Weekend catch up

Sat am hubby and I had a great Real Ryder class with Max - she delivers (as always) a challenging ride that leaves me hot and sweaty! It also leave me with shaky legs that I don't trust leaving steep stairs out of the building! LOL!

Sat night we attended a 30th party, at the Elephant Castle pub, for one of my dearest friend - I've know Jen since she was 18 and the cool part of this has been watching her through the stages of becoming a full fledged grown up - early partying years, variety of apartments and boys, moving in with the man who would become her husband and just recently the birth of their beautiful baby boy Max! Love you Jenny!

Anyway, last night was fun but higher on the caloric intake than usual! We did make the healthiest choice on the menu (pan fried Haddock with spinach and mashed potatoes), but the two beers and one rum and coke did me in! Also, I had some asthma issued (and no puffers) so we came home around 10:30 just when the rest of the animals were heading to the second (and third, and fourth....) bar! The rest also had the night off from their kiddies, so its easier to party hard when you don't have to get up with the rug-rats in the am.

Weighed in this am for the X-Weighted challenge, and I'm still at 166lbs. No loss, but no gain either! Got up and took the girls on a nice, brisk walk in the park and through the woods - they love just tearing it up!! After lunch I've booked in time to do a TRX workout (hubby and I try to schedule sometime for each of us to workout on the weekends).

This evening we have a scheduling conflict - Sis-in-law's Carmen's birthday tea and the Men's Hockey Gold metal game!!! We'll see how that turns out - she's not a hockey fan but the rest of us are, and I'm hoping she doesn't get offended if some of her birthday attention is diverted to the game : P

Later taters!

Beach prep in the middle of a winter storm?

Arriving at work today was difficult due to the high winds (gusts measured at 136 miles/hour and sustained winds of 80 miles/hour) - thankfully its too warm for snow and instead huge amounts of rain. The upside was that the power was knocked out at work and we were sent home for the day!! Yipee!!

So what's a girl to do with the whole day off, kids at school and my retroactive play in my pocket (we just signed our union contract after a year of waiting)?? SHOPPING!! LOL!

Now, I didn't go there thinking about bathing suits but that's part of what happened. First I scored a new pair of jeans (IN A SIZE 30!!) for $16 and cute top (for $18 at Jacob Connection) for a part tomorrow night. But I landed at Bikini Village and with the help of a wonderful sales lady tried on over half  a few suits. I narrowed it down to four, and with the help of hubby (who was also off today) chose the best one:

I'm pleased with it, its flattering and fits well. Now the really great thing about having done this 7 weeks before the trip is that its has grossed me out  motivated me into loosing those last few pounds (around the belly is anyone with some pull with the higher power is reading) preferably! This is the only picture you will get until I return from my trip with photos!

Oh, I also stopped at Winners and picked up the cutest Roxy beach bag - perfect size, large but not enormous. Canvase, cute pattern, and one side has three outside pockets that would fit sunscreen, waterbottle, etc. We are really getting ready for this trip! I can't hardly wait!!

The down side to not working today was that I also lost the opportunity to workout at Core Essentials today. I had planned on using the TRX tonight, but instead I'm running around the house while the kids are at swimming trying to power clean! We have a Real Ryder class first thing tomorrow, and I'm pleased with how I ate today so I'll leave it at that. 

Right, well, back to the cleaning!

Nite

Fun stuff

So today (Thursday) is typically a no exercise day - we exercise M, W, F at noon and generally a one horu spin on Sat am. I aim to workout 5 days a week, but typically its only 4 due to the needs of my family (hockey, gymnastics, lacross x 2, and homework).

So tonight I spent some time surfing around on the net while the youngest worked on her homework at the dining room table. I came across Cafe Press.ca a site that sells fun t-shirts. I was checking out the workout t's and some of them had me snorting with laughter. I'm giving this one some serious consideration:

But this I liked too:

And this was a close third:

And the last memorable one:

Anyway, no exercise tonight and I ate a BOSTON CREME DONUGHT tonight too :O

Afterwards I looked it up on the Tim Horton's website and found out that it only has 250 calories, 8 grams fat, 4 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber and 13 grams of sugar. I really thought it would be much worse. So there, I've had a gross, sugary mess that I've been craving and lessened the guilty! I do believe that you have to let yourself have some of the things you ought not - but all things in moderation!

Alright, I've gotta go get ready for the ladies hockey!!

Nite

Wicked Wednesday - 500 Reps!

Well, it's a sure sign that I'm feeling better - we had a great noon hour workout! I felt like I gave 95% for the whole workout! I didn't bail part way though, or only do half of the amount when I know I can do all. Good for me! I'm really happy that I had the energy and motivation to work hard through this one. It wasn't a timed workout, instead its was geared toward reaching a specific number of reps - I tend to focus more on form and produce better results with these types of workouts.

We actually did this workout a few weeks ago. Laurissa kept track of our reps and todays goal was to at least meet the same number, if not better it. Now, you'll all know I'm competitive so I was determined to better some of my numbers from before! Today, Shanan was hell-bend and determined to keep up - which makes me push harder, and in turn makes her push harder!! Thanks for the extra motivation Shanan! Heheheeh : )

Here's today's workout - its call 500 reps. We did the same workout on January 29th and I did 460 reps, this time I did 600 (if my math is correct) - That's improvement! Here's what it was:

1. Prison Squats (50)
2. Push ups (40)
3. Turkish get-ups (this is a kettlebell move - we did it without a kettlebell) (25 each side = 50)
4. Swing thoughs (lunge forward, swing leg into a rear lunge) (25 each side = 50 with 1 forward and 1 rear being 1)
5. Sit ups (with soles of feet together) (50)
6. Side crunches (50)
7. Plank with knee tuck (stay in plank bring knee into elbow and hold) (50)
8. Reverse plank with legs kick (keeping hips raised, bend knee and raise other knee bent to your chest and back) (50)
9. Swing throughs - Forward lunge into a rear lunge =1 (50)
10. Sit ups (soles of feet together) (50)
11. Turkish get ups (15 each side = 30)
12. Push up: wide legged regular push ups (30)
13. Two jumps forward/ two jumps backward (50 where a forward and back is 1)

And, here's what I looked like afterwards (back in my office):

Notice the red face? I'm not a sweat-er...I'm a redder. I wish I would sweat, but I don't, never have. Oh well. Good 'food' day. I forgot my lunch, and bought turkey wraps, a banana and chocolate milk (my newest addiction). As we ate late I didn't even need a mid afternoon snack! Supper is crockpot stew and a bun...yummmmmy!

Hopefully I can get the girls out for a good 30 walk tonight....I'm working and striving for another 2lb loss this Sunday!! Crossing my fingers. I'm also heading out to look for BIKINI'S (for our trip which is now 7 weeks away) this weekend -eeeeekkkk!!!! more on that later!

Nitey nite!

Mags 

A quiet day

Not much to talk about on the exercise front today. Walked the dogs, briskly, for 30 minutes tonight and I'm planning on doing a 10-15 mins Ab workout on the TRX - maybe while the hockey game is on? : )

As an aside, but on an exercise related note, tonight I set up an actvity for my son in the basement:

So the old drier finally died with a puff of smoke - actually, it was my M-I-L's drier. She replaced hers and we thought there was still life in her's so she sent it over. Fortunately I saved mine (it was still working fine, thankfully!) and now we have this broken one to get rid of. Jake thought he should be allowed to have it to shoot pucks into - Just like Syd the Kid!

Check this  out:

Guess that proves that exercise and training doesn't have to be the standard or traditional! Thanks Syd! Now I can start to get use to the 'ping' and 'dink' noises coming from the basement.....

Nite

Happy "Got-Day" Abby!!

Today is the anniversary of bringing my Abigail home from the SPCA (one year today!). It's really hard to believe that she hasn't been here longer, she's such an important part of our lives, and its like she's always been with us. I can't remember our pre-Abby life (Echo, I love you dearly too!!).

Here's a picture of the day we brought her home:

when we got her she was all hyped up from being in the kennels, and we didn't think she and Echo would bond - Echo was having NONE of the silly puppy behaviours! But, with some time Abby started to listen to Echo and now they don't do much without each other. Echo is still more  of a loner but has grown to 'tolerate' Abby :)  We don't know her exact age, but the vets guessed at 2 - which makes her 3 today! Happy birthday Abby!

Abby will always chose to walk in the deep snow - not the shovelled walk:

Abby doesn't 'walk' anywhere...she bounds!

She always needs to know what Echo is doing - just incase she's missing something fun:

Abby has a true zest for life, she loves all people and animals. Many people who meet her (even those who don't especially like dogs) say 'I would adopt a dog like Abby' - she has a lovely, quiet disposition; she welcomes everyone she meets with her shy smile and tail moving a mile a minute. She's always up for anything - an long hike in the woods, or a snuggle on the sofa with her boy. We are truely blessed to have her added to our family! We love you Abby! 

PS - Great workout today at noon - it was a kettlebell workout that focused on our legs, but we mixed each set with upper arm exercises (push ups, brazillian push ups, dips, etc)....I didn't feel this wiped out after my one hour Ryder class....wow!

Being sick is great for weight loss!

So today, Sunday, is weigh in day for the X-Weighted Challenge. I was a bit shocked to find that I'm now weighing in at 166 (down two pounds from last week's 168)!! I'd been home, sick, for most of the week and it really didn't feel like a good week for my food intake - for me when I'm home it gives me more opportunity to graze the kitchen and generally I eat more than I need to. But, apparently I did ok because it certainly wasn't the exercise.

This week I got a full day of downhill skiing in on Monday, a noon hour workout on Friday, and a 60 RealRyder class on Saturday (which was AWESOME - Max, I love your classes!). That's it. Maybe the skiing made up for the two missed noon hour workouts? Who knows, but I'm thrilled! I believe the last time I weighed 166 was in university.

Actually, I am really starting to notice some body changes. The most dramatic I think are my thighs. They are smaller and tighter, and the shape is back. There is no cottage cheese on them and the saddlebags on the outside of the tights are gone. I can actually see daylight between my thighs when my legs are together!!!

The other notable changes are mostly in my waist and chest - I know there have been changes in my arms, calves, back, etc but they have been gradual and there wasn't as much to change there I think.

So, the start of another week and I'm feeling GOOD! My health is better (only about 85%, but each moring I wake up feeling better so hopefully another few days and I'll be right-as-rain) and I'm encouraged by my results this week!

PS I'm still using the My Healthy Plate program, and I'd really recommend it for anyone who's trying to stay accountable for what you are putting in your body. I don't need to use it everyday as I've developed some great eating habits, but its a great way to check in and stay on track!

Back to work, back to the gym!

I'm feeling better, not 100% but much more like my self - I had much more energy that lasted throughout the day, but aside from some good coughing jags I'm definately healing!

Work was catching up on e-mails and phone messages, but I did do my noon hour workout at Core Essentials - and I think I did rather well. I modified some exercises to keep them low on the cardio (thinking that the cardio would send me off into a coughing fit), but I was good and sweaty by the end of it and super pleased with myself for getting it done!

I was planning on getting a RealRyder class in on Sunday (if I could find a sitter) but my M-I-L called tonight and offered for Saturday. The idea with Sunday was that it gave me another day to heal those lungs before doing an hour ride, but beggers can't be choosers and it looks like I'm riding tomorrow am! I'm going to get a good nite sleep tonight and cross my fingers!

As for the X-Weighted challenge, I'm a tad worried that due to my illness I haven't made any progress. I have eaten fairly well but the exercise was all by non-existent this week - maybe the full day of skiing on Monday will be enough to at least keep me at 168.

Alright...puffer time! I'm gonna crawl into bed with my book and Abby (my resident cuddle-bug) and hope for good healing overnight!!

Nite all

Shack-wacky

Thursday and still home sick. I'm starting to get a little shack-wacky - I haven't left the house in 4 days! This morning I bundled up and took the girls to the park! Its a short walk, they got their exercise, and I got out of the house. The bad news is that the cold air hurt my lungs, so I can home coughing up a fit.

I'm so tired of being sick....everything hurts from non stop coughing, when I'm not coughing I'm sneezing, and I have that attractive Rudolph-like nose and hair that hasn't been washed in days!! You get the picture....sounds like I need a little cheese with my whine, eh?

Well, I believe another early night is in order. The only good thing about being home all day is that the winter olympics are on - I saw some great ladies downhill and super G today!

Nite

Snowday & a Sickday

So, yesterday it was just the asthma but today the cold that induced the asthma finally came into its own! The good news is that the puffers have already started to bring my inflamed brochi back to the land of the breathing. Bad news, my nose is running non stop (the kind of runny nose that makes you think "its easier and would save time if I just walk around the house with the tissue IN my nose all the time" - LOL!) So, there is nothing much to talk about on the exercise front as I didn't do anything! I did eat fairly well, with my throat being so sore I drank alot of peppermint and lemon/ginger teas.

It was also a snow day for the kids - we got walloped with a snow storm overnight! So, everyone was home today - hubby (who is also sick) and the kids. Here's some shots of the snow, the kids (in the snowfort their dad made them) and the dogs.

I digress here: But, we have two dogs and their coats are so completely different - Echo (brown dog) doesn't hold the snow but she holds all the dirt. Abby (white and brown) sheds dirt once it dries but the snow CLINGS to her coat - I had to sit her in front of the fire and pull the large snow balls off her fur!

Anyway, I'm still undecided about going to work tomorrow (I'm sneazing, coughing and nose is RUNNING!). I'll make that call in the am, but I will get the girls out for a walk, and if I can get my nose to stop running long enough I'll do a little TRX - I'll try to sweat this cold out!!

Nite

I have asthma....Officially

Ok, this is misleading - I've always had asthma. As as child it was quite serious, but as I got older it got better. In my teens I was completely off meds and feeling fine, but in my 20's and 30's it's slowly been coming back. Now, whenever I get sick (like a cold or flu) the asthma kicks in immediately.

So, lately I've been under the weather (feeling better, then feeling worse) but Sunday i ws feeling bad - but I was skiing on Monday NO MATTER what!

But this morning I couldn't fool myself anymore - partly due to being up all night coughing and coughing! So, off we went to the Doctor this am. the conversation went like this - Doc: Have you been using your puffers? Me: ahhh, no. I haven't had any puffers in years. Doc: Do you have problems with sports induced breathing problems? Me: ahhh, yes, now that you mention it. Doc: I know you're smarter than that. Here's a script for a puffer to keep on hand for sports, etc and here's another with heavy steroids to kick the asthma and irritation you have presently. Please use both!

So, I stayed home today thinking if I was at work my coughing would interupt the rest of my floor! And, I suspect I will stay home tomorrow to give it another day of healing. MAYBE, I'll be able to get some TRX in - as long as its cardio free! I'm sure I can find lots of core exercises that would do the trick!

Any-ho....I should be resting...so off I go!

Nite

Downhill skiing

So yesterday, thanks to the Canada Winter Games coming to Halifax in 2011, we had a free family pass to Ski Wentworth for the day! Wentworth is about an hour and 1/2 from Halifax, but worth the drive. We left Halifax early and arrived by 9, got our gear and the kids in a lesson - we adults (hubby, Kristen and I) took advantage and did two runs while they were on the bunny hill). Kristen (my sister-in-law who is fortunate enough to have an iphone) took photos of the day - here's my daughter and I:

The weather was perfect: around -1 when we started, but it got a little colder as the day went on and was closer to -4 when we left. It was clear, and bright and relatively warm. We skied from 10am until 4pm only stopping for a short lunch. We were surprised how few people were there taking advantage of the free pass, but it was a Monday and we allowed our kids to play hookie for the day. Here's a great shot of me, my two kids and hubby there on the end!

The kids, who've only been skiing once before, were amazing! They did an hour on the bunny hill and then to the chair lift to the top of the hill! They started with some green runs (easiest runs), but by the end of the day we had them on the green runs (harder than blue) trying the "Black Fly' and the 'Beaver'!  Its a shame skiing is so expensive, and such a distance from the city.  What a great way to spend a day with your family!

Special thanks to Auntie Kristen (shown here with her neice and nephew) who took the pressure off the parents and took some awesome photos!

Sick again, or still sick?

Back to feeling crappy today - whatever this is is now sitting directly in/on my chest. I'm tired, and my chest hurts (feels like someone is sitting on it) but very little of other symptoms. I've rested much of the day today hoping to feel better for tomorrow as we have a family ski  trip planned! The kids are very excited for this annual day trip - I promice to take some pictures!

So, little exercise (aside from a 20 min walk with the girls) but the up side is that not feeling well generally equates to not being hungry. I weighed in this am for the X-Weighted challenge and I'm hanging in there are 168 - not up or down. Hopefully a day of skiing will give me the edge I need this week.

Ok, off to beddy!
Nite

Early Valentines on a bike

Hubby and I shared a Valentines RealRyder class together this morning. Max, the instructor had us doing more of an interval training ride (ie: 60 seconds at 90% on a flat, then 60 seconds at 70% up a hill) - and MAN what an excellent workout, especially after Friday's interval training with Laurissa. The squat/jumps we did on Friday were KILLER on the quads, so today those poor quads were put through the wringer! Tomorrow I will do core and upper body on the TRX and give those legs a rest!

Later this afternoon I took a few quiet moments while the kid were entertained with their playdates to get some core exercises done on the TRX - and my son took a couple of pic of me:

Now, I'm eating a nice healthy supper (sauted veggies on pasta with 4 lg scallops..mmmmm) and then to the sofa to bag-out in front of the TV to watch the Olympics with a bag of popcorn!!

Nite,
Mags

Thinking about Valentines Day

I decided for Valentines Day this year hubby and I are going to take a RealRyder class together early in the am (10am) and then out for brunch - just the two of us! Rather than spend money on cards and chocolates we should do something fun together, and given our recent drive to be healthier I thought this was a perfect option! We are both now firmly on the 'health and exercise wagon' so it's great that this appeals to both of us! Have I mentioned that hubby has lost 15 lbs in two weeks! He's a machine - and I'm very proud of him. He claims he never would have gotten back into it if it wasn't for me sticking with my own regime so well : )

Hey, back to the TRX  check out this article on the TRX:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/testing-trx-a-workout-that-literally-hangs-tough/article1463619/

I have a love - hate relationship with my TRX...I LOVE the way it immediately isolates each muscle group during an exercise, but I also HATE the way it immediately isolates each muscle : } It means I can't do nearly as many reps as I normally would but I feel like I'm getting the same workout. Generally, after using the TRX doing a hwhole body workout I become jello!

Today's workout at noon was holy-friggin hard awesome! We did interval training, which really is alot like a tabata. Its 30 seconds of exercise and 10 second rest for a total of 4 minutes (6 reps and 6 rests = 4 minutes). We warmed up with a few minutes of skipping and then did three interval's - pull ups, squat/jumps, and 'cobra' pushups. There was some cardio, but a larger part of the workout was the strength training - I'll feel this one in the morning!

Must off and get some rest - hubby and I have our RealRyder class tomorrow morning! Can't wait...I hope my bottom doesn't get as sore this week - last week I tried a padded seat cover, but it actually made it more sore!  I'll keep you posted!

Nite

Kettlebell tabata's

Todays' workout was excellent, just what I needed. I wasn't feeling overly motivated walking the block and a half to get there, but once I was dressed I was ready to work and found my groove! Today we did kettlebell tabata's and a quadruplet (modification of the triplet but adding one more exercise = bootstraps, burpees, mountain climbers and push-ups).

What is a tabata you ask? Well, The basis of Tabata training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training - we did 30 seconds of hard work, with 10 second rest, repeating 7 more times for a total of 8 sets.
So what you have is a total of 4 minutes workout time. This might sound easy, but trust me its not!

Tabata training can be done with a number of different exercises but the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with barbells, dumbells, kettlebells or just bodyweight exercises. We did ours with the kettlebells - here's a video showing a tabata similar to what we did today:




The real bonus with high intensity training like tabata's (even as short as 4 minutes at a time) is that the body continues to burn calories for up to 2 days later - basically it revs up your metabolism for another 16 hours!! That's right, after doing tabata's the body continues to work hard burning all that nasty, stubborn fat even after the workout's complete. Now, that's what I'm talking about!! I might have to 'tabata-my-way' thought the whole valentines event/candy!

I was tired afterwards, but now I'm feeling good and even a little energized - I might do some ab work tonight on the TRX...we'll see! : )

Nite

Blah

I must have the winter blah's...not super motivated to do anything these days. Not sure what's up with that, the only motivation I have is thinking about the Dominican beaches. But even that is still 9 weeks away and its hard to get super excited just yet - unless I look at these pictures of the resort!!!

I'm still battling my evenings with food. I do so well all day long: avoid bad snacks, eat regularily, healthy meals, etc. Then the pm comes and I blow it all out of the water!!! AAAhhhhhhh...maybe I should start going to bed with the kids - I'd be super rested and I won't have eaten everything in the kitchen (I must give this some serious thought!).

No regular workout today, but I did walk the girlies for 20 minutes and then did a 30 minute TRX in the basement. I feel good about doing it, but not over the moon about my performance - BLAH! Man!! This sucks, I really need to get in the grove.

Ok, quickly off to bed before I eat myself silly!!
Nite

No work Monday...

My youngest has asthma, and not a normal asthma, but something called Cough Varient Asthma. What does this mean you ask? Well, it means that when she is symptomatic it is a cough not a weaze, and it is at night not daytime. Odd eh? Anyway, she has had it since she was 18 months and as she has grown up it seems to bother her less and less. However. the past few days have not been good, and last night I was up all night with her. The best thing, aside from her puffers, is cool air. Our basement is cool (and so much better than walking in the backyard, which I've done when she was smaller), so she and I snuggled in the basement for several hours until the cough was almost not there. *She will cough until she isn't breathing in as much as she is breathing out*. I think I put her to bed at 2-ish. Then my son, god love him, had nightmares from 4 am on. I think I actually told him I was gonna 'blow chunks' if I didn't get sleep soon (it made him laugh anyway).

So, today I was home...sleeping! I went back to bed once they were off to school until well after lunch!! I felt somewhat better, my heart wasn't racing anymore but I still laid low. Before supper I was feeling well enough to try out the TRX - its awesome. A 30 min workout had me sweating!! I wasn't going at full speed, but it should make up for missing our noon hour workout.

What I'd like to do this week is use it every day that I don't have a regular workout, so that will be Tues, Thurs and the weekends. There are lots of routines you can download, so I'm off to surf the TRX website!
Here's one that I'm looking at right now:



Nite!

PS Today was a good eating day, in part due to the sleeping all morning! LOL! But my snacks were good....it will have to be to make up for the frozen yogurt that I ate last night!! : }

Sunday recap

I missed checking in yesterday, but it was busy day and I just didn't find the time. Last night we got together with Carmen (other sis-in-law) and her new beau (and his kids). We planned to have a night of Cranium but due in part to our lateness in arriving we did get to play. Instead we had a nice night chatting and eating (but there were tons of healthy eats!).

Saturday Hubby and I (with Shanan and Kristen) took in a 10 am RealRyder class - great, sweaty class! Afterward Hubby and I spent an hour (maybe a little less so we could recover from the Ryder class) with Laurissa showing us a good routine on the TRX. This was really more for hubby who hasn't used the TRX before, but I've used it a fair amount in my normal workouts so I was pretty confident in what she showed us.

On Sunday we spend a large part of the day cleaning the basement (purging it of old toys, stuffed animals, half a puzzle, etc.) so we could setting up the TRX. So now, the rec room looks like a rec room (minus a 1/2 ton of dog hair!) and there is space for our TRX workouts (sorry for the poor photo quality, really need to get a better camera):

The kids have been hanging all over the TRX, I'm sure the novelty will wear off. Both huby and I can't wait to try this little baby out! It comes with a DVD so I think I start with that, and then work on the moves Laurissa showed us!

Oh, and Sunday was weigh in day for the X-Weighted challenge - no net loss...I'm hanging in at 168, which is ok as I didn't have a stellar week (feeling sick and I really didn't eat well). So, a new week with a new piece of equipment to help me along!

Later

'Stations'

Wicked workout at lunch today - Laurissa mixed it up again for us! Today the workout was three sets, each set broken in three exercises, and each exercise was for three minutes. It might make more sense like this:

Set #1:

• Water Rower - 3 mins
• Skipping - 3 mins
• Step up on bench (with 10lb weights) - 3 mins

Set #2:

• Russian Twists on a ball holding a 15 lb kettlebell - 3 mins
• 
  
  Kettlebell rows (20 lb kettlebell) - 3 mins
• Pushups with a lat row (using 1 lbs bumbells) - 3 mins

Set #3:

• Squat with club (swing club between legs, squat and bring club up in front of face) - 3 mins
• Sit up with club (club over head bringing club up as you crunch forward, then back down) - 3 mins
• Medicine ball slams (holding med ball overhead and swing it down to slam on the ground using all abs) - 3 mins

This was a great workout, still feeling good...but hungry! I might pop some popcorn...mmmmmmm! Tomorrow will be a killer day, we have a 60 minute RealRyder (with sis-in-law and Shannany) class at 10am and then hubby and I are taking in a session with Laurissa to help us prepare a routine we can do at home with the TRX! We'll be tired, but happy!

Off to bed, so I'm rested and ready for tomorrow!

Early birthday present - A TRX for ME!

My actual birthday is in April (when I turn the dreaded 4-0) but hubby has been thinking about present. As you know I workout with a trainer 3 noon hours a week, but lately I've been feeling like my body is needing a little more to show better/faster results. So, we agreed that an early present for me (really him as much as I) would be a TRX. We bought it yesterday, picked up some gear to mount it, and with any luck we'll have it up by tomorrow night!

Just to show you how small it is I took a couple of pictures - it really is a great piece of equipment to travel with, or just take to the park and have your own outdoor workout:

It comes with a DVD too, so I'm gonna spend sometime tonight with that with the hopes of having my very own at home TRX workout this weekend!

There was no working out today, it minus a gajillion out there, and I had medical appointments taking up any time I might have otherwise had - plus I'm still not feeling good. Tomorrow is another Power 1/2 hour with Laurissa and then on Sat am we are scheduled for a RealRyder class with Kristen (sis-in-law), Shanan and my hubby! Can't wait, its always more fun to workout with friends!

Anyway, I think its time for beddy - maybe an early night will help heal me?
Nitey nite

Measurements

I began working out in July of 2009 with my goal of looking and feeling better by the time I turn 40  - on the beach at the Dominican Republic! I generally don't weigh myself (aside from the more recent X-Weighted Challenge that I've been doing with Shanan), and instead Laurissa (our trainer) belives a better gauge of succss is the use of body measurements. I concur.

I've been sick lately and not feeling like I've been giving my workouts 110% (cause I just don't have the energy!) - I needed a little boost to remind myself that I'm right on track. So, I asked Laurissa to measure me today (2 weeks early). I'm pleased to see that my numbers continue to change, for the positive, and I thought I would share.

Since Nov 13/09 I've lost:

• - 2.3" from my chest
• - 0.5" from my biceps
• - 2.5" from my waist (this is the natural waist)
• - 1.5" from my abs (this is what I think of as my waist)
• - 0.5" from my hips
• - 0.5" from each thigh
• - 0.5 from each calf

In total this is 8.3" of body lost....wow.....there, mission accomplished - I'm impressed and feel like I can contintue!! Now, if I could just stay OUT OF THE KITCHEN!!! A great day nutrition wise....until I walked in the door at home! I don't know what is wrong with me, I do great when I'm away - what is it about this house that makes me want to eat (even when I'm not hungry!!).

Today we had another great workout, some new and some old exercises to a new routine. It was more strength training so I didn't leave super sweaty, but tomorrow I'm bound to be sore!! Also, still with the sickness in the chest (I'm seeing my Doc on Tuesday!) I don't think I would have had much of a cardio workout in me!

Another cold nite, I'm off to the sofa with my super trashy novel!!

It's COLD outside!

Today, rather than traditional exercise I opted from some old school heavy, manual labour - hauling wood into the basement!  It's about -16 (feels like like -24 with wind chill), and on a day like today all you need after a long day of work is this (the picture didn't really capture the fire very well, or the Eco fan moving up top):

However, when the woodstore in the basement is empty one must bring wood in from the great outdoors (remembering that its -24 out there). At our place the wood is piled all around the property, and I chose the one that was closes and most sheltered. It then needs to be loaded up in the carrier (smashing a few fingers in this step), and then it needs to be carted THROUGH the house (making a HUGE mess that I will need to clean up later), and down the basement stairs into the laundry/wood room (please don't look at the ragged strips of wallpaper hanging from the walls - the house is still a work in progress!):

To create a nice, tidy pile that looks like this:

Why does this look less impressive than the 25 minutes it took me to accumulate it? Anyway, it was a great workout - both cardio and strength in carrying huge armloads through the house and down the basement stairs.

Now, I think a cup of low cal hot chocolate, my trashy novel and the fireplace are in order!

Nite

Monday, monday....

Well here I am again, still not sick enough to stay in bed and well enough to go to work and cough all over people! I'm still a tad low on energy but overall feeling ok.

We did a different workout today. Well, similar in some respects but different in the way it was organized. We did each exercise in groups of four before moving to the next exercise working in a 15 seconds on 15 seconds off pattern.  I can't remember all the exercise (it was a blur in the all the sweating) but they included: jump squats, Jane Fonda twists, pull ups (laying on the floor pulling up on the bar), burpees, rear lunge with a swing up and across the front. There are more, but my brain is mush. Also, as I arrived early I did about 5 minutes of skipping to warm up.

February is "Bring a Friend FREE" month at Core Essentials and it sounds like my sis-in-law Kristen is interested in coming and trying out the Real Ryder class!! She is a bit of a cycling enthusiast, and I KNOW she will LOVE this!! Fun!! Can't wait for Saturday to come now!!

Gotta go...the boy requires me to play several games of Connect Four 'poke out' before bed!
Nite