Summer Goals

☐Run at least 3 times a week (heat permitting)

☐Splits on both legs

☐Pigeon Pose every day

☐Single shoulder stretches every day

☐2 consecutive pull ups

☐4-pack abs 🙂

☐Handstands without the wall

☐Cut out added sugar entirely

 

Day 75 & the Dietary Week from Hell

Oh my… This week has been a dietary nightmare. This was our last week of school (heavens open, angels sing) and with that comes a plethora of baked treats and excuses to eat out. The idea of packing a lunch for the 176-180th time had zero interest for me, and my rebellion led to some tasty, very much non-vegetarian outings this week. While most of the cookies/brownies/etc found their way into the hands of others or the I-Can’t-Eat-Another-Cookie receptacle, I am reaping the consequences in this sluggish state in which I find myself. I was super good this week and did every workout on the specified day! What a novel idea! 🙂

Wednesday I rocked the Challenge. Last time I did it, my numbers were completely unrealistic choices. This week I was far more conservative, and it paid off as I was able to do do every push up and every pull using correct form, unlike last time in which I ended up on my knees. 😦 After the Challenge, I went out with my dude on one of our “ironic” dates… Those are a whole other story. 🙂

Thursday, I came home and went all out on my X3 Yoga. I pushed every move to the limit, and the result is a sore butt. 🙂 Woohoo! After feeling like a badass, I went out for a friend’s birthday dinner and had the most delicious martini.

Today was Triometrics. Perhaps not my best performance.  I got home late last night, plus the last day of school is always an energy drain. I took a quick power nap and then made my way through the workout with a few more pauses than usual. I will, however, give myself props for doing a couple of the moves plyo for the first time! Yes, I’m on Day 75, and there are still moves in which I having “firsts” in terms of success of completion. I was going to double up and do a second workout today to balance out some of the calorie excess of the week, but as I drank my protein shake outside, it was just so darn pleasant! I instead opted to mow to avoid wasting my first weekend of the summer on yard maintenance. 🙂

All of that being said, it IS the last day of school, and that in and of itself warranted a tasty beverage, this time a Lime Cactus Michelob Ultra – only 90 calories of awesomeness. 😀

GOAL FOR TOMORROW: Stop eating like a moron.

Block 3, Week 2 DONE!

It has been exceptionally hard these last two weeks to find the time to sit down with my laptop for anything not work related. School lets out for the summer this Friday, so I’ll have time for ME again! 🙂

I’ve been good about keeping up with my workouts despite my inability to blog about them. Block 3 seems completely random. I know it’s all about muscle confusion, but I do enjoy the regular schedule of the previous 2 blocks.

• MONDAY – DECELERATOR – I really like this one. I enjoy that it’s a total body workout, plus I want every opportunity to try the crane cracker push ups again. 🙂 BTW… I couldn’t do them this week either! Monday was Memorial Day, and I spent the bulk of my time with John. I didn’t even start this workout until almost 9:00pm which was dumb. I could only truly give about 75% effort.
• TUESDAY – MMX – I did NOT enjoy this workout this week. Perhaps it was the humidity, perhaps it’s the end of school year pressure pushing down on me (sing that last part like Queen), but every sprawl move was torture. I did them all, but I didn’t like it.
• WEDNESDAY – Spring Concert – My band gave their final concert of the year, and there was no exercise save the ridiculous waving of my baton. 🙂
• THURSDAY – I doubled up in a strange way. Thursday should have been Triometrics, but I didn’t want to miss Eccentric Upper so I combine that with Pilates. EU+P=sore biceps&hip flexors
• FRIDAY – MY BIRTHDAY!!! – Friday I turned 32, and my dude did a spectacular job of making me feel very loved. We went out for dinner that night, and I didn’t even consider P90X3.
• SATURDAY – ECCENTRIC LOWER – One of my goals in this program is butt transformation. 🙂 This week I used 15lb dumbbells for the weighted squats and lunges, and boy do I feel it today!
• SUNDAY – I probably should have gone back and down Triometrics today so that in the end I can say I have only skipped yoga that once, but instead I spent 3 hours mowing, weed-eating, mulching, digging, sweating… I feel like I probably burned just as many calories in that 3 hours as I would have doing Triometrics, plus my yard looks livable again!

I have 3 weeks left!!! EXCITING! My weight is actually up a couple of pounds, but I’m going to assume that some of that is muscle mass. I’m proud of the hard work I’ve done, and while my before and after pictures are not going to be crazy huge changes since I wasn’t super out of shape, I can feel the difference in strength, endurance, and confidence in how I look. Heck, I mowed in a bikini top today! 😉

BLOCK 2 DONE!

Block 2 is DONE!

Well… almost. This last week, my Week 8 Transition Week, I actually did flat out skip 2 workouts… I skipped my Thursday Pilates and Saturday Yoga. 😦 Two of my favorites! Thursday I went to an elementary musical with extended family, and Saturday we took my band to Schlitterbahn. I feel slightly guilty that I missed those two, and I genuinely planned to do both today, but shockingly CVX left my lower body extremely sore.

Which brings me to my next thought: the P90X family of systems is bizarro… In Block One I did CVX every week with no problem, but after 3 weeks of other workouts CVX kicked the crud out of my glutes and thighs! I know that the whole premise of the P90X effectiveness is based on muscle confusion, but this was a shock to me. Neat. 🙂

I decided to truly rest today. I’m still totally worn out from Schlitterbahn, and my lower body is still sore. I am GREALY looking forward to starting Block Three tomorrow! The third month is a seemingly random organization of workouts which I like. It’ll keep my on my toes and out of boredom as I head down the home stretch.

Despite my day of rest, I did take some time this morning to do my Block 2 after pictures. Here ya go for your silly, egregious enjoyment. 🙂

You can definitely see a difference in my arms(!), but you can’t really see the change in my abs and legs in these pictures. When I have my final before and after pictures I’ll be sure to take pictures that do all the hard work justice!

Briny Disaster… X-P

Well, that was a disaster.

I was very excited for a round two of my delicious Sesame Shrimp and Garlicy Quinoa! I stood at the fish counter this afternoon considering a small piece of sockeye salmon but instead was tempted by the gastromemory of my quinoa concoction from a few weeks ago.

I have a strong feeling that I double salted the quinoa…

But the green beans were quite tasty!

End of Week 6!

This past week has been exceptionally busy. I’m greatly looking forward to the calm that come with the end of today.

MONDAY – ECCENTRIC UPPER

I’m at a point that I really probably need heavier weights. I really need 10lb weights for all the bicep moves, but I’m also a cheapskate. I have these bands that I bought to help with pull ups and chin ups, so I decided to use them this week in place of my 8lb dumbbells. It’s just not the same. You lose the tension at the bottom of all the curls. I may have to break down and get the heavier weights despite my attempt to not spend any more money.

I wasn’t as sore this week from Eccentric Upper. This could be a good thing, but I’m also the kind of person that wants the soreness to know I’ve done something.

TUESDAY – TRIOMETRICS

I had a band director’s meeting after school and didn’t get home until nearly 7:30. Despite wanting nothing to do with a workout, I did Triometrics and was wildly uninterested in it almost the whole time. I thought that as I got into it, I might become a little more motivated, but it’s hard to want to sweat after a 12 hour day. I got through it, and that’s all I can say about Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY – NOTHING…

Between an eye appointment and dinner with our new 3rd band director, I didn’t get home until after 10pm. Working out was not an option.

THURSDAY – ECCENTRIC LOWER

This is another workout that I really need the heavier weights. I’m thinking I’m not pushing hard enough through this particular routine as it doesn’t leave me sore or nearly as tired as some of the others. Again, some of the moves in this are weighted, and I’m past the point of my 8lb weights providing enough resistance. Last summer I was going to the gym and doing weighted squats and lunges with a minimum of 40lbs. I need a better option so that I can achieve similar results.

Thursday night I had CPW rehearsal. After working out, I had sushi with John and then spent the rest of the evening rehearsing.

FRIDAY – INCINERATOR & PILATES

I was feeling a strange wave of energy Friday afternoon, and Incinerator went great. I NEED HEAVIER WEIGHTS… Some of the moves like the Rocket Launcher Rows literally felt like I was doing nothing because my 8lb weights are providing virtually no resistance. That’s a cool realization to have, but that’s $20 more I need to spend… I commented later that I didn’t feel totally exhausted, which unfortunately is the whole point of Incinerator, so I either need to change my speed of reps to get more in, or I’ve got to get more resistance to make that happen.

After Incinerator, I did the Pilates workout… So fun! 🙂

John and I went to a saxophone concert Friday night.

SATURDAY – MMX

Saturday was solo and ensemble contest day. I was at work by 7:30am and didn’t get home til almost 3.

I joked with John that I need to call this “I hate f’ing sprawls”. I hate them. MMX makes me sweat more than any other workout in the set, but the sprawls are mentally tiresome. It is a lot of fun, though I like that the P90X Kenpo has more kicking. My left hip was CRAZY sore from some move in Pilates…

Saturday night John took me out to Gloria’s where we had our second date as a sort of anniversary celebration. ❤

SUNDAY – MUCH NEEDED REST

My body is tired… Between about the super busy week, not sleeping wonderfully, and still committing to P90X3, I’m worn down. My left hip is super duper sore today. My underbutt is a touch sore from MMX. And I noticed this morning I have a little catch in my right hip… some kick I did yesterday must have irritated a spot that has given me trouble on and off for a few years now. 😦

I say much needed rest… I had a CPW concert this afternoon, and this evening we spent a few hours at friend’s house for a birthday/Spurs celebration. The weekend was gone before it started. I’m ridiculously in need of down time. Hopefully, this much calmer week can give me some time to sit!

I’m proud of myself as I have approached the half way mark! Tomorrow starts week 7 of 12. Week 6 was rough… Honestly, it would have been incredibly easy to let my work schedule dictate no workouts this week, and it was definitely a hard to get mentally ready to burn my last ounce of energy at the end of each day. Heck, this one blog has my whole week… I WILL PERSEVERE!

I will…

…and sweat in the process.

P90X3 – The Incinerator!

I always seem to forget how busy this time of year is with my job. Luckily, in another week the chaos will slow  W A Y down. Thank goodness.

The last workout I blogged was my failed attempt at an Eccentric Lower + Pilates double day. Despite the fact that I am ridiculously behind on the blogging turf, I haven’t missed a workout. Instead of compiling all the days into one log blog, I’d like to address the 2 brand new workouts separately.

DAY 33 – Incinerator

My Friday was absolutely bonkers with interviews, a percussion concert, and then dinner with my dude. A workout was just not in my cards. I had to rearrange my days this week but that was okay. I actually NEEDED that day off earlier in the week; I woke up with a very strained tendon in my upper hamstring Friday morning… not pulled but definitely not normal. One of the moves from Eccentric Lower really aggravated the tendon in my underbutt 🙂 but the day of rest that I shifted to Friday allowed it to relax – that and sitting with a tennis ball under that exact spot!

Incinerator is a burn out exercise. Each muscle group is approached from a weighted or body weight move and a max reps move. By the end of the duo, that muscle should be exhausted.

• Renegade Row – Hold plank with a dumbbell under each hand. Alternate which dumbbell you pull up into your arm pit.
• Pull Ups
• Floor Flys – Lying on your back, hold two dumbbells up to the ceiling. Keeping the elbows slightly bent, open your arms until triceps hit the ground
• Push Ups
• Rocket Launcher Row – In a deep lunge with chest over the thigh, pull weights up into arm pits.
• Chin Ups
• “A” Press – Lying on your back, hold two dumbbells together up to ceiling. Bend the elbows until they touch the ground at your side then push them up and back together.
• Military Push Ups
• Monkey Pump – Holding two light weights, elbows bent 90 even with shoulders, bring the weights together in front of you, open them back up, press up to ceiling, return to 90 degrees, then rotate the arms so that the elbows stay in the same place but the weights are now toward the ground. Return to upward position. That is one rep. THIS WAS EXHAUSTING ALL BY ITSELF!!!
• Pike Press – With hands on power stands, get into a tight downward dog and then lower head toward the ground in an almost vertical push up. These are a challenge, and so I love them.
• Pterodactyl Flys – In a deep lunge with chest over thigh, lift straight arms out the side.
• Flipper – AKA Dolphin Push Ups – In a forearm plank, push up into dolphin pose then lower back to forearm plank. I’ve recently discovered that I have really terrible flexibility in the back of my shoulders which makes dolphin a very difficult pose for me to do well. I’ve added some stretches that address the muscles of my shoulder blades to my everyday routine.
• Popeye Hammer Curls  – Just plain ole hammer curls
• Kneeler Curls – In a knee down lunge, lean over thigh and curl weights up to shoulders.
• Hail to the Chief – Lying on your back, hold weights straight up to the ceiling with palms facing in. Lower one weight straight down toward ground (and face). Switch arms.
• Skyfers – Sitting on the floor, push up into table then bend elbows while keeping  your hips high. Like a reverse push up almost.
• Arm and Hammer – Curl up then hammer down.
• Rocket Launcher Kickbacks – In a deep lunge with torso leaving over thigh, pull elbows up behind you and then straight them back keeping elbows high. This completely wore my triceps out to the point of cramping. 🙂 

Incinerator was quite good. Obviously, it’s an arm heavy workout, but I enjoy those. I was still a bit sore from Eccentric Upper from 4 days prior(!), but this was thoroughly enjoyable and did incinerate any energy that was left in my little arms! 🙂

 

 

 

The End of Week 3: I hate Warrior…

Man. I spoke to soon.

Yesterday I said that Week 3 had felt great, and today The Warrior was horrible. From the first second it was hard, uncomfortably sweaty thanks to this humidity, and no cell in my body was interested in any form of sprawl on the floor.

THE WARRIOR

• Plank Sphinx Push Ups – Eh. 
• Speed Skater – Eh.
• Down Dog Crunches – Eh.
• Side Lunge Jump Shot – Hated. My inner thighs are still tired from CVX on Friday.
• Elevator Push Ups – Hated. My wrists are angry today.
• Double Uppercut, Sprawls – Hated.
• Roller Boat – Eh.
• One Leg Jump Squats – Eh, but then again, I modify this one because of my ankles and do the squat and then calf raise up.
• Thumbs-Up Push Ups – Hated. I have no balance today.
• Elbow, Over the Top Elbow, Sprawl – Hated. Wrists hurt.
• Fifer Scissor Twist – This one was fine. I like ab work.
• Warrior Squat Lunges – Eh.
• Super Burpee – Hated. Mostly because of my wrists.
• Think Drills – Hated. I was dripping by this point.
• Abrinome – Fine. More ab work. And I got to lie down.
• Spiderman Squats – Strangely, eh. 

Today was really the first day that I strongly disliked “pressing play”. I woke up feeling tired even though I slept great last night. We had a slightly heavy breakfast. Lots of errands were run before I decided to workout. I’m not sure what exactly factored in to me not enjoying today’s prescribed exercise, but honestly if my dude hadn’t been there working out with me, I very likely would have “brought it” in the most pansy of ways. That’s not true; I don’t believe in breaking a commitment, and when I spent $150 on P90X3 I made a commitment to myself (through my wallet) that I would invest in myself intensely for the next 90 days. I don’t back down from commitments, and I’m not going to pansy out just because my brain is less wrapped around today’s sweat fest than it was the day before.

Suck it up and sweat.

Tonight’s dinner (no joke):

•    *Taco Cabana’s bean and cheese nachos
•    *more roasted okra

And now I have a reason to sweat tomorrow… 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is why I like P90X3…

Today was the perfect example of why I love P90X3 and why I think, for the fellow Busy Bee, this is a program that should genuinely be considered. I left school a little after 5pm today. It was beautiful! After feeding my doglets I decided that I should take advantage of the sun, the comfortable temperature, how relatively early it still was, and mow the backyard. So at 5:30 I pulled my electric mower to the back to tame the grass. Our recent rains mixed with cool temperatures have allowed the flora to explode, which meant mowing didn’t go quickly. By 6:30 I was done. I admired my work then moseyed inside to change into my workout gear. 20 minutes of yoga and a few head and forearm stands later, I popped in Agility X. By 7:30pm I was having my green smoothie, doglets in lap, scrolling through Facebook. After taking care of life, it still wasn’t ridiculous to pep-talk myself into working out. The sheer fact that it’s only ever 30 minutes makes it mentally easier, and at least for me the mental aspect is more daunting than the act of a workout. Let me assure you, I am WIPED. 30 minutes was plenty and went incredibly quickly. AGILITY X

• Explode and Hold – I actually completed most leaps without a foot tap this time! 🙂
• Y Lunges
• Joel Jump Squats
• Toe Tap Skater
• Near and Farrs – This week I tried to make the high intensity version more about distance and less about speed, which made it more tiring! …. probably means I was doing it right!
• Ring around the Posey
• Scissor Kick Jumps – Today after a couple of passes and the return of my ankle burn, I made an executive decision: this move is not healthy for me. From here on, I will do the scissor kicks in place, without traversing the space, allowing my legs to continue getting the benefit of the explosive lifts but bypassing the horrible strain it puts on my inner left ankle.
• 8 Sprint 3
• Plyo V Lunge – I should just rename this ‘Skipping V Lunge’
• High Step Shuffle
• Gump Jump Push-Ups
• Tap That Line
• Jump Knee Jump
• Triangle Lunges
• Squat Jump Lunge
• 3.4 Run
• Long Jump Sprint – Perhaps I should train for the Olympics…
• Plyo Line Push Ups – Still regular push ups in place of these. I did 20.

Mowing. Yoga. Agility X.

I’m pooped.

POOPED!