GYM HOLIDAY CROWDS

It was very interesting today at the gym.  With the holiday it was a whole different crowd of people.  I don't exactly stick to a super regular schedule, but going today made me realize how many familiar faces I usually see.

And the people were behaving differently, too.  At one point I looked up from the rowing machine and I saw groups of men in twos and threes, leaning on equipment, talking together.  Everywhere I looked, there they were - an image from the movie "The Birds" popped into my mind.  After a bit they began to go their separate ways and the image of  something being plotted faded away.

It was crowded and I gave up on using the weight equipment and went to another area to do my knee, back and ab exercises.  I usually take my iPod off for this but there was a young woman speaking a a loud voice to a man while running on the treadmill so I kept it on.  I could not turn it up loud enough to drown out all of what she was saying.  I especially could not miss that the F word was one of her favorites.  So - is it just me?  I think it is unattractive and rude to speak that way in public.  I know some people think words are just words, but in  public I still think there should be some restraint.

Anyway, I moved on and did a little people watching while I was stretching out and cooling down.  There were some older men wearing short shorts.  My girls get very upset by the sight of men in short shorts.  They don't realize that was what men wore on the basketball and tennis courts 20 years ago - it was the style all the guys wore.  Recently I heard a young person say a  rude name for speedo swim suits (banana hammock, if you must know)  but I was a timer for my high school swim team and have fond memories of those speedos and the boys wearing them! 

We may have used more ladylike language, but we knew not to complain about the opportunity to take a good look at athletic young men.

WISHFUL THINKING

I don't think I am alone in occasionally indulging in wishful thinking.  I have done this since I was a kid.  Something about Samantha Stevens on Bewitched wiggling her nose and being able to make things happen was very appealing and I spent time thinking about all the things I would like to change that easily.

In the past few months I have been thinking about how I want to go back to before my knees started to hurt.  It has just put such a damper on my enthusiasm for exercise. 

It's ironic, too.  Most people with my family history of osteoarthritis and knee replacements have knee pain and so they exercise and diet to relieve the pain.  I was pain free until I started to diet and exercise in earnest.  Add that to your song,  Alanis Morrisette.

Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that continuing to lose weight and exercise will help the pain and ease the symptoms and put off the surgery.  The knee already takes on a force of 3 to 6 times our body weight with each step while walking!  So reducing the amount of weight it is bearing is the best thing that can be done to help it!

I am going to a "knee class" next week, I have given in and changed up my gym routine to include what I find more boring, but less painful. 

I THINK I CAN DANCE

No matter how much I change up my exercise routine, I get bored sometimes.  I really enjoy it more when I have new music and I frequently change my playlists.  I am always switching around the music so it always seems fresh, adding new tunes in here and here.  I recently added a whole playlist of old Stevie Wonder tunes, they are really compatible with rowing.

Even so.  There I am, day after day at the gym.  On the equipment.  Yes, sometimes I go for a walk or ride my bike outside, but when I am at the gym.  I am at the gym...again.  So it is up to me to take myself somewhere else -  in my head. 

My favorite thing to do when I am on the Nu Step is to close my eyes and just get lost in the music.  I can really shut out all the sounds of the gym and transport myself back in time to the many places where I danced and danced through the nights.  I am no longer a big, old woman in the gym, I am young, graceful and rocking out to the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac.  In those days we didn't go to "clubs."  We went to bars.  Bars with music. 

In my head, that's where I go while I am working out in the gym.  And the time just flies away.

THE NUMBERS GAME

So the numbers are the story this week. I tried the heart rate monitor this morning during my workout. I decided to just do my 40 minute routine on the Nu-Step without looking up the charts so I could see what my actual rates have been without pushing toward a specific target.

For my age I should be aiming to work out (for weight loss) in the 99-148 range. I was working out in the range of 86-89 through most of my workout. When I did some high intensity intervals, I went up into the 100 range.

So this means that I need to get my intensity up during the entirety of my workout. I have been working at about 55% and I need to aim for 75% of my maximum heart rate. Tomorrow I am going to do 30-40 minutes on the rowing machine. My heart rate should be higher as it is a much harder work out for me.

But the numbers will tell...

MEET MY NEW FRIEND

I spent the last week with ice packs and Advil and feeling sorry for myself and then I just decided to try something new. I am really happy with this new friend I met at the gym:

The rowing machine (not the model on it)! I was not sure that it would work with the knee issues, but the Internet research indicated it would so I gave it a go and I loved it. It is a really good workout (duh) and easier to figure out than I expected (not as uncoordinated as I thought) and it did not hurt while I was on or after.

The bonus was that I asked one of the trainers to just check out my form to make sure I was doing it right and she offered to give me 2 free training sessions! So I am scheduled for Sunday.

I am feeling so much better about things this week. Hurray.

KNEES IN PAIN AGAIN

I skipped the gym today because my knees are really hurting. I keep trying to use the elliptical machines to vary my work outs and I think I need to give it up. There is something about the mechanics that just does not work for me.

I am fine when I am working out, but later I have been having severe pain just to the inside of my kneecaps. Very bad, not the usual achy kind of pain, sharp pain. So - no more elliptical machine.

I am going to spend more time with the weights. I am feeling the need to firm now that the weather is warmer and I am starting to slim off the layers of fat. So I will do my own circuit training workout with aerobic intervals between the weights.

Now I need to make a new iPod gym mix for that kind of workout...

WEEKLY WEIGH IN

Not much new to add.  I have stayed on plan all week.  Lost another 2 pounds for a total of  6 for week one and 12 for the month of January.

I have devoted some more time to meal planning so that the dinner meal I am eating will have more variety for the family and be acceptable or adaptable for my plan.  My only "splurge" off the bars/shakes/bites routine has been celery with a bit of peanut butter.  My average daily calories for the week  have been coming in at 1050.

I plan to get out walking this weekend and during the week in additon to the gym - my new goal for the week.  I have my pedometer at the ready.  I will report in soon!

FRUSTRATION

Sometimes I hate the weekends. I know that I do it to myself to an extent because I feel that I have to take care of everyone else and then fit my needs in.

Ally had to to to meet a group to work on a school project. There were numerous phone calls and texts exchanged last evening making arrangements and setting the time. So she needed to be there at 11. Tom has gone out for a long bike ride and I am hanging around all morning, dressed for the gym. Then the time is changed to 11:30 because someone had to go to church. Ally is mad that I question why she didn't know last night she was going to church?

Finally it is almost time to go and she announces she needs $20. Well, I spent most my cash yesterday at the farmer's market. So now Tom is home so she goes to him for the money and he says he'll take her and get money on the way. And off they go.

So I have waited around all morning and now I am not even driving her. Geez. At that point I said forget it, I'm not going to the gym. I changed clothes and went out to work on a mosaic. It was colder than I thought, I went back in to change again and realized that I wasn't feeling enthusiastic about the mosaic and I should just make myself go to the gym.

So I did. I worked out pretty hard, too. I tried the elliptical machine again - only lasted 10 minutes. But I will keep trying.

No sooner was I home again than I had to go pick Ally up, the video camera they were using ran out of batteries. Planning is not the forte of this group.

WEEKEND WEIGH IN

A pretty good week. I went to the gym 3 times, I logged my food 5 days and I lost 2 pounds.

I have not been in a great place mentally. I thought that reaching goal of menopause meant that things would stabilize when it came to moods and hot flashes and sleeplessness. But, no. Apparently it can go on indefinitely. I have found that I am not having a fluctuation in moods - I am just down. I feel sad and tired and it frustrates me. The worst of it is that I had a total melt down at work which has completely shot my creditability.

So much for Mrs. Brightside...which reminds me, I come to that name for my blog because of a song I find irresistible for my workouts. It is by The Killers - called I'm Mr. Brightside. I have 4 songs by that band on my workout music.

Here is a link to the Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnwLf88t_Wc

Since I got my iPod I have found I have much better and longer aerobic work outs when I have the right mix of music going.

Ow

I went to the gym with Maggie on Sunday and I guess I over did it. I was on the stepper for 40 minutes, which is about average time-wise. But I was all hyped up and I was going fast.

I stretched out a lot after, but didn't go into the steam or whirlpool or even shower right away. By the time I showered and went to bed - I was in major achy mode. And my foot hurt - really sharp pain. Even 3 Advil did not sooth the pains enough to go to sleep. Took sleep med at 1 a.m.

I've got to ease into this...