Winter Exercises

[digitS']

Trying to stay healthy?

Trying to keep the weight off?

Do you have a winter exercise program?

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

I have a year round exercise program -- three times a week work out with weights at the gym. Walk the dogs (they like to go fast) almost every day for half an hour. Plus bits of extra with the Wii Fit, trampoline, and life in general (yard work, etc).

I work hard at the gym:

• Exercize reps/wt
  back stretch 8/ bw
  lower back 20/90
  torso 15/75
  chest press 15/60
  calf press 15/120
  shoulder press 15/60
  triceps press 10/70
  biceps curl 10/40
  leg extension 20/95
  squat 15/160
  leg curl 10/60
  single leg press 10ea/50
  leg press 20/160
  hip adduction 15/70
  hip abduction 15/70
  ab crunch board 10/25
  ab crunch board II 15/bw
  ab with arms 20/80
  ab pull down 20/80
  ab side twist 20/80

every time I am at the gym I increase either weight or reps on one or two exercises to keep it challenging!

PS I am a 5'3" woman and I turn 70 yrs old in six months!

[tomf]

We joined a gym and we will snow ski a few times a week, but my hard work out comes from working the land and doing construction on it.

[digitS']

I am sure I don't have the balance to snow ski. I'm not sure if I can swim anymore ... wade . Swimming, I might turn like a corkscrew. No telling in what direction I'd be heading!

RainbowGardener, we could have been in the same schools together . You do work hard at that gym!

With the end of the gardening season, I'm beginning to play on a different schedule; one that has almost nothing to do with productivity, you know, retired. I follow a stretching program early in the morning. It is on teevee and I'm glad about that. A little inspiration, early ... After that, it's walking.

I've been good about the 30 minutes of walking each day when I wasn't in the garden, right through 2016. I've even taken the eccentric step of doing that 30 minutes as an "indoor mile." Yeah. If it's bad weather or icy. As a cardiovascular exercise, it doesn't take much, if I can believe the National Institutes of Health!

Thirty minutes of cardio and the target heart rate, what's that (link)? For me, hitting the midpoint is just above 100/minute .

I mean, it really doesn't take much! Thirty minutes a day? I don't have to perform like a trotting horse to lift the heart rate to that, and can see a mile plus of Planet Earth . But, the choices of exercise are many (link), indoors or out.

Steve

[digitS']

Yesterday's afternoon high temperature was 57°f. Most of the day had blue sky and sunshine. It was the warmest day in 2 weeks in an unusually warm November. And the best news for an outdoor walk - the frequent high winds of recent days were calmed.

Of course, we went for a walk to and in a park . Thanksgiving Day was the only miss for a walk since I realized that gardening season had ended and my time couldn't be centered around sitting in the LazyBoy. Actually, too long in that chair bothers not only my legs but my back. Thanksgiving, I may have traveled the "indoor mile" on the kitchen floor .

It was a ironic discovery last December that my little house is 44' long. Yes, I actually measured how far I would travel on a "lap" -- 88'.

Remarkably, 60 x 88 = 5,280 ..! For a time, I counted but that made no sense. Comparing to the clock, my indoor mile was completed in just under 30 minutes. I've measured my usual walks outdoors by driving the route and with the odometer. I'm quite a bit slower indoors, probably because of so many turns.

A pulse monitor on my wrist showed that I consistently pushed my heart above the target rate, outdoors. That wasn't happening during the 30 indoor minutes. I had to do something else and a suggestion was carrying weights and lifting while walking. I tried that and it was bothersome. What I learned was that lifting the arms increases the heart rate. Yes. Ten times on a lap will more than do it - no weight required !

Now of course you understand that I keep the blinds pulled on the side of the house where I complete my exercise program. Yeah, the neighbor's dog Tramp lives over there ... Most of his activity is inside the fence on the other side of her yard. Attracting Tramp to my side of the yard might present this preposterous spectacle in the neighborhood! Yes. There are other reasons one could be the subject of local news but ...

Steve ....... ..

[KeyWee]

I am 62 years old, 5'6" tall and weigh 125#. Gym for me only once a week as we don't live in any kind of city where facilities are available. Every other day I walk/run for 30-45 minutes and I carry weights with me as my hands and arms would have nothing else to do anyway.
Other than that I am mindful that I stay active in the yard and house. And I also pay attention to the amount of calories I take in as compared to the activities I perform.
So many people find it difficult to lose weight but I have found that it requires change to change. Drop the pop, no more fast food, eliminate processed junk. You will think it is impossible at first but ~ seriously ~ after a time you do NOT even notice it.

[jal_ut]

Summer I get plenty of exercise out working the garden, orchard, bees and lawn. Winter, I hold down this chair and play on the internet. If it snows I may pick up a snow shovel. I just took out the garbage cans to the street. Does that count?

[digitS']

Garbage Day counts only if you can get your heart rate up around 100 with 30 minutes of exercise. I doubt if you have that much garbage, James.

Unless your mailbox is a half mile away, mail delivery cannot promote meaningful exercise, either. Mouse clicks ... no.

I'm cleaning the kitchen walls and cabinets today. That might be good enuf but I don't want to cheat ... nor, be bored ... nor replace meaningful activities with stuffing food in my mouth afterwards .

Yesterday, I put on warm clothes and went for a 30min walk. Dang! I gotta get tuff! And, start wearing my pajamas under the Levi's!

I was out nearly 90min the day previous and it wasn't that yesterday was so cold but the 23°f windchill almost had me turning back before I had completed half of an Outdoor Mile, plus ...

I had my heaviest jacket on over a fleece vest, denim cap and a scarf, gloves over my digitS'. We better get snow & ice conditions so I have an excuse for not leaving the house, and this skiff in the shade doesn't count. Or, I gotta get tuff!

This ladder may do it today ... 9' ceilings, you know. Could also use the stairs to the basement but that might gain me a trip to the hospital! Soon, I'm taking out and replacing the wood landing at the bottom of the stairs, as per DW's request. The stairs aren't as old as this 1901 house but ... I'm curious what is under that platform. Hmm, if the ground wasn't frozen, I could dig up the backyard on a Treasure Hunt! What do you suppose the neighbors would say? I know that Tramp the Dog would just about be outta his mind with envy ... whether I find a steak bone, or not.

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

for indoor exercise I have one of these:



You can fold it up for storage, but folding and unfolding is a big pain. I usually just tilt it up on its side and hide it somewhere. It is 36" in diameter, designed for exercise not doing tricks. I cheaped out and now I'm sorry. If I had gotten one with the bar like this:



I would be able to use it a lot better.

It gets my heart rate up SO fast that I can't do very much time on it.

[digitS']

Here are Aerobic exercises, copied and pasted from Wikipedia:

Indoor

• Stair climbing
  Elliptical trainer
  Indoor rower
  Stairmaster
  Stationary bicycle
  Treadmill

Outdoor

• Walking
  Cycling
  Running
  Cross-country skiing
  Cross-country running
  Nordic walking
  Inline skating
  Rowing

Indoor or outdoor

• Swimming
  Kickboxing
  Skipping rope or jump rope
  Circuit training
  Jumping jacks
  Jogging
  Water aerobics
  
  Steve

[rainbowgardener]

I also have Wii Fit and other Wii games . It's not real strenuous exercise , but if I do 40 min of Wii Fit , I can tell I have exercised and the game format makes it fun . And I have a selection of exercise DVD 's . You can get those in a whole range of difficulty / intensity from senior citizen to athlete/ super intense.

All you need is a small clear area in front of the TV and a little basic equipment like a mat and maybe a couple hand weights . Then it is very easy just to pop in the DVD and follow along.

No excuse not to be exercising ! !

[digitS']

James, Do you have this on your teevee: Classical Stretch?

It was off for awhile and I missed it. This winter - back on!

When the exercises move down to the floor, I'm all finished. Catching the first 10 or 15 minutes always makes me feel better. It probably doesn't count for much beyond that but I could continue with those standing exercises on my own for the full 30 minutes. Getting down on the floor, I freeze in position - don't have the strength in the left leg to continue.

However, I got down on the floor this morning! Yes. Spilled my HOT morning tea -- should never have tried for a sip! I had to do some quick blotting, carpet cleaner spraying, and rinsing! Shoot.

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

This has some suggestions for exercise DVD's with no floor work (some that are also low impact)

https://www.sparkpeople.com/ma/Looking-f ... 1/26132744

Also BarreAmped Boot Camp, mostly moves borrowed from ballet, done with a chair to hold on to instead of ballet bar.

[digitS']

I see the T-Tapp DVD is at the library.

It also has "dietary guidelines."

RainbowGardener, I'll be bored with the Indoor Mile soon but I better get to it this afternoon!

Steve

[webmaster]

Walking is great exercise for the cardio and low impact so it's easy on your bones. Not too many hills around here though so I have to make up the difference in walking that extra mile when we walk our dog.

I keep a small dumbbell for doing curls for my biceps next to my desk. My biceps have always been weak and now that I'm doing more saltwater fishing I'll need more strength there for lobbing bait. There were a couple days when my arm was so tired it actually hurt intensively for ten minutes after each cast. So I want to be in better shape for next season.

I have a gym membership and while I haven't been going I fully intend to more frequently in 2017, after the holidays.

[ButterflyLady29]

Since the cold weather arrived I've been working out a couple times a week bringing wood into the house. It's a long walk and has to be made several times to fill the rack. Not the best of workouts but it does get the heart rate up.

[tomf]

I do this for one.

[digitS']

Great picture, Tom!

Four inches of fresh snow this morning and 22°f. I got the snow shovel and cleared the walks ...

It took me 35 minutes. There were many breaks just to breathe - and, stretch the back. If my legs don't bother me, no Indoor Mile today . Fact is, I took the landing out at the bottom of the basement stairs this week. The only part left is what is holding up the stairs. Gainful activity will be cutting boards and building the new landing. Then I have to tear that last part out and that landing had better fit or, I'll be a prisoner down there! Doing curls with the sledgehammer and having DW toss down my bread and water!

Steve

[digitS']

I have begun including these with my Indoor Mile walk .

Walking Workout

Fitness Magazine calls it "toning" but I'm also trying to speed up the heart on an otherwise, casual stroll. I won't need to do this outdoors! Outdoors, I can pick up a little more speed. But still ... the arm movements are good for these arthritic shoulders .

I'm missing the "muscle-strengthening activity" on the 2 days a week, recommended. Summertime, no problem with any of this! I'm running a shovel or spading fork, carrying buckets, etc.

Steve