1- I took some strength training progress pix today. I am not sharing them here (I HAVE posted full body shots here before but I’m not feeling it right now, maybe because my kids are older and more aware and would probably make fun of me. Ha.)
I feel pretty pleased with the effects of consistent lifting! I switched from Caroline Girvan workouts to the Empowered workouts about 2 months ago, and I do think they are more effective due to more rest between sets. They are also a bit longer, but that’s been fine (especially during summer when schedules are more relaxed).
I can’t say anything about the gym vs home doing much because I’ve only done a handful of gym workouts, but it definitely DOES give my lower body a better challenge so maybe I’ll have more progress to report on that front in the future.
SOOOO what do I mean by progress, since I’m elusively not showing pix? No significant weight loss, I am at what I consider a ‘normal’ weight for me. But just more definition and tone and (I think) an overall appearance of having more strength/fitness.
If anyone is convinced you need heavy cardio to ‘appear’ reasonably in shape, I hope my experiences convince you otherwise (I cannot do anything other than walk, and do not walk an extreme amount – current average steps is ~9000/day (so not bad at all, but not extreme).
IF you are dying to see pix and you know me IRL I will probably send them to you, so text me if you have that burning desire.
2- We watched the first ep of Little House last night! Having just finished Little House on the Prairie I was a little annoyed with some of the inconsistencies. I also felt like the girls were so much older than I imagined from the book (I pictured 5/7, but the actors seem more like they are depicting 9/12). Then again, i know it’s not supposed to necessarily be a 1:1 adaptation.
I was a little annoyed that the weather seemed perfect all the time, too. But maybe storms are coming.
I *did* rather love the prairie aesthetic. I’m totally going to be a tradwife for Halloween (or Ma Ingalls, but same outfit would work for either).
3- Josh started PT and is finding it helpful. This week felt like more ‘progress’ for him than the last, which is great. SOOOO hoping he will be weight bearing by the projected ~8 weeks. He definitely won’t be up and around by the start of school, but maybe by the time activities are in full swing.
4- UP THIS WEEKEND:
massage (!)
dinner with A’s friends / parents (4 adults, 7 kids this time!) – Josh’s first “fun outing” in a long time. . .
Pilates
pool date with (previously named) Run Club (one member moved and is visiting from Sao Paulo)
mayyyyybe Toy Story 5
honestly looking pretty good as far as things are considered!
5- Overdue: June recap. It was such a c-r-a-a-a-a-z-y month. I don’t want to break my streak though so will be coming next week.
16 Comments
That is great that you are seeing results from the change in strength programs. I am so limited in what I can lift since my MCP2 joint is never going to be fully functional after the synovectomy/repair of the ruptured ligament. I wear a split on it when I lift weights to take some pressure off of it but it still is fairly uncomfortable to lift anything heavier than, say, 20-25 lbs. Sigh. But I figure what I am doing is better than nothing, even if it’s not exactly “optimal” for body composition. And I’m glad PT is helping Josh. I bet he is excited to get out of the house?
My kids haven’t seen any of the other Toy Story movies and I haven’t been able to convince them to watch them. I have only seen the first 2. I have heard good things about TS5, though! I really want to go to the new Minions movie but we haven’t had a free weekend afternoon.
As someone who was Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween in 1988 (3rd grade), I love this! I want to watch the show but am also a bit hesitant to see my childhood favorite on a modern screen.
I also have spent time in prairie attire and even visited a one-room school house in said dress, apron and bonnet that my mom made me when we went to Plum Creek in MN when I was growing up!
Me, too! Same grade, same year, lol. I remember how badly I wanted Laura Ingalls Wilder shoes to go with my dress (even though I don’t think I had a clear idea of what they would look like), but they were definitely not available in Orlando!
Big Woods is my favorite of the Little House books (Runner up: Plum Creek). I’ve thought about doing a LHP road trip, but it would take a long time to see each of the sites if we did it on one trip.
Can confirm: Strength training works really well. It’s also nice to be able to lift heavy things when the need arises.
Enjoy your weekend!
omg I grew up in the midwest and we did the whole one-room schoolhouse, LIW/pioneer unit in 3rd grade, and my long suffering parents took us to see various LIW sites in the area. Shockingly for the Midwest in the 1990s, our teachers also talked about the very not nostalgic areas of pioneer history, and we also learned about the Indigenous Tribes from the area. It was all very age appropriate, but also important, I think, that we had that perspective as young children. Now that I’m *much* older, I do get shocked by just how rough her life actually was-a few books have come out in the last decade that really discuss this, and she honestly has a richer story than the old show and books portray. Would not be sad at all if there were like, a Ken Burns style deep dive, or a BBC-esque adaptation of her actual life!
Yay for Josh! I’m going to send all the good vibes your way!!
“Laura Ingalls Wilder — Prairie to Page” a PBS documentary on Amazon Streaming.
I keep remembering seeing other media on what it was really like for that family (maybe on TikTok? Maybe it was Rose Wilder’s stuff? I can’t remember), and it was decidedly less glamourous than the books. Still. Love that series. 🙂
Good to hear you’re happy with your strength progress! I know what you mean about the DG workouts. They’re good in a way- but I don’t think they’re ideal for serious strength training due to the high rep/lower weight/ short rest structure. I think most people would agree now that lifting weights is the way to go if you want to change your body composition.
I’ll be looking forward to your Trad Wife costume!
Love the Little House book series! My favorite is actually Farmer Boy about Almanzo.
I just saw Toy Story 5 on the Disney cruise I was on – it might actually be my favorite of all of them?! Hope you all go to see and enjoy!
I heard that the decision to make the girls older on Little House was a very practical one. Kids that are 10 and 12 are allowed to work longer hours than kids that are 5/7 which were their actual ages in that particular book. The problem with that of course is that if they keep going she’ll be a spinster by the the Almanzo comes on the scene.
I too have been a LIW fan since childhood. The book Pioneer Girl is a great read. It contains her original memoir that she wrote (it was never published and she later fictionalized it) heavily annotated with details about life at the time and more information about various events. Prairie Fires is also a really interesting book about her life and the homestead act and how trying to farm the prairies likely lead to the dustbowl.
Can you link to the empowered workouts? I need to shake up my workout routine! Thanks.
These: https://macroswithem.com/pages/monthly-membership
That’s fantastic that you’re seeing progress from your strength program. That’s so satisfying! And yes, you don’t have to do sweaty cardio to make a difference in body composition (in fact, it’s the opposite really).
Happy to hear that Josh started PT, too. I am sure he’s itching to get off the couch.
yes! he definitely is glad to be doing SOMETHING that feels like progress.
Woot — way to go with the strength training! It is so satisfying to *see* results. I have backed away from strength training while I recover from stupid tennis elbow, but I miss it. My arm is feeling much better, so I feel like maybe I can dip my toe back into the strength training waters… although I do NOT want to reinjure it. Using resistance bands is effective but I don’t like it as much.
Hope you had a wonderful “fun outing” and a great massage!
so so frustrating! I wonder if you could do more lower body machine type stuff at least? I HATE INJURIES – so sorry you have had to go through it!!