I'm Back

I know I haven't blogged in forever!  I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth.  I've been super busy with work and so much time has passed that rather than try to play catch-up I will just sort of start over.

I haven't forgotten about this blog.  I just felt overwhelmed when trying to think about catching up.

Where to begin?

Well, I've have set some new PRs.  90 pounds benchpressing.  125 pounds straight leg deadlift.

I'm doing more cardio.

I've switched to working with Jillian for my nutrition needs.  Today was actually our first session together and I think it went very well and I can sense some nutrition goals getting achieved.

I've decided to grow my hair out.  Random, I know.

I went to see Oprah last weekend and it was amazing.  I think and see things differently.  I think that weekend has changed my outlook and every aspect of my life.

I'm still working with Sarah twice a week and doing Pilates twice a week with Cassie.

Biggest Loser Season 16 has started and I really find a lot of inspiration in this show.

As we approach Fall and ugh Winter, the days are shorter and there is that impending doom that snow will arrive in just a few short weeks.  Oddly, this seems to be when I get things into high gear.  I see it as prep time for swimsuit season 2015 and lounging at a pool in a bikini.   I'm actually really excited.
I promise to blog more often.

Long Time No Blog

Ugh, I know I haven't blogged in a while.  I'm still here!!!  

I've been crazy busy with work.  I've gotten a lot of transcript orders and I had seven due last week alone!  But that just means I have extra money to pay for my Lifetime lifestyle.

I usually do my weekly workout threads and I haven't, but I'll try to catch you all up in this one post.

The week of August 17 to the 23, I worked out five days in a row!  I had two days of training with Sarah (Sunday and Wednesday) and you can read about it here.  I did THREE days of Pilates with Cassie.  Yes, THREE!!!  I totally earned Friday and Saturday off after that.

This past week, August 24 to 30, I worked out three days.  Yeah, I know...three days is pretty low for me.  I did two days with Sarah and jumpboard Pilates with Cassie.  I was just super tired.  I was a little scared that my adrenal fatigue was coming back.

I just couldn't get enough rest.  I was getting plenty of sleep, but I was just tired.

Last Thursday, I met up with Eastside Tony for our nutrition follow up.  I'm doing pretty well with avoiding the foods that I am sensitive to.  My tummy is flatter, my clothes are fitting looser, but the scale is still not budging.  That is really annoying me.  My diet is okay and I am making decent enough choices, but I really can't get into the whole food logging and carb cycling.  I don't like to think about my food all the time.

I plan on making more of a concerted effort in September.  This Labor Day weekend is just a disaster, in my mind at least.  I'm sure my eating is fine for the most part but I am starting to have anxiety about eating and that's causing anxiety on top of anxiety.  

Oh, and I plan on blogging more in September, too.  My goal is to blog every day for the month of September and see if that helps.

A Week To Build An Ark

Rain was the big story locally as local freeways were submerged.  It seriously felt like it rained every day or it was super cold for being mid-August.

The Pilates Studio suffered a caved in roof.  Classes resumed but my Tuesday class time is the only time that there are two classes taught simultaneously.  Linda and I had the choice to sit in with Heather's class but we both declined.  I like Heather, but this was a last minute switch and I like the challenge Cassie gives me.  Plus Heather's class is made up of people who have done Pilates for less than a year, so I just didn't want to go.  I will be making the class up on Monday at 7.

Sunday morning I did Week 1, Day 1 of the Couch To 5k program.  I'm not doing the program again, I just used it as some HIIT training since Sarah wasn't working on Sunday and I needed something to do.  I did well, but sweat like crazy.  I may try to incorporate that some place in my weekly program.

Monday and Saturday were my rest days or in the case of Saturday, try to use my arms as little as possible.  Sarah killed my arms on Friday afternoon.   For more on my training sessions go here.  Seriously, my arms were jello.

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  It was just me, Megan, and Rose.  We were in the back room due to the roof mess.  I didn't like it, it was more like sardine pilates because we were on top of each other and I kept banging into Megan's legs during leg circles.  I have been really whiny in jumpboard the last two weeks.  I'm usually not a whiner, but sometimes I just like to annoy Cassie.

So, that was my week.  The upcoming week has me doing Pilates three times.  That combined with personal training will have me working out five days in a row, which I try to avoid.  This should be interesting.

The Pilates Studio Got Douched

For those of you not in the Metro Detroit area, Monday afternoon brought historic rainfall.  Freeways were closed for days, many ended up with flooded basements, commutes were affected.  Talk about a crappy Monday.   Luckily Novi was spared from a lot of the damage.  We suffered temporarily flooded street and slow traffic.  

But there was one victim of the rainfall that hit a little too close to home for me.  The roof of my beloved Pilates studio caved in.  There were some air conditioning issues a couple weeks prior and the old and new AC units were stored on the roof above the Pilates studio area.  All that weight did structural damage and then all of that rain added insult to injury.  

And BOOM CRASH...the ceiling came down.

Here are some pics of the damage.

Repair work has already started and classes continued to be taught in the back room of the studio.

Thanks to Cassie and her staff for keeping it together and keeping the program rolling.

My Workouts Last Week

I can't believe I didn't do a week review last week.  What the heck!?!?!?!   Oh, well, I'll start back up this week with my weekly review.

I worked out four days this week.  I took Monday, Friday, and Saturday off as rest days, but I still went to Lifetime on Friday and Saturday.  On Friday, I met up with Eastside Tony for our nutrition appointment.  On Saturday, I had a massage with Drea.  My left calf has been so tight lately and Drea worked it out.  It hurt like a bitch, but after it felt good to feel the release of the tension in the muscle.  I'm not sure what is happening with that leg, but it feels much better.

I worked out with Sarah on Sunday and Wednesday and you can read all about it here.

My regular Pilates class was on Tuesday, but my homies Linda and Maureen weren't there.  It was just me and then Rose from my jumpboard class joined me.  I kicked ass in Pilates on Tuesday.  I always give 100 percent, but I was really going beyond that night.

Thursday was jumpboard and I was quite whiny in class.  I did everything Cassie told me to do, but I was just such a crabby whiner about everything.  But on the plus side, my buddy Sitwat was back from her Ramadan break.  I missed my little buddy.  I'm glad she's back.

So that was my exercise week.  I kind of wish I had squeezed another work out, but I am on par to get 5 workouts in next week.

This coming week I am working in my least favorite location, so keeping my diet in check will be a challenge, but I really don't want to disappoint Eastside Tony.  I don't like him when he's angry.

Training 2014 - Week 31

This week, Sarah beat the crap out of me.  Seriously.

Sunday was cray-cray.  First of all, I set a straight leg deadlift PR of 115 pounds.  I did one full set of that and boy was it tough.  (The other two sets were at  85 and 95 pounds)  I  always feel fabulous when I break a personal record.  Next, she put me on the rowing machine, which I HATE!!!  And we then did lat pulldowns.  Now, I don't mind lat pulldowns at all.  My only complaint is that I need to remember to buy some gloves to wear.  We started at 85 pounds, which I have done in the past.  Unfortunately, the deadlifts and rowing made gripping really difficult.  We had to lower the weight twice on the pulldowns, which I hate to do, but there was no way I could grip heavy weights after the deadlifts.

Since Sarah took jumpboard and learned what it was all about she's kind of taken it easy on my legs on Wednesdays.  I appreciate her looking out for me, but it is really impossible to kill my legs.  Seriously,  my legs are crazy strong and can take a beating.  Jumpboard Pilates may seem like fun and games, but we're some of the toughest broads around.    I asked Sarah to NOT take it easy on me.  I can handle whatever she throws at me.

So, Wednesday we started with Icarian Super Squats, my favorite!!!!!  We did 230 pounds.  It was challenging, but I think we can bump it up a little more next time.  I gotta get that ass built up more.   We also did kettle bell deadlifts.  We did battle ropes again at the end.  I'm kind of starting to hate the battle ropes, but I prefer them to kettle bell swings and I feel like they get my heart rate up higher than kettle bell swings ever did.

I always feel good after my two workouts, but I felt really good this week and like I had accomplished a lot.

Next week, we will be training early Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon.

Forrest and Bubba Do Jumpboard Pilates

I have been so excited this week for Sarah to finally try Jumpboard.  Now she'll know what I talk about when I describe the stuff we do.  Thursday night was finally the night.  It was just me, Sarah, and Megan and of course, Cassie.  Since Sarah was brand new to Jumpboard, Cassie's introduction went a little like this:

"There are snipers all around this area that would love to grease a Pilates instructor."

Like all of our Jumpboard classes, we started with about 20 minutes of regular Pilates.  Sarah was pretty impressed by my short spine series.  Seriously, I'm pretty awesome at it.  I'm not sure if Sarah had ever done a Pilates class with Cassie before, but I think she learned a couple new things or at least variations.

Then came time for the Jumpboard portion.  It was a pretty tough class, I must say.  We worked with weights, without weights, did arm exercises.  We were all sweating, thirsty, and huffing and puffing.  Sarah really enjoyed the class.  It's pretty badass.  Don't let the fun of jumping on a reformer fool you, it's a killer workout.  I think Sarah got a good mix of everything we do.

The only exercise I'm bummed we didn't do was the "headlight" leg jump, which I think is poorly named.  It should be called tail light because it works the glutes pretty hard.   Headlights are boobs, let's be real.  

After class, we were like:

And as I do every Thursday after Jumpboard, I went home, showered, laid on the couch and was asleep HARD in about 10 minutes.  

I'm A Yoga Drop-Out

This week I worked out five days.  Back to my normal number of days working out.

Sunday and Wednesday were the days that I worked out with Sarah.  You can read that post here.

I had Pilates on Tuesday and I had another freak out during the short spine series.  I felt like I was going to flip over again.  It was kind of funny though.  The class was tough but enjoyable with my homies, Linda and Maureen.  Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  I was kind of dreading it because I was so beat from all of my other workouts.  I was afraid of how much pain I would be in on Friday.  I was very sore for class, but I soldiered on.  I survived and I actually wasn't that sore on Friday.

Next week, Jumpboard will be at 8 pm instead of the normal 6 pm because Cassie is closing on her new house.  Also, Sarah is going to take the class.  I am so excited.  I think she's kind of clueless about what jumpboard is all about, so I can't wait for her to experience it.  I'm sure she'll love it.

Monday and Friday were my rest days.  Friday after work, I went to Labcorp to have blood drawn for my Food Allergy Panel test.  I am so excited to get the results and finally figure out what is going on inside my body.

Saturday I went to Rickita's 945 Hot Vinyasa Flow class.  I enjoy practicing yoga at least once a week and I adore Rickita as a teacher and a person.  However, since Lifetime has decided to adopt the Jonny Kest method of yoga, I am finding myself discouraged and losing my love for yoga.  It has just become too confusing and very anti-beginner.  I swear if someone who had never taken a yoga class before came into a Lifetime Fitness yoga class, they would never come back.  Is that really what Lifetime wants?

I used to enjoy yoga class from beginning to end and couldn't wait to take my next class.  Now, I spend the hour on my mat frustrated, angry, and confused.  That's not what yoga is about.  The quality of the instruction has gone down hill.  I have been doing yoga for almost a year and this new way of teaching has me utterly confused.  I feel like you're expected to know poses at the snap of a finger  and the flows are just so convoluted.  

Seriously, during this class on Saturday, I just sat during the entire third flow because it was so confusing and way too crazy to expecting someone to memorize it and flow on their own.  In one word, it's BULLSHIT.

Two people walked out.  I left early partially because I had a meeting with Tony, the dietitian, but I honestly felt rage.  They should rename the class to Hot Homicidal Flow.  And I'm not the only one that's complaining.  Linda from my Pilates class doesn't like it either and she's going to classes in Commerce that are less Jonny Kest centric.  

So, I think my days of Lifetime Yoga are over and it makes me sad.  I love all of the classes that Lifetime has and am Lifetime's Number One Cheerleader, but they made a HUGE mistake when they changed the yoga program.  I'm highly disappointed.  

What Day Is It?

I had such a hard time remembering what day it was this week.  It was Tuesday and I thought it was Wednesday.  It was Wednesday and I thought it was Thursday.  And I wasn't the only person, I'm sure.

I worked out four days this week.  This is a pretty low number for me since I tend to get into the gym five days.  I definitely felt a beating after jumpboard pilates on Friday and Saturday, and being hungover on Saturday didn't help.

I worked out with Sarah on Sunday and Wednesday, which are our regular days.  You can read more about it here.

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class.  I had a helluva time getting all the way up in the short spinal massage posture, so Cassie had to help me out a bit.  Finally I was able to get all the up.  I do enjoy doing this and I think I'm pretty darn good at it.

Thursday was jumpboard pilates class.  I don't know what it is about jumpboard pilates but the hour goes by so fast.  Blink and it's over.  I just love jumpboard.  It's so fun and such an amazing workout.

I took Monday and Friday off from working out, as I usually do.  Friday night I went out with my friend Brittany and I had a great time.  Yeah, my eating went out the window, but Friday dinner tends to always be my cheat meal.

My alcohol consumption derailed my exercise plans for Saturday.  There was no way I was going to be able to survive a hot yoga class in my state.  I did however thoroughly clean my master bath and that took quite a while.  We're talking a hardcore scrubbing of the bathtub tiles and floor tiles.  You can seriously eat off my bathroom floor.  So I like to think my cleaning turned into an arm workout.

My upcoming week looks like a typical week.  I am meeting next Saturday with Tony, the new dietitian.  I also plan on being able to squeeze in my food allergy panel test.

Have a good week!

Fourth of July Week

It's another holiday week here in the US, which means there's the potential for some wayward eating on the 4th, but also time to hang out with friends and have a good time.

This week I worked out five days.  I took my typical days off:  Monday and Friday.

Sunday and Wednesday were training days with Sarah and the post about those days is here.

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class.  I had a funny moment in class this week.  We were doing the short spine series (I think that's what it's called) and I got all the way up on my shoulders and totally freaked out that I was going to fall into the well of the reformer.  Cassie said that's the feeling you should get when you get completely up on your shoulders and you're doing it right.  It was quite a scary feeling.  I came back down fairly fast because I thought I was going to flip over.  I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to do it.  Yay me!!!

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates class.  It was a fairly small turnout since it was the evening of the 3rd.  It was a tough class, as usual, but fun.  I was sweating like a pig.

Saturday morning I went to Rickita's 945 Hot Vinyasa Flow.  It was really packed for being the morning of the 5th.  I was excited to use my yoga mat towel that I got last week.  This is the towel  that I ordered.  It made a world of difference in my practice.  I wasn't slipping and sliding around like I had been.  I think I might actually buy at least another mat towel because I really made a sweaty mess of this one.  It would be nice to have a backup.  Let's just say I will never take a hot yoga class without a mat towel.

The class was really challenging, but I'm glad I went.

After class, I went home and showered.  Then I drove over to Jackie and Thad's, and Jackie and I walked 4.1 miles at Kensington Metropark.  It was a nice walk, not too hot.  Clearly I am not drinking enough water because my bad ankle ended up swelling really bad and my fingers felt like overstuffed sausages.

So, despite the fact that it was a short work week and also a big party weekend, I did well.  I was diligent in getting my five workouts this week and mixing it up.

Have a good week!  See you next week!!

Jumping Jehoshaphat

I had a super tough workout schedule this week.  I worked out five days in a row.  I usually work out four or five days, but I break it up.  This week I felt extra confident and went for it.

I worked out with Sarah on Sunday and Wednesday.  You can read our training post here.

Monday, I took Tammy's 4:45 yoga class.  I love Tammy's classes and I haven't taken a yoga class in almost two weeks.  June is actually a yoga challenge month and I have failed miserably in trying to squeeze in some yoga.  Between two training days and two Pilates days, I have to try and fit some yoga in at least once a week.  I also have to be careful to not get myself into an adrenal fatigue situation again.  (That sucked).

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class with my girls, Linda and Maureen.  It was a great class and I really got a good workout.  I always get a good workout, but lately Pilates has really been kicking my butt.

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  This was the most excruciating Jumpboard class to date.  Cassie introduced three new exercises and each one was more challenging than the last.  The first two were arm exercises where we laid down on the reformer box (lengthwise) and pushed off the jumpboard with our arms.  Wow, those were rough.   To me, the toughest exercise was the new leg exercise that had us laying on our sides.  Even though it was tough, I can only imagine how beneficial this exercise will be for my glutes and my hips.  Unfortunately, when I was laying on my left side, I had some sharp pain.  I don't think it was an injury pain, but more of a killer cramp.  I did significantly better when we switched sides.

My sugar cravings go into overdrive after Pilates.  Each night after Pilates, I come home and want sugar, sugar, and more sugar.  It's gotten to the point that I am now drinking two protein shakes a day.  One at work as a mid-morning snack and another in the evening after my workouts.

Friday and Saturday were well deserved rest days.

I am really glad I took a yoga class this week.  I have a free morning on Friday, so I might squeeze in Tammy's Friday morning class.

Have a good week!