"You made me promises, promises"

[jenelope]

I'm supposed to be fasting today. Screw it. God wouldn't be impressed if I fainted in the middle of the day. Actually, I find it interesting that I still observe the whole fasting and abstaining rigmarole of Lent, considering I've been to church exactly once since the Fall of 2004. About the time when I learned how much money Michigan Archdioceses

Comments

[edhed]

I had the Bana Boat Song stuck in my head at the gym this morning. Crap! Now it's stuck again.

As to makeup, I don't wear tons of it but buy way too much. Makeup makes you feel better about yourself, so there is a pure psychological factor to it. Studies have shown that, during times of recession, lipstick sales increase dramatically. They think it's because it's a relatively cheap pick me up.

I like your discussion of Lent and will have to come up with something good for it. You should try Lutheranism (ELCA). We are very Catholic in our beliefs, without all the ceremony. However, we are much more liberal minded (love thy neighbor) rather than all about guilt.

[jenelope]

My Mom's best friend was ELCA. It was her funeral service (and how wonderful her pastor was at the hospital) that made me consider Lutheranism in the first place. There's an ELCA church about three miles from my apartment. My biggest struggle with this is that, even though I know I should change, I self-identify so strongly as Catholic that it's ridiculous. In spite of that, there's quite a bit of dogma that I have been resisting for my entire adult life. Like, what is the purpose of confessing to a priest? God is all-knowing and all-seeing. Hypothetically, He knows what I've done and He knows that I know it was wrong and that feel bad about it. Why do I need a priest as intercessor? I haven't said confession since I was a third-grade Catholic school girl. I actually lied to a priest about it. Granted, it was a little weird that he asked me if I'd been to confession every single time he saw me when home from college, but lying that I confessed at the student parish was probably not cool and added yet another sin to the pile. Sorry,

[edhed]

My friend's mom is Roman Catholic and remained so but joined our church. It might be a way to handle it.

[ace_and_sep]

I'm having the same problem with increased exercise and my knees. I felt like I wasn't getting enough out of the recumbant bike, so I added stair-stepping and a little joggig, and my knees HATE me for it. My doctor suggested it's because my quads aren't strong enough, which is true, but I'm not sure they every will be. I bought better shoes and switched to the elliptical trainer, but I still have some dreams of being able to work up to running a mile (without blwong both knees.)

--Ace

[edhed]

Have you tried yoga or pilates? My quads are so developed you could bounce a quarter off of them. Of course, you can kill you knees in both if you aren't careful.

[ace_and_sep]

I used to do quite a lot of yoga and while I was deliciously flexible, it never gave me muscle tone. What kinds do you do?

I have been tempted by pilates and should really get around to signing up for a class at my gym.

--Ace

[edhed]

I mainly do hatha, but in the advanced classes. Holding warrior two for 5 minutes should build up quad strength. I, like you, am overly flexible, which leads to dozens of joint injuries, though.

Pilates might be a good option for you. Definitely a leg builder (and stomach cruncher).

[petzipellepingo]

I don't suppose they have a pool there do they? My PT person recommends water aerobics, water walking or even gym equipment in the water if you have knee issues.

[jenelope]

I've been pondering their River Blast and Sculpt class. (My gym is actually my community center- it's got a pool, a children's play area, a water slide, and a lazy river. It's bizarre.) It's not at a great time, though. So many of their aqua fitness classes seem aimed at SAHMs and retirees. I'd swim, but I'm not a strong swimmer.

I told my trainer my concerns about cardio at my last appointment and we're going to work on something this week. The elliptical trainer is probably my best bet, but I think I'm making it more difficult than it should be and I'm not really comfortable with it. I think that's where we're going to be focussing attention. I started working with Tom because the weight machines intimidated me. Now I could probably do leg curls and the biangular chest press in my sleep, but I can't figure out what the resistance levels on the elliptical machines actually mean, in any real sense.

[petzipellepingo]

Yeah, I water walk in the Lazy River at the Warren Community Center which also has the pool, children's play area and water slide. It must be the model for the all the latest Centers.

[jenelope]

Probably. In this case, however, Warren was probably modeled after Canton. Our community center opened ten years ago and keeps getting cited in feasibility studies. Warren's is bigger, though. Have you seen the one in Livonia? I swear these things keep getting bigger and fancier with each new iteration.