September Cardio Challenge

ACTION PLAN

Cardio Challenge:  To improve my time over the 5K and 10K distance.  I will run both distances within the first week of September (a few days apart).  I would like to improve my time this month by at least 1 minute for the 5K and 2-3 minutes for the 10K.  To do this I will be running more consistently and reintroduce some of my old buddies (sarcasm!) hills and intervals.

Nutrition Guidelines:  I will be following the Weight Watchers plan.  The old plan, not the new one (I don't understand that one).  To earn my daily point for this challenge I will need to stay at or under my points target (22).  I will allow myself additional points in the form of earned activity points.  I will not be using the additional 35 weekly points as I do not find I lose weight when I do.  I will adhere to the healthy eating guidelines with the occasional moderate treat (i.e. not eating 22 points in doughnuts! haha).

Planned Workouts for Week One:

Sep 1 - Timed 5 K plus hours of casual walking at an event
Sep 2 - 14 mile cycling, Strength workout
Sep 3 - Rest / Walk with a friend
Sep 4 - Timed 10K
Sep 5 - Hike
Sep 6 - Bosu Ball class & Bootcamp
Sep 7 - Interval running, 14 miles cycling

Last night I slacked off a bit and "only" did the Bosu Ball class, not the Bootcamp as well.  My heart wasn't in it and my friend was leaving on vacation the next day and had her mind in other places.  Still loving that Bosu class.  My balance is HORRIBLE though.  I really hope it improves over time.  The worst is when we have the ball turned over and stand on the flat side.  We're "supposed" to stand on one foot while doing upper body strength moves.  I'm just going from standing on two feet FAR apart to moving them in close together.  And I shake like a leaf in a hurricane, it's quite funny to see.  I should be doing some additional balance work throughout the week.  Hard to believe I was once a gymnast who did not so bad on the balance beam!

Heidi

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Action Plan - Week ONE

Before I get into the details of week one of the Action Plan, I want to share just my weekend run with you.

On Saturday I (once again) did my longest run of the year.  A few weeks ago I had planned to run 13.1 miles, without stopping, before the end of the month.  My target date was to do that this past weekend.

I have to be honest and say I am not quite there with my running to cover that distance without rest breaks yet.  My mind wants to be there, but my body isn't there.  I accept that and will continue to work towards that goal.  So, my revised goal was just to run 13.1 miles, with whatever breaks were necessary.

When I started out on my run on Saturday, a couple miles in and my tummy reacted to the early morning start that I hadn't gotten up early enough for to prepare.  So, I had an unplanned stop early on.  Lately my friend has been running from her place and we meet halfway (which is about 3 miles for each of us), then we run together.  Because I had to stop, she ended up running 4 miles and I only ran 2.  This would mean that with the route we planned, my overall distance would be shorter.  So, I figured I'd end up with 11-12 miles and that would be that.

My friend is training for a full marathon, so we've been meeting up, running a loop together, then I get my bike and ride alongside her to finish up her mileage.  As we finished up our loop together, I was at 12 miles, but didn't feel like I was dying.  I really wanted to run at least the 13.1 miles, so decided to tack on another "little" block.  Whoops ... didn't realize that "little" block was 2 miles.

I ran 14 miles!  And I actually felt pretty darn good.  That's my longest run this year, and probably the longest I'll do as I'm not interested in longer distances.  I still want to do the half without stopping, but for the next month I want to work on intensity and speed over the 5 and 10K.

Now, onto the Action Plan Details .....

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Action Plan - Week One

I have e-mail a link to the spreadsheet for anyone who was interested in joining along.  If anyone else is interested, or you didn't get the invite to the spreadsheet, let me know.  Remember this is NOT a competition against each other, it's only against yourself.

Each item below is worth 1 point.  And if you choose to skip an item, your choice.  Week One will have a little more to record as it's all the starting info.

1. Record your starting weight
2. Record your starting measurements (suggest at least Chest, Waist, Hips, Thighs, Arms).
3. Take a beginning picture
4. Choose a cardio challenge and post what you are doing.  Remember to note what you did, where, maybe even what time of day, as you will want to duplicate this at the end of the month to note your progress
5. Record time for cardio challenge
6. Strength workouts - Earn 1 pt per strength workout (up to 3 times) - the fitness test can count as one
7. Daily Activity - earn one point that you do 30 minutes or more of activity.  If you do a 30 min strength workout you double your points because you'll get one for a strength workout and one for activity
8. Daily Nutrition - earn one point per day that you stay within your personally established healthy eating guidelines.  It would be interesting if we each posted what we're doing, but that's not required.
9. Do the following fitness test and record results:
• Count # of push-ups in a 1 minute period
• Time how long you can hold a plank
• Time how long you can hold a wall sit
• Time 1 mile run (ran as fast as you can)

If you have any questions I'm always happy to answer.

Heidi

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Action Plan! Are you in?????

WOW, I'm an idiot.  All those years in Honours Math (with a minimum of a B) have obviously not served me well in my adult years.  Apparently I can no longer do simple math.

Yesterday I said that I had gained 21 lbs.  Later in the day I was thinking about it and realized my math was wrong.  It's "only" 17.6 lbs.  OK, so not a whole lot better, but maybe not quite as bad.  Actually, it does make me feel a little less of a failure.

So, I've been chatting with Syl about doing a September Challenge.  There also seems to be a number of my bloggers buddies out there who are currently struggling in one way or another.  Maybe we all need some sort of a challenge.  I'm doing this for me, but would love the support of a few friends.  Anyone who wants to join in is welcome.

Here's the gist of it:

• Challenge runs from September 1 - 30
• First week of September you will record a time for a cardio challenge (run or bike or whatever cardio form you'd like to challenge) over whatever distance suits your fancy.  The last week of September you will challenge this same route/distance and record your improvement.
• Same thing with a few strength, flexibility, and maybe endurance tests.  These will all be posted by the end of this month.
• You will also record weight & measurements at the beginning and end of the month.  No need to report them if you are not comfortable with that, but it would be interesting to see everyone's results.  I'd also strongly recommend taking a picture of yourself from various angles at the beginning and end of the month.
• You will earn points for activities (i.e. min 30 min activity, completing a strength workout).  More importantly (for me and maybe some of you), you will also earn points for staying within your chosen diet.
• You can do whatever you choose for training along the way, but I will suggest some challenges along the way for bonus points.

I will create a Google spreadsheet for us all to keep track.

This is NOT a challenge against each other.  Rather just working together towards success.  The earning of points is simply for inspiration.

Also, it's completely open to whatever your personal choices are.  For example, my cardio challenge will be a timed 5K and 10K, and I will be following the Weight Watchers plan.  Someone else might be to improve their time on a half marathon, or 10K of cycling.  And maybe their eating plan will be counting calories, or South Beach or something they have personally developed to suit their needs.  The idea is to have a plan, and follow it.

So .... are you in??

Heidi

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Revealing the Truth

As I've been mentioning lately, I've gained weight.  A fair bit (we'll get to that later).

I spent a number of months at the beginning of this year living in a cocoon.  Zapped out by stress and instead of turning to the healthy eating and exercise that lowers stress, I turned to cookies and (as my friend loves to say) "sittin' on the couch letting my ass grow".  Not ideal!

It took me a while to start to get my groove back.  In June I challenged myself to 30 Days of Activity.  This was definitely the moment where things started to turn.  I finally began to get active again.  I'm now at what I call my "Happy Activity Level".  I'm exercising most days, getting a good variety in, and for the most part enjoying it.

So ... what's left?  I gotta get this weight off.  Now, for the revealing moment.  While I have been pretty open that weight has been gained, I'm pretty darn sure numbers have not been mentioned.  You may have noticed there has been a significant reduction in pictures of me in quite some time.  That is because I can not stand to look at myself in pictures right now.  No, I don't think I'm disgusting, but I am not happy with where I am compared to where I was.

I have gained .... 21 lbs since February.  At least 15 of that was gained in a 3 month stint.  That is a pretty short time period to put on that much weight.  My weight as of yesterday morning was 164.2 lbs.  Sharing this is a hard pill for me to swallow, but it's time to get it out there in the open.

During bootcamp yesterday I revealed these numbers to my friend during our warm-up run.  She was actually shocked and didn't realize it was that much.  She asked me if I had not lost ANYTHING with all this exercise we've been doing - which the answer is not only NO, but that I have gained a bit more.  It's all about what I'm eating.

I can NOT gain anymore weight.  Any more and I will not fit into my clothes, and I can NOT afford (mentally or financially) to shop for new "fat" clothes.

While it's sad and frustrating to have let myself go this far, at the moment I'm actually past that.  I'm not wallowing in it anymore, which is why I'm finally sharing.  I'm mad and ready to take action.

Yesterday was successful.  I planned out my meals for the day, and even though some logistical problems derailed the supper I had planned to make, I made adjustments and stayed within plan.  My life will ALWAYS need adjustments.  I just have to want this bad enough and do what is best for ME.

Please ... feel free to ride me.  Nag me.  Ask me constantly how I'm doing.  I can not hide this weight gain behind a screen anymore.  It's real and it needs to be dealt with.

Heidi

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Less time, more effort?

I wanted to do a little follow-up after my CrossFit review from last week.  For anyone who was considering trying this, but is now discouraged because of my review ... please do NOT be discouraged.  Go out there and give it a try and form your own opinion.

Also, since our experience, I have received some feedback that perhaps this particular location is a bit known for being rather eccentric and extreme.  Apparently this is not a fair example of what Crossfit really represents.  While they may, in general, follow some of these opinions to a certain degree, this location seems to be known for being a little more closed-minded.

That said, my friend and I have decided NOT to go back for our 2nd session.  I bounced the idea around for a few days, my friend had left the decision up to me.  When I told her yesterday I didn't really want to go again she seemed relieved.

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In other news, did a 10K run on Sunday morning that was absolutely sucky.  I really struggled through it.  It was quite muggy and I just ... struggled.  I think I had to walk 4 times and had someone offered to pick me up I just might have taken them up on it.  I'm really noticing these days that this extra weight has slowed me down substantially!  My mind wants to go faster, but I just can't make the ol' bod' do it - then I get frustrated and shut down.  It's becoming clearer and clearer that if I'm going to have success (and enjoy) running again, I NEED to lose weight.

After the run we visited some friends who made us the most amazing Prime Rib dinner.  It was too die for, and I completely overdid it.  This is something I get to enjoy maybe once a year and I didn't regret it - despite my revelation that I really need to get serious about some weight loss.  I know I keep saying it, and you know .... one day I'm actually going to mean it.

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Last night I spent a little time doing some meal planning, and I've really been pushing my family to ride my butt about eating better.  I know it's up to me, but I'm needing their support right now.  I actually WANT them to call me out on my bad eating habits.

Started my day off well with 2 pcs of light bread and an egg.  Trying to incorporate protein throughout the day to keep me from hitting the hunger highs and lows.  Lunch/snacks today consist of: vegetable soup, crackers, a kiwi, cucumber slices and 10 almonds.  Planned dinner is spaghetti (portion controlled) with a meat & vegetable pasta sauce.  And I've even planned to have ONE cookie tonight - better to be planned than to crave and binge.   Exercise today is my beloved Bosu Ball class.  Not sure if I'll add on the bootcamp class as well, or just push it as hard as possible for the one class.

Although I already try pretty much my hardest when I workout, I'm wondering if I can put in a little less time but a little more effort and still get the same results.  I think that's possible.  My mind is turning that way for running right now.  Perhaps at this point I'll have better success in weight loss if I focus more on running shorter distances faster, rather than just trying to 'make it through' the longer distances.  Any thoughts?  Is less time but more effort more effective?  I'm just wondering how much more effort I can give - there must be a little in there.

Oh ... and go check out Jamie at Sweaty Hugs who has just completed her first ever relay triathlon.  She did the bike portion (17.5 miles) and after just beginning riding 6 months ago she did a FANTASTIC job.

Heidi

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CrossFit Review - Distance Running makes you fat???

All week I've been alluding to this new activity I was trying.  Yesterday was the day.  Unfortunately, as I posted yesterday, I was beat!  Luckily mid-afternoon things picked up and I felt a little better.  However, arriving at the facility I was still feeling pretty apprehensive.

My friend and I signed up for 2 free trial classes at a CrossFit gym.  I'm having a hard time explaining what CrossFit is exactly.  I did find this video which might give an idea:



... and this explanation:

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

Though that still doesn't really give you an idea.  So far I can really only describe the experience we had.  Our class was really quite short, but very intense.  We started with a warm-up of the following:

• 5 chin-ups
• 100M sprint
• 5 burpees
• 10 squats
•   ..... x 3 sets

The chin-ups are done on a bar and are to be done from full hanging, quick thrust, to head above bar.  Luckily they had these assisting bands that you could put your feet into which would reduce your body weight that you had to lift.  There is absolutely NO WAY I could have done this with full body weight.  I had to use the strongest assistance band they had ... and it was still tough.

After this, we were told that our squats were way, WAY too slow and our burpees were too slow and not intense enough.  We then began "the workout":

• 5 chin-ups
• 5 burpees
• 10 squats

Doesn't sound like much, does it?  We were to aim to do 15 sets of the above in 15 minutes.  My friend and I made it through 10.  Everything is done fast, fast, fast - deep, deep, deep - hard, hard, hard.  The exercises themselves don't sound that hard, but when you are going that hard and deep, they are killer!  In 15 minutes I was dripping a ton of sweat, probably more than I've ever dripped in that short a time period.  It was intense!

Burpees are all the way down and out, chest to the floor, back to feet and jump up - and done quick, quick, quick!  The instructor demonstrated them this quick ... mine weren't so quick (fast forward to about 1 minute into this).



Now, in review, I completely understand and appreciate the benefits of these types of workouts.  I KNOW they change your body in very positive ways.  I'm working towards doing more of this.  Apparently their workouts vary every day (as they should) and while we just did a short, intense workout - another day could be completely different - yet always intense.

In knowing how great these workouts are ... I'm not completely sold on the program.  First off, there is very little I like about the instructor.  Not that he's there to be liked, that's not his job.  He knows his stuff and I'll completely give him that, but he came off as very arrogant and cocky.  He knows best, his methods are best, and there is no other way.  They offer a 6 week program, which he admits should really never be 6 weeks because this is for life, not short term (and I completely agree).  But he made the statement that "if you can't stick to a 6 week program then you should just shoot yourself".  What????  I get what he's trying to get across, but really???

Then there was the woman who did our consultation afterwards.  I will give her credit for having an amazing body and she seemed quite knowledgeable.  However, there were a few things that irked me and I can't wrap my head around them.

She asked what our goals are and what we're currently doing fitness-wise.  After we told her she pretty much sat back and said "well, when you're ready to get serious about changing your bodies and are ready to give up the distance running ... then come back to us."  She said that long distance running is only making us fatter and reducing our muscles and that the more we run, the less chance we have to see the changes we want in our bodies.  She said if we wanted to follow their program, we would have to give up running and cycling like we are currently doing.

Now, I do know that I see better results when I'm running shorter and faster, and incorporating lots of muscle building activities.  So I will agree with her to a point. But to say you have to give up an activity that you love in order to achieve a better body is just nonsense.  Besides, I'm looking for balance in my life.  I'm not looking to erase every "unhealthy" morsel from my diet just so that I can look model perfect.  I know by not going in 100% that I won't get 100%, but I'm happy with 90%, heck I'm probably happy with 80%.  I'm not going for elite athlete with a perfect body.  I want a decent body and to be in good shape.  It just didn't sound like there was any wiggle room there.

She also said that our bodies (in our late 30's) were much better designed to be slim than hers (at 19) because her body is wanting to have babies and to stay slim she is fighting her hormones.  She said at our age, we are past that stage and our bodies WANT to be slim.  Hmm, never in my life have I heard anything like that.  Ever!

So, I took some good from this, I found some bad - and now I just have to sort through it and use what works for me.  We have another session next week where I will give it another open look.  They do offer a 3 week fat loss challenge program.  It's $97 - but you can go as often as you like during that 3 weeks (up to 5x per week).  It's not something I can consider right now, but possibly in the late fall, when my friend is done her marathons, I might look into it ... just for the 3 weeks, as a challenge.  We'll see.  Gonna sit on it and think about it for a while.

Honestly, I think my workouts have been becoming more well rounded lately.  I could certainly incorporate more of the hard core, intense, short burst exercises like we did at this class - and I aim to do that.  But, I still know that if I'm ever going to see the changes I want again, I HAVE to clean up my diet.  If nothing else, this class did help to pound that into my brain a little more.  I KNOW this is where I need the changes, but sometimes you have to hear (and see) it quite a few times before you're really inspired to make those changes.

Lately I've been working out hard and just wasting it with my diet.  This is stupid!  Really, REALLY stupid.  I'm putting way too much effort and time into exercise, for nothing.  Well, not quite nothing, but pretty much.  I'm fitter, but I'm not accomplishing what I want.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  My plans are all up in the air right now and I'm not certain what I'll be doing.  With any luck I just might get out for a hike.  Just might have to do some scrambling around to fit it in.  Have a great one!!!!!

Heidi

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Too Much to Do

Today I am really feeling it.  My legs are tired.  My abs are still feeling Tuesday's killer workouts.  My body is just screaming for some down time.  Unfortunately I'm not providing it just yet.  Sometimes when I have days like this I teeter on whether I should give my body the rest it is craving, or push through and demand more from it and see how it responds.  Maybe it's a test?

I do know that I'm not in any sort of pain that would result in injury.  I know the difference.  This is just tired body that's been working hard.

Tonight I'm doing a trial class in something new.  Will explain after I've done it as I'm not really sure what to expect from it or how to describe it.  From what I know it can be a pretty intense workout, but being that it's just a trial (i.e. free) class, they may take it easy on us.  I already know going in that I will not be doing it beyond the two free trial classes.  Even if I love it, it's just way too expensive for me.  My friend is interested in it and I agreed to go along with her.  I'm already dreading the 'sales pitch' that I'm sure will follow.

In other news ... my scale has officially died.  The batteries keep dying and every time I replace it, it dies quicker the next time.  Last time I put a new battery in I said it would be the final time.  For the last few weeks  we've had to beat on the scale to get it to turn on.  It became a gong show - tap it softly, hit it hard, pick it up shake it ... do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around - then maybe it would work.  The last two days - nothing!  It's done.  You can go pretty crazy with options out there, but basically I just want something reliable that will let me measure my progress (or lack thereof....).  Gotta admit, I'm a little afraid that I'll get a new scale and it will show me substantially heavier than the old one.  I've seen it happen.  But, it will be what it will be.  For me it's a necessary tool.

Heidi

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