Super Exciting Workout Week

Remember last week when I mentioned in passing that I was thinking about adding a second Pilates class, namely the lone jumpboard class on the schedule?  Yeah, I signed up for it on Tuesday night after my regular class and went to the Thursday class.   I LOVED IT !!!!!!!  My abs were so sore on Friday, it was unbelievable.   My appetite was through the roof on Friday, as well.

I will be out of town next Thursday evening so I will miss that jumpboard class unfortunately.  I can't wait for the next one.  I can't even tell you how much I love that class.

Sunday and Wednesday I trained with Sarah.  You can read about our sessions here.

I worked out at Lifetime those four days and the other days were spent just getting my steps.   On Friday, I went back to my hometown for my cousin's memorial service that was on Saturday.  I was super low on steps so I grabbed my phone and earbuds and went for a walk around my hometown.  I took a few pictures that you can see if you catch me on Instagram @veromart32.

It was a great week for me.  I'm looking forward to taking a class or two at the new yoga studio that is now open.

Have a great week!

Lifetime Fitness 10k-A-Day Challenge: Spring 2014 Week 2

This was Week 2.  I started this week this in Manhattan and ended in the Bronx.

I accomplished my 10,000 a day until Saturday night when I fell asleep with 1,300 steps to go.  At 11:56 p.m.  I woke up in a panic and literally ran around my apartment like a crazy woman, but fell short by 514 steps.  SON OF A NUTCRACKER!!!!!

Oh well.  I guess I can kiss $50 LT Bucks goodbye.  I'll still get my 10,000 steps for the remaining days because I'm not a quitter.

The NYC video this week is by Hell's Kitchen born Alicia Keys.

LTF Novi Yoga Studio Is Now Open!!!!

Yesterday marked the official opening of the brand new Yoga Studio at Lifetime Fitness Novi.   I was out of town so I haven't taken a class in the studio yet, but I went to check it out and post pictures here.  I'm really excited about it and so is everyone at Lifetime.  There is also a new Cycle Studio, which has not officially opened yet.

The yoga schedule has completely changed so I am looking forward to all of the different options.  There is even a Friday afternoon class (4:45).  Scroll down to the end of the post for a full schedule.

Here are some pictures I took.

As soon as you enter the new area, you come into this area with some seating and some cubbies to put your shoes in.  The studio is a no shoe area.  It was so calming in there, my blood pressure went down immediately.

This is other side of the waiting area.  I love the mirror.  If it happens to come up missing, I took it.  I admit guilt now.

And below is the actual studio.  It seemed a little small to me, but it can definitely hold a lot of people.  It was nice and toasty when I went in to take this picture.

I can't wait for my first class.  I think I will go at 7:15 tomorrow night.

Here is the schedule as currently posted on the app.

Sunday:  9:45  Slowburn Vinyasa with Martina

            11:15  Hot Vinyasa with Martina

              1:15  Hot Vinyasa with Rickita

              3:45  Yin with Todd C

Monday:  9:45  Hot Vinyasa with Rickita

               1:15   Yin with Rickita

               4:45   Hot Vinyasa with Gurmeet R

               6:00  Slowburn Vinyasa with Katy L

               7:15   Hot Vinyasa with Katy L

Tuesday:  6:30  Yoga Basics with Claudia G

                9:45  Ashtanga Vinyasa with Claudia G

                1:15  Slowburn Vinyasa with Teri M.

                4:45  Yoga Basics with Claudia G

                6:00  Slowburn Vinyasa with Lauren A

                7:15  Hot Vinyasa with Lauren A

Wednesday:  9:45  Hot Vinyasa with Nicole F

                     1:15  Feature Yoga Class with Richard M

                     6:00  Slowburn Vinyasa with Gurmeet R

                     7:15  Yin with Todd C

Thursday:   6:30  Yoga Basics with Claudia G

                  9:45  Hot Vinyasa with Rickita

                 1:15  Slowburn Vinyasa with Barbara S

                 6:00  Hot Vinyasa with Rickita

                 7:15  Feature Yoga Class with Richard M

Friday:     9:45   Hot Vinyasa with Gurmeet R

               4:45   Hot Vinyasa with Nicole F

Saturday:    9:45  Hot Vinyasa with Rickita

                 11:15  Ashtanga Vinyasa with Rickita

                   3:45  Hot Vinyasa with Kerrie T

I'm In Love......

.......with Jumpboard Pilates !!!!!!

I don't care that I'll be crazy sore tomorrow morning (Heck, I'm sore now!), I love my new class.  Smartest decision I've made since I came back to the gym.  So bummed I have to miss the class next week.

If Jumpboard Pilates was a person, it would be Johnny Castle.  Perfection.

Sasquatch Sighting

Sasquatch                                          Me on 5/23/2013

I always felt kind of bad that I never officially took a BEFORE picture.  

I was trying to text my friend Sharon on Tuesday and somehow this picture that she took of me last May 23rd popped up on our conversation thread.  This picture was taken 8 days after I started working out with Sarah.  

I totally look like Sasquatch!!!  Damn, I didn't realize how horrible I looked.  Look at my posture!!!!!  I just can't get over it, but I am also fascinated.  I can actually remember how tired, heavy, achy, and unhealthy I felt.  

I've had my ups and downs lately as I have plateaued and yo-yo'd over the last few weeks.   Sometimes I feel like I haven't made much progress and what's the point.  Then I see this old picture of when I started and realize I can't stop and go backwards.   

I still think that my arms are huge, then I look at this picture and see that they really aren't.   Ugh, my stomach and boob area are just gross in this picture.  My face is so much smaller now!  People always say that my face looks smaller and I kept thinking, "Damn, how big was my face?"  Now, I see how big it was.

I know everyone wants to see how I look now and I will post that in mid-May when my anniversary of working out occurs.  I just wanted to post my beginning picture that I just happened to find by accident.  I can assure you the difference is night and day.  Pilates has helped my posture tremendously and weight training has helped me lose weight and tone.  

I never want to look like Sasquatch again.

Training 2014 - Week 16

Training this week was Sunday (Easter) and Wednesday.

Sunday morning, the gym was fairly dead.  Not surprising since there wasn't very many group classes due to the holiday.  Also, there won't be any Spinning classes until the 28th because they are transitioning to the new studio.

Sunday was full body, but what Sarah actually meant by that was an upper body workout with some squats and lunges incorporated.  Sneaky!!!  It was a pretty rough workout.  We used 35 pounds during my squat thrusters, which was fine for the first set, but it was harder for the second and third sets.  That was the first exercise we did for the hour and I knew I was in for trouble.  As the workout  progressed, I thought to myself that there is no possible way anyone I know other than Sarah and the other trainers could handle this workout.  It was crazy tough.

Wednesday morning was also full body.  We did arms at the end.  My back was still sore yesterday from the rows we did on Sunday.

We did squats again and I set another PR of 260 pounds!  That's 40 pounds heavier than last week.  It was definitely a challenge.  I didn't get the full effect of the workout until I was walking up to my apartment and the handles broke on my grocery bag and I had to bend down to pick up my stuff.  Ouch!  That's going to hurt big time tomorrow and Friday, especially since tomorrow is my jumpboard class.

Next week I am training Sunday morning and Thursday morning.   Have a good week!

Pilates X2

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! 

This is how excited Cassie and I are.  LOL

 After some serious consideration, I made the decision to add a second night of Pilates to my schedule!!!!!  And it's the only jumpboard class on the schedule!!!  I snagged the final spot!

I totally fell in love with jumpboard when I took it a few weeks ago and then last week when we did some jumpboard in my regular Pilates class, I really starting thinking about wanting to add it.  Tonight after class I filled out the paperwork and I start in two days!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!

Lifetime Fitness 10k-A-Day Challenge: Spring 2014 Week 1

I met my step goal of 10,000 each day.  I started my "walk" in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York.  I was on Staten Island for the first three days before landing on Manhattan.  By my step goal on Saturday night, I was at Grand Central Terminal.   Looks like a good chunk of the next seven days will be in Manhattan before heading into Brooklyn.

Here is a video from Staten Island born Christina Aguilera.

Just Keep Swimming

Well, it seemed like I didn't do much, but the 10,000 steps a day Fitbit challenge definitely kept me moving.  While I didn't go to Lifetime a lot this week, I did get my 10,000 steps in every day.

I worked out with Sarah this week on Monday and Wednesday.  I have two posts about the workouts here and here.

Sunday, I went to Martina's Vinyasa Flow class.  Linda, my Pilates classmate, was in class and we were next to each other in this class.  I like Linda, she's a cool broad.

Speaking of Pilates, Tuesday was my class.  We did half the class as a jumpboard class!  It was a killer!  This was Linda and Maureen's first time doing jumpboard and they loved it.  I think they were a little hesitant/nervous, but they did great.  It definitely felt a lot harder than when I did it solo.  I've also been thinking about possibly adding a second day of Pilates for the summer months.  I'll hopefully make my decision after Cassie's wedding in less than a month!

Thursday and Friday were says off from the actual gym, but I got my steps in.  I went home to visit my mom on Thursday afternoon and stayed until noon on Friday.

Saturday I was awake and almost went to the 645 Spinning, but I decided not to.  My legs were still a little sore from my Wednesday training session on Friday and even though they felt fine on Saturday morning, I thought it was best to not go.

I was quite happy to see that the Life Cafe restocked my Generation UCan Cran-Raspberry.  I grabbed some before I ran the risk of it selling out again.

I took Rickita's Ashtonga Vinyasa class.  This very well may be the last Saturday Ashtonga class since the schedule is changing next week with the opening of the new yoga studio.  I'm kind of bumming.  That's my FAVORITE yoga class at Lifetime.

Class today was great.  Not very full, but I'm guessing it's because of the Easter holiday.

So that was my workout week.  I just keep plugging along on this journey.  Things have slowed/stalled but I just keep swimming.

Training 2014 - Week 15

I worked out on Monday and Wednesday this week.  It was back to business as usual after last week's recovery week.  Actually, this week ended up being PR week.

Monday was upper body.  It was my basic, tough upper body day.  I did set a new bench pressing PR which I blogged about here.  It was quite exciting to set a new PR.

Wednesday was legs.  Wow, talk about tough.  I actually forgot to take my UCAN before the workout but I still did really well and that's not why it was tough.  It would have classified as a tough workout either way.  I set two PRs on Wednesday.  220 pounds during my squatting on the super squat machine.  I'm not sure if it was one or two sets at that weight because Sarah increased the weight after one of the sets.

I also did a PR on the prowler push with 265 pounds.  I did the higher grip on the one way and the lower grip when I returned the prowler to the starting location.  I think I was slowest on my first round of the low grip.  I had never done the low grip before and I was a little unsure of being that low and pushing.  That was my last exercise for the hour.  I'm glad I still had some wind in my sails.

I was tired when we were done.  Tired.  Tired.  Tired.  I can't wait to get back at it on Sunday!!!

Bench Press PR

Today I met with Sarah for training.  It was upper body day and she really challenged me today.

One of our exercises today was bench press.  I LOVE BENCH PRESSING!!!!

My first set was 55 pounds, which I've done before.  (that's 10 pounds of weights and the 45 pound bar).  That was fairly easy for me to do.  So, then for my next two sets, she added an extra 10 pounds, bringing the total weight up to 65.  That was a personal record for me.  It was a challenge, but not an impossible challenge.  I was definitely feeling it by the last set, but again, I LOVE BENCH PRESSING!!!  I could do it all day.  Well,  maybe not 65 pounds all day, but pressing.

I'm so geeked and proud of myself for benching 65 pounds.  It may not sound like much, but it is.  I remember when I was just benching the bar alone and it was a challenge to do that.   My goal is to be able to do one whole set at 85 pounds by the end of 2014.

Health Score - April 2014

Today was my second Health Score of 2014.  My first one was on January 20th and I scored an 84.  Today my score went way down....back to a 68.  The main issues were my blood pressure (139/92) and glucose level (106).   I haven't been the best about taking my medications or my supplements in the last two months.  I would say my biggest source of disappoint is the fact that I clearly still need my medication.  I was hoping that my days of having to take prescribed medications were almost over.

There was some great news though.  My cholesterol continues to get better.  My TC (Total Cholesterol) /HDL ratio went from 3.09:1 to 2.83:1.   My Triglycerides went from 87 to 82.   My Triglycerides/HDL ratio went from 1.58:1 to 1.37:1.

My aerobic capacity went from 33.7 to 32.9.  My flexibility went from 16.5 to 19!   My lean body mass went from 149.48 to 150.65, which means I'm not losing lean body mass (aka that's a great thing).

My weight went up 8.8 pounds, but my body fat percent only increased by 0.1%.

So even though my overall score went down, there was still plenty of good news.

And this was my first Health Score done by Sarah.  My first two were done by Jillian and the others were done by Julie.

Sarah and I still think that doing D.tox is a good idea, so that is still on my agenda in the next few weeks.  I also want to do another Health Score after I do D.tox.

National Fitbit Challenge @ Lifetime Fitness

Today starts the four week national fitbit challenge at Lifetime Fitness.  Of course, I signed up just this morning.  This challenge really snuck up on me.  I almost wasn't going to do it, but I decided to since I haven't gotten 10,000 steps in a day since the last fitbit challenge ended at my club.

In my opinion, there is really no incentive to go for the individual club grand prize which is a Fitbit Zip, aka the first Fitbit product and the cheapest one.  I have the Fitbit One, which is better than the Zip.  Gee, Lifetime Fitness, way to inspire people to go above and beyond.  That's like offering a teenager a record player instead of an iPad.

So, I'm just going for the bare minimum of 10,000 steps a day to win $50 in LT bucks.  That's the most useful prize that's attainable.

One of the cool things is you can choose a trail to virtually walk.  There were several you could choose from, but I chose New York City.  I can log in and see where exactly I am walking in NYC.  Unfortunately, I can't find the challenge anywhere on Lifetime's difficult to navigate website.  I usually never say anything negative about Lifetime because I think they are the best chain gym on the planet; however, their Achilles Heel is their website and prizes.

UPDATE:  I have received a link for the Challenge!!!  I love that I can see where I am.  Currently I am in Staten Island!

Zombie Week

This week started with being chained to my desk finishing up transcripts.  I enjoying just being able to relax when I wasn't at work or at the gym.  I found myself crashing on the couch most nights and then moving into my bedroom when I woke up.  It's funny how just sitting at a desk and typing could exhaust you so much.  Maybe that's why I was so easily exhausted when I was training with Sarah as I stated here.

I took Sunday,Thursday and Friday off as my rest days.

Monday and Wednesday were training days.

Tuesday I went back to my normally scheduled Pilates class.  It was good to be back with my regularly scheduled class.  This week was tough for me.  Then I realized I was on a different reformer than I usually use.  I couldn't get my butt that high during the short spinal stretch.  We did some exercise with the black tension bar and it was tough.  When we finished with that series, I was glad.  Super tough.  We finished our class with some arm work with light weights.  That was a total killer and I felt it for days.

Saturday I went to Ashtanga Vinyasa for the first time since taking two week off.  Ah, so glad to be back to my favorite yoga class and yoga in general.  I LOVE Rickita's classes!  I felt great although my low back was hurting a little bit today.  Nothing too painful, just achy.  Also, Rickita announced that the new yoga studio will be officially opened on Saturday, April 26th!  I will be out of town that day, but I will definitely get to a class the next day!

And that was my week.  Four workouts.  Not bad.  Definitely a challenging week for my body.   Just gotta keep plugging away!

This One's For You, Susan!

I had no intention of doing a blog post for you.  I was looking through the internet for some motivational memes for some of my posts.  Look what I found.....A MOTIVATIONAL PENGUIN!!!!!

So, there you have it.  Your very own post on my blog!  Enjoy!  Finally I have given you something penguin-y that you are not embarrassed by.  

NatureBox

I have totally forgot to mention this, but I am a new devotee of NatureBox.  If you don't know about NatureBox, it's a monthly healthy, natural snack kit.  There are three different kit sizes you can subscribe to (and change your kit at any time).  You get five snack choices a month or you can get whatever they choose for you.

I hadn't heard of NatureBox before I read a blog post from one of my favorite general lifestyle blogs Love Taza, The Rockstar Diaries and they offered a special 50% off coupon on your first NatureBox.  I used that code to purchase the largest kit, The Smart Snacker normally priced at $49.95.  The Smart Snacker gives you 4 bags of the 5 snacks you choose or have chosen for you for a total of 20 bags of snacks

I ordered the Pistachio Power Clusters, Cashew Power Clusters, Yogurt Dipped Pretzels, PB&J Granola, and Far East Rice Crackers.  I listed them in the order in which I like them.  I would order the first three again and suggest them to anyone.  The final two are just okay.

I had no idea how large the snacks would be, so I downgraded my text kit to a Happy Snacker ($29.95) which will give me 2 bags of each snack for a total of 10 bags of snacks.

I am so excited about NatureBox.  I love just grabbing a bag and taking it to work with me to snack on throughout the day.  A bag usually lasts me two work days unless I am sharing my snack with someone and gushing about how much I love this company.

I have already chosen my next five snacks for my May NatureBox.  I'll be sure to review them once I get them.

Training 2014 - Week 14

This week was Recovery Week.  Recovery Week, my ass!!  It felt just as difficult as any other week....and more!!!

We worked out Monday morning and Wednesday late afternoon.  Monday was upper body and Wednesday was lower body.

I really think Sarah is sadistic.  Both days I thought to myself, "WTF, I thought this was recovery week."  I even said it out loud on Wednesday.  If this is recovery week, what the hell is she going to do to me next week?

While the workouts were tough, I wasn't crazy sore.   And I did everything I was told to do, so props to me.  I really wanted to give up during my kettle bell swings on Wednesday.  Good Lord, everything was hurting on me by the time we got to that exercise (which was the last of the day).   I never want to give up, I'm pretty tough when it comes to sucking it up and just doing it, but those kettle bell swings were evil.  My shoulders, my abs, my legs were all pooped.  But I finished them.  The last set wasn't the prettiest, but I did it.

Next week's training will be Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning.  This could get really interesting.......

If It Was Easy.....

if it was easy, everybody would do it

I was stuck.  The scale needed to move.   I didn't mean for it to move up.  In the eight days between weigh-ins with Sarah, I have gained seven pounds.  SEVEN POUNDS!!!!!  And don't tell me it's all muscle, it's not.  Something is going on here.

While I am totally bummed to be heading in the wrong direction, I'm rolling with the punches.  It's hard at times, but I'll get through this setback, whatever it may be.

I know from my massage with Drea that I am not drinking enough water.  I've been drinking a lot more lately and peeing constantly.  I've been slacking on the supplements lately.  It's just slipped my mind to keep taking them.  I have to get back on them.

Sarah and I have decided that it's time for me to do another D.Tox.  She's doing my health score this coming Sunday, so we'll see what that shows.

I really think that the D.Tox will help and I'm actually excited to do it again.  I did it last June, so I'm approaching the one year mark.  It's time to press restart.  I'm going to start the D.Tox after the 18th, which is when I go to visit my mom and have a doctor's appointment.  I'm going through Pinterest and picking out recipes that I can make and alter to fit the D.Tox diet.

I'm really trying hard to stay positive about this weight gain.  I think I'm okay with it most of the time.  I'm doing everything I should be doing.  Diet is great, I'm working out properly.  I just keep thinking to myself that this is what happens and I will learn a lot from how I react to it.    Coincidentally, my sports bras are fitting loose around my rib area, my clothes still fit loose, and people are still noticing a change in my body.  It's just weird.

So, I've decided to do day-to-day D.Tox blogging when I do it.  I think it will be a very helpful tool for others doing D.Tox or thinking about it.

Let me post some memes that help me from getting down about whatever it is that's  going on.

Fighting The Good Fight

Sorry, readers, this has been a busy time for me.  I signed up for some extra typing at one of the courts and it was due today.  Of course, I procrastinated, but I turned it all in on time and made $1100.  I also worked all 5 days last week which is crazy to do with so much typing.  But I got through it!

I still managed to make it into the gym though.  I did take Wednesday and Friday off, but I still managed to get in five workouts.  

I made a decision to NOT sign up with Title Boxing after my Groupon expires.  I did love it, but I am just really dedicated to the Lifetime Fitness way of life.  Anyone reading this and thinking about going to TITLE, I highly recommend it.  The workouts are amazing.  Maybe in the future I will sign up there, but for now it is not in the cards and the budget.

Sunday and Tuesday I worked out with Sarah.  Those days are chronicled here.

Monday, I went to Tammy's Vinyasa Flow class at 4:30.  Great class.

Thursday, I went to Pilates.  I normally go to the Tuesday 7 pm class, but since I was scheduled with Sarah already, I decided to save Pilates for another day.  The people in that class were nice enough, but I missed Linda and Maureen.  I can't wait to see them again tomorrow.

Saturday, I took Linda's 645 spinning class.  It was a good class and my glutes hurt like a mother after.  I usually double up and go to Rickita's Ashtanga Vinyasa, but these darn transcripts put a damper on that.  I did get a massage with Drea though and it was awesome.  She did tell me that my skin was really firm, meaning I need to drink more water.

I was really worried about working five days and staying on track.  Just like the saying goes:

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE!!!!!

Training 2014 - Week 13

This week training was on Sunday and Tuesday.

Sunday was a total body workout.   All of the exercises were ones we had done before, but our final exercise used a new machine we hadn't used before.  I liked it, but my shoulder was hurting a little bit.  It felt like I needed to crack it or something.  We did my favorite (squats) and no lunges today!!!!  Yay!

Sunday was picture day for me.  Sarah said she didn't see too much of a change from last month and I'm okay with that.  I'm still plugging away.  Sunday is also our weigh in day.  My weight was down about 2 pounds.  I'm fine with that even though I'm holding at 40 pounds lost.  Yes, that is 10 pounds heavier than what I was in January, but I'm still getting smaller.  My clothes are fitting baggier and on my belt I've gone from the third hole to the fourth hole.

Tuesday's workout was also a total body workout.  Damn, I was tired.  I set a personal record in the seated row with 95 pounds.  YAY!!!!!  We did lunges today, but they weren't too bad.  Better to just get it over with.  I was sweating like a pig.  It was hot in the gym. The weather outside was 60 degrees (according to my car), and I think the heat might still have been running at the gym.

I bought some more Whey Protein since I am running low.  Unfortunately, they are still out of the Thorne Whey that I love, but I've gotten used to the Lifetime Whey.

I leave you with a meme that reflects my love of squats.