Category: Exercise

DDR Dance Dance Revolution – oh what great fun and a calorie burner!

Afternoon everyone,

Oh I’m smooshed!

After several hours of patience marketing online, I challenged my kids to Dance Dance Revolution. Now, we used to do this all the time during the summer at Camp Ling, so it’s been quite awhile since I last put my feet on those mats.

My gosh, talk about, ahem, uncoordinated! My skills apparently have melted away during the months I’ve not tried it. I see the arrows on the screen and say to my feet, okay feet, move to the correct arrow…and it just doesn’t happen. :) But still, it’s great fun! We were at it for about an hour.

And for us parents/moms/dads/etc., DDR is a terrific calorie burner! There’s a practice and test mode as well, so you can train your feet to move to the correct arrows during specific beats. And don’t forget about

That’s where smart parents like us gather to share tips on doing well! And don’t knock Dance Dance Revolution as an extreme exercise – many people have lost dozens of pounds doing it. DDR Weight Loss Stories are most interesting to read.

Here are some more great DDR resources:

If you’re looking for something to do at home that really gets the blood pumping and your heart rate up, do yourself a favor and check it out; age is no factor! You’ll be happy you did.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Here are some nice DDR pads:

P90x Review – Yoga Death, Week 4, Day 1, Total Days – 22

Today starts my recovery week! Yay! If you can call it that!

Seriously! Yoga Death has to be one of the toughest, most killer DVDs out there. My muscles literally shake in some of the poses, and others…well, I have to do major modifications.

Still, though, I will admit – although I hate and despise this DVD with a passion, it’s utterly superb. I really feel the workout even hours afterwards! Wow. If you can handle it, it’s a perfect example of, it hurts so good.

So. Today I completed Yoga Death and this afternoon, will probably do DDR with the kids. Today they have off in honor of MLK day, so it will be a quiet day. Tomorrow is Core, the day after is Kenpo, and then XStretch (yay!).

And that’s Day 22,

Barbara

ps – Other P90x goodies:

Bad Kung Fu Tricks – Most amusing indeed

Howdy all,

I just came across

It has such classics as:

  • The fingerlock sucker bet
  • How to fake extraordinary strength
  • How to tear a phonebook in half
  • How to break a beer bottle with your bare hands
  • Iron body part II – breaking stones and concrete
  • Girl vs. 6 men
  • How to fake a powerful punch
  • The original paper punch video
  • How to break bricks
  • How to roll up a frying pan
  • Slow down your heart, then stop it completely
  • How to make a chinese finger trap
  • How to outstrength any man
  • How to lift someone over your head with one hand
  • The matchbox knockout

Do check it out – you’ll enjoy it.

Barbara

ps – here are some Kung Fu goodies:

Reflections – P90x Review XStretch – Week 3, Day 7, Total Days – 21

Morning!

Got up late yet again! 5am, the horrors, the horrors! Still, though, everyone was still sleeping, so I did the StretchX DVD.

I will admit, I really really really like this DVD. 3 months ago, you could never have sold me on how important stretching is, and how much more flexible your body can become – what I’ve lost out on over the years! Besides doing this DVD, I also try to stretch at least once a day in various positions during various History Channel presentations, and I can truly pinpoint the differences in my physical abilities.

21 days! I’ve completed 21 days! Yippee! And weirdly enough, I’ve lost inches on my waist/thighs and hips, but…gained a pound this week. I look slimmer but weigh more! I figure it must either be muscle gain, water retention, what have you….but as I freed myself from the tyranny of the scale, I’m not angsting over it what so ever.

So you know what Day 21 means, right? It means that this week, week 4, is the recovery week (if you can call it that – Yoga Death debuts not once but twice). And then I get to take Day 30 pictures! I’m looking forward to seeing the changes (and I finally have a reason to get a bikini too! :) ).

So…what have I learned about myself. Gosh, where to start. One, you can live your entire childhood/young adulthood/etc. with a pre-conceived notion of what you are capable of achieving (with my lousy bone-structure, let me tell you…it wasn’t much) and then in your 30s or 40s or 50s or what have you…you can give yourself permission to expand your boundaries and blast past every single one of your delusional barriers. Now, this is not just my P90x experience talking – it’s also my karate experience, my fighting-past-fear-even-when-I-was-petrified experience, my super-fast recovery from surgery experience, etc.

When you’re overweight and fat, you tend to gloss over your physical appearance and focus on your other traits and characteristics. That’s an excellent thing to do, after all – if you cannot appreciate yourself with regards to the way you look, feeling good about yourself for other purposes is simply a healthy thing to do.

But when you’ve lost the weight and realize, omigosh, I’m fit, I’m sexy, I’m in the best shape of my life, it really adds a profound confidence in the way you view yourself. Back in my college days, I never wore tank tops, I never went dancing, I never learned to ‘move and groove’ etc….and now? Now, I realize I can look phenomenal for my husband…and equally as important, for myself. I’m unbeatable!

If only I could have realized and internalized this in my college days!

Ah well, these things happen. But having gone thru this journey myself, I have made a promise that my kids will always know how to appreciate their own magnificence, be it their brains, creativity, common sense, beauty, etc. They’ll never feel less than others because of insecurity; they’ll know they’re the best.

To gain that lesson, I’d go thru my hell of a school life again and again. The most agonizing of your life’s experiences often deliver the best gifts of your life…if you give yourself permission to learn from them.

And that’s Day 21,

Barbara

ps – More Tony Horton goodies!

P90x Review Kenpo X – Week 3, Day 6, Total Days – 20

Evening everyone,

Due to other plans, my P90x workout actually happened in the wee hours of the morning…okay, at 6:30pm. :-)

Today was Kenpo X and as always, it was a great workout. I substituted a bunch of my traditional karate moves and managed to get a pretty good heart rate up there. Afterwards, I did 10 minutes of the Carmen Electra Vegas Cardio – it’s slow going I’ll admit, but my body is getting much much more flexible. Yay!

Tomorrow is XStretch, one of my favorite workouts. And then I’m in recovery week! Normally I’d say yippie! except apparently Yoga Death takes place not once but twice. Wah! Ah well. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some other nice P90x goodies:

Sexy after 40 – Carmen Electra Vegas Strip Cardio

Howdy everyone,

Well, as you probably know if you’ve been reading my blog now for the past year, I’ve lost 45+ pounds and have started to really get into shape. I used for my workouts great resources like:

and I also started doing Karate with my kids.

Recently, I’ve realized something ‘way ‘way cool for me – I’m sexy. I can look at myself in the mirror and say, gosh, I look really good!

This is pretty amazing for me for several reasons. One, because of my lousy bone structure, I never could look at my body without focusing on the negatives. You know how 20-somethings can ‘strut their stuff’ in walking, dance, etc.? I never learned how to do that back in college. ‘Matter of fact, I always kinda sorta mentally hid myself from letting people admire my physical features. If I wasn’t okay to me, I certainly wouldn’t be okay to the rest of the world.

Shallow? Perhaps. That’s okay, one goes thru various periods of focusing or not on unimportant things in life.

Zoom now to a few weeks ago. I was in Kmart and checking out their DVD videos, and saw the Carmen Electra Vegas Strip Cardio workout. Vegas? Strip? Shake thy booty? After a snort or two, I re-thought to myself, hey, why not – if I’ve been able now to accept I’ve improved dramatically, why NOT give myself permission to check out the sexy moves I never learned back in college?

That DVD has been sitting on my shelf now for 2 weeks…and yesterday, I actually tried it out. Wowsa! I have hips! They can move! They can shake! And get this…it’s actually fun!

I can’t believe I never learned hip shimmies/moves/etc. back when I was in college. Wow, what I missed out! Not only will my husband benefit :) , but it also has the advantage of giving me a very confident attitude and walk.

Stay with me here, this is important. When you’re fat and overweight, quite often you never really examine the physical you, as it’s just too darned depressing. And when you lose the weight, you might still find yourself shackled by prior beliefs – why should I try to look good, I never did before?

You should do so because it makes YOU feel great. It really does! I really couldn’t care less about who is looking at me when outside or at karate or at the gym or …. you get the idea….but I know (I really know!) that all those months of hard work and exercise has paid off and by gosh, I’m one sexy woman!

Who said that only the 20 or 30 somethings should have the monopoly on not only looking good, but feeling great? Age is but a number – it’s the lightness of your spirit that counts.

You can choose how to feel, and you can choose how to be. To hell with what society says – be true to yourself and let yourself shine. You’ll be astounded at how good you really feel.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Here are some other Carmen Electra workout DVDs:

P90x Review Legs Back Ab Ripper X – Week 3, Day 5, Total Days – 19

Morning!

Well, today yet again I got up at the most unoptimal time possible – 3:30am. I really should have gotten up at 12:30 so I’d have time to get back to sleep! 3:30am means I’m done with my workout at 5am…and by that time, it’s time to start work. Wah. I think I had it in my teeny tiny brain that my workout was only an hour today – I had forgotten about Ab Ripper X.

Ah well, these things happen. Legs and Back! Lots of lovely pullups and chinups and alas, I’m still at only 3 unassisted; the chair comes in really handy. This was the first time that I’ve gone to failure in the last round and emitted a “ARGH!” upon completion. :) I still want more, mind you, so this morning I’ll do the Cybex route for leg presses and such.

Ab Ripper X – I was able to do ALL 12 exercises for 25 counts EXCEPT obliques. Did only 17 on my left side, all on the right side. I’m definitely getting better!

I gave myself permission to miss karate yesterday and instead, practiced it at home. Now that my right thigh problem has been fixed, I’m noticing that my left ankle is really quite lousy. I’m pretty certain I have an exostoses in between my fibula/tibula near the ankle; I wonder if that could be removed? I’ll have to follow up on that.

Anywhos, karate at home! My balance is getting ‘way better, and the combination moves are actually coming together on my right side (left side is the one with zero balance). My kids joined me as well and we had a great time. I do regret missing Boot Camp, however. Must get that into the routine this weekend.

And that’s Day 19,

Barbara

ps – some neat Tony Horton DVDs and things:

P90x Review YogaX – Week 3, Day 4, Total Days – 18

Morning!

Well! 3 weeks of getting up at 12:30am or 3:30am etc. have finally caught up to me! I gave myself permission again to sleep late, and got up at 5:30am, full of energy. ‘Course, at that time, I had to dedicate myself to the kids and husband…so I started Yoga Death (my fond name for it) at 9am.

First, the good news. I’m getting stronger! It’s still ‘way killer for me to do and some poses had my arms literally shaking as they wanted to buckle (but I didn’t!). But! I can balance myself in the shoulder stand much much better, and can actually do a half-buttocked example of the runner’s pose. Crane stance, ain’t no way in heck I’m going to try that with my wrists yet….better to wait for them to gain in strength.

I was able to bend touch my face to my knees completely when doing the hamstring stretch (yay!) and also fold my knees over my ears when doing the plough hold. While in that position, I noticed…my legs are much thinner and my belly is much smaller! P90x really is helping deliver to me my fitness goals.

I don’t despise this DVD as much as I did before. It looks like I’ll be joining the ranks of people who at first hated it but then admitted…it grew on them.

Because I didn’t do my cardio this morning at the gym, I’ll probably try TurboJam or CardioTease and see how that treats me. And in the afternoon, hopefully it’s karate bootcamp (yay!) and then I can relax.

And that be Day 18,

Barbara

ps – more P90x discounts:

Is your gym too racy and sexy?

Morning everyone,

Well, flap my earlobes and call me Bambi, but I really cannot believe the following from Utah.

…. Some students say health club showing pornography

Some college students in Utah County are calling some music videos pornographic, and they are trying to get a health club to take them off its screen….

The students have documented five music videos played on the Gold’s Gym music video network which they call objectionable. Jesse Yaffe says, “Once you are a member here, you basically don’t have the choice anymore. You’re forced to watch indecent material because you go where there’s a TV. They’ve got the Gold’s Gym membership network, and certain videos they play are extremely indecent, and some are outright pornography.”…

The controversy involves two Gold’s Gym locations in Utah County frequented by BYU and UVSC students. Five organizations are banding together to keep the videos from being shown at the gyms. …

The students gave Gold’s 10 days to remedy their concerns before they start picketing the health club. They outlined four specific issues they’d like resolved:

* No rated R movies or sexually explicit or racy PG-13 movies.

* Change the content of Gold’s Broadcasting Network or don’t show the Network.

* Keep external TV’s on decent and clean stations, or let members choose the channels themselves.

* Install blinds on the aerobics room to block the dancing, which is very provocative.
…MORE…

It is…just NOT to be believed.

Really.

Now, while I would love thinking the world revolved around me and my family and my friends and those people ONLY, I actually confess to (hold on to your seats here) “living in the real world.” Gasp! Fancy that! Just because something might bother me or my friends….doesn’t mean I have to change the whole organization so everyone else is inconvenienced.

I certainly don’t know about you, but whenever I work out at my local gym, I actually self-advocate and (eeek!) turn the channel to what I want to watch! I will bravely admit that I blatantly stare at…. yes, it’s true…. “How It’s Made!” and and and “Meerkat Manor” and and and… you get the idea! Yes, I take ownership of my own reactions and my own decisions!

What a concept. My oh my, what a concept.

Here’s something those kids should realize – when you’re at the gym, you’re there to work out. You’re there to push yourself and better yourself and NOT to angst over what’s playing or what other people look like. My gosh, that last demand:

  • * Install blinds on the aerobics room to block the dancing, which is very provocative.

Reminds me of the middle east countries, in which women cannot participate in religious worship with the men because the men might become distracted. Talk about blaming the other party!

Now, true….if there was an aerobics class that resembled, say, hmmm, Chippendales, I’d probably…practice NOT averting the eyes. It would be considered a bonus visual bounty of the gym. :)

What do you think?

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – but of course, if you are looking for “sexy” and “gym” together….

P90x Review Arms/Shoulders – Week 3, Day 3, Total Days – 17

Morning,

Today was the day I gave myself permission to wake up late and do my P90x in the morning. Alas, my body laughed hysterically at me and threw me out of bed at 3am.

Sigh. Can’t win.

Started the workout at 3:30am, and I decided to (amazingly!) NOT kill myself with overweights. So I begin with my cute little 20 pounders and by the end of the workout, was reduced to 10 pound dumbbells (but still achieved quite a flaming burn).

This is the third time I’ve done this DVD, and I noticed finally that the sets are in 3 – 3 exercises, then repeat… 3 different exercises, then repeat….and finally the 3 last exercises and (you got it) repeat. That has to provide benefits to muscles that I never got when working out on my own; I simply lack the discipline to keep that structured.

Weight-wise, seated static curls are still at 35 pounds (yay!) but standing statics; I can do 20 pound dumbbells for a bit and then regress back down. As I’m kinda sorta a wee bit utterly exhausted from yesterday’s workout, I didn’t push myself that much – I just worked until the burn. I’ll probably top off the workout later on today with my seated statics….it gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

And tomorrow is Yoga Death! Joy oh joy (NOT NOTNOTNOTNOTNOT), but I will admit, I do appreciate it when it’s finally over. :)

And that’s Day 17,

Barbara

ps – some more useful P90x stuff: