Spinning!

i've added yet another form of exercise to my repetoire! Spinning, or Cycle, as they call it at my gym is an intense cardio workout on specially designed stationary bikes. it is the hardest* thing i have ever done, exercise wise, and now i have completed three classes in 6 days- Sat, Tues, Thurs. i am so proud of that.  let me share the experience with you.

Saturday: Get Moving Cycle
Instructor: Ashley
This is the class for beginners, but it wasn't easy at all. first, we were taught how to set up our bikes, then we were guided through a series of sprints, climbs, and standing drills. i kept up ok, and definitely gave it all i had. it was a 45 min ride, and i think having scott there with me helped immensely. So far, Ashley's soundtrack was my favorite. effort: 8/10, kept up: 7/10

Tuesday: Get moving Cycle
Instructor: Dee
Dee has a very different personality from Ashley, much more soothing and encouraging compared to Ashley's more gregarious style, but that's ok! this class was equally challenging to the first, and i finished, so that was good. it was really really hard, but i am so glad i went. i gave it all i had today because i knew wed would be a day off.  effort: 9/10 Kept up 8/10

Thursday: CycleAbs
Instructor: Susan
this class was gonna be a challenge before i ever walked in. i felt like garbage from the start today, but i decided that if i'm gonna keep this up when i'm pregnant i need to learn to push through that.  when i walked in, i asked the others in the class how long the ride was (i thought it was 45 min with 15 min of abs at the end) and was told "an hour" Whooooo boy! i had only doen 45 min rides, and i was already feeling icky and weak. i figured right then that i'd stop at 45 min. then at the 10 min mark i was telling myself i'd jsut make it to 20 min- i felt so weak and sore! then, at 20 min, i was like, ok, you can make it to 30. then at 30, iwas like, ok- push till 45- you;ve done that before! at 45 min i was like ok, do your best, and finish the ride. and i did! No ab work- probably because it was a sub teacher. that's ok. i'll jsut hit them hard tomorrow. i'm so proud of that 60 min ride.

So, that;s been my first week of Spinning, and i can't wait till saturday! (provided there is no storm interference!)

*when i say hardest, i mean most challenging without causing me some sort of pain or injury, as in BodyCombat, where i struggle because of foot and joint pain more than lack of fitness

Thinking ahead to pregnancy training

so, i'm not pregnant yet- as far as i know- but the fitter i get, the more i feel it could be iminent. i am also a planner and a control freak,  so i have been doing some research into how to build and modify my program around this. i think i've got a pretty solid plan (which i will discuss with my doctor next friday to see what he thinks) and that makes me feel pretty confident.
Something i have been expressing over and over to scott lately is this fear that after all the hard work i have put forth this year that i'm going to get pregnant and lose all the progress i've made in getting fit. i am determined for that not to happen.  honestly, if  i find out next week that i am pregnant now, i pretty much do not want to weigh any more at the end of my pregnancy than i do right now. i'm 33ish lbs from my goal weight and i don't think gaining more than that is neccesary, or even healthy. (i'm gonna talk to my doctor about this, so don't freak out.) part of this is because i've been told the beginning of your pregnancy is a fantastic time to lose weight and because for my own sake and for the sake of my child, i am going to need to bounce back as quickly as possible afterwards. i think that's true for many women, but it's especially true for me, because of my PCOS-fatigue and depression are big issues in my struggle, and to be the best mom i can, daily exercise time is jsut gonna have to be a top priority after keepin that baby clean, fed,and loved on. that's the way it's gonna have to be- forever. Mama has got to take care of herself so she can take care of you. maybe it sounds selfish, but i know from seeing how i'm a better wife no than i was 8 months ago that the only way i can be the woman God made me to be is if i am getting in that workout time. To that end, here is my general plan:

-2x/week: Cycle class
-5x/week: pregnancy pilates
-3x/week: weight training
-3-4x/week: run on elliptical or swim

When i hit the 2nd Trimester i also plan on starting the Hot Mama's program at my gym. not sure waht all that entails, but i'm sure i'll be able to work it all together for a healthy pregnancy.

BodyCombat week 2

first, let me recap yesterday (tuesday). it was my first back to back day of weights at the gym, and it went well. i did a TON of ab work first, mixing in my bicep and tricep work, and all that was great. then i did my weight machine circuit. this circuit takes less time every day, and i'm not entirely sure why. maybe i'm taking shorter rests between sets? this may turn out to be a good thing though, as i'll get into in a bit. After all that strength training, i got on the stationary bike for 45 min. it was decent cardio, though i wasn't hffing and puffing like usual (on the elliptical) and maybe i could have worked harder. i didn't really know what to expect from myself though, so i kinda paced myself. it definitely made me want to take a cycle class even more, because with really only a small/moderate amount of effort i went for 45 minutes solid. that was cool.

today was cardio only, but it was also bodycombat day- i love and hate this class. the instructor, Brett, is amazing and funny and high energy and challenging- i am HUGE fan. i have 2 main struggles with the class- my feet hurt, and my lack of cardiovascular endurance. the former will hopefully be at least improved when my new shoes come (YAY) and the only real solution i see to the second is more bodyCombat. now, Brett does teach this class again tomorrow at 8:15 am, but a)that's hella early for this kinda workout, and b) can my knees/feet handle this?  if you read this blog with any regularity, you know that i am more ambitious than my body can handle sometimes, and i'm trying to sort out if this is one of those times. i don't think after class today i felt any more fatigued than after a run on the elliptical although i know in a lot of ways i pushed myself a lot harder. maybe this is a sign i am getting fitter, i dunno. i fought to get through that class and took many more breaks than i wanted to, but, i dunno- can i do it again tomorrow? i kinda want to.

The second thought i am having is that after my ride yesterday, i definitely want to do more cycling. i've not taken a class yet, but i'm a fairly fast learner, so i am up for the challenge. i think.

i wanna do everything. i love the way i feel after BodyCombat, and i want to get better and be able to keep up. i won't bore you with typing out my whole thought process, but know i am wrestling with this mentally as well as physically! :-)

Edit: because i am a goal- oriented person, i've made a decision about bodyCombat. i'm obviously going to keep going on wednesdays, but because the second but equal goal right now is to get pregnant, and i don't see myself doing Combat throughout my pregnancy (or past the first trimester even)i'm going to focus on developing my cycle skillz- because that is something i can do while i'm pregnant. (i know this because there is a gal at the gym who is at least 6 months along who does cycle almost daily!) hopefully after baby i'll be able to pick Combat back up and work up to twice a week maybe. right now, because i'm so anxious about losing momentum when i am pregnant, i think the best plan for me is to create a program with variety, but also something i don't have to really adjust while i am pregnant too much.

new week...new thoughts

have i mentioned titling blog posts is the hardest part for me? just a note. moving on....

So, here is how last week ended up:
M: 2.5 hours strength training, elliptical 4.54 miles, 33min
Tu: rest. zzzzzzzzz
W: 2.5h strength training, BodyCombat (OHMYSTARS)
Tr: 33 min Elliptical, 4.05 miles
F: 2h Strength training, 33min elliptical, 4.47 miles

Not bad, all told. i slept all day saturday- almost literally.

Today started a new week, and i'll be honest, i have high expectations for myself this week. today i started solidly with 2h strength training and  4.46 miles/33 min on the elliptical. i want to be doing more than this, and i have the energy, but my legs just feel worn out from the get go! i'm reminding myself that this is reaally only my 7th workout of this new program and i need to be patient with myself. i really want to be doing 60 min of cardio 5-6 days a week on top of the 4 days of strength training i am doing. right now though, 30 min feels darn near all i can do. i'm hoping varying the type of cardio i do during the week will help me progress quickly.  this week i'll be trying cycling (tues) and returning to BodyCombat (wed) to break up all the elliptical work. i'm ordering my fancy sulfate free swim haircare stuff today, so hopefully i'll be able to start swimming a day or 2 a week next week.
  here is what my weeks should look like from here on:

M: strength, elliptical
Tu: Strength, cycle
Wed: Bodycombat
Tr: Strength, Elliptical
F: Strength, Swim
Sa: elliptical (opt if worked out m-f)

thinking about goals.

so my goal has always been a size 8, but is that the right goal? i really don't know what size i should be shooting for. i really don't think i could maintain anything smaller than an 8, but should i be a 10 instead? i'm just over a size away from a 10 (meaning my 12s fit, but not comfortably...) so i guess i'll see fairly soon hopefully how look and feel at that size and go from there. i just don't wanna set myself up for angst by setting the bar at a level i can reach but not realistically maintain. i'll keep puzzling on this.

monday workkout and cardio musings

Happy Monday y'all! so, today's plan was thrown off a little by some late night family stuff that came up, but i still had a fantastic workout!
no pre-gym pilates today, since i slept into make up for being up late, but first thing when i got to the gym i did most of what i would have done at home. then, i got right into lifting. i was more focused today i think, and it went well. shoulders are still tough, but i am excited to see how i improve. definitely focusing on low weights hi reps, so i build lean muscle but don't bulk up. as low weights as i can go and still get a burn. i lifted/strength trained for 2.5 hours total before moving on to cardio.

Cardio was tough today, y'all. not quite as bad as saturday, but tough. i did the same interval training program that i did on friday, but pedaled backward on the high resistance intervals. maybe it's cuz i'm still a little sore from friday, maybe it was cuz i worked hard on legs today, i dunno, but i struggled to finish the 33 min. i took a break to stretch ant got back on to try to do some steady state running with no resistance, but it was not to be. that's fine- i don't want to overtrain or burn out.   i feel like i got a good workout and i guess i can be patient and work up to an hour total of cardio each day. i definitely feel more tired than i did friday at this time. maybe i'll keep with the 30 min each day this week and go for 45 next week, and move on from there....

Saturday cardio

Just a quick post about my run today. i intended to run for an hour total, but it didn't quite work out that way because of some carelessness on my part-i accidentally chose the "cardio" program on the elliptical instead of the manual, which should have been my choice, as the plan for today was cardio with zero resistance to move the muscles without challenging them. i fought HARD through the first 26 min of the 30 min run because whenever my heart rate dipped below 162 (my 85%) the machine provided enough resistance to get me back there. and since i didn't realize this, i thought i was jsut too darn sore to run today. oof. lesson learned though, and i'm fairly certain i burned a solid 400+ calories, so that's good. lotsa stretching between now and tomorrow night, and i should be all set to get up early monday and get going again.

workout notes:

7AM: Pilates: Got through it but it was really hard. i have also lost a lot of flexibility.
Kettlebells: maybe it's cuz it's early, but this is BANANAS (i've just started circuit 2 and have hit stop. struggling with whether to push play again-mostly cuz my knee really hurts and i'm all spinny. :-/) - yeah i tried again. i jsut can't handle it this morning. will try again monday.

 12PM: So, ummmmmmmmmmmm, yeah. just finished working out at the gym (got there at 8 AM). here's what i did and how it went:
Strength training: i won't bore you with the whole 2h+ that i did-, but here are a few highlights:

• Tried to to do one legged pelvic thrusts, and i mean, i did some, probably 10 each side or more ,but i was so distracted, i just dunno if they did much good. i didn't even really feel them. i dunno. i'll keep doing them, in case they are stealthily effective. ;-)
• did both chest press and fly machines. fly is jsut as hard on machine for me as free standing. i struggle so much with moving both arms at the same rate. i think it'll get better, and maybe soon i'll even feel it in my chest! :-P
• awesome shoulder press setup-still my weakest exercise. i'll build up slowly. keeping with my low weight hi reps plan. 
• actually had to make myself stop lifting and move on to cardio when i realized i'd been lifting close to 2.5 hours. wasnt feeling fatigued. weird, since i've been up since 4.

Before i got on the elliptical, i tried something totally new- Stationary rowing. i lasted about 10 min before moving on, but i liked it. i probably won't ever do it for a super long time, but i'm thinking of using it as a warmup before i lift.

Today's run on the elliptical was my best ever- 33min (with cooldown) and 5.01 miles.- and it was an interval workout! i loved every moment and felt so amazing! i really am getting healthier and stronger, even if it's takin awhile to see the fat melt off.

so, to sum up: the morning started off rough, but i managed to work out a total of over 3 hours, and i felt like i could do more! it's quarter to 5 PM and i still feel amazing. WOOOOOOT

Worth the Fight

It better be. it *will* be. And ohhhh what a fight it's been. I'm not even talking about the (conservatively) 10 years i've been fighting this disease and what it's not so slowly done to my body- that is an epic battle that will, i've come to accept, never be over till i'm gone from this world. No, i'm just referring to the past week and a half. As you can probably tell from reading my posts from last week, i've been trying to sort out exactly what and how much exercise i need to be doing to reach my goal of 170 lbs, 30 inch waist and 40 inch hips by 8/26 (when i have my doctor's appt). the weight goal is kinda unlikely, because while i seem to be losing inches at a fairly satisfying rate, the scale is sorta creepin. And that's fine. as long as i look like i weigh what i want to, and my size 8-10's fit when all is said and done, i'm good. i've got a solid 2 more sized to lose before i'm there, but i am determined to. i digress. The Fight. So, when i joined the Jillian Michaels program, i definitely gained a whole new level of motivation and drive- and a whole new level of frustration with myself for not meeting my own expectations. it's been said "what the mind can believe, the body can achieve" or somethin like that, and it sounds great, but my desire for fitness greatness is like when you first walk into a buffet and you are like EAT ALL THE THINGS!!!!! but really, you can't possibly consume as much as you think you want to- your body won't let you- there is not room. So maybe that inspirational quote is more of a long term thing, i dunno. all i know is i have bad knees, and that means all the plyometrics in Jillian's circuits are not a good idea for me- i learned this from 2 days of attempting said circuits. PAIN! i also learned, from having modified said circuits to make them Mae -Friendly, that i also hate self-paced circuit training. Give me a DVD to follow, and i'm golden- set up a series of weight lifting machines and i'm in heaven. So, (i'm literally praying i'm right about this) i've finally found a solution. this is how my mornings will look on weekdays:

6: up/eat
6:30: Pilates DVD (varies, depending on which day of the week)
7: Kettlebells DVD
around 8- leave for gym
at gym: various strength training exercises (some Jillian suggested) followed by an hour of cardio. hoping to work swimming back in soon.


this is something i can stick with fairly simply, since i love my gym, and Scott will help get me out the door. when i get pregnant, i'll drop the kettlebells (because i am clumsy enough as it is) and get to sleep in till 6:30- YAY- and then after the first Trimester i'll switch to a pregnancy pilates DVD. yeah, i've got that all planned. :-)
so, that's the plan. i only wish i hadn't woken up 2 hours before my alarm today. graugh. i'll let you folks know how it goes.