Life Lyn Style

Crazy Hallway Workout

Mar 082012

Today, my partner in crime and I had our weekly trainer workout. Last week, my partner had requested a gym or abs/core workout.

We knew we were headed for the gym when our trainer, Jen began to gather her toys.

We headed to the gym with medicine balls, body bars, and tennis balls. Once we got to the gym, we realized that it was already in use. We improvised by using the long hallway. We had a few members pass us on their way to Yoga/Pilates. For the most part, we had the hall to ourselves. Toward the end of the workout, we were able to use the gym for a couple of exercises.

I did a short warm up on a bike for about 5 minutes. I was mostly experimenting with my pedometer.

For our workout, we completed the following:

2 sets:

Tennis Ball Suicides x 5 balls – Tennis balls were placed down the hall about 5 feet apart. We ran up to the first ball, picked it up and ran back to the start. We ran to the second and back, etc. I didn’t really run, but I moved quickly.
Medicine Ball Throw and Chase 10lb. x length of hallway/gym
Walking Lunges w/ body bar on back 18lb x length of hallway
‘Warrior’ Walk (body bar overhead) 18lb. x length of hallway x 2 – This was heavy!
Curl and Press 18lb x 20
T-Pushups x 20 total – I couldn’t exactly do a T, but I was impressed with how well I did on these. Basically, you are in the pushup form and you lift one hand/arm to the side at a time.

1 set:

Reaction Drill (side,side,front,back) 30 delightful seconds x 3 (:15 rest between) – This was kind of like Symon Says with us moving around based on Jen’s directional gestures
Medicine Ball Overhead Throw to Partner 12lb x 30
Medicine Ball Partner Toss side-side 10lb x 20
Bicycles 30 seconds x 3 (:15 rest between)
Medicine Ball Russian Twists 10lb x 30 seconds

I was super glad that I didn’t pick today to skip a shower. I worked hard and it was nice to have some cardio and moving mixed in with the strength training. I can’t wait to see what we tackle next week!

Learning the Breaststroke

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Mar 072012

Today was my 3rd swim lesson with Tabitha. She asked me what I wanted to focus on. I told her the breaststroke. I really need help with this stroke.

I don’t think the breaststroke is required for lifeguarding, but it seems to be a go to stroke for so many people. I feel like I need to learn it. When I watch people do the stroke, it looks so effortless and comfortable.

I feel like I look like a mess when I do the stroke. I can do the kick. I can do the arms. I can’t seem to put them together at the right pace. It doesn’t seem to help that I’m a floater. When I do the kick, my feet end up out of the water. ARGH! I really need more practice.

At one point, Tabitha said that I wasn’t the worst she had ever seen. Hmmm… I’m not sure if that was comforting. I am determined. We spent the entire 30 minute lesson on the breaststroke. I finished the lesson knowing that I really need to practice it more.

I should have worked on the stride jump, but the J pool really isn’t a great pool for it due to the shallower depth in the deep end. In addition, we really didn’t have open space for it due to the lap swimmers, class and casual pool users.

I warmed up with a few surface dives and ended with getting out of the water without the use of the ladder.

I’m not sure what I will work on next. Part of me wants to spend time practicing the breaststroke and part of me wants to work on endurance. I know I can swim 300 yards, but a 500 yard swim will be required to work at the J. I’m pretty sure that I can do it, but I haven’t done it in years. Maybe if the lanes are not too crowded Friday, I’ll swim 500 yards.

Sorting and Tweezing

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Turning off the TV No Responses »

Mar 062012

Somewhere along the way, I figured out that Nick and Sally needed to learn skills like sorting and tonging. Many activities that involve life skills as well as dexterity are good for the kids. Since Nick isn’t going to preschool until September, I’ve been trying to spend more time on various activities and projects to help him learn skills.

My husband, Stephen is very much into electronics. He writes a blog at www.skywired.net. Since circuits and radios have been a hobby of his for many years, we have quite the collection of pieces and parts in our basement. Lately, he’s been working on sorting, purging, and inventorying them.

Stephen came up from the basement yesterday and asked me if Nick could sort this box of capacitors for him. I knew this was a perfect exercise. I was also glad that I could tell Nick that he had a job to do for daddy. We used a muffin tin for sorting. It worked like a charm.

I don’t know much about capacitors, but they sure come in many shapes and sizes. Soon almost every spot in the tin had at least one type.

Meanwhile, we also had a bag of misc. capacitors that were destined for the trash. I decided that these would make a good tweezing activity for Sally and Nick. Sally didn’t quite grasp the concept of the tweezers at first, but she ended up understanding it by the end. It will take her some practice to actually use them.

Nick was anxious to try the tweezers. After a few minutes of sorting capacitors, he was having a blast picking up the little pieces parts with the tweezers.

I think I’m going to start a running list of activities that I can do with the kids to help them practice skills. It’s hard to think of them on the spot when they are needed. This tweezers activity is definitely a keeper.

Virgin HealthMiles Go Zone Pedometer–Active Minutes

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Mar 052012

I slept really well last night. I guess 2 hours in the pool is good for me. Despite my achiness and swollen knee from yesterday’s lifeguard training, I felt like a spin class would feel good.

I’m pretty aware of my bad knee during class. So, I usually don’t stand quite as much as the class and I usually pass on the jumps. Today, I knew that I was going to just spin. The only standing that I did was when I needed a temporary change in position.

I’ve been wearing my Go Zone pedometer for about 5 weeks now. The first couple of weeks, I didn’t get any active minutes. I did activities like spinning, walking and the elliptical. At some point, I read that we needed 135 steps a minute for active minutes. Wow, that’s fast! I have lots of endurance, but speed was never a strength. So, the pedometer registers fast paced activities and not continuous movement. I was a bit bummed.

I experimented on the elliptical. Usually, I try to do intervals between 90 and 120 strides per minute. I vary the resistance and get a good workout. I pushed myself to do 135-140 strides per minute and was able to verify that my Go Zone pedometer in fact did measure active minutes. Prior to that experiment, I thought it might be broken.

During one spin class, without paying much attention, I ended up with 16 active minutes. I was glad, but it took a full hour.

Today, since I was concentrating just on spinning, I was able to get 31 active minutes on my pedometer. It took the entire hour long class. Since our spin bikes don’t have computers, I have no idea how many RPMs I was doing to have it register. I was happy to get over 30, since 30 active minutes is worth more HealthMiles that 7,000 steps which is my norm. I’m happy that it’s possible, but I am still frustrated that the pedometers and program don’t seem to be interval friendly. Intervals are good for you!

I’m hoping to do a couple more experiments. I’ve heard that you need to walk about 4 MPH for the pedometer to register active minutes. I usually walk about 2.5 MPH. I’m hoping to do some intervals where I get to 4 MPH for 2-3 minutes at a time. I really want to know how fast I need to be walking for it to register. This experiment will probably have to wait until my knee is back to normal. Treadmill walking wouldn’t be good for it this week.

In our fitness center, we have a couple of fancy spin bikes. I am going to do my next warm up workout on one of them. I plan to ride a steady 80 RPM, 90 RPM etc. so I can figure out my spinning speed for active minutes.

I’m also wondering if it matter where on my hip that I wear the pedometer. Being overweight, I’m not sure if the pedometer picks up steps correctly. I’m not sure how to test that one.

As I expressed in my last post, I’m not really impressed with the program thus far. I think it’s a lot of busy work for “up to $300”. But, I also think that extra walking is good for me, so I’ll play along.

First Lifeguarding Class is in the Books

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Mar 042012

Today, I spent most of the day in class at the J. We ended up with 6 students for the class. We’ll meet a total of 4 Sundays.

For the first half of the class, we spent time in a conference room. We covered things like:

introductions and schedule
what it means to be a professional lifeguard
making decisions using the FIND method (figure out the problem, identify solutions, pros and cons, decide on best and act)
legal things to consider
continuing ed
EAP (facility specific emergency action plans)
rescue equipment
surveillance and scanning
victim recognition
communication with patrons
preventing injuries
incident reports
water rescue skills

After a series of videos and discussion, we broke for a break and met back up in the pool. Next on the agenda was our prerequisite tests and rescue skills.

As we gathered at the pool and space was available, we began to swim our 300 yards. Our instructor Lyle asked for 1/2 crawl and 1/2 breaststroke. This would be 6 lengths of each. I almost panicked since the official prerequisites call for either stroke and I had only practiced the crawl. Lyle said it was ok and I told him that I’d be working on my breaststroke. Since I had practiced, the distance (without stopping) was no problem. Most of the class didn’t have any trouble. I think one person needs to work on it a bit, but he hadn’t swam since summer.

Next up was treading water. We had to tread without using our arms for 2 minutes. It looked easy for everyone.

Lastly, was the test where we needed to swim almost a length, dive for the brick, retrieve it and swam to back to the shallow end on our back. It ends with getting out of the water without use of the ladder. I really don’t know how everyone did. Personally, I made it back to the wall in 1:35, but it took me several tries to exit the pool. So, I need to work on getting out a little faster and a speedier swim. All in all, it was great for me especially since we had just swam 300 yards and treaded water.

Overall, I am happy with how I did with the prerequisites. I’m going to work on the breaststroke and building up my endurance. To be employed at the JCC, Lyle requires a 500 yard swim. I want to make sure it’s not a problem.

After everyone completed the prerequisites, we started working on rescue skills. We covered things such as:

entries (slide-in, stride jump, compact jump)
assists
rescuing near the surface, submerged and multiple victim

The only thing that really gave me trouble was the stride jump. With a stride jump, your head is not supposed to go under water. The purpose is to allow you to keep a visual on the victim. My first jump, I hit the bottom of the pool. I really felt a lot of impact in my left (bad) knee. Ouch! I was more surprised at first. I made several other attempts during the class. None of them were great, but I did feel some improvement toward the end of class. I definitely need to practice this one.

With 6 of us in the class, the skills part went quickly and even with a break, we were able to leave a little bit early today. I’m glad we have a small class.

Once I arrived at home, I felt exhausted, sore and famished. I didn’t really count how many times we got in and out of the water and swam around, but it was lots. Next week, I need to plan my food and liquids better. The class is physically and mentally challenging. It’s also exactly what I need right now.

I’m nervous about my knee and hope that spinning tomorrow feels great. I’m scheduled to practice swimming Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week. Here’s to a great week!

Orchid Mania at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Family 3 Responses »

Mar 032012

Many times on Saturday, I am happy as a clam to stay home and clean while Stephen takes Nick and Sally out for a couple of hours. But, we also know that we need time doing things as a family too. We decided to head to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens for their annual orchid show. I’ve never really paid attention to orchids before. I remember getting a corsage at Easter from my grandpa. I’m pretty sure they were usually orchids. I also know that orchids are expensive. I didn’t know that they came in so many shapes, sizes, and colors.

At first, I wasn’t very impressed. There were a couple of displays in the hall and Clark room. There was also a big display in the main lobby. It was very busy. It turns out that today was vendor day, so there was a room set up where you could buy orchids. It was hopping.

We made our way to the children’s area. Sally quickly got to work at the store. We also checked out the kitchen garden. I never knew that vanilla came from an orchid. I have a greater appreciation for them now. There was a display about making your own vanilla. I think I’m going to try that this year. I’ve heard that it takes from 2-6 months. So, if I start it this spring, it should be great for holiday gifts.

Nick really liked the baking section. He and Sally enjoyed the costumes.

After a break for a quick lunch, we headed to the Glasshouse. I am so glad that we didn’t skip this part. We didn’t see butterflies since we didn’t go up to the second level, but we did see a few gorgeous birds.

We also quickly realized that the Glasshouse is where most of the orchids were.

There were displays everywhere!

My favorite orchid find were the ones that looked like daffodils.

We had a great time and will probably try to go again with friends before the show ends on March 25th.

More Kettlebells!

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Mar 022012

My partner in crime and I had our weekly trainer workout yesterday. We tackled the Kettlebells again.

After a 5 minute warm up on the elliptical, we met up for the following:

2 Sets each of the following:

Partner Kettlebell Swings 15lb x :30 twice
Twisting Squats 15lb x 30
Tactile Lunges 15lb x 15ea leg
Windmills 5lb x 15ea
Kettlebell Push Press 12lb x :30ea arm
Single Arm Kettlebell Swing 12lb x :30ea arm
Partner Standing Bosu Med. Ball Oblique Toss 8lb x 1min.
1/4 Turkish Getup x 10ea side
Supermans x 1min.
Supermans alternating arm/leg x :30ea side
Alternate arm/leg Crunch x :30ea side twice

This was my first time on the BOSU since last May when I had my partial meniscus tear. I really took my time getting back on that piece of equipment. I fell when I was trying to jump from one BOSU to another. That’s really different from balancing on one to do another exercise. Outside of my knee being a little sore from Wednesday’s diving practice, the BOSU felt just fine. Hopefully, we’ll slowly use it more so I can build up some confidence.

The last few items didn’t use the Kettlebells, but helped round out the workout. My partner wants to do more abs and core work and these exercises definitely fit that bill. I don’t usually have specific requests, but after doing the superman moves, I can tell my abs and core need work.

I swam this morning and feel pretty good, but I am definitely achy from the strength workout. My lifeguarding prerequisite test is Sunday and I am hoping that my strength training and swim practice pays off. Tomorrow should be an off day since I’ve worked hard this week, but I’m hoping to at least sneak in an active walk.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 10

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Mar 012012

Today was a crazy day. We ran errands before our trip the gym. Then, we had an indoor picnic before heading home. Sally napped for a short time. Nick napped for a short time after I decided that driving them around in the car was my best bet for some quiet time. Then, it was off to swimming. While Nick took his lesson, Sally and I swam. By the time we made it to pick up our CSA, I was pretty done. I was glad that they weren’t busy and we were able to do a rare drive thru pick up. Thanks to Eric and Robert for having bags all ready to go. It was great with the tired kids!

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week:

1 pork roast
1 half pint raspberry jalapeno jam
1/2 lb. mixed salad greens
1 pt. pickled banana peppers, hot or medium
Frozen fruit (cantaloupe or watermelon, great for smoothies)
1 head cabbage
2 lbs. turnips
1 lb. cracked black pepper linguini
quarter peck Fuji apples

Here’s a group shot:

Apples are always welcome for snacking and oatmeal. I’ll probably do the roast in a crockpot recipe this week. I’m trying to use the crock pot more so we can enjoy dinner without last minute prep and cooking. It really helps with the dishes if we only have to do the ones we used to actually eat after dinner time.

I’m at a loss with the peppers. We don’t really eat much hot food. These are supposed to be mild so maybe they will appear in some fajitas or chili soon. I’m hoping the jam is more sweet than hot and that the jalapeno adds more flavor than bite. I’ll have to let you know.

The greens are pretty standard. They aren’t really my favorite this time of year. The frozen fruit will be lucky to be in our freezer by this time tomorrow. The kids are excited about smoothies.

The Fresh Fork CSA staff has been giving us lots of ideas for the turnips. I haven’t decided which recipe to go with, but I want to use them tomorrow or Saturday. I popped the pasta in the freezer. It will make a quick meal one day this week.

I’ve been making unstuffed cabbage with much of our cabbage this winter. It’s easy and I can make it in the crockpot. I suspect that will appear on our table this week.

Even with the drive thru pickup, we still had our $3.50 ready just in case Robert had some corn chips. Everyone was hungry after swimming and these kept everyone entertained for the drive home.

I really like the variety of staple and storage items that we get to try out during the winter CSA, but I’m glad it’s March. I hope the spring weather treats the farmers well. I’m really getting in the mood for summer fresh produce.

Diving for Bricks–Lifeguard Training

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Feb 292012

Today, I had my second lesson with Tabitha, my swimming instructor. Last week, we spent the session on the different strokes. This week, I wanted to concentrate on the prerequisites for the lifeguarding course. My class starts on Sunday. During the first class, I’ll have to swim 300 yards continuously, tread water for 2 minutes without using hands,and complete a timed event. The timed event includes swimming 20 yards, diving down for a brick, retrieving it, then swimming on my back with the brick on my front back to the starting end of the pool. The timed event ends with getting out of the pool without using the ladder or ramp.

I had never tried to dive for the brick before. I was confident that I would be able to do this task, but knew that I needed some advice and practice. Tabitha is great and I was able to watch her get the brick several times and she guided me through it. After trying many times, I was able to get the brick on more than one occasion.

Toward the end of the lesson, we decided to have me try the timed event. I was able to swim down, dive and retrieve the brick and get back to the start on my back in 1 minute, 37 seconds. We have 1 minute, 40 seconds to complete the event. I was thrilled that I was able to retrieve the brick on the first try after swimming 20 yards.

It dawned on me that the time probably includes getting out of the pool. I’ve never got out of the pool without using the ladder or ramp. We practiced in the deep and shallow ends today. At the very end of the lesson, I was able to put it together and get out of the pool! I was psyched!

I’m hoping for a bit more practice time on Friday. I mostly don’t want to embarrass myself on Sunday when I’m in the formal class. I’m confident that as long as I can complete the prerequisites, my instructor will be able to teach me the other lifeguarding skills needed to get certified.

I’m excited and can’t wait for our first class!

1 Minute Drills

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Feb 282012

Tonight was the last scheduled Biggest Loser group workout. We only had about 20 people in attendance. It’s sad how we can start out with a group of 50+ and end up the series with less than half.

We had 3 regular trainers, a new trainer and Rich all there to motivate us and keep us going. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was lots of people to yell at us and correct our form and help us maximize our workout.

This morning I took the water aerobics class. This afternoon, neither kid napped. So, I was pretty tired when I arrived for the 6PM workout.

For almost an hour, we did a series of 1 minute exercises. Our breaks were usually long enough for one of the trainers to describe and demonstrate the next move. The great thing about all of the exercises was that we didn’t need any special equipment.

Our drills included things like:

burpees
pushups
wall sits
triceps dips
knee lifts
jumping jack squats
squats
step ups
walking lunges
planks
side planks
oblique twists

There were many more, but it’s not possible to remember all of them at the moment. I liked that we kind of had a few circuits. We had a cardio set, a set that used the bleachers/steps, a set that used the mats, an active cool down and then some stretching.

The workout was well planned out. I’m beat.

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