24 – 3 miles.

Friday, October 25 – Full body strength training only.

Saturday, October 26 – 3 miles.

Sunday, October 27 – Full body strength training only.

There you have it. Week four. She gives some suggestions on her blog about which dvds to do 5K With A Twist being one of them. I can’t recommend that particular dvd enough. I absolutely love it.

Have a great week, and keep moving!!

Leslie Sansone’s October Challenge: Week Three Schedule

(photo credit:http://www.walkathome.com/)

I need to get my butt in gear. I took multiple days off last week again. Excuse after excuse after excuse. So, this week, I will be doing my best to get in a daily workout. I can at least get in one of Leslie’s miles. It is only 15 minutes to do one of her miles after all. No excuses!

So we’re on to week three already. This week is the same thing every day, and totally up to you as to what you want to do. We’ll be doing at least two miles every day, and then we have the option to a “bonus” activity, which means strength training. So you can do two miles one day plus upper body work, or you can choose to do three miles and do no strength training.

Check out Leslie Sansone’s full blog post for more details. Here’s my plan for this week.

Monday, October 14 – 3 miles

Tuesday, October 15 – 2 miles and full body strength

Wednesday, October 16 – 3 miles

Thursday, October 17 – 2 miles and full body strength

Friday, October 18 – 3 miles

Saturday, October 19 – 1 or 2 miles or a bike ride depending on what we’re doing that day. May be a chiropractic morning.

Sunday, October 20 – 1 or 2 miles or a bike ride depending on what’s going on that day.

I am getting back into my strength training slowly. My left arm is finally starting to feel a bit better. I pulled a muscle somehow a while ago, and it’s been giving me issues since. Stretching it helps a lot though.

So a full week of activity is planned. And I will be sticking to it! No excuses! Keep moving everyone.

Leslie Sansone’s October Challenge: Week Two Schedule

(photo credit - www.collagevideo.com)

Well, week one went OK. I missed two days though, oops. Oh well, on to week two. I don’t plan on missing days this week. I weigh in every Monday morning, and this morning I was down one pound. I actually checked it three times, because I wasn’t sure if the scale was flat on the floor. But the needle was down one tick (yep, a needle scale, still thinking about the FitBit Aria scale).

So, the week two schedule has been posted. Here we go.

Monday, October 7 – 2 (or 3) miles.

Tuesday, October 8 – Full body strength (see the bottom of her blog post).

Wednesday, October 9 – 2 (or 3) miles.

Thursday, October 10 – Full body strength.

Friday, October 11 – 2 (or 3) miles.

Saturday, October 12 – Full body strength.

Sunday, October 13 – 2 (or 3) miles.

There you have it. Two or three miles today. Totally up to everyone as to what they want to do. I’m thinking I may do one or two miles with a DVD and then a mile on the elliptical. No miles to be done Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, but I may do a DVD anyway since I skipped a few days last week.

Keep moving everyone. I have some blog posts I want to put up this week. Still need to write them though. Will work on that today. Have a great week!

Mileage Monday

Been a while since my last post again. Oops. I actually am still dealing with an achy left shoulder. I haven’t done any strength training for over a month. I think I’m going to try some light exercises maybe today. Or else at least pop in my Pilates DVD. I haven’t done that DVD in years (literally). I should probably do a review on that DVD, even if it is an old one.

Speaking of reviews, I’m planning to do a review in a few months about something I just received. I’ve been wanting a FitBit for years, and my husband surprised me with one last week. I now have a FitBit Flex. I’ve had it less than a week, and I love it so far! Way too early to write up a review on it though. But my first impressions are very positive. I’m now thinking about getting the FitBit scale, which is called Aria. We’ll see though.

On to the mileage part of this post. Since my last entry, I’m passed through the town of Mallie, KY in Knott county. I have about 2 miles until I get to Hindman, KY in Knott county. Here are the latest pictures from the Virtual Walk site.

Mile 624.6 (watp for 1 mile, elliptical for 1 mile)           Mile 625.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                      

Mile 626.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)                                     Mile 627.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                      

Mile 628.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)                                    Mile 629.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                      

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

I want to know what’s going on in this last picture. Lots of cars over there on the left!

Happy Labor Day! Keep moving!

Mileage Monday

It’s the beginning of another week. Seems like summer is flying by. I know some kids are already back in school. Seems crazy that they start this early. Summer is not my favorite season, for more than one reason. But, there’s only a few more weeks until things start to pick up again for the fall. Fall and winter are my favorites. Thankfully, our summer temperatures never got too hot. Oh yes, we’ve had some hot days, and will have some more hot ones before the end of summer. We’ve only had a handful of days over 115. Staying around 105 to 108 for the most part though. We even had a high of 95 last week (or was it the week before?). I’m not complaining.

This summer, we’ve had our fair share of strangeness. A few wildfires broke out in our area. We get wildfires every year, but none ever this close to us. Normally, they stay about 60 or more miles away, but we’ve had two that have reached the Palm Springs area, and that’s only 25 to 30 miles of us. We had some nasty smoke and ash from both fires, but they’re gone now. The Silver fire is the most recent one, and it’s now 95% contained. Hopefully this is the end of fire season.

I did get some exercise in last week. I’m taking some time off from strength training to let my left shoulder heal. Not sure what I did to it, but I think due to a combination of some of my strength training moves and how I vacuum, I pulled something. It’s feeling a bit better, but I’m taking one more week off from strength training. I’m also going to go through my arm exercises and get rid of a few. I know of of a couple that would only re-aggravate it, so bye bye to them.

Since I got my cervical pillow, I’ve had a lot less issues with my neck. It seems to be keeping my neck aligned all night. I still get aches and pains, but nowhere near as bad I used to. So, that was a good $20 spent.

On to the virtual walk stats. I’ve passed through the city of Melvin, KY in Floyd county, and have about 4.5 miles until I get to Mallie, KY in Knott county. I’ve gone a total of 622.6 miles, and I’m going strong. Here are the pictures from last week.

Mile 619.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)                                 Mile 620.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                   

Mile 621.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)                                  Mile 622.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                   

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving!

Mileage Monday

Back into full swing with my workouts starting tomorrow. I took most of the last two weeks off from strength training because of my upper back and neck being sore. My neck is still a bit stiff, but at least I can do my elliptical without a problem.

I’m closing in on 600 miles on the virtual walk! Still in Kentucky, and I’ve passed through the city of Lookout. I have about 5 miles until I reach Melvin, KY in Pike county. Once I reach 600 miles, I’ll post a picture of the map of where I am. I haven’t done that in a while. Here are last week’s pictures.

Mile 595.2 (watp for 1 mile)                                     Mile 596.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                  

Mile 597.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)                                 Mile 598.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                   

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Keep moving!

Did I? Didn’t I?

Well, I bet you’re all dying to know if I met my goal of doing 1/2 mile straight on my elliptical on Friday, the first day of summer. Well, no, I did not do that on Friday. My workout got postponed Friday. Half on my workout that is. I got my strength training done and then found out my sister in-law and the kids were coming down “early”, so I put it off until today.

Did I do it? Yes I did! I really didn’t think it was going to get done today, because I got on the elliptical and during the first 100 revolutions, my right hip (not really the hip, but the upper outer leg) was tired. But I pushed on, and it worked itself out. Felt good, and around the 650 revolution mark, I began to feel my legs start to tire. I thought to myself, “it’s only 150 more revolutions, you can push through it”, and that’s what I did. Legs were tired, then they were fine, then they were tired, then they were fine. Back and forth for a while, and then I was done.

It’s been about an hour since I finished, and I feel OK now. My legs were tired when I got off, but they seem to be just fine now. I only did a half mile, I didn’t continue to do a full mile like I thought I would. I decided to be smart and stop.

I don’t know how often I’ll do a half mile straight, but it will happen again. I know it’s possible now. You sometimes need a lot of determination to get something done, but you can do what you want, if it is something you really want to do.

Keep pushing, and keep moving!

Mileage Monday Update

I feel like I can do a lot more now that my back is fixed. I feel a lot straighter on the elliptical, and I don’t ache at all on it any more. My legs still need breaks, but my back is now not an issue.

I’ve taken the last week or two off from strength training, and will get back at that this week. I should probably ask the chiropractor how much I should lift during my strength training. Might be a good idea. I’m going to drop down to my 5 pound weights this week, and see how that feels.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures from the virtual walk site. Just passed through Hayers Gap, VA today. Now I'm on my way to Rosedale, VA which is about 14 miles away.

Mile 484.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)                              Mile 485 (elliptical for .5 mile)

               

Mile 485.6 (elliptical for .5 mile)                             Mile 486 (elliptical for .5 mile)

               

Mile 486.8 (elliptical for .7)                                    Mile 487.2 (elliptical for .5 mile)

               

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving!

Keep Chugging Along

I’m changing my workout routine a bit I think. I need to find some good upper back and neck stretches since those are my tightest areas lately. I‘m going to drop down to two days a week for my strength training and see if that eases things up a bit. Still keeping up with the elliptical. That seems to be the best thing to get the kinks out of my upper back and neck.

This time of year is always a blessing and a curse for me. It’s finally starting to cool down (I don’t think we have temps over 85 this week), but it also means my body is going to stiffen up more. I love the cooler weather, but my body does not. It’s really tough to get my legs moving when they’re cold. It’s 6:45 AM right now and 35 degrees. Supposed to get to 77 for a high today. Woohoo, but will my legs move? We’ll force them to. I plan on doing a mile today on the elliptical, so that should help for a while.

Here’s some more catch-up pictures from the virtual walk site.

Mile 478.6 (elliptical for .5 mile)                                  Mile 479.2 (elliptical for .5 mile)

                     

Mile 481 (elliptical for .8 mile)                                      Mile 482 (elliptical for 1 mile)

                      

Mile 482.4 (elliptical for .5 mile)                                   Mile 483.6 (elliptical for .6 mile)

                      

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving! Gotta stay warm! Hardest part is getting started.

Walking Wednesday

I have nothing in particular to talk about today, so I thought I’d get you all caught up some more on the pictures from the virtual site. I took Sunday off, and I just did strength training on Monday.

Tuesday I did one mile on the elliptical, and it felt pretty good. I accomplished my goal of doing it in blocks of 300 revolutions. I think I probably could have done the last chunk in 400 revolutions, but I took that last break. Might try that sometime soon. Not sure if I should up my chunks to 400 or not yet. Soon, but maybe not quite yet.

Here are some pictures.

Mile 469.6 (Elliptical for .7 mile)                                    Mile 470.4 (Elliptical for .7 mile)

                       

Mile 471 (Elliptical for .7 mile)                                       Mile 471.6 (Elliptical for .5 mile)

                       

Mile 472.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)                                     Mile 473.6

                       

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Tuesday’s Stats:

Cardio - Elliptical:
Distance - 1 mile
Revolutions - 1600
Resistance Level - 1
Endurance - Good. Stopped at 300, 600, 900, 1200, and 1500 revs.
Injury - None.
Time - 32:08

Up for tomorrow? Strength training and another mile!

Keep moving!

Mileage Monday Strikes Again!

Seems like I just did one of these. The days are flying by, and so are the miles! Monday’s workout might be a light day or another off day. I might just do strength training, and call it a day. My lower right leg still has knots in it, plus I was doing a lot of kneeling and bending over on Sunday. So I worked out Sunday, even though I didn’t “work out”.

I went through a bunch of old clothes and washed them. I plan on giving them away someplace. I do not like throwing away clothes if they’re still wearable. I feel bad. I have a hard time giving stuff away sometimes too. I still have my Snoopy from when I was like 3 years old. Plus a few other stuffed animals. They’re in a bag in the closet. What should I do with them? Hmmm.

I went through one drawer thinking it was full of certain clothes, but it turned out to be filled with my fat pants. No hesitation on those suckers. They went into the washing machine and will be given away somewhere at some point.

We’ll see what happens today in terms of working out. I won’t feel bad for taking it off if I do. Tuesday, however, I’ll be aiming for a mile on the elliptical. We’ll see how the knots are then.

Here are the pictures from the virtual walk site.

Mile 466.2 (elliptical for .5 mile)                                  Mile 466.8 (elliptical for .5 mile)

                     

Mile 467.2 (elliptical for .5 mile)                                  Mile 467.8 (elliptical for .5 mile

                     

Mile 468.2 (elliptical for .5 mile)                                   Mile 469 (elliptical for .7 mile)

                      

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving!