Well, I did not make it to boot camp on Tuesday, nor did I make it to work on Tuesday, because I was in the bed all day with some terrible (but thankfully short-lived) virus. I had a fever, aches, painful stabby skin, headache; the whole works. It was like a mini-flu.
I didn't make it this morning, either. In all honesty, I probably could have gone this morning; but I convinced myself that I still needed the rest after being so sick on Tuesday. I am going this evening to a boot camp class at the gym where I'm still a member. It won't be the same, but I figure I'll get out of it what I put into it, so I'll just have to push myself. If I like this class tonight, I might make Wednesday a double-up day and start going regularly. We'll see.
What I really need to do is start running regularly again. I think this weekend I will introduce Ted to Bernard Hill (since I missed the boot camp running day again). Any of my fellow boot campers who want to fill me in on what y'all did on Tuesday, feel free to tell me in the comments!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
In Other News...
I may seriously not be at boot camp in the morning. I am pretty sick.
Just a heads-up so you know I'm not skipping. If I feel better after a good night of sleep, I'll be there. If I'm still aching and weak, there's no way. Right now, walking from the bathroom to my bed is exhausting.
Just a heads-up so you know I'm not skipping. If I feel better after a good night of sleep, I'll be there. If I'm still aching and weak, there's no way. Right now, walking from the bathroom to my bed is exhausting.
Voices in My Head
This morning there were very loud, very pushy voices in my head.
You need to skip today. You're sick. You need the rest.
No, you know that getting up and going will make you feel better.
But you didn't sleep well. You won't perform at your best this morning.
You'll feel better when you get there and get your blood going. You know you will. Just go.
Your knee hurts so much this morning; you don’t want to make it worse.
No. You know that you can modify whatever you need to for your knees; strengthening your muscles is the best thing for them.
Hey, you shut up. She worked hard this weekend and she doesn’t feel good; cut her some slack.
No, you shut up. This is good for her and she needs to go do what she can do. She’s strong enough to make it through this morning.
You’re stupid.
You’re lazy.
Your mom’s lazy.
Um, we have the same mom.
Yeah, well, she likes me more.
Does not.
Does too.
I finally just got up and brushed my teeth so they would shut the hell up.
Turns out, both blue voice and red voice were a little bit right. I did wake up this morning with a scratchy throat, runny nose, and achy muscles. I can’t tell whether this is springtime allergies or a late-season cold, but I feel rough. I also have a very painful and inflamed left knee. I had all kinds of justification for skipping this morning.
Then again, once I got up and started moving, gave my nose a good saline rinse (too much information? Sorry), and hydrated a bit, I realized that I would be able to make it through the class, even if my performance suffered a bit from my puniness.
Today was total body muscle failure day. Those are always fun. And by fun, of course I mean nearly unbearable torture. I had a really rough time with the lower body work today because of my knee, but I plowed through. And the little voice in blue was right; getting my heart pumping and some sweat going did make my throat and sinuses feel better, at least for a while.
After the workout was over and my heart rate slowed, though, I started to feel really drained and weak. I may have done a bit too much for being under the weather. And my left knee felt like it had been shattered with a steel mallet. I will be icing it intensely tonight.
All in all, I’m glad I got up and went to boot camp this morning. There were lots of new faces in class, and of course the seasoned recruits were there to motivate. My intention is to take a dose of NyQuil, get to bed early, and try to be well-rested for running day tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.
You need to skip today. You're sick. You need the rest.
No, you know that getting up and going will make you feel better.
But you didn't sleep well. You won't perform at your best this morning.
You'll feel better when you get there and get your blood going. You know you will. Just go.
Your knee hurts so much this morning; you don’t want to make it worse.
No. You know that you can modify whatever you need to for your knees; strengthening your muscles is the best thing for them.
Hey, you shut up. She worked hard this weekend and she doesn’t feel good; cut her some slack.
No, you shut up. This is good for her and she needs to go do what she can do. She’s strong enough to make it through this morning.
You’re stupid.
You’re lazy.
Your mom’s lazy.
Um, we have the same mom.
Yeah, well, she likes me more.
Does not.
Does too.
I finally just got up and brushed my teeth so they would shut the hell up.
Turns out, both blue voice and red voice were a little bit right. I did wake up this morning with a scratchy throat, runny nose, and achy muscles. I can’t tell whether this is springtime allergies or a late-season cold, but I feel rough. I also have a very painful and inflamed left knee. I had all kinds of justification for skipping this morning.
Then again, once I got up and started moving, gave my nose a good saline rinse (too much information? Sorry), and hydrated a bit, I realized that I would be able to make it through the class, even if my performance suffered a bit from my puniness.
Today was total body muscle failure day. Those are always fun. And by fun, of course I mean nearly unbearable torture. I had a really rough time with the lower body work today because of my knee, but I plowed through. And the little voice in blue was right; getting my heart pumping and some sweat going did make my throat and sinuses feel better, at least for a while.
After the workout was over and my heart rate slowed, though, I started to feel really drained and weak. I may have done a bit too much for being under the weather. And my left knee felt like it had been shattered with a steel mallet. I will be icing it intensely tonight.
All in all, I’m glad I got up and went to boot camp this morning. There were lots of new faces in class, and of course the seasoned recruits were there to motivate. My intention is to take a dose of NyQuil, get to bed early, and try to be well-rested for running day tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
700? Really?
I doubt it.
But Sgt. Ken told us today that during the course of our hour workout this morning, the average recruit will have done around 700 push-ups. He said that we are now part of his "700 Club." It's a lot like the other 700 Club, except nothing at all like that.
I'm thinking that I'm significantly below the average recruit, but I did do many, many push-ups today. Some were proper military-style; some were with elevated feet; some were modified from-the-knees. But I did a bunch. And I gave it my all.
To be honest, a lot of the morning is a blur to me. I remember that we worked with partners. I remember thinking Of course we're working with partners; I haven't shaved my legs. I remember that I partnered with Madison, who just finished up her first week at START. She did awesome.
To be quite honest, keeping these blog posts humorous is becoming a challenge. All my life, I've used humor as a tool to make me feel less vulnerable. I make jokes about being the fatgirl so people think I have a good attitude about it and don't feel sorry for me. I make jokes about how painful something is because it helps take the sting off the pain. I make jokes about how terrifying something is so it seems like the fear is only superficial, and not actually eating through to my soul. I make jokes about puking and wanting to punch people because...well, okay, I make those jokes just because they are funny.
But in the five weeks I have been doing START fitness, I have lost a pants size; I've increased my endurance and strength significantly; I have developed an attitude of excitement for what challenge I get to attempt to conquer next; and I've only puked a few times, and never actually punched anyone. There really isn't a lot of humor there.
But there is a TON of awesome.
But Sgt. Ken told us today that during the course of our hour workout this morning, the average recruit will have done around 700 push-ups. He said that we are now part of his "700 Club." It's a lot like the other 700 Club, except nothing at all like that.
I'm thinking that I'm significantly below the average recruit, but I did do many, many push-ups today. Some were proper military-style; some were with elevated feet; some were modified from-the-knees. But I did a bunch. And I gave it my all.
To be honest, a lot of the morning is a blur to me. I remember that we worked with partners. I remember thinking Of course we're working with partners; I haven't shaved my legs. I remember that I partnered with Madison, who just finished up her first week at START. She did awesome.
To be quite honest, keeping these blog posts humorous is becoming a challenge. All my life, I've used humor as a tool to make me feel less vulnerable. I make jokes about being the fatgirl so people think I have a good attitude about it and don't feel sorry for me. I make jokes about how painful something is because it helps take the sting off the pain. I make jokes about how terrifying something is so it seems like the fear is only superficial, and not actually eating through to my soul. I make jokes about puking and wanting to punch people because...well, okay, I make those jokes just because they are funny.
But in the five weeks I have been doing START fitness, I have lost a pants size; I've increased my endurance and strength significantly; I have developed an attitude of excitement for what challenge I get to attempt to conquer next; and I've only puked a few times, and never actually punched anyone. There really isn't a lot of humor there.
But there is a TON of awesome.
Closed Circuit
I'm behind with my posting. Sorry. There will be two posts today.
I missed Tuesday's workout because my friend Arwen and I had an audition on Monday night, and I didn't get home from it until very late. I had to have the sleep, or I would not have been able to function at work at all. (We did get the gig, though, so it was worth it!)
Upon walking into the studio on Wednesday morning, I was informed that I had missed the single most grueling workout so far. I do feel a bit guilty. But only a little. Mostly I feel fortunate.
On Wednesday we did a circuit with Amber. It was a tough one, made up mostly of stations we had done in circuits before. Today's post will be a comparison of how I felt when we did these stations the first time, and how I felt on Wednesday.
Station 1: Squat Shuffle with Medicine Ball
First time: Burning legs; gasping for air; heart felt like it was out of control and couldn't go any more; moved very slowly; had to rest for extended periods between laps.
Wednesday: Burning legs; breathing hard; heart felt like it was working hard, but strong; moved at an acceptable rate; required minimal rest between laps.
Station 2: Up-down Planks
First time: Really, really hated them; could barely do any; brought sobs to my throat; actually cried; hurt so badly that I couldn't even tell where on my body the pain was; felt like a complete failure and weakling; very depressing.
Wednesday: Started strong; moved slowly but with determination; hurt in a good way; very empowering because I could really tell I had improved like crazy.
Station 3: Abdominal Bicycles
First time: Actually felt like I did okay on these, but really had to rest often and for extended periods of time; had considerable lower back pain; knees were very painful with the motion.
Wednesday: Surprised myself with how long I could go before going to the rest position; lower back became tired near the end, but not painful; knees moved fluidly and were only slightly stiff; felt very proud of my core strength improvement.
Station 4: Inchworms
First time: Did every push-up from my knees; felt very shaky, awkward, and weak throughout entire exercise; had to step outside for fear of puking after each leg; hated them.
Wednesday: Still hated them; did most of the push-ups from my toes; felt strong but still awkward throughout exercise; did not have the urge to puke, but still had the urge to punch someone.
Station 5: 2X1s (2 push-ups, 1 explosion; 4 push-ups, 2 explosions; etc. to 8X4)
First time: I don't think we've done these before...if we did, I was blacked out or in clinical shock, because I don't remember.
Wednesday: Tired, but strong; did mixture of proper and modified push-ups; explosions are still weak, only because I can't get low because of my knees, and also can't bend my knees on the jump. I'm still really hoping for knee improvement, but I don't know whether they will ever get better.
We repeated the circuit five times, with the last set being abbreviated a bit so we would finish on time. It was a great workout, and I felt fantastic. I saw so much improvement in my endurance from early in the program.
This has truly, truly been hard; but it has absolutely been worth it. I have never in my life been this strong, or felt this good about anything I've done for myself. I can honestly see myself continuing to do this for life.
I missed Tuesday's workout because my friend Arwen and I had an audition on Monday night, and I didn't get home from it until very late. I had to have the sleep, or I would not have been able to function at work at all. (We did get the gig, though, so it was worth it!)
Upon walking into the studio on Wednesday morning, I was informed that I had missed the single most grueling workout so far. I do feel a bit guilty. But only a little. Mostly I feel fortunate.
On Wednesday we did a circuit with Amber. It was a tough one, made up mostly of stations we had done in circuits before. Today's post will be a comparison of how I felt when we did these stations the first time, and how I felt on Wednesday.
Station 1: Squat Shuffle with Medicine Ball
First time: Burning legs; gasping for air; heart felt like it was out of control and couldn't go any more; moved very slowly; had to rest for extended periods between laps.
Wednesday: Burning legs; breathing hard; heart felt like it was working hard, but strong; moved at an acceptable rate; required minimal rest between laps.
Station 2: Up-down Planks
First time: Really, really hated them; could barely do any; brought sobs to my throat; actually cried; hurt so badly that I couldn't even tell where on my body the pain was; felt like a complete failure and weakling; very depressing.
Wednesday: Started strong; moved slowly but with determination; hurt in a good way; very empowering because I could really tell I had improved like crazy.
Station 3: Abdominal Bicycles
First time: Actually felt like I did okay on these, but really had to rest often and for extended periods of time; had considerable lower back pain; knees were very painful with the motion.
Wednesday: Surprised myself with how long I could go before going to the rest position; lower back became tired near the end, but not painful; knees moved fluidly and were only slightly stiff; felt very proud of my core strength improvement.
Station 4: Inchworms
First time: Did every push-up from my knees; felt very shaky, awkward, and weak throughout entire exercise; had to step outside for fear of puking after each leg; hated them.
Wednesday: Still hated them; did most of the push-ups from my toes; felt strong but still awkward throughout exercise; did not have the urge to puke, but still had the urge to punch someone.
Station 5: 2X1s (2 push-ups, 1 explosion; 4 push-ups, 2 explosions; etc. to 8X4)
First time: I don't think we've done these before...if we did, I was blacked out or in clinical shock, because I don't remember.
Wednesday: Tired, but strong; did mixture of proper and modified push-ups; explosions are still weak, only because I can't get low because of my knees, and also can't bend my knees on the jump. I'm still really hoping for knee improvement, but I don't know whether they will ever get better.
We repeated the circuit five times, with the last set being abbreviated a bit so we would finish on time. It was a great workout, and I felt fantastic. I saw so much improvement in my endurance from early in the program.
This has truly, truly been hard; but it has absolutely been worth it. I have never in my life been this strong, or felt this good about anything I've done for myself. I can honestly see myself continuing to do this for life.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Dancing Fool
On Friday night, Ted and I went to an 80s and 90s dance club with a group of friends of ours. It was a “Generation X” meetup, so we were all 36 and up. Not exactly folks with a foot in the grave, but not exactly coeds, either. We had a blast; we had drinks and danced for hours. We stayed out until 3:00 AM. It’s been years since I’ve done that.
There is a boot camp point to my telling of my Friday night shenanigans; on Saturday morning, all our friends were posting messages about how sore they were from dancing. Sore legs, sore feet, sore upper bodies; but guess what? I wasn’t sore at all. Apparently, five hours of goofy dancing is no match for regular attendance at boot camp. How’s that for an unanticipated bonus?
(I may not have had sore muscles, but that isn’t to say I didn’t suffer. I had a headache from the deepest chasms of Hell, and bruises. Don’t ask about the bruises. There was alcohol involved.)
This morning was a definite challenge on the getting-out-of-bed front. Some last-minute rescheduling caused me to have to stay up way later than I had planned. So when my alarm went off, I had the fleeting idea that I may skip today. Then I thought about how good it felt this weekend when my daughter saw my arm and mentioned that she was starting to see some muscle definition. I thought about how good it felt to put on the jeans I wore Friday night and not have to girdle myself down to prevent a muffin-top. I thought about putting on a tank top this summer, and having the only hesitation about whether I should wear it be whether the color looked good on me, instead of whether I actually wanted my shoulders to show. So I went.
Today was one of those all-over-cardio-and-strength days. It’s difficult for me to judge how well I’ve done on these days, because it’s such a continuous flow from one exercise to the next. With accumulators, there is counting of reps, so I know whether I did every repetition of every exercise; on circuit days, I know whether I repeated each circuit the required number of times; on running days, I know whether I made the entire distance and completed all the drills, and what my time/speed was. I have a frame of reference on those days; but on days like today, I never feel sure whether I took too many rest breaks, or did enough repetitions, or worked fast enough and pushed hard enough. I know that it hurt; I know that I exhausted myself; but I don’t really know whether I could have actually pushed harder. I guess time will tell.
There is a boot camp point to my telling of my Friday night shenanigans; on Saturday morning, all our friends were posting messages about how sore they were from dancing. Sore legs, sore feet, sore upper bodies; but guess what? I wasn’t sore at all. Apparently, five hours of goofy dancing is no match for regular attendance at boot camp. How’s that for an unanticipated bonus?
(I may not have had sore muscles, but that isn’t to say I didn’t suffer. I had a headache from the deepest chasms of Hell, and bruises. Don’t ask about the bruises. There was alcohol involved.)
This morning was a definite challenge on the getting-out-of-bed front. Some last-minute rescheduling caused me to have to stay up way later than I had planned. So when my alarm went off, I had the fleeting idea that I may skip today. Then I thought about how good it felt this weekend when my daughter saw my arm and mentioned that she was starting to see some muscle definition. I thought about how good it felt to put on the jeans I wore Friday night and not have to girdle myself down to prevent a muffin-top. I thought about putting on a tank top this summer, and having the only hesitation about whether I should wear it be whether the color looked good on me, instead of whether I actually wanted my shoulders to show. So I went.
Today was one of those all-over-cardio-and-strength days. It’s difficult for me to judge how well I’ve done on these days, because it’s such a continuous flow from one exercise to the next. With accumulators, there is counting of reps, so I know whether I did every repetition of every exercise; on circuit days, I know whether I repeated each circuit the required number of times; on running days, I know whether I made the entire distance and completed all the drills, and what my time/speed was. I have a frame of reference on those days; but on days like today, I never feel sure whether I took too many rest breaks, or did enough repetitions, or worked fast enough and pushed hard enough. I know that it hurt; I know that I exhausted myself; but I don’t really know whether I could have actually pushed harder. I guess time will tell.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Better Late Than Never
Sorry I missed posting on Thursday, but my arms are just now working again.
I honestly have no idea how to even begin to write about Thursday morning.
We did accumulators again. This set of exercises was by far the most difficult of any of the accumulator workouts so far. It added up to: 20 minutes speed skate drill, 100 push-ups, 180 burpees, 270 explosions, 560 bicep curls, 28 hopping lunges, 30 double-arm bent over rows, 30 bouncing planks, 28 hopping squats, 24 triceps extensions, 18 V-ups, and 20 jump ups.
Every single time we got to the burpees I thought I was going to have to quit. Every time we got to the bicep curls, I thought the pain was going to kill me. The language in my head during the workout was rated NC-17. But I made it. Again. It really does continue to surprise me when I don’t just disintegrate into a pile of dust around fifteen minutes into the workout.
I actually felt shockingly good on Friday. My biceps were already sore on Thursday when we did the unreasonably difficult accumulator set; and apparently, overworking sore muscles actually makes them feel better. Who knew?
I honestly have no idea how to even begin to write about Thursday morning.
We did accumulators again. This set of exercises was by far the most difficult of any of the accumulator workouts so far. It added up to: 20 minutes speed skate drill, 100 push-ups, 180 burpees, 270 explosions, 560 bicep curls, 28 hopping lunges, 30 double-arm bent over rows, 30 bouncing planks, 28 hopping squats, 24 triceps extensions, 18 V-ups, and 20 jump ups.
Every single time we got to the burpees I thought I was going to have to quit. Every time we got to the bicep curls, I thought the pain was going to kill me. The language in my head during the workout was rated NC-17. But I made it. Again. It really does continue to surprise me when I don’t just disintegrate into a pile of dust around fifteen minutes into the workout.
I actually felt shockingly good on Friday. My biceps were already sore on Thursday when we did the unreasonably difficult accumulator set; and apparently, overworking sore muscles actually makes them feel better. Who knew?
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