Fitness Friday: Updates & Upgrades

I am still getting my shrinking behind to the gym on a mostly regular basis.  January was a little spottier than I wanted but February has started off well so far.  I hit all the planned workouts for the week except swimming which got pulled because my instructor is still ill.  For the moment that means next week I'll get up and hit yoga then the gym and back to real life.  That does mean I need to work on my annual report before Saturday but I'm hoping to nail that down by Friday evening.  The workouts themselves are getting more interesting.  Not because they are hard but because of things I'm noticing later.  I mean they aren't easy but my body is hitting wave two of the weight loss process I guess.  I'm noticing my abs and behind in particular are much sorer after each work out.  A friend is saying the muscles are getting used again after shedding some weight.  That could be true but it's definitely different.  There are still a good mix of cardio and weights and stretches built in.  When I get tired I take it easier but I haven't had to cut any workouts short in months.  And now that I think about it that was at the very beginning when my body was surprised I was still trying to push it.  So really no abbreviated workouts since early November.

I've had to start buying smaller workout clothes a well because the original stuff is way too big.  The new stuff is slightly too big but I don't want things clinging to me while I'm sticky.  I need to find some longer shirts and matching sets more.  I like the idea of Fabletics but clingy isn't cute and they rarely had things in my size as it was.  Long sleeves always make me feel better but they aren't a sticking point.  I am on the lookout though so if you see anything in the 14/16 range let me know.  Wow even typing that is weird having been in the 18/20 range for quite some time now.

And after more than a year with my Polar FT7 I'm about to let it rest peacefully as soon as my new fitness band arrives.  In case you were wondering why I'll be happy to tell you.  Before I got smaller the band and heart rate monitor seemed to find an easy spot on my chest to rest and measure what it needed to.  After adjusting the band and being a bit more active it seems a little psychotic if I'm honest.  Most of the time the heart rate is fine but suddenly without any explanation it jumps up to 221 or something similar on the wearable monitor.  I notice this more on the cardio machines than just walking around but it can happen on both.  The reason I know it's off is when I grab the sensors on the cardio machines it stays in the right range so it's really the HR monitor on my body that is going nuts.  So I decided to upgrade after talking to my tech consultant, i.e. my younger brother who gets all the stuff way before I do, and I am moving over to the Fitbit Charge HR.  One because I can get one that's purple and who doesn't love purple lol.  And two because there is no band to wear and hope it's adjusted properly.  This measures heart rate at the wrist and is worn most of the time--no pool or shower, so it's not something you have to remember to put on to get the right measure.  If I forget the band for the Polar all I'm really doing is clocking time because it can't do much more without it.  Only problem with my purple (officially labeled as plum) fitbit charge HR is that they are in the preorder stage at the moment.  I measured my wrist and at 7 inches it would have been a snug fit in the large band which only goes up to 7.6 inches.  I'm getting the XL to be safe since my wrist does not seem to be subject to the same weight loss issues as the rest of my body lol.  Here's a look at it:

So how goes workouts in your land?