Chin Up, Chest Out #23

My fitness club offers a lot of family oriented amenities in addition to the work out and training center.   There is a child care center for parents who are working out.  A couple of basketball courts,  rock wall climbing, an indoor lap pool, family pool, and spa.  And of course an outdoor lap pool, family pool, and spa. They offer classes and training covering most things you would associate with health and fitness,  yoga, cardio health workouts, nutrition and so forth.   Cindy and I have been using the pool (outdoor) quite a lot. We enjoy taking our grandchildren, or just getting some sun and cooling off in the pool.  I work out most Saturdays.  I don't consider that part of my normal Monday through Friday routine, it's a plus day for me.  We usually do the pool afternoons and Sundays.   My daughter Michelle has really gotten into lap swimming and training.  It is excellent exercise, good training, and is competitive.  She trains with a couple of friends, works a lot with a trainer and has began to enter some local triathlons that include running and cycling.   I can tell from her appearance it has really toned her muscles and given her a new sleek look.  She seems to enjoy the training for swimming and the cycling equally well.  I thought about getting a bicycle, as it would give me an opportunity to work out with her and her husband.  I am quite sure I couldn't maintain their cycling pace for long.  Plus those bicycles are pretty expensive. They are not the basic you ride around the block models.  You need to be wearing a uniform with a number on it to ride one of those.

Michelle and her husband compete in some of the same triathlon events.  You know there are a ladie's class and men's class within the same events.  I know they enjoy competing with each other.   Her husband is a very good athlete, plays basketball, cycles, runs, and works out.  He and Michelle are at the same fitness center as I.  I know several of the guys he plays basketball with and they too play to stay in good shape.  I guess playing basketball for over an hour 3 or 4 times a week is great exercise.  And they are intense when they play.  No casual game atmosphere, I mean they are there for the competition and exercise.  They start around  6:00 a.m. play for an hour or so, shower, change, get dressed and they're off to the office.

I have been using a workout machine, a Precor Ab-X.  The purpose is to exercise your stomach muscles.  After years of being overweight and out of shape, if you lose much weight, there is more to do. It means you've got lots of what use to be muscle to be tightened up. Unfortunately, walking will not do that as well.  Walking sure will help get rid of weight but building some muscles involves more exercises.  When I started doing pull ups, 10 was my limit and 8, 9 and 10 were a real struggle.  I'm now proudly up to 30.   The pull ups are part of the new exercises I'm doing to improve my  posture. They are not the typical pull ups, or chin ups as some would call them. You begin by using an adjustable horizontal bar used for normal pull ups. You lower the horizontal bar to a height of 45" my preference.   You then angle your body by having your feet on the floor out in front of the bar.  Imagine a side view you would see someone with their chin touching the bar, with their body at a 45 degree angle with their feet touching the floor 3 or 4 feet in front of the bar. Your head is kept aligned with your body looking straight up when you do your pull ups, touching your chin or chest on the bar.   Looks goofy but this is one of the exercises I got from working with a trainer to help the posture.
Try it,  see how it works for you.