Cardio 10/8/04

There are a couple of reasons that prompted me to try ArcTrainer this week. One is that my dog has been on a diet and she is successfully losing weight. Even little by little. And, not me. Grrr. The second is that last Saturday, while I was so happy to be back exercising, I learned about this year's Doggie Dash & Dawdle. For the last three years, I have walked 2 miles with Pepper. They also have 5k competitive run. It is a fun thing to watch human and dog run together! I was hoping that I was fit enough to be so cool. So, I went to the gym to try out if I can run 5k. I heard running on the treadmill is not just a real thing and it is a lot easier, so I thought I would give it a try. FORGET IT. The machine had program for 5k, but I couldn't even make it half way. However I found a program that said "fit test". Maybe this is the infamous fit test that they talked about in Fit for over 40 book. I thought I would try on Sunday, but my legs weren't 100% right, so I didn't do it. Maybe I will become more adventurous and try it next weekend???

Periodization and appetite 10/7/04

I like Health Magazine (as well as Shape en español). In the latest issue, it talked about trainer's best kept secret and they mentioned periodization. I thought it was for weight training that I have to do for every 4-6 weeks, but the article said you could vary reps and sets for each workout. Because the body gets accustomed to whatever exercise you do, you have to entertain yourself and challenge the body to keep getting the result. I thought this was timely because I just started using ArcTrainer and I like it. Today I went up to Level 3 on Weight Loss program and I am feeling my appetite going up. I recall when I first started exercising, I had to constantly eat. Today I have been hungry constantly. Maybe this is a new routine and the body is trying to adjust it. If so, maybe it is a good sign...

Arc Trainer and member appreciation day 10/5/04

If the scale at my gym is not broken, my weight has not changed. Everybody says I need to do more cardio. (There will be another entry about this.) Today is my rest day from weight training, so I got a little enthusiastic and tried ARC TRAINER. The picture doesn't look exactly the same, because it doesn't show a water bottle holder. (This becomes a crucial point later.) I like anything being able to program and boy, they had various programs! Trying this for the first time, I went with Fat Burn (NOT cardio) and humbly started with level 1 for 30 minutes. First I was frustrated because I can't read my magazine, but soon learned that I could use heart monitor handle to read it closer. And heart monitor tells me if my heart rate is in fat burn/cardio range. I like Elliptical, but it is starting to feel like my heart rate is not high enough, although I sweat. It is kind of fun to see, oh, it is red, good, cardio range. Gone down to green, oops, below fat burn, and so forth.

This week is a member appreciation week and a staff persona came to me and gave me a keychain to go with my water bottle. It has a big metal ring and a strap and rubber band on the end to wrap around the water bottle. Cheesy promotional material, but I sure appreciate the thought. I am trying to figure out where to hook on my bag. Water bottles are big and easy to hide inside, so I will find a good place! Thanks!

Viva! Latin Rhythm Workout DVD 10/3/04

I am starting to realize that I probably don't do enough cardio work. I know I should have been swimming this weekend, but I didn't. Yesterday, I wanted to try if I can run 5k for Doggie Dash & Dawdle and it wasn't the problem if my dog, Pepper could run. I couldn't. I have never really tried cardio type classes. I just don't want to hear instructor screaming and, oh, I don't know... My knees are a problem, too. (excuses, excuses) So I decided to buy something that I can do cardio without much to carry on the road. So I bought Viva! Latin Rhythm Workout DVD. The main reason is that this one comes in English and Spanish. If I can't do anything else, I thought, at least I could study Spanish with it.

I did it for the first time yesterday. Elise's instructions are very clear. She is good looking enough to look at. She says the more I do the video, the easier it gets. So yesterday was my worst time. I am an avid dancer, but I am never good when I am told when to do what. This was no exception. I need to get certain steps right and it will be a while to add those sexy arm movements. But I did sweat and it was a good workout that I felt glad when I ended the routine. I told うぐいす嬢 that I am going to bring it next time we meet and I am just trying to imagine four of us doing this for the first time. It will be a lot of confusion, bumping to each other. But will it be fun?