The first part of my journey is coming to a close...

So, I'm almost finished working with my personal trainer.  I have two more workouts this week - legs tomorrow, upper body Thursday.  Then I have my fitness post-test on Monday the 29th.  I'm definitely looking forward to rocking it!

Today was a core workout.  I'm definitely going to be feeling this one tomorrow!!  He really kicked it up a notch on me, and we sort of mixed core stuff with some cardio.  In addition to some crazy long planks, sit-ups, and other stuff, we did oblique crunches, but, in a whole new (to me, anyway!) way.

Normally, if you hear oblique crunches, you think of this:

While I have done crunches like this before, it puts some strain on your neck, no matter how much you DON'T pull on your head.  I just don't feel like they do enough to work that area and I end up focusing less on working that area and more on how uncomfortable I am.

What we did today I can't even find a video for, but, my trainer did it in his core workout class.  So, I'm going to do my best to describe what to do...

First, find a good wall :)  Place your right hand on the wall, and stand an arm's length away (so you can lean sideways on the wall).  Lift your LEFT arm straight up, and bring your left leg straight out to the side (about 45 degrees I suppose).  Bend your left leg up at the knee, while bringing your left elbow down to meet your knee.  Make sure you SQUEEZE everything.  Do 10-15 reps and then switch sides! We did 15 reps each side, 3 sets.  I'll never lay on the floor to work my obliques ever again.

I'm also finding it SO EASY to stay primal with my eating since I've been working out.  I'm not craving sweets and bread like I used to.  Part of it is that I'm conscious of what I SHOULD be putting into my body in order to ensure that I'll have a good workout, and part of it is just that I crave meat and veggies instead.   

At first I was having some issues - I was not sleeping enough at night, and I was probably low on potassium.  One of my upper body workouts was a total mess because I was SO run down.  Honestly it was a little bit scary.  That day at work I'd just felt like I could collapse into a pile and it would feel SO GOOD.  I wasn't SLEEPY, but I was TIRED.  It was difficult to pinpoint what was going on, but it was really a combination of not sleeping enough and not getting enough of the right nutrients.  I was always making sure to eat protein-rich things after workouts, and I was drinking a lot of water, but, I wasn't doing enough of the other things to help my body.

Since that horrible day, I've worked really hard to sleep a lot, get lots of water, eat potassium-rich things, and eat protein-rich things too.  Since then my workouts have all been GREAT.

I'm really sad that my time with my trainer is coming to an end, but, I've learned SO MUCH about myself, and also a ton about working out.  SO MANY things to do!

My plan for the next chapter is to continue my workouts on my own (with a short hiatus to get the inside of my nose fixed so it's not so messed up!).  I REALLY want to join a CrossFit gym and drink the kool-aid, even though I really already have - my trainer has worked with me on some basics and I'm pretty much obsessed with watching last year's CrossFit Games, and I'm anxiously anticipating the 2013 games.  I'm not sure when I'll be able to actually go join up, but, I'll continue to work on basics on my own now that I have a good foundation as far as some of the weightlifting is concerned, so I don't hurt myself! 

A big goal of mine is to be able to do some bar work - pull-ups, toes-to-bar, etc.  I haven't even tried anything with the bar yet - we're going to shoot for that on Thursday.  I need to just hang from it and see if I can do ANYTHING else, lol.  So stay tuned for the story on that.

Other plans include getting good at box jumps and burpees.  I don't know if anyone is ever "GOOD" at burpees, but, I would like to be comfortable enough doing them that they're just torture, instead of agonizing torture! Seriously, burpees were part of the CrossFit Open workout 13.1 this year, and even those guys (one of whom - Scott Panchik - was dubbed the burpee king last year when he did 161 burpees in 7 minutes in the 12.1 Open workout) struggle with them after a while:

Watching this stuff just gets me all amped up though - at some point I HAVE to set foot into a CrossFit box and do it for real!

Workout 4 - Cardio & Core Work/Pilates

Today's workout was a little bit of a mishmash of cardio stuff and some additional core work and some Pilates stuff.

I did a nice 5 minute warm up on the treadmill, followed by just a few high knees, butt kicks, and walking lunges.

Then, I hit the treadmill again for about 20 minutes at a higher speed to get my heart rate into the optimal range for cardiovascular health (my range is 120-145 bpm).  At first just the speed wasn't doing it, but, after we added a bit of an incline, we got my heart rate up a little bit higher.

After that we did a little bit of core work again...

First I did Supermans again, but, I didn't hold them for long - I did repetitions instead.

Then I did some bridges.  It was kind of amusing - he told me "okay now I'm going to have you do some bridges..." and, having taken tumbling as a kid, to me, bridges means these:

THANKFULLY, that's totally NOT what he meant.  He meant these:

Which I can TOTALLY handle!  So I did a few sets of those.

Then he had me do what is called the Pilates Roll Up.  Here's a nice video that shows you how it goes:
http://youtu.be/I1pWz27ln-U

It's a little bit hard yet for me to get UP to the sitting position, so, I was doing that part a little bit faster than this lady in the video, but, it can only get better from here!

Tomorrow is more core work along with lower body stuff!

Workout 3 - Upper Body

I had my upper body workout on Monday, and I was SO tired after it that I didn't sit down and write a post about it.

Let me just start by saying that I LOVE upper body work.  While it can be tough of course, it's really gratifying.  Plus, everyone wants to have nicely toned arms and shoulders for summertime!  I have a wedding in June that I'd love to wear something sleeveless or strapless to - that's good motivation!

Monday we did a bunch of things:

Bicep curls - OUCH!  My biceps are by far my weakest upper body muscle group.  I pushed through, but man, it was tough.  By the time I was finished with those, my arms were burning pretty good!

Tricep extensions - I do these quite a bit at home, so, I wasn't hurting too bad after those.

Shoulder work - I did both external rotation and internal rotation.  After having done the bicep curls, my arms were a little bit weak, but I was able to get through these without too much of an issue...a little bit of muscle shakiness though.

Bent over row - I did this with a 35 lb. bar.  A bit of an awkward motion, but, it's really beneficial and it'd be nice if I could someday add some weight to that bar! Good exercise to eradicate that pesky back fat! ;)

Kettlebell swings!  I used a 10 lb. kettlebell for these and we did quite a few of them.  I enjoyed them because they also give you a little bit of a cardio component too.  I think that I could handle quite a bit more weight for these, but, seeing as how it was really my first time doing a lot of them, we started with the 10 lb. one.

Bent over tricep kick backs - I do these a lot at home too, but, by this point in the workout, my triceps were burning pretty good - felt like they were going to EXPLODE out of my arms!

Wall push-ups - I did a bunch of these and by the end, I was beat.  My right elbow clicks a little bit when I do things like push-ups.  Most of the time it's just a little bit annoying, but, doing so many irritated a tendon in my elbow, so it was a little bit inflamed on Tuesday.  Some ice helped calm it down.

The post-workout pain didn't rear it's ugly head until this morning (Wednesday).  I quite literally could not straighten my arms out all the way!  I would try and it was almost like I couldn't even force them to straighten.  I did a lot of stretching (and whining) all day today just trying to work out the tightness.  It's finally a little bit better, but I'm sure once I'm done typing this post, I'll have a hard time straightening them again for a while.  I felt like a poor little T-Rex!

Eating better

Since I got back to working out, I've really tightened up on what I'm eating as well.  Most important for my digestive system is being GRAIN-FREE!

Being grain-free comes with a decent set of challenges.  Everywhere you turn, there's something made with flour, etc.  It's tough!

I eat a lot of steamed veggies, meat, and cheese.  Since I'm allergic to nuts, I can't eat those as snacks, so, I end up eating thinly sliced meats and cheeses as snacks.  I also make my own ground beef jerky in my dehydrator.

When I NEED something sweet, I grab some Dove dark chocolate.  Most primal and paleo folks will tell you to get something even darker, but, I have found that I don't tolerate it very well.  A couple little Dove promises and I'm satisfied.

My newest thing to do is make smoothies (I keep hoping that the weather will warm up a bit!).  My favorite smoothie is made with frozen blueberries, pomegranate seeds, and coconut milk.  Just blend in the blender or if you have a Magic Bullet, that's what I use.  Strawberry + coconut milk isn't bad, but it takes a lot of strawberries to get it to a taste that I enjoy.

Here's my smoothie from earlier:

Even my cats wanted to smell it!

Workout 2 - Cardio!

I'm still pretty darn sore from my core and lower body workout on Tuesday.  But, I met my trainer this morning for a cardio workout.  We incorporated a lot of stretching too for my sore quads, so, that was helpful.

We did a lot of work on the track today - a nice walking warm up for starters.

Then I had to do some high knees...can't believe how much that hurt today!  I felt it in my quads, and I REALLY felt it in my lower abs...holy moly!

Did some walking and had to kick my own butt (literally) for a while.

Then we got into some walking lunges, and some grapevine work.  I remember having to do grapevines as fast as I could for softball practice.  I used to be really good at it and now I feel like some weird un-coordinated beast.  I'm sure that'll get better as time goes on.  Our focus today was to actually do them a little bit slowly to get some good stretching for my legs and hips.

Finished off the workout with a ride on the recumbent bike at about 17mph.  I usually ride 20mph when I ride at home, but, my leg muscles just didn't want to cooperate enough today. 17 was all I could eek out, but I made it!

After that I took another decently paced walk around the track for a while, and then cooled down, and did some more stretching.

Next week and moving forward from there, we'll meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Mondays will be upper body days, Wednesdays will be cardio days, and Thursdays will be core/lower body work days.

I have to say I'm REALLY excited for the upper body workouts, and continuing to work on my core and lower body.  Even though I'm sore, I feel AWESOME.  Of course as you all know, cardio is my least favorite activity, so I hope that I'll learn to enjoy it as much as I enjoy the things that focus on upper and lower body.

I'm also getting more comfortable with the facilities available to me at school, so I can continue to work out there even after my personal trainer finishes this capstone course and graduates in May.  That can only be a plus.  I still want to go work out at the Football House though ;)

Warmer weather HAS to be around the corner - I just ordered new harnesses for my little guys so we can take some nice long walks once it gets warmer!

Workout 1 - Core and Lower Body

This afternoon was my first full-fledged workout with my trainer.

We did a 5 minute walking warmup, some stretching, and then we got down to it. 

He had me do a variety of core and lower body exercises (I alternated between two different exercises for each set, and I can't remember the exact order we did things in, so the pairings aren't accurate here):

Lunges. 4x10 reps.  We worked on proper form for these.  My right knee tried to give me a little bit of trouble, but I was able to get through everything and I'm feeling fine now.

Side lunges. 4x10 reps.  Nothing big here, felt pretty good actually!

Squats.  4x10 reps. We spent today emphasizing proper form for these as well.  I'm pretty darn good at them if I do say so myself ;)

Planks. 4x30 seconds.  I thought I might die after the first one, but, surprisingly, the later planks got easier as my muscles warmed up a bit.

Leg lifts. 4x10 reps. Nothing exciting to say about those, lol.  Lay on your side, lift and lower your top leg.

Resistance band stuff. 4x10 reps.  I am terrible at knowing what exercises are called *blush*.  I had a resistance band around my lower leg and had to move my left leg toward my right and stretch the band, then switch the leg with the band.

Medicine ball lifts. 4x10 reps.  We used a 4 lb. medicine ball for this.  I had to lay on my back and hold the medicine ball between my feet and lift my legs.  I think if any one thing is going to contribute to me being sore tomorrow, it will be this, without a doubt.

Supermans! 4x30 seconds.  I was able to handle them, with obvious fatigue.  I didn't get up off the ground as well as this lady, but, for my first try under supervision I am pleased that I didn't die ;)

Then we did some stretches to cool down a little bit.

Tomorrow evening, upper body.  Thursday morning, cardio.  I am DREADING Thursday.  Cardio is by far my worst area.  I just keep telling myself that I have to go and get through that workout, and then my reward is to watch basketball (March Madness!) when I get home :)

Steamed veggies and chicken for dinner; I'm feeling pretty good about today!

Derailed :(

So...I got sick again.  Everyone in my office has been sick.  One guy had strep throat, two have had a general cold, and one has bronchitis, a sinus infection, AND an ear infection.  I landed somewhere in the middle, with a runny nose, stuffy head, hacky cough, and sore throat.  

I've stayed home from work for the past three days and I'm so BORED.  Thankfully I seem to have turned the corner today, and provided I can stay fever-free overnight, I'll be returning to the office tomorrow.

Of course I got sick right when I was supposed to start my training.  I have an email in to my trainer right now, so we'll start our training sessions either this weekend or this coming Tuesday.

I am itching to get back to work and to get to work on our training goals too!

Day 1: Fitness Test

So, today was my initial fitness assessment with my personal trainer.  Here's what we had to do:

First, we did the embarrassing stuff...weight, measurements, and yes, the calipers came out.  I know that many say that BMI is a completely inaccurate way of measuring things, but, it IS used, and, I'm in the OBESE category as a result.  It's not something that I didn't already know at least.  I mean, I'm doing this for a reason - to get UN-obese :)

Then, on to the physical tests.

First, pushups!  I had to do as many as I could in a row.  I was able to eek out 20.  At 18 I was struggling, but I pushed through to get to 20.

Next - cardio test.  He had a 12" high step aerobics step.  He also had a metronome that ticked at 96 beats per minute.  I had to keep that rhythm as I stepped up and down.  The test was for 3 minutes, or until I couldn't go anymore.  I'm proud to say that I did it for the full three minutes! That works out to 288 steps.

Next up - sit and reach, best out of three tries.  I reached 25 inches, which I thought was pretty darn good considering I have a bit of a gut that gets in my way, lol.

Then, situps.  Had to just do them until I fatigued.  I did 32!

Next was a balance test.  This was for time or until I lost balance, with a max time of 45 seconds.  I had to stand normally and focus on a spot on the white board for 45 seconds.  Then, I had to stand on one foot while focusing on the spot, and I did that for 45 seconds as well (thank you MHS marching band training - I could have stayed on one foot for a few more minutes!).  But then I had to do it with my eyes closed.  Two feet, no problem, went the whole 45 seconds.  But then I had to do one foot with my eyes closed - I only made it 14 seconds!  It's amazing how visual I am.  I am very easily disoriented - I get car sick, air sick, etc...if I am moving but I can't see and focus on the movement, I get disoriented.

Some stretching after that and we were done.  He'll analyze all of my measurements and results, etc. and we'll meet Monday afternoon to discuss the results and make some plans and goals.

I'm pretty happy with how I did today.  Even with a cold I was able to push though on the cardio test.  Certainly there's room for improvement, but, I still feel this was a strong start and a good jumping off point to some good workouts to come!

When your body betrays you

I managed to hurt my back late last week.  It's my lower back, pretty sure it's just strained muscles, but, they're NOT getting better.  My knee (my problem knee) has started to hurt too.  I have held off on visiting the chiropractor because my muscles were so tight, I just didn't figure she'd be able to do much.  I never found time to call her today, and she's closed tomorrow, so, I have to wait until at least Wednesday.  I REALLY hope I'll be feeling better.  I've put off a bunch of things around the house because I'm just achy and in pain.  It's starting to pile up, which is affecting my morale too :(

I have been using ice, heat, massage, BioFreeze, Icy Hot, ibuprofen, Robaxin, you name it I've tried it.  It's SO frustrating when your body won't cooperate - I'm SO jazzed to be starting the personal training thing, I don't want to be injured!

So, I guess for now, just lots of rest.  BORING!

A new NEW chapter

So, as many of you know, I work at a University.  Our Kinesiology department is taking volunteers to work with their senior students who are going to be personal trainers.  I signed up as a volunteer and I found out today that I was drawn (there were 65 volunteers and only 30 slots to fill)!

So, I'll be working out with a personal trainer at least three times a week for an hour each time.  I think this might just be the push I need to get myself moving and motivated :)  I'm VERY excited!

I'll post about my workouts here once I get started! :)

Planning ahead

Planning meals ahead of time is generally a good idea. That being said, I'm REALLY bad about actually doing it.

I intended to cook something on Sunday, but, with the Super Bowl, that just didn't happen. So, I'm eating things out of my freezer. They should probably be eaten anyway, before I make more things to go in there.

I've developed a bad morning coffee/hot chocolate habit though, so I picked up some things to use in smoothies tonight, and I made some egg muffins to eat in the mornings so I'm less tempted to buy an actual gluten-laden muffin.

This should hold me over til the weekend so I can cook some more stuff :)

Laziness is a killer

One of my biggest issues with eating is a failure to plan ahead. Yesterday I should've cooked something up to eat throughout the week, but, I didn't, because nothing sounded good. I can always eat a salad at work, so I at least have that to fall back on.

Just one of the things I need to work on.

I DID, however, ride 5 miles on my exercise bike yesterday. My legs were BURNING from being out of the groove, but hopefully I'll get back to being consistent and that'll help with my endurance.

Resurrection

I've really let the blog fall by the wayside, it's been a VERY long time since I posted anything.  If any of you out there in cyberland are still paying attention, I am going to work to be more consistent with my postings.

Since I last posted, life has of course been up and down, as has my commitment to eating cleanly and exercising. 

I am back at it again.  I have been riding my exercise bike, I started at 5 miles per day and have gone as far as 10 miles a day.  I was sidelined by a nasty cold that messed with my breathing and I spent a few days in bed about a week or so ago.  I can finally breathe again and now with the weather changes my knee is aggravating me again.  I hope that'll go away with continued careful diligence.

I've been working hard at work and that will continue - I do a decent amount of physical labor by moving computer equipment around, along with walking all over campus going to help people.  Over the summer I was taking close to 11,000 steps a day just at work alone. 

In addition to making sure I ride my exercise bike, I do some weight lifting along with using my Total Gym (woo Chuck Norris!) and situps and push ups.  It's my goal to be able to do more push ups and really strengthen my upper body. 

I'd like to start swimming for exercise, but I feel that I need to do some decent conditioning before I take that leap (also need to lose a little bit of weight so I can find a suit that I like that will fit!).  We'll see what the future brings :)