YIKES, almost forgot I am a Monday person now.

I've been doing a lot of investigating of different things to do for exercise. I am somewhat limited in what I can do, but others aren't. I think we can, as we do with foods, run stale of our workouts and routines...let's talk about that for a moment.

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?

3. Is there an activity that you would like to try and why?

Have a great week...and keep moving, it makes it harder to stuff munchies in.

Cathy J

Right now I am walking and stretching. I have some exercises that people with disabilities can do or senior level exercises. I use to work out at a gym but my health doesn't allow for it anymore. Still working out a full work out since I can't always stick to it.

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?

Some kind of cardio usually 3 or 4 times a week.

Walking around the lake 2 miles… on and off since 1991... mental health

Walking to Farmers Market on Sunday… since Aug 2004... When it isn’t raining. Mental health and fresh vegs/fruit.

Elliptical machine... on and off since June 2001

Running in place… during commercials on TV usually… Ran in place for exercise in 1974-76 and then again since getting a pedometer last year.

Stationary bike… since March 2005

Recumbent bike… since last summer… usually just to talk to my friend at the Gym

Lower body strength training… since June 2005 - 2 or 3 times a week. The hope that my knee cap will stay where it is supposed to.

Push ups, pull ups and Core strengthening… since 2004... But I’ve been forgetting as of late… (I'll shall drop and give you 10 right now. ) Personal satisfaction of being able to say I can do a pull up or 10 GUY pushups. Having my 14 year old son say, "Whoa! You're strong!"

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?

Step up box… was exercise of choice 1976-1984... 4 days a week, EVERY week, for 8 years. Have done it on and off since 2001, plastic box cracked in 2005... And I haven’t bought a new one.

Well I have been doing the eliptical trainer at the Y It has built up some indurance. I have been doing that for about 1 yr. I have tried the treadmill before but didn't feel like I was getting much out of it. I have started weight training now. I have just started but feel the results the next day,

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?
Walking is my primary exercise. I was actually thinking about how long I've been walking when I was out walking this weekend. I think I started in earnest in winter 01-02 but I had been on and off with it before that. I finally got it really in my routine when I was unemployed. Benefits: social time because I usually walk with people, it is easy and nearly excuse proof, helps me maintain my weight loss.

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?
I tried out Jazzercise this winter. We switched because walking early in the morning in the winter was really tough for me (wasn't sleeping well enough and just was struggling with seasonal depression a bit and this wasn't helping) and my walking buddy and I wanted to pick up some intensity and try something else. I also had a month pass I had purchased at a silent auction to use. Benefits: I kept moving through the worst of the winter months, it was a little more challenging without being exhausting and I realized how puny my upper body strength was.

3. Is there an activity that you would like to try and why?
I want to add some toning stuff to my routine. I am training for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in June and the training schedule I am following has me walking T, Th, Sa, Su so I would like to put some toning work onto M, W. I am going to do something light today because TOM is kicking my behind today and I feel crappy but then I intend to pick one of the 4-5 toning videos I own and try to get something cooking in the toning area. If I am not successful doing this at home, I am going to seriously consider the local Curves competitor.

Peg

1. I do Curves (almost 3 years) and walking (almost 4 years). Curves helps mostly with the toning...at first I lost a lot of inches. Walking has helped with everything. I have built up a better endurance and I walk with friends, so it is social time too.

2. I went from nothing to both of those. Walking helped get the heart rate up and lose some weight but I added the Curves and that really pumped it up.

3. I have been pondering switching/doing something new. I am getting bored with Curves, but financially it works for me. I checked out a Health club in town with a pool, etc. but couldn't afford it. I have gotten some exercise videos and the ball, but unless I have to be somewhere or meet with someone I can't seem to get motivated to do those on my own...plus room is an issue.

At this point I am not sure what else I want to do, so I will continue to investigate.

I have been going to the gym for about 4ish months. I do a weight routine (mostly upper body) and cardio on a machine.

Now that summer is coming, I will do more walk/running in the mornings.

This seems to be a good routine for me now- I am comfortable with it, yet it is not old or stale.

I have 3-4 more sessions with my personal trainer. Since I'm so overweight and a raw beginner in the exercise department he has me doing very simple things that I can duplicate at home. The only thing I can't do at home is the treadmill and I really like the simplicity of it. The days I go to the gym on my own I usually just do the treadmill. I am hatching a plan in my mind of what I want to work up to there. It is the treadmill that will keep me going to the gym after I'm through with my trainer sessions.

Getting myself doing stuff on the inbetween days is a bit harder though. I'm concentrating on balance and arm exercises and they're difficult for me so I'm not gung ho about doing them on my own. I have actual motivation though, since we bought a boat and I'll need all the balance I can muster and I just bought myself new weights for arm exercises.

Getting out of the house and "mulling" on things seems to help me the most.

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?

I do a whole bunch of stuff and try to vary my workout almost daily. I do a combo of aerobics (running, stairs, jump roping, biking, step, boxing), weight training (traditional free weights, sleds, kettlebells, bands, weight vests, chains), core and flexibility work (yoga balls, bosu balls, bongo boards, ab work).

Right now, I'm shifting my focus back to running now that the weather is nicer but will continue "maintenance" routines with my weights.

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?

I switch my routine to keep myself from getting board and to help break through strength plateaus. Plus I think it's more fun to learn new exercises and come up with new ways to to tweak the basics.

Even with all the variety with equipment at the gym, there are all kinds of ways to use the same stuff differently - pyramids, intervals, giant sets, super sets, straight sets, circuits, etc...

The possibilities are almost endless : )

3. Is there an activity that you would like to try and why?

Indoor rock climbing. I've been talking about doing it for almost a year. Dh insisted he wanted to do it too but everytime I tried to schedule it, he had an excuse. I'm going to go on my own this summer instead when dd is at camp.


GREAT HOMEWORK!

I have been swimming, yes, I did get out of the house, and solve the son/car problem. Thankfully. Swimming is about the ONLY thing I can do safely for my knees. I have arthritis in both knees, so that anything more pounding is tough. But, I have learned to vary my swimming activities. I used to just do some stretching and then do laps with a cool down afterwards. I have learned to do water walking, other more beneficial stretching to other parts of my body, deep water walking, bicycling in the water, and then of course my competitive laps.

This winter, I did use my stationary bike, but found that to be a bit boring. I know I could set the clock and watch a program or the news or whatever, but it was boring....never really was committed to it. I did some pilates and yoga, which is really liked a lot. It helped to stretch things out, and to loosen tightened muscles because of pain. I'd like to be able to incorporate that into my swimming this summer.

What would I like to do? I'd love to be able to play soccer again, but, hey, all things do come to an end. I'd like to learn to play golf. Seriously. I know you don't have to walk, although more beneficial. But I think an exercise that would be relaxing (not the golfers I know) but for me to be outside and doing that would be great. Otherwise, it's me and the dogs on the course...after hours of course.

quote:

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?

3. Is there an activity that you would like to try and why?

Great questions, Cath! Looking forward to getting good ideas from you guys!

1. Right now I honestly only run. I do tend to go whole hog in one direction or another, and I am loving this right now. I really feel empowered by it and since I have a race in May, I will probably not switch gears seriously until after that.
2. Last year I was doing four different things: weight training, running, swimming and cycling. It felt great but I let go of everything over the winter except the running. The benefit of focussing on one activity is that I am good at it as opposed to being so-so at four things (lousey at some). I like the feeling of growing in expertise, and the health benefits of strength and endurance. The draw-back is that my abs aren't getting any tighter without specific attention!
3. I really want to learn kayaking - and the weather is finally here for that I don't own a boat but my friend does, so I know I'll get to try it out soon.

Lynne

1. What do you do now for exercise? How long have you been doing it, what benefits do you get?

I like a varied exercise program, not only to avoid overuse injuries and boredom, but to make sure I'm working out ALL of my body. The benefits are that I have really reshaped my body, esp. my thighs. They aren't even recognizable as my thighs anymore! Here are the main categories of exercise I do now:

At the gym:
1. Cardio - Aerobics class
2. Upper & lower weight training
3. Cardio - Treadmill, recumbent bike, elliptical

At home:
1. Cardio - Several kickboxing and WATP DVDs

2. Toning - Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body! still kicks butt after having it almost 2 years. Also have several 10-Minute Solution DVDs and a Quickfix DVD that are great for this. Other than Tamilee, my favorite toning workout is probably Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss by Gaiam--wonderful all around.

3. Balance ball - On days when I'm not feeling well or otherwise not up to doing much, I have a 20-25 minute beginner's balance ball routine that is gentle but effective and actually relaxes me. I also have Gaiam's Balance Ball for Weight Loss which is a longer and more challenging workout than the beginner's.

Outside:
Powerwalk/jog: Now that spring has sprung, one of my favorite workouts is a nice long powerwalk with jogging sprints to up the intensity. My walks are generally around 1 to 1 1/2 hours and I have several hilly neighborhood routes.

2. What have you tried before? Why did you switch your routine? What benefits did you get from switching?

One thing I know DIDN'T work for me was just doing one thing most of the time. Back in the fall of 2004, when I was still new to my journey, I only owned WATP and did it all the time. I ended up suffering hip pain (not just when I was exercising) and had to put Leslie away for a while. That was really the start of my exercise DVD renting/buying spree because I was desperate to get some variety in and, at the time, I didn't know if the hip injury was going to stay (thank goodness, it eased up once I got more variety in my workouts).

3. Is there an activity that you would like to try and why?

I wish my gym gave more kinds of classes and had more classes on the weekends when I can attend. I adore kickboxing at home and think it would be GREAT to do a kickboxing class.

There are other things, like snow skiing, that I think "That would be cool." but I'm too afraid of hurting myself as my knees are already not in good shape and I tend to be accident prone.

I have to say since I started working at the Y, it has allowed me to not only see what other options there are, but allowed me to do them.

Before I was SO stuck on doing walking ALL the time, outside or on our treadmill. Now I am taking classes and trying new things. The BIG benefit was it was getting me out of my house and out doing new things.

I would love to know how to run. I love these 5Ks, but really don't know how to run properly. But, by having planteris facitutus ( I can't spell it) it wouldn't do well on my foot.