I'm having a few issues that interfere with Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation training.

I have not said a lot about it, but two months ago I discovered a painful lump over a muscle on my flank.  I weighted up then if I would do the 12WBT or try to have surgery to remove it immediately as it was painful and swollen.  It turned out that I would need to commute 200 kilometers to see a surgeon, one wasn’t even available here in north Queensland until September and I have no one to mind Reg while I have surgery. Even if it is minor surgery, I need someone to look after him so I decided to put it to the back of my mind, as I was told by the local GP ere and I also believe, it will be a benign fatty lipoma.  I have had one removed from my groin, years ago. 'Bull' to any doctor who says that these are not painful, it does depend where they are, mine seems to wrap around a nerve and cause a lot of hot swelling and inflammation that is aggravated by exercise.  This week I am afraid that aside from some walks, I have been in bed rest, just managing the inflammation trying to keep it to a minimum without going on to antinflamitory, medication.

So that’s the bad news, my excuse as to why I am not exercising very much at the moment.

I am striving to be positive, to pat myself on the back for what I do achieve, and accept what I cannot and fix what can be fixed when I get closer to family, so they can keep an eye on Reg while I get this sorted out. 
I am aiming to be back in Victoria, on September 1st and trying to get in to see a surgeon ASAP to get this removed and get back to normal.

So I am making the very best I can, of my current, need to rest my back muscles, (so as not to stir up a hornet’s nest in there), situation and I have thrown myself into preparation to write a novel.  Takes my mind off the muscles in my back being painful at the slightest movement now.  I believe in making life as positive as possible. J. I am also telling myself that a tortoise will achieve goal too, by staying on course.

I am searching for books to read in this resting time. I love Agatha Christie. Her sleuths’, the person who solves the crime, were always a little quirky, Miss Marples or Hercule Poirot, maybe my sleuth could have a quirk for always wearing pink ties.
Lol J. I am actually looking into developing a few extra sensory, perception, abilities in my hero, as the ‘eccentric factor’, in their character. I am using this rest time as positively as I can.

I am even suggesting to Reg, that we return to Victoria, while it is still winter down there, and get this issue fixed up, sooner, I hate having to be inactive to this extent and I would hate interupting Reg's holiday. Yes I have a lot to think about. 

 If you are a woman who exercises, get ready to do some math.

Last week, researchers at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago announced a new formula for calculating a woman’s maximum heart rate, a measure commonly used by athletes to pace themselves and monitor their progress. In a study of nearly 5,500 healthy women, scientists discovered that a decades-old formula for calculating heart rate is largely inaccurate for women, resulting in a number that is too high.

The news may be a vindication to many women who have struggled to keep up with lofty target heart rates espoused by personal trainers and programmed into treadmill displays.


The commonly used formula subtracts a person’s age from 220. But based on the data collected in the Chicago study, the right formula for calculating a woman’s maximum heart rate is a little more complicated: 206 minus 88 percent of a woman’s age.

Using the old formula of 220 minus age, at 64 years, my average maximum heart rate is 156 beats per minute. That means my pulse should stay around 132 beats per minute during my workout to achieve a target heart rate of 85 percent. I always aimed for 130; try not to exceed this due to my heart valve issues.   Hence, my calorie burn is far lower according to my Pulsar heart rate monitor watch than younger people doing the same exercise are.But based on the new calculation, my  average maximum heart rate is 149 beats per minute, meaning my desired target heart rate at 85% is just 125.8 (let’s say 126)  beats per minute, 6 beats a minute slower than under the old formula. Although the gap seems small on paper, it can be the difference between an exhilarating workout or a frustrating one that ends in exhaustion, out of breath and not performing all the exercise repetitions, because I am striving beyond the capability of my heart and lungs to work efficiently. This is how I instinctively taught myself how to run 5 kilometres, I stopped thinking of a runs a race and broke into an easy sustainable movement I call a run, I did not strive for speed, just the action and  distance. .“There’s nothing wrong with achieving a higher heart rate with exercise, and if you can maintain that, it’s fine,” said Dr. Martha Gulati, a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine and preventive medicine at Northwestern, who led the study. “But it might be that some women are getting tired and need to stop or slow down because they’re not able to maintain their heart rate at the higher level. But they’ve been using the wrong numbers.”

I do not need to work below what I am already pushing myself to, but I now feel even more comfortable in not being concerned if my watch does not show me as burning calories like a younger person, in my work outs, I am working well within MY maximum healthy training zone for my age and female sex.

You can read the full report, here:-Formula to asses, maximum heart rate for women.

United States Masters Swimming has addressed a series of pool-based strength-training exercises that should be especially popular during the hot summer months.

I have been exercising in the pool now for 3 years and have been trying to convert exercises taught on dry land to poolside use. I have never used a set of exercises planned by someone else, for use in the pool.
I will start these today. Reg is unable to join me on my swims as treated swimming pool water sets off his need, for eczema treatment.


1. Tricep Lifts

Sit on the edge of a swimming pool with your legs in the water. Place your hands on either side of your thighs, fingers curled over the edge of the pool. Bracing yourself, lift your body up from its sitting position so that your thighs and backside are raised a few inches from the deck. Remain in this elevated "sitting" position, taking care not to sway back and forth.

Keep your thighs parallel to the deck (you may have a tendency to lean forward as it gets harder to hold the position). Hold the position for 15 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds. Repeat three times (at first). Eventually you can work your way up to longer "holds" and/or more reps.

This exercise strengthens the same muscles used when you practice dumbbell tricep extensions in the weight room. Tricep strength is especially relevant in the freestyle and butterfly strokes, where it is needed in order to lengthen and finish out the end of the underwater pull.

2. Dips

From a sitting position at the edge of the pool (as in the tricep lifts of Exercise 1), slide your body down into the water until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle (with your hands palms-down on the deck), and your spine and legs are flush with the poolside. Slowly raise your body up until your elbows straighten out, then bring your body back down into the water.

Make sure to "dip" up and down slowly and methodically—avoid dipping down so far that it hurts and you can't raise yourself back up (this can cause shoulder strains and muscle tears).

Poolside "dips" are no different than the ones you may have practiced on dry land on a set of raised parallel bars, but the advantage is that your body weight is somewhat reduced by the water and you are at less risk of injury.

You can also repeat more reps more easily, strengthening and toning your shoulders without breaking them down as much as you would in the gym.

3. Pullouts

Depending on your strength and comfort level in the water, start this exercise in shallow or deep water (four feet deep or six feet deep, respectively), facing the pool's gutter. Placing your hands shoulder-width apart on the deck above you, pull your body straight out of the water, keeping your elbows high. 
Once your arms are extended and your upper body is perpendicular to the deck (which should now be at waist-level), lower yourself back down into the water with a controlled motion. Repeat in rapid succession, 10 times. Rest. Repeat again as necessary.

This exercise mimics the underwater pull of both freestyle and butterfly, with an emphasis on correct form if you remember to keep your elbows high. At the fully elevated level, you are also working your triceps as in Exercise 1, which will help you to finish your stroke rather than cut it short when you're fatigued.

4. Abdominal Crunches

 For this exercise, locate a pool where the deck is a foot above water level (this is pretty standard). Lying on your back and floating in the water (perpendicular to the poolside), put your legs from the knees down up on the deck, so you are in a sitting position. This way, your backside should be "sitting" against the poolside wall while your back is floating parallel to the bottom of the pool.

Begin doing wet "abdominal crunches," or sit-ups, curling your chest up toward your knees as far as you can go. Return to your starting position in a controlled motion, taking care not to crash back into the water. You can keep your hands crossed over your chest. Do several sets of 15, then work your way up to six sets of 25 or four sets of 50.

This exercise strengthens the abdominal core, and helps improve overall body position while maximizing flip-turn efficiency. It is also a stretching exercise for your lower back/spine, and you will feel it elongating your vertebrae especially if you spend your days sitting at a desk.

5. Swim With Paddles

This exercise requires swimming ability. Add wearing a pair of hand paddles to your existing swim regimen, for 25 percent to 30 percent of your daily yardage. Training with paddles tones shoulders and upper arms, resulting in that sought-after "swimmer's physique" (while avoiding a bulky body-building look).

Be careful not to use large paddles too soon (they come in many different sizes), as this can contribute to shoulder problems (rotator cuff inflammation, tendonitis). 

6. Kick Dolphin.

Dolphin kicking on your back is a great way to strengthen abs while toning gluteal and thigh muscles. With your arms in a streamline position, push off the wall and dolphin kick on your back with your legs together, moving as one, in an undulating motion.

You can vary the exercise by dolphin-kicking on your side and adding fins to the drill. Fins (Zoomers, Hydrofinz, etc.) lengthen the undulating motion and place more emphasis on strengthening the quad muscles. This is also a good way to stretch cycling- and running-fatigued leg muscles that have a tendency to cramp up and result in IT-band problems for triathletes.

While these drills may not cover the broad range of machine-based exercises found in your local weight room, they offer an alternative to strength-training in the summer months. These exercises are also a safe way to develop certain muscles for those individuals looking to start a weight-training program.

By using the water's buoyancy to help you execute the drills in a methodical, controlled and correct way, you learn the importance of proper form and muscle control; two elements necessary for effective and injury-free strength-training. 
 
Exercises by:-
A former swimmer at Stanford University, Alex Kostich has stayed strong in the sport at the elite level even while maintaining a day job. The three-time Pan-American Games gold medalist still competes in - and wins - numerous open-water races around the world each year, as well as competing in the occasional triathlon and running race.

Related Articles:

    • Stretch Cords: The Key to Off-season Swim Training

    • How to Use Your Core in Freestyle

 Today was my Zumba class, at my gym and I was looking forward to it so much.

It wasn't easy to get too, I am a carer and things were not perfect at home, it was only my determination to not miss my exercise two days in a row, that got me past my concern at leaving my husband here alone at the caravan. He wasn't as 'good', as he has been recently.

The first Zumba class, I attended last week had been an exhilarating experience and the instructor  Adam Wilson, proved to be quite the most professional fitness/dance instructor I have ever had the pleasure of being in a class with. Even this uncoordinated, senior, felt right at home, shimmying, and doing the moves. Zumba was calorie burning, energising, exciting, just the greatest fun. 

Well today, Adam did not turn up.  One of the regular fitness instructors at the gym took the Zumba class and while it was a Zumba class it was about as exciting as the body step class I was considering dropping.  I know she tried hard, and did a good job, but it lacked the contageous enthusiasm that Adam Wilson gave to the moves and I realized that Zumba or any class is only as good as the instructor and if the instructor is adequate for the job, not exceptional, you could just as easily do Zumba at home using a DVD after all. 

About half an hour into the Zumba class the instructor changed to body step moves then to stretch bands so we got a mixture of exercises followed by stretches so it was a good one hour workout.

After the 1 hour class I walked into the shopping precinct in Innisfail from the gym area, rather than driving closer to the stores and I visited all the sports clothing shops and bought myself another pair of Nike shorts and singlet top, as it is hard to dry clothes in this tropical climate, I needed more sports clothes.  I walked quickly and burnt as many calories as I had in the class by the time I returned to the car.  I drove home, completed a review I needed to write for prototype 37c then Reg and I went out for a drive.

When we came, back and we did a little more walking together.  I am behind on my planned calorie burn count, for today and yesterday, I need to step it up tomorrow and I still need to complete my fitness test before Saturday.

Reg and I love visiting hot springs and we are a couple of hundred kilometres away from the  Innot Hot Springs a natural mineral springs located between Ravenshoe and Mt Garnet on the Kennedy Highway to the hot springs of Nettle Creek. There is a sandy creek bed that bubbles with hot water and many locals and visitors come here to sit in the shallows of the creek and enjoy the healthy properties of the hot springs.

Next door is the spas and pools of the Hot Springs Village. There are seven pools to enjoy all at different temperatures. The water of the springs gets up to 75 degrees Celsius

I am not sure if we will get to Innot this trip though we most likely will be visiting a favourite hot spa area, Moree on our way home and taking in the hot artesian waters there

Reg and I take joy in these natural occurring hot springs and have never wanted a home spa though one of my son in laws installs these and organizes the wholesale hot tub covers and they love their home spa.

Our favourite hot springs is Bitter Springs where you can swim amongst flowering waterlilies that is y idea of paradise. The photos are of our favourite, the Bitter Sprigs at Mataranka. Northern Territory. The Bitter Springs is a long flowing stream and you can get excellent exercise by swimming upstream against the current. This is part of why I love those particular springs so much, it is a great workout in a naturally beautiful setting.

 

I should be feeling fantastic that I have completed the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation but I am feeling a little flat that a fantastic program I was a part of is ending.  
I made an effort to pull myself out of the 'pip' of a mood I was in, I went for a swim then I came back and did a 45 minute cardio session using this DVD, then I went swimming again until dark. 

Came back and enjoyed preparing, cooking and eating the whiting Reg caught today.  Reg made a lovely salad while I prepared the fish.

I love doing this program. It was not about finding diet pills that work, the food program was similar. to the way I normally eat but the fitness challenges were fun and the forum members fantastic support .