:(

After that last post, Dad ended up in the hospital again.  I don't even really know the dates of  two of these workouts, but I wanted to log them anyway.  (When I finish, I snap a quick picture of the elliptical machine's display with my phone, and then record the numbers later.  I never got around to doing that for these two, so I don't know the dates.)

9/14/14
Elliptical
624 calories
5.45 miles
65 miles

(I think this was Monday, 9/15?)
Elliptical
627 calories
5.52 miles
65 minutes

(This was maybe Thursday, 9/18?)
Elliptical
621 calories
5.51 miles
65 minutes

My dad was finally released from the hospital yesterday afternoon.  I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things soon.  I've been fighting a migraine since yesterday, and today, I just can't get moving.  I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck.

??

I'm behind in logging my workouts.  I actually lost track, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

9/10/14
Elliptical
619 calories
5.01 miles
(I think I pushed a little too hard on Monday.  Tuesday, my legs were dead, so I decided to rest for a day.  I still felt sluggish on Wednesday, which shows in these numbers.)

9/11/14
Elliptical
627 calories
5.52 miles
65 minutes

Friday I had to take my dad to the doctor's for his first follow-up visit since getting out of the hospital.  It took nearly an hour to get him up and out of the house and to the doctor's office, which is close by, and should have literally taken us about 10-15 minutes.  I stayed at my parents' for the rest of the day, and just didn't get to the gym.  Today, I had to work early, then went straight to my parents' house.  Dad is NOT doing well.  I didn't get home until about 11:45pm, which means another day with no workout.  I'm planning to go before church tomorrow.  If I don't, I know I'll be going straight to my parents' after church, and will probably end up skipping the gym again, which is NOT cool. :(

9/8/14, Part 2 =)

9/8/14

Elliptical
627 calories
5.57 miles
65 minutes

9/8/14

I know I've been gone for a few days, but this time, it wasn't really because I was feeling lazy and slacking off.  Tuesday morning, I had to rush my dad to the hospital, where he then spent the next 5 days fighting pneumonia, a urinary tract infection and an infection & cellulitis in his leg.  It was a very long, very scary week.  He's home now, thank God.

9/6/14
627 calories
5.42 miles
65 minutes

9/7/14
631 calories
5.48 miles
65 minutes

I suppose I should have waited to post until I worked out today, huh?  Oh, well, I'll be back...

9/1/14

Took the day off yesterday.  That wasn't my original intention, but after a long church service, a wonderful party afterward (it was our pastor's last day with us) and then running errands, I was wiped out.  Plus, I think I may have pushed my body a little hard on Saturday.  I was still feeling a little sluggish in the legs this morning.  I just wanted to at least hit 5 miles today, and thankfully, I did.

9/1/14
624 calories
5.19 miles
65 minutes

~~EDIT~~
I just looked at Saturday's numbers, and was pleasantly surprised to see I actually did beat those numbers today. =)  Every day, I try to beat my numbers from the day before, even if it's only by 1/100 of a mile ;-)

8/29, 8/30

Friday 8/29
Elliptical
613 calories
4.6 miles
65 minutes

Saturday 8/30
Elliptical
624 calories
5.16 miles (I never thought I'd be able to hit 5 miles again so soon.)
65 minutes

8/28/14

Elliptical
613 calories
4.56 miles
65 minutes

Has it really been almost NINE months?!?!

Good Lord, I've been a HUGE slacker.  I got a job back in January, and in the next five months, managed to gain between 15 and 20 lbs.  Then, I quit, intending to get my (once again!!) huge butt back to the gym, and fix the situation.  Instead, I gained another 5 lbs, bringing us to a grand total of 25 lbs.  Ok, it was actually only 24 lbs.  Whatever.

I hit a wall last week, and finally made the decision to fix things before the other 60 pounds crept back.  I got to the gym Sunday, for the first time since last December.  WTF?!

I could sit here and go on and on about what's been going on, but instead, I'm just going to track my numbers.

8/24/14
Elliptical
594 calories
3.75 miles
65 minutes

8/25/14
Elliptical
607 calories
4.21 miles
65 minutes

8/27/14 (yes, I missed the gym yesterday.  I was watching my niece.  I know, crap excuse)
603 calories
4.25 miles
65 minutes

So far, I'm down 3 pounds this week.  Let's hope the trend continues.

12/5/13

Treadmill again today.  I decided to set the heart rate at 150.  I'm torn about what to set this at.  I broke a great sweat, and felt good afterward, and I think I could have even gone up a little higher.  You can see, I burned a LOT less calories today than I did yesterday at the higher setting.  Like I said yesterday, my target fat burning heart rate is between 109-127ish.  So, will I burn less fat if I go higher?  I don't know.  I need to ask someone who actually knows what the hell all this means!

Treadmill
595 calories
3.22 miles
65 minutes

Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x(30/30/30)

12/4/13

Woo hoo!!!  Four days in a row so far.... =)

I decided to do the treadmill again today, since I think it was a pretty good workout yesterday.

Yesterday when I was setting the machine, I needed to put in my target heart rate.  Well, I had NO idea what to program in, since I have NO idea what it is.  Back when I first joined the gym a year ago, I had a meeting with the personal trainer, and we used some formula to figure it out.  I thought mine was around 145, so be in the "fat burning zone," so that's what I put in yesterday.  But, I vaguely remember having to use your age and weight to get the number, and since I'm about 40 lbs lighter than I was when I first joined, I thought that just might be right.

So, when I got to the gym today, I asked the girls at the counter if they new the formula, or if they could find the worksheet we used.  The gym manager found a sheet, looked at it, and told me, "Oh, it's 220 minus your age."  Hmmm...ok.  I guess.  That would make my target heart rate 175.  Ok, great.

I got on the treadmill, set it for "fat burn," and punched in 175 when it asked for target heart rate.  Well, HOLY HELL, I think that broad was trying to kill me!!  Yesterday, when I had put in 145, it was already quite a workout.  This?  This was HARD!

The machine kept upping the incline, in order to get my heart pounding, and so I'd hit that number.  Yesterday, I said I wasn't sure if 11.4 was a high incline.  Well, hell's bells, the machine went to 15 today!

I tried to keep up, I promise I did.  But, it was just a little too much.  I ended up only doing 35 minutes, instead of 65.  BUT, I didn't stop there.  I simply reset the machine for a target rate of 150, and did another 35 minutes.  With that, here are today's numbers:

Treadmill (set for a target rate of 175)
388 calories
1.56 miles
35 minutes

Treadmill (set for a target rate of 150)
346 calories
1.73 miles
35 minutes

And, just because it makes me feel better to see the totals...
734 calories
3.29 miles
70 minutes

Isn't it interesting how I went less distance, but burned more calories, at the higher setting?  I guess it makes sense, though, since my heart was working harder.

I added back one more machine today, too.

Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x(30/30/30)

Because I did an "extra" five minutes on the treadmill, and I added back a machine, I figured I finally earned a massage.  Man, oh man, did I enjoy the hell out of it, too. =)


~~~UPDATE~~
Ok, I went online and searched for the formula to figure out this heart rate thing.  And, yes, according to this, that girl really WAS trying to kill me!  According to what I read here, my target fat burning heart rate should be between 108.6-126.7!!!  175 my ASS!!

12/3/13

Some biznitch was on MY elliptical machine today when I got to the gym.  Some nerve, huh??!!

So, I changed it up a bit, and used a treadmill today.  I programmed it for the "fat burn" routine, and got busy.  The mileage isn't as high as what I do on the elliptical, but then I realized it's about how far I go when I go for a run, so I'm happy with it.  Plus, the "fat burn" program changes the incline of the machine throughout the workout, so most of the 65 minutes was "uphill."  (I don't really understand what the incline numbers mean, but the highest incline the machine gave me was 11.4.  Is that high?)

Treadmill
647 calories
3.2 miles
65 minutes

AbCoaster 2x(30/30/30)

The last time I totaled my walk/run miles was back in July, so I'm not even going to bother, since 2013 is almost over.

12/2/13

Elliptical
633 calories
5.91 miles
65 minutes
Ab Coaster 2x(30/30/30)

2013 Elliptical Totals
49,965 calories
436.49 miles

How many times....

...am I going to say "I'm getting back on track!"??  I'm too tired to beat myself up over it right now.  I'm just going to record today's workout, and call it a day.

Elliptical
622 calorie
5.73 miles
65 minutes
Ab coaster 30/30/30

I was only going to do cardio, and skip the machines, since it's been far too long since I've dragged my jiggly ass to the gym.  I didn't want to overdo it, like I always do after a long absence.  I only end up hurting myself, which makes me more likely to stay away.  But after I did the stretching machine, I said, screw it, might as well do a little something for these flabby abs!

2013 Elliptical Totals
49,332 calories
430.58 miles

11/8/13

I was really crunched for time today, as I had many errands to run, and Stud had an early morning doctor's appointment.  I was tempted to just not hit the gym today, but I quickly realized what an ASS I was being, and got going. 

I didn't do a "whole" workout, though, because like I said, I was really short on time.  I cut my elliptical time in half today.

Elliptical
334 calories
3.33 miles
35 minutes
Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x(30/30/30)

2013 Elliptical Totals
48,710 calories
424.85 miles

11/6/13

I was afraid I'd be a little tired and sore after pushing myself yesterday, but I was pleasantly surprised to not wake up in pain this morning.  I did, however, have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to drive my parents to the airport (they left for a week-long vacation in Punta Cana, lucky dogs!), so I was afraid I'd be tired when I got to the gym.  After all, I was up to give my baby his "birthday minute kiss" at 4:46am, and then left to pick up my parents by 5:45.

The point of all this rambling is to say that today actually was a good day!  I did drink a cup of coffee on the way to the airport, so I'm still trying to figure out if that's going to be my new morning routine.  I surprised myself by actually bumping up my numbers (just a tiny bit) from yesterday.

Elliptical
623 calories
6.55 miles
65 minutes
Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x(30/30/30)

2013 Elliptical Totals
48,999 calories
428.07 miles

11/5/13

I got a call on my way out the door to the gym this morning.  It was my brother, calling to see if I wanted to meet him, Monkey and my parents for breakfast.  So...I did.

BUT, I did NOT blow off the gym. ;-)  I went afterward, and had a great workout.  I didn't eat, but I did have some coffee.  I usually go to the gym on a completely empty stomach.  I think the caffeine may have given me a little "boost," as I was really able to push it today.

Elliptical
621 calories
6.46 miles (I'm almost back to my 7+ miles!!  Woo hoo!)
65 minutes

Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x(30/30/30)

2013 Elliptical Totals
48,376 calories
421.52 miles

I think I'm getting my mojo back...

At least I hope so.  I pushed myself a little more today, and hit the 6 mile mark. =)  I'm still easing back into the machines, though. 

Elliptical
620 calories
6.02 miles
65 minutes
Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x30/30/30

2013 Elliptical Totals
47,755 calories
415.06 miles

Did you remember to "fall back?"

I actually put that "extra" hour to good use today, and hit the gym before church. =)

Here's what's been going on the past few days:

11/2/13
Elliptical
612 calories
5.59 miles
65 minutes

11/3/13
Elliptical
611 calories
5.57 miles
65 minutes

Ab crunches 2x30@65
Ab coaster 2x30/30/30

Obviously, I added a couple ab machines today.  I'm going to slowly add machines until I'm back to where I was months ago.

2013 Elliptical Totals
47,135 calories
409.04 miles

Excuses, excuses....

It's no secret that I've been slacking off.  Hell, the last time I recorded a workout here was JULY 6!!  That's just ridiculous!  I'm really so angry with myself, I could just scream.

If you ever check in over at the other blog, you know I've been dealing with a lot of "crap" in my life.  But, EVERYONE has crap in their lives.  I need to stop letting that screw me up, and I NEED to get back on track.

There ARE a few workouts that have happened that I just didn't post about.  I keep a log in my phone of every workout, and I found a few I never listed.

7/10/13
631 calories
6.82 miles
65 minutes

(I have no idea why this was only an elliptical day.  I have no machines listed.)

8/6/13
613 calories
5.67 miles
65 minutes
Ab crunches 2x30@65
Straight Arm Ab 2x30@80
AbCoaster 30 reps forward, 30 on right, 30 on left
(again, I have no idea why I wouldn't have done the rest of the machines.  This was only 2 days after I ran The Biggest Loser 5K, so maybe I was sore?  Who knows...)

8/8/13
616 calories
6.01 miles
65 minutes
Ab crunches 2x30@65
Straight Arm Ab 2x30@80
AbCoaster 30 reps forward, 30 on right, 30 on left
Inner thigh 2x30@100
Outer thigh 2x30@110
Pull Downs 2x30@50
Shoulder press 30@10, 4x15@10
Obliques 2x30@80

After this, there is LONG hiatus from the gym.  It's really embarrassing.  However, I DID start running at the park down the street a few times a week.  As much as I actually enjoy the running (the park is pretty, it's peaceful and quiet, and I get a lot of good "thinking" done while I run) I was really hurting myself by JUST running.  That's only half of my "usual" workout.  It takes care of the cardio, but I really need to get that hour on the machines.  I can see such a difference in my body.  Despite the fact that I haven't gained any weight (somehow, I managed to lose 5 more pounds, but I can't explain it) I can tell my clothes are fitting differently.  I'm getting rolls again, which tells me fat is creeping back in somewhere.  Yeah, we all know "muscle weighs more than fat" so that worries me even more.  Clearly I'm losing muscle, and gaining fat.  I can tell my muscles are getting "soft" again, and I don't like it.

A couple weeks ago, I took my brother to my gym as a guest.  It was when I went to log my workout that I saw it had been TWO MONTHS since my last visit to the gym.

10/9/13
605 calories
6 miles
65 minutes (30 backwards, 35 forwards)

My brother convinced me to try doing the elliptical backwards, since it works different muscles than doing it forward.  Man, it was hard!  I could only do it for 30 minutes before my knees couldn't take anymore.  I did the last 35 minutes the "regular" way.

Then, like a moron, I decided to do the rest of my  workout the exact same way I had done my last workout TWO months ago.  Yeah....not so smart.  I was dying the next day!  So, naturally, that meant I didn't go again for a while.  <hangs head in shame>

This week, I got my jiggly behind back in the gym.  However, I only did the 65 minutes on the elliptical.  I skipped the machines, other than the stretching machine, because I figured I should ease my way back up to where I was.  I KNOW that if I push it, and hurt myself, it'll be that much longer before I go back.

10/29/13
603 calories
5.58 miles
65 minutes

10/30/13
609 calories
5.77 miles
65 minutes

I totally screwed up keeping track of my walking/running miles, since I didn't log all the runs at the park.  I see that the last time I totaled my elliptical miles was back in JUNE.  But, here are the new totals:

2013 Elliptical Totals
45,912 calories
397.88 miles

I'm REALLY going to make an effort to get back to my daily visits to the gym.  I already missed yesterday thanks a bunch of "stuff," so I'm not happy with myself right now.  I'm going to try like hell to get there as soon as I finish this post.  Wish me luck!