Month-End Review, October

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts (Upper Body), 2 x's

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp (Fat Burning Blast), 1 x

Adaptive Motion Trainer, 1 x

Army Crawls with Weights, 3 x's

Bicycling, 5 x's

Elliptical Trainer, 1 x

Mowing Lawn, 1 x

StairMaster, 6 x's

Stationary Bike, 1 x

Swimming, 9 x's

Treadmill (with bouts of jogging), 15 x's

Yard Work, 2 x's

Lesson Of The Month: If you haven't done upper body work in awhile, don't go swimming as planned the next day.

High Note Of The Month: I swam 29 laps today; I'm getting closer and closer to a mile.


After reading this poll in the October issue of Fitness magazine, I thought about my gym behavior.

I'm solid with wiping down the machines even though I've read that the solution that is used doesn't really sanitize the machines.

I had to think about the hogging machine question. I belong to a gym that is like the Wal-mart of gyms. The one I go to after work is large, has plenty of cardio equipment and there is not a time limit on how long you can occupy a machine. I tend to spend an hour or, at least, 30 minutes if I'm splitting my time on machines. So, I'll say no to the machine hogging.

I've had the urge to sing plenty of times when I'm really feeling my workout or trying to make it over a difficult hump. I restrain myself 95% of the time but I have sung quietly. At least, I hope it was quietly.

I try to be courteous of other people because I know that it annoys me when someone breaks out in an ultra-loud conversation on their cell phone at the gym -- especially after having listened to cell phone conversations at work and in public for the bulk of the day. It's almost as annoying as a gum popper on the next machine.

Month-End Review, September

September will go down as the month in which my workouts were more varied. I was flipping through an old journal and was reminded about how I used to hit the workout DVDs much more. I got out my kickbox bootcamp DVD and it was just what I needed for, at least, one day this month to be reminded that it's not just about working out but also how much effort you put into the workout.

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts (Upper Body), 7 x's

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp (Basic Training), 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp (Fat Burning Blast), 1 x

Adaptive Motion Trainer, 2 x's

Army Crawls with Weights, 5 x's

Bicycling, 8 x's

Elliptical Trainer, 1 x

Mowing Lawn, 1 x

Rock Climbing, 1 x

Shooting Hoops, 1 x

Squats, 1 x

StairMaster, 4 x's

Swimming, 8 x's

Treadmill, 5 x's

Walking (Outdoors), 7 x's

Yard Work, 1 x

A Few Things That 'Drea Knows For Sure

I second guess myself no matter how many plateaus I've encountered.

Should I or shouldn't I take a multivitamin?

Am I drinking enough water?

I wonder if I'm eating too many fat grams or not eating enough at all.

I think about getting back to basics: army crawls and planks with weights.

I ponder giving in to Papa John's at work-related training sessions instead of looking like an oddball pulling my lunch and snacks out of multiple containers.

I know that exercise is good for me, period. I know that I'm more resilient.

Still, I was relieved when I finally blasted through this most recent plateau and I believe my newest addiction, bicycling, helped me get over the hump.

Serendipity is amazing.

I was reading through old e-mails and came across this post, Love Life, Not Stuff, from Zen Habits. I love this quote:

Rediscover a passion for life. Get outside and feel nature, appreciate the beauty of the world around you. Get active, do some gardening or yardwork, play a sport, go for a walk, take a hike, go for a swim, ride a bike. Feel the life coursing through you. Breathe it in.

And this simple question posed on Twitter by TriathleteMag moved me:

Do you know what you're capable of?

TriathleteMag, I'm definitely trying to find out.

Here are some pictures from this afternoon's bike ride in Tower Grove Park where I stopped to smell the proverbial roses along the way.

Lessons from the Biggest Loser

On Tuesdays, I usually have my eyes glued to the screen or I make sure to tape The Biggest Loser.

I was not very pleased with how the producers toyed around with the viewers and contestants by sending just about half of the contestants home the first week. The home players were only allowed to return if their partner was able to stay above the yellow line for six weeks.

Even though the gimmicks can be annoying, I still think that The Biggest Loser is one of the best reality shows on television and I've gotten inspiration and ideas from the show. It's very moving to see people taken off of multiple medications and to see people tap into their inner and physical strength.

I remember struggling to lift five pounds and the next day I saw a woman on an earlier BL season lift about forty pounds. I returned to my strength training with renewed vigor and determination.

The BL trainer Bob likes to do yoga with his team and when he told them that yoga is a way to thank your body for supporting you, it resonated with me. I used to think that yoga was not for me but I tried it after watching that particular episode and I felt so right afterwards.

When I saw episode seven this week, I liked the crab walk and plan to incorporate the move into my exercise regimen. The crab walk will go along nicely with the army crawl.

Sometimes pseudo-psychologist Jillian is boorish but this girl at the gym told me the contestants should know from previous seasons what is in store for them.

Most of the contestants had to exercise outside this week since two teams won exclusive rights to the gym.

I had to laugh when Jillian told her team, who was treading water, that we're going to do this until one of you drowns or looses weight before my very eyes.

Bob worked out his teams that had access to the gym and regretted that the gym wasn't lively.

I went to the gym today and Bob would have loved the vibe. I worked out on the AMT and did some visual eavesdropping. I saw that the guy on the AMT next to me was working out in interval mode and his resistance level was at 17. I didn't even know that those dang machines would go that high. So, I decided to push myself and ended up at a resistance level of 10. My hat goes off to my neighbor on the StairMaster. She was on it when I arrived and she was still going strong when I got off the AMT 45 minutes later.

By the way, you can get this t-shirt from Jillian Michael's website.