Tough week

This week has solidified my opinion that I should not plan off days or vacations into my workout schedule, because they plan themselves. I've been letting everything get in the way of my workouts this week. I feel really bad about it too, especially since I did such a good job at sticking with my training last week, and because I want to be in tip-top shape to train with you guys next week!

Monday - rowed for 1 hour
Tuesday - no workout - gone all day on a little field trip with DH and his coworkers
Wednesday - rowed for 2.5 hours
Thursday - slow count workout - 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down for pushups, 90 degree chins, and cable presses; and then two sets of 60 situps.

I intended to do a training session Monday, but I was gone for most of the day and got home really late. Tuesday, I went with DH and his coworkers to a swimming hole for their annual lab outing (see pics below) and then dinner to celebrate with a post-doc who got a job and is moving away. The place where we were was absolutely beautiful. Wednesday, I got home pretty late from rowing and running errands, and tried to get stuff done before DH got home. Time got away from me, and I didn't train. Today, I trained, but I had been cleaning all morning, and then Chad called and wanted to know if we wanted to hang out, so due to limited time, it was a quicker workout than I had intended. I think it was sufficient though.

So here's some pictures of that place that we went picnicing and swimming. Swimming was pretty interesting. There were turtles in there with us, and someone saw a tarantula on the wall, next to the waterfall...fun...

Let's see

Saturday: did FIT+ yoga on Sat. FIT was line drills, which were a good aerobic workout.

Sunday: went to Minneapolis to see the BodyWorld exhibit at their science museum. Its an exhibit of real human cadavers in various artistic poses. Also lots of organ pathology. Very cool experience, highly recommended.

Monday: 15/15 of 1)Pushups, 2)Body Rows, 3)front squats and 4)Swings. I did strength level, I'm pushing to make my workouts a bit more aerobic than purely strength-gaining.

Tues: FIT was a timed drop down (40 sec-30-20-10) of 5 exercises: 1)sprint, 2)snowboarder, 3)skater, 4)sitout, 5)up/down, two times through. K-Smash, this is an excellent little workout that requires no equipment (except a clock). Then I did the Cap City trail, as it was a fantastic day outside and I had the afternoon off.

Wed: Card Deck of 1)hindus, 2)chins, 3)jump lunges and 4)C-band extensions. The extensions felt like too much of a shoulder workout, so I dropped down to having the band around my neck. Much better!

In food news, I'm sticking with the daily smoothie (frozen fruit + kale + yogurt + banana +/- flax seed). I'm also eating a salad daily. However, yesterday had frozen pizza for dinner (boo me). But overall, energy is ok. When I get my loan check, then I can actually shop for fresh fruit and veggies! Can't wait.

Can't Keep Up!

Hey Ladies!

Whew, I have had an incredibly busy week. I decided to turn my phone off and set aside my pile of work for a few minutes so that I can post!

I didn't work out last Wednesday or Thursday. I did work out with BBG on Friday and it was awesome, as usual. We had a free for all workout, but I can't remember exactly how many sets we did. I started with the fireman's rope pull with 246.4 lbs of kettlebells, and then did clean, squat, and throw with a 60lb ball. I think we repeated that twice. I also did a set of Renegade rows with the 20k's and a set of 1 arm punches with both handles of the green cable. Then we added another 20k to the rope to equal 290.4 lbs and did 30 yards in one set. We did one more set of clean, squat, and throw and called it a day.

I took my dog for a nice long walk to the dog park on Saturday. On Sunday, I went for another great bike ride in Spring Green with three friends. Ah, it was so beautiful. I will post some pics this week. It was only 26 miles, but was so hilly that it felt like 40 :)

My Mom arrived here yesterday and will be visiting for a week. I was really excited to see her, but couldn't imagine not going to the gym, so I left work early and just did a quick workout on my own. I did 1 arm cleans with the 28k and 1 arm snatches with the 12k's. Then I did 10 pwr wheel knees to elbows and a PW crawl followed by some touch downs and sit-up and reach. I am really focusing on strengthening my core. Its weakness is holding me back in a lot of areas.

Nutrition has been pretty good. I have always struggled with cravings and probably always will, but have been acknowledging them without giving in to them.

Be Strong!

Whew! Wore myself out!

This morning I went to the track and ran sprints. When I got there, I found out that there was a freshmen football game, so I had limited time on the track...which ended up being a good thing. I ran a quick half-mile to warm up, and then ran 10 or 11 (I lost track a little) 100 m sprints with very little recovery time in between.

Then I went home, ate some breakfast, and headed to the rowing club. I went out on the water for about an hour today - maybe a little under an hour. It was super sunny and hot, and the water was really crowded! There were tons of people out there rowing, kayaking, and canoeing. I went further than I've rowed before...still working on technique a lot, but it was a good workout too. I probably would've stayed out longer, but my left leg started hurting.

Then I went home and completely passed out for a while. While I was sleeping, DH was practicing Qigong in the living room. He said I woke up and looked at him, but I have no memory of that. Anyway, when I finally was able to wake myself up, we ate some lunch, and then headed back down to the rowing club so that I could take DH out on the water. We went out on a double kayak. It was super hard to steer with both of us paddling, but we eventually got the hang of it. We saw a lot of turtles, some swans, all kinds of different ducks, some grebes, and something that we thought was an eagle. Normally when I go out in the morning I also see snowy egrets, blue heron, and today, for the first time, a white pelican. There were a lot of people with their dogs out in the water, and one friendly black lab swam right up to our kayak. He was so cute. The water felt really cool and refreshing, so I had to jump in a wade around for a little bit in one of the shallow areas.

I had planned to do a circuit today, because I was too tired to do it yesterday, but I wore myself out. I think I am done for the day. Yesterday, I went for a fast 2 to 2.5 mile run before my rowing lesson, and then I got out on the water for about an hour and fifteen minutes. That afternoon, I was out in the intense heat (got up to 105 again) cleaning the car, and after that, I was too drained to do anything else. I think tomorrow I am going to go for a short row and that's it. Then I'll start with the strength training again on Monday.

I hope you ladies are having a wonderful weekend!

five by five

Today I did my favorite 5X5:
one arm pushup
one arm chin
pistol
one leg deadlift

Then I did 3x20 knees to elbows, hanging. Felt good.

Yesterday was 3 or 4 miles run w/my brother (who has that skinny runner's body, no fair!) It was a toughie. But the ankle felt good, and I will run again this weekend.

I can't wait for Karen's return to Madison ladies! We may try to schedule a "Ladies Only, Balls Out" workout for Thursday Sept 7. :)

More fun on the water

So yesterday was my first rowing lesson, and this morning I had my second lesson. After my lesson yesterday, I spent 20 minutes on the Concept 2 rowing machine, and another 15 minutes on the dock trainer, trying to teach my body to do the movements without so much thinking. Yesterday, I also did 30 clean>squat>press with 50lbs, and two sets of 60 situps. During yesterday's rowing lesson, I was pretty awkward and had to keep thinking about what I was doing. Today I was much, much better, and after watching a video about rowing safety and rowing accidents, I actually spent two hours on the water! I love it! I mean, I really LOVE it!!!! Why haven't I ever tried this before????? So after two hours on the water today, I took a half-hour break, ate an energy bar (Nature's Path Rebound - pretty yummy) and then went for a 4 mile run. All this in the morning! What a great way to start the day!

So I had been planning to run sprints this morning, but when I got to the track, there was a very, very large herd of very, very fast running men on the track, and I didn't want any part of that scene! So I walked across the street to the boathouse to see if I could start my lesson early, which I did. I may either try to do sprints tomorrow morning, before my third lesson, or I'll do them sometime this weekend.

Nutrition is decent...I think. This morning I has a glass of OJ and a Luna bar before heading out. Then during a break in my rowing, I had a nectarine...and before running a Rebound bar. I don't usually eat that many bars, but I was in a rush this morning, and the Rebound bar was portable. After running I had an apple and a turkey sandwich on Ezekial break with tomato, avocado, and spinach. Tonight we're going to have this super yummy stir fry - the East Indian one with tofu, green beans, mushrooms, onions, and lots and lots of spices. Its SOOOOOO good! I'll have to post the recipe later...

Well, ladies have a GREAT afternoon! Be strong!

Thursday!

Hey! Yesterday's workout was the 100 yards: walking swings with the 32K and lateral wall walks (I didn't hit 100 yards, but did good form for at least 60). Learned that if I keep my breathing even and steady on the wall walks, my face won't get purple. Good to know... I think I could use the 40 K, but I'm still feeling like I need to hold off on really pushing myself hard just yet. Today is a day off. I'm getting a massage (90 minutes) and eating healthy. My feet/ankles are still twingy so holding off on running is still a good idea. I'm on vacation next week, so I won't post much, but I will be working out hard!!!

Fried...in more ways than one...

Holy cats! I am TIRED.

I went kayaking for an hour and a half this morning, and then I ran about 4 miles this evening. I am wiped out... When I was out on the water, it was breezy and beautiful. I kept splashing water on myself, and it was so nice and cool. When I went running tonight, it was about 98 degrees...not so cool. In fact, I started getting a little worried because I didn't think I was sweating as much as I should have been, and I started feeling a little head-achy. I finished OK though, and DH and I got some dinner right away - some yummy Japanese food!

When I went kayaking, I put on my spiffy SPF 30 sunblock...I pretty much don't leave the house without it...except, for some airheaded reason, I only put in on my face and arms and totally forgot my legs. Yeah....

Nutrition has been pretty good so far this week, unlike last weekend. I have felt good lately, but noticed that my weight seemed to be creeping up a bit, so I cut back on the grains, and increased raw veggies again. I sliced up a cucumber and squeezed fresh lemon juice on it - simple, but amazingly delicious. I made an awesome kale-raspberry smoothie this morning. Tonight DH and I split a teriyaki beef-veggie bowl with brown rice, sashimi tuna, and seaweed salad...that was sooooo good! Tomorrow I am going to make an east Indian green bean tofu curry sort of thing.

Well, I better shower up and hit the hay - I have a rowing lesson at 7:00 a.m.!!!!

Back at it!!

Hey!! Yesterday's BP workout was great (thank you guns n burpee girl!). I think with a little further tweaking on my form I can move up to the 24ks for cleans and 20ks for presses. I didn't tackle it yesterday because I just wanted a good workout that would give me a sense of accomplishment, especially after the last two weeks. Taught the 6:30 and 7:30 classes this morning. Jump rope and stationary exercises---30 on 30 off for 12 minutes then repeat. Had time left in both classes so added on 5 minutes of suicide runs. HEY cooldown. Yesterday I had spinach salad with tuna fish for lunch. Had pasta for dinner, not ideal, but I'm feeling o.k. about it. I'll be heading back to the gym at the end of the day for class at 5:00. Brought my shoes so I'm hoping that my feet will be o.k. If they flare up, I'll just forget the jumping and only do actions that don't put too much pressure on the balls of my feet. Be strong!

BP for Monday

I had a great workout yesterday. The theme was 40's and we did cleans, presses, and windmills.

I was struggling to clean the 12k's and couldn't figure out why and then iheartburpees told me to put a slight swing at the bottom. Wow. I went right up to the 16's and am close to being able to use the 20k's. It always amazes me at how much a tiny change in form can make such a difference. I tried to do the presses with the 16k's and got in a couple with horrible form. I need to strengthen my core and am having issues with my dysplasia ridden left shoulder, damn it! I may need to stick with cable presses where it is easier for me to push straight up instead of back. I was quite amused by the windmills as it was the first time I have ever been able to do them. I didn't have that range of motion before surgery and havent been strong enough since, until now that is :)

Diet was pretty good. One of my coworkers brought in tomatoes from his garden. They were so sweet and juicy, YUM. I also ate more salsa and beans with some chips; a garden veggie wrap with lettuce, tomatoe, sprouts, and avocado; and apple and a plum; I had eggplant, pattypan squash, potatoes, carrots, and onions left over from my CSA share, so I stir fried it all with some tamari, lemon juice, natural peanut butter and hot sesame oil. It is an interesting combo, but tastes good. I had a weak moment yesterday afternoon when I went in the break room to get more tomatoes and someone had brought in donuts. I didnt grab one, but instead went back to my desk. Then the image of the donut would not go away. I sat here for two hours and fought the urge and then finally I couldnt take it anymore and I ate the donut... and it was damn good :)

Be Strong!

15/15 Workout

I did a 15/15 workout today. I did each exercise for 6 minutes (except pushups and situps - I went for 6.5 minutes)

1. Lunges (holding two 23 lb dumbbells...wish I had 16kg KBs for that...)
2. Pushups
3. Deadlifts (managed to get 80 lbs in that little canvas military bag)
4. 90 degree assisted chins
5. Situps

Lunges were fine. 46lbs was OK, but I could probably go a little heavier. I started out at 8 pushups per set and at the end was doing 6 per set. Deadlifts were uncomfortable - the bag really cut into my hands, and I wished that it didn't hang as low as it does so that I had room to flex a little further forward. Chins were fine. Situps were tough - I did 14 per set at the beginning and 13 per set by the end. Keeping that pace up was tough. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't hitting 15 per set. I never did situps in a 15/15 before...I liked it. I'll do that more often.

In other exciting news, I joined a rowing club today. My first sculling lesson is Wednesday morning. I can't wait! I got a six month membership that includes some lessons, clinics, and unlimited sculling and kayaking. They also have teams (of all levels) - they were really encouraging about me getting on a team, so I think after I am rowing for a couple weeks or months, I might try that. I'm going to take DH out on the water in a kayak this weekend too!

Now what?

Hey! Going to head out for the 5:00 workout soon. Had a relaxing weekend, very bad diet, but feeling better than I did last week. Took an easy 25 mile bike-ride on Sunday. Loving the weather. Salad for lunch, probably salad again for dinner. Thanks for all the encourage ment! My goal today was to spend 30 seconds meditating on all the space there is in my life/spirit/mind/soul for my weaknesses and cravings. They didn't seem so overwhelming then. I should add my allergies are flaring up, in spite of all the meds I'm taking for them. I think that is probably affecting my energy more than I realize. Play hard!!

Now what?

Hey! Going to head out for the 5:00 workout soon. Had a relaxing weekend, very bad diet, but feeling better than I did last week. Took an easy 25 mile bike-ride on Sunday. Loving the weather. Salad for lunch, probably salad again for dinner. Thanks for all the encourage ment! My goal today was to spend 30 seconds meditating on all the space there is in my life/spirit/mind/soul for my weaknesses and cravings. They didn't seem so overwhelming then. I should add my allergies are flaring up, in spite of all the meds I'm taking for them. I think that is probably affecting my energy more than I realize. Play hard!!

Its a beautiful day . . .

and I'm inside working :( . I will, however, run outside later today.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to Governor Dodge with Robyn, Nancy, Jen and Tom from MBG. We hiked 3 separate trails, totalling about 11 miles. It was a good mix of trails, hilly wooded ones and flatter open ones. We want to plan an outing for the Monkey Bar in a coming weekend, to run/hike and cook out at GD.

Then, I did the Power 60 workout. It was great:
3x100m sprint, 20 MB throwbacks, 5 chins, 10 downdog pushups (feet on box), 10 box jumps, REST

5x100m sprint, 40 MB throwbacks, 10 chins, 20 downdog pushups (feet on box), 20 box jumps, REST

250f/250b with jump rope, 2x up stairs with PW, 20 chins, 25 plyo pushups (jump from MB to ground), 50 squat jumps, REST

It wiped me out but today I feel rested and ready to take on another workout! Today is HEY and a 2-mile ditzel of a run, to try to restart my mini-running program. Nothing gets me in shape like running. So, even though I hate running, I do it.

Food, bleh. I did have a spinach salad for lunch, and a banana/peach/kale smoothie for breakfast. So, off to a good start for today. We'll see how that turns out; I'm always craving something bad for me.

What a beautiful day for a ride

I went for a 30 mile ride today with my friend L. The weather was fabulous with a nice breeze, low humidity and not a cloud in the sky. It was the first time we did the route and wont be the last :)

This week, my CSA share came with all of the supplies to make homemade salsa. I used three different kinds of tomatoes, 3 jalapenos, a small red onion, 3 shallots, a whole clove of garlic and cilantro. I love that all of the ingredients came from my friends farm and they are organic and full of love. We made the salsa and then took tofu, black beans, and vegetarian taco mix and put it all on corn tortillas. Yummy! I still had three huge tomatoes left so I sliced them and let them marinate in fresh basil and balsalmic vinegar. I also received an entire bag of fruit on Friday. It was a gift from my boss for staying so late to finish the power point. It was a nice payoff for missing my bike ride.

Friday's workout was fun. It was 5 reps slow, followed immediately by 5 reps normal up, slow on negative, followed by 5 normal repeat twice. I worked out with BBG, which was fun and motivating :) The exercises were chins, presses, deadlifts, and foot up lunges.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Early morning run

Ran 4.2 miles this morning...no intervals, just a medium hard steady pace.

Now I need to plan my training schedule for the rest of the week....

Workout with Crossfit Central Group

What a beautiful, refreshing day! A high of only 97!!!

So today, DH and I went to a free Crossfit community workout. Its the third one we've done since moving down here. I like working out with the Crossfit group - they're a really friendly and encouraging group of people. I still miss the MBG...a lot... :(

We started the workout with their usual warmup: 3 sets of 3 exercises...squats, pushups, and side-to-side twists while in a quarter-squat. Then some shoulder rotations - not circles, but holding onto something like a broomstick, keeping elbows straight, and sweeping the stick from the front of the body, overhead, to the back of the body several times. We did a clean break-down; so first, the shoulder shrug holding a med ball. (I grabbed a 20 lb med ball, because that's the heaviest they have there, and anything lighter for cleans is ridiculous.) Then after the shoulder shrugs it was shoulder shrug with bringing your elbows out. Then we held the med ball overhead and dropped down into a squat several times. Then we did the whole clean. I think after that we did line drills...not nearly as extensive as the line drills at the MBG. We did two lengths of high knees, two lengths of butt kickers, two lengths of punter kicks, and two lengths of walking lunges with a torso twist.

After that we did a 20 second on/10 second off circuit through four stations: overhead squats holding a PVC pipe; med ball cleans; burpees (with a pushup in them!); and wall ball (high wall throws with med balls, and squating everytime you catch the ball). So the burpees were challenging because they make you do a pushup in each one. That slowed me down considerably. I like them much better without the pushup because I like to go really fast, especially if I'm only doing them for 20 seconds...but I can't complain too much, because I love pushups. I think we went through that circuit three times.

Then we did resisted running. We would have a resistance cable around us and our partner would be behind us, holding the cable for resistance. A lot of people did 4 or 5 lengths; a few of us, including DH and I, did 6. Those were fun. At first I was paired up with another girl, and on my fourth sprint, I guess I was really dragging her along, and then somehow she catapoulted into me. For the last two, DH and I paired up, and we really made each other work hard. That was cool. I resisted him first, and I was yelling at him to pump his arms and run harder, so then when it was my turn, it was payback time. I loved it! :D

Lastly, we did L-sits, or a progression of L-sits, with the PVC paralettes. Those were fun. I am a little better at them than the last time I tried them. I think I am going to try and make some paralettes to have at home so that I can practice. The one thing that stood out to me though, is that they don't really stress spinal extension during the L-sit. They didn't mention anything about avoiding collapsing in the shoulders. Most people weren't collasping a lot, but I think they could have extended a bit more for better alignment.

The thing that I really like about the Crossfit workouts is that they are challenging, and its a nice check-in to make sure that I am not fooling myself and becoming weaker by training on my own. The thing that I like most about them is the people we meet there. Very cool people...like MBG type of cool. :) The only complaint I have about the workouts...well, actually I have two...is that for some things, like cleans and snatches, I wish they brought heavier weights. The other thing is that the whole workout is always very heavy on the squats, and my hammys feel very neglected.

As far as yesterday's workout, I got up early (before sunrise) and ran 4 miles. I wasn't too sore, but I was SUPER tired, so it was an easy, consistent pace. I think tomorrow I might run a shorter, harder run. Actually, I should really do some intervals. Maybe I will do Alex's Awesome intervals. 30 hard, 30 seconds easy, 45 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy, 60 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy...repeat, repeat, repeat. That's a great workout.

Well, ladies, I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! !

Power Point VS Bike Ride

I was at work until 9 last night working on a presentation. I kept thinking that I could just go a little faster and get done in time to get a ride in. Due to my extreme anal retentiveness, I was unable to half ass the project and missed my ride. This is one more reason to quit work and just ride my bike and work out. he he he...wouldn't that be nice?

My nutrition was pretty good yesterday. I had a salad for lunch and yogurt for a snack. I got stuck here without food last night while I was working on my presentation and gave in to the scary snack box. I had a bag of tortilla rounds with some salsa that was left over from last week. I suppose the salsa provided some veggies, heh. I had a garden burger when I got home with tomatoes, lettuce, and onions.

Cant wait to go to BP today and have a group ride scheduled for Sunday!

Be Strong!

What is that sizzling sound?

Oh yeah...that's me...roasting. We had a high of 104 yesterday and 103 today.

So...yesterday, I woke up in pain. I was super stiff and sore from the card deck on Tuesday. I drove to the track and ran my mile warm up, during which I decided it probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to push myself too hard that day. So I decided to let myself run 5 sprints instead of 10. I ended up running 6. I took a looooong walk afterwards.

Today, I was still sore, but not as bad as yesterday. I did a 5x5 workout with weighted pushups, body rows off a box, power wheel pikes, and power wheel curls. I followed that up with 4 sets of situps, attempting to keep up a pace of one situp per second. I almost made it. I had originally planned to do my pushups with 50lbs on my back, but I was too spent from Tuesday for that, so I did them with 40lbs.

Nutrition has been decent lately. I've been having kale-blueberry-banana smoothies (YUM) for breakfast instead of cereal more often. I made some pretty awesome salmon tonight, with steamed veggies on the side. I've been eating more grains in general, but they are whole grains. That's where I could probably improve right now - a little less grains and a few more veggies. I've been eating a ton of fruit - maybe too much -- but when its this hot, I don't care. Its easy to get dehydrated in this weather, but fruit seems to help with that. I've been eating that hatch chili-tomatillo sauce on everything! The other morning I made eggs with tomatoes, black beans, squash, and chopped chilis. I ate them on a corn tortilla with a pile of lettuce, some guacamole, and the chili-tomatillo sauce. (Oh yeah, and when I said healthy guacamole, I meant with no mayo, sour cream, or weird ingredients - just avocado, lemon juice, jalepeno, and spices). I made a salad dressing yesterday that was interesting. I blended frozen blueberries, a bit of lemon juice, and some raspberry white balsamic vinegar.

Alrighty girls! Be tough!

Still Searching

Still Searching

Hey! Long time since I've posted. Spent the weekend until Tuesday night at my mother's, burned out tired at work on Wednesday, no workout today. I just have to say that I'm trying to find a balance between over-training and not training at all, but it's difficult for me now... So, this week is the over-compensation for last week's over-compensation...I don't feel like I have a handle on managing my energy level with my new job and working in the workouts. Maybe I need to work in the opposite direction---commit to the workout so that I manage my energy better at the job. Have I mentioned I'm having a hard time? O.K. Enough whining... Just had to share.

My Break is Over

Hey everyone! I had a bit of a break the last couple of days, but am back on track as of yesterday.

For yesterday's workout, we did that one designed by K-Smash. 20 push-ups, 20 body rows, 20 sit-ups, run around the bldg AMAP in 30 minutes. I didnt quite make it through 4 times and my arms were like jello at the end :) I opted for box step-ups as an alternate to running and did 30 on each leg for each set.

My diet yesterday consisted of some peanuts, a taco salad (lettuce, beans, tomatoes, onions, and salsa) and a Hummus Sandwich (hummus, spinach, onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers). The sandwich was huge and turned into two meals.

I am planning on biking tonight if I can get out of work before 7. Hopefully I will have time to do the capitol city trail, if not maybe a quick jaunt around lake Monona.

Be Strong!

whew!

Its been awhile . . . I started eating better (which, compared to you all, is eating junk), but I feel better already!

Morning smoothie, a salad a day, usually lunch, and dinner usually consisting of fish + veggies + brown rice.

I do eat popcorn and ice cream for cheat foods, and I just can't give up the soda and the chai. But it beats cafeteria food, and I'm pretty proud of the little improvements I've made.

Workouts of note lately: Jumprope technique workout: I did 3 9-minute sets of jumping rope, alternating 1 minute of the posted skill with 1 minute of boxing shuffle w/rope. Got me sweating hard! Then sprints 50m X 10 . . . ouch!

Monday I did yoga, and came out of there feeling better than I have in a long time. Then Tuesday at work, I got a huge compliment on my posture! I had to chalk it up to the realignment from the day before.

Last week was 10 minutes of AMAP burpees . . . I did a respectable 194! New personal best, felt great!

Today was FBI workout, I stuck to strength level and powered through 5 sets in 28 minutes. The first few running sets were slow, but sped up as my knees and ankles stopped protesting, or I ignored them.

Toasty Tuesday

Yeah, its a little warm out. Today was the 6th or 7th day in a row with high temps in the 100's, and something like the 19th day in a row with a high above 96.

Anyway, today's workout was a card deck with hindu pushups, 90 degree assisted chinups, front squats with 40 lbs, and stability ball curls. I followed that up with 2 sets of 60 protocol situps. I don't think I've been doing enough hindu PUs lately...they were hard.

Sunday I did a short, hard run. I ran 10 minutes at a medium pace to warm up, walked 6.5 minutes at a fast clip to recover, and then ran 13.5 minutes at a hard pace. That's a workout thats specific for my PFT.

Saturday, DH and I went for a walk together...a little over 4 miles.

Friday and Monday I took off... Friday was simply because it was a busy day and I ran out of time. Monday I felt tired and sluggish all day. Its the heat, I swear. And air conditioning really doesn't help.

Last Saturday, DH and I went to the Farmers Market and I got a bunch of fresh, fire-roasted Hatch chilis. Everything here is all about the chilis right now. They are delicious! So I made a tomatillo-hatch chili sauce (tomatillos, roasted chilis, chopped green onions, cilantro) and used that to make homemade spinach-mushroom enchiladas! Those were SOOOO good. Today I used more of the sauce for black bean tosadas. I simmered black beans with tomatoes, onions, garlic, epazote, and cumin. DH and I ate it on top of warm corn tortillas topped with fresh guacamole (the healthy kind), tons of lettuce, the tomatillo-hatch chili sauce, chopped green onions, and cilantro. DH had cheese on his too. Those were amazing. I'll bet you could use any sort of fresh green chili, like Anaheim chilis, and grill them and make a similar sauce. You guys should try it - it was amazing.

Here's a picture from our walk on Saturday.

What a weekend

Hey there! I went tubing and camping in Spring Green this weekend. It was so much fun. I didn't make it to the gym on Friday as we left early. I did decide to go for a bike ride when we got up there. It is really beautiful country with a lot of rolling hills and old farms. I saw more deer then I could count. The total ride ended up being a little over 25 miles.

The rest of the weekend was really fun, but I ate food that wasn't very good for me and didn't have much physical activity.

I am back on track today and cant wait to go to BP tonight after work!

Be Strong!

Thirsty Thursday

With temperatures reaching into the low 100's, it was a good day to drink lots and lots of water! The 100 yard workout looks tough!! Nice job, girls. You are awesome!!!

After yesterday's scorching run, I decided to get up and out the door before sunrise to run. It was a beautiful 77 degrees and 89% humidity. I got three miles in and made it home before DH left for work. The rest of my workout waited until this evening. I did a circuit...3 times through, 8 to 12 reps each time. 12 most of the time, except for the 2 exercises that aggrevate my shoulder (#1 and #5).

1. Diamond pushups
2. Body rows
3. Regular pushups
4. Chinups
5. Cable presses
6. Situps (30 reps AFAP each time)

DH joined me for two rounds through the circuit, which definitely made it easier to push myself.
My shoulder is hurting a little less lately, but I can tell its going to take a long time to heal completely. Oh yes, and last night when DH got home, he confirmed that I was sick. He looked at me and said, "Do you have a black eye?" He said under my eyes was dark and puffy and that otherwise, I looked pale. So I hit the hay early and felt much better today.

I ate plain organic oatmeal with a little buckwheat honey after my run. I guess buckwheat honey has a higher level of antioxidants than other types of honey. I've really been craving oatmeal lately...plain oatmeal...not sure what's up with that. Then later I had a Kashi GoLean waffle with a bit of peanut butter and half a banana sliced. That was soooooo freakin' good. I had some leftover beef & veggie curry for lunch and later some watercress salad. Snacks included a cup of yogurt and a kashi granola bar. I think for dinner I'm going to have an ear of corn and maybe some of that greenbean-mushroom-tofu stirfry...and cubed cantaloupe for dessert.
I've been eating less veggies this past week, but I think thats because I've felt under the weather. Veggies never go down well when I don't feel well. When I feel good, I totally crave them. I wonder if that's a physical thing or a mental thing.

Well, ladies, have a good night!

Coming up for air

Hey!! Yes, yesterday's workout---the 100 yards---was killer. I was toasted from the day before (still no sleep so a late night sprint then walk, sprint then walk, for about 3.5 miles got me to bed at about 1:30 a.m.). I came to the noon workout, which I love, and used the 32 K for swings, then wall walks facing the wall for laterals. I didn't finish 100 yards on the wall walks. Made a full 15 yards without stopping for the first time (about my 4th set) and when I came out of it, Chad a Julie freaked out because my face was purple. I felt like it had been intense, but not freak show intense. I decided I was suffering from burnout and stopped there. Had a head rush in the locker room afterwards, finally got home and had a good meal---fresh okra sauteed in olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper. I added some shrimp at the end for protein, and it was delish. Haven't been eating as much veggies as I should, but cutting myself slack for just having a difficult couple of months. I feel a turn around happening with the last week. Taking today off, getting a massage, then working with my mom this weekend to get her started on a training program. She says she doesn't like to exercise, but I know she likes to be active so we'll see what she likes with the portable monkey bar gym. That's all I have for now!!

I Heart Body Power

Greetings Y'all!

Yesterday we did another 100 yards workout for BP. The workout was forward swings and lateral handstand walks. I opted for the 28k kettlebell for the forward swings and did partner asst. handstand walks. Man my shoulders are so sore I can barely lift my arms up. I knew I was going to be hurting today, so I went to Yoga right after class hoping that a little re-alignment would help.

Here is what I ate yesterday:
-Veggies and Hummus
-trail mix
-pasta, pesto, and veggies (finally the last of a huge batch :)
-more veggies and hummus
-grapes
-turkey, lettuce, and tomato sandwich
-two pieces of dark chocolate
-handful of chips

I am planning on going for a bike ride after work tonight and possibly a hike at Cherokee Marsh.
Be Strong!

Wednesday, August 9

Ran about 4 miles this morning. It was freakin' hot. My legs felt tired, my core felt tired...the first 2 miles were OK, but the last 2 miles were horrible. When I got back to the apartment, some of the sprinklers were on, so I stood under the water for a while to cool off. I probably looked like a lunatic, but oh well.

I was going to do some strength training today, but I'm not feeling too well. I get a head-rush everytime I stand up, and feel kind of dizzy. My stomach is upset, and I feel tired. I think I am going to call it a day and try to get out earlier tomorrow morning to beat the heat.


For those of you that are interested, I know "gunshow" is :D , here's what I ate today:
-Optimum Power cereal with skim milk
-orange juice
-Nectarine
-Kiwi
-granola bar (Optimum Recovery)
-Watercress salad (my favorite salad): watercress, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, chopped, toasted almonds, and chopped apple tossed with lemon juice.
-a cup of lowfat yogurt

I was going to have leftover beef-veggie curry and brown rice for dinner, but not sure, since I don't feel well. I might settle for some plain oatmeal.

Yesterday I made a green bean, shiitake mushroom, and tofu stir-fry, which was OK, except I think I should have soaked the mushrooms longer than I did. I've been on a greek salad kick lately, and have been eating a lot of salads made with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radishes, and sometimes some feta, and a homemade olive oil-lemon juice dressing. I had an awesome turkey sandwich for lunch yesterday made with Ezekial bread, avocado, lettuce, cucumber, and tomato. That was delicious! I made some other really good salads lately - one was romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, scallions, chili beans, and a homemade cilantro dressing. The other night, hubby and I had salmon and broccolini, and I made a mango-kiwi relish to eat with the salmon. That was awesome - basically, diced mango, kiwi, cilantro, and a splash of OJ. I used the leftover relish as a salad dressing.

Well, enough of my rambling...hope you ladies had a great Wednesday!

Tuesdays Workout and Nutrition

Hey Everybody! Thanks for your posts, it is really motivating to read about your progress and your struggles. I am really struggling with my nutrition, but am hanging in there. There are temptations everywhere I turn. I just keep telling myself that I am only harming my body by putting preservatives and 0ther crap into it! Go Nutrient Rich! I would really appreciate your support and any dietary suggestions that you have!

I felt like crap yesterday but still managed to get a 9 mile bike ride in followed by a walk to the dog park, which is probably about a mile from my house.

Nutrition:

Green bean, carrots, cucumber and Red Pepper Hummus

Apsaragus, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, and pasta with homemade pesto

Hamburger Patty (plain)

Trail Mix (nuts, seeds, and dried fruit)

Vegetarian Chili (beans, tomatoes, onions and textured soy protein)

Smoothie (kale, rice milk, banana, pineapple, source of life)

Popcorn

I have been eating small amounts every couple of hours, which seems to be working well. Around 2pm I start craving sweets and haven't been giving in, but it takes all I have not to. Any suggestions?

Wasted

2 part workout...first part at the track, second part at home.

Part 1: 1 mile easy pace warm up. 10 x 100 m sprints. 0.5 mile cool-down.

Part 2: 4 sets of 5 clean>squat>press with 50 lb sandbag
4 sets of 30 sit-ups, as fast as possible (with hands behind head)

The sprints really took it out of me. It was about 85 degrees at the track, which isn't bad, but the sun was brutal. I'm still not used to that. (Amusing side note - there is a field next to the track that is just filled with sprawling cactus! What a sight!!) After I finished my sprints, I looked at the markings on the track a little more closely, and I suspect that I may have been doing 110 meters...but I'm not sure.

When I was coming home from the track, I decided that I would do 20 of the clean>squat>press, so that's I did...but I feel like I should be doing more. The sandbags are definitely more awkward than d-balls or KBs. In order to get the bag in the right position for the press, I need to do the clean explosively enough to actually toss the bag a little at the top of the clean so that I can get my hands underneath. If any of you guys ever decide to make sandbags the way I did, I would suggest making the inner weights relatively the same size and shape.

Well, that's it for now. I love reading your workouts, ladies!! You are impressive and inspiring!

Machines are for Sissies

You are all inspiring me. I don't know why, actually I do but I don't want to get into it, but I feel like my training and diet have really suffered over the last three months. I made so many gains this year and feel like I'm just starting to get back into a high energy mode after the last three months. So, thanks for your posts. Haven't headed to the gym yet today, think I may be able to make the 5:00 FIT. My feet feel pretty good, no pain, which is a nice change. I don't want to reactivate the probelms with them, but I feel a need to really work out hard today.

I did the workout yesterday morning, had never done the Turkish get ups before so only used 15# then 20# then the 12 ks for the last few. I need help on my clean technique with the kettlebells. I know the 16s are too light for me, but when I go to the 20s my form is all collapsed (Jon says I'm curling the bells and not cleaning at the right moment). I have a pretty bad bruise on my left forarm from the bell smacking it, which I know isn't supposed to happen.

I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights and I'm wondering if it's because I've worked out in the evening. I went for a bikeride last night, not too hard or far, but enough to clear out end of the workday stress. I usually don't have that problem, but it seems to be happening.

Sorry to not be so upbeat as you all, but needed to share! Love the aliases!!

This is cool

http://www.kettlebellathletics.com/Videos.html

Stronger every day

On Thursday I decided that I am going to do the AIDS ride next year. This decision came after seeing a couple of friends off at the opening ceremony. I went for a 27 mile ride on Saturday. I am going to need to train ALOT over the next year.

I did today's body power workout. I used the 12k kettlebells for the Clean, Squat, Presses. I had some difficultly with the Turkish Get Ups. I was able to finish all of them, but didn't use any weight at all. I could definetly pinpoint the weakness to my hips on that excercise. I finished with 3 sets of 10 snatches with the 12k's.

Diet today was:
-cucumber, carrots, and tomatoes with red pepper hummus
-vegetarian chili
-pasta with zuchini, green beans, tomatoes, snow peas and homeamade pesto
-Smoothie w/ rice milk, banana, pineapple, kale, and "source of life"
-roasted potatoe wedges

back to the gym!

I finally returned to normal workout schedule today after my surgery rotation hiatus. I did the daily BP workout, 40 tire clean & press and 40 turkish getups (20 with 16K and 20 with 12K). Then I finished with some yoga and indian clubs. I can already tell I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

Saturday, Steve Cotter visited the MBG. He's a kettlebell instructor and grappler. He taught Jess, Tim and Chad some stuff, and Jess and Chad showed some of it to me today. Stuff like deck squats to a pistol, army crawling, but on your fists, and jumping from elbows to fists as fast as possible. Pretty wicked stuff.

My goal is to make it to Elver and run the hill once this week. We'll see how that goes.

Sandbag heaven

For my initial post, I'll tell you about my sandbag project....I figured I would make some sandbag to use until I can get my kettlebells. This is great...for only $20, I have over 60 lbs worth of weight to throw around. Actually, right now, I have 60 lbs and I only went through half of one 50lb bag of sand. I have about 75 lbs of unused sand left.

Here's how I did it: I got about 50 lbs of used, greasy, dirty lead tire weights from a nearby tire store. The manager was very kind, and gave them to me for free. I bought 100 lbs of sand at Home Depot for about $6.00. I also got some contractor bags (2 mm thickness, $5.00) and some Gorilla tape ($8.00). The gorilla tape is worth the price. The weights I made with it seem very durable, and I am not too worried about them breaking and showering me with sand and tire weights.

I also stopped at an Army surplus store and picked up a couple canvas bags. I've loaded the 60lbs of weight in each one, and both hold up just fine when doing cleans and presses. I tried doing some swings with the smaller bag, but kept smacking myself in the leg...I just don't know about finding a true substitute for kettlebell swings. The bags are really nice for putting on my back for pushups. I'm able to do single pushups with 50lbs of sand on my back. I'm going to work up to a set of 8 or 10 before I up the weight again, I think.