New gym, new zumba

We're going to a new gym and new gym means new zumba. Before I get to that, I want to tangent for a quick second.

So, this new gym has a sign (so I'm told by Ben) asking that sports bras and midriff-baring tank tops not be worn. I assume the sign in question is addressed to women. It sort of made me angry when he told me about it. I mean, do they have a similar policy asking men not to remove their shirts? Is this limited to the fitness rooms, or are they enforcing it with bikinis in the pool?

I have never, I repeat NEVER, been one to willingly roll over to double standards. I may have gritted my teeth and dealt with it, but never willingly. In high school when I did track and field, the field coach told the girls that were had to do girl push-ups, meaning propped on our knees instead of our toes. We were not allowed to do regular push-ups because () why would they create push-ups called "girl push-ups" if girls were not supposed to do them? () Well, I did regular push-ups anyway. Because I could. And because it was a double standard. I told my mom about it later, thinking she would be proud of me for standing up for myself...you know, girl power and everything...she told me that next time I needed to do what my coach told me to do. So much for girl power, huh?

Anyway, I digress. New zumba on Wednesday was pretty darn good, actually. I only lasted 30 minutes because of my feet, but the instructor was good. She did a routine to the Jump in the Line (aka Shake, Shake Senora) from Beetlejuice. I weighed myself and I was at 153. Let's keep it down!!

Then, yesterday I went roller skating with a center on a field trip. Of the 2 hours I skated with them, I'm halfing it again and saying 1 hour. So, 1.5 total hours exercised this week thus far.

Jelly legs

I went to the gym today and really pushed myself on the elliptical. I did 30 minutes with a 5 minute cool down. I did 2.8 miles in that 35 minutes and now my legs are all jelly-y.

I also did 15 minutes on the weight machines. I did 3 sets of 10 at 45 lbs on the lat machine, 3 sets of 10 at 90 lbs on the ab machine and 3 sets of 10 at 45 lbs on the oblique machine.

I weighed myself before exercising and I was at just under 154.5-the scale was really sensitive. 155 was touching the bottom of the leveling box and 154 was touching the top of the leveling box. 154.5 was still a tad heavy, but I didn't feel like going more precise than that. Not great, but I haven't gained. I want to be at LEAST under 150 before the wedding. Maybe? Please?

GENCON!!

I went to GenCon this weekend and walked for two days. Saturday I had an empty power sprayer strapped to my back and carrying a PVC rivet gun. Sunday I was in street clothes. I'd say that covers my 3 hours of exercise. I'm not even going to try to figure out how long I walked. My feet hurt like nobody's business and I'm sore all over. If that's not an indication of the amount of walking I did, I don't know what is.

Can't lose for winning

Surgery put a crimp in my workout schedule. I have been lying on the couch for about two weeks. I went dancing last weekend, which I already blogged about, but today is the first day I've been to the gym in about a month and a half. Since I just had a couple stitches removed and still have some intact, I went easy and only did 30 minutes of exercise.

I ran on an elliptical for about 10 minutes until it went nutso and reset itself. I didn't feel like programming it all over again, so I got off and went to the weights. I did 3 sets of 15 reps at 65 lbs on the ab machine, 3 sets of 10 reps at 50 lbs on the oblique machine, 3 sets of 10 reps at 35 lbs on the tricep machine and 3 sets of 10 reps at 20 lbs on the bicep machine. I did weights for about 15 minutes and then went walking around the facility for 5 minutes, because I had never been there before and wanted to find out where things were.

Come to find out, they have an AQUA ZUMBA class on Mondays. Sounds totally cool!! They also have belly dancing three days a week and normal zumba Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Belly dancing and zumba are back-to-back on Friday, so I anticipate going there a lot on Mondays and Fridays and switching back and forth between belly dancing and zumba on the other days. :)

I also weighed myself before my workout. 153, which is a pound lighter than I was a month and a half ago with no exercise in between, including two weeks of being a couch potato after surgery. I can't lose for winning.

Oh, and I updated my picture because there was some confusion about the last one and how current it was. The updated pic is from 6/6, so almost two months old.

Big break

So, I know I've taken a big break from this. We moved the last half of June and I recently had surgery in an uncomfortable spot, so I haven't had time or the ability to exercise a whole lot.

But, I did go dancing last weekend. We were there for about 2 hours and since I usually half the time, to factor in time resting, etc, that means an hour of exercise. Maybe I can take the dog for a walk or something and get back in the habit.

Success!!

So, I forgot that the last time I weighed myself I was 154.5. I was happy when I stepped on the scale today and found out that I was 154 after a week and a half of no exercise (sickness and then surgery). I thought I was 157 last time and had lost 3 lbs. Well, nonetheless, that means there's been progress!!! I was not letting myself get too excited about it, but was kind of bewildered that I had lost three lbs without exercising for a week and a half. Now I know it was only .5 lbs. Progress has been made because the scale is staying down. Yipee!!

I did 1/2 hour on the elliptical and 15 minutes on weights. Ben and I hadn't eaten, so we wanted to get back for dinner. 40 lbs at 15 reps for 3 sets on triceps, 200 lbs at 15 reps for 3 sets on leg press, 120 lbs at 15 reps for 3 sets on abs. I had to be really careful about the machines I used and how I used them, because of the incision from the cyst removal on my chest. I couldn't do any of the delt, pec or bicep machines and the ab machine was almost a no-go because of where the pads hit on me.

Back on the wagon!

I smell like peppermint

Friday I went to the dance class again. This time I only stayed for an hour. The people I had gone with were out in the hallway talking and I'm really not keen on the second part of the class, anyway. They do an hour of instruction and then an hour of whatever people want to do. Most of the dances they do in the second hour are ones that I have not had any experience in, and a lot of the people are consistent attendees of the classes, so they are pretty well-versed in the different types of dances. I usually spend most of the second part not participating anyway, so it really didn't bother me to leave early.

Considering we didn't dance the ENTIRE time, I'm going to split the difference again (though I really think it was more like 3/4 of the time we were dancing, but I can't say for certain) and claim 30 minutes of exercise.

Then, today I mowed both the front and back yards. My hands are raw and my feet will probably be green for a few days, but other than that I'm in pretty good shape. I spent an hour and 45 minutes total mowing both yards, and that puts me over my goal for the week. Yay!

So, the reason for my post title is that I iced my hands for a while and once they stopped throbbing, I found my peppermint lotion and slathered it on my feet (hoping to fade some of the green) and hands. I smell like peppermint, which is a lot better than what I smelled like three hours ago.

I think I remember promising to measure circumference on the next post, which would be now. Here goes nothing:

37.5" on tummy (down .5")
23.5" on thighs (same as before)

We're going to be moving next month, so that might put a damper on exercising. We'll see. I hope not.

good news and bad news

Which one do you want first? I'll start with the bad news. They had snickerdoodles at lunch at my meeting in Columbus today. As I mentioned in this blog entry from March, snickerdoodles are my kryptonite. I had two today. *sheepish*

Ok, good news. I weighed myself before we worked out today (which the fact that we're back to exercising on a regular basis is good news part two) and I'm at 154.5. I'm not letting myself get too excited about it, because I know weight can fluctuate, as evidenced by my four pound difference in a twenty-four hour period a couple of weeks ago. But, at the same time, I'm glad that 154.5 is even IN the weight fluctuation zone, you know? Let's keep it going down.

I thought about doing zumba, but the thought of SZL really didn't appeal to me. So, I opted to do the weight machines instead. As a side note, I was reading an article in O magazine as I was working out, and it was talking about "pain you shouldn't ignore." One of the highlighted areas was foot pain, and it was talking specifically about pins and needles, which is what mine is (along with pain). It said that a common cause might be diabetes and you should have your blood glucose checked. Well, been there, done that, and it's a big fat no. The problem with the article is it didn't really give any other reason besides diabetes. So :p for not giving me any new information.

But, it did get me thinking about having my feet looked at...again. I will probably have to wait until after my surgeries are over and done with before I can think about that, though, because I will probably meet my deductible with the surgeries. Then, I can have everything done to diagnose my feet that I want because insurance covers 100% after you meet the deductible. Oh, wait. Have I not mentioned the surgeries before? Nothing horrible. I have a few cysts that I'm having removed. Two can be done as outpatient surgery and I'll be back to work/life within a day or so (scheduled for June 9). One is in a precarious spot and he needs to reserve an operating room and anesthesiologist to remove it. That one will put me out of commission for about a week and a half. Having the OR and anesthesiologist expenses will most likely put me above my deductible. Not that I'm looking forward to having massive medical bills, but this is something I've put off for too long anyway. Anyway, like I said, nothing horrible.

Back to talking about my workout today. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical, but my back hurt something awful. I had to carry twenty framed posters to my car today after the meeting and it started hurting then. From keeping my posture on the elliptical, it was putting strain on the same spot. So, I moved to the recumbent stationary bike and did 20 minutes there. Then I did 25 minutes on the weight machines. 3 sets of 15 at 45 lbs on the deltoid machine, 3 sets of 15 at 200 lbs on the leg press, and 6 sets of 15 at 90 lbs on the ab machines.

I'll measure my circumference for the next post. It will give me something to look forward to, hopefully.

vacation from exercise

It's been a very busy two weeks and I literally haven't had time to go to the gym or exercise. I went yesterday and did 1/2 hour on the elliptical and 1/2 hour on the weights. I also weighed myself. 157. I thought that was a pound lighter than I was, but it turns out it was one *heavier* than last time I weighed myself two weeks ago. I was truly expecting it to be above 160, given that I haven't been exercising and one day I cheated horribly on my no candy/cookies fast. (one large chocolate chip cookie, a root beer barrel and something else that I can't remember now. In my defense, I was falling asleep and that's why I had the root beer barrel. The cookie is not defensible.) I'm glad it wasn't above 160, but at the same time, I am a little disappointed that with no exercise and cheating, I'm still right around where I was already. Sigh.

Dancing queen

young and sweet, but not 17!!!

LOL. So, a friend of mine has talked to me about a dance class he had been going to for a while. It's totally drop-in, so you go whenever you want, and pay for each class individually. They focus on one style of dance per month (I think) and each week they do different moves for said style of dance. I had talked with him the last week or so about going, and finally just decided I would go today. Apparently he hasn't been in a while and having me to go with him gave him a little more motivation to go again.

So, I got there and he had warned me from the beginning that street shoes weren't allowed, so I decided I'd just do it sock-ed. I guess that's fine, but when you're dancing around, that can get pretty rough on the balls of your feet with no cushion underneath, which I found out and will elaborate on later. They did polka today. I was a little disinterested when I heard, but figured that I had come to dance and that's was I was going to do, doggonit. It actually ended up not being so bad.

My problem is that a lot of times in partner dances, I am the one who either knows more about the dance or is picking up on in quicker, so sometimes it's hard to take a lead from someone who is understanding it less. There were several guys there tonight who ranged in ability and experience level. Like I said, I had never polka'd before, but I picked up on it quickly and when I knew we were supposed to "flip" (switch directions by turning 180` mid-dance) and I wasn't getting the lead to do it, it was hard to just keep going rather than initiate the "flip." On the flip side (pun intended), when I had a partner who did know when things were supposed to happen, it was difficult to switch modes and just follow their guide.

But, I had a good time. It was a lot of dancing/hopping/galloping on the balls of my feet, which reminded me horribly of my overpronation. What that essentially means is that the tip section of my big toe does not bend up the way it should to take a correct step. My whole toe is rigid and so the whole toe bends up. Try it with your thumb. Put your thumb out horizontally even. Push up on the tip of your thumb with your opposite hand's index finger. See how just the tip bends up? That's what a toe is supposed to do. If we're still using the thumb to toe analogy, push up on the knuckle of your thumb. See how the whole thumb went up? That's what MY toe does. So, in order for me to be able to walk, instead of walking with a straight gait (lol, I'm a poet and I don't know it :D), I have to walk so I roll off the inside part of my toe to end the step. Usually it's not a huge deal because when I'm walking, the toe is doing about 1/5 of the work for the step. But when I'm dancing and the step is reduced to the ball of the foot and the toes, that means the toes are doing 1/2 of the work now. Since I don't walk correctly to begin with, you can imagine how much my toes liked carrying the brunt of the responsibility. So, my big toes are staging a revolt at the moment. At least my nerve problem is not bothering me for the most part. :)

So, anyway, on to the actual fitness part of the entry. We were there about an hour and 50 minutes. Some of that was spent taking water breaks, watching the instructor and honestly just sitting out because in the second hour they had "free dance" and I didn't know the steps (i.e. tango, waltz, etc). So, I'll split the difference and say 55 minutes of true dancing. I think that actually gets me to my 3 hour goal for the week! It actually puts me 10 minutes over, I just checked. Yay!

2 in 1

This will be 2 days worth of exercise in one post.

Yesterday:
Went to the gym by myself... AZL was leading zumba. I still couldn't do the whole hour. Stupid feet. I crapped out after 1/2 hour, then did 15 minutes of weights. 90 lbs on obliques (4 sets of 10); 200 lbs on leg press (4 sets of 10); 45 lbs on pecs (4 sets of 10). Weighed myself before. 158, I think. Might have been 157.

Today:
Ben came with me. Yay! I did 30 min on the elliptical (a little over 2 miles). Then I did 10 minutes on the weights. 45 lbs on delts (4 sets of 10); 35 lbs on triceps (4 sets of 10). Weighed myself today. 156 again. Glad it's going down, just wish it would stay there.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Well, it would be unfair not to talk about why I titled it the way I did right out of the gate. So, Ben and I went to the gym last night. I weighed myself when I got there. 160 again. SERIOUSLY?? SERIOUSLY??? Four pounds difference from Sunday. FOUR. I find it very hard to believe that I gained four pounds in twenty-four hours. I know weight fluctuates, but four pounds? Gah. I feel very, very discouraged.

1. I have virtually eliminated candy and cookies from my diet since February (candy since mid-February, cookies since April 1). No change in weight.
2. I don't drink soda hardly at all. I just don't like it. So, it's not like I can cut out soda from my diet-I already drink OJ and apple juice and milk and grape juice. No change in weight.
3. I have been doing pretty well about exercising at least twice a week since January, if not more. No change in weight.
4. I snack on fruit or tortilla chips or pretzels. No change in weight.

The only thing I can think of that might make any difference is my portion size. I have been trying to work on that, but it's not easy. The problem is, I don't want to go on a diet I'm not going to be able to stick to. That's why I've been eliminating things that I know I shouldn't eat. I am averse to trying a quote/unquote DIET that will have me lose weight quickly only to have me gain it back when I stop following the plan. I can't count carbs for the rest of my life. I can't eat salad for the rest of my life. I can't do weight watchers for the rest of my life. Anything I do, I want to be able to continue doing after I've lost the weight I want to lose, because it's healthy. I want to do a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix. I just want to see results. Something, anything.

Anyway, I'm done whining about it for now. I went to zumba for a half hour, ran on the elliptical for 10 minutes (got there 10 minutes early for zumba) and did weights for 10 minutes. 45 lbs on deltoids, 4 reps of 10; 15 lbs on biceps, 2 reps of 10 (was finishing my set from Sunday).

back on the wagon

Ben and I went to the gym today. In hindsight, it wasn't the best idea. I passed on Triumph this weekend because I felt like crap and have been having more than one kind of digestive problems. I thought I felt ok enough to go to the gym. First of all, the muscle cramp in my leg (from Wednesday) has not fully relaxed, even though Ben has graciously rubbed it twice for me. As a result, I was not able to go much more than a quick walking pace on the elliptical machine. I was on it for 20 minutes and then went to the weights.

That's where problem #2 happened. I did 4 reps of 10 on the deltoid machine (45 lbs), 4 reps of 10 on the tricep machine (45 lbs), 4 reps of 10 on the ab machine (125 lbs) and 2 reps of 10 on the bicep machine (15 lbs). You're probably wondering why I only did 2 reps on the bicep machine. That's because I almost passed out. It hit me all of a sudden and I could barely see anything with the spots in front of my eyes and barely hear anything. I was in a complete fog and I bet I made some people mad as I sat on the bicep machine trying to keep myself from fainting completely. I had been drinking Ben's water and took a couple more drinks, which seemed to help a little. I knew I had to elevate my legs if I wanted it to stop. I told Ben we needed to go and I high-tailed it out to the car, praying I wouldn't pass out on the way. As soon as I got in the car, I elevated my legs and things got much better. I took a shower when I got home and almost passed out again. No fun.

On the bright side, I started exercising again after a week of neglecting it and Ben and I have scheduled four days of gym time this upcoming week, because he's back in Dayton, at least temporarily for now. His job has let him work from home on a trial basis. I think he'll show them it's ok and he can be just as successful here as in Indy and it will be enough to convince them to make it more permanent. On another bright side, I weighed myself before working out. 156. I don't know how much of that is related to my on-again, off-again sickness for the last week, but I'll take it.

cheating

So, I've cheated on my "giving up" pledge. In case you forgot, I gave up candy for Lent (middle of Feb) and cookies in April. I'm planning on giving up cake in June. So, back to the cheating part. I wanted to be forthcoming. In the two and a half months since I started giving these things up, I've cheated three times. Once when I had a chocolate truffle, once when I had some Girl Scout cookies and once today when I had a serving of Runts. You see, some of the afterschool specialists got me some candy for my birthday earlier this month. I didn't have the heart to tell them I had given it up. So, I accepted it graciously and it's been in my car ever since. I tried to give them away today and no one wanted them. So, I had 12 pieces (1 serving, according to the package).

Overall, that's pretty darn good, I think. I'm not proud that I cheated, but I am proud that I have been able to resist so many other times. :)

Life Happens

I know it's been a while since I posted. I was in Columbus Monday and Tuesday, Cincinnati and sick on Wednesday, a training yesterday and here I am today. I have not exercised. :P to me, right? I will try to do better next week. That's all I can say. I have had several people tell me it looks like I'm losing weight. I don't see it on the scale or on the tape measure, but ok.

walk-a-ma-jig

I took Mayhem for a walk. That's it. 45 minutes and 1.8 miles. I think it's time for a circumference check again. I don't know if I want to know....back in a sec.

No progress. 38 for tummy and 23.5 for thighs. So much for losing inches instead of pounds. It's shit like this that makes me want to just stay laying on the couch and watching TV rather than going for a walk with Mayhem in the rain. If it's not making a difference, why do I do it? What is there to motivate me?

Stalled

I went to DC earlier this week for a conference. We went out to a club (well, really we went IN to a club, because it was in the hotel) and I danced a lot. I was there 2.5 hours, so I'm splitting the difference and saying I danced 1.25 hours. That was really the only exercise I'm counting from the trip. I did a decent amount of walking, but it was of necessity.

Today I took Mayhem for a walk. I wasn't enthused about going to the gym, but I knew I needed to exercise. That seemed like a happy medium. About a block and a half away from home, I found a packet from the city public services. Their building is at the end of the street, and I figured they might need the packet because it was an official looking thing. So, I picked it up and walked so that we would pass the building on the way back home. The door was locked, so I left it on the ledge of their window next to the door.

In all, according to mapmyrun.com, I walked 1.55 miles. It was 40 minutes total. I'll do some sit ups and leg lifts or something tonight to make it an even 45 and then I'll be at 2 hours.

I didn't make my 3 hours last week, but I left for DC early'ish on Sunday, so I lost a lot of time in transit. Not an excuse, but just a fact.

silver lining

I had a training tonight. I had a training last night, too. I do not want to do that ever again. It sucked. The silver lining was that there were only 2 people who showed up to the training and it got done early. There's only so much you can do with 2 people. We did everything in the training, it just didn't take as long as it normally would. So, I got back in time to make some of zumba. MZL was there. Eh. Ego Montana was there, too, and she has started talking to a girl who I've seen at the classes maybe three times. Grrr. She never says anything to me, like at all. Not even hi. Well, that's not true. I passed her in the hallway once and I said hi first and she responded. But, she does not initiate conversation.

So, after the little bit of zumba I did, I went and did 25 minutes on the elliptical. 1.9 miles and 200 calories burned. Then, I did more on the weights. Same weight machines as last time, except I skipped the leg press and did 25lbs on the bicep machine rather than 30lbs.

I had a dr. appt yesterday and they weighed me. 158. Then, I weighed myself at the gym today. 160.5...I don't get it. I also did about 5 minutes of sit ups/leg lifts/air punches yesterday. So, I think I'm at 2 hours and 20 minutes now. Yay!

Annoying

Stupid internet connection...first there was none to speak of, then it is as slow as dial up. Sigh.

Anyway, that's not the only thing I'm annoyed about, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I went to the gym today about 20 minutes early for zumba and did weight machine stuff. All of the sets/reps were 3 sets of 10 reps, so I don't have to repeat it over and over. I did 45lbs on the deltoid machine, tricep machine and oblique machine (per side). I did 50lbs on the quad machine, 30lbs on the bicep machine and 180lbs on the leg press machine. Also, I fibbed a little. I did 5 sets of 10 reps on the ab machine at 90lbs.

Then, I went to zumba. I knew SZL was going to be there, but I figured I'd tough it out. My plan was to stay the whole hour and have 80 minutes at the gym. Stupid feet (I'm a little annoyed with them, but really not as much as this next thing I'm going to tell you about) crapped out on me 40 minutes in, so I did an hour and I was ok with that. Another reason I left was because there is a lady in the class that annoys me. She comes to pretty much all the zumba classes and she has her little group of friends that she laughs with and jokes with and talks with. I have tried to make conversation with her and other regulars in the class, but I have gotten the cold shoulder so many times, I have just stopped trying. She annoys me the most, though, because she thinks she's hot shit (excuse my language). She throws step-turns into the routines at whim because she is just so good at zumba that she can. That's another thing I tried to do to gain her favor, and I got the stink eye, like how dare I even consider doing a step-turn with her. So, in addition to shunning me and having an ego the size of Montana, she will at least once per class start doing I don't even know what on her phone IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROUTINE. Sometimes she does it in her spot, sometimes she does the routine while checking her phone, sometimes she stands at the front of the class (which is very distracting). Anyway, she has brown-nosed her way to leading some of the routines in the class. I did one of them (she also bogarted one that SZL was leading...I watched SZL, even though Ego Montana was in front of me and SZL was across the room) and when I noticed she was going to be leading another, I just left. Yes, my foot had started hurting, but I think if SZL was doing it, I would have stuck it out.

I also walked about 15 minutes today. I was checking out a new space one of my programs is acquiring and it was probably 6 blocks away from the program, so we hoofed it. So, all in all I've done 75 minutes of exercise today.

I weighed myself before lifting weights, and I'm at 157. Let's keep seeing it go down!

arrrgghhh! I'm a pirate!

I did probably 10 minutes of leg lifts/sit ups/punches last night. I don't know exactly, though. I didn't time it. I was more concerned with how many I did, but at this point I can't remember.

I went to the gym today, because I ran several errands last night and by the time I was done, the gym was closing. I weighed myself before exercising, and I was 159. It's better than 161, which I was last time I went. I ran on the elliptical for 40 minutes. I ran more than 2.2 miles, but I don't know much more than that. I know it was 2.2 the last time I checked and it was close to when I was done. Then, I got on the weight machines (I'm actually starting to like them, which I never thought I'd say). I did 10 reps each, to make it easier to remember. I did 3 sets at 50lbs on the deltoid machine, 3 sets at 50lbs on the tricep machine, 3 sets (per side) at 30lbs on the oblique machine, 3 sets at 50lbs on the quad machine and was finally able to use the ab machine after waiting for three different people to use it, and did 5 sets at 90lbs.

The reason for the title of this post is because I use the OrthoEvra patch (patch=pirate, get it?) to alleviate the cramps I would get every month. Now I get them every 3 months. But, anyway, I just switched it yesterday (they have to be switched weekly) and I have come to realize that I basically can't sweat, swim or shower within 24 hours of switching it, because the adhesive hasn't set yet. It is very annoying and not very easy to try to exercise, swim or shower while trying to hold the patch on at the same time. It still hasn't fully adhered again yet, because I both sweated and showered today. So, arrrggghhh! I'm a pirate!

Oh, BTW, this workout put me over 3 hours, which makes my goal attained! That's two weeks in a row and I'm very proud of myself. I never did go to get the undies from last week, or the one to replace my first one that got eaten by the dryer, so now I'm up to three new pairs of undies!

circumference again

I did do my 5 minutes of sit ups/leg lifts last night, so now it's 2 hours total.

I just measured circumference again--tummy 38", thighs 23" Some progress. I guess I'll take it.

No Hip Hop? No Problem!

I decided to go to the gym today and knew there was a hip-hop class at 6:10. Yes, the crappy hip hop class. I decided to suck it up and go anyway. I got there at 6:10, weighed myself (161...it's frustrating that I can't lose any weight) and filled my water bottle. I peeked into the room and a spin/step/sculpt class was in there. I figured it was from an earlier class that hadn't left yet. So, I decided to hop on an elliptical and do a little bit on there and check back around 6:30. So, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and checked again. Same spin/step/sculpt class, which makes me think that either the hip hop class was at a different time than on the schedule or just wasn't happening anymore. But, I didn't really like it when I took it last time, so all's well that ends well. I went and did 40 minutes on the exercise bike. The one I chose had a seat that was MUCH more comfortable than the others. It was a *little* lumpy, but pretty good for the most part. I think if I were taller it would be better, but even at the closest seat setting, I had to lean forward a bit to reach the pedals.

Then, I went and did 25 minutes on the weight machines. I did 1 set of 15 reps, 2 sets of 10 reps, and 1 set of 5 reps at 45lbs on the tricep machine. I did 3 sets of 15 reps at 65lbs and 3 sets of 10 reps at 85lbs on the abs machine. I did 1 set of 10 reps at 25lbs, 1 set of 10 reps and 1 set of 5 reps at 20lbs on the bicep machine. I did 3 sets of 10 reps at 45lbs on the deltoid machine.

I didn't do the 20 minutes last night (I was pooped after my training), but made up for it today. I am going to do 5 minutes of more abs tonight...even though I increased the weight on the abs machine, I still didn't feel like I was lifting very much on that machine.

nothing substantial

I've been sticking with my pledge of "something" every day. After my run on Monday, I did ten minutes of sit ups and leg lifts that night. I also did fifteen minutes of push ups, sit ups, leg lifts and high knees last night. I'll try to do twenty minutes tonight to make an even hour. Yesterday I went to see Ben and didn't get there until 8:30, so a walk around the block with him was not possible. Then, I had a training today so couldn't go to the gym this evening. Tomorrow I will go, as well as Friday. My weekend is pretty full, so I want to make sure it's taken care of by Friday. I will still do sit ups, push ups, etc, but I am going to get my 3 hours done by Friday and the rest will be icing on top.

Death Becomes Her

About an hour and a half ago, I felt like I was about to die. I ran 1.12 miles (I won't tell you what my time was...ok, I will. 15 minutes. I'm not proud of it) around the neighborhood. I didn't let myself stop, though, and I even sprinted the last few houses. Well, sprint is a term I'm using loosely.

My legs still hurt like hell and I wouldn't be surprised if I wake up tonight with a cramp. I was going to take the dog with me but I can't find her leash. I had it this past weekend. I think it might be in Ben's car somewhere, but I'm not sure.

Oh, from last week, I did make my goal! I used my dad's rowing machine.

I've been thinking a lot recently about needing to make more of a change. I told myself today that even if I'm not going to the gym or taking a walk for a hour, I need to do SOMETHING every day, even if it's just a little bit. I've found that I will think "I can go tomorrow" or "I'll do it Friday" and I just need to make the commitment to do at least a little every day.

Also, I gave up candy for Lent and except for one instance where I had a peep, I did really, really well. I did so well that I am going to keep giving it up. I have also added cookies to it for the month of April. Hopefully I will do ok.

Riveting

Ben and I didn't go for a walk on Friday, but we did go to the gym on Saturday for an hour. Right now I am 10 minutes short of my reward. It will happen today, even if it means doing 10 minutes of sit ups and leg lifts at 11:45p. I did 30 min on the elliptical with 5 min cool down. I did 2.5 miles in the 30 min, but 2.82 overall. I burned well over 300 calories. Then, I did 25 min worth of weights. I have never been a fan of weights. Ever. I always hated the weight room days we were required to do for track/volleyball/etc in high school. I did 3 sets of 10 reps on each machine. I did a pec machine at 40 lbs, triceps at 40 lbs, quads at 40 lbs, biceps at 25 lbs and leg press (I think it did hamstrings and glutes) at 180 lbs. I think I could have done more on the leg press, but I had already moved it once and I decided to just keep it there. Even as much as I hated the weight room days, the leg press was my favorite...mostly because I rocked at it. There would be days where I would put the four 45 lb free weights on each end and have two girls standing on the bar in between. The football coach (somewhat facetiously) tried to recruit me.

Anyway, I am going to start doing weights more. I have decided on my costume for GenCon this year. Steampunk Rosie the Riveter. I have to be at least moderately muscle-y, if no where else but my biceps. So, machines will become a regular part of my workouts.

Oh, I weighed myself when I got there. 157.5, which is a pound less than last time. I sincerely hope it keeps going down.

I ran 12 miles today!

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April Fool's.

I actually didn't do any exercise. I had to clean out my car for a potential extra passenger on the drive back to Dayton on Saturday, as well as go grocery shopping. It just didn't happen. *shrug* I'm going to go for a walk tomorrow in Indy, hopefully with Ben and the doggie.

Though, there is some slightly relevant news. I didn't buy the "juice cocktail" drink at the grocery store. I honestly didn't realize until a couple of months ago that it WASN'T 100% juice. That's what I get for not reading my labels. I'd been dragging my feet about stopping getting it because I actually do like it. Now, to be honest, I still have 1 1/2 64 oz bottles left from the last grocery trip, so I'm not completely rid of it. But, the only things I bought this time around were 100% juice. I got two things of OJ and two Concord Grape and Black Cherry bottles. I <3 that juice! It is usually 4.50 a bottle and I splurge a little to have the really good stuff, but it was on sale for 3.99 a bottle, so I got two. I honestly don't think I'll drink both of them before I have to go grocery shopping again (since I still have 1 1/2 bottles of the other stuff left) but I wanted to grab them up while they were cheap(er).

I also got a crap ton of fruit (3 bananas, 3 nectarines, a box of raspberries and a box of blackberries...which apparently the powers that be don't want me to eat as they fell out of the box twice) and stuff for salad (romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, garlic almond slivers, green olives and bacon bits). I had a salad for dinner, as well as the blackberries--well, some of them--and a nectarine.

Oh, I did want to mention that I am sad to report that my nice new undies from the first and only time I've attained my reward have fallen victim to the overheating dryer. I'm going to get 2 the next time I attain it to replace them. I don't feel I should be penalized in my exercise reward because the dryer is a meanie.

zumba and a website

I went to zumba today. I almost posted something before I went, speculating on whether AZL or HZL was going to be there. Logically, it would have been HZL's week, but as I've mentioned before, logic does not apply to Wednesday night zumba. It's a good thing I didn't speculate, because I would have been wrong on both counts. Neither one was there, and the person from the zumba class I attended Sept 29 was teaching. It took me a sec to figure out who she was. I knew I wasn't a fan of hers, but I figured almost anything was better than HZL.

I got through 45 minutes before my feet started screaming at me. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't really very good, either. We'll call her Mediocre Zumba Lady (MZL). Anyway, I was walking down the hallway to leave after 45 minutes and suddenly I hear "Single Ladies" come on in the zumba room. "Gah!" I said to myself, "I was just about to leave!!" and walked back in to do one more song. So, I did 50 minutes total today.

I also weighed myself before the class. It said 158.5 and I wasn't very enthused about it. BUT (and I'm taking this with a grain of salt, mind you) a lady stepped on it as I was putting my hair in a pony tail and said that she thought the scale was about 2 lbs off. She said she had gone to the doctor the day before and was 2 lbs lighter yesterday. She highly doubted that she had gained 2 lbs in one day and decided it was wrong. So, it may be anywhere from 156.5 to the 158.5 it actually read.

AAAANNNNDDD I was informed of a really cool website today. It's www.mapmyrun.com A coworker had gone for a jog and planned to drive her route to figure out how far she had gone. A friend of hers told her about the website, and I LOVE it. It is so much better than holding up an index card to the map on the computer screen and comparing the marks on the index card to the scale. BTW, according to the website I walked 2.4 miles yesterday...so, basically a 3k.

blade/walk

I was going to go to the gym today, but then I took one look outside and decided it was much too nice to tether myself inside. So, I decided to take the dog for a walk again. My brother had lent me some rollerblades to try out, and see if my feet could take it.

I started out on the rollerblades, but got a block away from home and fell on my butt. I turned right back around and changed into my sneakers. Soooo much better. I also hadn't realized how much the rollerblades were constricting my ankles. :( They're still a bit sore.

I walked the dog for an hour, on a somewhat different route. It wasn't even my intention to do a different route, but it just happened that way. It was quite eventful. I'll recap it as succinctly as possible.

1. After changing into my sneakers, I was ninja'd by a bum whom I can only assume suffers some kind of brain damage. You'll understand in a minute. He kept repeating several different aspects of the same stories. First it was that my dog looked like his brother's dog, then transition into how many brothers and sisters he had (9 and 3, respectively), then transition into where he was in birth order (second youngest), then transition to his birthday (in June), then transition into a car crash he was in (1991), then transition into his scars on his head, then transition into how many times he had "died completely" as a result of the car crash (3). Like I said, it would not surprise me that he had some kind of brain damage from his car crash injuries.
2. On two occasions I had to pick Mayhem up because of dogs not on a leash, chain or tether. Once was a dog in a field with two boys, which promptly bounded across the field toward Mayhem. It stopped short at the fence. I don't know if it was as a result of the fence or of the fact I had literally just scooped Mayhem up away from it. The second was a set of two dogs, one doberman pinscer, the other I couldn't tell, but looked like your typical mutt, but just a huge as the doberman. I think they got out of their house without permission, because they were out of sight soon afterward and I heard voices from a house admonishing some pets.
3. I stopped in a little hole-in-the-wall pet store to check out the price of their dog food. It's several dollars less than I pay now, and it's closer. I may start supporting the small business owner.
4. I got honked at. Not like wooo-hooo pretty lady, but watch out. It startled me and I am really still unsure why they honked in the first place, since I was on the sidewalk, Mayhem was nowhere near the road and therefore was not posing a risk to ourselves or them.

I think that's it. I'd be willing to bet I did well over two miles, but less than three. Maybe in the next couple of days I'll have the time and patience to map it out. Until then, that's all you get.

Best laid plans...

Well, the two days worth of hiking/camping ended up being mostly one. I had been on my feet for work Tuesday through Thursday and only had Friday to rest up, so I wasn't 100% for Triumph to begin with. I went on three threads on Saturday, which was a decent amount of walking. My feet were not happy with me. I sat the dungeons out hoping I would be useful with the overnight rest for Sunday.

Sunday morning about 7:30, I woke up to pain stabbing through my calf muscle on my right leg (the one that has the most problems of my feet). It lasted a few minutes and continued to be tight 2/3 of the day. So, in addition to having the nerve problem that was plaguing me already, I now had a calf muscle that couldn't take a lot of stress/stretch. I was limping everywhere and felt very badly that a) I wasn't getting the exercise I wanted and b) wasn't very much help to the NPC crew. I did go on one thread that didn't require a lot of walking, so I helped a little. Plus, I helped clean up Logistics and pack things into the cars. But, in a game that was short NPCs already, I didn't contribute much to the game.

Hmmm, now that I think about it, I did spend quite a bit of time on Friday setting up Logistics. That included lugging storage bins full of garb and gear through the mud from the car to the shelter. I think I MIGHT have made my 3 hours with that, but I'm not going to start cutting corners and "counting" different things I wasn't planning on being my exercise already.

Here's to next week.

Advice part deux

Another piece of advice my unnamed friend who reads my skinnyblog said is to measure my circumference, because I may not be seeing weight loss, but I might be seeing loss in inches. I haven't done that in a while, so I pulled out Ben's tape measure he keeps in his desk. 39" on my tummy at the belly button. 23" on my thighs. Let me check to see how that compares to the other times I've measured. I heart blogger labels.

March 4, 2009: 37" and 23.5" (up 2" on tummy, down .5" on thighs)
March 17, 2009: 38" and 23.75" (up 1" on tummy, down .75" on thighs)
July 2, 2009: 35" --no measurement for thighs (up 4" on tummy)
July 28, 2009: 37" --no measurement for thighs (up 2" on tummy)
August 5, 2009: 37" --no measurement for thighs (up 2" on tummy)
August 12, 2009: 36" --no measurement for thighs (up 3" on tummy)
October 22, 2009: 37" and 22" (up 2" on tummy, up 1" on thighs)

Really, if I'm being honest, this sucks. I'm not talking sucks like a baby sucks its thumb. I'm talking like a Dyson. Sucks. Expletive.

Ghost readers and their advice

I was at a party over the weekend and a friend of mine mentioned that she had seen my skinnyblog. My initial thought was "Crap. I haven't met my goal in a month, and now she knows how much I weigh and that I've been slacking." My next immediate though was, "Well, you wanted to be accountable, Janine," which is why I'm still blogging and still posting to Facebook. I realized when she said something about it that more people read it than I thought. I know for a fact that one person reads it (hi, Mary!). I suspect my brother reads it on occasion when he's bored and has already put together the model plane I got him, read the OverBoard, written letters to the President and State Representatives and eaten his soup. Those were the only ones I knew about. How many others are out there that see the link on Facebook and wonder what Janine is up to today? I may never know. But, I do know that I am doing exactly what I made this blog for: being accountable. That means being accountable not only for the exercise I do, but for the exercise I don't.

Anyway, I digress. This friend of mine has been training for the mini marathon since January. She gave me some really good advice. She said that she puts her gym time in her planner like an appointment, and then makes sure she keeps it, like any other appointment. I already do this for my job. I never used to be a big planner person, not even in school when we were required to use them. Ever since I started this job, though, and I have a different schedule every day, I seriously feel lost without my planner. I am going to put this into practice and hopefully it will get my ass in gear.

She also suggested trying out a spin class. I'm going to do it, but I've got to be honest. I did the exercise bike today (more on that in a sec) and I couldn't do more than 20 minutes, and even that was excruciating. I don't know what the people were smoking when they invented the exercise bike with those seats, but it was seriously unbearable. I don't know if I've just got a bony butt (I doubt it...I've got some junk in the trunk) or if it's the cyst on my tailbone (doubt that, too, this was definitely my butt that was in pain) but I think that spin class is going to have me walking funny for a week just from the seat. I'm not going to go back on my word, though. I'm going to try it. So there, butt.

Ok, so update on my exercise. I was watching NCIS and it was the last two episodes of one of the recent seasons in rerun. I hadn't seen them and was completely engrossed. I had decided to go to the gym at 8:30 and at 8 realized I REALLY wanted to see the end of the 2 part show. I was torn between watching the show and going to the gym in a half hour. In a moment of clarity, I remembered that I could watch it on the tv screens on the ellipticals at the gym. Duh, Janine. So, I grabbed my stuff and headed out at the very beginning of a commercial break. I still ended up missing a good portion of it because I decided I had to weigh myself and fill my water bottle first. 158. It's down 2 lbs since the last time I was at the gym. That's good, right? Let's just hope it stays that way. I hate to be pessimistic, but I also hate when I get excited over my weight loss and then I gain it back again.

I did 35 hour on the elliptical (2.9 miles, 315 calories), 20 minutes on the exercise bike. It's only Monday and I'm 1/3 of the way. I've also got Triumph this weekend and I'll make sure to do some stabby-stabby combat stuff that always seems to be more exercise worthy than I expect. My feet may hate me and decide I am the meanest person in the whole wide world and they're never talking to me ever again, but they'll get over it. New undies, here I come?

was that a walk or a play date?

I took the dog for another walk today, mostly the same route. I figured up the distance before I left and it was about 300 feet shy of 2 miles. So, rather than walking the edge of a park, I walked around it and came out the other side. That should put me at 2 miles. It was still 45 minutes. My foot is a little sore.

So, I guess you wondering what the title's all about. I was coming up to the house of a friend who lives about six blocks away and I saw a beautiful black pit bull mix up ahead, walking by itself. It turned a corner and when I got up to the corner it had turned, it was still there. It saw Mayhem and boy, did that make his day. I picked her up, not knowing how friendly he was, just in case. He would not sit still to save his life for me to check his collar. He did let me pet him, after I let him sniff me and extended my hand. But, he kept running around me to see Mayhem and try to sniff her. Even though he was plenty friendly with me, I still wasn't sure how he would treat Mayhem, so I kept holding her.

I finally was able to check his collar and found out there was only a rabies vacc tag, no ID. :( I told him to go home. He walked around me a couple more times, trying to play with Mayhem until he got the message I wasn't going to put her down. I said, "Go home" again and he trotted on off. I did see him on the sidewalk again once we had gotten a little further down. I thought he might run after us trying to play with Mayhem again, but he didn't. I hope his owners find him. He was very friendly and well-behaved as far as I could tell. And did I mention beautiful? I should have gotten a picture. Oh, well. Hindsight's 20/20.

walk with the doggie

I just did a 45 minute walk with my dog. She did extremely well. She didn't bark at anyone or any dog...she did whimper a couple of times like she wanted to bark but I either said "No" firmly or said "Good girl" when she stopped whimpering, reinforcing that not barking was a good thing. Only a few times did I have to tug on the leash to get her to either catch up or not go so far ahead. For the most part she stayed either right next to me or a few feet in front or behind and caught up/slowed down on her own. I'm so proud of her! She is a good dog.

I also did 15 minutes of strength conditioning (read: carried heavy boxes and rolls of banners around the Columbus agency office and then out to the car). That's 1 hour today, folks. Yay! I may still have time for grocery shopping. I don't think I'm up for zumba (*gasp* I can't believe I just said that). Mostly, it's because I'm pretty sure it's HZL this week and I'm just not motivated, especially since I already did some today. We'll see, though. I'm already dressed for it and if I'm still energized after grocery shopping and there's time I may go, even if it's to do the elliptical.

wadrobe malfunction

Due to a wardrobe malfunction (a crucial piece of clothing is being washed) I wasn't able to go to the gym today. Instead, I surfed YouTube looking for a zumba workout. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of little ones, so that's what I settled for. I did six different zumba workouts that totaled 30 minutes. I am now halfway to new undies.

I'm going to Indy this weekend, and the forecast says 50% chance of rain both Sat and Sun, but I am going to try to get to a park and do some walking. We'll see.

Half Dead

I went to zumba today. I did the full hour...with AZL, no less. That is no small feat. Speaking of feet, mine are throbbing. Forty minutes into the class, I tweeted that I was going to finish zumba if it killed me. At the end of the class, I tweeted that I had finished zumba and that I was only half dead, thus the title of this post.

So, one hour down, two to go.

BTW, I don't know if I've mentioned that I gave up candy for Lent. I've got about 3 1/2 more weeks until Easter and Lent is over, but I'm going to try to continue. When I was on the low oxalate diet for my reproductive issue, I couldn't eat chocolate and I did it just fine. So, like I said I hope that I can continue my lack of candy eating after Lent is over. Maybe after I conquer that, I can work on cookies and cake. (Though I may need to make an exception for snickerdoodles. I am a sucker for snickerdoodles. If I ever become a spy and they're trying to break me, all they have to do is offer me a snickerdoodle and I'm a goner.)

I weighed myself at the gym today. 160. I tried to lie to myself and move it to 159 because I didn't want to be at 160, but it was definitely even at 160 and less even at 159. That's what I get for not going to the gym for a week. I have a training tomorrow so I'm going to try to hit the fitness machines in the morning when I don't have to be at work. Problem is, I've got six other things I have to do that have been on my list for about three weeks. I'm going to try very had to get it all done, but it will take some fancy juggling skills.

Babysitting a futon

I had to babysit my brother's futon on Wednesday, so that someone would be there when the repair guy came. He gave a 10a-3p time frame. I got there at 9:30a and left at 3p when my brother got home from work. The guy came at 3:30p and didn't even repair it, since he realized what my brother had been telling them, that it was put together wrong and they had to order a new one.

Anyway, my brother doesn't have cable or internet installed yet, so I had to come up with things to occupy my time. First, I did a half hour of a workout video. Again, I got through 20 minutes and my feet started to hurt. I did the rest of the video sitting down. Then I did some anaerobics, followed by making jewelry and watching The Sandlot.

At least I got *some* exercise in, but didn't follow through the rest of the week. :(

This marks post 101

I went to the gym today. My goal was to do an hour on the machines and an hour in the pool. That got cut in half, unfortunately. There were signs on the machines telling people to limit their time to 30 minutes during this busy time...read: after New Year's Resolutions. ALL of the ellipticals and ALL of the treadmills were taken, so I settled with an exercise bike. The seat was extremely uncomfortable and I'm surprised I lasted 35 minutes on it. I did 30 minutes with a 5 minute cool down. I figured whoever was supposedly waiting for my machine could wait 5 more minutes. I then wanted to do another 30 on an elliptical or treadmill, but they were STILL all taken.

To the pool, I guess, I thought. So, I changed into my swimsuit (which, BTW, desperately needs to be replaced. I am spilling out of it since parts of me have gotten bigger and the lining is starting to get holes in it. They're just so EXPENSIVE, though) and jumped in the pool. About a lap and a half into it, I realized the adhesive on my patch was not doing so well. I kept stopping and pushing it back onto my skin. Sigh. I only got to do 500 yards in 20 minutes. It wasn't a very good time for the distance, but like I said, I had to keep stopping to keep my patch on and was also forced to swim slower to not make it looser. So, I did 55 minutes in all.

Oh! I almost forgot. I had an un-terrible experience with the lifeguard. He was in the chair the whole time, facing the pool the whole time, not talking, texting or playing games on his phone. I left a positive review with the front desk, saying that in the six months I've been swimming there, he's the best I've seen and the only one that I felt if something happened to me, I would be taken care of. I also told them my only complaint was that he was their best guard rather than their worst. Granted, he was not nearly up to my standards as far as good lifeguards go. He was not scanning properly, fixated quite often and occasionally had one leg propped up on the other. But, he was much better than ALL of the other lifeguards I've seen there. I don't know how WELL I would have been taken care of if something were to happen, but at least I wasn't wondering how long I would be floating there before I was noticed.

I have to babysit my brother's futon tomorrow, waiting on the guy to come and fix it from the furniture place. I think I'm going to take a couple workout videos, since he doesn't have cable and there's not much else to do while waiting, except make some beaded jewelry. Maybe I'll do that if after I've done the videos the guy still hasn't gotten there.

I weighed myself. 158. At least I'm not gaining, right? :P

Add 5 minutes!

I sprinted to the parking lot and back for a trainee who had forgotten her paperwork...in a thin short sleeved shirt and khakis...and no coat...no bra, either, as they were all in the wash, only a camisole under said thin shirt. Yeah, I was pretty out of breath once I got back inside. It reminded me of track in high school when we had to run on very cold March days (almost like today) in teeny weeny shorts and a tank top.

Yay workout buddies!!

I only did 45 minutes of exercise yesterday. I went to zumba and AZL was there, but so was two friends of mine. They tried zumba, but one of them decided it wasn't for him and went to work out somewhere else. The other one had problems with her back and frankly, my foot was starting to hurt, too, so we went and walked the track. I wish I would have been able to do the whole hour of zumba, but I would rather work out with friends and not have my stupid foot problem. I'm not going to be able to make it to the gym today because I have a training, but I am going to try to go tomorrow for as long as I can. Maybe some time on the fitness machines and then a swim. We'll see. I doubt I'll make the 3 hour goal for this week, but it's still possible.

Oh, weighed myself yesterday. 159. I wasn't very happy, but I also recognized that I didn't go to the gym at all last week because I was out of town in Indy and that I ate a little more fast food than usual in Indy.

Several days

Between Tuesday's anaerobic exercises (350 reps worth of crunches and leg lifts) and shoveling snow (I know it's not TECHNICALLY exercise, but I was sweating and out of breath afterward, so I am counting it), Wednesday's zumba class (Awesome Zumba Lady was there, but stupid feet gave out on me 1/2 hour into the class. I was pissed), today's zumba class (at another branch of the gym...I left after 40 minutes mostly because I was getting muscle cramps and she was going too quickly for me to rest enough in between songs) and treadmill walking (1 mile for 20 minutes), I have done 2 hours of exercise this week! One more hour and I get undies!

I weighed myself Wednesday and I was still at 156. Damn. I weighed myself today and was at 158. Damn even more. Maybe I need to up my time at the gym. We'll see. I'll give it another week.

Yay! New undies!

I have officially met my goal for the week. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical (2.12 miles, 225 calories burned) and 30 minutes swimming (900 yards freestyle, breaststroke and sidestroke).

I know it's been a while since I ranted about the lifeguards at the gym, but that doesn't mean that they are better. It just means I got tired of repeating myself on how bad they were. I think it's time for a recap. They suck. They do not watch you diligently, they turn their backs to you, they swing their rescue tube around and clean up the deck while you're swimming in the water.

I actually thought about applying for a job with one of their locations as the aquatic coordinator. They said I could basically make my own schedule, but I also got the feeling it needed to be regular, as in I decide that swim lessons are Monday and Wednesday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday evenings and I need to be there to coordinate those. I just can't do that regular of a schedule. I really need something that has extremely flexible hours because they throw stuff at me all the time that I can't foresee, such as train-the-trainers, meetings and ERS reliability. They usually give me decent notice beforehand, but how am I going to have a regular schedule at another job when I'm constantly being unavailable? Anyway, the reason I wanted to be the aquatic coordinator was because I wanted to be able to improve the quality of their lifeguards. It is seriously lacking and I, for one, would never, ever take my (hypothetical) children there and entrust their aquatic safety to the guards. Period.

p.s. I wanted to end it strongly, but I forgot to add this. I weighed myself. 156. Again, no loss and no gain. I'm starting to want to see the scale go down rather than being satisfied that it's not going up. But, it may be that I'm weighing myself too often.

no rhyme or reason

There is no rhyme or reason to when the HZL and AZL run the zumba classes. Going by the fact that two weeks ago, AZL did the class, AZL should have been the one doing it last night, too. Nope. HZL's day. Sigh. Oh, well. I still stayed for the whole thing. I was keeping track of how much my foot hurt. At 10 minutes, it was fine. 20 minutes, I could feel it hurting a little...not too bad, but noticeable. 35 minutes it was uncomfortable. That wasn't surprising, since I got to 35 minutes the last time and decided to go. I tried sticking it out this time around and by 50 minutes it was painful. But, I finished the whole hour AND went and walked the treadmill for 25 minutes to make an even 2 hours. I think I will go today before my brother shows up and do some elliptical stuff, probably only 30 minutes and then go swim for about 30 and that will be my hour to get to 3 hours for the week! Yay!

I also weighed myself before zumba. 156. No weight loss, but no weight gain, either. I'll take it!

Bad news and good news

Bad news is that I was 15 minutes short of my 3 hours of exercise goal last week, so no new undies. :(

Good news is I went to the gym again today and I've lost another pound. 156!!

I went to zumba today. It was horrible zumba lady, but I knew that going in. She always does Monday zumba. I figured it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I'm going to go on Wednesday and hope that it's awesome zumba lady instead. I only lasted 35 minutes before my foot started hurting. Maybe if it was AZL, I would have stuck it out, but when I'm not enthused about the instructor to begin with, it was hard to justify to myself to keep going when I was in pain. It's still hurting some, so I'm going to give it a little rest tomorrow and maybe do some crunches/leg lifts at home.

new undies, here I come!

I weighed myself before I worked out today. 157 again. Sigh. That's otay. at least it's not going up and I'm back down below 160 again.

I worked out for an hour and a half today! :D On the elliptical, I did 2.5 in 30:05...Not terrible, but I'd like to improve it. I did 2.12 in 25:15, which is about how much I would run in a cross country meet in high school. It's not even close to my best time I had then, but it's better than my worst time! I did the last mile in 10:15. I was trying to make it in under 10, but it just wasn't meant to be. Then, I did about twenty minutes on the handbike. I don't know how much I did distance-wise because I was reading a magazine at the same time. I had let a girl on the swim team who was practicing borrow my goggles, so I had to wait until practice was over to get in the pool.

So, then I swam for about thirty five minutes. My ear kept hurting from the water getting in it and I was already tired from the hour of workout I had just done, so I only did a half mile, with a 50 cool down. I just did a calorie calculator and it said I burned 287 on the elliptical for 30 minutes and 305 swimming for 35 minutes. I couldn't find anything to calculate the calories for 20 minutes on the handbike, so I'll say 160 or so (I took 287 from the elliptical and divided by 30 minutes. I got about 9.5, so I subtracted that to 8 for the handbike and multiplied by 20 minutes). So, in all I burned 752 calories today exercising. Yay!!

My next plan is to do a half hour before I go to bed today, or maybe sometime tomorrow if I am too tired tonight, of sit-up/leg lift exercises to get my 3 hours for the week. Then, new undies, here I come!!

Rewards!

So, I was thinking today as I was working out about incentives to get me to work out more. It was really hard to think of things, because everything I'd read was like, "get a pedicure; go for a massage; buy a song on itunes; etc" and none of that appeals to me. well, let me rephrase that: a massage and pedicure sound AMAZING, but they cost more money than I'm willing to spend, which does not appeal to me.

I did a little homework when I got home on the internet to find other incentive ideas. I was surprised, with as vast as the internet is, there were very few sites that actually discussed ideas for incentives. Even then, it was a lot of the same things, with a few "buy a pair of jeans, buy new shoes, buy makeup" blah blah blah. WHY DO THEY ALL SAY BUY???? Why does losing weight have to have a monetary incentive? Well, as much as I just nay-say'ed it, I think I decided on a pretty good incentive. For each week that I exercise at least 3 hours, I will buy myself a pair of underwear. They are not nearly as much as a pair of jeans or shoes (even at a thrift store), not as frivolous as a pedicure, massage or makeup and something that I will be needing anyway. I resolve that they will be cute, too!!

I can even make it this week, too!! I worked out for an hour today (45 minutes on the elliptical-3.5 miles and 380 calories and 15 minutes on the machines-25 reps on triceps at 45 lbs, 20 reps on biceps at 25 lbs, 5 reps on biceps at 15 lbs) and while I won't be able to go tomorrow (staff meeting in a.m., training in p.m.) I can totally go Thursday and Friday and be able to get a new pair of undies!! :D

Oh, I weighed myself before I worked out. 157. Yay! 1 more pound down!

Combination Plate

This is going to be several updates in one, because I kept forgetting to post progress. Well, it's not that I forgot, but I would remember as I was going to bed and didn't go turn the computer back on just to update.

So, last week on Wednesday and Thursday, I did a total of 300 crunches/leg lifts. I could have told you then how many of each I did, but I forget now. It was 150 per day, and I did the graduated 20, 15, 10, 5 sequence of crunches both days, in addition to sets of oblique isolations and leg lifts.

Then, yesterday I went to zumba. I was surprised that I got to go, because all week my days have been getting confused in my head. AZL was there, which was awesome. I even went 15 minutes early and did 1.5 miles on the hand bike. Then I stuck it out the whole hour of zumba, though to be fair, she was 10 minutes late. At about 8:50, my foot started to hurt, but I decided to push through it for 10 more minutes. At 9, she said she would go 10 extra minutes since she was late, but there was no way I could stay longer with my foot hurting the way it did. :( It was really fun, though. Nice and busy with the New Year's Resolution crowd.

Last but not least, I weighed myself before I started working out. 158. I lost 2 pounds. I know it's not a lot, but I'm hoping I can keep it off.

Blech

I went to the gym for the first time in almost a month. I am very angry with myself for letting it go on so long without going. Every day I would come up with an excuse (some of them were valid, like having trainings or whatever) and talk myself out of going. I'm not proud of it and I'm publicly berating myself for it here on my blog.

Now that that's out of the way, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical. I'd say it was probably about 2.5-2.75 miles, since I was at .9 at 10 minutes and I forgot to check when I got off the machine how far it had been. Then, I did about 10 minutes on machines (2 sets of 15 reps on triceps, 50 lbs and 1 set of 15 and 1 set of 10 on biceps, 25 lbs). Finally, about 5 minutes on ab crunchy thing (1 set of 20, 1 set of 15, 1 set of 10 and 1 set of 5).

There was a zumba class going on, but it was CZL and I was 30 minutes late. AZL was taking the class, though, and she waved at me as I walked past to weigh myself in the locker room. Speaking of...bad news. 160. I had a feeling it would be about that, considering the month I was not going to the gym happened to be the month that had all the holidays in it. Sigh. Not happy at all. I have to work harder.

I probably could have done more time on the elliptical, but my heart rate was really, really high and I was getting a little concerned. It was 150 when I was going my slowest and in the 180's when I was pushing hard. Now, I have a high resting heart rate already, like 130's when I'm sitting doing nothing. For instance, here at the computer, I just counted 57 heartbeats in 30 seconds, which translates to 114 beats per minute. Not as high as 130's, but still pretty high. Anyway, even though I know my heart rate is high normally, I was getting worried about the fact that it was getting SO high, especially with the fact that I have to call the doctor to refill my cholesterol medicine and haven't taken the time to do so, so I haven't had medicine to take for about a week or so.

I am going to try to go tomorrow...maybe swim or something, I don't know. There's a zumba class at another gym I might try.

Oh, one more thing. I have noticed that I am not doing the portion control like I had been, which I'm sure contributed to the 4 lb gain. So, I'm doing it again, at least to the best of my ability. Ben and I went out to lunch Sunday and I asked for a box before I started eating anything. I know I would have eaten the whole thing if half had not been taken away right away. Hopefully this will help as well, because I need to stop eating so much.