grynche

The ellipticals have tv at my gym. Howev, my trainer gave me strict instructions for my time on the elliptical -- intervals of 4 mins at a good clip and 1 minute of flat out the bear's gaining on you speed -- so I doubt I'll be watching much tv for a while. Too busy just staying upright.

tai chi is wonderful for balance, Holly. Wish there was a class nearby. Loved it when I did it years ago.

I'm sooo loving my foam roller for muscle massage. Especially leg muscles. My IT band was so sore at first I couldn't do the hip to knee roll at all. But using body weight only and resting on the really sore spots for about 20-30 seconds before moving the roller is working wonders. I thought the comparisons to a professional massage were a lot of hype, but not now. The rollers aren't pricey; get the 36" one (the 18" is fine for me as I'm small and it was on sale), but it isn't long enough to do a good back/shoulder massage); and be sure to get one with a non-slip surface.

Lynette .... have you thought about contacting the local police station? Some sell bikes that were stolen but never claimed.

I'd share, but then I'd feel guilty for exposing so many innocent keyboards to the risk of death by drool.

I have no idea what torture my Mr. Eye Candy trainer has in store for me today, but I'm wondering how often I can 'lose my balance' and fall into him before he figures out what I'm up to?

Strength training or stretching or a cool down period. Take your pick. I managed today, after a couple of weeks of frustration, to complete a set of arm exercises with a stretchy rope. 7 repeats of each exercise, no rest in between. I would have have high-fived someone, but I couldn't lift my arms.

The flat ball that looks like a roadkill hedgehog? There are two of them at the gym. You can use one to balance on with just one foot, or sorta run in place using both of them and both feet. I had a good session (free) with the new trainer and picked up quite a few tips. I think the most useful one was that you don't strengthen a muscle by contracting it, but when you lengthen it. He had me slow down when using various machines, making sure that I really controlled the return of the weight to starting position instead of letting gravity do it.

I'm hopeless. No matter how many times I've seen "balaklava" my mind always reads "baklava" and the image of pastry stuffed under a helmet and over one's ears... Lynette, good luck on the snowshoes. Not being overly endowed with coordination, I did a lot of faceplants before I hung up my snowshoes. Even using ski poles didn't help keep me upright for long. Heck, using ski poles with cross-country skis didn't keep me upright either. My favorite winter sport is napping under a down comforter. I'm meeting with the new trainer tomorrow. I need to have my form evaluated and get adv

"I can't wait to feel the weights in my hands again" I used to feel similarly just before the Ex was due to walk through the door. :groucho:

I do sneak peaks now and then if I see someone using a piece of equipment I haven't yet tried. But the rest of the time I try not to focus on anyone. Of course, if I took my trifocal glasses off I wouldn't be able to focus on anything! I'd love it if the center had a sauna but all it has is a tanning bed. :angry: I do try to imagine what someone actually hears over the canned music, while they're thumping on the treadmill, and listening to the i-pod. Makes my ears hurt just thinking about it.

Holly, the odd thing, at least to me, about the fitness center is that *nobody* talks. The only noise comes from the treadmills and the canned music. Everyone seems to work very hard at avoiding eye contact. We're like little zombies going about our routines and then slinking out the door.

Merci! I'm taking it slowly, but I've moved up one level of weight on all but one of the muscle machines, can do two complete circuits of them without collapsing. I'm still at 10 lbs on the overhead lift, but I can do 15 lifts now, compared to 2-3 when I first started. Walking longer on the treadmill and pedaling more on the bike. I thought I'd lose interest quickly, but I actually look forward to going.