Fit Test 2

Wheehee!

We did the Fit Test again this morning (holy goodness, has it been two weeks already??). It went really, really well! Was just as dead tired and drenched in sweat at the end, but everything was an improvement. Once again, my body kicked into gear and was able to push through the entire workout without getting dizzy or queasy (yay!).

It truly is amazing to me how we're made to adjust SO quickly. After only two weeks, my body has realigned itself so that it can push through these extreme workouts - and push harder than the last time. Psyched!

And now begins the crazy month of June which involves traveling almost every weekend, which will invade on my workout schedule a little bit. Sigh. Thankfully, there will be a lot of physical activity along the way so we won't be completely void of the much needed movement. Hopefully I'll also be able to take advantage of the hotel's weight rooms where I can play around and do stuff. I may even be persuaded to take the 20 minute Insanity routine with me as I travel - just as a backup plan. ;-)

Also, for those of you who do read this and have left me notes, thank you so much for your encouragement. It really does mean a lot and does inspire me to keep pushing harder. Health is important - no matter what stage of it you're at.

I keep realizing that I need to make sure that I'm not making "health" or a strong body an idol in my life, however. It's a daily process to keep it all in perspective and to say that regardless of my physical appearance, I need to use what I've been given to the glory of God. Have I made progress? Most definitely. Did I do it? Heck no. After six years of this battle, I can completely and irrefutably confirm that there is NO way Jose I could be doing this on my own.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. - Psalm 27:8

Haha!

Okay, apparently it's time for me to write a new blog post. For the past week, I've had people gtalking me and calling me and one of the first things they ask is....are you okay? are you still sore? how is your cold?

Well y'all, I am fine. I was very intensely sore for about four days, but gentle stretching, massaging, and hot baths with essential oils really do help. The next kickboxing class, the instructor had us doing more of the same jumping up and down off the ledge, and I came home a little stiff, but was fine again by the end of the day. Personally, I find this to be an amazing testament of how our bodies are made. Dude, in a matter of a few days all a sudden my muscle are like... oh! That's what you want me to do. Cool. I can do that. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

And... I'm one of those people that a lot of the world loves to hate (or maybe it's just my family) because I'm sick for only a day or two. Then everything is back to normal and I'm ready to kick butt again. Take that, common cold!

Insanity is going great! Every night I go to sleep super excited about how we're going to rock the workout the next morning. I'm getting more and more inspired because I can see how in the not too distant future all the other things I can push towards (keep reading for more info on that).

I decided that after Insanity ends in July, I'm going to take up running again. I did it for a while in highschool, but then (due to bad shoes, bad form, high arches and lack of knowledge), I got a bad case of ITBS or "Runner's Knee." You can get Runner's Knee from a variety of sports and has a variety of ways it exemplifies itself, but it's most common in runners and dancers (hence the name). I found out recently (after doing a bit more research) that I got it from my bad form and bad foot support so basically my bones got slightly misaligned so the physical stress of the strike on the ground was not evenly distrusted between my muscles. This, combined with high arches and bad shoes, basically just caused a lot of pain. It came up again a little bit with our first round of Insanity, but now I know why... so we're adjusting ourselves to prevent it from happening again (p.s. Ibuprofen and ice help too).

After talking to a few people, though, I've decided to try again - this time with appropriate shoes and working on it slowly so that I'm getting my form right and not hurting myself again. The reason for taking up running again?

Hehehe. I've also decided to work towards two goals for end of 2012 and into 2013 (provided the world doesn't end before then). I'm going to be running a Spartan Race (at a date yet to be specified) and a Tough Mudder in April 2013 (and probably some other runs in between, like a 5k, 10k, and possibly even an Army 10 Miler). If you don't know what a Spartan Race or a Tough Mudder is... well.... I feels sorry for you. Cuz they're only the coolest challenge runs ever.

Spartan includes an 8 mile run combined with up to 15 obstacles that you have to conquer. These obstacles could include climbing over 10 ft walls, javelin throwing, dragging 40lb rocks, crawling under barbed wire, etc. And then at the end you have to fight off the "Spartans" who are crazy dudes with big cushioned'ish things to hit you with and try to keep you from crossing the finish line. Basically... it's awesome. My sister and brother in law are doing one in August, but I don't think I can get trained enough to do it by then, so I'll be looking for others later in the year or early next year.

A Tough Mudder is more of the same just.... more (to put it in very simplistic terms). 10-12 miles with 25 military grade obstacles. Originally created by the British Special Forces, the course tests every part of you: mentally, physically, stamina, and teamwork. It will also test your worst fears (in my case... electricity). What most appeals to me about the Tough Mudder (other than that it looks like the most difficult and most fun thing I could do physically), is that it thrives on teamwork, requires you to overcome your fears, and proceeds go towards the Wounded Warrior Project.

So yeah, those are long term plans! I'm super excited. More will come as Insanity keeps going, running starts, Tough Mudder approaches, and we all get healthier!

Peace!

Paaaaaaaaaaaain!

Five days into Insanity and wow... I don't know about any of the others, but I know I'VE run into a lot of resistance already.

First off... I pulled at least seven muscles I didn't know I had in kickboxing class on Tuesday night when we were trying some new stuff (e.g., tumbling and jumping on and off 4ish foot tall walls.... hey, when you're only 5'2", that's a big wall). So basically everything from the middle of my back down has been in pretty intense pain over the last few days. Let's just say walking around, standing up/sitting down, and especially going up and down stairs have all been rather difficult activities... and probably very humorous for the rest of the world to watch.

Second... I got sick. Yay me and my impeccable timing (not). Think it's hard to catch your breath already during Shaun T's intervals? Try doing it when you're completely congested and have trouble breathing already. My sister keeps telling me to just skip days until I get better (or at least until my leg muscles calm down), but the truth is... the only time I DON'T hurt is at the very end and right after the workout - when the muscles are warm, have been gently stretched a little, and haven't had time to sit and stiffen. And as far as the sickness goes... heck, sweat it out!

There are also a lot of new bruises on my legs and arms that make supporting my self during particular exercises less than comfortable. Regardless... I am getting better and am still doing daily workouts - eventhough I can't go full throttle at the moment.

I'll admit... I feel a little cheated right now. The first week and I'm already struggling because of other circumstance. Not exactly a good way to start off. *sigh*

Hopefully, I'll come out stronger, though. Ready and eager to push through to the max as soon as possible! Insanity, prepare to be owwwwned next week!

So Tired. So Dead. SO LOVE IT.

Wow... okay yeah, this is just as hard the second time.

Wheew!

We did the Fit Test again this morning. In some ways I did so much better than the first time I started. My numbers were up from the first time (actually, right in between the third and fourth!), so that was encouraging. But, once again I got really queasy right around the half way point. Note to self: Power Jumps KILL. I had to sit out the Globe Jumps just because my stomach (and my head) couldn't handle it.

Some people would say that is a sign to stop completely and find something else... but because I've gotten through it before, I sure as heck know I can do it again (yeah, I'm dumb and stubborn like that).

We looked over the schedule this morning and realized that there are going to be a couple points where we'll have to take a few days off (because of summer traveling), but seeing as we did that over the holidays last time, I'm not too worried. We'll still get the results!

Several people have asked for "before and after" photos from the last round (which I have successfully completely forgotten to post). So I decided to put some up here.

This was taken the end of last summer... and I'm sad to say I actually remember all the clothing details of that day: as loose a shirt as possible, size 13 jeans, ill fitting undergarments and SPANX! ... and you will notice... hiding behind a purse... didn't really make much difference, though. :-P

These I took this morning while waiting for my work computer to start up (yay slow PC's) - yes cell phone pictures are lame, but they got the job done. This outfit involves a size 10 skirt (that should be taken in) and just a normal, M tank top.

 So yeah, there ya go. Before and after. Still a ways to go, but hey! It's progress! I'm excited to see what the next round is gonna do for me!

DIG (EVEN) DEEPER!!!

Okay, just a quick update!

Lol, yes. We are starting Insanity again! These past weeks of rest have been great, but all of us are really ready to dig in again and really push to our max. Every morning when my sister and I would get up to workout, we'd look at each other groggily and be like... I missss Insanity!

Tomorrow morning we'll be doing the first Fit Test. Once again, I'm a little nervous about what the results will be. Basically, so long as I trump the very first time I did it... I'll be happy. :)

Will let you know how it goes!!! :-D