So I went to a brown bag lunch today about getting fit.
  It was... interesting.  The speaker, who I am sure is a very nice guy, came off very condescending and I really wasn't expecting that so it put me off.
  He explained many things, which I already knew (and the others may very well have not known) and very few new things.  I'll probably go back next month just to see if there's anything new to learn though (I'm a glutton for punishment).
  Among the things we learned in the session, he covered the fact that each time we get comfortable in our workouts we need to increase the workout by 5% - which I am going to start doing this week.  His suggestion was basically, if you are doing 3 sets of 12 reps and on the last 2 sets you can add at least 2 more reps, it is time to move up to another level.  However, on the flip side, you don't want to put too much weight on yourself either.  If you can't even hit 3 sets of 12 reps, take some weight off.
  I did like that he kept repeating that "Training should IMPROVE you, not hurt you."  That's been how I've been looking at my current workouts - are they helping me to become stronger or just putting me into pain on my off day?
  He, along with everyone else, is on the bandwagon of if you work out 5x a week at 60min or more, you'll lose weight.  I have slight issues with this - I work out 6 days a week from 60 to 120 minutes and haven't seen a major weight loss.  I'm not complaining - I do see inches coming off my waist but not the weight loss that "they" keep claiming will happen.  But, I'm not giving up because of it.
  One think I appreciated that he spoke about was going from being on the couch to working out 2 hours a day.  I've done that in the past - in grad school I would work out with one set of girls at 6am for an hour every week day, then work out for an hour at night with another set of girls (who never had contact so no one would know) and then I'd work out on the weekends by myself.  I made all my goals and lost about 20lbs but I found it very hard to continue to keep it off when I wasn't able to make it to the gym.  Over the past 3 years, I've taken up running (mostly at night).  I've found it clears my head and makes me feel so much better when I accomplish my goal for the day.  The instructor also told us that running alone isn't healthy or good.  I understand that, however it was the only thing I used for an entire year to slim down and keep the weight off and it worked fine.
  When it comes to running here, I have difficulties.  Many people find that odd since my area is so flat but I guess my body has become so used to running up and down the hill so NC that I miss them and the added support they gave each run.
  Back to the subject at hand... what I learned today.  One thing that I am going to use in my workouts with weights - to get a good physical workout I need to incorporate 2-6 sets of 8-10 different machines.  Right now I use 3 leg machines, a mid-body machine and free weights upstairs for my arms.  I'm very odd about the machines - I have to watch people on them and make sure I understand what I have to do before I try them.  I don't know why - it's not like I really know anyone in the gym nor do I want/care to impress any of them, but I want to make sure I understand what to do.
  He also explained the different types of stretching - passive vs. active.  Passive is when I bend at the hips and touch my feet (which I can finally do).  Active is when I sit on my butt with my legs spread and touch my feet (which I still can't do).  We also learned that long, slow stretches should be saved until the end - otherwise they cause fatigue.  I found that really interesting since my running instructor makes us do long stretches before we run.  I asked about this and he said "it's probably because he learned it from his coach who learned it from his coach and so on." 
  Finally, he said we needed to buy new shoes every 500 miles - which for me is like every 3 months.  I'm already struggling because I wear my running shoes out every 6 months (yes, I run THAT much) so 4 times a year at $100 a pop is a little more than I can handle.  We'll see.
  He did say we should keep a journal (ha ha! Ahead of the game by a few hours!) and should keep an excel sheet on our workouts - which I've been doing since MAS and I did the PAC cross-training challenge in 2008.  I've found that my excel sheet and my weightloss chart, along with livestrong.com/myplate really help keep me on track.  I set on my excel that I should be working out 250 minutes a week/500minutes every 2 weeks and I just love when my totals get up past 600 and 700 for my 2 weeks. :)