I had a light workout week this week. At least it seems that way, but really I only missed one workout on Wednesday because I randomly threw up and missed karate. It seemed random because I didn't feel sick, but then my son threw up that night and I figured I actually had something.
Anyway, I am starting to feel like I'm in my old body--the one I had before I had another baby. It's the way I can move. I worked out in my yard on Tuesday in the sunshine and shoveled some dirt around and felt GREAT! My hips were a little stiff later, but I'm getting over that faster and faster all the time.
Tomorrow is the slimdown and weights. That's some sweat! I'm getting excited about all of this again. About six-ten weeks into this whole thing I felt burned out and a bit grouchy about the hyper focus on losing weight. Now I'm motivated again and excited about being active. The more I do, the easier it is and the better it feels. And the sunshine really helps. I expect to lose the bulk of my extra weight this summer while I'm playing around in my yard, doing something I love and not even noticing that I'm 'working out.' And my yard will look great.
Yeah!
But I also have to give a shout out to my husband. Not only does he work out with me, but he does laundry and dishes and changes poopy diapers without making faces about it. Go Sean!!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Faithful
I got to go outside today! I love to be outside doing anything--walking, yardwork, playing, watching my kids play at the park. I got outside for a walk today, and I'm about to go out to do a little tree trimming. Yardwork is just around the corner.
I love the kind of exercise that doesn't feel like exercise. I think that's why I like sports so much; it's easier to be in the moment giving it your all than when I'm on a machine and thinking of nothing other than not looking at my time until the next commercial break.
Yardwork is supposed to burn somewhere around 350 calories an hour. I can do yardwork all day. It's completely mentally consuming and at the end of it I get to look at my yard and see what I've done.
The challeng of yard work is that it's a sort of 'seize the day' activity around here because it's hit and miss with the wind that blows really hard in the spring and the summer afternoons. That makes it harder to schedule workouts because when the day is nice, I ditch EVERYTHING else and go outside to work on my yard.
So far I've been sticking with the workout routine I made for myself a couple of weeks ago. It's intense, but I like it for that reason, and my husband hitches a ride on some of my routines. Right now I 'm heading up to the 'The Shop' for my weight routine and the sauna.
To reach my prepregnancy weight by the end of the year, I have to lose an average of three pounds each month. To reach my goal weight, I have to lose an average of four pounds each month. That's one pound a week. Doesn't sound so bad when I think of it that way. I'm still determined to visit the scale as little as possible and just focus on how the workouts make me feel, but the weight loss goal is also driving me, always in the back of my mind.
I love the kind of exercise that doesn't feel like exercise. I think that's why I like sports so much; it's easier to be in the moment giving it your all than when I'm on a machine and thinking of nothing other than not looking at my time until the next commercial break.
Yardwork is supposed to burn somewhere around 350 calories an hour. I can do yardwork all day. It's completely mentally consuming and at the end of it I get to look at my yard and see what I've done.
The challeng of yard work is that it's a sort of 'seize the day' activity around here because it's hit and miss with the wind that blows really hard in the spring and the summer afternoons. That makes it harder to schedule workouts because when the day is nice, I ditch EVERYTHING else and go outside to work on my yard.
So far I've been sticking with the workout routine I made for myself a couple of weeks ago. It's intense, but I like it for that reason, and my husband hitches a ride on some of my routines. Right now I 'm heading up to the 'The Shop' for my weight routine and the sauna.
To reach my prepregnancy weight by the end of the year, I have to lose an average of three pounds each month. To reach my goal weight, I have to lose an average of four pounds each month. That's one pound a week. Doesn't sound so bad when I think of it that way. I'm still determined to visit the scale as little as possible and just focus on how the workouts make me feel, but the weight loss goal is also driving me, always in the back of my mind.
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Weight off my Shoulders
So, it's been about a month since I last worked out with Carl and weighed myself. I realized that I am happy with my own routine here at home and started using the weightlifting equipment I have already. I am disciplined when it comes to fitness and I enjoy it, especially when I don't have to stress out about driving and scheduling times.
Anyway, I have lost nine pounds in the last month! I realize part of it is making up for the previous two months when the needle on the scale didn't budge, but that's how losing weight goes. I knew I was losing inches and I was getting frustrated that the scale didn't match what I was feeling. Now it does. I don't really like scales. I prefer to go more based on how working out makes me feel, and the scale in this contest has been a kind of distraction and not really very encouraging. I decided I will weigh myself only once every month or so and try to focus on what I like--the exercise.
I have done the slimdown workout twice now. My husband did it with me on Saturday and is letting me know about every part of his body that is sore. I like working out with him. It's a really healthy and supportive way for us to spend time together. We hit the sauna after the workout and talked.
Then yesterday I met with my brother and went over a weight routine that I'm going to do twice a week. It coordinates well with the workout I get in karate three days each week so that I'm letting my muscles rest enough. I have a weekly routine figured out that works the slimdown and the weights in with my karate and gives me two days each week completely off.
I'm excited! Not so much for the weight loss, although that is encouraging, but more because I feel like my old self a little more every day. I can move better and have the endurance I had before. I can't wait for yardwork and walks with my baby this summer. They'll have to be worked in to my routine, but it'll be nice to be outside and doing something different than the winter routine.
I might even wear a swimsuit on a karate trip in April--we'll see!
Anyway, I have lost nine pounds in the last month! I realize part of it is making up for the previous two months when the needle on the scale didn't budge, but that's how losing weight goes. I knew I was losing inches and I was getting frustrated that the scale didn't match what I was feeling. Now it does. I don't really like scales. I prefer to go more based on how working out makes me feel, and the scale in this contest has been a kind of distraction and not really very encouraging. I decided I will weigh myself only once every month or so and try to focus on what I like--the exercise.
I have done the slimdown workout twice now. My husband did it with me on Saturday and is letting me know about every part of his body that is sore. I like working out with him. It's a really healthy and supportive way for us to spend time together. We hit the sauna after the workout and talked.
Then yesterday I met with my brother and went over a weight routine that I'm going to do twice a week. It coordinates well with the workout I get in karate three days each week so that I'm letting my muscles rest enough. I have a weekly routine figured out that works the slimdown and the weights in with my karate and gives me two days each week completely off.
I'm excited! Not so much for the weight loss, although that is encouraging, but more because I feel like my old self a little more every day. I can move better and have the endurance I had before. I can't wait for yardwork and walks with my baby this summer. They'll have to be worked in to my routine, but it'll be nice to be outside and doing something different than the winter routine.
I might even wear a swimsuit on a karate trip in April--we'll see!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
New Workout
I started a new workout today that I want to do on my off-karate days. Thanks to Momma Bear, I am now sore and have to squint when I get up off of the toilet because my quads are so tired.
Momma Bear emailed me the link to a workout that Jillian Michaels designed for Self. It's a good one. I dripped sweat onto my living room floor, and that makes me happy.
I subscribe to Women's Health magazine, and I read it from cover to cover every month. They have some killer workouts, but many of the exercises require some kind of equipment that I don't have lying around the house. Gyms have all of the equipment that their routines ask for, but I don't keep my house equipped with a kettle ball and a weight bar and varying dumbells....etc. I also like exercises that use my own body weight and require me to balance with my core. This workout does all of that.
It does require a bench and a stability ball and a set of dumbells. I used my Bowflex bench, asked my dad for one of his stability balls (when it comes to working out, my dad can never tell me 'no'--where do you think the dumbells and the Bowflex came from?), and I have a set of three pound dumbells that I used even though the workout calls for 5 to 12 pound weights.
So, I'm going to be sore. I can feel it in several places. I do a really good job of working out on my own. I could have used a little help with the exercises on the stability ball since they were HARD (and my version looked more like a twitch than a full badonkadonk raise), but I motivate myself really well.
I really believe in finding what kind of exercise works well for you. Jenn likes the bike, Michelle is friends with the treadmill--I'm not a machine person. I like my bowflex, but that's the only 'machine' I've ever used consistently. I'm short, and I've found that most of the time the machines don't fit me very well because they are designed, most often, for the average man of 5'8" or taller, and I'm more than just a few inches shy. I also have really small hands and I have a hard time with the grips, too. If I wasn't so in to karate, I'd probably still prefer some sort of class, like the total body class at Kody's.
The workout I started is at www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2009/01-the-great-one-month-slimdown-slideshow I don't know if this link will work, but you can find it through self.com if nothing else. You might even find something else you like. I'm going to find something new to mix in there in a month or so to keep it fresh.
Good luck!
Momma Bear emailed me the link to a workout that Jillian Michaels designed for Self. It's a good one. I dripped sweat onto my living room floor, and that makes me happy.
I subscribe to Women's Health magazine, and I read it from cover to cover every month. They have some killer workouts, but many of the exercises require some kind of equipment that I don't have lying around the house. Gyms have all of the equipment that their routines ask for, but I don't keep my house equipped with a kettle ball and a weight bar and varying dumbells....etc. I also like exercises that use my own body weight and require me to balance with my core. This workout does all of that.
It does require a bench and a stability ball and a set of dumbells. I used my Bowflex bench, asked my dad for one of his stability balls (when it comes to working out, my dad can never tell me 'no'--where do you think the dumbells and the Bowflex came from?), and I have a set of three pound dumbells that I used even though the workout calls for 5 to 12 pound weights.
So, I'm going to be sore. I can feel it in several places. I do a really good job of working out on my own. I could have used a little help with the exercises on the stability ball since they were HARD (and my version looked more like a twitch than a full badonkadonk raise), but I motivate myself really well.
I really believe in finding what kind of exercise works well for you. Jenn likes the bike, Michelle is friends with the treadmill--I'm not a machine person. I like my bowflex, but that's the only 'machine' I've ever used consistently. I'm short, and I've found that most of the time the machines don't fit me very well because they are designed, most often, for the average man of 5'8" or taller, and I'm more than just a few inches shy. I also have really small hands and I have a hard time with the grips, too. If I wasn't so in to karate, I'd probably still prefer some sort of class, like the total body class at Kody's.
The workout I started is at www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2009/01-the-great-one-month-slimdown-slideshow I don't know if this link will work, but you can find it through self.com if nothing else. You might even find something else you like. I'm going to find something new to mix in there in a month or so to keep it fresh.
Good luck!
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