Singin' in the Rain

Well, not singing, but walking. It wasn't raining when we left the house, but by the time we had walked to the track (which takes about 5 minutes) and had almost finished the first 1/2 mile it was steadily drizzling. The rain kept picking up, but we kept walking and finished the 2 miles in 35 1/2 minutes. My heart rate was 150 when I checked it, but I didn't feel winded at all. When I got back to the house I changed into dry clothes and tried out Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight DVD. That was a mistake. I haven't had any trouble doing an aerobics video after the 2-mile walk, but I've never done any weight work before. I couldn't always finish the number of repetitions. I think I'll use this program at another time of day next time. There were a number of frustrations for me in using this. She emphasizes maintaining good form, but I really can't tell if I'm doing that or not. My dh has agreed to spot me to check that out. Another frustration is that at the beginning she says you'll need a chair _or_ a bench but then at one point gives instructions to lie on the bench. I had to sit that one out completely, as lying on my chair didn't seem like a great idea. There are 3 segments: a 20-minute upper body workout, a 20-minute lower body workout and a short abs segment. The upper body work-out uses 2 sets of weights. She suggests 3- and 5-pounds, but I used 2-pound weights as that is all I have. I think I'll get 3-pound weights to use for the heavy sets; I just think 5 pounds is too heavy for me. The lower body section uses lots of leg lifts, squats and lunges. My last frustration came in the abs workout. All her fellow exercisers were well-trained, flat-tummied and strong in this area. I'm totally inexperienced, poochy-tummied and very weak in this area. She offered no accomodations for those who can't already accomplish the sit-up tasks. I can barely raise my shoulders off the ground while on my back, much less raise even further for counts 2 and 3, but I don't know how to adjust the activity so that I'll reap any benefit from it. I'll be skipping the abs segment for a (long) time and looking for a video with doable abs exercises.

For breakfast I had raisin bran and hot tea. For lunch I had 1/2 of a turkey sub sandwich (with lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese), a sweet pickle, a banana, water and Sugar Smacks for dessert.

My opthalmology appointment went well. My uncorrected vision is 20/25, I don't need new glasses and my eyes are healthy with no signs of glaucoma. He talked about the eventual need for bifocals when I start wearing glasses more often, but now I only wear them to drive. I use reading glasses sometimes.

image from wikimedia