Yesterday was my second time working out at Orange Theory Fitness but it was my first official Orange Theory Fitness workout. The theme for the day was endurance.

I think I enjoyed this workout more than the first one. I started out with rowing and ended with the walking. The coach, Ben, had us do these side plank things to work our obliques. I sucked at them.

He also wanted us to do burpies. UGH! I do not burp well. I knew I couldn't do anything involving jumping (or moving) up and down, so I just did straight push ups. Which by the third set where killing my arms. (Which, amazingly enough, are not sore today. Not sure if that means I'm doing something wrong.)

Although I don't hit the numbers they are pushing for on the treadmill, I do push myself higher than my normal (which is around 2.5.) I kept my treadmill at 3.0 with a 2 incline through most of the workout. The first half was intense for a distance (1/8 of mile for walkers) and then one minute of recovery. I went about .44 miles doing that. The second half was to go as hard as we could for 10 minutes and try to beat our distance from before. I got to over .5 miles. Very happy with that result.

Things that we good about this workout -- since I knew what the colors on the screen meant, I was able to see if I was working at a high enough intensity.*

The other thing that is cool about Orange Theory Fitness is that they mail you a summary of your workout. If I remember correctly, the goal is to have 15-25 minutes of your workout in the blue/green zone and 15 in the orange/red zone. I hit both this time.

I don't have editting software available as I post, so I apologize for all the crap around the shot -- I'll edit it later.

I'm feeling good about my Orange Theory Fitness membership. (And not giving money to Drumpf.)

*I went up and found my name on the board so I'd know where to look for my color -- I don't wear my glasses while working out and can't read the monitor unless I walk up close enough

Procrastination is Not Your Friend

In my true fashion, I procrastinated getting workouts two and three in this week, so that when Saturday rolled around, I had to work out both Saturday and Sunday. A little bit of panic sets in -- but I'm still good.

I have a plan:
1. Get up early and workout around 7:30 on Saturday morning before going to volunteer at the San Diego Zoo at 9:30
2. Go work out around 9:30 on Sunday morning before going to my noon Sunday game event.
3. Perfect plan.

Of course, I do not follow this plan.

Instead this is the actual results (which I should have known):

1. Do not get up early on Saturday.
2. Do volunteer training, walking around the Lost Forest at the Zoo and then do a two-hour shift at orangutans.
3. Go to LA Fitness after all that.

Photographic proof: 

I go to the LA Fitness location in Kearny Mesa. Above is a photo of the club on the outside.

You may say, hey, so you dropped by, took a pic and left. Nope . . . 

Here I am at the front desk:

(Sorry, cannot figure out to rotate that photo -- it's right in my photo editor, but not here.)

And to prove I actually worked out -- here are the results:

The best part is that I made myself work at a bit higher pace than I normally do. I usually start at 2 miles per hour, but today I started at 2.5 miles per hour and actually went up to three for a bit. It was a 45 minute walk with a 5 minute cool down.

And the plan for today (Sunday, March 27)? Of course, that went out the window. I got up on time to go to my game event, but not to go workout before hand. So at 3:00 when games ended, I headed over to DeAnza Cove to walk.

I made a deal with myself, if I could easily find a parking space, I was walking around the bay area there. If not, I'd go home and walk the neighborhood. No problem finding a parking space. Lots of people, but parking was not a problem.

I did a photo and a little video at the beginning of my walk. Here's me at DeAnza:

Yeah, I know you have no idea where I am from the photo, but it's DeAnza. I was listening to "A Way with Words" on KPBS which was about half way done when I left.

I don't know how to add the video from my phone yet -- so maybe later I'll add that..

I walked for about one and a half hours. From the lot at DeAnza to the Hilton Hotel and back.

It was a bit of a challenge dodging all the people on bikes. None of whom know how to announce they are approaching -- like saying "on your left" or "left" before they pass. On the other hand, if they did do that, they probably would have gone hoarse from constantly announcing their approach to all the people.

I really don't understand why Minnesota, a place with THREE months of warm weather, has separate paths for cyclists and walkers/runners, but San Diego with TWELVE months of warm weather makes them share one path.

My feet were really sore after both walks, but, damn it, no money for Drumpf.

Happy dancing! (But next week, two workouts done by Wednesday.)

Orange Theory Fitness - Let the Ransom Workouts Begin!

My ransom workouts ran into a snag at the end of January when my dad died and the trip home for his funeral messed with my finances. But things are finally back on track and the Ransom Workouts have officially begun.

The standards for the Ransom Workouts:

• The workout week is Monday-Sunday
• I will workout for 30 minutes, three times a week
• I will submit photographic evidence of the workouts

If I do not do this, I will lose $5 per workout not completed and the money not ransomed from now through the end of April will go to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

THAT CANNOT HAPPEN!

So, today, I went to check out Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) in Mission Valley for a free class. My sister in Des Moines, Iowa, goes to OTF three to four times a week there and told me about it. I decided I wanted to check it out.

Here I am with my Bluetooth heart rate monitor waiting for my workout class to start:

Me -- with my heart rate monitor ready to workout

I was presently surprised to find that they have showers --  only two but they have them. It seems most people just come, workout and leave. They do have hand lotion in all the bathrooms -- something my dry hands love!

I started my workout on the rowing machines and alternated rowing with upper body weight training. I also did my first TRX routine. It will be interesting to see how sore my arms are tomorrow. I ended with treadmill and squats.

Going into this, I was interested in joining. I didn't want the unlimited package because I know I won't go that often and right now, I'm just looking to go at least once a week. They have several packages for monthly memberships -- 4, 8 and unlimited times per month. Or, you can pay for 10-30 sessions and have a year to use them.  I decided to go with the four times per month membership. If I decide I want an extra class, it's $18.00/class (actually less than my current per class cost.)

Here is my new membership folder:

My new membership folder

My first official workout is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 29 at 5:05.

Ransom recovered: 1!

Ransom Workouts

Like many people, I'm constantly trying to find ways to motivate myself to do some sort of physical activity. I recently started to walk with someone from my Meetup game group, which has helped me do more walking (and the fact that she walks a bit faster than I would on my own doesn't hurt.)

I've been thinking about why I don't workout regularly. I have a gym membership at LA Fitness, but it's pretty darned cheap. I pay about $120 for an entire year. This only "hurts" my pocketbook when I make the payment and it's an average of about $10/month. Not a huge financial hit to pay for and not use. I've been thinking that if I was paying, say $50 each month for a gym membership (about what it would cost me to join a new club like 24 Hour Fitness), I would probably go more often because I'd feel the need to get my money's worth.

This lead me to my idea -- Ransom Workouts.

I will give an amount of money to my walking buddy to hold for me and I only get the money back if I do my workouts. My initial thought is that I will shoot for three times per week and each workout earns $5 of my money back. I would give her $60 at the beginning of the month and to get my money back, I have to workout and prove that I did the workout. My initial idea is to take of photo of myself with the days paper at the club at the end of my workout.

Then I started thinking that, well, my friend isn't necessarily motivated to get me to workout if she gets to keep my money (not that she wanted to) but I thought, what if any money I don't earn back has to go to a charity I don't support. (I know Donald isn't desperate for my $5, but I certainly don't want him to have it anyway.) I bring the money thing up to my friend and tell her my idea. She likes it -- she was thinking that any money I didn't earn back would be donated to charity anyway. She just wasn't doing the evil twist.

I think she is going to do this, too. So starting by February 1, I will have to workout or give money to someone I don't want to have my money.

Updates, photos and progress to follow.

My May Freebies

I've been trying to save money with coupons and other free deals that I learn about. Since I've moved to San Diego, I don't have regular access to a store that double coupons -- at least that I'm aware of at this time.

Mostly, I've been taking advantage of free samples that I hear about. In May, I got four samples for free:
1. L'Oreal EverPUre Shampoo and Conditioner sample

2. Zone Perfect Cashew Pretzel Bar (full-size bar)

3. Folgers Special Roast sample (enough to make one pot)

4. Free Blockbuster Express DVD rental for one night (I watched The King's Speech)

Not a lot -- but I figure the more I catch the more I'll get.

The Specialness of June

Apparently there is something special about every day and every week in June -- some are even doubly special because they have more than one thing to celebrate.

Here is the specialness of June, starting with the weeks:
In sequence, we have National Fishing Week, National Clay Week, National Hermit Week, and National Camping Week
Take a Kid Fishing Weekend is June 11-13. Ask a Boy Scout for help if you need it. Please
National Nursing Assistants Week is June 11-18
National Flag Week is June 14-20. (Your attention is called to June 14th, below.)
National Mosquito Control Awareness Week is June 20-27.
June 1st is National Trails Day
June 2nd is Colleen Day
June 3rd is Chimborazo Day
June 4th is Old Maid's Day
June 6th is the 66th anniversary of D-Day
June 8th is Best Friends Day
June 9th is Senior Citizens Day
June 10th is Ball Point Pen Day and Little Brother Bill's Birthday
June 12th is Magic Day
Kitchen Klutzes of America Day, the 13th, shares Weed Your Garden Day — the second Sunday in June
June 14th is 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and Flag Day. Stand and salute her when she passes on 7/4...
June 15th is Fly a Kite Day — to commemorate Franklin's kite experiment in 1752
June 16th is National Fudge Day
June 17th is Eat Your Vegetables Day
June 18th is National Splurge Day
June 20th is Bald Eagle Day and Father's Day. This may be a coincidence. The third Sunday of June is designated Ice Cream Soda Day and falls on the 20th this year
June 21st Cuckoo Warning Day. Hear a cuckoo and have a wet summer
June 22nd is Auto Race Day and Stupid Guy Thing Day. TURN LEFT!
June 23rd is Bullwhacker Day
June 24th is Log Cabin Day. Good syrup
June 25th is LEON Day. LEON is NOEL spelled backwards. It is six months until Christmas
June 27th is National Columnists Day. Some are better than others
June 28th is World War I Day
June 29th is Library Advocacy Day
June 30th is Leap Second Time Adjustment Day

Information plucked from the Pioneer Press Bulletin Board on June 1, 2010.

The Vision Thing

The end of the year is coming and if you have some Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) money sitting out there, you surely don’t want to lose it.

I’m not going to suggest that you get sick between now and midnight on December 31,2009, but I will suggest that perhaps some new glasses are in order. Even if all you’ve got left in your HSA account is less than $20, I know where you can get at least one pair of glasses (and maybe even two – if you’re willing to toss in a couple bucks after-tax.)

Go to Zenni Optical (www.zennioptical.com) and you can get prescription glasses starting at $8.00 – yes, starting at less than $10 and they are indeed prescription lenses. You will need to get your eye glasses prescription from you optometrist (be sure that the PD distance is completed because you’ll need that to get your prescription filled properly.)

If you need bi-focals, you will pay a bit more for your lenses. You can get the lenses tinted for about $5.00 extra dollars, as well.

I recently ordered six pairs of glasses for about $70 – total. I got five pairs of regular glasses and paid to have the lenses tinted on one pair to use as sunglasses. I got some pretty funky glasses.

I really like them and get compliments on them all the time.

In fact, I like them so much, that I hardly ever wear my contact lenses any more.