Category: workouts

Shock-and-Awe

I had wanted to step things up last week, and boy, did I.  My workout intensity took a massive leap, thanks to Insanity workouts and increased running mileage.  I remember when I first started Insanity last summer and how it was a shock-and-awe campaign to blast a few pounds off quickly the first week.  Well, it worked again: I lost over 5 pounds last week!  Yesssss!

I needed that!  (And I worked crazy hard for that.)  Very motivating to keep going, keep pushing.  I know I won’t lose 5 pounds again this week, but that’s okay.  I am aiming for 2 pounds.  As long as I keep losing, I am moving in the right direction.

The other day, my husband hugged me, grabbed my butt playfully, and told me, “Your butt is getting smaller.”  I asked, “Is that a bad thing?”  He quickly said “Yes!”  I had to laugh.  Never fear, dear husband!  I have ample enough rear end that even at goal weight, it will never qualify as too small.

Big Butt

Later, worried he had hurt my feelings, he told me he was joking.  It hadn’t bothered me.  He has told me before that he doesn’t think I need to lose weight.  I don’t agree with him on that, but I appreciate knowing he likes me just the way I am right now.  I have no intentions of losing weight until I am skin and bones.  That’s never been something I long for or strive for.  I do, however, want to be a healthy weight, stronger, fitter…and, of course, not lose my butt along the way 🙂

Keli Roberts Ultimate Step

I knew I wanted to do a step aerobics workout last night, but I felt finicky and was bored with the DVD’s I have already.  I turned to YouTube for enlightenment, searching step workouts, and one caught my eye.  It looked vaguely familiar, like an old friend I haven’t seen since high school:

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As soon as I started the workout, Keli Roberts Ultimate Step Workout, I knew I had done it before, just so long ago that I barely remembered it.  I distantly remember owning it on VHS tape.

The background set remains perplexing to me: why did she want it to look like they were doing step aerobics just outside the barn doors on some western ranch, at sunrise?

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Odd set aside, it’s about 45 minutes of sweaty hard work, broken into 3 sections that progressively get more intense.  Modifications are offered to make the workout easier or harder, based on your level of fitness and comfort.  The choreography is mostly basic, but I admit I got turned around a few times and may have cussed at the video and offered a few crude hand gestures until I caught up.  Luckily, that didn’t happen more than once.  Or twice.  Who was counting?

Keli Roberts is to-the-point and all-business in this workout, no jokes, no witty banter, no guffaws with her fellow workout mates.  That makes the workout a bit dull sometimes, and it could use some better music, but hey, this thing was made in 1998, people.  Let’s just be glad there are no grunge t-shirts, butterfly hair clips, or flannel shirts tied around their waists.

My calves are sore this morning from this workout, so obviously it worked my muscles pretty good.  I recommend it…especially if you have always dreamed of performing step aerobics on a ranch at sunrise.  (Who hasn’t?)

My New Favorite Pants

During my lunch today, I decided to take a quick trip to one of my favorite department stores.  I am usually a very practical, frugal individual, and I almost always talk myself out of buying things for myself, telling myself “I don’t need that”.  Then I end up buying something for my husband or the kids instead.  But I figured, hey, I earned all the rewards at work lately, and I wanted a little something just for me.

My “quick trip” turned into a much-too-long lunch break that I sure hope no one noticed.  But I’m so glad I went!  I found a pair of pants and a top that I love.  Best part?   The pants are one size smaller than the last pair I bought!  I was shocked when they fit.   When I tried them on, I had made up my mind I would only spend money on them if I was able to get a smaller size.  I fully expected to have to put them back on the rack.  Well, they are my new favorite pants 🙂

I am considering one more treat for myself before going back to my boring, practical, prudent self.  I have several of Leslie Sansone’s walking workout DVD’s, and I saw on her website that she now offers an All Access Pass, which would let me play every workout in their library:walktv-slide

It would be nice to try new workouts each day and not have to buy more DVD’s just to see which ones I like, or hunt down low-quality videos on YouTube.  Has anyone tried this yet?  I don’t want to commit to a year of paying for it, since after a few months, I plan to upgrade to more intense workouts.  But for now, trying to stay motivated to get back into a rhythm and a workout habit, it would be great to have access to all of those walking workouts.

August 1st already…we have five months left in this year.  It’s shameful that I have accomplished so little in the first seven months of 2018, but I have five months to kick it into gear and finish strong.

I Hate Yoga!

I weighed in Saturday morning to a 2 pound loss.  That’s always good to see!  I have a long way to go, but I am making some changes that need to be made.

Yesterday was a rainy, storming, lazy day, but I dragged myself off the couch and went to the gym anyway.  I skipped some other things on my to-do list so that I could snuggle with my husband and relax, but I am proud that I didn’t skip my workout.

I tried a yoga workout over the weekend, too.  Yeah, uh…let’s just say that I am not terribly fond of yoga, but every time I read about the incredible benefits, like easing back pain, I make the misguided decision to hunt down another workout and give it one more try.

It’s like yoga instructors try with all their might to make the workout as annoying as humanly possible.  Start with some ridiculously slow, hokey music filled with bells, flutes, wind chimes, rainsticks, or whatever other hippie-ish instruments they can get their hands on, then the instructor (or yogi, as they call themselves, which is in itself very irritating and just makes me think of the bear) starts speaking in a slow, hushed whisper in what is supposed to be soothing tones but just makes me want to shriek “Speak up, damnit!”  But really I don’t want to hear their hyper-spiritual mumbo-jumbo anyway, since it typically runs along the lines of “Now breathe through the brilliant light in your soul” or some variant of “the blah-blah-blah in me recognizes and honors the blah-blah-blah in you.”  Gah!

Then move on to contorting into uncomfortable positions, mostly with my head down, which makes my nose run, and have I mentioned I HATE being upside down?

Add in bare feet (yuck), overly tight pants, mats that you know damn well haven’t been wiped down properly in god knows how long, and everyone deep-breathing and closing their eyes like they simply must prove how freaking relaxed they are, and I just end up wanting to bitch-slap someone.  Hard.

Yeah, yoga is not for me.  At least, I have yet to find a class or DVD that I can tolerate.  Give me good, old-fashioned, aggressive kickboxing any day!

But…if you have a recommendation of a non-annoying yoga workout (does that even exist?), I am willing to give it a try!

funny-yoga-class

The Value of Simplicity

Last night, after procrastinating as long as I possibly could, I finally dragged myself to the workout room and reluctantly hunted online for an exercise video.  Ever hear of Jessica Smith?  I’ve tried a few of her indoor walking workouts and liked them, so I scanned the titles of her videos on YouTube.  One of them caught my eye: “1 Mile Walk and Talk: The Value of Simplicity.”

If you’re looking for a high-impact, intense, leaping-around, sweaty-mess workout, this ain’t it.  But it was exactly what I needed last night.

Basically, the Walk and Talk series are low-key workouts, about 15 minutes and one mile long, focused on one topic.  They are exactly what they sound like: Jessica talks while you walk together.

I really liked The Value of Simplicity talk.  Three of my favorite points from this video are:

  • Don’t do any program that doesn’t make you feel better.  One size does not fit all.  Find a program that helps you feel strong and healthy.
  • Follow one course until success…or failure.  If something is not working, let it fail, and find a new course.
  • Don’t compare someone’s highlight reel to your behind-the-scenes!

I had just mentioned to my husband that I used to enjoy running.  Before smart phones, before apps, before Runkeeper, before logging distance to the hundredths of a mile, I liked to just listen to my music, run, and watch the scenery and other people.  I liked hunting for great new songs for my mp3 player (how archaic does that sound already?)  I didn’t stress about running farther than last time, or oh my god, it took me a few extra minutes to cover that mile.  I just ran until I didn’t feel like running anymore, and I called it a day.

Just like Jessica Smith said in this video, if it’s not making me feel better, find a new course.  I am not going to track my distance anymore.  Sadly, my mp3 player will likely stay in retirement, since my phone can offer up a stopwatch as well as music, but I am just going to run because I want to and not focus on how many miles, how fast.

I am going to take a critical look at everything I am doing and see if I need a new course.  The new litmus test: is this making me feel better?  If not, it’s time to let it fail and find something new!

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