90 Day Challenge/ Fitbit Challenge

Starting July 1st, registration for the next 90 Day Challenge and combined Fitbit Challenge began.  I normally sign up for every sort of challenge Lifetime has.  This time around, however, Sarah and I have decided that 90 Day would not be good for me right now.  It would be too stressful since we start still trying to figure out what is happening with my body.  I have decided to not do the Fitbit Challenge either even though I am always a top competitor in those challenges.  I've lost my Fitbit One, although I know generally where it is.

I just don't feel like doing challenges with others right now.  I think my main challenge is with myself.  It feels really weird to not be signing up, but it is the best choice for me right now.  Besides, I like to think of myself being on a Lifelong Challenge, not just 90 day.  :)

The Week Before D.Tox

This week was the week before I start D.Tox.  I worked out four days this week.  Two days of personal training and two days of Pilates.

My training days were Sunday and Wednesday.  You can read more about those days here.

I had my regular Pilates on Tuesday night and Jumpboard Pilates on Thursday.  My Tuesday night homies, Linda and Maureen, weren't there due to injuries.  Linda is covering from foot surgery and Maureen is having shoulder issues.  I miss them.  I saw Linda on Sunday in passing at LTF and she was walking slow and trying to see what she could do at the gym.  I haven't seen Maureen.  Tuesdays just aren't the same without them.

The Tuesday class kicked my butt.  It almost felt as though I had never ever done a Pilates class.  I was whipped by the time class was over.

Thursday was Jumpboard, my second official class since I added on the second night of Pilates.   I still do love jumpboard and I am getting quite the workout from it.  I don't doubt the pure genius of adding on this second class.  It was a brilliant move on my part.

My days off this week were Monday, Friday, and Saturday.  Saturday I cleaned my apartment like a maniac and that was a workout in itself.  

I am starting D.Tox on Sunday.  I am training with Sarah on Sunday and Thursday (our one year anniversary).  I have Pilates this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!  I am making up the class that I would miss because of Cassie's upcoming honeymoon.

Have a great week, everyone and be sure to check out my D.Tox threads.

100th Blog Post!!!!!

100 posts!  Wow, I totally thought I would have run out of things to post about by now.  Here I am five months after I started this blog and still typing away.

This thread is about my workouts this week.  I feel like I had a fat week.  I only went to Lifetime four times, which would be good for most people, but it bums me out.

I trained with Sarah on Sunday and Thursday.  The post about those works is here.

Tuesday I went to Pilates and it was super tough.  I almost had a private class because Linda and Maureen didn't come, but then someone popped in and that was the end of my private.

Saturday I went to my first yoga class at the yoga studio.  I absolutely loved it.  I blogged my review of the new studio here.

Monday at work I fell and hurt my ankle.  I'm not sure if I rolled it or what, but it caused me some pain all week.  I have a 5k on May 10, so we'll see how that goes and if I am able to run.

Well, that was my week.  I hope you had a great one!

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.

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.

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!

Fitbit Challenge Completed

The 50 Day Fitbit Challenge at the gym ended on Monday.  I accomplished the 10,000 steps per day goal meaning I got at least 500,000 steps!  My goal was to be in the top ten of the participants.  I don't know if I did it, but I'm pretty sure I did.  I was in the top 10 for the month of February and the 10 days in March.  I'm  not sure if Erica will give us our ranking or just confirm that we got 10,000 a day.

Can't wait to do the next challenge whenever it comes up!

Slow Work Week = Busy Workout Week

This past week was another slow work week for me.  Work is picking up and I am working four days this coming week.  That's just the nature of the beast in my business.  Feast or famine.

I made great use of my time home.  I did some transcript work and I worked out like a lunatic.  We're talking Biggest Loser Rachel crazy (well, not that crazy).

Sunday I took Martina's Vinyasa Flow class.  Boy, was that class packed.  I swear everyone at Lifetime was in that class.

Monday was a major workout day.  I worked out with Sarah and I took two group classes.  I took Spinning and then Slow Burn Yoga.  Wow, I was beat.  I know Sarah will kill me for doing that much in one day and I may have overdone it, but it's not like I work out like that every day.

Tuesday I took a Spinning Class and my regular Tuesday night Pilates class.

Wednesday I worked out legs with Sarah and that's all I was going to do.  Then I noticed that my right hamstring was tight, so I quickly got ready and took Claudia's Hatha Yoga class in the evening.  I really have to say that I am loving that class and Claudia as an instructor.

Thursday I took a Spinning class and then I came back in the evening for an awesome massage in the LifeSpa.   I really needed that massage because I strained a muscle in my back loading some things in my car on Tuesday and the pain traveled to my abs.

Friday was a much needed day off.  I picked the perfect day because I worked on Friday and got stuck in a surprise trial in the afternoon.

Saturday I was back at it with a Spinning class at 645 and then I came back for Ashtanga Vinyasa at 1215.  Loved the yoga class, but there were two disruptive yogis who were obnoxious.  And then when one of them left, she wasn't quiet or courteous either while the rest of us were trying to meditate.

This week marked the second week of the 90 Day Challenge.  My weight is a little up since the initial weigh in, but I am obviously working hard and am looking noticeably smaller.  I'll take it.  I'm going to talk to Sarah Monday about taking an amino acid supplement.

So, my body should enjoy a relatively restful week next week.  Have a great week!

Week Preview

I took another rest day today because I have my latest health score tomorrow morning with Julie.  I had originally planned on going to the gym and running or possibly taking another yoga class.  Luckily, Sarah texted me early to remind me.

This is a long holiday weekend for me because Monday is MLK Jr's birthday.  Tuesday is my birthday.  I feel like I have been bad on my diet this weekend.  Not pre-May bad, but I've had some gluten and some wine.

I met my friend Brittany for dinner in Dearborn.  We ate at La Pita and had some awesome Middle Eastern food.  The food is not unhealthy, but their bread is so soft and yummy, it's like eating a cloud!  You can't resist and you can't just have one.  I had about three pita breads.  I had a cup of crushed lentil soup, a chicken kabob, some fries, and an insane amount of garlic.  Enough to keep vampires away for a few days at least.

We then went to the adjoining cigar lounge and had a few more drinks.  I had two glasses of Riesling and several glasses of water all night.  It was nice to go out and do something different, but it sure was freezing out!  YIKES!!!!

This morning I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some of their soups.  I bought some panccetta and mushrooms to add to my soups.  Also, on my shopping list was a block of mild cheddar to grate myself and some Udi bread to make gluten free grilled cheese sandwiches.  I made one soup from scratch.  It was a recipe that Sarah sent me on Facebook.  It only has two ingredients.  Here it is.

I'm super excited because tomorrow starts the new Fitbit challenge!!  I am determined to get the minimum of 10,000 steps.  I'm training with Sarah on Monday and Wednesday, I have Pilates on Tuesday.  I'm going to get a day or two of running and Spinning in to reach my step goal.

Have a great week everyone!

Fitbit Challenge - Winter 2014

I'm so excited!  Sarah just emailed me this announcement for the newest Fitbit Challenge at Lifetime Fitness - Novi!!!!  I love a good Fitbit challenge!  I love it even more now that I am just 30 pounds away from being at my college weight!

I won the Summer 2013 Fitbit Challenge, but I wasn't as diligent during the Fall 2013 challenge.  I am definitely going to get 10,000 steps a day so that I can earn two free TEAM classes.  Of course, I am going to push for the grand prize, but I definitely want to at least get the minimum steps.

"I Was RUNNING!!!"

Early in the 90 Day Challenge I tried to start the Couch to 5k program.  Yeah, that didn't work.  I just wasn't ready to go there.  Imagine my surprise when I used my first TEAM freebie session that I won from the Fitbit Challenge and I had to RUN A MILE FOR TIME during Erica's 6 am TEAM Fitness class.  I picked the wrong day to show up to TEAM Fitness that's for sure.

Well, I'll just do my best.  Let's not expect miracles here.  I'll run slow (4 mph).  I'll run for three minutes and then I'll walk.

Three minutes come and go.  Okay, I'll run until I get to 5 minutes and then I'll walk.

Five minutes come and go.  Okay, I'll run to the half mile point and then I'll walk.

Half a mile comes and goes.  Okay, I'll run ten minutes and then I'll walk.

Ten minutes come and go.   Okay, I'll run to the 3/4 mile point and then I'll walk.

I got to the 3/4 mile point and I WALKED......for about 45 seconds and then I started running again and finished the mile.  I finished in just over 15 minutes (but under 16 minutes).

I DID IT (sorta) and I didn't die.

And that is the story of my first TEAM Fitness class.

Fitbit

This is a Fitbit One.  I ordered a Fitbit at the suggestion of a few friends shortly after I started working out.  I love my Fitbit.  I credit my purchase and ownership of a Fitbit in getting me moving and also giving me a perspective on exactly how sedentary I was.

It tracks my steps, floors climbed, calories burned, and distance.  It also tracks your sleep patterns.  It's a teeny tiny dynamo.  You can also follow your progress on your laptop/tablet and on your smartphone.  I check my Fitbit app many times during the day.  It's hands down my favorite gadget.

It also sends you messages to encourage you and congratulate you.  You enter your name or any name and it sends you messages.  I chose the name Bitch.  "Get moving, Bitch!"  "Way to go, Bitch!"  are just some of the messages I get on a daily basis.

Shortly after I got my Fitbit, Lifetime Fitness had a Fitbit challenge.  It was a 90 day challenge and the winner got a free Metabolic Test.  Also, if you logged 10,000 steps a day, you won 2 free sessions of a TEAM class.

It was close, but I ended up winning the challenge.  It was quite a fete because another competitor named Jenny was logging a lot of 20,000 step days.  Finally, she had a day under 10,000 steps and essentially disqualified herself from winning.  YES!

My best day was a 33,000 step day.  I went into Lifetime and walked a 5k.  Then I went to Kensington MetroPark and walked around the lake, which was 9 miles.  And it just so happened to be the most humid day of the summer.  I got lapped by a park employee who took one look at me with a raging sunburn going on and said "You picked the wrong day to walk the trail."  Really!?!?!?!  Thanks for the tip!

I signed up for the second Fitbit challenge that coincided with the 90 Day Challenge, but I didn't win.  There were days I didn't make it to 10,000 steps per day, but that's all right.  I'll talk more about what I did during the 90 Day Challenge in a separate post.  There will be another Fitbit challenge in the new year and I definitely plan on participating in that.

I still wear my Fitbit daily!  I love it!  I look forward to graduating to the brand new Fitbit Force.  Hopefully, Lifetime gets it soon........