Moving into a *REST* week

Sorry that I didn't post the pictures and stats on Saturday, like promised... but I was so busy with hockey, Bear's driver's education class and life in general. I did get one of the two planned workouts in and I could really count scrubbing the 3100 square feet of floors a workout too ;) I did Balance and Power and I felt so good about my general progress throughout the first phase. Can I get better... hell ya! Will I get better? You can be sure of it... but that will be following this first round when I give it another shot.

My move of the week is one that I had the worse time with at the beginning of the program. As I have said, countless time, my core is W-E-A-K and so this was a horrendous move for me. I struggled and persevered and finally I am proud of my effort and success with the dreaded Glute Bridge Roll-Out:


































Another thing that I wanted to share with you all about the weekend is a moment of weakness that I had. First let me preface by stating a fact, my Mr. Wonderful and I rarely do things for us as a couple. So, when Wonder Woman invited us to a date night we could not refuse! We gladly accepted the invitation and we treated ourselves to a sushi dinner. This was a first for us and we LOVED it... loved the company, loved the food, loved the wasabi and Sriracha sauce!! Oh, the bottle of wine was great too :) Then we left there and played some pool... and there I indulged on three Bailey's over ice... while Wonder Woman drank ice water... I could really learn something from her! In all we had a wonderful evening and I can't wait to do it again!!











The partially eaten plate of sushi!









Moving on to the workouts...

Balance and Power:

Calories: 478
Avg HR: 126
Max HR: 159

Chest, Back & Balance + ARX2

Calories: 538
My Avg and Max HR were OFF... there is no way my max HR was 224!!!! I think that I would have been DEAD.

Anyway, I struggled with many of the chin ups but did much better than I anticipated. I am pushing really hard to make some serious progress because my health depends on it. I must lose weight but more importantly I must feel stronger and better. I saw my family doctor on Friday and she is going to see me in another 2 months and I want to show her what I can accomplish on P90X2... I will post the results of my medical tests after phase 1 and after phase 3... when I get there. Things that are currently plaguing me are:

1) High Blood Pressure
2) Shocks in my brain (this one scared me and I am going for an MRI)
3) weight gain

I will take care of myself and see the physical changes both internally and externally over time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

So, I am leaving you with a photo of my Bear after getting her passing grade from driver's ed on Sunday... we are taking our lunch to get her permit.

Make it a great day!!!

Sleep was too Comforting this morning

So I will have to blog later about the two workouts that I am doing tonight. I had kinda planned this in my little brain last night and when the alarm went off this morning I just stopped it and returned to my slumber. It felt good but I ended up sleeping in LATE and running late all morning. They are calling for a HUGE snowstorm beginning this afternoon and ending overnight... so if my Dr's appointment is cancelled this afternoon I will spend the afternoon exercising and get to bed early. The excitement of last weekend is still wearing on me and my body is desperate for sleep. I have not taken my move of the week photo yet but I have one in mind and I will ask my Bear to take the shot tonight/this afternoon and share with you on Saturday.

Make it a great day and I am leaving you with some words of wisdom that I found on PINTEREST

Need to Keep My Head in the Game

Yesterday was not a great day nutritionally! Not because I binged or ate the wrong stuff (although I had one little cheat) but because I did not eat nearly enough and as a result I did not have the fuel in my body to pump out a good round of my favorite workouts, Total Body!! I was so disappointed and discouraged... I can't even explain. I did not have the energy nor the willpower throughout the entire video. I thought of pushing stop after the warm up and again three more times during the workout. I wasn't enjoying it because I was constantly fighting with myself to keep going! I hate it when I am not mentally THERE! So, after the lousy workout I took some quick shots of myself to verify if a transformation has begun. I really should have worn the same outfit (and on my ACTUAL comparison pics that is what I am doing but I am not showing those YET) but it was a spur of the moment thing and I was hoping for a little motivation... tell me what you think!

The stats from today's workout:

Calories: 322
Avg HR: 126
Max HR: 152

Thanks for reading, keep pushing play and make it a great day!

P90X2 Update

Well this week marked the last week in phase I of X2. I am so pleased with my progress and I am looking forward to the second phase of the program. I have read that the second phase is where you see the largest physical transformations ... so I am eager and ready. I will take end of phase I pics but I will not be sharing the transformation pictures until the end of the program. I have to admit that now that my Mom has not been joining me for my morning workout that I have been finding it more difficult to stay motivated :( I am not sure if she is planning on joining me in phase II or not... but I am going to keep pushing play, for sure!

My diet was going SO WELL! I lost 9.2 pounds in the first two weeks only to reach TOM and gain everything back... I will be weighing in again Friday and will update if I lost anything (again). My daughter's Sweet 16 made my diet take a beating too... too busy with no time to plan and the result was that I ate the wrong things and too much of them. Then I ate some leftovers for a few days and now I am back on track and logging all my food and exercise.

As for the exercise plan, I missed Yoga last week because of the party and I did not make up for it. I am currently one day behind for this week but I think that I will do Yoga after B&P on Friday to keep my weekends open for family activities. I like to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday so this schedule works best for me. I am still sore all over but not as much as I was with P90X... not even close! I am sure that phase II will change all of that :)

So, the details are:

Balance and Power:
Calories - 422
Avg HR - 121
Max HR - 154

Core:
Calories - 410
Avg HR - 126
Max HR - 161

Plyocide:
Calories - 494
Avg HR - 125
Max HR - 166

Tomorrow morning is Total Body and ARX... probably my favorite of all the workouts :)

Leaving you with a picture following Plyocide this morning :P

Sweet 16

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend... it was a great time and most importantly my Bear LOVED every moment of it. I will get back to blogging about X2 tomorrow... still at it and loving it more and more everyday. My diet took a beating on the weekend but it is Monday today and I am back on track. Weigh in on Friday and I will let you know where I stand ;) Last week of Phase 1... I think, then on to recovery week :P

Here are the pictures:

The Party girl herself...



















The cake and decorations...




























Some of the guests...

My brother and I, My Mr. Wonderful and I, my lil Squeelie and I, my Bubba, Hannah and some of her friends... we all had a great time :) I am glad it is over :P

"The More You do the Better You Get!!"

My love for Tonyisms is returning with every workout. I can't quite understand why I was so intolerant of Tony at the beginning of this round of X2... it baffles me. I mean, I have always appreciated his humor and well, everything about the man really... but the first week and one half of this new program I found him to be annoying. Maybe it was because he was going very fast with fewer instructions? Maybe it was because I did not feel the love for the program at the beginning neither? Whatever it was it has passed. I still don't like the stupid bunny hop move but I will learn to tolerate that too, in time.

This morning was a little tough to get up. Not because I was too tired (because I was in bed by 9pm) but because I am having a hard time with my joints and muscles again. When I get up it takes some time before I can stand upright... I am leaned over like a lady of 90+... just not THIS lady (gotta love PINTEREST)













The truth is that I am due for my next treatment and I am hurting really bad right now. Tomorrow morning I have cleared my schedule and will be receiving my meds and should be back to my new medicine induced 'normal' state within 24 hours. My life has changed so much because of Remicade!!

OK, so back to the workout... I was pushing as hard as my body would allow. I was jumping, sweating and breathing so hard that I woke up my Mr. Wonderful and my 16 year old (yup, she is 16 today... Happy Birthday Bear). I worked through the pain and felt better afterwards but really could have used a nap. I am still a little groggy and I wonder if anyone would notice if I just went for a nap at work :) My reps are almost at par with Tony's group and one more week of this should have me considering whether to move on to phase 2... I will weigh it out when I get there. I hope you are all making time to press play today too... BRING IT!

Calorie: 501
Avg HR: 132
Max HR: 171


Make it a great day!

Crock Pot Oatmeal

As promised, here is the recipe that I use for my crock pot oatmeal. I modify it, of course, to my taste and you can too! The next batch I make will be blueberry coconut oats... mmmmm

I began with my steel-cut oats to which I added an apple (chopped), 6 chopped dates, vanilla and cinnamon. I stirred everything together.




















Next I added the liquid, 4 cups of 1% milk and 1 cup of water:



















Next I placed the heavy bowl in a water bath in the crock-pot and turned it on low...


















Let it cook all night (about 6-7 hours)


















And woke up to a hot bowl of yummy goodness!!! This make a lot (the bowl is FULL) and it will last me the week. This is a week of never being tempted by bread because I KNOW what I am eating... it works for me and I can't wait to taste next week's version!

Have a great day!
BTW, blogger keeps flipping this picture upside-down... not sure why!

Putting my Trust in Tony

Good morning folks! I had a fabulous weekend and I hope that you did too. Plans are well underway for the Sweet 16 bash this upcoming weekend and I am slowly exhausting myself as I try to make sure that all is prepared. I can't wait to share the moment with all of you... I will do a special post in dedication of my Sweet (and sometimes sour... but mostly sweet) sixteen year old.

Saturday I spend my afternoon cleaning the house, with vigorous effort (for the calorie burn) and after three hours of it... I recorded my calories and carried on at a more sensible pace. Our home is 3100 square feet of wood/tile floor and I scrubbed all the floors, polished all the furniture, changed the beds, did the laundry... everything! Of course I usually do this on Saturdays but this weekend was even more important because we are having the beautiful Angel and her boyfriend as our guests next weekend. They have never been to our new home and I wanted the best first impression that I could give them. Angel is my cousin and she is traveling 16 hours to attend my Bear's sweet 16 party... I have the best family ever!!

On Sunday I tried to be lazy and sleep in... didn't work. I did take a nap in the afternoon, well... not really a nap, I watched a movie laying down. I want to try and recover my body on the weekends while still staying as active as my body will allow. I am resolving to listening to my body this round and it is working so far. Later that evening I did a B210K run and I can't believe the changes in my endurance already! I am so pleased that I began this program two weeks early because I wasn't convinced that this program was going to have the effects that the X delivered... but I know now to trust in Tony's judgement. I am going to keep following the plan, bringing it everyday and watching the fat disappear. I am thinking about taking progress pics every two weeks just as a motivational tool... not to share publicly until I am proud of where I am.

I laid in bed with my little Bubba following my run and we snapped this picture to share...


















As we laid there my little Bubba got really emotional... he confessed that he is worried about me dying. I consoled him and explained that the reason Mommy works out is so that I could stay with him longer... as long as God thinks he needs me. He was happier at the end of the conversation but it was a sad moment for my Bubba. He loves his Mommy and mommy loves him just as much.

In closing, I wanted to let you all know that I will be doing a post on the crock-pot oatmeal, with tons of pics, later today. It is great and worth sharing.


Oh, nearly forgot about today's workout! I got up a little later than usual, not because I planned it but because I did not hear my alarm! Normally I would have shrugged it off and said I will try and get it in tonight but this morning I just decided to run late and get up and push play. I did Core and I am so pleased with my progress. I should say that is was not the same without Mom there... I missed having her today. I seem to push myself harder with a partner. That being said I still think that by the end of the next three weeks that I will be able to do it just like Tony! That sounds pretty confident eh! Well, I am full of confidence these days... so look out, I may be on the next infomercial ((((lol, lol, snort, lol))))

My stats:

Calories: 423
Avg HR: 124
Max HR: 158

Make it a great day!!

In closing, I thought that I would add another picture to prove that I am not always sweaty ... I clean up for work :)

Oh What a Night!

Good afternoon everyone! This morning we were on the road quite early heading for Bubba's hockey game. The game was amazing and Bubba's team worked really well together and scored 7 goals. Bubba is defense and did not score a goal but he worked really hard and in the end the opposing team managed one goal (thanks to my bubba and the defense line-ups because the 4 year old goalie is just starting out)... so it was a 7-1 win for Bubba!! He has improved so much since last year and he is owning the ice this year... so proud of my 6 year old superstar.

On to last night... I came home, did up some chores, made supper, left the dishes and went downstairs to workout. Mr. Wonderful came down to see what happened and why I disappeared and walked in on Balance and Power. I invited him to do a few moves and he did great... he has such amazing strength. He has said since the beginning that he felt that the program should have been called P90XX rather than P90X2... because, in his opinion, it is designed for women. He couldn't see himself rolling around on a ball! Well, after trying the push-ups on medicine balls and that crane position on the push up bars he was no longer questioning the difficulty of the program. My weigh-in may have convinced him of the quality of the program as well... but it was fun to see him do the moves and sweat a little. Anyway, I managed to do both the Balance and Power and the Yoga. I was pleased with myself; however, after 2 hours of workouts I then came upstairs to find all the supper mess still waiting for me. I am not sure where I pulled the energy from but I cleaned up all the supper dishes and made a new batch of Steel-Cut oatmeal that I cooked while I slept in the crockpot. I took pics and maybe I will share them in a post this week!

So, here are my stats:

Balance and Power (my favorite workout of all)
Calories:584
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 169

Yoga
Calories: 202
Avg HR: 106
Max HR: 138

Have a great weekend... next week I start my official program :) Can't wait to see the results in a few more weeks!

Time, Patience, Practice

Good morning fellow bloggers and fitness friends! I took last night off as an unplanned rest day and managed my calories to ensure that I did not go over my 1200 calorie daily limit (before exercise). I needed the rest and tonight I will be pumping out the Yoga along with the Balance and Power... it is going to be an exciting evening.

So, today is Friday and I am taking Karen's advice and I have decided to make Friday my weigh-in days to keep me focused for the weekends. So this morning I stepped on the scale to find that it finally moved -- in the right direction! Last week I did not report that I had lost 1 pound from my previous weigh-in. Actually, the first weigh in I thought that there was an error; I couldn't possibly be that size! But alas on the second weigh in there was a move on the scale of 1 pound, so I guess that there was no error. I just can't imagine how much I weighed at the beginning of this round... I didn't have the heart to weigh in! Anyway, moving on...

This morning I saw a loss of 8.2 pounds!!! I could not be more happy! The differences this week is that I started snacking on mixed veggies rather than fruit. I also knew the workouts a bit better and pushed harder... but that is it! Every damn day I pushed play, every damn day I ate clean and every damn day I sweated a ton!! Now I get to enjoy my move on the scale.

On to my Friday Move of the Week. This week my Mom is demonstrating her HALF ANGEL move... isn't she amazing!!

















I know that there are many people doing the program that currently struggle with that move and my Mom makes it look easy. I am getting better but I certainly don't pump them out like Mom does!

And on to my Move of the Week: the Table Chest Press. Mom did much better with the photo this week even though she almost, but didn't quite, cut my head off :P


















Make it a great!! Keep pushing play and BRING IT!

Live Simply, Speak Kindly, Care Deeply, Love Generously

I watched a video today called, "Life is Like Coffee" and it spoke to me! It reminded me to savor life and made me reflect on what cup I would have taken. I appreciated that this morning.

Onto the Non-workout! This morning my Mom met me and I was not feeling the best but I was going to take on TBL's motto this season and say "NO EXCUSES" get 'er done! We started with our before pictures. I took Mom's and she took mine... and what an eye-opener that was! OMGoodness, I have a lot of work to do but I know that I am taking the steps to do it and deal with it. My Mom looks AMAZING and I am certain she is just doing these workouts to support me and I appreciate it so much. I hope and pray that should I see 54 that I look half as good as my Mom (the truth is I will likely look more like my 300 pound Dad but I am going to try and avoid that). Anyway, following the pictures we popped in Yoga and I started, that is until the pain HIT me. I had severe pains in my chest to the point that I was worried. It felt a lot like the time that I had Costochondritis and I could not power through. After 15 minutes and 64 calories burned I stopped the video and began to reflect. Perhaps there is some wisdom behind the mid-week break, perhaps I haven't been getting enough sleep (the past three nights I have had meetings that kept me out until past 10:00)and/or perhaps I should have taken some Tylenol to get me through. Tonight I am going to try again but I will be taking Tylenol about 20 minutes before and see if I can pump out Yoga. Tomorrow I am going to do the workout in the evening and/or afternoon so that I can catch up on some much needed rest. Should the modified schedule result in the same pains next week I will revert to Tony's schedule the following week.

Just popping in to say HI and tell you to come back tomorrow for our favorites moves of the week. Also, take a moment to wish my Mom a safe travel to Ontario.. she is leaving tomorrow morning to go to my sister's house and help her paint. I know, she deserves a MOM OF THE YEAR award!

Make it a great day!

Make A Difference Movie

There are no words to describe the following video, just take a minute and watch it.. you won't be disappointed!

Make A Difference Movie: If you've ever wanted to make a greater impact and empowering influence in your world, I hope you'll enjoy today's movie as a gentle reminder about the one thing that can transform any situation in literally 30 seconds or less:  compassion.brbrWhat a little third grader says to his teacher at Christmas time instantly bypasses the head and goes straight to the heart of any issue, no matter what. brbrYou can re-energize your personal relationships and workplace culture - and inspire greater loyalty - by remembering to put into practice the message of this classic, time honored story.  brbrMake sure to turn on your speakers before you watch it, and according to Sam Brandt ... "You should warn people to get their hankies ready before the movie!" brbrWalter Wood writes ... "I am a 6 ft. 2in., 250-pound construction worker and this short, but profound, film actually brought tears to my eyes.  It made me realize that I must be more mindful when I'm training my apprentices." brbrEach time I watch it I feel inspired to make an even bigger difference by remembering to put compassion first.  I hope you will too! brbrDon't forget to share it with others...They'll thank you for it! brbrTogether we can make a difference...

Total Body - second attempt

Well good morning world! I skipped the rest day today and plowed through Total Body. I think that my body may have liked the active rest day a bit better but I just told my mind to SHUT UP and pressed play. I had asked my Mom to meet me earlier so we could get the ARX2 in this morning as well... so, being the excellent mother that she is, she was waiting for me in our home gym for 20 minutes before I rolled down the stairs at the regular time. I just like sleep too much!!

I have to take a moment to discuss how important it is to have a workout buddy because I think that it is pivotal in the success of this or ANY program. On the days that you would rather just stay in bed the fact that someone is depending on you helps you to get your FAT ass outta bed and into the gym. It helps knowing that you are NOT the only person who struggles with some of the new moves that you are asking your body to attempt. It helps that you can talk about the program all day with this workout buddy because they are as addicted as you are... and they don't judge you for it! In all I think that finding a positive, dedicated and passionate workout buddy will improve your success tremendously!

OK, onto the workout today... I did not face-plant even once today! I managed to squeeze out reps of every workout but this is still one of the hardest (in a great way) workouts. We did complete the ARX2 today too but we skipped the cool-down ((beat me up later, I ran out of time)) It was a great workout and I feel excellent today. I had to pack lunch and supper today because I am on the road until about 8pm tonight... and I did not want to feel tempted to go to Tim Horton's and cheat. I should confess that yesterday I did not eat regularly and it was torture. I ended up binging in the afternoon... nothing could fill me. I ate an apple, 2 strawberries and 1 oz of cashews. I had to physically leave the house because I think that it may have turned BAD fast! I still stayed under my calorie goal but with only 50 calories to spare :P Today will be a better day!

So, here are the stats today:

Calories: 504
Average HR: 121
Max HR: 155

Make it a great day!

Plyocide Squared... the way I like it!

Hey, good morning all! I had a great morning and I hope that you did too. I popped in the Plyocide DVD and we started good and early this morning. We both had a remarkable improvement in our workout and followed along very well. I was sweating by the end of the first set... I mean visibly sweating all over the place :) It was great!!

I have been really doing well on the nutrition side and keeping my calories under goal every day. I have also managed to get all my water down daily but I know that in order to melt away this fat that I have accumulated that it is going to take more energy burned during fitness activities so I have decided to try and run at nights. I have decided to return to running for two reasons... the first is because I MISS it and I am saddened by the loss of endurance I had the last time I "tried" to run but also I need the extra calorie burn. I hope to do that three-four times a week and take my weekends as active rest days and will snowshoe, cross country ski or give my children a good laugh and skate with them. I will openly confess that if any of these activities affect my performance during the X2 program I will back off on them... but if they don't then I am going after this FULL FORCE.

I am going to leave you with a picture of a treat meal that my Mr. Wonderful made me on Friday past... he is so good to me.

Also, here are the stats for my Plyo this morning:

Calories: 534
Average HR: 135
Max HR: 171

Make it a great day!!

A Revelation on a Monday Morning

So, this morning my Mom and I were actually working out by 4:45am... not getting up at that hour but actually sweating!! Before Mom got to my house I tiptoed downstairs and hopped on the scale... this has been something that I have been dreading (and avoiding) for a couple of months now but I did it. I realized that this morning (after likely losing weight from last week's menu and workouts) I weigh more than I have since I was pregnant!!! How does a person begin a great routine, lose weight and feel great and then let an event in their lives halt the whole thing? I am embarrassed and ashamed that I let myself do that ... but then I finished dressing, got my water, took a deep breathe and pushed play. I know that this time this is a forever change. I am already thinking about which program I am doing after the X2 program and thinking long term. I am ready for a serious and long-term change!!

So, back to my regularly scheduled broadcast ;)

We did X2 Core today for the second time and we certainly improved a lot! Are we perfectly executing the moves? NO!! But we definitely see progress and I know that this is going to change the way my core supports me. I am happy that I have started two weeks before the group and that I get an extra two weeks added to the foundation phase because my foundation NEEDS it! The good news today is that I did not face plant... and I was successful on all moves! The bad news... well, there wasn't any!

Here are my stats:

Calories: 421
Average HR: 127
Max HR: 163

I am looking forward to a great week and I hope that you have one too! You should really go check out THIS GUY who is a few weeks ahead of me in this program. He just took his 30 day photo and posted his stats... 15.6 pounds he lost in the first phase!! Pop over there and give that man a virtual pat on the back ... he is really changing his life!

I have squishy balls

So this morning, like the four previous, we entered the gym for some P90X2 and for an ass kicking. Sure we were feeling better than we had all week (maybe it is because of the Yoga yesterday - I am not sure) but that just lead to a false sense of confidence. We pushed play and Mom immediately was concerned because of the name of the workout, "Balance and Power". She struggles with balance and so she was concerned but I thought... no problem! Ahahaha... I should know better by now! During this workout I face planted... twice! I crashed and busted not one but both my knees and all the while I thought that I had a great balance... and perhaps I do but I do need a LOT of work on my core so therein lies the problem. I have committed to trying these workouts this week and I am happy that I did. We are taking Sunday and Monday as rest/recovery days where I intend on active resting. With my muscular and joint issues that foam roller feels too much like massages and the last time that I had a massage it took me FOUR days to recover! That being said, I plan on running on the treadmill/snowshoeing over the next couple of days to increase my calorie burn for the week and end the week strong. Today was a mere 414 calories but only because I was unsure of the moves. Like all the other workouts, when I get the moves down I will be able to really BRING IT throughout the workouts... but for now, that is all I got. Next week will look much like this one because my travel has been canceled and I am almost relieved because I wanted to get a head start with this program. Beginning the 16th I will do the workouts in phase 1 for another three weeks and then do the week of recovery. I will have stayed in phase 1 for 5 weeks with one week recovery... and I am not disappointed because I think that I need a lot of work in that area. I am looking forward to this leg of my journey with my Mom and I already know that I am making changes that will stick this time. Speaking of my Mom... she hopped on the scale this morning and she lost 6 pounds this week!!!! Did you see how small she is to start with and she LOST 6 pounds.... I am so impressed. I will weigh in tomorrow morning to see where I am starting from because, as I said, I did not weigh in before.

So, that is it for me... oh, I guess that I should explain the title of the post :P My medicine balls are squishy and I can not do my pushups from them. Does anyone else have the same problem? I am looking into a pump but my sports store did not have one. I will head to Canadian Tire today and see if they have one... I need harder balls!!

Make it a great day folks!

Oh how I hate thee YOGA!!

I am trying to love Yoga, I really am. I struggled with accepting Yoga during P90x but I thought that with the shorter version of Yoga in X2 that I would be able to learn to love it... so far it is not the case! I hate spending a whole hour of my time to burn a mere 179 calories... cleaning the house would have burned more!!! I want to do it... I know Tony says that I should but Gosh Darn IT, do I have too... really?!!??

Anyway, enough whining... I am going to try to keep with it throughout the program but so far I just don't like Yoga. I guess it is kind of like learning to run... I wanted to feel that "runner's high" but at first I just felt like puking or turning around and going home. I persevered with running and I am going to try and do the same with Yoga so that I can find the flexibility and balance benefits from it. But I still don't like it!! At least it is only once a week.

So my friend Laura, who is doing P90X2 right now too, (head over to her blog here and check her out... she is AMAZING!) is doing a weekly Yoga pose entry on her blog so I thought that we could do the same here. I would post a weekly pic on my blog of my MOM (who is 54 BTW) and I doing a favorite pose of the week. I will post them on Fridays... starting today!! YIKES Do not judge me for having gained so much weight... I am working at taking it off ;)

Make it a great day folks... one more day to go and I have been through all of the workouts at least once. I can't wait for the 16th and I am going to try to do the workouts in a hotel room next week -.- that should be fun!

OK, and before I share the pics I want to add a disclosure statement (or three)...

1- I am the photographer in the family and I know what angles to take pics at... not my Mom (Mom took my pic and I took hers)
2- At the age of 54 my Mom COULD be on the cover of downward dog magazine ;) She is hot!!
3- I am sporting some 4:45am hair... looks terrible but I don't care at that hour... sorry!!

Once again... have a great day!

Total Body is CRAZY AWESOME

Well, I am not going to resist giving my opinion about this workout today... it was awesome! I think that tomorrow I will be suffering but today I am feeling GREAT! I have to say that I do NOT have an accurate read on my HRM today because the darn thing kept beeping and squeaking and couldn't read my HR but it did register 321 calories although I am certain that I burned over that.

Now it wouldn't be fair to just leave you with all these glorious thoughts that Total Body was pure Ecstasy because it was HARD. There were these crunchy pull up things that were impossible for me to do... there were bouncing push ups that were a real challenge and I was only able to do about three of them... but it was a great challenge and I hope that I will be able to do them before week 4. I have the ARX2 left to do and I am going to try and get it in tonight. Mr. Wonderful started back at some training yesterday so maybe he will do the ARX with me... that would be great!

I am regretting not taking my measurements at the beginning of the week because I feel like I have already seen some changes in my mid-section. I will measure just before I start the program and weigh in but for now I am going blind. I keep reminding myself that I am just doing this to get a feel for the workouts so that I can be better equipped to do the program beginning on the 16th... but I am already really excited about everything!! I get up before the alarm now... and, for the record, I am NOT a morning person. I can't wait to get this party started and start earning my new physique.

On the nutrition side, I have been doing great and feeling awesome because of it. I made the Beef Barley soup from the nutrition guide because we love soup and it is tasty stuff. I will definitely be making that again!! I have been getting all my water in and peeing like crazy... but that is all a part of the game.

Hope you are all doing well... make it a great day!

The STEP-Mother-in-law of all workouts....

Well, we have successfully completed the Plyocide workout and I am still learning what the workouts are all about so I am going to resist giving my opinion on it. I have to say that it was surprising to me that I burned 510 calories considering that I was trying to learn the moves. When I know what to do I think that I will get a lot out of this workout. I am SORE today from yesterday's workout but managed very well throughout Plyo this morning. Mom and I decided that we would hold off on the mobility and recovery that is scheduled for tomorrow and go right into total body. I have a limited amount of time to get through each of the DVDs before the program really starts... I have a sweet 16 party that I am planning, I have to travel for work next week and my Mom is leaving to visit my sister in about a week... so we are going to press through. I am feeling good about getting it done in the morning BUT I have not returned to work yet... that begins tomorrow, I hope that it goes well.

Overall, I am feeling great! I have been getting my water in and logging all my calories and keeping them under my goal. 2012 is starting off well!!

Make it a great day everyone and keep pressing play or lacing up :)

Getting geared up

So we started this morning... my alarm went off at 4:45am and I tiptoed into the hallway to get ready in the bathroom without waking anyone up and was startled to see my Mom standing there. She was all dressed for working out with a smile on her face... we are going to try to get one attempt at each of the videos before we start the actual program on the 16th. We went downstairs where all the equipment was waiting for us... foam rollers, stability balls, medicine balls and of course Core X2. We began the adventure and I would be lying if I said that we didn't struggle. We probably did not get half the reps in about half the exercises but then there were other exercises that we did really well at. My Mom struggles with her balance and I am just weak in the core altogether so this will be an interesting round, for sure. I am pleased to say that before 6am I burned 411 calories and I feel great. All that work first thing in the morning should keep me in check when it comes to making food choices... at least that is what I am hoping for. So, tomorrow we are doing Plyocide... looking forward to it.

Make it a great day and Happy New Year everyone!

I am leaving you with some pictures from our New Years at Crystal Palace and some of the workout equipment... I have a GREAT life!!