End of month Wrap up.

Well, i did it! i finished May strong! i worked out 17 times in May and i can feel my body getting stronger. i'm still stuck at the same weight/size for the moment, but i'm fairly certain that's about to change.
Last week:
-Swam 32 laps 6x
-1/2 six week six pack level 1 2x

This week so far:
Mon:
-Swam 32 laps

Tues:
-swam 32 laps
- 1/2 six week six pack level 1
-Jackie warner 20 min upper body circuit
-Pilates Buns and thighs

The plan for the next 3 days is to repeat today's workout, and saturday jsut swim my 32.
I'm really proud of what i've done so far and i cna't wait to see myself get stronger!

ok. somethin clicked.

so, i've been waiting for something to click in my head about my workouts. i think it just did. like i said in my last post, i tend to be all or nothing, throwin the baby out with the bath water. well that needs to stop. i need to celebrate my daily victories and continue to challenge myself but not burn out by overloading myself with unrealistic plans and expectations and feeling a failure when i don't meet them. in light of this mental breakthrough, i've got a new plan:

Week 1 (this week)
swim 32 laps M-Sa
first half of 6w6pack L1 (Tu & R)

Week 2:
Swim 32 laps M-Sa
first half of 6w6pack L1 (m/w/f)
Jackie Warner Upper Body (MWF)
Kettle Bells (MWF)

Week 3:
Same as week 2 but with the strength training m-f

Week 4:
Same as week 3 but doing all of the Jillian DVD.

and... progressing from there, adding laps every other week and moving to level 2 of Jillian and increasing weights and needed. :-)

i don't have to do it all at once! (duh!)

13

today was my 13th workout this month. i'm pretty proud of that, considering i probably haven't worked out 4 times 3 weeks in a row in at least 2-3 years, if not longer. next month i'm gonna shoot for a perfect 26 workouts, but for the month of May 2011 i will be really proud to finish at 17. i'm sitting here at the table drinking today's dose of green tea, and trying to figure out whether i am going to be content and proud of today's swim- which i did in 34 minutes, which i think is my best time yet- or whether i am gonna give Six week six pack another try today. i feel like i did pretty well at the part i did tuesday-i mean, it was my first time through, and i didn't get every rep in on some of the moves, and it's gonna be awhile before burpees are my thing- if EVER- but my abs are sore, so i did somethin right. one of my problems is that i decide things are not for me too easily sometimes, and i think that sabotages me. back in 05-the last time i successfully lost a large chunk of weight-i used the parts of Slim in 6 that worked for me, and left out the parts that did not, and i got great results. i think the same is true for this workout. i need to kick butt at the moves that work well for me, but also go at my own pace when i need to, and not do the moves that aggravate my injuries. Not throwing the baby out with the bathwater is key. also, it's intense cardio, so i need to be willing to hit pause. going into this i had decided i did not want to do that, but the more i think about it, why not? i'f i'm gettin up and swimming at 7 or 730 in the morning, there is no reason i don't have time for my 35 min workout to take 40 min or so as i adjust to the new amounts of exercise. next week i am adding in upper body work, so theoretically it'll be just under 2 hours of exercise per morning. if i'm getting up at 6:30 or 7 am, i have plenty of time to accomplish that and still enjoy my afternoons at hte pool. :-)

another issue that's been on my mind is this: how am i going to work out once i have a baby? yeah, i know, postpartum workouts are at least 10 months off, (considering as far as i know i'm not even pregnant yet) but i don't want to lose everything i've gained, physically and mentally. i guess the answer is likely to be walks with the stroller and dvd's while the baby sleeps. i'm prayin now for the discipline to do that. for now, i'll drink this tea and let Jillian kick my butt. :-)

grargh

Pictures taken 3/30 and 5/24


ok, so i have to write about the emotional parts not just the statistics and plans, because i look back on past journals and wonder if i struggled like this before.
i'mn having a really hard day today. there have been a number of these lately, mostly because i have been stuck at the same size/weight for just over 2 months. it's really frustrating. now, until the past 3 weeks, my exercise in that time has been sporadic at best, but i've been really disciplined about food, and i guess i hoped that'd at least get me somewhere well, i guess it kinda did-i've maintained my loss from march, and that is *something*.
the month of may has been my most consistent exercise month in probably at least 2-3 years. if i stay consistent the rest of the month i will have worked out 17 times this month! i'm really proud of that.
what i am having a really hard time with is the lack of progress in getting smaller. i'm just not. or, at least, not that i can tell. right now i am really tired and really sore. i have exercised 7 of the past 10 days. i'm having trouble falling asleep at night.
i know the only option really is to keep pushing and be patient. i have successfully lost weight before, there is no reason to think i can't do it again. i'm struggling also with this balance between being patient with my body and pushing it hard enough to get results. i want to challenge myself- and honestly every workout is a challenge- but i also don't want to injure myself or burn out.
so, what;s the answer? do i push myself today and do the jillian michaels DVD that i just couldn't kick myself into doing this morning, or be satisfied that i had a really good swim today? i mean, my swim was better than yesterday, so i should be able to do at least half of it like i did yesterday, right? what i feel like doing is going to sleep. ahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa. i'll let you know what i end up doing....

Edit: walked up to CVS and back (.6 miles) to get ultraswim shampoo and decided to pick up the Jillian workout tomorrow. :-)

midweek check in

so far this week:
Monday: swam 32 laps. (was not too difficult)
Tuesday: Swam 32 laps (VERY Difficult!) and did 1/2 Six week six pack level 1
Wed: Swam 32 laps (not as bad a yesterday but still pretty hard) and will do at least half of six week six pack,

The plan in yesterday's post is still the plan for now- but i need to ramp up to it. too much too soon will cause burnout. just like this time yesterday i feel ready to go to sleep! i;ve gotta keep pushing through because i know this will get better.

oh hi there!

i'm a terrible blogger. hopefully i'll be better. one thing i've noticed about this blog is that i'm pretty much always changing things up with my workouts. it seems like what i've been struggling with the most is consistency in working out, and that seems related to this struggle to create a program taht works well for me. well, the good news is i have found one major element that isn't going anywhere. Swimming is my super number one favorite choice for cardio. i also know that circuit/HIIT training is for me- it's just a matter of getting in the groove with that. i now have 4 options on HIIT workout DVDs here in the house, so once i get rolling, there will be plenty of variety there.
i have to say this round of weight loss has been really hard so far and really slow going and full of a million speed bumps, but i think it;s also the longest i;ve stayed focused and not just given up because of the speed bumps. i've been really disciplined food wise, and probably more consistent exercise wise this spring than in a long time. here is the general workout plan for the next 6 weeks (beginning yesterday):

1. Swim (starting at 32 laps, working to 44 by start of week 5)
2. Jillian Michaels Six week six pack (level 1 for 3 wks, level 2 for 3 weeks)
3. Jillian Michaels 30 day shred (2 weeks at each level)
4. Kettle Bells (starting week 2)
5. Pilates Buns and thighs (starting week 2 m/w/f)

All that m-f. on saturdays or sundays i will swim only and do a stretch DVD to recover
That's the plan... hoping all that gets me to a size 10 by the end of the 6 weeks.

the swimming has been going really well so far. i'm actually fairly sore today from yesterday;s swim, which is interesting because i;ve been swimming pretty consistently (3-4x a week) the past 2 weeks. i think the first 2 weeks of my new program are gonna be toughies, but if i can be really consistent and stick them out, the next 4 weeks should be really really good.