Day Fifteen (15) and Sixteen (16) and (17) - My new motivation!

If you ever need extra motivation to hit the gym make sure to find a gym in a good neighbourhood where you are sure to run into plethora of eye candy.

Ok Ok, I know that I was complaining about the random 'pervs' at the gym during my first days at the gym; however, if pretty women is what it takes for them to be healthy and hit the gym, then I say so be it! Oh, i know how anti-feminist of me. Or, is it? Feel the power of your femininity and let it reign, i say!

No, this is not him, obv. but how could I not share HIS yumminess!

He is there. At the gym. At the same time. As I. EVERYDAY. I am not a stalker. I just happened to notice is all. And I may have put on mascara and a little bit of bronzer before hitting the gym today, but who doesn't in this city?!

Anyhoo, we made 'eyes' yesterday. Oh, yes! He is mighty delicious! My new motivation....to get there at least. ;-p

Back to yogalate's today, I can definitely feel the difference between Pilate's and yogalate's. I much prefer the latter. And, something spectacular happened today. While doing a certain stretch (sitting on the floor with one leg crossed and the other extended to the side) I actually managed to reach my toes! This is amazing as it means progress! Isn't that beautiful? I thought so. I also notice that my posture has improved vastly since starting yogalate's, which is great because I was becoming fearful I was going to end up like the hunch back of notradame.

F.S.G

DAY 15:

FITNESS:
Treadmill / 30 mins
Yogalate's / 1 hour
3 reps of 10 / 20 lbs / Pulley row
3 reps of 10 / 10 lbs / Leg extension
3 reps of 10/ 30 lbs / Peck deck
3 reps of 10 / 20 lbs / quad thingy
3 reps of 20 / 70 lbs / Inner thigh
3 reps of 20 / 70 lbs outer thigh

FOOD:
Writing this days later - I honestly don't remember. But I have been good...promise!

DAY 16:

FITNESS:
Treadmill / 30 mins
3 reps of 10 / 20 lbs / Pulley row
3 reps of 10 / 10 lbs / Leg extension
3 reps of 10/ 30 lbs / Peck deck
3 reps of 10 / 20 lbs / quad thingy
3 reps of 20 / 70 lbs / Inner thigh
3 reps of 20 / 70 lbs outer thigh

FOOD:
Again, writing this days later. I should keep track of what I eat in my phone. A la food diary...or something!

DAY 17:

FITNESS:
30 mins of Yogalate's in my room (The girls had a pro-d day, so this would fit under one of those 'hicups' us non-singledoms run into - take what you can get!)

FOOD:
See above, lol. Oopsies!

Day Fourteen (14) Ouch - Ditsy Pilate's Instructor!

I am in pain.


The Pilate's class that I took yesterday damaged my body. I believe what I'm feeling is the result of pulled muscles. I feel as stiff as a board.


It was my first time ever taking a strictly Pilate's class - the ones I had taken previously were yogalattes (a mix of yoga and Pilate's) and I'm not sure if that is why my body is hating me today. It was very different from yogalattes, not even more strenuous. Just different! Awkward! I could tell as I was doing the movements that it didn't feel right.


The instructor of the class was so overly flamboyant and ditsy it was ridiculous. He had apparently just come back from vacation (and had the oompa loompa tan to go along with it) so perhaps that's why he was acting like a teenage girl as he taught the class, but his ditsy-ness and general lack of proper instruction has hurt my poor body. I will definitely not be taking his class again and will stick to some yogalattes.


As a result, I did no workout today. I stretched for half an hour and little bits of stretching throughout the day.


F.S.G


DAY 14


Fitness:
30 mins - Stretching

Food:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled on a corn tortilla and salad
Lunch: Cream cheese bagel care of Timmie's - Yum!
Dinner: All you can eat Indian...what? Soooooooo delicious!

Day Thirteen (13) - Mondays suck, especially when aunt Flo is in town!

So, I thought I would start taking some pictures of my progress. I know that my flexibility is less than ideal and because I plan on improving that, among other things, I decided to use that for my first 'before' picture. I got 'K', my eldest daughter to snap a quick pic before we headed out the door this morning.

I remember 'standing forward bend' to have been especially difficult for me during yogalattes so I took the picture of me in this pose.
Obviously, from what you can see in the first picture, my knees 'should' be locked and I 'should' be able to touch my ankles. Umm, not quite what you see in the picture of me doing the same pose. Ouch, how did I become so out-of-shape?

Hopefully in 6 months I will look back at this extremely un-flexible stage of my life and only be able to remember the pain I endured while forming these poses. Hopefully in 6 months I will be able to post a picture of me looking not quite so cripple, while doing the 'standing forward bend'.

This is what 'standing forward bend' SHOULD look like:

This is what it looks like when I do it: (yes, you may giggle...as long as your quiet)



Thanks to my sweet baby for snapping this pic before the school run this morning :)

Anyhoo, today was an OK day. I don't feel the same satisfaction I felt the other days. I actually feel quite stiff and tired.

First off, MONDAYS SUCK! Blaaaa. I did not want to get up this morning. But I did, obviously. My kids are not going to get themselves to school/daycare. After dropping off my sweet little baby (who behaved wonderfully, may I add) around 920am I shot off to the gym. I stopped off to buy a bottle of water and a banana and shuttled myself into the gym. 

I started off with my normal routine: 30 minutes on the treadmill. However, it seemed like nothing would go my way this morning. I carry a little hand towel with me as I scoot around the gym to wipe the little drips of sweat from my forehead (yummy visual, not!) and it kept sliding off of the screen part of the treadmill to the floor. That happened twice! So I had to stop each time and go and pick it up. Then, I accidentally pressed a button that made the treadmill just STOP. Such little hiccups, but they were irking me today for some reason! Oh, that's why! Aunt Flo had come to town and decided to surprise me at the gym. So, I had to run across the street to buy the necessaries and then run back again and try and get back into the groove of things. Ugh, trust Aunt Flo to ruin your morning!

Anyhow, I think if anything, the small amount of time I have been exercising has made me more aware of my body. Normally, on a day like today I would be annoyed that I was feeling tired and irritable and not really acknowledging WHY I was tired and irritable. Today I acknowledged it and I allowed myself to take it easy. I took care of myself.

F.S.G

DAY 13

FITNESS:
20 mins - Treadmill
1 hour - Pilattes (Which, I did not enjoy - perhaps due to my 'flo' - perhaps not. It felt really advanced and I didn't feel like I was doing the movements properly. It hurt more than anything and not the good kinda hurt. After I was done, I didn't feel like I had worked out my body - I felt pain! Along with a 'mat burn' on my spine from some crazy pilattes move where I was to curl up like a beattle on it's back and rock from seated position all the way down and up to my shoulder-blades. Thanks buddy, for giving me 'mat burn').
3 reps of 10 / Leg extension / 5 lbs
3 reps of 10 / Dual pulley row / 30 lbs
3 reps of 20  / Sit-ups
3 reps of 20 / Pulley / 37.5lbs
3 reps of 20 / Peck deck / 30 lbs
3 reps of 10 / Prone leg curl / 5 lbs
3 reps of 20 / Inner thigh / 50 lbs
3 reps of 20 / Outer thigh / 50 lbs
3 reps of 20 / lat pull down/ 20 lbs (backwards and forewards)
10 mins / Elyptical
5 mins / Cool down and stretch


FOOD:
Breakfast: Banana (yay, not tea!)
Lunch: 2 eggs, scrambled on corn tortilla and salad
Dinner: Pork chops, rice (white...need to switch to brown), corn on the cob and salad.


Day 11 and 12 - The Little Things...

Other than choosing stairs over elevators this weekend I haven't done too much. I have to figure out a way to squeeze in time for a class...a run...or something.

Weekends are generally consumed with kids extra curricular activities, kids friends birthday parties, kids play dates and kids, kids, kids. Which, i LOVE! I wouldn't have it any other way - and that's the thing. How do I figure out some sort of exercise to do on the weekends without taking time away from my kids?!

Obviously, we need to find something that we would all enjoy together and now that the weather is warming up I'm sure we will figure something out.

F.S.G

Day Nine and Ten - Holy Hunger Batman!

Yesterday was a write off! My youngest daughter and I had a date (day off - yay) and we went to the library and had sushi and walked in the sunshine. It was pure lovely-ness! So no workout yesterday. I'm OK with that.

Today, I woke up and dropped the kids off at school/daycare. TRIGGER - yahooo for triggers. That Zen blogger is a gem. Got to the gym and started on the treadmill. I can run the whole half hour now and I don't feel like I'm going to die! High five to me! I increased the incline today and the speed. I worked up a great sweat and it felt swell.

Yogapalates started at 1030am so I jumped on in the class. I love it because it really has shown me how completely un-flexible I am. Sickeningly so! It's like my muscles and joints have become frozen and stiff - like I am 77 and not 27 :( I chuckle to myself as I'm going through the movements because I'm thinking - 'holy crap batman - you are like an old lady!' as I collapse to the floor from some Pilate's exercise that my body can't handle. All with time my friend, all with time!

I have also noticed that I am not able to do as many reps as I did on my first day with weight training. I started with 3 reps of 20 on most weight machines and now I'm only able to do 3 reps of 10 on most of them. Perhaps my muscles are mad at me?!

Also, I am eating like a horse!!!! I have never counted a calorie in my life and I honestly don't plan on it now. I'm not trying to lose weight, just tone up and lose some of the FLAB. But, I honestly want to eat everything in my path - watch out!!!

F.S.G

DAY 10

FITNESS:
30 mins - treadmill
1 hour - Yogapalates
3 reps 10 - 40 lbs - Peck deck
3 reps 10 - Leg extensions
3 reps 20 - 5 lbs - Leg curl
3 reps 20 - Sit ups
3 reps 20 - 50 lbs - Inner thigh machine (must find out name for said machine)
3 reps 20 - 50 lbs - Outer thigh machine
3 reps 10 - 20 lbs - Row boat machine

FOOD:
Breakfast: Tea (this obviously needs to change...)
Lunch: 3 eggs, scrambled, salad and one slice of rye toast
Early Dinner: Veg Tacos (Extremely delicious! From a veg restaurant by my home - the most delicious ingredients - all fresh and organic. Yum)
Late Dinner: Stir fry

Day Eight (8). Yogalates anyone?

Today was an amazing day!


I already feel my mood is better and my fatigue is gone. That is in 8 days. (Only 2 full workouts). All that 'stuff' you hear about exercise being good for your mood - well, it's true! I feel like a million bucks. Even though my stomach feels like its been shredded - so much in fact, that when I sneeze or laugh I tense-up with pain...which is also quite funny in itself. Which then makes me laugh even more. Ouch! But even with the pain, I feel fan-freakin'-tastic!


I woke up today and dropped off my kids. TRIGGER! Off to the the gym I went. The trigger works fantastic. You definitely have to be prepared before hand - I believe that if you even make the slightest detour - you may not keep to your original plan.


I had the BEST workout! I combined a class with my own workout to form my exercise for the day. YOGAPALATES was the class (yep, you guessed it. A mix of yoga and Pilate's). I am the biggest rookie. I have only ever taken one yoga class previous to today and have never taken a Pilate's class. I walked into the class and grabbed a mat and chose a spot in the very back. There was soft music playing and I was expecting something very calm and relaxing to follow. Negative! What did follow was a one-hour-fierce-sweat dripping-stretchy-deep breathing workout. And it was marvelous! I loved it. Definitely do that again.


I worked out for 2.5 hours today (including yogalates). I hope as I become more familiar with the equipment and routine that it will not take this long. Not that I don't enjoy it, but I also have a life to run. *wink*

F.S.G

DAY 8


FITNESS:
30 mins - Treadmill
1 hour - Yogalattes 
3 reps of 20 - Leg extension (quads)
3 reps of 10 - hamstring
3 reps of 20 - dual pulley row back (back muscles?)
3 reps of 20 - 40 lbs. - Peck deck
3 reps of 20 - 70 lbs - Inner thighs
3 reps of 20 - 70 lbs - Outer thighs
10 mins - Elliptical
5 mins - Cool down/stretch


FOOD:
Breakfast: Tea
Lunch: Tofu and veggies (bok choy, green beens, brocolli)
Dinner: Tortillas (eggs, veggies, salsa) and rice.

Day Seven (7) - I am a cripple, nice to meet you!

I usually don't fall asleep until at least midnight. Most nights its usually 1am. Well, the best cure for insomnia, you ask? Get yo' butt to the gym. Stat!


I went to bed at 7pm last night. I was so sleepy  that I lied down with my kids, (who thought it was most amazing that Mama went to the gym - yay for my biggest cheerleaders!) read them their bedtimes stories and went to sleep myself. It was wonderful! My body woke up all by its great self at 7am - no alarm needed. Wow! I am still amazed.


However, when I awoke I was greeted by the most intense pain EVER! My stomach felt like it had a garden rake taken to it. My 'pecks' and more close to my armpit area hurt like a son of a *bleep*! To sum up how I felt this morning: Like I had been attacked by a group of hoodlums with rakes (lol).

I really didn't see how I was going to get to the gym as I couldn't even steer the wheel of my car properly (No joke!) So, I skipped the gym to allow my body to recuperate from the major shock it had yesterday. I did, however, stretch lots to help out my sore muscles. Note to self: Stretch more pre-workout.
Back at it again tomorrow!