Bully

so I joined Jillian Michaels online. And while I'm "no impact" I can't really do the exercise part o' life, I can use the food log and read the tips and yearn for the gym... and then... share the info with you guys !! handy huh ??

For example - I'm at 128 right now... where I want to be is substantially lower.. and according to Jillian :

Your magic number is calculated assuming that your goal is to lose 2 pounds a week. To meet this goal, the best meal plan calorie level for you is 1,200–1,400.

Totally WORKABLE !!

and...

Your Target Heart-Rate is 150 beats per minute.

Recalculate

Where does that number come from? It's 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, given your age. That's how hard your heart should be pumping when you work out, so you burn the most calories possible. Does it seem impossibly high? That's okay — if you're new to exercise, you won't be able to maintain this intensity at first. Start where you can and work your way up over time, keeping the Target Heart Rate as your goal.

OK... completely UNREASONABLE (thank you Polar !!). Why ? Because I know that my resting heart rate is insanely high. So for me, 150 is simply walking to get a drink of water !

and... This is GOOD basic stuff to remember !!

BASIC ANATOMY: YOUR BODY 101

Everything you need to know about the muscles you're working out — and why.

To really know what you’re doing with your circuit training or your cardio workouts, you must first understand which muscles to work out when and why. There are more than 600 muscles and about 6 billion muscle fibers in the human body. While it's a complicated system, all you need is a basic familiarity with the major muscle groups. The ones you'll be focusing on are located in your hips, upper legs, lower legs, torso, lower back, abdominals, and arms. Check out this brief, easy-to-understand physiology lesson — it will acquaint you with the basic muscle groups you will be working out and their functions.

Hips

Your hip region is made up of three main muscle groups: gluteals (buttocks), adductors, and iliopsoas.

• The gluteals, or buttocks, located on the back of the hips, are the largest and strongest muscle set in the body; their function is hip extension, or driving the upper legs backward. Activities that require this muscle group include walking, running, jumping, and climbing.
• The adductors are the muscles located in the inner thigh; they are used during hip adduction, which means bringing your legs together.
• "Iliopsoas" is a collective term for the primary muscles on the front of your hips. The main function of the iliopsoas is hip flexion, which allows you to bring your knees to your chest. The iliopsoas is sometimes considered to belong to the abdominal muscle group.

Upper Legs

The two main muscle groups of your upper legs, or thighs, are the hamstrings and quadriceps.

• The hamstrings are located on the backs of your upper legs. This muscle group is responsible for knee flexion, or bringing your heels toward your buttocks, and hip extension.
• The quadriceps are on the front of your thighs; their main function is knee extension, or straightening the legs.

Lower Legs

The two major muscle groups in your lower legs are the calves and dorsi flexors.

• The calves are located on the backs of your lower legs. They are involved in plantar flexion, or extending your ankles and pointing your toes.
• The dorsi flexors are located on the front of your lower legs and are primarily used for dorsi flexion, or flexing your ankles. Strengthening the lower leg muscles is crucial to safeguard against shin splints.

Torso

The three major muscle groups of the torso are located in the chest, the upper back, and the shoulders.

• The major muscle surrounding the chest area is the pectoralis major. It is thin and fan-shaped. The pectoralis minor is a thin, triangular muscle positioned beneath the pectoralis major. The chest muscles are responsible for any movements like throwing and pushing.
• The muscle that makes up most of the upper back is the latissimus dorsi, also know as lats, a long, broad muscle whose primary function is to pull your arms backward and downward, as in pulling and climbing motions.
• The shoulders comprise 11 muscles, of which the deltoids are the most important. The deltoids are actually composed of three separate sections. The anterior deltoid is found on the front of the shoulder and is used when you raise your arm in front of you. The lateral deltoid is located on the side of the shoulder and is involved when you lift your arm out sideways. The posterior deltoid is on the back of the shoulder and draws your arm backward. The deltoids play a vital role in throwing, pushing, carrying, and climbing.

Lower Back

The erector spinae are the most important muscles of your lower back. Their primary purpose is torso extension, or straightening up from a bent-over position. They also assist in lateral flexion of the torso, or bending your torso to the side, and rotation of the torso, or twisting.

Abdominals

The three major muscles that make up your abdominals are the rectus ab-dominis, the obliques, and the transverse abdominis.

• The rectus abdominis, otherwise known as the eight-pack, is a long, narrow muscle that extends vertically along the front of the abdomen from the lower rib cage to the pelvis. Its main function is torso flexion, or bending your torso forward.
• The obliques, which are divided into external and internal muscles groups, reside on either side of the midsection. Both sets of obliques have the same two main functions: lateral flexion of the torso, or bending your torso to the side, and rotation of the torso, or twisting of the torso.
• The transverse abdominis is the innermost layer of your abdominal musculature. The fibers of this muscle run horizontally across the abdomen, and the muscle functions primarily to constrict the abdomen.

Arms

The three main muscles in your arms are the biceps, triceps, and forearm flexors and extensors.

• The biceps is the prominent muscle in the front of your upper arm and is involved in elbow flexion, or bending your arm. The biceps also assists the upper back muscles in pulling and carrying.
• The triceps is a horseshoe-shaped muscle on the back of your upper arm. Its primary function is elbow extension, or straightening your arm. The triceps assists the chest and shoulder muscles in throwing and pushing.
• The forearm muscles comprise two main groups: The anterior group, on the top of your forearm, facilitates wrist flexion (bending your wrist) and pronation (turning your palm downward); the posterior group, on the bottom of your forearm, facilitates wrist extension (straightening your wrist) and supination (turning your palm upward). Since the muscles of the forearms govern the wrists, hands, and fingers, they are extremely important in pulling, carrying, climbing, and gripping.