Personal Development, Not Quite A Book Review

I read a review of Steve Pavlina’s book, Personal Development for Smart People, on the Life Coaches Blog. I think I’m waiting for my review copy (if I am?  It will be a delightful surprise one day at my door.  If I’m not?  I’ll have forgotten that I thought I requested a copy and likely [...]

Dressing for the workout

I am finally acquiring some “real” workout gear.  First there was that fabulous Oiselle fitness bra, the one that feels like I’m not wearing anything, but I’m still supported.
Now is there a SkirtSport workout skirt. I ordered this one, and I honestly don’t rememeber why besides it was on sale.  Maybe also because it was [...]

From personal to Personal?

Lately something interesting has been happening when I visit the gym.  Once during almost every visit, somebody mistakes me for a Personal Trainer.  They ask me for help with doing an exercise correctly (I tell them I’m not a trainer and try to find one to help them out); a guy today even insisted that [...]

Take the Lunge

PLEASE.
(da-dum-dum).  Thank you, I’ll be playing by the treadmill all week!
(well didn’t that title sound a joke?)
The lunge is NOT one of my favorite exercises.  For a long time before and after my foot surgery, I could not do it.  When you cannot bend a foot, the lunge ain’t in your exercise repertoire.
But the lunge [...]

Doppelganger

I must deny the rumor that today’s HIIT was achieved by alternating walking on the treadmill and actually running. We all know that I don’t run.  Especially in 1 minute spurts at 6 MPH.
Nope.
Not me.
Must have been my doppelganger.
Same doppelganger was later seen doing 7 chin-ups, then kickin her own butt during her strength training [...]

Broadly Speaking

This one is for all the women in the gym.
Yesterday, about 2/3rds of the way through my workout – after doing presses and flies and dips and generally torturing my upper body – I took an opportunity to step back up to the bar and do some more chin-ups.
Another 4.5, which considering what I’d done [...]

Soup: It’s What For Dinner!

Saturday I experimented with a new recipe: Kale, Sausage and Chickpea Soup. The recipe can be found at Epicurious, so I won’t be writing it here.  Instead, you get my notes.
Kale is supposed to be one of the healthiest greens you can eat, which was a major reason to try the recipe.  Also?  With winter [...]

How’d I Do It?

So several people (especially Miss Julie at Chubby Mommy Running Club) asked for tips on how to get from that weak 1/2 pull-up to the full on thing.
I am NOT going to give you specifics of exercises.  When I started working on this challenge, MizFit suggested that I make friends with my gym’s assisted pull-up [...]

Four and a half

I did FOUR AND HALF unassisted pull-ups today in my first official attempt.
There are 2 female trainers at our gym.  Hally (who held the camera for the video) was inspired to try chin-ups.  She did 2, but I think I’ve inspired her to do more upper body work.
W00T!!!

Finding Me, part two

When we left our heroine, she was being FORCED to look at herself in a mirror and finding it pure torture. (she admits here that she cried while writing that.  Main reason to break this story up.  Tears + writing = messy keyboard.) She was a bit happier, but still feeling a bit numb inside.
She [...]