Keeping on exercising

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

That last 100th post snuck up as I was coming on to check in this evening!
@BezMills
@Happleandhorange
@Roonetta
@alittlefrustrated
@tryingtobesogood
@ProfessorRadcliffeEmerson
@afaloren
Let me go check who I've forgotten...

I love that image; I’ve saved it!

I did my six minutes yesterday and today I’ve done some upper body exercises with some 3kg weights. They’re too heavy for me. But I did it.

7

I am a big believer in just turning up for the sake of it! Swimming today - a bit busy to count lengths but I did half an hour in the fast lane. So must be ok. Physio also ticked off.

I've had an off week but managed:
Friday - 4.6 mile walk (cut short as my doggy companion's paw started bleeding).
202
Today - 60 x25m swim am
1 hr line dance style fitness class, pm.
203.
This time last year I was doing my 100 day challenge up to Christmas. I seem to have fell off the wagon this year 😳
Never mind - onwards and upwards 🤣

Hot yoga today - i needed it

30 mins today of dance YT videos. Yesterday yoga. Saturday jeffing. Trying to do 30+ mins every day for 7 days, normally more like 15-20 mins daily. I feel my energy levels dip a lot in autumn/ winter, so trying to create to my mojo (plus SAD lamp and more time outside!).

I had three sessions at the crossfits last week. Can't quite remember the deets, but to be fair I can imagine it's like other people's dreams - or listening to Arnold Rimmer recounting his game of Risk. So, then we did some burpees, then we did some ski erg, then we ... blah you get it.

Today was bench press, really pleased with that. As usual, doesn't really pay to look at what everybody else was doing. There's a wee nana next to me benching 10-15kg total, and for her that was a big effort. Then the bench past nana, there's a younger woman who I outweigh by maybe 25-30 kilo, doing almost the same weight as me. So even though my bar had the biggest weight on it, all three of us were pushing great guns, and I'd honestly say Nana was the one who was doing the best - well out of her comfort zone and giving it full beans effort. I love to see it!

Then it was 5 sprints with 2 minutes rest in between. I quite enjoyed that - I think I'm a natural sprinter (not that I'm any good at your actual actual sprinting sprinting but hopefully that makes sense).

The impressed with the Nana gives me hope that when I join a gym and I’m doing tiny thing people won’t judge me. I’m 43 and not a nana but I am super weak and super anxious about joining a gym.

yeah honestly I get that @FurForksSake it's super common even for people that are quite used to the gym. I recommend at least an induction and maybe a couple of PT sessions so you know what you're going to do and how everything works.

It will still be a bit scary at first but most people at the gym are actually really nice (even tho there are a lot of people who have Stern Gym Face, they tend to be lovely if you speak to them).

If you can find a gym buddy and go at a quiet time (mid morning, just after lunch for example are usually really quiet) it can be really great fun! If you turn up at 6am when everybody is stressed and rushing trying to get a workout in before doing the school run and/or commute - it can be a quite different vibe - and unless you need to be there at that time, I would avoid it.

I’ve been over the years to a few gyms and never stuck it out. I did go to one that did classes for a while and that worked out. But now I need to get into weights to sustain me it has to be the gym. There’s a good independent not far from me and they do a package with some training so I’ll probably opt for that.

Went to my regular Pilates class today.

Scared to use weights today - flu jab yesterday and arm is sore and the supposed Pilates class on Saturday jiggered my right knee slightly: my own fault, since I should have stopped when I realised that it was hurting. (Replacement instructor announced she'd be doing quick-moving Flow [?] but that we'd know the moves from Pilates.)

https://www.self.com/gallery/dumbbell-arm-exercises-triceps I just made my way though this with two 750ml water bottles.

8

Nothing for me today. Couldn’t get out of bed for swimming. Then work and then took dgs to the dr.

I am member of the gym for pool and classes. I’d like to start using the gym. I do dumbbells at home though. I’m also intimidated but I might ask the GP referral person at the gym for help.

feeling shattered and a bit weighed down with some personal sadness. Swimming would have helped!

1 hr pilates class

Shoulder physio yesterday and then gym today with all her horrible painful exercises to do.
I hate to admit it but shoulder feels better immediately though.

65

Hugs about the personal sadness, @stilldumdedumming .

Only had my 30 minute Stretch class today. Managed not too badly.

Nervous in case the knee doesn't improve - shall just have to make the best of it, I guess.

I'm pleased at what I'm managing in Stretch - never thought I'd be able to move like that again. While I was doing the class, it came to me (as it often does) that DH would have been pleased that I'm getting fitter and found myself welling up.

Fortunately, the specs hide a lot!

I take my hat off to the Stretch trainer: she's running all over Fife and Edinburgh doing classes. I feel sorry for young folk having to do so much just to make a living.

She's very good - always gives us options so that we can all manage.

30 mins intermediate aerobics video
30 mins pilates
205.

I'm glad to hear you're getting so much out of the classes.

I admire the hustle of the professional group fitness instructors so much. It's a often a shockingly low hourly rate and the logistics are often really difficult (running about all over the kingdom teaching an hour here and two hours there, for example). Then you have to consider some of these classes are very physically demanding on the instructor (Dance, BodyPump or BodyCombat etc are bloody exhausting to teach multiple times a week, even if you're super fit). Even if you're not leading by example, teaching is very mentally taxing as you have to keep an eye on 20 people and give everybody some attention and instruction, keep them all safe, and working in the right intensity with correct technique etc etc.

I couldn't agree more, @BezMills , I am in awe of the instructors here.

Tonight was a weird mixture of great and terrible. My legs are getting much stronger. Which is exciting. My arms are coping better. But the stress of trying to exercise my shoulder made me feel weepy and faint at points. I coped, and am so pleased to be managing treadmill again. Well done little ankle.

66. Already starting to look forward to 75 Cake!

It's even worse than I realised, @BezMills. Apparently, if the class is lower on numbers, the instructors don't get a full wage. (The only exception is a half hour class.) That seems horribly unfair.

People are supposed to cancel at least 2 hrs in advance so that someone else can book in. Unfortunately, there are people cancelling maybe just half an hour ahead when it's bad weather, etc.

40 x25m swim
1 hour pilates class
90 mins qigong class
206.

45 min senior flex: cardio, free weight arm exercises, wall push ups, stretches.

At Active for Health - 15 min on bicycle, yoga ball exercise, some side raises.

Should have done more, but finished up sharing osteoporosis info with another participant.

ETA Also saw osteopath, mainly for knees and lower back.

That's grim economics. Poor teachers.

Today DS3 and I did a big trip to some local caves. I didnt think we'd walked far but my watch says it was over 12,000 steps. Plus I hauled heavy camping fridge around. So I think that counts as a workout!

Ink sketch of cave included for context :-)

Back to the exercise bike, had a couple of days of high pain so haven’t managed much.

9

That's absolutely shocking @WearyAuldWumman

At my old gym, they would cancel a class if there were <2 people booked in, at very short notice. Which was a big pain for the instructors. Most of us are juggling other things, whether it's different gyms and PT clients for the professionals, or quite commonly having a FT job and teaching in spare time for the love of the game. A gym cancelling your class with next to no notice, or cutting your wage, that's just honestly bullshit for the instructors. So a business with 6 or 7 figures turnover can save ten or twenty quid. Then they wonder why there's an instructor shortage, or their retention is atrocious.

I actually make less money teaching my own class than I did at the gym but the feeling of having my own wee side hustle that is 100% mine, that's priceless to me. I'd think very carefully before taking on any gym work in the future - never say never - but I would priorities my stuff first.

Rant over!