Friday, November 27, 2009

Progress Report: November 20-26


Please report your miles for the week! Also take a minute to check your total in the sidebar to make sure I've got it right so far. AND, if your blogger name doesn't match what's in the sidebar, I'll love you forever if you give me a hint as to who you are. :)

Did you have any triumphs this week? Any hurdles to overcome?

What goals do you have for the upcoming week?

If you have an update on your own blog, leave us the link in the comments so we can come cheer you on!

Guest Posts this week:
Elliptical Machines

If you would like to guest post, please let me know via email! Life is all of a sudden very busy for me, so I'd love the help!

We're quickly approaching the end of November (can you believe it?). To be on track you should try to shoot for 66 miles by the 30th.
Have a great week!


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Elliptical Machine

Hi y'all! This is my first post to this blog, and hopefully it's okay, Trish! I just had a really exciting day in exercise and I thought I'd share my experience. :)

I have struggled with my health for years, and in the last two years it's been particularly bad. I've been lethargic and unable to exercise for any long period of time. Even just walking for longer than, say, 15 minutes makes my lower back and hips hurt. I've tried stretching, all sorts of warm-ups, different shoes, different places to walk, and even monthly chiropractic visits, but for the last two years, I've been unable to keep up with exercise.

Two years ago, I bought a treadmill. I really tried using it. I liked the idea of being able to walk or jog in my house, because 3 months of the year I'm too allergic to mountain cedar to go outside, and another 3+ months of the year, the temperature hovers around 100 most of the day (not fun!). Unfortunately, the treadmill never worked for me. It hurt my knees and feet, in addition to my lower back and hips. Argh!

This is really frustrating to me. I used to be an athlete, a competitive swimmer, for years. It frustrates me to no end that just the tiniest bit of exercise now is near-crippling. In the last few weeks, I've hit an even worse block on this 100-mile fitness challenge: one of my feet was injured, so that the tendons can't have a lot of pressure placed on them. I honestly thought I was going to have to drop out of this challenge. Already I am woefully behind. But I thought I'd give it one more shot - my husband suggested we go out and get an exercise bike.

Today, we went out. But instead of an exercise bike, we wandered over to the elliptical machines. I've never used an elliptical, so I thought I should try some out. I got on several, and was surprised how easy they were to use, and how easy on all my joints and my feet. The really expensive ones didn't feel like I was moving at all! Of course, we couldn't afford one of the really expensive ones (I did not get the model pictured above...), but we did decide to invest in an elliptical. We got it home and Jason put it together for me.

Oh my. It's such a strange feeling. I just spent half an hour on there, and I feel good. I feel like I used to feel when I got out of the water as a swimmer. My whole body feels exercised, not just my legs, but at the same time, other than a bit of muscle soreness, I don't hurt. More than that, I feel energized! I feel like later tonight, I might get back on for another half an hour.

Of course, I'm not going too fast or using any resistance for now. I'm just beginning, so I'm trying to build up my strength. But I'm excited. I think this is going to work for me! After years of trying to find something that works for me, I really think this is going to work. Plus, despite being a lower-end model, my elliptical still lets me plug in my iPod and listen to music or an audiobook while exercising. I love it!

Okay, I'll go now, but I just wanted to say if you have access to one of these machines, at a gym or something, and you haven't tried it, you should. It's amazing. Though I have a lot of catching up to do, I hope to see all of you at the 100-mile finish line!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Progress Report: November 13-19


Please report your miles for the week! Also take a minute to check your total in the sidebar to make sure I've got it right so far. AND, if your blogger name doesn't match what's in the sidebar, I'll love you forever if you give me a hint as to who you are so I don't have to figure it out. :) We have several participants with the same name!

Did you have any triumphs this week? Any hurdles to overcome?

What goals do you have for the upcoming week?

If you have an update on your own blog, leave us the link in the comments so we can come cheer you on!

No Guest Posts this week.

If you would like to guest post, please let me know in the comments or via email! Life is all of a sudden very busy for me, so I'd love the help!

Have a great week! And Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating! If you're going out of town for the holiday, do you have any tips for working out away from home?

Friday, November 13, 2009

Progress Report: November 6-12


Please report your miles for the week! Also take a minute to check your total in the sidebar to make sure I've got it right so far. AND, if your blogger name doesn't match what's in the sidebar, I'll love you forever if you give me a hint as to who you are so I don't have to figure it out. :) We have several participants with the same name!

Did you have any triumphs this week? Any hurdles to overcome?

What goals do you have for the upcoming week?

If you have an update on your own blog, leave us the link in the comments so we can come cheer you on!

Guest Posts this week (great tips for changing it up):

If you would like to guest post, please let me know in the comments or via email!

Have a great week! And we are quickly approaching the halfway point. To be on track try to have 50 miles by November 15th!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

10 Minute Speedy Workout!

Just Vicky here again for your speedy workout!

What you will need: 1 Jump Rope*, 2 Dumbells**


Your Workout:

1 Minute Jump Rope (count how many times you jump the rope and then divide by 2 for all future iterations... it is a faster workout if you just count revolutions rather than timing each segment.)
Superset 1: 3 x (25 Calf Raises, 10 Over Head Tricep Press)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Superset 2: 3 x (10 Bench Press***, 10 Chest Flye***)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Superset 3: 3 x (10 Squats, 6 each side Single Arm Bent Over Row)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Stretch: 20 Seconds minimum - hamstrings, deltoids, triceps

This workout should take you exactly 10 minutes... want to make sure you get in your 15 minutes of exercise and get a mile? Throughout the day, set a timer for 30 or 45 minutes, get up from your desk (or wherever you are working) and d0 25 wide-stance squats (like a Plie). Unsure about doing this at your desk? I used to use a timer on my computer that would flash, then go to the bathroom and do my squats there (so no one in the office would see me - and if I were in heels, I'd just not go down as deep in the squats). Do this 5 times or more during your day along with the speedy workout and you'll hit your 15 min mark for total exercise.

*No Jump Rope? Mimic the motion of jumping rope or do something else like step ups on your bottom stair at home.

**Don't have dumbells? Look in your cupboards - smaller soup cans can be your "light" weights and big cans can be your "heavy" weights. Do you use milk jugs in your house? You can save these and make varying weights by filling them partway with water or sand - these even have a nice handle to make them easier to pick up.

***No bench at home? Lay on floor and get into bridge position to do your "bench" workouts.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me: shoredebris at live dot com

Routine for the more seasoned weight-lifter

Good Morning! It's Vicky again. Today I will give you two options for quick workouts and am beginning with the one for the more seasoned weight-lifter...

I got this workout when I was in college - I was a walk on for a heavyweight crew team (me, miss clumsy, cannot make any sports team ever in high school, gets letter saying you are the right size - a.k.a. your college application indicates you might be on the chubby side - to be a rower). Anyway, during our spring season, the football team's weightlifting coaches became our weightlifting coaches and this is my favorite workout from that time.

The picture is from this Bootcamp Crossfit Program.

3 sets of 6 of each of the following exercises (no rest during the sets) at 1/3 your body weight**.
Upright Row
High Pulls
Hang Cleans
Front Squat with Overhead Press
Straight Leg Dead Lifts
Bent Over Rows
Bicep Curls

I currently use my olympic bar for these exercises, but in the years before I could afford that, I had the tiny weight set that only goes up to 55 lbs and that works, too - as do kettle bells if you have those.

[**If you have not been pushing weights recently, I recommend dropping down to 1/4 of body weight or less... I've had to do that when getting back on the bandwagon yet again... my cycle of life]

Monday, November 9, 2009

20 Minute Circuit Workout

Good Morning! I'm Vicky and I'm normally playing with shells at Shore Debris.

I have subscriptions to Self, Shape, and Fitness magazines and use them to mix and match exercises and create workouts that work for me and my neighbors. (Yes, I am a good friend, I bring out the workout and big stick to make sure they do it!) Currently, due to my one friend's very, very hectic schedule, I've been making different 10-20 minute workouts that she can try to fit in 4-5 times per week.



This workout involves both strength training and cardio intervals and should take you 20 minutes.

For the cardio sections, I used my elliptical, but I made my neighbor run sprints on our street. You can use a treadmill, bike, step up and down on the stairs in your house, jump rope, jumping jacks, run in place, etc - Just use whatever you have around.

The "Body weight circuit" that is listed in the workout is: 20 reps each with no rest between push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges (20 ea leg), and side leg lifts (20 ea leg).

And here is the workout:

2.5 min cardio warm-up

3 x (body weight circuit, 1 min cardio sprint)

1 x body weight circuit

1 min cardio cool-down

A minimum of 20 sec each (calf stretch, hamstring stretch, butterfly stretch)

I hope this gave you a new idea for what to do with your workouts this week. Have a great mileage week and if you have any questions about what I mean in this workout post, feel free to e-mail me at shoredebris at live dot com.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Progress Report: October 30 - November 5

Please report your miles for the week! Also take a minute to check your total in the sidebar to make sure I've got it right so far. AND, if your blogger name doesn't match what's in the sidebar, I'll love you forever if you give me a hint as to who you are so I don't have to figure it out. :) We have several participants with the same name!

Did you have any triumphs this week? Any hurdles to overcome?

What goals do you have for the upcoming week?

If you have an update on your own blog, leave us the link in the comments so we can come cheer you on!

Guest Posts this week:
Polar F11 Heart Monitor and Running at 56 (you MUST read this post!)

If you would like to guest post, please let me know in the comments or via email!

Have a great week!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

How a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor Turned Me into a Jogger at 56


Hi,
I’m Catherine and I hang out a Words World and Wings most of the time. But I wanted to tell you all about what made me a regular exerciser, and that is a heart rate monitor. I bought a Polar F11, and I can’t say enough good about it. There are probably other heart rate monitors on the market, but because I use the F11, that’s the one I’ll talk about.
I spent most of my life thinking I wasn’t athletic, and that I could never be a jogger. When I saw a woman on our street, who used to jog four miles a day, run by our house, I secretly envied her. She must be a born athlete, I thought. Any time I tried jogging, I’d get out of breath almost immediately. It was pathetic, when all I was trying to do was jog between two telephone poles! I was convinced that I didn’t have it, and never would.

But then, when I was 56 years old, I bought a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor, and discovered my inner athlete. It not only made me a jogger, it changed the way I view myself. Heck, if I could jog four miles a day, several days a week—and I discovered that I could—then I could do anything.

Here’s how the F11 can make you a jogger (or a walker, or a regular exerciser): You program it with your sex, height, weight, age, and starting level of physical fitness, as measured by a test that determines your cardiovascular fitness. On the day I first tested my fitness, I scored 26, which was low average for my age.

Once you have the key information programmed into your watch, you then select a fitness plan. You can maintain your current fitness, improve, maximize, or go for peak fitness. If you haven’t exercised for a while, you should see your doctor to make sure it’s safe to stress your heart with exercise. Prior to buying my F11, I’d been having chest pains, which sent me to the doctor. A treadmill test showed that I was okay, so he said I could exercise without any restrictions whatsoever.

By the time I’d been exercising regularly for two months, my cardiovascular fitness had jumped to 46, which is elite for my age. (For my age, anything above 33 is elite.) I was feeling fantastic! Kick-butt strong. I could hardly believe it. I was jogging 18-24 miles per week.

Here’s why using a heart rate monitor works: Each time you exercise, your monitor sets a heart rate range that is specific not only to you, but to your energy level that day. It generally gives me a 15-beat range. When I go above the upper limit, it beeps at me to slow down. When that happens, it’s very important to slow down.

It doesn’t mean you’re about to keel over from a heart attack, but it does mean that if you go over the limit for several minutes, and you do that every time you exercise, you will soon burn out. It’s what always happened to me before I had a monitor. I would work too hard, get too tired, and decide I didn’t have what it takes. When you’re tired before you even start out, you lose all motivation to exercise. It feels like hard work, instead of exhilarating fun.

On the other hand, if you’re exercising below your lower limit, the watch beeps at you. That’s very good too! Sometimes I start daydreaming, and forget that I’m supposed to be pushing myself. The F11 is your personal trainer, after all. It won’t let you slack off.

The F11 keeps track of the number of times you exercise over the course of a week. If you fulfilled your Exercise Plan at the rate of 75% or higher, your watch displays a trophy for the following week. The trophy is a visual reminder of how often you stayed with your exercise plan. I might lie to myself, but my F11 doesn’t lie to me. I’ve had my watch now for 15 months, and in the first year I stayed with my program, (which is set to maximize my fitness), 82% of the time, or 42 out of 52 weeks. It is such a great motivator!

In addition, the F11 keeps track of the number of calories you burn during each exercise, plus a weekly total. Once your fitness increases, so does the amount of calories you burn for the exact same exercise. I have to admit that when I see I’ve burned 573 calories on my morning jog, I often go through the day forgetting that I am someone who, despite all, needs to watch my calories. Too often, I eat that bowl of ice cream after dinner. So instead of losing weight over the past year, I’ve gained. But my shape is much sleeker than it would be at this weight if I didn’t exercise at all.

Polar F11’s cost about $160. If you shop around, you could probably get it for less. My results with the F11 have inspired my husband, my mother-in-law, and three of my friends to buy one. My daughter and daughter-in-law also want to buy one, and my son-in-law would like to try it out. For months after I first got it, my husband went around telling everyone that I'd become a jogger by using the Polar F11. It's that exciting.

Would a F11 be right for you? All I can say is that it did nothing less than change my life and the way I view myself. Who would’ve guessed that I could become athletic at 56? Or that I would feel so great because of exercise? Or that jogging would become so important to me that I can’t not jog? It’s all because of the F11.