Gymless

Last night I made a huge effort to go right to the gym after work. It was a snowy Friday evening and I packed all my clothes and drove right there. I was determined to run as much of four miles as I possibly could. I could either run it or fall off the machine. But as soon as I pulled into the parking lot I realized that I had not packed my Ipod, nor any extra headphones. I absolutely can not run four miles with nothing else to think of (no tv, no music). So instead I made myself walk steep hills for thirty minutes; I can only occupy my mind for about that long. Then I headed up to the women's weight room where I did half of an upper body workout. It was so crowded and there were always people on the machines I wanted to use, or doing sit-ups in front of the machines I wanted to use. Can't people hang out somewhere else? Then I walked out of Gold's for the last time. After seven years, I now find myself gymless.

This morning, even in 5-6 inches of snow, I met Jennifer and Brenda at Goodyear for Spinning. The teacher didn't show up again, which doesn't give me a lot of faith in the spinning classes. But another lady who takes lots of classes has done it enough that she was able to teach the class for us. It was only the four of us. It was kind of nice to have specialized instruction. She was able to tell us exactly what to look out for. She explained that beginners can develop bad habits, and if we take care of them now, we will be fine. I found spinning a little more difficult this time, which means I must finally be doing it right. I was out of breath on several occasions. I was sweating slightly, but not dripping sweat like I am during Kickboxing or running. Most of all I felt it in my legs. They were burning. I'm sure it is a great lower-body cardio workout. What I love about kickboxing though is it's a great upper-body cardio workout and you don't find that very often. Most things you do in the gym on your own (ellipticals, treadmills, step machines) all work your lower body.


I attempted to join Goodyear this morning, but apparently I need a cancelled check in order to start the payments coming out of my account. I did not have that with me. I mean, I don't own paper checks anymore people, this is the 21st century. But I can print something out to take with me next time. I guess tomorrow I will join. I will only be gymless for one day!

Easy Breezy

Two more hours of gym-time tonight. And for some reason it all seemed pretty easy. Kickboxing was exhausting but the time flew by and as soon as I was really tired it was already over. Then there as enough of a break between the two classes that I actually stopped sweating and cooled down for a minute. I went high on squats and that was tough, but rewarding. Then I went high on triceps (no problem) even though dips were involved. I am beginning to enjoy dips, even though most other people hate them. I find them better to do correctly than the kickbacks and french presses. I also kept using high weights on biceps, which was really hard but I made it through with only one or two skipped reps. Most amazing though was shoulders. I did the same weight I always do, the same weight I have always done: medium. It seemed easy. For the first. time. ever. I think it was an easier shoulder song, but still. Instead of wanting to die and throw the weight down by the second to last rep, I was still going strong. What is happening? Am I actually developing upper body strength again? Woo hoo!

I am planning on taking tomorrow off from working out, since I have my 11 hour work day. Friday after work I am hoping to do some running. I had planned on attempting my four miles again on Saturday morning, but Brenda (Jennifer's sister) wants to go to spinning at Goodyear. I hate to pass up working out with other people. Therefore, I need to do my running Friday evening. That will be my last Gold's day. Although I hate them, I am going to be sad.

Great News!

Work sucked today. For a million reasons: it was super busy, I worked with someone who was absolutely no help, I had a million things to get done that didn't involve checking in books, the city council may or may not want to shut us down, people want me to do something about it, I wish I could do something about it, if I could just get all these damn books checked in! But it didn't ruin my day. After work I had to get to my mom's house, let the dog out, eat dinner, and get to the gym in about an hours time. The Biggest Loser was only an hour thanks for Obama's speech (although I'd listen to him talk on most occasions... it's a close tie with Jillian Michaels) But no, it was a great day. And why? Yesterday I emailed the supervisor of group fitness classes at Goodyear. I expressed an interest in her adding a Saturday BodyPower class, because it has been six months now since I was even given the option of taking weight lifting classes three days a week. And because our BodyPower class is always full and we run out of weights. And if you remember right, the first time Erin, Jennifer and I took the BodyPower class there were only 8 people in class (and we were three of them). So I had lots of ammunition and reasons she should consider adding a weekend session. Today, just 18 hours after I emailed her, she responded: YES. She has been thinking about this and now that a new Gold's teacher has joined the bunch she is going to get her going on this Saturday morning class. And she's going to start it in March. I am definitely joining this gym. And it's not just because she added the class, or that she has great instructors and realizes it. I love this new gym because she knows what is most important: her customers. She thanked me for the suggestion, said she loves hearing from those of us that take the classes, and hopes to hear from me more. And coming from a gym that is more interested in getting bigger numbers than happy campers, I appreciate that. I feel like I can take on the world. Maybe I will start with the Lincoln City Council!

What I can't take on is 4 miles. I made it to the gym for The Biggest Loser part I and ran during the show. I let myself walk the commercial breaks. It felt pretty easy, because I wasn't concentrating on how far I had to go or how much time I had left. I was just focused on Bob and his team, and how he cried tonight. Still, in 55 minutes, I only managed to get four miles done. That's only good if I was walking. Still, it was a fine workout... just makes me nervous about the 4 miles I have to get in by Sunday.

Lucky Number Seven

I made it to the gym for seven hours this week. This is the first time that has happened in a long time. Two hours for classes both Monday and Wednesday; an hour on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. On top of that I have taken several ten-minute walks around the neighborhood with my mom's dog. Not that we work up a sweat (that's hard to do in 29 degree weather and heavy wind) but it still burns a few extra calories. Not to mention the six varioius push-ups that I have done at different times of the day. I'm pretty proud of myself that I got seven hours of gym time in this week. I am really feeling like I should use my Gold's membership as much as possible before it's gone.

By the end of this month (next Saturday) I have to be able to run four miles. It is looking bleak. Today I told myself that I would just keep slowing down until it happened, and I would let myself take as many 10-second drink breaks as I needed. Well I made it about 2.5 miles, and then I just couldn't go on anymore. I walked .25 miles hoping to start up again, but that never happened. Part of me thinks that I will be able to do it when I absolutely have to... seeing as so much of it is a mental battle. However, it looks like that is going to have to be Tuesday evening, Friday evening or Saturday morning... and the odds are getting slimmer.

Since I am staying at my mom's house this week I don't have an accurate scale to jump on. I did get on hers last week and as a comparison, it is two pounds down. I guess that is good news. I haven't been eating very well. My mom has nothing healthy in her cupboards. Last night I resorted to eating a frozen pizza. I have eaten out several times this week and it needs to stop.

A New Routine

I made it to Gold's today to do 40 minutes of cardio (ran one mile and walked hills the rest of the time) and 20 minutes of upper-body weights. I am starting to develop a routine doing upper body work on Saturdays. It works parts of my body that I just don't get to in BodyPower class. On top of that, I was able to do 4 push-ups today. I still stay mainly on the top half, because if I let myself go past a certain point, I lose control and fall. But it really is an improvement. Unfortunately I only have one more week to belong to Gold's gym. So I will need to learn to take my weight lifting somewhere else, or at least do it at home. I pretty much need heavier weights than the 3 and 5 pounders I have at home. It doesn't do my biceps much good unless I use 10 pounders or more. Or I could do 100 reps instead of 10-15. I am thinking more and more about just joining Goodyear. I might as well try it for a few months to see how I actually like it. I am in the middle of writing the group fitness leader an email requesting a Saturday BodyPower class. I am sure it would be well attended; our class is always full now-a-days; some people have to use body bars instead of the regular weight sets. And we have acquired more and more ex-Gold's class instructors. Ann, had begun subbing over at Goodyear. Next, I will find out where Ryan is and get him to come over and teach me again. Everything will work out perfectly!

Last night I went to a Women's basketball game with Erin. It was fun, and I was able to put my contacts to work! On top of that we saw a lot of really buff (and tall) women. It led to a discussion of needing a reason to get into great shape. We might be starting a small 3 month Biggest Loser competition. We don't have the details worked out yet, but it might just be what I need to make me stop eating for once: Money!

Another Productive Week

I have been very busy this week. I started off the week with a Monday holiday which is always fun, by painting my spare guest room. It is now a wonderful shade of dark grey (often times seen as blue). I managed to sneak in two hours of gym time as well, making it to kickboxing and BodyPower. Although I knew I would be sore from painting, I insisted I keep my weights high. No use even going if I am going to half-ass it. Tuesday I also had the day off, which was great. I made it to the gym in the morning and attempted to run four miles, no matter how slowly I went. I let myself stop for a drink break at two miles and just couldn't start again. I know it is all mental, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around running the better part of an hour. Perhaps once it is nicer and I can do some outdoor workouts it will feel easier. Wednesday I went back for two very difficult classes at Goodyear and again kept my weights high no matter how exhausted I was. I have been trying to add weight to my biceps and it just never gets easier, but I am still working on it. We attempted lunges with our back foot on the bench on Wednesday; that was an interesting new twist to the lunge track. I like that Marika is trying to keep things interesting and I am reminded how I should try to do more lunges at home. Speaking of doing things at home: I was able to do two top-half-real-man push-ups on Wednesday afternoon at work. I was super-impressed with myself, seeing as I couldn't do any just last week. Now I am going to try to do full (top and bottom) push-ups and work on adding more than two.

Besides painting my room, I traveled to Omaha on Tuesday night to order a bridesmaids dress for Jen's wedding; ate a whole bunch of calories at a Mexican restaurant. On Thursday I had a busy day going to the eye doctor, getting contacts, having a really difficult time getting them in and out, thus leaving my eyes to feel like they were watery and burning all day. I also took my Teen Advisory Board on a field trip to Barnes and Noble where I made sure to get a light Frappachino, without the whipped cream, even though they were all eating yummier stuff. I began a six night dog-sitting stint last night, with hopes of taking the dog on a long walk. But with the burning eyes and long day, I went to bed early instead. One more day of work and then another weekend. Yeah! Hopefully it will be good enough weather that the Pup and I can spend some time outside wearing her out and working me out.

Worse Than I Thought

I have been starting and restarting this post several times this week and have never had time to finish it. So I am going to make it short and sweet. I gained four pounds. They all came back from the last week. I am back up to 21 pounds. I am angry at myself and yet unable to stop eating all the deliciously unhealthy food that has been put in front of me. I must do better this week. Although, as I finally get around to posting this on Wednesday evening, it is still just as high, and I have eaten just as poorly.

The Week is Finally Over

It's been a tough week. I'm not exactly sure why. It has something to do with Valentine's day, having a lot of obligations, working an obscure schedule, not having time to go to the grocery store, craving a lot of crappy foods, and recuperating from my cold. But I only worked out five hours and I ate really poorly almost every day. So I am dreading the weigh-in tomorrow morning. On the other hand I know that next week will be better.

Doing Slightly Better

I had today off from work; so my goal was to get up and get to the gym before the blizzard started. Luckily Brandy had the day off as well and we made plans to meet there, so I actually had to do it. Perfect! We did 30 minutes of cardio; I needed to do some running. But I could only keep it up for 3 minutes. So I alternated running and walking for .25 miles. Then we spent some time in the weight room. I was even more sore when I woke up this morning but weight lifting actually helped. I made sure to concentrate on my upper back/shoulder area and now it feels a lot better.

I have eaten pretty poorly this week. I celebrated my ten-year work anniversary by having Margaritas Monday evening (and loads of chips and salsa). I met work friends on Tuesday evening to celebrate Steph's birthday. Wednesday Erin and Jennifer and I went to Qdoba and I discovered this great cheese nacho thing they have (1220 calories!). Good thing I don't go there very often. I haven't had time or energy to go to the grocery store in weeks so I have no food to eat and that means I have eaten out several times. There's only so many times a week a girl can eat at Subway, so my choices aren't always the best. I have plans all weekend too, which probably mean more restaurant eating. Combined with limited gym-time, I am not anticipating a good weigh-in on Monday morning.

Can't. Move. Head.

Well I made it back for Kickboxing last night. We have so many people show up for class that we have moved into the gym now, as opposed to the classroom area. This is fueling my argument for a Saturday class more and more. I was almost back to full-force and could feel myself really getting into the moves. Marika made us do those lunges/side-lunges again and I could immediately feel it in my thighs; they hadn't recovered from Monday yet. Then I stayed for BodyPower and made myself use heavy weights. I had taken a week to recover and now I needed to get back in gear. Today I am so sore in my neck and shoulders area that I can barely move my arms and head. It makes it difficult to do library work, you know: lifting books, typing, pointing to a specific section, lifting boxes and bins, setting up tables and chairs, even smiling hurts! But hey, at least I did something right? And since I bought bridesmaid dress #1 last night, I need to start working super-hard on making sure my shoulders/arms/back side look stunning. You know, so it will look like the rest of me!

One More Day Off

I went to Kickboxing last night but had to leave about half way through. It was just too hot; I was just too sick; and the room was just too spin-y. So I went to the locker room and sat for a while. Then I was ready for BodyPower, which I did light, but still finished. I have perfected the tricep squeeze, where I use lower weight but squeeze my triceps after every repetition, therefore making my muscles sore the next day without having to increase my weights. I am a little soreall over today just because I hadn't been for a week. We actually did different squats last night than ever before. It's a move she got from the kickboxing class where we lunge for a bit and then switch to a side-lunge. That may be why my inner-thigh hurts a bit more than normal.

My goal was to do some running at the gym tonight. But I hardly got any sleep (5 hours), woke up still not feeling well, and it was a long day at work. So I am letting myself take one more day off to recuperate. I hate being sick. Since I don't get ill very often I forget how long it takes to get better. I have been sick for a week now. I still only feel about 70%. So I will take it easy tonight and attempt kickboxing and bodypower again tomorrow. Hopefully I can make it all the way through. Hopefully I am at 100% by tomorrow.

The Precipice

I have had a good week. I lost 4 pounds. This takes me down to 17 pounds to lose. Seventeen pounds... the dreaded seventeen pound mark. I was stuck there from last May until Thanksgiving (except for a brief 6 pound loss during July while I was preparing for my high school reunion). This is the precipice that I can not get around, the canyon I have to trek through. But here's my thought: Last time I just meandered up to the hole and tried to jump over and when you try to jump over a hole standing still, it never works. This time, I have backed myself up (to 28 pounds to be exact) and I have started running towards the hole; and that will be much more successful. Everyone knows that the only way over a canyon is fast running... or a bridge! If I could keep up this pace (11 pounds in a month) I would be done in March, how exciting would that be?! For now, me and my extra seventeen pounds need to finshish getting better and we need to get back to the gym this evening. I never went yesterday because I woke up feeling worse than I had the two days before. But I have finally purchased some good Sudafed (behind-the-counter-type-stuff) and that sucks the sickness right out of me! Ahhh, to be medicated and four pounds lighter! Today will be a good day.

Two Beautiful Days

The last two days here have been sunny and in the mid-sixties. They have been perfect days to run down to the park or take a bike ride down to the trails. What have I done? Worked. I am finally on my sixth and last day of work for two days. I have also been sick. So I have not worked out since Monday. I am feeling gym-withdraw. I am also getting tired of being trapped inside while the beautiful sun-shiny day has been calling my name. Tomorrow, when I finally get a day off and will be feeling better? Snow! But I will make it to the gym tomorrow. Hopefully I can go in the morning before I find other things to occupy my time. I want to get some weight-lifting in especially since I missed bodypower this week. And I need to do some running since I haven't done that for quite a while. I am going to run as long as I possibly can, maybe 4 miles. That's my goal for the end of February and I need to see how far away I am from that. Although with this illness I may need to take it a bit easy my first time back!

My first bookclub meeting is this evening. Another thing that I can cross off of my list (along with: donating blood, buying stock, organizing photos, creating a facebook page, and taking a Zumba class). I just have to decide if I am going to eat a cupcake or not. That will be tonight's temptation. Last night I went to someones 30th birthday party and managed to come away without eating any cake. Sorry Sara; but good for me!

My Streak is Over

I was just commenting to Jennifer last week that I haven't been sick since we got back from California last January. Over a year ago! I credit it to living a healthy lifestyle, getting plenty of sleep, eating well and working out a ton. Then Tuesday morning I woke up not feeling so well. By Tuesday evening I was completely dragging, and by Wednesday morning I was full-out sick. As you can imagine this has cut-down on my working out. I wasn't able to take classes on Wednesday evening, I didn't make it for a run on Tuesday night, I won't be going to the gym at all on Thursday, and Friday and Saturday were already looking bleak due to the fact that I have to work both days and have plans in the evening. So it looks like Sunday will be the next day I am able to make it to the gym. I hate this! The good news is, I'm not very hungry, and my scale was down four pounds this morning! Also, hopefully I won't be sick for another year now!

Bouncy-Bs

I was all set for going to the gym Monday evening. I even had quite a bit of energy -- I was getting a lot of stuff accomplished at work. Then Jennifer calls me and has some excuse for not wanting to go. Okay, she was sick and I understand that. It just wouldn't be so hard to hear her excuses if it wasn't one after the other. I really wish I could just plan to not see her at the gym anymore, so when I did it was a nice surprise, instead of a always being a let down. But it's hard to change your mind set like that. Then I am changing after work and realize that I haven't brought a sports-bra. This would be fine for weight-lifting. But I can't imagine doing Katie's kickboxing class with just my regular bra on. Way too much bouncing, even for me! I couldn't just not go because I was meeting Sara there, and I knew that she wouldn't want to be there alone. So I suggested we try the Spinning class. Way less bouncing in that class... way less impact. And secretly, I kind of hate Katie's kickboxing class and am always looking for a reason to stop taking it. But then, we see Marika driving up and I have a feeling she might be teaching the kickboxing class instead of Katie. I ask her. She is! That's worth the bouncing. And her class is more upper-body, less jumping anyway, so it all worked out.

I have been keeping my weights high on squats lately, and even though it was killer and I felt like I wasn't going very low, I powered-through. Then Erin and I have a new plan. We think we use all of our bicep strength in the first few tracks, so we have none left to work when it comes to bicep time, that's why we can never increase our weight. So we let ourselves go easy on the chest track and made ourselves go higher on the bicep track. It was still very difficult, but I can still pick things up today, so it's better than last time. We also did an interesting new back move. In the five years I have been taking BodyPump there had never been a new back move. But for part of the song we laid on the bench and raised a plate behind our heads. She claimed this worked out upper-back. I didn't feel anything while doing it, but since I have upper-back problems, I might try this more.

The Groundhog saw my scale

Immediately after I got off the scale last week, my weight went up two pounds. So I spent the whole week just attempting to get back to where I started. Unfortunately it never panned out. I gained a pound this week, pushing me back up to 21 pounds. It's frustrating, but I had a feeling after two excellent weigh-ins back to back. I'm sure the Super-Bowl eating didn't help, but it didn't hurt either. I'm proud of that.

You know what does hurt? I am trying out these new recipes right? And even if I try to make them healthy they are never as good for your as cereal, or grilled chicken. And I always have left overs that I eat for three days. Often I don't know how many calories are in each dish. It's a battle to try to stick to a certain calorie count when three days of my week are arbitrary guesses. And that's not even when I eat out!

Super-Dooper

I read somewhere that people consumer more calories on Super-Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year, except for Thanksgiving. I did not want to be part of that statistic. So after the party I was supposed to go to/co-host fell apart, I decided that I would sit at home and do nothing. Doing nothing equals eating like a normal human being. Then Brandy called me and said that they had nothing to do for the game either, so we decided we would watch it together, but we would ensure that the night was still relatively healthy. So I got busy making a Baked Ziti that I have been wanting to try for a while now. It will be new recipe number 3 for the 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. It came from The Biggest Loser Cookbook so it has to be a good choice for dinner. Then I also used some canned Turkey and Low-fat Velveeta to make a dip (because what's a super-bowl without the dip). Brandy is going to bring veggies and dip. So there will be nothing unhealthy served, and I will get another meal crossed off of my list. And I get to spend some time with people I don't see often enough!

To sum up my weekend workouts in one word it would be: attempting. Yesterday I was hoping to run fast one minute, walk one minute for at least a half an hour. The ten-minute-mile pace I had done last week seemed incredibly hard. So after about 10 minutes of that I was exhausted. I then let myself do some hill-walking to round out my 30 minutes. I did a round of upper-body work in the weight room. That got me set for my bridesmaid dress shopping in Omaha all afternoon. Trying on dresses makes me feel very proud of all the work I have done the last few years. All the dresses look good on me, they fit, sometimes I can even get a size 8 on. This is such good motivation and a great example of what I was trying to do. You can't imagine how great it feels to pull a dress off of the rack and know that it will look great! Now, if I could just get my calves to look good in dresses...

This afternoon I had this great idea to jog outside. I haven't been able to run down to my park since last spring. Last fall they had the trail torn out so they could add a new neighborhood and drive way and street. Finally I am reconnected to the park! However, note to self: it must be above 50 degrees to run outside. It was so cold and windy that I had to run around and come home. So I only got 25 minutes of running in. Oh well; I tried!