Shape Up Cape updates

The Fit to Print team earned 761 points for the past week. St. Andrew's Fit for Eternity earned 789 points and the public library's Bookin' Team earned 306 points.

Point totals:

Sam Blackwell 98

Andrea Buchanan 60

Spencer Cramer 74

Heidi Hall 70

Jamie Hall 78

Gabe Hartwig 83

Laura Johnston 61

Heather Kronmueller 85

Bob Miller 78

Joe Sullivan 74

Total 761

Average 76.1

UPDATES

Heidi Hall

I've become friends with Dave and the bimbos, the hosts of "Caribbean Workout" on The Health Network. (It's channel 76 on Charter cable.)

We get together several nights a week on the beaches of Barbados to exercise and share health tips. At the beginning Dave asks, "Ready?" I enthusiastically reply, "Ready!" He also asks insightful questions like, "Are you feeling it?" and "Ready for lunges?"

One of the bimbos had a little health tip last week. She said that during cold season, I should replace high-fat foods with fruit to boost my immunity. Or I could have juice instead of soda.

Now that's the kind of intelligent advice I'm looking for from my new friends. An apple instead of potato chips? Orange juice instead of a Coke? Who'd have thought it?

(Obviously, I am losing it. I need to make better use of my membership at Universal Fitness and be around actual, non-recorded workout partners.)

Jamie Hall

Labor Day Weekend is here.

My incredible I'm-sure-I'll-have-them-by-Labor-Day abs aren't.

The upside to a summer-long fitness routine is that my waist is slimmer than it has been in years. The downside is that I haven't reached my goal and I gravitate to the Hydroxycut bottle every time I'm in a store. Each time I get closer and closer to convincing myself that a simple little pill -- debated for its links to heart attacks but praised as a miracle drug -- surely can't be so bad.

The question I have to answer now is whether I'm really pursuing a healthy goal or letting vanity get the best of me. I think the answer is a combination of the two. If only it was a little easier to find.

Bob Miller

For a little more than a year, I ran religiously.

My regimen started off as a three-times-a-week affair, but gradually evolved to a daily routine.

Running has become boring for me and I, in the last couple of weeks, have lacked the motivation to do it every day. And even when I do run, it is only to meet the minimum requirement for Shape Up Cape, which is 20 minutes.

Recently, I've been looking for ways to avoid running. Racquetball works, but I haven't had the opportunity to challenge my buddy Matt in a couple of weeks. I like basketball, but it's hard finding enough people to play. Last week, I even jumped rope one day just to mix things up.

Maybe when the temperature cools down, I'll get back into running 40 to 50 minutes. Until then, I'm looking for alternatives.

Joe Sullivan

While fitness routines can slim a gut,

I feel as though I'm in a rut.

I run to and fro

And jump high and low

As I watch the fat flow to my ... but you know the rest of the story.

What Shape Up Cape needs is more emphasis on variety. I'm doing the same basic routine (jogging five days a week and walking on weekends) that I had when we starting counting points.

What I need is motivation to try different things.

Or maybe I should just be glad I'm able to jog and walk.

As usual, it's easy to complain

About anything that causes me pain.

I run up a hill

To avoid taking a pill.

And then I do it all over again.

Next week you'll hear from the other members of our team.