Jsnowash (Jenny)'s Mentor Group - CLOSED! (Page 3)

Good morning! 

I woke up to an unexpectedly beautiful day! So, I took advantage of the weather (and a slightly later start time for work today), and went for a run.

I learned something today: I dislike treadmills. But I dislike near misses with cars pulling out of driveways, even more! I'm not sure how the guy didn't see me. Bobbing along in my bright white jacket and hot pink running shoes. He was genuinely shocked when I pounded on the hood of his car after I swerved to avoid him.

It's a jungle out there at 7AM!

This looks like a great group!

No, slowturtle, we can Never assume that drivers see us   Scary.   Glad you didn't get hurt!    I am paranoid about that; even if someone waves me across the street I would rather wait until it's totally clear because I don't trust that the guy coming the other way sees me.  (I'm also usually pushing precious cargo in a jog stroller)

Have a great day everyone

I am sitting here on my parents' couch, coffee in hand, feet up....enjoying going lazy supernova.

Plus Dad's birthday was last night and I may have partied a wee bit too hard.

BUT!...after I make the hour trip back home, I am going to go to the gym, to which I am thinking of 45-60 minutes on the spin bike, then 20 minutes on the treadmill (see Jenny...adding in short runs whenever possible).  I gotta get motivated first though.

How many of you have bike trainers at home?  Honestly, I would rather have a spin bike, but I don't have room...so a trainer seems like the only workable option.  I'm concerned if I will get the use out of it though.  You who own them, how often do you use them?

Ok guys, here is my first question.  I need to somehow add some strength training to my current workouts and I'm trying to figure out a way to get them in.  I was thinking maybe about the p90X workouts.  It seems that everyone I've talked to who has done them likes them a lot.  Another option would be hiring a trainer.  We have a fitness center at work and can hire trainers for a reasonable fee, plus we get $250  a year back for fitness stuff, so that could get me started and then I could just probably do some workouts on my own and some with the trainer.

Things to consider.  Will I be able to commit to the 90 day workout since I have to do it at home?  If I go with the trainer at work fitness center, will I be motivated to work out the days there is no trainer to make me do it?

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

I've done the P90X workouts off and on.  I think the whole program is overkill if you are also training for a triathlon.  What I found worked for me was to pull out specific workouts and substitute triathlon workouts for the cardio based workouts like Kenpo X.  Right now, I keep 3 of the workouts in my repertoire... Legs and Back, Chest, shoulders, & triceps, and Plyometrics.  I'll even throw in the ab ripper X once in a while to work on my core.

If you haven't done the workouts before, don't try to do the whole workout or even keep up at first.  Doing too much of P90X too quickly can result in injury.  I pulled a shoulder muscle back in October by pushing myself too hard in one of the workouts.

Good Luck!

Dan

Good day everyone! I had a great easy swim last night and am looking forward to my Kenpo P90X workout today. It is my favorite! My four year old enjoys the kickboxing with me, but my three year old son thinks it means we can hit and kick eachother Haha! I wish I could take a run, but it is snowing here in Kansas and has been raining A LOT so the dirt roads will be a bit too muddy for me. I talked to my husband about getting a trainer bike this morning and he laughed at me so I don't think that is in my near furture. Too bad I live thirty minutes from the nearest fitness center

I hope every one has a great fitness filled Thursday!

I have a fluid trainer. I LOVE it! Ok- I love that I have the ability to train all winter long. It's my "go-to" workout when I can't get to the gym.  My husband has started using it this year too. Nothing compares to an outside ride, but from November through March, i use the trainer 2 or 3 times a week. I got it from CL for $75 a few years ago.

-Heidi

Here's another option: Does your fitness center have Tabata classes? They are killer workouts, and so much fun! I like them, because they don't require any dance skill or coordination.

Thanks Karl and Dan.  I've kind of been wondering about just using some of the P90X workouts and not others.  You're right, I get enough cardio with my other tri training.  I've also heard the warning of how intense the P90X workouts are.  I've thought about starting with the Power90 workout, but generally, oline reviews say it is monotonous and boring.

I like the idea of picking the workouts that focus on core and strength and at first just doing as much as I can until I get strong enough.  That has never been a problem for me, because I usually start things off at a level that is higher than what I am at and work my way up.

I guess I should get myself the P90X workout and go from there.  If that doesn't work for me, I can always work with a trainer.  It's probably a good idea to have some workouts that I can do at home anyway, for those days when you can't or don't want to go somewhere to get your workout in.

The reason for wanting to incorporate strength training, is that I have a weak upper body, as do most women who don't actively work on it, and although I have always had a flat stomach, it's mostly genetics, not the fact that I have a strong core.  Being 52 probably doesn't help either.  Those are the two areas I would like to work on mostly.  Between the running and the biking my legs probably don't need a whole lot of extra work.  The core issue comes to bite me in swimming and biking and I'm sure stronger arms would help endurance in swimming.

I will check the trainer option when I get back to work after the holidays.

jsnowash - 2011-12-22 1:43 PM

AprilMSpengler - 2011-12-22 1:09 PM

Good day everyone! I had a great easy swim last night and am looking forward to my Kenpo P90X workout today. It is my favorite! My four year old enjoys the kickboxing with me, but my three year old son thinks it means we can hit and kick eachother Haha! I wish I could take a run, but it is snowing here in Kansas and has been raining A LOT so the dirt roads will be a bit too muddy for me. I talked to my husband about getting a trainer bike this morning and he laughed at me so I don't think that is in my near furture. Too bad I live thirty minutes from the nearest fitness center

I hope every one has a great fitness filled Thursday!

Bummer that your husband laughed at you about getting a bike trainer .... I bet you could find one on Craigslist or Ebay pretty cheap - the cheapest new trainers at Nashbar.com and Performance.com are < $100, so I'm sure you could find a used one for even less than that.

I've seen lots of trainers for sale on our local CL, some at pretty good prices.  How would you know if you're getting a good deal and not a piece of junk somebody just wanted to unload?

As far as the strength training.. I've done px90 on and off (I get the most out of the Plyo and Core workouts), but you can do a lot on your own/or at the gym.  From a Groupon offer, I joined at "boot camp" for 30 days and I've learned a lot of good quick workouts from there that I plan to take back to my gym (basic stuff like kettle ball, planks and I love TRX!) You don't need to do a lot to see some good results!  I'm off to my last session today.  A lot of these places offer free trial memberships. 

My hubby gave me a great xmas present...we converted a room/attic space (Finished but no insulation, baseboard heat) into a Tri cave.  Moved my trainer, bike, weights, resistance bands, etc...up there and he installed a flatscreen so I can watch my spinvales DVDs.  Bring it winter!!

That is an AWESOME gift! Have fun.