Art of Exercise Freebie I

I've really been going through my phone apps lately to see what I can use what for, and what I can get rid of, in the case that one app performs several functions.  Workout Trainer has turned out to be my favorite exercise app as it is not only extensive, but constantly adds new stuff, and it has not only routines with pictures, video, audial(?) instructions, but it also has workout programs which will let you schedule them yourself, then give you reminders when your scheduled time is coming up!  Within the app you can set up your preferences, such as intensity of the workouts, time limits, and fitness goals; mine are set at "Intense", "1 Hour" (longest available), and "Lose Weight, Strengthen Core, Tone Muscle, and Improve Flexibility" (others include Build Muscle and Build Endurance).  Overall it's an amazing app, I would highly recommend it to everyone, and I do; you'll never get bored with it because there is so much going on, there is a community of people just like you connecting and supporting and encouraging, it acts as your memory, keeping track of what you've done, how you liked it, and your personal notes as well as a calendar reminder.  So yeah, get it!

Anywho, this post is entitled after the program that I started Tuesday.  It is 9 and a half minutes of intense workout and it goes a little something like this:

30s Skip in Place
30s Butt Kickers
30s Pogo Hops
30s Seal Jacks
15s rest
50s Plank w/Shoulder Taps (I loved these! They made me feel so strong and powerful)
15s rest
50s Full Plank w/Leg Lifts
15s rest
50s Plank w/Toe Taps
15s rest
50s Upward Plank (harder than it looks)
20s rest
50s Burpess
10s rest
50s ice Skaters (look and feel ridiculous in your living room!)
10s rest
50s Staggered Arm Spiderman Pushups:: I love these too, and while I don't really see the point of staggering the arm (isn't it harder to just keep them as they are and try to bring your knee to them? I am not here to make things easier on myself, hello!), they get really hard very quickly, but they truly make me feel like I am working my whole body.

Ab Ripper @ Home

Greetings! I write this barely able to lift myself because my muscles are so incredibly rocked.  Monday, I went to the gym on post with the intention of working with the trainer, but instead hung out on the elliptical for an hour and came home to use one of my phone apps.  I used Workout Trainer, and it had the P90X Ab Ripper routine on it, so I did that.  It was hard while I was doing it, but once I rested, it didn't hurt anymore.  Nor did it hurt afterward.  And even today, I am not really in pain so much as just can't move.  Surprisinly my abs are fine-- what's affected is my super lower abs and what seems like my upper leg/front part of my hip area.  My right leg in particular does not want to let me lift it above about 6 inches off the ground.  I'll proabably end up doing it again, but none too often!

Here's what it entailed::
25 Ins and Outs
10s rest
25 Bicycles
25 Reverse Bicycles
10s rest
25 Crunchy Frogs
20s rest & hydrate
25 Wide Leg Sit-ups
20s rest
25 Fifer Scissors (harder than they look!)
25s rest & hydrate
25 Hip Rock n Raises
25s rest
25 Pulse Ups
30s rest & hydrate
25 V-Ups and Roll Ups
25s rest
25 Right Oblique V-Ups
20s rest
25 Left Oblique V-Ups
25s rest
12 Right Leg Climbs
10s rest
12 Left Leg Climbs
25s rest
40 Mason Twists
Cool Down Stretch (my favorite part!)

Back In the Saddle!

Nothing like a handfuls of girls trying on the same dress and you being the only one who can't zip it up to motivate you to get back into hardcore gym-going!  So starting this past week: more water, more activity, no Red Bull! 

Tuesday I got into the gym for the first time in a long while, and I could feel it.  The death machine took its toll on me and my weights were lower than the last time I went. 

Wednesday I got some time in with my trainer.  20 Minutes on the new elliptical, I climbed all the way to the top of the Level 2 rock wall, which I had never been able to do before so I was very proud of myself :)  Afterward we did what he called Hi-Lo intensity interval training; The "Hi"s were standing side cruches on a step and they WERE high intensity!  Mediums were squats along the long wall with a resistance band around my ankle, forward then back.  "Lo"s were crunches (hah!).  Overall, a short workout, but I felt good. 

Thursday, I played around with the gym's new elliptical.  They have a fancy screen so I changed my "view" to a picture of a mountain, and as I went, it would show my track in terms of elevation on the mountain-- it was like a fun game of racing myself to the top!  I stayed on for an hour and got up to 4200 feet!  We hit up the nautilus machines after that: I alternated shoulder presses, leg presses, rows, pull ups, arm extensions, and then something he calls "pouring lemonade" (not really sure what it's called), and used the ab machine in between each.  Holla!

After all of that, I wasn't too sore-- I could feel a difference in most muscle groups, but not in a debilitating way-- with the exception of my calves!! I'm not sure if its because I am used to the death machine vs the elliptical, but every morning I find it extremely difficult to stand up straight, walk down stairs, or change walking direction too quickly, just because my calves are super tight. 

Thursday night I had a lovely stretch session before bed.  It felt incredible!  I did a few yoga poses, and just generally listened to my body, tried to warm up and stretch tight muscles.  I ended up doing handstands, cartwheels, roundoffs, and headstands in the middle of my living room-- much to the enjoyment of my husband, and dismay of my dog lol!

Today, Friday, I told myself in the morning I was going to complete a BodyRock Fit Test.  And though I wavered in this desire as the day progressed (I came up with numerous excuses), I did eventually get it done.  My lungs were on fire afterwards!!!

Here are my results:
Squat Jumps: 33
Push Ups: 21
Burpees: 15
High Knees: 70
Switch Lunges: 20
Tuck Jumps: 10
Tricep Dips: 16
Straight Abs: 20

Pretty pathetic in terms of progress, stamina, or any other measure, but in reality... I did something today, I got my heart rate way up, I warmed my muscles and didn't laze out so I feel Awesome!  Go. Me.

Back in the Game Calculations

Well I've been away, but with Christopher coming home soon, I'm back in the game.  Leave it to me to procrastinate and laze away until the last minute when I try to push my body to the extreme, crash diet and speed clean.

Though I've been away from the blog for longer than I've been away from the gym, today I thought, instead of posting my few meager attempts at the gym the past few weeks' time and weight results, I should post my body measurements and fat percentages.  I think I would like to start doing weekly weigh-ins and measures for myself; I started this blog as a way to journal my progress and sometimes it is nice to see how much stronger I've gotten since beginning to weight lift, but I think I'd also like to see, if not physically, then through record keeping, the inches I am losing from different parts of my body.

I found this website with the formula for calculating body fat, so without any further ado...

As of today (after breakfast, no gym-hitting yet)::

Weight 145.8
Chest 34.5
Waist 31
Hips 38.5
Bust-Waist and Waist-Hip Ratio 80.5% (Considered "Ideal", but my goal is 66%)

Forearms (R/L)10"/ 9.5"
Biceps 10.5"
Thighs (R/L) 24.5"/24"
Calves (R/L) 14.5"/15"

107.29 of my pounds are Lean
38.51 of them are Fat
=26.41% Body fat, which lies in "Acceptable"

BMI= 26.7, Overweight

Comparing these numbers to a few I posted back in June, I have, in 6 months time, lost 12.2 pounds for a total of 29.8 pounds lost from max weight;  half an inch from both biceps, half an inch from one forearm, 1.5 inch from my underbust, 2.5 inches from my waist, same from hips, 1.5 inch from right thigh, one inch from left thigh, and a half an inch from each calf for a grand total loss of 11.5 inches!!

I've brought my BMI down by 2.2 units, so I'm little more than halfway to getting out of the "overweight" range (1.8 units to go).

Maybe one day I will grow the balls to post progess pics of my self on here, but those balls better not weigh too much!

It's the little things...

Sometimes, it really is the little things that make a startling difference.  Working out at Planet Fitness this past week I have been so grateful for two simple additions to my gym bag.  The first is my Paul Frank ear buds.  They have his adorable little face on the back and the sky blue accents match my super awesome sky blue shoelaces that also make me happy when I look down at my feet.

PF does play music through their speakers, and its not bad.  Sometimes a pop song comes on that grates my nerves and they advertise themselves (hello! I already have a fucking membership, no need to beat a dead horse assholes), but most of the time its ok.  However, having these babies pump my "Hung Up" Pandora set list millimeters from my ear drum creates a club-like adrenaline connecting to the beat of my heart that forces me to get my legs pumping in tempo.  Being upset doesn't hurt that either.

The second thing in my tool box I am loving is my Camelbak water bottle.  It has a huge straw and a silicone mouthpiece which is exactly the innovation I needed because every other water bottle I was using before this one made me slow down on cardio machines for fear of the tidal wave of water going up my nose and giving me a sinus infection. 

Just a little happy thought I wanted to share this week.

Round II on Post:: Personal Training

I mustered up what little courage I had today and went to the gym on post to attend a class I had never been to before-- Extreme Workout with Jay.  Unfortunately, no one else showed up so they didn't even have the class.  But while I was waiting in the hallway, a trainer approached me and offered to personally train me for that hour instead, what luck!  His name is Mike, he is about my age and he is a Cowboys fan (hey, no one's perfect). 

First, I hung out on the elliptical for a bit while he got set up; they don't have arc machines there.  He came and got me and he made fun of my pathetic pace, to which I argued "I'm going backwards!"  We walked back to the rock wall room, and I asked if that's what we were doing, and he said we could but clearly hadn't anticipated my wanting to.  I got all the way up on the Level I, but barely halfway on the Level II.  On to the actual interval training workout he planned for me.

Since I told him it took everything I had just to show up to the class, he assumed it was my first time back in the gym.  I didn't correct him on this assumption because I figured he was going to kick my ass, I might as well not let him know I've actually been working out all year, thus looking even more pathetic during the ass-kicking. 

• 30 Seconds jumping rope
• 5 Do-si-do's (?)-- Feet apart, jump forward land feet together, jump forward land feet apart, then backwards is one.
• 5 Do-si-do twists-- Same as above but after landing on the second jump forward, jump to turn around and then continue.  My biggest problem with these was that I was landing too hard, so he kept telling me to be lighter on my feet.
• Kickbacks w/an 8lb dumbbell
• 10 wall sits with a stability ball on the small of my back, against a wall, feet facing forward
• 10 of the same but with feet out-turned, not unlike grande plie in second position from my ballet days-- maybe he could tell these were easy for me because at this point he asked me if I danced
• Lose the ball.  10 Calf raises both legs
• 10 Left Calf raises
• 10 Right Calf raises.  I leg press 170 pounds, then do calf presses on the same machine but these hurt me more than those do.
• With the dumbbell in one hand, bend at waist to touch dumbbell to the heel of the opposite foot, without using momentum.  10 on each side
• 10:  Half bridge (shoulders and arms on ground but mid-lower back and hips in air) with feet on stability ball, extend legs, then roll back in = one.  When asked how this felt, I said "Squiggly" with a straight face
• 10:  Lie flat on back with knees bent and feet on the ground.  Shoulders off ground to tap left shoe with left hand, center, tap right shoe with right hand, center, then both shoes with both hands
• 10 Push ups; I did mine girl style... with that stupid rubber band around my ankles
• With an elastic strap around my feet, stretch feet as far as they would apart, squat with arms extended in front of me, legs together.  I traveled the entire wall doing these.
• 10 more push ups
• Squat back along the wall

So this is what I remember, I think that was all we did.  Looking back, it doesn't really look that intense, but believe me-- IT WAS!  I was dying by the end, my heart was pumping out of my chest and an ocean wouldn't have quenched my thirst.  He tried to hold a conversation with me after this, and all I could say was "haha yeah" to everything he asked.  All I wanted to do was get to the locker room so I could puke lol but I didn't. 

I don't know how personal training works there; he wouldn't accept a tip, but somehow I don't think he'd be available every week.  I have to train with him again, though, so I can find out how to get rid of my hate handles.  But now that I've written down what I did, maybe I could continue on my own and just come back to revamp the routine when it gets easier.  My problem has always been that I don't push myself hard enough.  I need a drill sergeant yelling at me and pushing me.  Mike was far from a drill sergeant-- he was actually very encouraging and did not yell at me at all.  We joked around a lot and besides feeling like I was going to die right at the very end, I had a really fun time.  But it's the whole accountability thing again, having someone there makes me try harder. 

Round II on Post:: Practical Yoga Stretch

I.  LOVE.  YOGA.  I have loved Yoga since the very first time I ever took a class.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was attending Hood College.  It was Depression awareness week or month or something like that, and they were offering free depression screening in the large meeting room.  I figured I'd take advantage of whatever mental health services they were offering and took the little survey.  They told me I was depressed.  Big fucking surprise assholes!  Anyway, I was with a friend-- an older, tiny, soft spoken and very sweet woman who was in my biology class and she offered to bring me to her Yoga class she was enrolled in.  Suck on that you bored little mediocre therapist!  I flowed through the asanas with seeming ease, breathing deeper than I ever had before.  That's not to say I knew what the hell I was doing, I almost fell over several times trying to crane my neck to see the instructor, or my friend so I could imitate what they were doing.  The instructor came over to me while I was in Trikonasana ("triangle" pose) and admire and slightly adjust my form, asked if I had ever taken Yoga before.  "No," I hissed, "Ballet" I exhaled.  After wishing the class and the world my first namaste, I felt like I was high.  High as a kite.  Simply put, stoned out of my gord!  I don't know if it was the deep breathing, the detoxifying process of the poses themselves or both (probably both) but I felt dizzy and giddy and smiley and relaxed and cleansed and hazy all at the same time.  It felt like my vision cleared; the sky was a more complex blue, and I swear I could have traced the clouds' outlines with my pinky fingernail-- thats how crisp everything was to me!  Both the instructor and my friend hugged me (I'm a big fan of hugs) and graciously thanked me for coming!  It was as if they were grateful for converting me so that I could go forth and convert others.

I loved Yoga so much that at my next university I enrolled in my very own collegiate level class-- an expedited one since it was during the summer, so it was 3 hours a day, Monday through Friday, for a month.  I excelled in the class (of course I got an A), I relished the opportunity to practice everyday with a respectable and knowledgeable instructor.  She was hands on, which I personally like, and she encouraged and supported me, and everyone, regardless of flexibility.  She helped each individual reach their fullest potential; from pushing our personal limits in each asana as well as critiquing our papers with the nitpicky finesse of an English professor (yes we had to write papers, and report on yoga in the news and popular culture and yes we had a textbook which I still reference to this day).  She had a deep and soothing voice while she pushed us. 

The yoga class on post is nothing like either of those experiences.  It's like the McDonald's of Yoga.  The drive-through of Yoga.  The hot dog as opposed to filet mignon of Yoga.  I am being harsh... it's not so bad.  But the instructor herself even made mention of the fact that this class is "Not Yoga yoga, its yoga stretch".  There IS a difference.  Like the sauna on post, I tell myself, "It's better than nothing, right?"  So I go, but there are a few things I truly do not enjoy about it. 

For one, the instructor, let's call her Miss A, is not so enjoyable to be around... je ne sais qua...  She's a bitch.  I'd like to say self-proclaimed; even one of the other class attendees, the only man that comes on the reg, joked about her having an attitude, "Who, you?"  She didn't argue with him.  She showed up late today, then practically threatened us to be ready and at attention by the time she finished setting up.  She chastised people for not having materials (a strap).  There are extras in the room, and she has 2 of her own to share but needs one for herself, which I understand, but she rudely remarked that "they aren't that expensive, they sell them everywhere, you should have one by now".  First, you don't even have to use the strap, it is completely optional.  And clearly, someone who takes Yoga seriously enough, if they want one or feel they need one, will eventually go out and buy one for themselves.  But maybe these people don't take Yoga that seriously, especially when Miss A herself down-plays the class.  Maybe the $10 the strap costs is more than someone can afford on their budget-- hey we are in a recession and some of these people have like a dozen kids, maybe they don't even have the time to hop on over to Target and pick one up.  Whatever the reason, it really shouldn't matter.  Personally, I don't pay to be chastised, I can call my husband for that ;-)

Another thing I don't like, and don't even comprehend, is that at the end, after Child's pose, when we should be covering ourselves up with a blanket and lying in Savasana (Corpse pose, ie the BEST part), she instead has us lie on one side in a fetal position.  I am no expert, but I don't know why she does this-- it would seem to disrupt the balance we just worked so hard for.  I'd stand on my damn head if she told me to and if I felt better afterwards, but every single time I rise from this position on one side, I have an instantaneous pounding headache!!  It's very frustrating. 

But it's better than no yoga at all....

I guess...