Hello Everyone, I'd like to share my own workout experience and fitness tips with other Paiers. I think some of the workout instructions (movement descriptions) may be helpful if you happen to discuss them with your English speaking friends or co-workers.

One thing I have to admit is that I originally planned to post the contents in Chinese in the Fitness & Weight Loss Section of the Forum. However, in order to qualify as a member of the Weight Loss Diary group, I would need to open at least one new subject post and then accumulate a minimum of 30 postings afterwards. Well, since I have already started my workout and dieting session, I would like to keep track of what I do and eat everyday. And I believe having someone else to watch over me will help prevent me from giving up. Therefore, I chose to write my diary in English and post it at English Corner.

I hope you will enjoy reading this diary. Better still, I would be happy if there is something you can take away from it, whether it is an English phrase, a workout technique, a diet recipe, or even a new friend or two ^___^.

If you have decided to also go on a fitness program, to return to a healthier diet, please don't feel shy to share with me or other Paiers. That would make me feel accomplished.

So, here we go~

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Date: 2011-11-23
Workout of the Day: Water Aerobics 水上有氧运动

It is raining and windy today. It didn't feel like a good day to exercise. However, I don't want to use bad weather as an excuse to not working out, not when it is only the third day since I restarted my weight loss journey. So I went to the local YMCA, put on my swim suit, stepped into the pool, and joined a group of senior ladies in the water aerobics class. (Oh, yes, those are women in there sixties or seventies. I felt a little out of place at first. But they were really welcoming and not surprised at all to see someone much younger to join them )

To begin with, we need to find a spot in the pool where the water reaches right below the breast. This will give us enough floatation while maintaining stability.

We each grabbed a pair of water barbells (shaped like dumb bells, but made of foam. See product description at the end of this page) and started the session with resistance training and jogging in water.

1. Cross the barbells together (in a shape of a cross), and hold the center of the bars (the crossing point) with your right hand. Put your right arm by your right side and let the barbells float so that your upper right arm are parallel to the water and your right elbow is at a 90 degree angle. Put your left hand on your left hip and keep your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your back straight and slightly lift your chin. Keep your abs tight (also called "engage your core" or "navel in" in strength training or yoga classes).

Take a breath in, and while breathing out, slowly (on a count of two or three) push the barbells down into the water until your right arm is extended. Please make sure you don't lock your elbow, i.e., your elbow should be slightly bent (this will prevent your elbow from being injured or over worked). Breathe in again and slowly bring the barbells back to the surface on a count of two to three. Repeat this motion for twelve to twenty times (12-20 repetitions) and then switch sides (i.e., do the same thing again with your left arm).

2. Hold the crossed barbells in your right hand. This time, place your right hand behind you and let the barbells float so that your right upper arm is vertical to your body and your elbow is again bent at a 90 degree angle. Put your left hand on your left hip and keep your feet shoulder width apart.

The movements are similar to the ones in Set No. 1 above. And switch sides when you finished 12 to 20 repetitions on one arm. The key is to move slowly so that it is your muscles, instead of your joints, that are working against the water resistance. Slower motions also help prevent your muscles from bulging too if you are a lady and would like your arms to look slim and sleek.

3. Hold one barbell in each hand. Make sure you keep your hands flat and the bars are held between your thumb and index finger (虎口处). Stand on flat feet and keep your arms by your sides. Now, start running in place (原地跑步）while alternating your arms to push the barbells into the water. keep running and pushing for 1 to 2 minutes. Please don't forget to breathe. Your muscles need air (and that is why the exercise is called "Aerobics" because "aero" means air :P).

4. Hold your barbells the same way as in Set No.3. Stand on flat feet and this time place your arms and the barbells in front of you (your palms are facing the floor). Run in place and meanwhile alternate your arms in punching the barbells downwards in the front (I don't think it is possible to punch straight down, so please punch down to the front at a 45 degree angle or close to your body as long as your knees won't get hit by the barbells). Run and punch for 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Everything the same as in Set No. 4 except this time your arms move in a circular motion as if you were peddling a bike forward with your hands. Make sure the barbells stay below the water surface all the time for maximum resistance. Keep running and hand-rowing forward for 1 minute and reverse direction (hand-rowing backwards) for another 1 minute. Keep breathing.

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Water gear used:

A pair of water barbells (Thera-Band Hand Bars):
    
Product description per swimoutlet.com: These buoyant barbells are ergonomically designed to adapt to many types of range of motion  exercises that will increase your flexibility while strengthening the muscles in your upper back, abdomen, and upper extremities.

your english writing is pretty good~

I am very glad to see you are back. Could you please add the date to your diary？

Keep going. Go, go, go........

Date: 2011-11-30
Workouts: Yogalates

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Okey-dokey, I went to a Yogalates class early this morning (November 30, U.S. calendar). It is taught by my favorite instructor :).

Yogalates is actually a Yoga and Pilates mix. I think Yoga focuses more on body stretching and Pilates focuses more on strength training. And Yogalates is a good combination because we always need to stretch our muscles well before and after almost every kind of training sessions.

I taped recorded the class hoping it will help save time when I try to write up the exercises. But the quality of the recording is so bad that I can barely hear the instructor. I will jot down as much as I can remember. If I run out of time today, I will write down the poses we did and add details later.

Okay, here we go~

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Let's begin with our yoga and pilates mix.

Start with the sitting position (sit on your bottoms with your legs crossed in front of you). Put your hands at your knees, palm facing down.

Allowing your gaze forward and down. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable.

Bring your awareness to your breath. We are going to spend the next few minutes focusing on our breathes. Slowly breathe in on the count of six, feeling your rib cage expanding. And slowly breathe out on the count of six, drawing your belling in towards your back. Keep breathing at this rhythm for about 3 minutes. Bring your mind into the building and into the room where you are.

Open your eyes. On your next out breath, scoop your belly in and lean backward (your hands are grabbing your knees and your back is rounded). Keep your chin to your chest. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Breath in and slowly sit back straight and lift your chin to face forward while you breathe in.

Breath out and slowly lean forward. Drop your forearms to the mat in front of you and lower your head (chin to chest).Breath in and sit back up.

Inhale and on your exhale, twist yor torso to the right. Place your left hand over your right knee, and your right hand behind you (right palm on the floor with fingers pointing to the wall behind you). Look over your right shoulder, hold for 3 to 5 seconds, and breathe (keep your left hip bone on the mat). Inhale and slowly untwist (return your torso to the . Exhale and twist your torso to the left. Place your right hand over your left knee and left hand behind your. Look over your left shoulder. Hold and breathe for 3 to 5 seconds and untwist on your next inhalation.

Drop your hands to your side, palms facing up. Slowly draw your arms up and breathe in until your hands are together (双手合什）above your head. Breathe out and slowly bring your hands down to your heart center （双手合什渐渐下移至胸前正中央）。Repeat this movement for another 2 to 3 times.

Inhald and open your arms to let your hands drop to your sides. Exhale and lean to your right, pressing your right hand to the floor and drop your right elbow to the floor if you can. Breathe and hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Slowly sit up straight on your next inhalation. Exhale and lean to your left. Breathe and hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Return to the sitting position.

Slowly lie down on your back onto the mat. Extend your left leg with your left foot flaxed at the ankle (左腿伸直，左脚尖勾起）。Bend your right knee and pull it in towards your chest. Place both hands on your right shin to keep your right leg in place. Breathe in deeply through your nose, feeling your rib cage expanding against your right thigh. And breathe out through your mouth, letting your belly to contract (pulling it down towards your back). Keep breathing deeply. On the next out breath, lower your right leg a slowly extend it. Inhale and switch sides (换边——伸直右腿，勾右脚尖；曲左腿，双手抱左小腿骨。深呼吸4到5次）.

Still on your back, keep both feet to the floor with your knees bent and glued together (as if you were ready to do sit-ups). Open your arm to your sides at shoulder height, palm touching the floor. Inhale and pull your knees in and up until your thighs are verticle to your upper body. Exhale and slowly drop your knees to the floor on your left, twisting your torso to the left while keeping your right shoulder blade to the mat. Straighten your right leg (verticle to your body). Inhale and lift your right leg up towards the ceiling (your upper body is untwisted and your back is pressed against the floor). Keep your lower back to the floor (don't arch yor lower back while you are doing the following movements), point your right toes and circel your right foot at the right ankle for a count of 6 and then reverse direction (绷右脚尖，朝一个方向转动右脚踝6次后，换另一个方向转动6次）. Keep breathing. Exhale and drop your right leg to the left and circle to the right. And use your inhalation to help pull the right leg back up towards the ceiling from the right to finish the circle （右腿以髋关节为支点划大圈，在呼气时右腿向左向下划动，并在吸气时向右向上划动以回到起点）. Repeat this movement for 6 times and reverse direction -- dropping right leg to the right and circle to the left on the exhale and pull it back up from the left on the inhale （重复6次后，右腿换方向划大圈——先向右向下划，再向左向上划回起点）. Circling your right leg for 5 more times. Exhale and slowly drop your right leg to meet your left leg. Bend your right knee. Both knees together and slowly bring them up towards the ceiling on your inhalation. Exhale and switch sides (dropping both knees to your right side; extend and lift your left leg towards the ceiling.Circle your left foot at your left ankle and then circle your left leg). At the end of this movement, your torso should be twisted to the right, your knees on the right floor, and your left shoulder blade remain on the mat.

Now slowly roll whole your body to the right and push yourself up on all fours (双手着地，双膝跪地）。Your hands pressed against the floor below your shoulders and your knees below your hips. Inhale. Exhale, slowly extend your left leg backwards and up to hip height and then lift yor right arm to the front at shoulder height. Twist your right palm to face the left and look down at the mat, trying to balance yourself. At this point, your weight is supported by your left hand and right knee. Your left elbow should be slightly bend to prevent its joint from being injured. Keep your belly tight (i.e., engage your core muscles) . Hold your pose and breathe for a few seconds. Exhale and slowly bend your left knee and reach your right hand to your back to grab your left foot. Keep your gaze down. Breathe and hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Slowly release your right hand and left leg and return them to the extended position. Breathe for a couple seconds and return to all fours. Switch sides.

Still on all fours, exhale and scoop your belly up into the cat pose -- drop your chin to your chest and rounding your back upward towards the ceiling. Keep your belly pulled in towards your spine and breathe for a few seconds. Exhale and slowly transition to the cow pose -- sink your belly and your back bones downward while lifting your tailbone towards the ceiling. Lift your head and chin to face forward. Breathe and hold the position for a few seconds before flattening your back and fropping your head to face the floor.

On all fours, walk your hands forward and drop your forehead to the floor -- your knees still below your hips, your arms fully extended forward, and palms to the floor. You should feel your back stretched. Breathe for a few seconds. Keep your arms and your forehead down, and slowly sit back (your arms and foreheand will slide backwards as you are trying to rest your buttocks on your heels) into the Child pose. Hold this poistion for a few seconds before releasing.

(To be continued.)

Hello Everyone, I am back. I didn't had time to update my diary for the Thanksgiving weekend. But it didn't mean that I skipped the workout routine all together.

The gym was closed on Thursday, November 24th, for the holiday. I confess that I ate a lot and didn't exercise for this day. I felt guilty for that. But I did have a good excuse, didn't I?

But on November 25th and 26th, I took my daughter to family swim for at least an hour on both days. Although I had to stay close to my daughter because she is still young and little, I tried to swim the front stroke, breast stroke, and back stroke, as well as practicing the water aerobics routines I learned during the classes.

No workouts for Sunday, November 27 because we hit the local IKEA to get the Expedit shelving unit on sale at half its original price. Well, you may also consider walking through the monstrously huge IKEA store some kind of a workout. Sometimes I find IKEA stores very similar to mazes -- it is so easy for one to get lost and it takes a long time to find the way to the checkout.

And on Monday, November 28, I took another water aerobics class with a different instructor. I will try to also write down all the routines I did in this class. But I am not sure when

I went spinning (riding on a stationary bike) for 20 minutes on Tuesday. That 20 minutes of spinning really brought out a lot of sweat. Phew~

Boy! It is so much easier doing the exercises than writing them out. It is a challenge! I am procrastinating in writing up all the instructions. And I am not even half done with the first water aerobics class description before one whole week flew by.

Anyways, I will try my best to finish writing up the rest of the water aerobics routines. I promise...

I have read three times to understand  how to do the Water Aerobics . Good luck and success to you!

I 服了 you ！ ！ ！

Proper exercise is the fundamental key to losing weight and keeping it  off, although most of the people give up on exercise after a few weeks or even a few days, including me.

I hope you can keep going, and look forward to seeing your changes!

your fitness guidance is really professional.