Hurricane Don not much

I really had hoped that Hurricane Don would bring some much needed rain to our area. Turns out that it was a bust and only had limited amounts for the valley. We are super hot now and humidity climbing every day. Looks like we will easily hit 30 plus days of over 100 degrees. Looks like little relief for the next week or more.

Saturday mornings at the gym are very quiet. I went in for some treadmill work and so few folks there that it seemed weird. I did get my almost 2 miles and 2 rounds of my machine routine.
Picked up a Grapeland watermelon on the way home. I really eat lots of fruit and nuts these days. Hope the melon is cold enough to grab a piece now.

Demo Garden work day

Wednesday was my regular schedule workout. Treadmill, Wall and Pump. Legs still weak and have trouble finishing the set of lunges.
Friday a good number of the gang of Master Gardeners met for the work day. We got lots done and surprisingly looks good for the heat and drought. I only wish my yard looked so good. Hot this morning but with the number of folks working most chores were completed. Then off to the gym for the Pump Class.

Hard as usual and I am a bit frustrated that I can not add weight to my bar for many of the exercises. Seems like the number of reps make me barely make it through the sessions. Guess that I should be satisfied with the progress I have made. I have come a long way since my first days of December. Smoking is seldom a thought.

Cloudy most of the day

We only got a few sprinkles but the clouds did keep us below 100 degrees. Any thing will help.
Monday workout was my usual, Wall and Pump. Still a little sore this morning but things worked out fast. The Wall was lots of leg work with three bikes in a line.
Pump was hard but as I thought it gets easier with time. Not sure why all of the gang were so pushed last Friday. Frank was back from his mission but had fallen and not able to finish the Pump. I am sure he will be back soon.
Heidi was her Jillian self all morning.

Pushed to failure

Not sure that I agree but "Pushed to failure" seems to be Heidi's definition of a successful workout. Well, that is what happened to the entire class today. A very hard workout with many if not all struggling to make it to the end. The new Pump has some very tough areas that test your strength and endurance. I was not able to master the lunges so during some of these I just switch to squats. Today was more than just the lunges that were tough, all areas burned. Guess it is good to have 2 days to recover.
The Wall was also full of abs and leg exercises. That was more than a good warm up.
Proud to say I can hang with many and adding a little weight to the bar.

A few of the gang run several miles in the heat prior to the workout. This will need to be something to work up to in the cooler fall.

Same song 2nd verse..

This is the second session for the new and improved Body Pump. I got there a little late and was only able to warm up for a few minutes on the treadmill. Kris had the Wall ready for us and some of his new exercises were tough. Got through that and was ready for the Pump. It was hard just like Monday but it will not take long to catch on to it. The lunges and squats will always be my weakness and area that most needs work.
The good thing is I am not alone, most were crying about the legs.
Frank is on a mission trip to Utah so I think that makes me the oldest in the classes.
Getting stronger everyday.

It's a new day and a new way...

Monday morning brought out another large crowd at the Fitness Center. The Wall was full. Kris focused on the legs and abs.
New music, new exercises for the forewarned Body Pump. Hard workout but seemed like a little more time to rest/recover between the exercises. I do know this- legs were the main focus for this turn of the Pump. Heidi said that there were around 100 squats this time, plus the lunges. Still killing me with the lunges.
It must be a big deal when they change the tunes and exercises as the Fitness Center had balloons, special water and some fruit and dip for all of us. I also ask the manager if they could schedule the Wall and the Pump so that a little recovery time and time to set up would be allowed. Seems like now most of the Pump crew also do the Wall. Makes sense to me so maybe...we will see.

Lots going on....

Lon Morris is a local junior college, private Methodist school. They are having some big time financial problems. A friend came to the Master Gardener's meeting and ask for some help with a water feature on the campus. Several of us thought it would be a good idea to assist and also a chance to learn more about water gardening. I had some ponds at the old house and always enjoyed them. Seemed good for me. We checked things out and made a plan. I also got into the fire ants, ouch !
Afterwards was my time to help water and harvest the HOPE and Demo gardens. That was Thursday.
Friday I really wanted to get all workouts in my schedule, so I did. Hard workouts but really getting better in many areas. Classes are larger this summer so to get your place you need to be there early. Afterwards I had a planning meeting for the MG Scarecrow Trail. This was a successful event last year and we expect it to only grow this year.
Heidi did tell us that the Body Pump exercises will change beginning Monday. Seems like they change about every 3 months or so. Guess I'm ready for the challenge. Good week of gardening activities and good to be back in the workout routine again.