workout

Journey 9 – The Pain

Yoooooooooooooooo! My fucking ass hurts! Glute max, glute min, glute meeds (I know that’s not how it’s spelled, sheesh). All of it! Let me throw in some sore quads and hammies and yeah, like don’t touch me from my bellybutton to my knees.

Ok, so Tuesday and I’m already out of things to talk about for this week. Let me give you the journey lowdown then I’m gonna just use this space to flesh out next month’s program cuz y’all aint’ reading this anyway.

It’s kinda crazy to think that I’m now 9 days into this Shakeology journey. It already seems like I’ve been doing it forever and it’s always been a part of my life. Now that I have finally determined how to make it palatable for my picky ass, it’s game on. I’m still excited to try the pea protein one instead of the whey. I’ve tried several fruits including strawberries, blackberries, banana and mango, but the clear winner so far has been peach with crystallized ginger, cinnamon, and honey. I saw a good one with banana and turmeric that I still need to try too.

The craving for the actual shake I think only lasted a day. I wasn’t feeling that again today. Energy levels are still high, borderline too high. I know that I need to get a good 7 hours a night to keep everything running smoothly and yet my body is trying to cut at least 30 minutes off of that time. The usual wakeup time is 5:30. Bedtime is 10. And when I say bedtime, I mean I am putting my head on the pillow at 10. I’m in bed by 9:45. It better be pretty important if you think I’m staying up past that. Recently, I’ve been having trouble staying asleep until 5:30. Today, 5 am bright and early. Yay. Now, I need to start making better use of that time since I’m up. I currently spend that time on the shitter looking at Facebook or busting blocks. I’m a fucking mess. Once again, I need to remove game apps from my phone. I should have been meditating or learning Spanish. Ok, there’s always tomorrow. Unless I die. And like Smokey said, if I get dealt with, I get dealt with.

Mood is holding steady and I poop. I’m not yet sure that anything has changed in my world at nearly one third of the way through the challenge. I missed weigh-in today after our walk around the block turned into a swim. Rained so damn hard I stripped outta my clothes outside my front door. It was also raining so hard that someone driving down the street wouldn’t have even been able to see me. Hopefully my shoes dry soon.

While they dry, I’ll think about dancing. Definitely a boot camp but I’m not sure what sounds less scary: 4 weeks, 1 month, or 30 days. I know it’s all the same for the most part, but I’m trying to work out the psychology that makes people feel like they can accomplish it. I already know they can, it’s just a matter of getting them to believe they can. Getting that name right is step one. 4 Week Dance Off Pants (Size) Off is the lead idea. I’ve even got a theme song! Dance Off by Macklemore. I mean, Idris says he challenged us.

I’ve gotta put some rules together. Maybe even a prize. Amazon gift card? That really allows for so much to get done. I guess I’ll figure it out. Sign up and participate every day (which isn’t even all 30 days, only 28 days) and be entered to win the gift card. Yeah. That should be enough for rules.

Now, how do I get the word vomit down so it isn’t projectile but more like I threw up in my mouth a little bit. LOL, that’s so nasty. I know. But sign up for free (CC required) and if you ain’t loving it, bye! No harm, no foul. You got two weeks of dancing. But if you wanna hang around and do the program a couple more times, you can do that too. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

This feels like progress. It’ll really feel like it when I get this little group off the ground. Soooooo….who’s ready for the DOPSO?

The Journey: Day 2

Heeeeeey there! Welcome back. When we last left our heroine, she was setting about her day of doing IT stuff and stuff. As we’ve returned today, she’s doing the same thing! Imagine that. It isn’t always interesting, but it pays the bills and the people are nicer than Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers put together.

Let’s jump right into it. Today’s workout is done. Truthfully, something has to be really wrong where I don’t work out. Like an extreme amount of physical pain. I will work out through headaches and cramps and usually feel much better after in both cases, so a little bit of pain doesn’t stop the train. It wasn’t as sweaty as yesterday, but I know I still put in work. This is a whole new concept in working out, for me, anyway. It’s the way I wish I had always known or been taught to work out. Functional fitness is just everything that I need.

One of the things (a pair of things) that I am using to determine how my flexibility, strength, and mobility are changing is squats. The other is side lunges. Neither of these things is a strong point for me, however, I am certainly seeing some progress. Where I never could before, I can now sit all the way down in malasana AND I can stand back up without having to tip forward and use my arms. My squats have been shit for a long time, but I’m finally getting to a point of getting parallel to the floor without issue. Baby steps, ya know? Those side lunges? Hated them. Still do, but now a little less. Glute meds are opening up and I’ve gotta be breaking up some scar tissue around my hip.

I know you’ve been dying to hear about today’s shake. Well, wait no longer! It was, dare I say, tasty? First off, even though the instructions say use 8 to 12 ounces of water/milk, I didn’t do that yesterday. Then my shake was thick and gross and so whey forward that I scooped it like melted ice cream (but it wasn’t quite that satisfying). Today, I wised up and actually followed the instructions and whaddya know, not too bad. Now, truly, can you ever go wrong with the combination of peaches and crystallized ginger? I think not. Calling the shake a win today. The right amount of liquid plus fruit plus spice equals a tasty drink.

As I mentioned yesterday, mood and cravings are on the tracker. Again, not feeling really any different as far as mood. I have thought of something to be consciously aware of as far as mood goes, though, so I’ll keep an eye on that. No, I’m not telling you here because you don’t need to know every damn thing about my life. I mean, seriously. But seriously seriously, there are like 4 people reading this, so I could tell you where I buried all the bodies and no one would be the wiser.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NOT HIDDEN ANY BODIES ANYWHERE!! OMG

While the shake is supposed to curb cravings, last night I wanted something sweet from out of nowhere. We didn’t have anything so I didn’t eat anything, but I thought that was something of note. It wasn’t a level 10 get me cake or die craving, more like a level 2 passing thought of some cake would be nice. I can handle that.

ENERGIA!! (That is only funny if we worked together in Ixtapa…boobies boobies) Yup, plenty of energy. Possibly too much. It wasn’t the best night of sleep, but I’m going to go ahead and blame that on the storms that rolled in and stuck around a while. Somewhere in the middle of the night, there was thunder so loud it woke both of us up. Now, to wake Lovey up doesn’t take much, but I sleep through everything. Not that thunder. I wake up with plenty of energy and the levels stay high throughout the day unless I smoke my face off. Then I’ll be a little tired before 9, lol. But I’ll also be uber-relaxed. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have us smoking weed on the couch. (Legally. If you’re so uptight. I have a medical card for my state.)

What’s left? Everyone’s favorite topic! Poop! I’m such a good pooper. That’s what I thought until this morning when I went to the well and the well didn’t produce much. Huh. Oh well. HAHA. Sometimes it just takes a workout to get things moving and move they did so again I’ll check the box for regularity. Smooth.

Legit other things happen in my life and maybe one day I’ll get back to writing about those too. Who knows. But until tomorrow, drink your water, say your prayers, know your role and SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Jabroni.

Fresh For Monday

 

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

These are the things we must remember when it’s Monday and we just want to stay in bed for a little bit longer…or the whole day. When we don’t want to go to work, but bills don’t stop coming in. When we just don’t want to…the show must go on.

I’m not even sure how this happened, but it is already almost the end of 2015. I’m not ready! Summer just snuck by without me getting out to the range to smack some golf balls around. (Although we did get one of these to start doing more winter swing work in the basement.) And now, before anyone even knew it, it’s time to start waxing boards and looking for thermals.

How can I jump ahead like this? Well, it isn’t hard with Park City, Keystone, and Breckenridge all talking about getting ready to make snow and get the mountain ready for our impending visit(s). The weather is finally starting to turn and it’s in the 60s – it’s been way above normal until now – and it smells like fall outside. Plus, Halloween is right around the corner, which means Thanksgiving isn’t far behind. And if Thanksgiving isn’t far behind, you know that retailers will start putting up Christmas stuff in another couple of weeks. Yikes.

The end of summer/beginning of winter (see how I skip right over fall?) also brings about my birthday. In seven weeks and two days, I will have spent a whopping 42 years on this big ole ball of dirt. While I don’t currently have plans for the big day, especially since it’s in the middle of the week, I decided yesterday that I would take the next eight weeks and see what I could do with my body in terms of strength and flexibility in that time period.

I’m not totally off the deep end. Since I already have a base level of strength and flexibility, it shouldn’t be too terrible what I’m about to do. I just need to get it done and get it done right. First up is to start treating my body better from the inside out. I have been horribly neglecting my water intake and my body is hating me for it. You know I’m not totally right upstairs and I would know I’m not drinking enough water and want to see how far I could go. Yeah, I’m a nut. But I know better and am promising myself, at the very least, these next eight weeks of proper hydration. So hopefully no little nagging headaches along the way.

Just water won’t do it though. I need food. And lots of it. Back to having snacks and properly fueling myself so I don’t crash and burn when trying to work out. Snacks and protein shakes, welcome back into my life! Fortunately, sleep has always been a part of my life. And I find it to be very important so no changes there. Exercise, however, is getting a facelift.

After 7 weeks of Cize with Shaun T, I’m moving to something that basically targets the lower body since I’ll be needing a lot of that for the upcoming snowboarding season. So, like a lunatic, I put together a little morning regiment. I’ll start off with whichever day it is for the T25/PiYo hybrid calendar – today it was sculpt, which wasn’t as horrific as the first time I tried it. Follow that up with some gymnastics foundations work, then some stretching. By this time, I usually have to head upstairs for a bathroom break. This morning, getting back down the stairs was almost an incident. Legs tried to give out on me a little bit. But, Bambi legs and all, I made it back downstairs to finish up the morning work of an aerial yoga flow. That’s what I’ve got. 6 days a week for the next 8 weeks. 1 down, 47 to go. Will I stick with it? Only time will tell. All I can say is that I will try.

And with that, boys and girls, I think I shall call this a post. May the week ahead be filled with fun and happiness, and if not, at least may it not be filled with stress and hardships. Until the next post, I’m outta here!

 

Back To The Grind

Because of COURSE this is appropriate Monday morning music! The majority of us are getting up and getting our grind on in one way or another. This could become the official song of Monday morning…in my world.

Back on that grind means back to working out and stretching. After Saturday’s shoulderplant, I knew that some exercises were gonna suck, but I wasn’t sure which ones. Pullups/chinups were ok. Pushups were ok with only mild discomfort. Yes, everything was going along fine until it was time for weighted flys. That’s where shit got real. Real uncomfortable. I think that, until I figure out what I hurt or it heals itself, I’ll stick to doing those flys with no weights.

This shoulder is also putting a slight damper on my 28-day handstand challenge. Luckily, the way the program is set up, I think I have another day or two before it should actually start if I do it on their schedule rather than my own. Their program has a second portion which may be something I should just skip ahead to, but the arm strength struggles this morning say otherwise. I swear I’ve thrown myself backwards at least a month. Ah well, keep on truckin’.

In the land of win, I’m still experimenting with my mini loaf pans. Last night was caramel pecan banana bread. I think I overbaked it just a touch as I’d like it to be more moist, but flavor-wise, I’m pretty much on point. Texture-wise, I think I’m more around muffin than bread, but live and learn. I don’t bake enough to truly get better at it, but I also don’t bake enough to truly feel (and see) what happens when I eat too many baked goods. So there’s that. Also in the land of win, after a slight stretching hiatus, I was back at it this morning and was further down in my split than I have possibly ever been. My body just loves those lazy days and rewards me for them in better flexibility while it punishes me for them with decreased strength. Can’t win them all and I think that right now, I’m going to opt for flexy over strong. Or flexy over added strong.

Well, as per the norm, so much to do, so little time. Hit the showers, kid! Now go out there and conquer the world!

Beams of Light

That’s what I see this morning.  I have a great big sunshine tapestry (thanks, J!) hanging in my window and the sun is coming in behind it.  Love it.

It’s a short one today because there is much to be done.  Work, work, and more work…which I love, and then teaching my first class tonight.  Somewhere between work and going to class, I really ought to paint my fingers and toes but we’ll see.

Cardio X showed me that I’m not in the horrible cardiovascular shape that I thought I was since I run out of breath if I try to walk and talk at the same time.  Room for improvement?  Always.  But hey, I won’t be too tough on myself since it’s day 2.

Also, lottery gods?  Couldya please?  Doesn’t have to be multi-millions.  $100K would be great right about now.  That would allow for several things that would allow for several things.  Yes, sometimes I talk in circles, but I know what I mean.

I’d love to stay and chat but I still have to go eat half a grapefruit before my breakfast is complete.  Go make your day a positive one!

PS.  I’m about to start reading “Women Who Run With the Wolves”.  Have you read it?  Did you like it?

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