What does it mean to go to the J on a Sunday?

Workout No Responses »
Mar 202011
 

The JCC, J, Jewish Community Center, and The Mandel Jewish Community Center are all names for the same place in Beachwood where I go to workout.  All are welcome at the J.  You don’t have to be Jewish to be a member.  But, since it’s a Jewish facility, certain things are different.

  • They have woman’s only workout room and several gender specific swim sessions to help accommodate the Orthodox Jewish members.
  • The only Kosher Subway restaurant resides in the J.
  • They sell Challah bread on Friday.
  • They do not conduct any financial transactions on Saturday (and the Subway and Kid Kare is closed that day).
  • They celebrate the Jewish holidays, but don’t close for as many as they used to (probably due to the competition).
  • They are open on Christmas.

But, the thing that I notice the most is the crowd on Sunday (due to the religious schedule for the Jewish faith).  It’s like a typical Saturday at other facilities.  Sunday is my least favorite day to go to the J (especially in the morning).  It’s the only time that I go to the J that I feel like I am waiting for equipment or that the different areas are crowded.

Sunday is also the one day that I can take the kids while I work out and my husband is at home.  He enjoys the couple of hours at home without us around and that makes it worth the trip (most of the time :-)).

Today’s workout:

  • 30 minutes of high intensity elliptical
  • 5 min in the sauna
  • short bike ride around the neighborhood later in the day (@2 miles).

Next up: SPIN with Beth in the morning.

 Posted by at 9:42 PM  Tagged with:

A Walk at the Park and at the Mall

Workout No Responses »
Mar 192011
 

Today was a day off from my workouts, but I was still active.

The family went to Lake Farm Park this morning to see the animals and maple sugaring.  It’s fun to visit this time of year because so many of the animals have babies.  Some of them were even born this week.  We spent a little over an hour at the park walking around and exploring.

This evening, I had the pleasure of an “on track” dinner at McCormick & Schmick’s with my sister.  She was visiting from out of town.  We ended the evening with a walk around the mall (and maybe a little shopping :-)).

I’m a little sore from yesterday’s workout, but I feel great emotionally.  I had a great food day (even with the meal out).  It feels good to be on track.

 Posted by at 10:08 PM

Great Food Day and Workout Combo!

Workout 3 Responses »
Mar 182011
 

I had my regular trainer workout with Emily this morning.  It was great!

5 min warm up on the elliptical

Then:

  • single arm chest press- 1 set, 30lbs, 10-12 reps each side  (my left arm is stronger than my right, it’s obvious with single arm work)
  • push ups off the BOSU-2 sets of 10
  • single arm chest fly-1 set, 30 pounds, 10-12 reps each side
  • double arm chest fly-1 set, 70 pounds, 10-12 reps
  • bicep curl/overhead press combo using 8lb dumbbells while standing on Dyna disks-15 reps
  • PLANK – 46 sec.  YEAH!  2 min here I come.
  • medicine ball squat swings- 2 sets of 15-20 using a 12lb ball
  • dead lifts, straight leg, feet together – holding 20lb dumbbells, 15 reps
  • walking lunges holding 15lb dumbbells down the walkway and back
  • lunges w/body weight and knee lift while balancing on the other leg

I followed up the workout with 20min on the elliptical.

Later this afternoon, the kids and I ended up walking a trail that was just under a mile.  My son walked and was exhausted at the end.  My daughter was happily pushed in the stroller.  The trail had a couple of small hills and was nicely paved.

Now, it’s 8pm and I still have points left to eat and I’m not hungry.  It’s truly been one of my best food days in a long time.  :-)  I’ll make a good choice for a snack in a bit and be ready for bed.

 Posted by at 8:11 PM

Split Cardio Workout and Blog Fixed

Blog Information, Workout No Responses »
Mar 162011
 

The kids and I were running ahead of schedule today.  I expected us to be running late this week with the time change.  In reality, they are sleeping a bit later and I’m able to get packed up without the extra commotion.

We made it to the J in time for me to try out the 8:30am cardio class with Jody.  I know of Jody from another class I tried a few months back.  It was a sculpting class and too much time was spent on the knees for my ability.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from her cardio class.  She was awesome!  I would definitely take her class again.  It’s been a while since I took a cardio class (outside of spinning).  I need to work back up to it.

I decided to stay for 30min.  Then, I went to the fitness center where I practiced planks, side bends and did 40 squats with the stability ball.  At 9:30am, I went back to the group fitness studio and tried out the new Zumba instructor Susan S.  She was pretty good.  I would take her class again.  Zumba is fun.  It’s supposed to be a party atmosphere and the cues are not as pronounced.  It’s easy to get lost until you get used to the moves/instructor.

Since I have child care for 2 hours, I stayed in the Zumba class for 30min and then headed for a shower.

It was nice running into my friend Cristy today.  We’ve been friends since our kids were born and don’t see each other nearly enough.  I didn’t see her after the class, but I’m anxious to hear if she liked it.

My IT guy fixed my blogs, so hopefully everything will run smoothly for a while.

Next up: off day tomorrow and my Weight Watcher meeting (missed last week).

 Posted by at 10:35 PM

Training with Jen and Broken Blog

Workout 2 Responses »
Mar 152011
 

I found out today that a couple of links on my blog are broken.  The contact me and the about Lyn pages are producing errors.  My IT guy (hubby) is working on it.

Today, I scheduled a trainer workout with Jen.  Chelsea was out of town.  I used to workout with Jen.  It’s been about a year.  She definitely did not let me down and gave me a great workout.  I really enjoyed the “same but different” theme throughout the workout.

First, I warmed up on the elliptical for 20 min.

Then w/Jen:

  • Lat pull down (using a different bar/grip that my normal) -70lbs, 15 reps, 2 sets
  • Cable triceps pull down – 2 sets of 12 reps of 50 then 40, then 30, then 20 lbs all in a row.  My triceps already feel it.
  • Squat w/curl and press – 2 sets of 20 w/10lb dumbbells
  • Lunge w/knee drive – 2 sets of 20 on each side
  • Back extension w/punches – holding 5 pound plate in each hand, 4 sets of 15
  • Bench side bends – this was really hard and my sides cramped up easily.  In total, I probably had 10 sloppy ones on each side
  • Barbell dead lift (off bench) – 45ish lb bar, 2 sets of 20 reps

I’m going to be sore tomorrow.  It’s a good sore.

Next up: cardio.  I’m thinking about trying the new Zumba class.  There’s a new instructor for the 9:30am class in the morning.

 Posted by at 9:24 PM

Typical Monday SPIN

Workout No Responses »
Mar 142011
 

Today, was Beth’s spin class.  It was great as usual and I think there were only 2 empty bikes.  It’s such a great workout.

I warmed up in the fitness center with abs (3 sets of 35 at 120 pounds) and back extensions (3 sets of 15 holding a 10lb plate).  I also practiced planks.

Next up: trainer workout with Jen (substitute trainer)

 Posted by at 9:01 PM

Elevating the Elliptical

Workout No Responses »
Mar 132011
 

So, I’ve been raising the intensity on the elliptical machine.  Today, I spent more than 50% of my time at or above 11.  Before, I usually spent all of my time at 10 or below.  It feels good to raise the bar.  I’m looking forward to most of my time at 15 or above and coming down to 10 for active recovery.

Today: 45 min on the elliptical.

Next up: Monday morning spin with Beth.

 Posted by at 9:11 PM

Worst Drive and Best Workout

Workout No Responses »
Mar 112011
 

Last night, it started snowing.  It snowed and snowed and snowed.  After getting everyone ready, I turned on a Bob the Builder episode and tackled enough snow from the walk and cards to get out of the drive.  Normally, it takes us 12 min to get to the J.  Today, it took 50.  It was definitely our worst commute yet.

But, I had the BEST workout today.

I arrived at the time my training appointment was to begin.  Emily had called in and was running late and I took a minute to relax from the drive in and catch my breath.

Then, I hopped on an elliptical until she arrived.  I ended up doing 35 min.  I spent most of my time between resistance 10 and 14.  My heart rate was in the zone and it felt great.  I’m glad that I’ve been kicking it up a notch.

Then, my strength workout with Emily:

  • wood chops w/12lb ball side to side (from left shoulder to right knee and the reverse), 12 reps each side
  • wood chops w/10 lb ball (same as above)
  • barbell dead lifts (45lb bar), 2 sets of 15
  • leg curl single leg-45lbs, 15 reps each side.  My left leg is much weaker than my right
  • lunges – walkway down and back w/15lb dumb bells, 2 sets
  • plank – 16 seconds  :-(
  • push ups – knees on BOSU, 2 sets of 10
  • front shoulder raise, lateral raise -5lb dumbbells, 1 set of 10 each
  • abdominal machine – 115lbs, 2 sets of 35
  • barbell bench press-2 sets of 12 (just the bar)
  • stability ball squat, wide feet pointed out – holding 12lb dumbbells

Next up: I’m not sure what the weekend will bring, but hopefully it will include at least one workout.

 Posted by at 7:58 PM

High Intensity Elliptical

Workout 1 Response »
Mar 102011
 

So, Thursday is my planned off day.  This really came about because that’s the day of my favorite Weight Watcher meeting.  With hubby out of town, the kids and I (emphasis on I) decided to head to the JCC.  I needed a good shower and some down time and the kids needed to play.

I did a short 20 min on the elliptical, but I raised the resistance up to 14 for my max.  I usually do some intervals between 8 and 12 and sometimes I just stay around 10.  Today, I spent most of my time at 14 with a few recovery breaks at 9.  It felt great.

I also practiced my planks.

I enjoyed the rest of my time by organizing some coupons and mail that I had brought with me.  It was just the break that I needed.

Tomorrow: trainer appt with Emily.

 Posted by at 3:18 PM

Spin and Finding Balance

Workout 1 Response »
Mar 072011
 

Today’s spinning class was particularly good.  Beth was back and I was totally in the groove.

Before class, I did 3 sets of abs (125#, 30 reps each) along with the back extension (2 sets of 10, holding a 10# disk).

I’ve been spending a lot of my “extra” time thinking the past couple of weeks.  Balance seems to be the theme.  People in the exercise world talk about strength, cardio and flexibility as the three components of exercising.  If you leave one out you are asking for problems in the long term.  I think there could be many more parts, but definitely I need to consider mental health/balance.  When I get too stressed out and my mental health is off kilter, everything is out of balance.  Like many, I have a never ending task list.  Lately, the list and my normal routines (self inflicted for the most part) have been stressing me out.  So, I’m starting to develop a plan or set of action items to help me find more balance.  Today was a great day with a mix of spinning, shopping, playing with the kids and now some quiet time for myself.

 Posted by at 7:59 PM
 Older Entries  Newer Entries