My daughter has me so conned.

She has been begging to have her nose pierced for a couple of years now. And because I’ve told her she can do what she wants when she’s eighteen but until then no way, Jose, she’s been wearing a stick on itsy bitsy stud. Well, the other day she didn’t have the stick on piercing on and I looked and there was what looked like a whole to me in that spot on her nose. I asked if the nose was pierced and she looked at me like I was crazy and had insulted her and said, “it’s the indentation from the stick on”. She does that to me all the time, looks at me like I’m psychotic and imagining things.

I still think she has a nose piercing. And the crazy part is I’m still not sure and I don’t want to insult her by pushing the issue.

I just got back from the gym with one of my girlie friends. She girlie. We did a circuit and I set it up so that she had to use a Smith Machine and Leg Press. Those machines (and many others) can be scary to women…they shouldn’t be. She whined for a little, but got over it.
When you go to the gym, try different equipment. Most gyms offer an occasional free session with a trainer. Ask the trainer how to use the equipment you’ve never tried before. I think people become comfortable doing the same old thing because they feel they know how to do it. You have to challenge your body…new exercises, heavier weights, different equipment.

Like most Americans, I’ve been watching the Health Care Reform debate in Washington. I hope they manage to pass some kind of reform, but I have a few major concerns and I’d like to talk about the one that really bothers me.

We live in a country that is over fat and under active. Millions of Americans make the choice to smoke, over eat, and not move their asses that affect all of our health care costs. Honestly, I don’t want to pay for someone’s bad habits. Americans now take a pill when they have a health issue instead of getting to the root of the problem and fixing it.

My family has a Alport’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the kidney. It can be very serious. A member of my close family deals with it every day, and he has been told that if he would take better care of himself it would be much more manageable. He refuses to change his poor habits. I understand that this is not an easy fix for him, but he has 2 small children that he adores. I worry that he’ll ultimately be facing a kidney transplant or worse if he doesn’t wake up and smell the tofu.

Imagine the reduction in health care if everyone in the country could take a 30 minute walk almost every day.

A new visitor to Web Workout 101 had a great question for me yesterday, “Since you have a workout for every day of the week, does that mean I should workout every day? “.

The answer…absolutely not. Ultimately weight training breaks down muscle tissue and that tissue needs time to recover and become stronger. Our workouts alternate muscle groups so your not shredding the same muscles on back to back days. Clients that are new to exercise will need more rest. A new client may benefit from working out every other day and work up to a 5 or 6 day a week program. I encourage all clients to get a 30 minute walk in 5-6 days per week, but you may just need to modify the intensity accordingly. There are also a couple of other things you can do to encourage muscle recovery, get 6-8 hours of sleep per night, stay hydrated, and eat a nutritionally dense diet that includes a small amount of lean protein in every meal and snack.

Well, I spent the weekend in CA helping a dear friend work on her new house and have not worked out since Thursday evening. Yikes! I did a great job eating properly, which is difficult when I go back to CA because the food rocks. I shoulda, coulda, woulda done a 101 workout in my hotel room, but I was so tired after painting all day and so covered with paint that the only thing I could focus on was my HOT shower.

Today’s 101 workout is chest/core which will be a great workout to help me refocus. I’m also planning to get on the treadmill for at least an hour.

I can’t cry over spilled milk. I didn’t workout, I have to get over it and move on. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Last night I watched a show on TLC called the 650lb Virgin. Wow! It’s about David Smith, a young man that was morbidly obese and didn’t have a life. He saw a trainer on a local morning show, contacted him and started working with him. Over the next 26 months David lost 410lbs and more importantly he has a life. He goes out with friends, dates, exercises and has even become a personal trainer.

The best part of David’s story is that he learned about proper nutrition and exercise over 26 months. He’s much more likely to keep his weight off because he did it in a realistic manner. I love the Biggest Loser because it shows morbidly obese people that they are capable of losing the weight without surgery, but there methods are not realistic for most people. The participants are removed from all the daily obstacles that most people face trying to lose weight, their workout program is almost a full time job and they’re receiving nutritional guidance.

David’s story is wonderful. I applaud him for sharing his story and kudos to his trainer Chris Powell!

Today I decided to work on my running intervals after my band workout on WW101. I’m trying to rehab my hamstring enough to be able to finish a half marathon with my sister and some old high school friends by January. It’s getting better.

While I was on the treadmill I watched MJ’s service. I had a crush on him as a young girl, loved Off the Wall in high school, danced to Thriller in the eighties, and was disappointed and sad for him in the nineties. It was one of those events that was not only sad, but made me feel my age. I hate feeling my age and avoid it whenever possible.

I suckered the hubby into a spin class yesterday. I don’t think he’s great at following directions (man thing), he consistently had the tension set too high, but refused to lower it. He wouldn’t look at me or talk to me during his self imposed suffering. He stuck it out!

The battle continues!

My recent weight gain has driven me to virtually live at the gym. My goal is to try new classes and keep things interesting. So, today I decided to attend a Spin, Step, and Yoga class…this might have been pushing it a little. I’m laying in bed with a huge bag of ice on my psycho knee. I’ll be back tomorrow!

I think this 5 lbs in 8 weeks is a symptom of peri-menopause, menopause, or whatever hormonal hell in which I’m currently stuck.

It’s alright. I’m re-focused and ready to kick some aarrss.

Check out Sabino Canyon in Tucson! It looks like it has something for everyone. I can’t wait to give it a try.

www.sabinocanyon.com

I’m thinking of organizing a trip to Tucson the 20th of August. It’s still very warm here and the resorts are offering great rates. We can hike early in the morning and hang out in the pool the rest of the day. You in?