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! 😉

End of Week 7

I always find that I’m somehow shocked by just how busy the end of the school year is. My afternoons and evenings seem crowded with and endless array of small things but things that eat away at my precious “free time”. These last two weeks I’ve found it impossible to blog… or want to… about my quest for a 4 pack 🙂 even thought I’ve done a good job of staying committed.

Monday – I managed to blog about my evening of Eccentric Upper.

Tuesday – Heck, I even managed to blog about Triometrics and my attempts at following the nutrition guide.

…and then the rest of the week kicked in…

Wednesday – I cranked out my yoga and then went on a lovely (needed) date with my dude. Yoga went really well actually… not that it usually doesn’t. I decided before I even started though that I was going to go hardcore. I held each posture as deeply as possible, and my little legs were exhausted by the end of my half hour.

Thursday – Eccentric lower followed by a birthday dinner for one of our band director friends. I have some dumbbells with removable weights that I bought about a billion years ago, and I finally decided to use them. John has used them, but I’ve focused on my 5s and 8s up until now. I made them 15lbs each and used those for the squats and lunges. It definitely made a difference as my butt and hamstrings were nice and sore the next day. I also got my new glasses. Yay for good vision or something, but hooray for new fancy frames!!!

Friday – I really enjoy Incinerator. Since getting better at push ups (read do them the right way), I like the challenge of having a set timeframe to do as many as possible. That being said, I need to either do more reps or suck it up and get the heavier weights because I feel like any workout called “the incinerator” should leave my arms incapable of virtually anything afterward. It’s still great!

Saturday – My only workout was mowing. I did have some delicious tequila based wonderment at Tacos and Tequila for an early Mother’s Day with my parents and dude.

Sunday – John did a round of MMX with me Sunday afternoon. It never fails to amaze me just how much I can sweat during MMX, especially since I’m not a big sweater. Despite hating the sprawls and renaming all of the sprawl moves to “Sprawls Suck #1”, “I hate F’ing Sprawls #2”, and “Sprawls are a g** d*** piece of s*** #3”, I did ALL of the sprawls this go round. 🙂 🙂 🙂

On a completely different note, following the nutrition guide is not easy or convenient. While I know I do a good job of eating well and eating balanced 95% of the time, following a nutrition guide that really expects you to eat WHOLE foods is difficult for the busy bee I am. Admittedly… I didn’t even make it a week before deciding that as long as I watch what I put into my body I don’t need the nutrition guide. It’s probably WILDLY helpful for folks that aren’t sure how to regulate their intake but is far more micromanaging that I feel I need to commit.

Tonight for dinner

• roasted sweet potato spears, no oil, just cinnamon
• roasted okra, 1 drizzle of oil for 20 pieces, salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 1 Quorn “unit” as my dude would say, AKA a Quorn chick’n patty with Stubbs BBQ sauce

Triometrics + My 2 Weeks of the Nutrition Guide

Today’s Triometrics was much better than last weeks. Out of my three weeks of Block 2, this has been my best round of Triometrics, which I guess is kinda the point… 🙂 I have a feeling that at the end of this week I’ll once again feel like I finally got the hang of the workouts only to to go into transition week that uses none of them.

I am crazy sore from Eccentric Upper yesterday!!! Those sore muscles are tightening up as the day progresses, especially the muscles from pull ups.

Honestly, I’ve been hoping Block 2 was going to do something magical to my butt… I am starting to think that is not going to be the case, but maybe my after pictures will show something else.

As I have previously mentioned, P90X3 comes with a nutrition guide which I have for the most part ignored. Out of sheer curiosity I’ve decided to try to follow it for 2 weeks.

First, you’re given a set of basic questions to answer:

My total came to 2 which puts me on Plan B.

 

The numbers on the chart correspond to the number of servings of each that I should eat. In the book they say that as long as you get the right number, it doesn’t truly matter when these servings happen. That being said, this distribution in designed to keep you feeling energized throughout the day.

BREAKFAST:

• Quaker Protein Oatmeal Cranberry Almond – 1 carb
• Coffee with creamer
• Dannon Light & Fit Greek Pineapple Yogurt – 1 protein

LUNCH:

• Quinoa – 1 carb
• Shrimp & Tofu – 1 protein
• Sesame Oil – 1 fat
• Everyday Salad with Flax Seed – 2 carbs + 1 fat

SNACK:

• Orowheat 100% Whole Wheat English Muffin – 2 carbs
• Muscle Milk 100 Calorie Vanilla Creme Protein Shake – 1 protein

POST-WORKOUT SHAKE

• Spinach, cherries, Jay Robb protein powder, almond milk, PB2, cinnamon, ginger – 1.5 carb + 1 protein + 1 fat

DINNER

• Bulgur/Red Quinoa mix – 1 carb
• Black Beans – 1/2 carb
• Red Bell Pepper – 1/2 carb

TOTALS

• 9.5 carbs – 12 needed
• 4 proteins – 6 needed
• 3 fats – 6 needed

By the power of math, I need 50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fat.

 

After logging everything that I have eaten through dinner, this is where I am currently. I’m pretty darn close to what the Nutrition Guide wants me to eat in terms of percentages. The serving numbers aren’t quite right, but I think I trust the MyFitnessPal tracker as it is factoring everything from some of the processed food that was in today’s consumption. For example, I wasn’t totally sure how to count my Quaker oatmeal since it is a protein blend that includes whey protein. I still have about 100 calories left for the day, and that will probably go toward a tasty snack. 🙂

 

 

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.

Day 30 – Triometrics: the Ass Burner

I realize I’m only 2 days into Block 2, but I am loving these workouts! Both Eccentric Upper and Triometrics have left my body exhausted and sore, that’s always a great sign!

I’m still wildly sore from Eccentric Upper. My lats, shoulders, and back hurt… in the best possible way! Luckily, I have a massage tonight! I had completely forgotten about it until I received my reminder email yesterday, and it couldn’t come at a better time. 🙂

TRIOMETRICS

This is a muscle burner. The “trio” part comes from each move having 3 different intensities within the time given: 20 seconds for “low” intensity, 20 for medium, and 20 for hardcore. Most of the moves I did all three levels, but there were a couple that continued the medium for 40 seconds instead – mostly some of the plyo moves.

• Calf Raise Squats – Squat then reach over head on tip toes. Level 1 – reach for ground, 2 – touch the ground, 3 – fists on the ground
• The Duper Skater – One leg deep squat with free leg reaching behind you. Level 1 – reach, 2 – kick in front, 3 – kick + touch floor with hand
• Frog Jumps – Wide leg squat with a hop at the top. Level 1 – fingertips in prayer, 2 – fists to floor then to sky, 3 – palms to floor with tuck jump
• Warrior 3 Squats – Squat while in warrior 3. Level 1 – arms to the back, 2 – airplane, 3 – arms reaching forward
• Speed Skater – Just like in block one. Level 1 – 1 hop, 2 – 2 hops, 3 – 3 hops
• Superman Lunge – Alternate lunge with torso kept leaning forward. Level 1 – step between lunges, 2 – skip, 3 – plyo
• Sumo Kick – Wide leg squat reaching to ground, then at the top alternate legs with a snap kick. Level 1 – fingers to ground, 2 – fists to ground, 3 – palms to ground.
• Run Stance Squats – This is kind of like the Spiderman move of block one, alternating which foot is in front. Level one – step between alternating legs, 2 – step and touch the floor, 3 – plyo
• Iso Squat – One leg squats. Level 1 – opposite foot behind you, 2 – ankle touching ankle, 3 – opposite foot in front.
• Slater Squat – A lot like a burpee Level 1 -step back up, 2 – jump down and back up, 3 – jump up and tuck jump.
• Duper 2 – One leg squat with opposite leg out to the side. Level 1 – leg out then knee up, 2 – leg out and touch the ground, 3 – leg out and straight the whole time and touch the ground
• Jack Squats – Wide squat then hop to chair staying low. Level 1 – reach to ground in squat, 2 – tap the floor, 3 – tap and then X jump instead of chair
• Hell’s Chair – Chair with right leg up, then left leg, then normal chair
• Kablam – Right leg lunge, squat, left leg lunge. Level 1 – step between moves with hands in prayer, 2 – arm up and skip, arms swinging plyo

Seriously, triometrics made my butt BURN!!! Hardcore burn! I was tired and sweaty immediately! I’m a little disappointed because I’m not sore yet, and it’s 1:30pm… I was truly anticipating lower body hurt, but maybe it’s not designed to bring soreness as I still have Eccentric Lower later this week.

Block 2 makes me feel like a bad@ss!!!