Oh my, how did I do it???

When your trainer warns you, "today's routine is very hard" beware.   Using the Insanity cardio workout as a guide, we did 50 minutes of calisthenics. We did jumping jacks, push ups, squats, burpees, mountain climbers, 1-2-3's, long jumps, running in place, and side kicks.  We used weights.  We did planks. Then we did all this over two more times.  It was one tough workout.  That little negative voice, that has been on vacation, came to watch and even had me thinking during the session, "What's wrong with me, why is this so hard".  Why, because it was that difficult of a routine.

Our trainer does this to keep us challenged and to let us know just how much we can do. We are all so much stronger then when we first started.  At the end of the session, after a nice stretch and rest, I regrouped and even shot hoops with the hubby. 

I have lost another pound this week, bringing me up to 16 pounds since we started the weight loss challenge.  Only two more weeks to go.  Hubby says he is going to do the challenge again in the advanced class.  Me, I think I'll do continue on my own, as I want to get in some swimming and water aerobics also.

Well, that's it for me today.  Remember you can do a whole, whole lot more than you ever thought you could.  You just have to get started.  I am living proof.  Fifty-eight years old and doing the Insanity workout....get outta here.

Staying strong.

Just a quick post to let you know I'll still working out and getting stronger.  My weight has stalled at 182.  I think this is three weeks at the same number.  I try not to be too tied down by numbers.  I am getting smaller, stronger and healthier.  At my age, what more can a gal ask for? We had a good workout yesterday, running laps and doing circuit exercises.  This is not my favorite routine, but the body needs a variety of moves, in order to stay revved up and to strengthen the muscles.  Remember this if you are going about the same routine, day after day.  At some point, if you don't change it up and challenge yourself, it's not really that beneficial. 

I know that I used to think, something is better than nothing, but is that really the case?  There is one gal at our gym that looks maybe 40 something, that is carrying all her excess poundage in her front.  She is a bit barrel shaped.  Every day she strolls the track.  I mean really slowly.  I don't know her story, she may be recovering from something that prevents her from moving any faster, but I really don't think that is the case.  Maybe it's the fact that she talks on the telephone the entire time she is walking.  She does wear those shoes that are supposed to help exercises your muscles, but I'm skeptical about those also.

Sorry, I got side tracked for a bit.  Had what my sister calls a shiny moment.  Got distracted by something else, you know.  Any way, my point being in addition to changing up my workout routine, I think it's just about time for me to drop my daily calories down a bit.  I'm at 1400 calories a day and burning off usually about 400-600 calories depending on the workout.  There is a technique called Zig Zag Dieting that is used by Weight Watchers, as well as numerous bodybuilders.  In essence, it takes the number of calories you are consuming per week and instead of having the same number each day, one day you might do 1000, then one day you do 2000, and then you drop back to 1400 and so on.  As long as the calories equal the weekly amount, and this is supposed to shock or snap you system out of the groove that you have gotten into.  I am not one to sponsor or suggest any particular website, but this one has a good description of what I'm talking about. 

Well, hubby just got back from having his cholesterol checked, and boy are his numbers greatly improved.  He went from totals of 247 to 202.  All of his numbers are borderline perfect, instead of borderline scary.  Weight loss, exercise and healthy eating, as well a being a man of strong faith seems to be working for him.   So join me in congratulating him on such a good check up.

Also, Happy Birthday to Peri!  My sweet sister and one of my favorite commenters has a birthday today.  Go Peri Nicole, have fun today and enjoy life, as it is good.

Slow and Steady....

Yeah, I know...I know.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  I'm down one more pound today.  I know that losing slowly is the best thing to do.  It allows me to practice healthy eating and exercising until it becomes second nature.  Since my long range goal is to lose weight and get stronger by the time I hit the big 6-0, I actually still have two years to go.  So even though I really wanted to lose two pounds a week and end up with a 30 pound loss at the end of the weight challenge, I knew that half that was more realistic.  I'm happy to have lost 14 pounds during the competition and another 3-4 prior to that.  During the winter I saw 200 on my scales several times.   If I were 5'9" instead of 5'3" I could have dealt with it, but 200 pounds on this short little frame was a bit uncomfortable.

I'm still working out twice a week with the trainer and I mentioned that I felt like I needed more core work.  Take my advice, never, ever, EVER, tell your trainer to give you more core work. We had to balance on the bosu balls and do crunches and since my butt is as round as the ball, I kept rollling off of the thing.  I rolled completely off and felt like a little turtle with its' legs wiggling about. Took two of them to right me.

Anyway, today we walked the crazy incline machine until I thought my lungs would burst into flames and we did a kettlebell circuit routine, combined with laps. (Kettlebells, I just love these little buggars. Check them out if you havent).  When working out, it does seem like for a very short period of time, during every session, I think "I'm going to stop, I can't do this". But I don't and I always feel so good afterward.  During laps I may slow down to a walk and start up again with a jog, or on the treadmill I take down the resistance or speed, but I try to never just quit.  This is working for me.  My hubby, on the other hand, is so strong that he usually stays with the resistance and speed on the machines and usually does extra laps while we are finishing up ours. That works for him.  My point being, know your own limits.  Push them if you can do so safely, but otherwise better safe than sorry.

I hope everyone is tuning up for a beautiful spring. My plan for spring?  I want to try to eliminate something unhealthy from my regimine every day. How about you?  Let's add more movement.  Thirty second exercises are a great place to start.  Calf raises and wall pushups will help more than you ever imagined.  Just remember, that there is something that you can do.  If you are extremely out of shape, start slowly.  Try to walk a bit.  It's a good place to start.  If you are not mobile, check to see if there are any of these seated exercises that you can do.  You will feel better.  I promise.

Well, that's it for me today.  Happy and getting healthier every day.  Oh, by the way, I'm wearing a pair of size 16 jeans today, with no MUFFIN TOP!  Sometimes it's the little goals that mean the most.

Later.

No, I didn't fall off the edge...

I'm still hanging in there.  I did have a one pound gain last week, but my measuring tape is still looking very good.  We had a great workout last week running and stopping at different spots on the track to do push ups, crunches and step ups.

I never thought I would be letting a 22 year old girl tell me what to do, but this trainer is just so good that you want to please her.  If I hadn't gotten this gal I would not have known what a jewel a good trainer really is.  Her name is Chelsea and she gets to know her clients and she knows if they are serious about their health and workouts, or if they are just going through the motions.  She doesn't like to hear someone say "I can't" if they just don't want to do something, or if they just think it's going to hurt.  She can read folks really well, and knows that if I stop during an exercise, it's because I really need to stop.  I think her level of confidence is key.  There are some trainers that think that they have to push you beyond your limits to make you realize how out of shape you are and how much you need them.  Not Chelsea, the club did fitness and medical evaluations on us all and she studied them and made a custom plan for each of her teams.  If one team wants to swim she works that into their routine.  If you have some that are scared of bees, she doesn't suggest doing an outside workout.

But even with all this being said, having a great trainer is very important, but working out is not easy.  This has been a gradual process and each workout is hard and sometimes I make myself do it when I don't really want to, I mean after all it is only an hour.  But guess what, I feel so good later in the day, that it really is worth it.  My recovery time has gone from having to lay down when I get home, to actually "shaking it off" and hopping up to do something else.  Bottom line is I have so much more energy, it's almost unbelievable. 

Well, I won't bore you with how great I feel, cause I don't want anyone to be thinking that I think I'm all that because that really isn't the case.  I just feel good.  I'll be 58 in April and other than an occasional aspirin or acid reducer I take no meds. My cholesterol is excellent and my blood pressure is probably perfect.  Stay healthy, guys.  Who knows how long you might have to be around?  It might be like that old saying "If I'd known I would live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself".

Well, the weight loss teams are having a dinner tonight provided by Southern Foods at Home.  We will have to listen to a spiel, but it's free food and a fun get together with like minded folks.  I'll let you know how it is.

Until then, behave and get movin!

Half Way Point

Just a quick post to let you know that today is week seven of our fifteen week program.  Hubby and I have each lost 12 pounds and 12 inches.  I am still stunned that our trainer can challenge us each session.  Today, she put us on the super incline treadmill. It's actually a terrain trainer and the incline is intense.

I am telling you this bad boy will kick your....well, you know what I mean.  So we did a circuit on this machine, then the stationary bike and the stair climber,

We were supposed to be doing seven minutes on each, but I could only handle five minutes on this monster, even after reducing the speed.  It's intense, but it really does the job.  My legs are getting much stronger than they were.

After these machines, we did a walk-run for two laps and came back to do a circuit of step, punching and a neat thing called a TRX suspension strap.  You can do lots of exercises with this piece of equipment.  I chose to do a kind of pull up, with my body at an angle, pulling my weight up.  Hard, but doable.

My exercise was similar to this, except I kept both feet on the ground in front of me and pulled up.  Two more laps around the track followed this. Then we finished up with 80 crunches. Yep, I did 80 crunches.  We ended the session with a lovely stretching sequence.

We were feeling good, so after class I did six more laps of walk/run and then shot hoops on the basketball court for about 15 minutes.  When I started shooting with the hubby, I couldn't make a basket from the foul line.  Now I shoot from there regularly. Years of playing H.O.R.S.E. on the court across from the house as kids finally paid off.

Well, that's my report for this week.  Hope everyone is have a great week and is motivated to get moving.  Take care and remember to listen to your body.  If it says "stop, I'm feeling bad", listen to it.

Have a great weekend!

Quick post

Just a quick post. Weigh in was today, dropped another pound. Total of 10 since we started the weight loss challenge on Feb 1st. Today we jumped rope, punched the bag, did a couple of laps and plenty of core work. Add that to the usual cardio that we start out with and it equals a great workout!

Getting ready to go get a pedicure as a little reward.

Hope everyone is having a great week.  I'll be back soon with more interesting bits and bobs.  Talk soon.

...and I'm paying someone to do this?

Yep, I'm actually paying someone to guide me (read, torture) through some of the hardest exercises I've ever done.  Today we did lateral squats, all the way around the track.  Oh, did I mention we had a flat rubber band on our legs at the time? 

Honestly, I'd say we did between 100 and 200 of these traveling squats.  Stretch and squat, stretch and squat. This was after our usual 15 minute warm up on the elliptical.  Then we went to the top of the stairs of the building, three flights with landing between each set of steps.  Had to "run"  the steps, then do exercises on the landings.  When we got to the bottom, then we had to go back up the stairs two at a time.  I have to admit I flaked out on several of the exercises, but I did alternate ones.  Instead of doing knee push ups on the concrete floor, I opted to do wall push ups, which are still pretty intense.  I was ok doing jumping jacks on that landing, but doing the burpees/squat thrusts was impossible, so I did more wall push ups.  On the way back up, I did take two of the flights two steps at a time, using the handrail.  One of the flights I just walked up.  I thought several times that I might upchuck, but I didn't.  You know what?  I'm glad I did this. Maybe it's because I took a green tea extract supplement, but I feel great and still very energetic.

Hubby and I went to Ruby Tuesday's and had a celebratory meal.  Finishing this workout was worth the extra calories that I intentionally consumed.  Not only was the celebration because we finished the workout, but for me it was because I lost another pound.

So that's nine pounds in four weeks and I've got ten more weeks to go.  I'm pumped.  I'll probably be sore tomorrow, but it's all part of the big picture.

Ummm, and how was your day??