Run Forrest, Run!

I think I almost ran my legs off this morning. I did 20 or so minutes on the treadmill before Ashley came and got me (oh yeah, Ashley is baaaacccckkk!!) and I was already running and I went to stop it and she told me to keep going 'cause that's what she has me doing today. I kind of wished I hadn't done the treadmill beforehand. She had me doing a circuit where I ran for 2 minutes at speed 4.5. At first she had me on 6 and I was looking at her like she was a crazy person. I would have been like Road Runner on that speed. Then we did lat pulls using a band, then 2 minutes of running, then biceps with band, 2 minutes of running, lat presses with band, 2 minutes of running and continued that until our time was up. I was pooped, but somehow mustered to do 10 minutes worth of abs afterwards. I am still walking slowly from it. Whew!

I am on this organic fruit/soy milk/frozen yogurt smoothie kick. It's freakin' delicious! I stopped drinking milk a long time ago because of all the health problems it causes, but I still need milk to have some of my favorite foods. I finally ventured to the organic soy world and it's not so bad. I am going to try and keep nothing but organic fruits and veggies in my diet.

And I'm also reconfiguring my diet. I'm going to start with a smoothie and then eat my protein after my workout. I just get too hungry after working out and am sick of having to eat a blueberry bar every hour. It gets annoying!! So we'll see how this goes.

It's good to be back!!

Kick Baby, Kick!

Boy, I'm telling you. I hadn't done kick-boxing in two weeks and I surely felt it this morning. I was tired 10 minutes into the class, but I stayed strong and fought through until the end. She had us do a ton of kicks today and a lot of push-ups. Oh and of course, after my plankalicious workout yesterday, she made us do one-minute of planks. I cheated and was on my knees half way through it. My arms are tired people! Don't judge me! ;)

After class, I went into the gym and did some more ab work. I've been getting back into Pilates. I was trying to do Pilates once a week, but I just got busy with everything else that I lost touch with it. For the past two weeks, I've been incorporating it into my ab work and it feels good. I forget sometimes how much it works your core and how stronger you get from that type of exercise. I don't have time to do a complete Pilates workout with everything else, but I'm definitely going to make sure I do Pilates ab work at least twice a week. I think it's important.

Ok kids, I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to make it to a 6am spinning class! Wish me luck!! 'Cause I need it! :)

Holy Planks Batman!!

Shirley and I were just talking about planks yesterday, how strange that my workout would be centered around planks this morning. I do have to say that spinning class has inspired me. I did 20 minutes on the up-right bike this morning, a machine I tend to avoid because of the ass-hurtin' issues. I had my heartrate up over 170 for a big portion of it, it felt good!

So, Ash had me do a ciruit of shoulder/plank exercises today. It involved shoulder presses with 12 pounders, L-raises with 10 pounders and elbow lifts with 12 pounders. I think I am ready to go to 15 pounds though. In between arm exercises, I had to do one minute planks on the bose ball. Not just normal planks, but side planks! Side planks! One minute each side!! Holy moly mother of Moses! It was insane, I thought my arm was going to fall off.

It was a great workout. I won't get to work with Ash again for 2 and half weeks, this makes me so sad. I will miss her while she's on vacation. Woe is me. But I will make her proud while she's gone! Tomorrow is kick-boxing and Friday is spinning class. Wahoo!

I Can't Walk!!

I am sooooooooo sore. Soooooo sore, I can barely get up. I did my first spinning class on Saturday and it was for an entire hour! I can't believe that my first spinning class was for A FULL HOUR!! I got through it just fine though, I was so proud. The only thing that really made it uncomfortable was the seat. Why do they have to make them so hard? I don't understand. You don't have to feel like your ass is being burnt off to get a good workout in people. I just don't get it.

I am still so touched that Ashley kept her schedule clean to see me through the class. She knew I needed her there for her support and it just meant so much to me. She even told me today how proud she was of me and how impressed she was with my enthusiasm throughout the class. Ahhhh, tear.

But seriously, I think she's trying to kill me. She had me do the stairclimber for four 2-minute intervals with squats holding a 40 pound bar and butt clinches with the same bar. I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow. It should be entertaining no matter what. Right now, I'm avoiding stairs at all costs!

But as they say: no pain, no gain. And amen, do I believe it!! So between running like a madwoman on the treadmill this morning to doing the stairclimber, which used to kill me, it was a very successful day. I see my endurance improving quite marvelously.

Push hard, stay strong and remember that your mind will go out on you before your body.

Just Keep Swimming

Man, I have had a rough time with exhaustion lately. My alarm went off at the right time this morning, but I fell back asleep and didn't wake up until 6:45am! I totally panicked! I didn't want to miss my training session and ended up shooting out of bed, packing like a mad woman, shoving a piece of cheese down my throat and running out the door. And I still didn't get into the gym until 7:40. Ashley is such a sweetheart, she re-scheduled for me instead of charging me, which is really what she's supposed to do. She is just the greatest.

I chatted with her for 20 minutes and then headed upstairs for my workout. I debated whether or not to do a full workout and just come into work late. I really don't have a time I have to be into work, but we have a team meeting every Monday at 9am. I decided to just skip the meeting and do a full workout.

But I am soooo glad I did. It was just one of those choices you have to make. I chose my health over work and for me, that's where my priorities lie. My health comes first. Period. I had a wonderful workout. Ashley would have been proud! I did 30 minutes of cardio and then did some back and tricep exercises. I used such heavy weights, I barely made my reps, but it felt so good. After that, I did some chest and bicep work with 12 pound dumbells and then some push-ups and abs on the decline bench. Ashley hasn't been pushing me on my abs lately so I'm taking it into my own hands!! The decline bench is still a challenge for me, but it is such a great exercise.

I ended up feeling just wonderful when I was finished and was glad I chose to do a full workout. Tomorrow I will do kick-boxing. I need to prepare for my first spinning class on Saturday. Ok, I'm still a little scared, but I made a committment to Ashley and will stick to it!!

I Had the Time of My Life...

...and I owe it all to youuuuuuu....

I have had the most wonderful week of my life! I can't even say how truly blessed I am for all of my friends and family. I couldn't be happier. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with me.

Dairy Aire

I started this week off with a bang. Last week was not good for me. I let my emotions get the best of me and ended up only working out twice. Not only that, but while away at the ocean this weekend, I allowed myself to eat anything. Yes, it was the best burger I've had in years probably, yes, it was the best hot fundge sundae I've had in a really long time, but did I have to go to the complete extreme of things? My stomach was seriously unhappy with me. I did ok last night and took Mitch to Quizno's for dinner. It felt good to have something decent in my stomach. This week is going to be much different.

My personal trainer opened up to me this morning and it really meant a lot to me. I really take pride in being someone that people feel comfortable speaking to. But I do know there are times when I open my mouth about things I shouldn't to others. I did that to Debbie last week and I wasn't proud of myself for doing so and really did an injustice to her. I've been working hard lately at not gossiping, but sometimes I fail. It's a really hard habit to break.

But from my conversations with Ashley this morning, I really reinstated how proud of myself I should be for standing up for who I am and what I want out of life. I struggled this weekend with the whole 'last boy' incident, but I truly feel I made the right decision. Maybe it was so hard to let it go because I liked him and I haven't felt that connection with anyone in a long time. But I saw the warning signs and I established that I wanted and deserved better than what he was offering me. I've come a long way since Chuck. And as much as I hate saying that name, I learned valuable life lessons from that situation.

It was kind of a rough weekend, but I see nothing but amazing things coming my way. Lonliness has really creeked my way recently. But I know that if I stay strong, I will get everything I want. I bought myself Pike Place flowers this morning. And tonight I will take to myself. It's going to be a good week. :)