Well, I'm done Level One. And there is no denying that it was particularly easy this morning. I hardly broke a sweat. I also succeeded at doing 6 (!) real push-ups. Here's to progress.
I am going to do some weights today as well. I have a large Easter dinner, a lot of chocolate, and pie with ice cream to work off!
Showing posts with label Level 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Level 1. Show all posts
April 13, 2009
April 11, 2009
The Shred - Day 9
Today was definitely easy. Barely a challenge - well except for the push-ups. Sigh. Will I never have upper body strength?
I should probably have done some more exercise besides that (considering how much chocolate I ate yesterday...) but I had to go to work early. Them's the breaks. One nice thing is that working out has started to become a habit. I don't need to motivate myself so much anymore - I just kinda do it. This is excellent mental progress.
I also gotta say, I really like the looks of my new butt :D
Don't expect any updates tomorrow. I'm taking Easter Sunday off. Happy weekend everyone!
I should probably have done some more exercise besides that (considering how much chocolate I ate yesterday...) but I had to go to work early. Them's the breaks. One nice thing is that working out has started to become a habit. I don't need to motivate myself so much anymore - I just kinda do it. This is excellent mental progress.
I also gotta say, I really like the looks of my new butt :D
Don't expect any updates tomorrow. I'm taking Easter Sunday off. Happy weekend everyone!
April 10, 2009
The Shred - Day 8
This will be quick and to the point. Because I'm tired and will soon go to bed.
Day 8 was fairly easy. I was able to do a whole 3 real push-ups today, and I was barely winded by the end of the video.
I also started watching some sections of level 2. Let me just say, I am not excited about the travelling push-ups. Ow.
Day 8 was fairly easy. I was able to do a whole 3 real push-ups today, and I was barely winded by the end of the video.
I also started watching some sections of level 2. Let me just say, I am not excited about the travelling push-ups. Ow.
April 09, 2009
The Shred - Day 7
- I think I might actually flip-out next time I hear Jillian say "Don't phone it in." The constant repetition of this stupid expression is realllllly grating on my nerves.
- I'm quite sore after yesterday, so I still haven't managed more than 2 real push-ups.
- Cans of beans apparently are much more effective than cans of soup. I feel the burn.
- I've finally downloaded my official before pics. I've taken them from 4 angles: Front, Back, Side, other side.
- I'm concerned that I will soon be graduating to Level 2. NOT looking forward to working hard again. But, it is what it is. My body will not tone up if I don't stress it a bit.
- My heart rate recovery time has improved 900%. Now, immediately after finishing the stretching portion of the video, my heart rate is down to 96bpm. After the first day I it was still going at near work-out pace 10mins later (about 126bpm). Now 5 mins later, my hear rate is completely recovered compared with 45mins later. yikes.
- After speaking with my Dad about coming with us to view some houses, he agreed to lend me his set of weights. He has a dumbbell set with 2lb, 5lb, 10lb, and 15lb weights. Perfect.
- I've begun sorting out all my size 9 pants and medium shirts and will be taking them to the Salvation Army shortly. I haven't been a size 9 or medium for a number of years and the clothes are just taking up way to much space. Plus, I always just kept them around in case I ended up gaining weight again. But that was the old unmotivated me. The new energetic me wants to maintain her current size 7 and blast away the muffin top. It's kind of freeing to get rid of the clothes.
- I'm quite sore after yesterday, so I still haven't managed more than 2 real push-ups.
- Cans of beans apparently are much more effective than cans of soup. I feel the burn.
- I've finally downloaded my official before pics. I've taken them from 4 angles: Front, Back, Side, other side.
- I'm concerned that I will soon be graduating to Level 2. NOT looking forward to working hard again. But, it is what it is. My body will not tone up if I don't stress it a bit.
- My heart rate recovery time has improved 900%. Now, immediately after finishing the stretching portion of the video, my heart rate is down to 96bpm. After the first day I it was still going at near work-out pace 10mins later (about 126bpm). Now 5 mins later, my hear rate is completely recovered compared with 45mins later. yikes.
- After speaking with my Dad about coming with us to view some houses, he agreed to lend me his set of weights. He has a dumbbell set with 2lb, 5lb, 10lb, and 15lb weights. Perfect.
- I've begun sorting out all my size 9 pants and medium shirts and will be taking them to the Salvation Army shortly. I haven't been a size 9 or medium for a number of years and the clothes are just taking up way to much space. Plus, I always just kept them around in case I ended up gaining weight again. But that was the old unmotivated me. The new energetic me wants to maintain her current size 7 and blast away the muffin top. It's kind of freeing to get rid of the clothes.
April 08, 2009
Me so hungry.... :(
So one thing I'm noticing with the constant exercise is that I'm ALWAYS hungry. I think I'm going to have to up my caloric intake. I was aiming for under 1800 when I was just starting this - considering my height and weight. Now that my muscles need fuel to heal and strengthen, I need more food.
By the way, day 6 went fine. My shoulder is grinding a lot more, although that might be because I upped my weights to cans of beans. Just a bit more challenging.
I also did 2 real push-ups today. Booyeah!
By the way, day 6 went fine. My shoulder is grinding a lot more, although that might be because I upped my weights to cans of beans. Just a bit more challenging.
I also did 2 real push-ups today. Booyeah!
April 07, 2009
The Shred - Day 5
Apparently I should just bite my tongue when I get the idea that this thing isn't hard :P
I'm definitely winded. Also, I think I might graduate from tomato soup can weights to tomato sauce can weights. I'm not getting much of an arm workout and I think using a larger volume can might help. The one snag? I only have one can of tomato sauce.
Today I saw a significant improvement in my recovery time. My heart rate was down to just faster than normal by the end of the cool down, and 5 mins later I'm feeling just fine. This is way better than being utterly destroyed for the remainder of the evening.
One final crazy thought to add. My husband and I have been lusting over this 5 bedroom house located on 3 acres of land just outside town (read no municipal taxes but convenient for work). It's been on the market since at least January - we've been tracking it since then. It's only $7K out of our price range. We've got it in our heads that we'll have our own bedroom, 2 for kids, a shared home-office and a workout room in the basement bedroom. We've got a weight machine being used as a laundry rack in our bedroom now, and we could buy my Dad's elliptical machine since he's desperate to sell it. We could put my 15" tv in there, get a yoga mat. Ah, pipe dreams :)
Wishlist:
1. Another can of tomato sauce or
2. Real weights :)
I'm definitely winded. Also, I think I might graduate from tomato soup can weights to tomato sauce can weights. I'm not getting much of an arm workout and I think using a larger volume can might help. The one snag? I only have one can of tomato sauce.
Today I saw a significant improvement in my recovery time. My heart rate was down to just faster than normal by the end of the cool down, and 5 mins later I'm feeling just fine. This is way better than being utterly destroyed for the remainder of the evening.
One final crazy thought to add. My husband and I have been lusting over this 5 bedroom house located on 3 acres of land just outside town (read no municipal taxes but convenient for work). It's been on the market since at least January - we've been tracking it since then. It's only $7K out of our price range. We've got it in our heads that we'll have our own bedroom, 2 for kids, a shared home-office and a workout room in the basement bedroom. We've got a weight machine being used as a laundry rack in our bedroom now, and we could buy my Dad's elliptical machine since he's desperate to sell it. We could put my 15" tv in there, get a yoga mat. Ah, pipe dreams :)
Wishlist:
1. Another can of tomato sauce or
2. Real weights :)
Various musings
Haven't gotten around to doing my exercises yet today. Bad me. I'll have to concentrate on motivating myself in the near future.
I found a couple articles on circadian rhythms, hormones, metabolism and exercise.
When's the Best Time of Day to Exercise?"
Peak Athletic Performance Related to Time of Day
I find it interesting in that most of what I hear "people" say is that it's best to exercise in the morning to kickstart your metabolism for the rest of the day. Whereas these studies seem to contradict that belief. In any case the most efficient time of day isn't going to effect my habits too much. Since my work schedule varies quite a bit, I intend to continue trying to fit my workouts in whenever I happen to be home.
Now to my analysis of the Shred.
It's getting easy way too quickly. The only thing that still challenges me is the push-ups. Perhaps this is because I'm no longer waking up in the morning with sore aching muscles. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment. Either way I'm considering starting Level 2 earlier than planned - perhaps Friday.
Not to say that my heart rate doesn't skyrocket or that I'm not winded by the end of it. But I don't really feel that I'm getting a total body workout. Or maybe I'm just getting bored doing the same exact workout every day. When I watch my husband do the P90X, he does a different video each day of the week. It changes things up, works different muscle groups and keeps him off balance enough that the next day is always a challenge. It looks far more interesting and effective than what I am doing. Unfortunately I currently can't do pull-ups worth a damn so there's no point in starting on the p90X just now.
I'm also noticing some strange grinding and frequent cracking in my knee and shoulder joints. The knee grinding is not new - I have always had knee issues and they've always snapped crackled and popped. But I don't like this new shoulder issue. It's not causing me any pain and for now it is just an annoyance. But I'm going to have to watch it a bit and maybe see my doctor about it...
Last, and certainly not least, my husband told me my tush looks smaller. Glee :D And I've definitely noticed his abs are becoming nicely defined. This exercise stuff works wonders!
I found a couple articles on circadian rhythms, hormones, metabolism and exercise.
When's the Best Time of Day to Exercise?"
Peak Athletic Performance Related to Time of Day
I find it interesting in that most of what I hear "people" say is that it's best to exercise in the morning to kickstart your metabolism for the rest of the day. Whereas these studies seem to contradict that belief. In any case the most efficient time of day isn't going to effect my habits too much. Since my work schedule varies quite a bit, I intend to continue trying to fit my workouts in whenever I happen to be home.
Now to my analysis of the Shred.
It's getting easy way too quickly. The only thing that still challenges me is the push-ups. Perhaps this is because I'm no longer waking up in the morning with sore aching muscles. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment. Either way I'm considering starting Level 2 earlier than planned - perhaps Friday.
Not to say that my heart rate doesn't skyrocket or that I'm not winded by the end of it. But I don't really feel that I'm getting a total body workout. Or maybe I'm just getting bored doing the same exact workout every day. When I watch my husband do the P90X, he does a different video each day of the week. It changes things up, works different muscle groups and keeps him off balance enough that the next day is always a challenge. It looks far more interesting and effective than what I am doing. Unfortunately I currently can't do pull-ups worth a damn so there's no point in starting on the p90X just now.
I'm also noticing some strange grinding and frequent cracking in my knee and shoulder joints. The knee grinding is not new - I have always had knee issues and they've always snapped crackled and popped. But I don't like this new shoulder issue. It's not causing me any pain and for now it is just an annoyance. But I'm going to have to watch it a bit and maybe see my doctor about it...
Last, and certainly not least, my husband told me my tush looks smaller. Glee :D And I've definitely noticed his abs are becoming nicely defined. This exercise stuff works wonders!
April 06, 2009
The Shred - Day 4, and then some
More of the same today. Less pain, better endurance overall. I'm going to have to start pushing myself a bit harder with the push-ups next time. I've been doing the easy ones and they've become, well, easy. Tomorrow it's time to start doing real push-ups.
As previously mentioned, my arms aren't getting much of a workout. This is mostly due to the fact that I don't have real weights (I've been substituting soup cans) and my resistance band is too hard to coordinate. So I followed the Shred with some of the arm workouts from the sparkpeople site. Definitely feeling the upperbody burn now.
As previously mentioned, my arms aren't getting much of a workout. This is mostly due to the fact that I don't have real weights (I've been substituting soup cans) and my resistance band is too hard to coordinate. So I followed the Shred with some of the arm workouts from the sparkpeople site. Definitely feeling the upperbody burn now.
April 05, 2009
The Shred - Day 3
Hmmmmm. Well, it is getting better. Even after taking yesterday completely off to give my various muscles a chance to heal, today was easier. I hear that Day 4 is when you really notice a difference, but Day 3 was good.
I was able to do all the "easy" push-ups the first round, and only really started groaning and trembling the 2nd time through. I also managed to follow the more intense cardio variation this time and only got a bit dizzy when switching to lying down for the abs section.
After it was all over I was feeling pretty good. My heart rate recovered about 5 times faster than on Day 1 (ie I was winded for 5mins instead of dead for 25mins).
I'm glad I took the day off yesterday too because I got up this morning and walked downstairs without pain. It was nice. The fact that my legs weren't screaming in pain during the exercises allowed me to actually get more involved in the movements. I expect that I'll be waking up with sore thighs and shoulders again tomorrow however.
I've decided that I'm going to need to do some more arm workouts in conjunction with the Shred. It doesn't really work anything except my shoulders and my biceps a little. So my plan is going to be to continue doing my various Spark generater arm exercises for my biceps and triceps every other day and the Shred as many days in a row as I can handle to a maximum of 6 consecutive days (everyone needs a break now and then).
I was able to do all the "easy" push-ups the first round, and only really started groaning and trembling the 2nd time through. I also managed to follow the more intense cardio variation this time and only got a bit dizzy when switching to lying down for the abs section.
After it was all over I was feeling pretty good. My heart rate recovered about 5 times faster than on Day 1 (ie I was winded for 5mins instead of dead for 25mins).
I'm glad I took the day off yesterday too because I got up this morning and walked downstairs without pain. It was nice. The fact that my legs weren't screaming in pain during the exercises allowed me to actually get more involved in the movements. I expect that I'll be waking up with sore thighs and shoulders again tomorrow however.
I've decided that I'm going to need to do some more arm workouts in conjunction with the Shred. It doesn't really work anything except my shoulders and my biceps a little. So my plan is going to be to continue doing my various Spark generater arm exercises for my biceps and triceps every other day and the Shred as many days in a row as I can handle to a maximum of 6 consecutive days (everyone needs a break now and then).
April 02, 2009
The Shred - Day 2
Well, I managed to pull together enough willpower to put that damn DVD in again this morning before work. I was planning to just chicken out and do some Spark strength training, but I surprised myself.
And it wasn't as bad as I remember it being yesterday. Admittedly, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't put as much effort into the moves as I did at the beginning, but I was still able to work up quite a sweat and I was definitely feeling the burn when Jillian said I should be. I started off doing the easier adaptations of the moves but was able to follow the advanced girl by the end of the 30mins. I'm pretty proud of myself. Oh, and it is very rewarding to punch in the direction of Jillian's head during the boxing.
I also substituted canned soup for weights today. I figured they would be far less likely to cause damage or break than the wine bottles would be if dropped.
My legs and shoulders hurt A LOT today. I can barely walk up and down stairs and I groan the entire time. I am not looking forward to attempting to carry yesterdays' laundry upstairs and putting it away. Maybe I'll just procrastinate on that today. I also didn't do the dishes but I am sure they will do themselves...that happens right?
No before and after shots today I'm afraid, my camera batteries died and apparently every other battery in the apt. is dead as well.
And it wasn't as bad as I remember it being yesterday. Admittedly, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't put as much effort into the moves as I did at the beginning, but I was still able to work up quite a sweat and I was definitely feeling the burn when Jillian said I should be. I started off doing the easier adaptations of the moves but was able to follow the advanced girl by the end of the 30mins. I'm pretty proud of myself. Oh, and it is very rewarding to punch in the direction of Jillian's head during the boxing.
I also substituted canned soup for weights today. I figured they would be far less likely to cause damage or break than the wine bottles would be if dropped.
My legs and shoulders hurt A LOT today. I can barely walk up and down stairs and I groan the entire time. I am not looking forward to attempting to carry yesterdays' laundry upstairs and putting it away. Maybe I'll just procrastinate on that today. I also didn't do the dishes but I am sure they will do themselves...that happens right?
No before and after shots today I'm afraid, my camera batteries died and apparently every other battery in the apt. is dead as well.
April 01, 2009
The Shred - Day 1
Oh.my.god.
So when they tell you this will give you an intense workout, they're not lying. No siree Bob. I almost passed out at the 20min mark during the 2nd round of boxing. I noticed I was punching more towards the floor than the tv and started feeling preeeety nauseous. I would have stopped then and there if my husband hadn't been there to "encourage" me to continue ("Ginny, don't stop now, you can throw up later"). Anyway, I finished. Barely made my way through the cool down, and collapsed on the floor for awhile.
See me before I start. All naive and gung-ho
See the pic my husband took 15 mins after I was done. Still on the floor concentrating on breathing and not vomiting.
I've come to the realization that my resistance band is not going to cut it for these exercises either. It is neither logistically nor physically possible to do the exercises so I'm going to have to invest in some 2lb & 5lb weights - as fun as it was to randomly invade my wine cooler and do bicep curls with a Chardonnay (note to self - find something less expensive next time).
But. 2hrs later I'm feeling pretty good. If not a bit sore. I'm also ravenously hungry so I shall leave you on that note.
So when they tell you this will give you an intense workout, they're not lying. No siree Bob. I almost passed out at the 20min mark during the 2nd round of boxing. I noticed I was punching more towards the floor than the tv and started feeling preeeety nauseous. I would have stopped then and there if my husband hadn't been there to "encourage" me to continue ("Ginny, don't stop now, you can throw up later"). Anyway, I finished. Barely made my way through the cool down, and collapsed on the floor for awhile.
See me before I start. All naive and gung-ho
See the pic my husband took 15 mins after I was done. Still on the floor concentrating on breathing and not vomiting.
I've come to the realization that my resistance band is not going to cut it for these exercises either. It is neither logistically nor physically possible to do the exercises so I'm going to have to invest in some 2lb & 5lb weights - as fun as it was to randomly invade my wine cooler and do bicep curls with a Chardonnay (note to self - find something less expensive next time).
But. 2hrs later I'm feeling pretty good. If not a bit sore. I'm also ravenously hungry so I shall leave you on that note.
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