I haven't taken a gander, but it's probably a safe bet. While you're there, I need to pimp this super awesome Thermos container I have; the Backpack bottle. My ice cubes from 4pm are still there at 10 the next morning, and the super hot tea I made at 4pm was still really warm 16 hours later with the lid having been open all night. I seriously love this thing! less

Yes, yardwork is the best workout I have, it gives you exercise AND you feel accomplished afterward.


BTW, didn't get little man down until now so I am trying to catch up on the thread. I like the idea of a workshop format, but what is the difference between how it is now? Isn't the same thing but a different title? less

Are these the type of resistance bands you are talking about? link

They look interesting. And they're not that expensive. Yay! less

I am trying to do both of these things. I only smoke 2-3 cigarettes a day tops, but it still bad and I don't want my son to see me doing it anymore (even though I hardly smoke around him, but that is besides the point).

I don't know why this damn baby weight won't go away, it's fine that I'm shrinking size wise, but the weight just won't go away. less

You can use a towel for a resistance band, just pull on it while you use it. My trainer has showed me a lot of really cool exercises using just body weight. A huge one that works your obliques are towel slams--- you just slam the towel across your body to the floor back and forth. You can do iso pulldowns, where you pull the towel down like a body bar and pull it out to add resistance at the same time.


I suck at explaining exercises... but the ones they have us use are really good. He started us with push ups and crunches, now I can do burpees and flip 450lb tires! LOL less

I'm facing a similar dilemma. I am definitely trimming down; visibly, measurably and in terms of how my clothes fit. But I have not lost a single pound in two months. After losing five when I first started exercising again.

I simply chose to believe that I am gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. I don't really care what the scale says (or at least I keep telling myself that), I care what I look like and feel like. less

Yes. This is a burpee. We do tons of them. We do a lot of stuff with kettel bells too, those are my favorite. All we mainly do is variations on push ups, squats and crunches. But he makes them so fun and we only work out 45 mins twice a week. I have dropped a size in clothes but I want to see some of that damn weight go down

And here is my sexy ass trainer/teacher! less

Wow! I am impressed that you can do burpees. I definitely could not do that now. I still have to do girly pushups for the most part. Though I am getting to the point where I can do a few military pushups before having to switch back to the girly ones.

I used to be able to do 60 military pushups without even breathing hard. I have lost so much of what I used to be in the past few years. But I am getting it back. It's slow, but I can tell I'm making progress.

And your teacher is definitely sexy. He would certainly motivate me to work harder. I'm simply working out on my own in my own home. I do situps, hip curls, pushups, squats and a variety of stretches every night. I occasionally walk on my treadmill, but I don't do it as often as I should. less

I don't think my damaged ribs could handle the kettel ball stuff yet, and besides I don't have a kettel ball. But the Russian twists and flutter kicks look interesting. I'll probably give those a try.

Reverse crunches are pretty similar to what I call hip curls. The only difference is that my shoulders and head are on the ground and instead of pulling my knees towards my head, I am simply lifting them towards the ceiling as I curl my hips up off the floor.

And the situps I do aren't the regular sit ups. They are V-sits. If you watch this video -- link -- they are demonstrated at about the 1:00 minute mark.

After this class ends, aren't there other classes that you can take? It seems a shame to stop taking classes when you seem to like them and they are helping you get back into shape. less

Those V sit ups look great! I used to have really bad back problems, but since I started doing crunches this has improved. I still have a hard time doing some things because I have that curve in my back and something cracks if I do certain things lol.

I am going to try those v sit ups, they look awesome. I keep my head and shoulders on the ground when I do the reverse crunch as well.

There are different classes, but my issue is that I am balancing day care and other classes along with gas money. I stick to Tuesdays and Thursdays for class and I am pretty much there all day. I make sure I have a break in between some classes, so I haven't been able to find an exercise class to fit that schedule.

I have a hard time driving the 11 miles (I'm a cheap skate and gas isn't cheap for me) just for one class, especially when it is more work to adjust my son's daycare (plus it takes away from my time with him) and all my appointments and errands as well.

I really really want to take Pilates or Astanga Yoga, but those are always full first thing. I will probably get my chance for winter semester since I will have credit seniority. less