Last week's workouts were mostly centered around the Workout One-on-One Training with Jackie DVD I borrowed from Netflix. I watched a few episodes of "Workout" back when it was on Bravo years ago, and had put this DVD on the queue probably several years ago but never got around to bumping it to the top of the list. I don't normally get workout DVDs, but I decided it might be a nice way to shake up my workout routine a bit, and I just might learn some new fitness tricks too. And then I realized getting the DVD by mail was really the only way to get them - Netflix won't stream workout videos (probably because that would be excellent for the consumer but then no one would ever buy the DVDs). 
The One-on-One DVD has three twenty-minute workouts: one focused on the upper body, one on the lower body, and one on abs. I really liked that this DVD let you customize your workout by choosing which routine(s) you wanted to do before hitting play, so you could just sail through the routines you'd chosen without fiddling around with the menu in between. (The top Amazon review, linked above, has a run down of all the exercises featured in each segment.)
I received the DVD on Monday and got right to work by trying out the lower body routine that day. Unfortunately, the routine wasn't all that unique or difficult - mostly lots and lots of squats and lunges. I did like that the weight-baring exercises were broken up with short bouts of cardio to keep your heart rate up and at least make you sweat just a little. But I definitely wasn't the least bit sore the next day, and the meager workout didn't make me eager to try the other two routines. In fact, it was Friday before I went back again.
Tuesday - Bike 30 minutes Thursday - Off
Friday - I finally got back in front of the One-on-One DVD by doing both the upper body and abs routines. Since I was in my living room without access to all the different weights of a gym I just used a set of 5-lb weights for the upper body exercises. Maybe if I'd gone up in weight it would have felt tougher and my arms would have been sore the next day.
The real winner of the DVD was the abs routine. I actually had to stop a couple of times because I just couldn't keep doing reps and my abs were definitely feeling it the next day ... and the day after that. It really showed me that I'm not working my abs like I should be and that I should be focusing on that area more in the future.
Saturday - Short walk to library and grocery store (about two miles) plus 1 hour hike at Wheaton Regional Park. Like so many of my other "hikes" recently, this was also more of a nature walk, with paved trails almost the whole way.
Sunday - Hike at Rock Creek Park (about 4 miles). This park is only about a mile from my house, but I've been avoiding going there because I thought I'd need to go further afield to find a real "nature" experience. Fortunately for me I was wrong. While I didn't exactly spot any deer, I also couldn't see any cars or too many houses. And the trail was an actual trail! I didn't have a trail map, and the trails didn't appear to be blazed anyway, but I managed to figure out a loop that was easy enough to follow (and you're never far from civilization anyway if you do manage to get lost) and did two laps of it in about an hour and a half. This may just be my new go-to hiking destination. 
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