Tues Circuit Burn and chiballs

This morning I did some more of Circuit Burn on the bungee, mostly while holding light homemade XCO trainers and using Kathy Smith's 5 pound kettlebell as a single heavier weight.

Then I did the second half of Planet Motion while holding chiballs which gave it a completely different feel.

Yesterday afternoon, I tried some of Misty's new stuff while on the bungee which gave that a completely different feel too. Will be holding chiballs whenever sliding filler weights don't click. Holding chiballs definitely makes me focus more on the upper body and core as do sliding filler weights without aggravating the joints.

I have alot of revisiting to do with Fitstix and chiballs!

Note: the chiballs are weightless but can be squeezed for an extra isometric contraction.

Small playground balls can be substituted.

Here is a small example of how holding chiballs can be used with simple movements in a spirals class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kxo95VnGG4&feature=related

Monday Circuit Burn

Yesterday I did some of KCM's Circuit Burn and some more of it this morning. This may become my favorite circuit workout. Cardio and boxing are very bungee friendly and some interesting weighted moves, especially standing core holding a single weight. No hated burpees, etc. Best of all the intervals are one minute instead of two minutes. Plenty of premixes too so never the same workout twice if I did it all week.

Gosh were we lucky.

Many in our town and the next closest town are without electricity till 9/4.

Most neighbors have flooded basements.

Many have both lost electricity and flooded basements so cannot pump the water out.

Most towns around us have to boil their water.

Also heard that the GSP is totally opened after being shut down between exits 91 and 98 because of flooding northbound and a sink hole southbound

so AC, here we come later this week :)

Sunday Good bye Irene

Most of Irene is gone but will not be forgotten.

The AC beach is destroyed.

http://twitpic.com/6cb521

Our electricity held up.

Our new den roof held up. Just a small leak from an upstairs bedroom rotted window frame which will be completely replaced and caulked during the Autumn. Felt terrible for our neighbor who replaced our roof just in time cuz his basement flooded badly. Ours stayed dry. Our basement only got slightly wet over 15 years ago from saturated dirt but not since we had a cement patio done. Another neighbor had a limb on their car in their driveway which left a small dent.

Just one heavy limb down in our yard to be cut up before the town will take it away.

Haven't done a workout yet because am exhausted from the stress of the storm. Last evening I saw scenes from neighboring Elizabeth that really had me worrying about trees and electricity.

Saturday

Really think our area is over-reacting to the approaching storm but we have been guilty of being out and about when roads had flooding, etc. so maybe even if overkill, it will keep people home and in less danger.

This morning because of the humidity, I only did half of Planet Motion.

May do something else later once the ac has removed the humidity.

ETA: felt energetic so did the rest of the URX Gregg Cooke dvd but just one round of the standing moves. Alot of the standing core stuff he does with the sand weights are similar to Core Transformer moves so could have been done with the bands.

Still trying to figure out what the heck that cameraman was trying to do. Videotape their feet?

Friday pre-Irene

Our neighbor completely stripped our den roof already. 10 years ago the roofers put a new roof over the old roof which was a violation! There was water between the two roofs. Anywho all stripped, all will have an ice dam and new roofing. Too bad DH misplaced the roof paperwork or we have have been able to make a claim against the company for reparations.

I warmed up a bit with Gregg Cook but my real workout was cleaning out the garage so we can put our new car in there for Irene's visit. We have a small garage and even though our 2011 Sentra is considered a smaller car, its side mirror span barely clears the doorway.

My husband kept wanting to lift the heavier items but got off my case when he realized I was picking them up with no effort.

Hurricane, Den Roof, Oh My

Well our den roof leaked again today but this time we could see exactly where since a chunk of the stained plywood ceiling had been removed in preparation of being replaced along with clean insulation. Our neighbor is determined to strip the whole roof and cover the whole roof with an ice dam and new tiles tomorrow before Irene arrives. Last time he placed an ice dam and new tiles just for the 5 feet closest to a new gutter because our new windows had leaked this past winter. The leak is where the old roof and new roof meet so he will be redoing the whole roof.

Good thing AC was tight with their rooms so we didn't have to change plans with Irene coming. Now there are comped room offers because of so many cancellations.

Thurs URX Metabolic Circuit

When the 13 URX dvds were released, I was totally not interested in any of them, sensing most of the well known professional instructors involved knew less about how to use a rebounder than myself. However, being a huge fan of using bands for resistance I caved on a trade for the Gregg Cook dvd that uses bands. Overall, I will revisit parts of this workout again in spite of it having more negative impressions than positive ones.

My biggest complaint was the distractions of a dumb camera man blocking the moves. Absolutely, the worse editing I have ever seen in a workout video! I almost lost my balance and fell off, the first time this cameraman popped on to the screen and he kept coming back, sometimes staying quite awhile!!!!

My next complaint is the way the UR folks tried to rip off consumers with their special bands. All of the moves with the bands could be done with a standard band under the foot/feet instead of under the legs of the rebounder.

Last and not least, the music was terrible. Too soft and didn't match the moves at all.

The positives were that there were some unique cardio and band moves, enough to make me keep the workout. Since everything gets repeated twice, I can easily fit one routine done once into my daily workouts.

CET's AC Diamond Lounge Fiasco

So the Atlantic City Total Rewards hotels (Caesars, Ballys, Showboat and Harrahs) started charging $10 comp a person to enter their Diamond Lounges for all Diamond members under 25,000 tier points just before their summer season was about to start in exchange for *enhancements*. Also they seemed to have cutback substantially on their comped room offers for the summer season.

Some of the people, mostly those with higher tier points and more comp offers, welcomed these Diamond Lounge changes in the hopes of improved food and shorter lines but attendance at the Diamond Lounges greatly dwindled. In fact, here it was their summer season and tables were roped off because so few customers bothered to eat there. Service suffered as staff was reduced.

The enhancements at the Diamond Lounges were mostly shrimp cocktail and a carving station.

Sometimes the shrimp has been reported as warm and the cocktail sauce turned. A couple of customers even claimed to have suffered from food poisoning! The meat at the carving station we tried was either hot and dried out or cold and moist. The rest of the hot food was pretty pathetic and not as good as before the enhancements because the food would just sit there stagnated.

Many Diamond players found other places to play and stay like we did with The Borgata. We have truly enjoyed the switch preferring The Borgata's lower room taxes, much better food, looser machines, faster comp dollar accrual, and availability of summer comped rooms if booked immediately. We are totally committed to staying with The Borgata and not attempting to earn Diamond status ever again. One of us may still go Platinum for free parking. Even if CET reversed these changes, trust has been broken irreversibly. Before the change, the free Diamond lounges were the best Diamond benefit for us. Now the only Diamond benefit was enabling us to upgrade to Black Label at The Borgata.

ETA:

there were a couple of dates I was watching closely in case a comped room became available but since they hadn't, we went ahead and scheduled some home improvements instead. Now CET has made them available! Too little, too late.

Weds

I warmed up on the bungee to the rest of the Zumba concert then did Zumba ripped with the Zumba sticks then did alittle of Linda Shelton's Redefining Abs Training, a very old vhs.

Our neighbor is here removing the stained part of our den ceiling and insulation and will be replacing everything that got wet when our gutter got clogged and water leaked through the roof. Am considering actually going through the expense of having screened gutters because just cleaning out the gutters a couple of times a year doesn't guarantee it will not happen again.

Tuesday and Chiball DOTD

Just did some Tonique cardio on the YogFlex and lower body from the internet then some Scott Cole Tai Chi while holding chiballs then some Chiball Dance of the Dragon. Then I really compared the footage from both of the sequences 1 and 2. Both warmups (7 minutes) and final meditations (10 minutes) are identical. The Awaken the Dragon in practice 1 is over 8 minutes and only 5 minutes in practice 2. The dance is over 8 minutes in 1 and ~5 minutes in 2. So footage wise it has 33 minutes in sequence 1 and only 10 minutes of different footage in practice 2. Movementwise a total of 33 minutes excluding the final meditation. Seems a bit overpriced at $48 American to me :(

Monday Tai Chi with Chiball(s)

I did 4 songs from the Zumba concert on the bungee then did some of the moves on the dvd that came with the Jillian Michaels weighted toy, um equipment, using its long bar form and using my own kettlebells and weighted ball without switching the long bar pieces around. As a bonus, the dvd is chaptered pretty good too!

Then I did some of the Spirals clips I found online and really love the ones led by the guy cuz the gal's voice irritates me. Saw many moves were Tai Chi-like and done while holding a chiball in each hand so I next did some Scott Cole Tai Chi while holding a chiball in each hand and basically just saved myself hundreds of dollars in future chiball and Spirals training sets :)

Love it when thinking out of the box opens up a whole new workout approach for me.

Sunday Petal Mat Discovery

This morning, I did the first half of the Zumba concert on the bungee. About halfway I added shoes with Walkfit Inserts because I have felt out of alignment lately since not walking in AC for over a week. Lo and Behold, I can use the whole petal mat when wearing shoes! Then I did some of Body Gospel Strength and Spirit using my heavier homemade XCOs.

DH has a cold so I canceled our next AC reservations.

Saturday

This morning I did the rest of Zumba Rush. This shorter workout has some routines that are alot of fun when done on the bungee. Then I took a break running some errands (post office and shopping) then did the standing part of Scott Cole's new Tai Chi and yoga fusion dvd. May do something else later.

Friday

This morning I did the Advanced Susan Hyatt Rockstar workout with music only, mostly on the bungee. Unfortunately, the sound was choppy on the Play Station 2 but I stuttered through it. Then I did the first Chiball Dance of the Dragon routine which is my favorite on the dvd.

Finished with the ballet inspired segment from a Caribbean workout which is a nice stretch, core and lower body routine.

Our neighbor had his underground oil tank removed today because he is selling the house. What a mess! am so not looking forward to going that route in a couple of years but know it is inevitable.

Thursday

This morning I did the Beginner's workout from Susan Hyatt's Rockstar, mostly on the bungee with my homemade XCOs and freestyled during the moves I'd rather skip. Of course, I chose the music only option :)

Then I did the second chiball Dance of the Dragon routine and some Spirals clips with 2 chiballs which I had downloaded from youtube.

Weds DTour and AC Air Show

This morning I did the cardio from DTOUR which is a 15 minute walking workout but I did it on the bungee while holding my homemade XCO trainers. It was a nice routine which offers 3 levels of intensity based on what the upper body is doing and has a music only option so will revisit it eventually. Then I did the metabo chapter from Dtour which had some unique resistance moves and fast forwarded through their floor abs to a do-able standing abs routine. Finished with some chiball Dance of the Dragon. Need to find a way of sneaking in more dance cardio either higher intensity on the bungee or lower intensity instead of chiball because am settling into doing bungee athletic cardio then AWT and chiball daily.

ETA: I do have more days to workout at home than usual this week because I decided to avoid AC during the air show week because of the crowd and noise. One year we had a wonderful outdoor brunch at Trump Plaza's Evo during the show which became way too loud and another year watched from my Borgata room window with a great view and way less noise. Even parking lots became overloaded so Been There Done That and prefer to not do it again.

Tuesday

This morning I did the rest of Custom3Fit doing the cardio on the bungee and using a band for the arms. Then I did the Calypso song from Zumba Rush on the bungee which was really different in a good way. Finished with some chiball clips from youtube.

Our neighbor is hoping it is just a nail hole causing our den leak. If not the whole roof has to be replaced except for the part he already replaced for the ice dam. Fun fun fun.

ETA: Neighbor saw nothing indicating a leak but found the upper gutter full of debris and cleaned it out. Will see what happens with the next rain. :::fingers crossed:::

Monday

This morning I did some more of Custom3Fit cardio on the bungee and most of the legs and chest/back chapters holding my 3 lb kettlebell for single weight moves. Finished with the Caribbean Workout Fit TV chiball episode.

Very humid here and hoping no more long heavy rains till whatever is causing our den ceiling to be leaking again after 10 years of no leaks since a new roof gets easily fixed. Our neighbor who installed an ice dam, new roof tiles and new gutter to prevent the frame of our new windows from leaking will be by today to assess the problem.

Sunday

This morning I revisited some of Custom3Fit in our living room and liked it more than the first visit in the basement because this time I did it on the bungee. The cardio is very bungee friendly. Also liked its Arms and Hamstrings chapters with XCOs. Then I did the chiball routine from Caribbean Workout Beach Pilates which was alittle longer than those on A new You and On the Go.

Since I have been enjoying the bungee in the living room with a higher ceiling and opened windows, I may consider doing all of my workouts there.
Speaking of windows, our den is cursed. After getting a new gutter, ice dam and new roof tiles over the ice dam because of the window frame leak last winter, the den ceiling was leaking this morning like it did over 10 years ago before the whole roof was replaced.

Saturday

Stayed up too late last night because totally hooked on the *Game of Thrones* series.

Woke up to find that our google chrome wasn't working anymore on our den puter but was able to finally reinstall a new working Chrome. Think there was a conflict with Adobe Flash on Firefox but not sure. MSIE did download it successfully after Firefox failed. Then I spent quite a bit of time adding back bookmarks.

Still did a workout this morning, starting with just the lower body chapters of a Tracey Mallet Quick Blast, using the bungee for all compatible cardio and finished with the Caribbean A New You Chiball routine. Just didn't feel motivated to do anymore, being mentally drained and have a wedding reception to attend tonight. Maybe I'll have some dancing sparks :)

Netflix vs Blockbuster vs Premium movie channels

OK so we unsubscribed from Netflix at the end of our free month and found their instant watch really lacking considering their new doubled charges. We were about to start a Blockbuster free trial at a new lower rate to steal disgruntled Netflix customers but decided to go with HBO and Cinemax for 3 months free with FIOS. DH is trying to do a Game of Thrones marathon and then will be doing True Blood's current season. I'll be doing those series plus Hung's second season at a slower pace as well as a few movies that happen to be on my rental queues. Our puters can also access all older seasons of all of the series which weren't available during previous subscriptions.

Still may start a free Blockbuster trial before 9/15 to see some other movies not on these premium channels. Oh and if you text redbox to 727272, they are supposed to send a code for a free rental on the first Monday of every month!

I cancelled our AC reservations this week to avoid the crowds and the noise from the air shows but have plenty of tv to watch in spite of *So You Think You Can Dance* ending and Big Brother becoming way too annoying with their returning veterans.

Monday through Friday topic is Variety

We spent Monday through Thursday in AC and did alot of walking in the sunshine and playing/staying/eating mostly at The Borgata for 2 nights and Harrahs for one night. When we wanted a lighter meal, we tried the Harrahs and Ballys Diamond Lounges which just reinforced our Borgata preferences.

There are some people online who think just because we much prefer The Borgata, we should stay there exclusively but why should we if we have CET comps to burn? It is pretty obvious from the empty Diamond Lounges in the middle of the prime AC summer season that most Diamond members prefer not to use their comp for Diamond Lounges or have chosen to eat elsewhere or not come to AC at all. Does that mean they never should play or eat at an AC CET casino ever again? Just means they will go to AC Diamond Lounges way less often since the admission charges and therefore, probably play there less as well.

Variety is the spice of life whether it is eating, playing slot machines, or workingout.

Do people eat exclusively the same meal each day for dinner because it is their favorite?

Highly doubt it.

Likewise, I may prefer the newer Planet Motion World Dance to many of my older Nia workouts but will still revisit those less preferred Nia workouts for variety so I do not get burned out with Planet Motion.

Variety is just as important in where and what to eat for balanced meals and health, just as variety is important to keep me moving.

Bottomline, the best CET Diamond privilege for us was being able to upgrade to Black Label at The Borgata, a practice The Borgata may stop at any time. Borgata's Black Label needs twice the play to maintain as Diamond so why bother wasting alot of $$ to stay Diamond when we can be eating mostly at The Borgata where comp dollars accrue much faster? Doesn't mean I will never play or eat at a CET casino just because I stopped giving them most of my gambling $$.

OK on to my workout this morning. A kind VFer lent me the Caribbean *Workout On The Go* dvd which I wanted to try for its chiball chapter. Chiball chapter was very nice. Its Hi/lo chapter was very bungee friendly and ended with a solid lower body medball routine which was a nice bonus. Its Core chapter started with darn good standing abs. Since this dvd is out of print, it goes for over $50 on Amazon so I am really thankful to the kind VFer. Will be keeping my eyes open at thrift stores, etc. for thus dvd. Good chance of eventually finding it since it was discounted in a double pack with *A New You* at Target.

Sunday

I warmed up on the bungee with athletic cardio (skates, jogging, jumping jacks, etc.) then did Caribbean Beach Pilates Chiball and some Fitness Fix. Humidity is intense today so I didn't push myself.

Saturday Mindfitness

Well I finished visiting all of the Mindfitness dvds:

Walk, Dance and Fitness.

I did like the athletic cardio of the last Fitness chapter on the bungee alot but otherwise, nothing really made me want to revisit them again, even though his TIFTTing style didn't bother me.

The music is supposed to have subliminal messages to aide weightloss and health but all I was craving each day were Klondike bars so was getting the wrong messages. The music, itself, is boring and repetitive but you aren't supposed to be focusing on it.

This morning I did Mindfitness Fitness on the bungee with XCOs then Chiball Dance of the Dragon then some biceps with Jari Love but using a band then alittle Skinny Sculpt while holding chiballs and finished with a Fitness Fix stretch using a stability ball.

10 minute solution giveaway

http://lindseylu8.blogspot.com/2011/08/10-minute-solution-best-belly-blasters.html

The Fitness for the Rest of Us blog is offering an Anchor bay giveaway for their 10 minute solution Best Belly Busters dvd

Friday Switching from Netflix to Blockbusters

This morning I warmed up with Zumba on the bungee then did the rest of a dance workout from Netflix while holding Fitstix and finished with some Chiball Dance of the Dragon.

I decided to cancel Netflix near the end of the free trial, even though I can get one more month at their old prices before they practically double. Their instant watch content is lame and we can get a faster dvd turnaround using our nearby Blockbusters for returning the dvds and mailer exchanges for movies, especially on weekends. Blockbusters is offering a month free plus a lower price on their one movie or game dvd out at a time plan to steal disgruntled Netflix customers. This plan will be the same price as Netflix's one dvd and instant watch plan which is ending! Besides getting newer movies sooner, Blockbusters seems to carry more workout dvds and hopefully, their games by mail are more available than they used to be.

Thursday

This morning I did the second Elle Make Better Cardio workout on the bungee with homemade XCOs. I swear this routine is better on the rebounder than most rebounder specific workouts. Then I did some Core Transformer and finished with alittle chiball. After viewing some clips on the Chiball site, I am hoping they find a US distributor so I can order another without feeling like I overpaid for postage, currency exchange rate, etc.

Forgot to mention that I tried out my walking poles a bit in my own backyard since there was no humidity yesterday and liked the feel alot more on grass with the sharp edge digging into the ground than concrete with the rubber tip which felt jarring even though there is a spring action to alleviate the impact. Still waiting for a non humid day to try them in sand.

Weds

This morning I warmed up with Zumba Exhilarate on the bungee then did the first workout from Elle Make Better Cardio on the bungee holding homemade XCOs. Really love the moves from both Elle Make Better dvds on the bungee. Just wish the music wasn't so bland and repetitive.

Finished with the second sequence from Chiball Dance with the Dragon, much of which is just a repeat of the first sequence so I feel like I really overpaid for this dvd from Australia. The Dance of the Dragon moving routine is nice but darn short. Most of the dvd is instructional and meditation which aren't my thing. Previous chiball vhs offered much more moving routines.

At least, my winning streak in AC is paying for all of my workout purchases this year. Cannot believe how a guy hit over 1 1/2 million on a slot machine that my husband was playing just last week! YIKES!!! Timing is everything.

Sunday through Tuesday

Another small win instead of a big loss thanks to switching from CET casinos to The Borgata, my Happy Place. Harrahs Diamond Lounge added hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken grilled outdoors on Sunday but the line moved very slowly for these items and the chicken disappeared too quickly to even taste. The hamburgers had a funny flavor so I stuck to the carved turkey breast which was actually good, vegetables, and soup. DH was thrilled to see their Tiramisu back again.

The next night, a friend had offered to take us into the Ballys Diamond lounge because his large amount of accrued comp but I am glad we chose to stay at The Borgata for dinner. Monday night at The Borgata Amphora lounge was phenomenal and again totally made the CET Diamond Lounges look pathetic by comparison. Even had delicious mini hamburgers as well as chilled fresh veggie sticks, their famous crab cakes, ravioli with spinach, leg of lamb, brisket, prime ribs, steak, pork riblets which were really outstanding, etc. Not enough room in the human belly to taste everything. Oh and they had their pistachio tarts which I haven't seen in quite awhile.