Stepping It Up

OK, people - now that my body has 21 days to adjust to the shock of regular high intensity worxouts I'm going into this week with an eye on form.  In Week 1, I was super winded at one point during a burpie and instead of just doing a modification I just kind hurled my body (despite our coach's repeated pleas for us to watch our form) and I hyperextended my elbow and pulled my right groin.  It's been sore ever since (though I've iced and stretched, etc).  That one sloppy move has caused a lot of discomfort; really reminds me that form is king, especially now that my stamina is starting to improve.

So now, looking toward our mid-point on Saturday, I want to start focusing on form.  My goal is to be more deliberate and precise in my movements; so I am really using the muscles I am supposed to be using and I get the full benefit of the move.  I mean the way I see it, doing the moves without precision is like leaving money on the table in a deal - it's just a waste.  Up to this point, my goal has not been proper form, it's honestly just been to keep moving - to not stop, to not give up, to not give in... I am still in that zone and will be here for some time...(um, yeah - our warm-up to me is still so *not* a warm up, lol) but I want to start practicing - with my mind and my body - doing the exercises in the right way.    This is going to be a long term goal for me as my stamina keeps improving... to use proper form.

I had a couple of OH-yeah moments this week.  First was when I was running for the bus one day - the same distance of like 2 blocks slightly uphill made me feel less winded.  Like, noticeably less winded.  I mean I was still out of breath when I got onto the bus, but I've done that same run several times before and this time was different.  As I sat down, I thought dang - if I can feel a noticeable difference in less than 21 days, how awesome is that?  How much more can my body do, if I keep this up?  What??!!!  I was pretty psyched.  The second moment was when I saw my aunt - who I hadn't seen since Chrismas - and she said I looked like I lost weight.

Here's to 4 more great worxouts before Day 30. 

The Real Thing

Here we go - Week 3!

B - Tried kickboxing during Week 2 and I really liked it.  Brought back memories of doing Tae Bo in the basement of my house in high school (I have seriously been trying to lose weight since puberty).  I feel lighter on my feet with each passing day.  Still feel that deep burn / side stitch at the end of our 'warm-ups' and am still doing modifications and level 1 stuff - but feeling surer and steadier with each day.  woot!!!

L - We had our 2 week measurements on Saturday - and to be honest, I had to fight the feeling of disappointment.  Not sure quite what I was expecting...I think all the years of fad dieting and yo-yo-ing has really affected my sense of what real, sustainable progress is - what it feels like, what it looks like, the pace at which it happens, etc.  I was feeling great all week, feeling in control and proud, even.  But as soon as I saw my math, I was blown.  Like it just wasn't good enough, wasn't appropriately dramatic.  Was really kind of bummed about it, but you know what gave me some much needed perspective?  I sat and thought about the crazy (I mean cray-cray) stuff I was doing when I lost a dramatic amounts of weight in the past and I remembered how bad it felt every time the pounds crept back on...short lived success followed by public, painful failure.  I'm resolved that I won't play that game anymore...but managing my expectations about what real progress is, about what it takes...still learning and figuring that part out.

O - Success in week 2 was on prepping my food for the week ahead of time and posting photos.  And best of all every night after my workout, I would come home, have my protein shake, and call it a day.  It's like, after worxing out and giving it all I've got, I just can't bring myself to eat something that isn't deserving - you know?  It just seems extra, extra trifling to literally undo all the good I've done by eating something that isn't worthy - like what in the world would be the point of that?  All that stuff we talked about at the nutrition seminar, treating my body like a lambo and not a dump truck, etc just keeps running through my head.  Pretty basic idea, huh??  But getting that and living it out in week 2 - definitely my oh-yeah for the week.   

G - Week 3 training goals: 5 sessions at the Worx.  Week 3 nutrition goals: trying one new, healthy recipe.

S - Fellow journey peeps:  I was off FB in 2012 and just got back on to be part of the Journey group.  SO glad I did it because it is making all the difference!  (Can't believe that at first, I was thinking at first that I would just come to class but not join the online group...)  These days, if I'm wavering about a food choice or I want instant camaraderie or I need a new recipe or want some inspiration - I just check out a few posts and it reminds me of what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and that I'm not alone!  thanks for the sharing guys!!!  Also - shoutout to Sadaf and Maia - two awesome Journey coaches that I worxed out with during bootcamp classes in Week 2:  encouragement + challenge = kick ass workouts. 

Bring it on, Week 2

Week 1 is done.  Let's go Week 2! 

B - Week one was a wake up call for my body.  Literally everything hurt; I would come back from the Worx and plop down on my mat and foam roller... you know how you are supposed to wait at any spot where there is pain?  Um, yeah - I stopped along every square inch of my body... But I even though I was sore for most of the week, I already notice some positive changes:  I feel lighter and looser in my body, am less bloated, and a lot less stiff.  Woot! 

L - On fitness: I've learned that my mind says no before my body does.  There have been a couple moments of exhaustion, where I really did have to stop; but there are lots more more moments where I think something is too hard before I've even tried it.  Working on an attitude of YES, I can.  On nutrition: I've learned that I have to make time and room to cook and prepare my meals for the whole week ahead of time if this is going to be a sustainable lifestyle change.  I spent Week 1 doing veggie juicing and eating a lot of small minimeals that didn't require cooking.  But I have to make the effort to cook real meals that are healthy and balanced.  

O - Felt amazing to stop and think for a minute that this is really happening, that right now, with each day bad habits are being/going to be broken and good ones are being formed instead.  Feel a real sense that I can win; oh yeah, it's happening.  For real.    

G - A couple of goals for the week.  First, I've been remiss on updating my nutrition so my goal is to post my food at least once daily.  Also - in Week 1, I did 4 sessions at the Worx and 1 elliptical workout on my own.  For Week 2, I want to get 5 sessions at the Worx.

S - Every day I walk into the Worx, I feel like I'm among friends, like I'm with people I've known for ages, when in reality we met a week ago!  I think that is an amazing testament to the good will and energy of the coaches and team members at the Worx - am very grateful to get to be a part of it. Also - I am totally loving the inspiration on food prep and meal planning from lots of other team mates on the Journey.  Thanks guys.

Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start

01.05.13: Day 1.  Not my first Day 1, not my second or third either.  My 'journey' here has been littered with lots of false starts, lots of attempts which invariably led to lots of failures.  Whatever success I've had has always been short-lived; backsliding right back to square one, oftentimes worse off than I was before I ever tried in the first place.  So I keep grappling with the question - what is going to be different this time around?  Seriously - why will this time be better???  All I can come up with to answer this question is the simple fact that I am more sick and tired of being overweight and out of shape than I've ever been and that my 'fed up' feeling is bigger than the ease, comfort, convenience, etc of staying this way.  And, this program features something my previous attempts don't have: accountability.  During the first workout, I discovered something else that this class has: serious intensity!!!  I couldn't even complete the fit test... I was super winded so I hyper-extended my knee as I landed from a jump and did a slow motion fall and twisted my ankle a bit along the way.  So I just stopped with the around-the-world jumps and massaged and flexed my knees and ankles...because I know very well how this story could end.  I've injured myself before and then will be out for the count for days or weeks.


01.06.13: Day 2.  My whole body hurts; I feel like I've been in some sort of fight, like I got beat down...except I haven't.  Well, not unless you count yesterday's workout/fit test as a battle between me and my worst self, the parts of me that are equal parts insecure and lazy and wounded and afraid and defeatist.  I arrived for the workout today with a sense of fear - I could barely sit down and stand up without wincing so how on earth was I going to work out??  But your body will surprise you - mine sure did.  Yes, I almost keeled over during the 'warm-up.'  Yes, I had a raging stitch in my side in the second cycle and turned burnt orange by the third cycle.  But still:  I was still standing at the end of 15 minutes - which was already more than I thought I could do.  Once we got to the stations: every single thing was hard; all of it, bar none.  But the worst for me was anything that required getting on the ground and back up again.  Moves like that are challenging for me not because of stamina or endurance, but simply because of my physical bulkiness...my stomach is literally in the way.  I'm sure many of you guys can't relate to that - but that is my honest truth about why a burpie or floor crawls are such a challenge: I am literally, physically unable to curl myself up into a ball.  My God, how did I get here, to this awful and embarrassing place?  Not to mention that abdominal fat is the worst kind for your health...makes me want to holler that something has GOT to be done about this...and then I remember that I am - finally - doing something about it.  So step aside, lactic acid.


01.07.13: Day 3.  Today is Christmas for Orthodox Christians, so I know I will go from work to my uncle's house for a feast.  This is going to be one of my no exercise days and plus, I'm going to be in a food danger zone at dinner.  Before I set foot into my uncle's house, I had already decided what I was going to eat - and my goal was to eat that and nothing more, no matter what the spread looked like or what else was offered.  I'm not even working out today - so what I put in my body is all the more critical.  Happy to report that it went well; stuck to my plan and felt so good knowing that Day 3 didn't undo the good of the first two days.