Month-End Review, August

I exercised by the following methods this month:

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball, Upper Body Workout, 5 x's

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!, Butt & Thigh Blaster, 1 x

Arc Trainer, 1 x

,

AMT, 1 x

Bicycling, 8 x's

EFX, 1 x

Mowing Lawn, 2 x's

Rock Climbing, 2 x's

Stairmaster, 5 x's

Swimming, 9 x's

Treadmill, 1 x

Walking, 2 x's

I also drank over 100 cups of water. Yay!

30 Days

While not a Morgan Spurlock joint, I did go to The St. Louis Fitness Factory for 30 days.


I first learned about the Fitness Factory from a mailer which I let expire but the offer was still being promoted on the website.

Fitness Factory

The teaser on my mailer said no hassles and it was 99.9% accurate. Other than a pitch about two months free instead of one if I joined on the spot, my 30 days was pretty much a hassle-free experience.

The Fitness Factory is beautiful. From the ultra-cool logo to the pastel blue and green walls, it's elegantly decorated. And, for some reason, the restored loft felt like a tree house to me -- the better to feel like I was playing instead of exercising.


I love the mezzanine. Even if there were quite a few exercisers, it never felt crowded since people were split up. Also, no matter what time I went to the Fitness Factory, there were machines available. I never felt like it was overcrowded.

Fitness Factory has your standard cardio machines like the elliptical trainer, treadmill, stair climber and stationary bike. They also have treadclimbers which was a new machine for me. Missing from FF were AMT, EFX and Arc Trainer machines.

Perks included towel service and free parking which is crucial since parking downtown can be a headache.

I liked the overall decor, cleanliness, digital locker system, the European-style bathroom stalls and the Kenyan shoe drop off. Fitness Factory also offered several classes, including spinning and Zumba.


Old sneakers were being collected for the Shoeman.

Shoe4Africa and RecycledRunners also collect shoes.

And one of the coolest things of all at the Fitness Factory? Pilates on the roof.

A one year membership is $539.00 dollars. With processing fees, I pay about $315 a year at my current chain fitness club.

I really enjoyed working out the Fitness Factory. In fact, I felt like I was at a spa and, speaking of spas, there are also tanning booths on the third floor of the FF.

What can I say Fitness Factory? You're Beautiful.

Month-End Review, May

I didn't exercise as much as I wanted to but I still managed to be active for most of the month.

Here's how it happened:

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts (Arms and Shoulders) 1 x

Adaptive Motion Trainer, 7 x's

Arc Trainer, 1 x

EFX, 1 x

Elliptical Trainer, 1 x

Mowing of The Lawn, 1 x

StairMaster, 1 x

Stationary Bike, 1 x

Swimming, 9 x's

Treadmill, 14 x's

Yard Work (Attacking the Weeds and Mini-Trees) 1 x

I tried the EFX for the first time today and I really liked it. Anytime sweat is rolling down my face, I feel good.

Month-End Review, April

I decided to do less swimming since my arms often feel as if they are on fire. As a result, I made friends with the treadmill again. I paused for the cause on Fridays.

Here's how I moved my body during the month of April:

Adaptive Motion Trainer, 5 x's

Arc Trainer, 7 x's

DVD (10 Minute Solution), 1 x

StairMaster, 3 x's

Swimming, 9 x's

Treadmill, 11 x's

Walking Outdoors, 3 x's

Catch a Fire

My arms felt like they were on fire this morning. I was not in pain but I could feel heat radiating in my upper arms then slowly move down a bit. That's why I play The Amazing Race and put myself on a mandatory rest period with no back-to-back swimming allowed.

What's a girl to do whose arms have been taxed? She takes it to the StairMaster, Treadmill and ArcTrainer sans handles. I like the StairMaster for the challenge but I also like the vantage point from where I've witnessed amazing feats of athleticism. I saw one woman go from the StairMaster to the Bosu ball to jumping rope to weights then start all over again. Today, I saw a woman do push-ups, go into plank mode, flex one leg at a time then go back to the beginning.

On the way home, I noticed a new McDonald's billboard. The other Mickey D's b'boards have been advertising Filet-O-Fish. Apparently, the fish is so fresh that polar bears, penguins and seagulls hover nearby. This latest billboard is equally eye-catching with its signature red, yellow and white Mickey D's straw representing the *1* in $1.00.

It's funny how the fast food joints are pushing their value meals now. I remember going to Mickey D's prior to the value meal and I would be so annoyed that it would cost more to buy single items than to get a combo meal.

I was just browsing through an old Fitness magazine tidbit called Critical Reading which said that only 21% of people regularly check food labels. This article highlighted saturated fat, sodium, fiber and sugar and said to limit added sugar to 40 grams a day which is usually the amount found in one soda. To pay $1.00 for a large soda seems like a bargain but, in the end, it's really not much of a bargain at least not for me anyway.

A 'Drea Divided

Saturday is usually reserved for swimming but I was torn when I saw how gorgeous it was outside. I considered walking and swimming but I was also feeling unenthusiastic and didn't know if I would have the stamina for the pool.

I ended up going to Compton Hill Reservoir Park, one of my pre-fitness club stomping grounds. To enhance my workout in those days, I would climb the diminutive hills and, when I was feeling saucy, I would take it to the stairs.

Compton Hill Reservoir Park is not big and it could definitely use some more flowers to perk up the space. The one patch of flowers present ended up being plucked today by two girls who ran away with armfuls of tulips.

When I returned home, I decided to mow the lawn but the lawn mower didn't cooperate for long. Feeling restless, I popped in one of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs and did the upper body workout portion.

Later on, I went to the fitness club because I felt like I had hardly raised my heart rate earlier. The club was so quiet that I could have done cartwheels and I don't think that anyone would have blinked. I like the fitness club when it's full but I also like it when it's quiet. I hopped on the Arc Trainer. Actually, I hopped on about four or five of them because I wanted to watch television but the reception was bad or the buttons on the remote weren't working. So, I said c'est la vie and put on my MP3 player. And the rest is reflected in my sore legs.


Here's the view from the Compton Hill Reservoir Park StairMaster.

Back-to-Back Decadence

I made this pizza yesterday although I'm wary of pizza now. I topped a Boboli whole wheat crust with Roma tomatoes, shallots, yellow peppers, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, basil and parmesan cheese. It was a very satisfying pie.

Since I had leftover mozzarella, I decided to make Pasta with Carmelized Onion Trio, Arugula and Mozzarella which I have not made in ages and now I know why I haven't made it in awhile. So much chopping, so little time.

I used almond milk instead of heavy cream, raisins instead of currants and wheat linguine instead of regular. Ha, I should have purchased some frozen, chopped onions.






It's a good thing that I went to the gym today because I'm not feeling right about my back-to-back dinner choices.

I wanted to save my arms so I decided on the StairMaster which I wanted to stay on for 25 minutes without pausing. I heard Jim, my swimming teacher, in my ear: I want you to strive... and I strove while climbing 74 floors. Then, I headed to a treadmill for thirty minutes and finished off on the Arc Trainer without using the handles. I wanted to stay at the gym but the store and the Pasta with Carmelized Onion Trio, Arugula and Mozzarella were beckoning.

Pasta Recipe

Month-End Review, March

Dare I say that I had fun at the gym today?

Is there really fun to be had while gutting it out?

Maybe I should say that I had a satisfying time as I exercised in three parts. I got physical on the adaptive motion trainer, treadmill and arc trainer. As usual, the arc trainer worked me over -- but it was a good over.

While I was on the AMT, this woman got off of the treadmill, did five regular push-ups then went into a downward facing dog position and repeated the sequence several times before getting back on the treadmill to run. I was out-and-out impressed and, I swear, it made me want to drop down and do push-ups although I've never done more than seven in a row and I've never gone into downward facing dog as a transition.

I managed to exercise 27 days this month. I took off on Fridays even when I felt like I didn't need the rest and I exercised by committee on some days. Here's how I exerted myself:

AMT, 11 x's

Arc Trainer, 2 x's

Bike (Stationary), 1 x

Elliptical, 2 x's

Stair Climbing, 1 x

StairMaster, 2 x's

Swimming, 12 x's

Treadmill, 2 x's

Walking Outdoors, 2 x's

And in the immortal words of James Brown: I feel good, I knew that I would...

I Got You (I Feel Good)

Killer of the Calves

I should also refer to the Arc Trainer as the glutes and arms killer as well. I didn't know if I would have the wherewithal to stay on that machine for forty minutes.

As it turns out, I ended up doing a split shift. When I first got on the Arc Trainer, there was no one on the AT to the right. Little did I know that two friends would have a Peaches and Herbs Reunited moment. Friend One, with a five-a-day soda habit and an inability to move the scale, got on the AT and proceeded to have a conversation right over my head and, since Friend One's voice was registering 8.0 on the Richter scale, I decided to turn my machine over to her.

Oh my God, am I bothering you? I never know when I'm doing that to people.

I told her that it was okay and I know how it is when you want to be with your friends...

The Workout Before the Workout

I put bag #1 in the trunk so no one mistakes it for anything valuable.

Since I'm leaving work at five, I decide to go through the city to get to the fitness club.

As I'm heading down Chippewa, I see $1.89 fuel prices at QuikTrip (or QuikS@#%) if you're talking to my Aunt L.

The gas stations are so stealthy.

I keep trucking until I spot a 7 Eleven that still has $1.65 fuel. I don't really want to stop but... Of course, this 7 Eleven has the smallest parking lot in the world and when I leave the lot, I'm in a turn lane with no left turn signal. I finally maneuver onto a muffler shop's lot and getting into the flow of traffic is no piece of cake from this point either.

At last, I'm back on Chippewa and it's not pretty but I manage not to have full blown road rage as I see the red of so many brake lights.

Once in the gym, I swipe my membership card, head to the locker room and weave through other women to try to find an open locker. By the time I exchange my work clothes for some workout clothes, I'm almost too tired to tie the laces on my Nike shoes. Next, I look for an open machine. Since the AMT's are all taken, I decide to do thirty minutes on a treadmill. I restrain myself from upping the incline too much since my calves are still a little tender from the Arc Trainer adventure two days ago.

As strange as it seems, I had more energy post-workout. It's just a challenge to get to the actual treadmill some days.

Walking Gingerly

My calves are crying courtesy of the Arc Trainer. When I was descending the stairs at work, I had to walk gingerly.

This morning my mind was so preoccupied that I poured oatmeal into the trash can instead of a bowl or maybe my receptacle confusion happened because my morning oatmeal has become such a production of mashed banana, cinnamon, almond milk and lemon or vanilla flavoring.

I also prepare my morning snacks around oatmeal time. Lately, it’s been a cocktail of kiwi and strawberry. I used to sprinkle sugar over strawberries but when they are mixed with kiwi, they’re not as tart.

I’m glad that I had swimming on the agenda today because my calves would not have tolerated much of anything else. I was sluggish and took time to float and do the elementary back crawl which my second swimming teacher referred to as a resting stroke. When I attempt the elementary back crawl, I feel as if I am just sculling water at times. Here's a woman doing the basic backstroke. I love that this video is in another language; it makes it more entertaining.



The variety of names that people have for swimming styles is interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_backstroke

The front crawler at work does not like the phrase front crawl because she feels that it implies inactivity; she prefers freestyle but if you look in references, it will define the freestyle as Merriam-Webster does:

1: a competition in which the contestant is given more latitude than in related events; especially: swimming competition in which the swimmer may use any stroke

The Arc

As I stood in the gym, I was in disbelief that not one of the treadmills, StairMasters or AMT's was available.

I finally looked around and saw that a ski-like machine was open. I have wanted to shake up things a bit and my opportunity presented itself today.

After I had worked out for forty minutes, I saw that I was on a Cybex Arc Trainer. When I first got on, it seemed to just be working my glutes, legs and arms and I was thinking to myself that's just what I need, bigger legs. I've always had big legs and they do not need any more definition.

I felt as if I had been lifting weights afterwards. My stomach was also taut. I kind of liked the Arc Trainer and will definitely use it again. I found this lofty titled article, A Comparative Kinematic and Biomechanical Analysis
of Two Gait Simulators, on the Cybex site. The gait simulators are ellipticals and Arc Trainers. Next, I went to YouTube and, of course, they had several videos about the Arc.



I didn't finish watching the video because the way that I was sweating told me all that I needed to know about the weird Arc Trainer.