I am really anxious about my 2 month check-up tomorrow. I want the surgeon to be pleased. I want him to say he can't believe that I am as far along as I am. I want him to say that I can start doing more than I have been and that my cardio can finally have some intensity. I want him to say that I can start doing whole body workouts at the gym again. You could say that I sure do want a whole lot from what will likely be about 10-15 minutes of a visit with the surgeon!
But I am truly ready (mentally) to be back in the game. It's been a little more than two months since I have been able to workout the way I want to. I really want to have a little more intensity back in my workouts and my cardio so that I can pick up where I left off in my training. I want to get back in the weight loss game. I am not at goal yet and I really want to get back to work. In preparation for getting back in the game, I went a little insane :) I ordered the Insanity Workout. I am really excited to try it out when it gets here!! I will likely have to modify some of the moves for now but I cannot wait to see how it works out! It will be great to intersperse those workouts with the ones I am doing with Tye. I told him about it today and he thinks it's a good plan because it works with the same principles he is using. (I am certain I will be blogging more about it once it gets here and I get started with it!)
The next few days are going to be busy. Tomorrow after my surgeon's appointment, I will be enjoying lunch with my dear, sweet friend Betsy, getting a good cardio workout in and following the day up with a 1 1/2 hour massage! Friday is Jason's 35th birthday!! I will be heading into physical therapy first thing in the morning and then he will have a few surprises :) We are also going to finally get a chance to have lunch with Tye...his schedule is always so crazy that it is hard to get a moment in with him. It will be nice to spend some time with him away from the gym. And Saturday night, we have invited some friends over for a cookout. So, it will be a super busy weekend...I think my plan is to get some rest on Sunday :)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wrap Me Up in Bubble Wrap and Call It A Day :)
LOL...I am so uncoordinated it's not even funny! A couple weeks ago I mentioned a mishap at physical therapy on Facebook but I didn't really get into a lot of detail. Here's what happened...
The office I do my physical therapy in is very small and crowded. I had just graduated from doing my warm-up on the recumbent bike to the elliptical. I had spent the morning taking care of the twins which involves going up and down the stairs alot and usually with a baby on my hip. And for even more fun, I was trying to scale back my carbs some too.
Anyways, I started my warm-up by doing 5 minutes forward and the last 5 minutes on the elliptical were going backwards. After finishing up on the elliptical, I was pretty happy and I stepped off to the right side. This was not the best idea because as soon as I stepped off of the elliptical, I stepped directly onto the trampoline (that is not sitting directly on the floor, but slanted sideways). When I stepped on the trampoline, my right ankle twisted which caused me to begin falling. In order to stop myself from falling, I grabbed on to the side of the elliptical for dear life. I became even more frightened when I noticed that my physical therapist, Daniel, looked as if he might be coming towards me to catch me. (I should note here that Daniel is very tall and extremely thin...he is a runner). The idea that I might fall onto Daniel scared me more than falling! LOL! At this point, I grabbed more frantically and was able to actually protect myself from falling to the floor.
However, I didn't come away from the incident unscathed! I managed to calm my heart down after my near fall but had to reassure everyone in the office that day that I was okay. I proceeded to start stretching my calves and looked down and noticed that my left leg was bleeding from where I had managed to scrape the skin off of a spot on my left leg. LOL...so I continued telling them I was fine but I needed a bandaid :) Also, I got a nice bruise about the size of a large person's thumb on the inside of my left arm and I bruised up my knee majorly bad! It was crazy and scary and funny all at the same time!
To make it even funnier, Daniel asked me later if I wanted to try balancing on a balance board on my injured hip and throwing a ball at the trampoline and catching it. I responded with, "What part of uncoordinated did you not notice earlier?" It's safe to say that I will not be doing that particular activity :)
And later that night, I managed to further that knee by doing something crazy! I was standing in the shower and reached to grab my towel from the back of the door and managed to slip and throw that right knee into the steel tub! Yeah...you are starting to see my skills in coordination :)
The funnier part to all of this is that I am uncoordinated at things that most people are pretty coordinated with. I am the girl who can trip over my own feet, walk into walls, tables, you name it and I will crash into it! I have broken my little toes so many times, it's not even funny! I can, however, walk and chew gum at the same time :)
I'm working on being more coordinated. My balance has improved greatly since I started physical therapy. Although I contend that no one in their right mind puts a trampoline next to an elliptical :) So, it was partially my coordination skills and the cramped quarters of the office.
Believe it or not, at one point, Tye thought he could improve my coordination. He has since learned that at the most unusual times, my talent in uncoordination shows itself :) It's not as often as it used to be, but it's like a ninja and sneaks up and scares me!
Years ago, it came out in the form of dropping my walkman while on a treadmill going 5 mph and stopping to pick it up. Yes, I stopped to pick it up but I didn't stop the treadmill and flew off the treadmill at 5 mph...hitting the mirror behind me and landing behind the treadmill with the tread steadily going and rubbing against one of my knees and on hand. This really nice guy jumped off his stair stepper to turn off my treadmill and help me up. He informed me that the red button with the white lettering is what you push when you want to get off :) LOL! My response was, "Oh my goodness! I broke a nail!" Oh yeah, breaking a nail was way more of a concern to me than flying off a treadmill :)
Okay, so now you truly see that my uncoordination is truly a talent :) Not many people are as gifted...then again not many people I know should be safely wrapped in bubble wrap to avoid injury! The good thing is that I am only a danger to myself :)
The office I do my physical therapy in is very small and crowded. I had just graduated from doing my warm-up on the recumbent bike to the elliptical. I had spent the morning taking care of the twins which involves going up and down the stairs alot and usually with a baby on my hip. And for even more fun, I was trying to scale back my carbs some too.
Anyways, I started my warm-up by doing 5 minutes forward and the last 5 minutes on the elliptical were going backwards. After finishing up on the elliptical, I was pretty happy and I stepped off to the right side. This was not the best idea because as soon as I stepped off of the elliptical, I stepped directly onto the trampoline (that is not sitting directly on the floor, but slanted sideways). When I stepped on the trampoline, my right ankle twisted which caused me to begin falling. In order to stop myself from falling, I grabbed on to the side of the elliptical for dear life. I became even more frightened when I noticed that my physical therapist, Daniel, looked as if he might be coming towards me to catch me. (I should note here that Daniel is very tall and extremely thin...he is a runner). The idea that I might fall onto Daniel scared me more than falling! LOL! At this point, I grabbed more frantically and was able to actually protect myself from falling to the floor.
However, I didn't come away from the incident unscathed! I managed to calm my heart down after my near fall but had to reassure everyone in the office that day that I was okay. I proceeded to start stretching my calves and looked down and noticed that my left leg was bleeding from where I had managed to scrape the skin off of a spot on my left leg. LOL...so I continued telling them I was fine but I needed a bandaid :) Also, I got a nice bruise about the size of a large person's thumb on the inside of my left arm and I bruised up my knee majorly bad! It was crazy and scary and funny all at the same time!
To make it even funnier, Daniel asked me later if I wanted to try balancing on a balance board on my injured hip and throwing a ball at the trampoline and catching it. I responded with, "What part of uncoordinated did you not notice earlier?" It's safe to say that I will not be doing that particular activity :)
And later that night, I managed to further that knee by doing something crazy! I was standing in the shower and reached to grab my towel from the back of the door and managed to slip and throw that right knee into the steel tub! Yeah...you are starting to see my skills in coordination :)
The funnier part to all of this is that I am uncoordinated at things that most people are pretty coordinated with. I am the girl who can trip over my own feet, walk into walls, tables, you name it and I will crash into it! I have broken my little toes so many times, it's not even funny! I can, however, walk and chew gum at the same time :)
I'm working on being more coordinated. My balance has improved greatly since I started physical therapy. Although I contend that no one in their right mind puts a trampoline next to an elliptical :) So, it was partially my coordination skills and the cramped quarters of the office.
Believe it or not, at one point, Tye thought he could improve my coordination. He has since learned that at the most unusual times, my talent in uncoordination shows itself :) It's not as often as it used to be, but it's like a ninja and sneaks up and scares me!
Years ago, it came out in the form of dropping my walkman while on a treadmill going 5 mph and stopping to pick it up. Yes, I stopped to pick it up but I didn't stop the treadmill and flew off the treadmill at 5 mph...hitting the mirror behind me and landing behind the treadmill with the tread steadily going and rubbing against one of my knees and on hand. This really nice guy jumped off his stair stepper to turn off my treadmill and help me up. He informed me that the red button with the white lettering is what you push when you want to get off :) LOL! My response was, "Oh my goodness! I broke a nail!" Oh yeah, breaking a nail was way more of a concern to me than flying off a treadmill :)
Okay, so now you truly see that my uncoordination is truly a talent :) Not many people are as gifted...then again not many people I know should be safely wrapped in bubble wrap to avoid injury! The good thing is that I am only a danger to myself :)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Motivations...
What motivates me? What drives me to workout? What makes me crave running? These are questions I get asked frequently.
I am motivated by a lot of things. My best motivation is my family. I adore my husband. I want to have his children some day (hopefully that day will be sooner rather than later, Lord willing!) He makes me smile and laugh and encourages me in all that I do. I also cannot imagine my life without my sister's children, Trevor, Kelsey, Tyler and Trent. They are so precious to me. Over their lives, I have spent a lot of time loving and spoiling them! And they make my life so much more amazing. Being their aunt has made my life special!
I am also motivated by results. Every time I can lift a heavier weight or I lose a pound or an inch, it excites me and makes me want to work harder. In yoga, there are poses that are more difficult, I am thrilled when I can do one of the harder poses.
I have found that motivation comes and goes. It happens. When I have times when my motivation slips, I have to remind myself of where I have been. I also look at pictures of my family or talk to them. I talk to other friends who are on the same journey. I talk to my trainer and have him give me exactly what I need...a pep talk or a butt-kicking. It's not easy. And honestly, even when I am not quite so motivated, I do my workout. Sometimes, I can fake it and get myself more motivated. Other times, I just get a so-so workout in. It all evens out for me.
What drives me? I have a huge competitive nature. Luckily for me, I don't really have to compete with other people as much as I do myself. I have a strong desire to be better than I am in everything. I don't like to settle for just mediocre. So, I have to push myself to lift heavier, run faster, and even do more challenging yoga poses. The longer I work out, the more self-confidence I have and the more things I find that I need to prove to myself. Today, for example, I got it into my head that I needed to hold a plank hold for 2 minutes. Now, with my hip not fully healed and already bothering me today, that was not the smartest idea. I did manage to hold a strong plank for about 1 minute & 20 seconds before my hip started to really bother me! I felt good about it but at the same time, I am now driven to not only hit the 2 minute mark in a couple of weeks but surpass it by say 15 or 20 seconds :) Yeah, I am competitive and that drives me in everything I do. You can also say it is quite a bit of stubborness in me too!
Craving running is new to me! For the longest time, I didn't want anything to do with running or jogging or anything else like it. In fact, when I met my trainer for the first time, I told him there were only two occasions that I considered cause for running...1) someone was chasing me with weapon...I would run because I would trip and kill myself anyways but at least it was a valiant attempt not to be killed! and 2) if someone I really loved was in danger, I would run to save them, but I would have to really love them :) (I know...I am a nut!) Over a year ago, my trainer got me to start running by running with me in the gym. I never imagined that out of those laps would form a deep desire to run in me. After that day, it was almost like every song I heard had running in it, every book I was drawn to was about running and well, I was at the time already in training for my first half-marathon. Now, craving running is like craving chocolate. I cannot have it/do it so I want to even more! Right now, I am unable to run. I have 4 more weeks before the physical therapist will allow me to start jogging or running. It scares me and excites me all at the same time! I want to run so much right now that I am so tempted to get a head start on the plan! But I will wait!
For me, the whole fitness thing gets easier the longer I stick to it. I admit that there are days when I don't enjoy it and I don't want to do it. But there are also days that I wish I could work out all day long. I enjoy the days when my muscles are so tired from a workout that I absolutely have to limp or crawl out of the gym! There are many people who think that my attitude makes me crazy. I have been accused of being obsessive-compulsive about working out. And you know what, I don't particularly care! It is my stress-reliever, my sanity, my passion. And frankly, it is becoming a way of life for me. I used to live to eat...now I eat to live and to fuel my body for a workout. I have to push myself because I won't let anything stand in my way to getting to my goals!
"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people." - Randy Pausch
I am motivated by a lot of things. My best motivation is my family. I adore my husband. I want to have his children some day (hopefully that day will be sooner rather than later, Lord willing!) He makes me smile and laugh and encourages me in all that I do. I also cannot imagine my life without my sister's children, Trevor, Kelsey, Tyler and Trent. They are so precious to me. Over their lives, I have spent a lot of time loving and spoiling them! And they make my life so much more amazing. Being their aunt has made my life special!
I am also motivated by results. Every time I can lift a heavier weight or I lose a pound or an inch, it excites me and makes me want to work harder. In yoga, there are poses that are more difficult, I am thrilled when I can do one of the harder poses.
I have found that motivation comes and goes. It happens. When I have times when my motivation slips, I have to remind myself of where I have been. I also look at pictures of my family or talk to them. I talk to other friends who are on the same journey. I talk to my trainer and have him give me exactly what I need...a pep talk or a butt-kicking. It's not easy. And honestly, even when I am not quite so motivated, I do my workout. Sometimes, I can fake it and get myself more motivated. Other times, I just get a so-so workout in. It all evens out for me.
What drives me? I have a huge competitive nature. Luckily for me, I don't really have to compete with other people as much as I do myself. I have a strong desire to be better than I am in everything. I don't like to settle for just mediocre. So, I have to push myself to lift heavier, run faster, and even do more challenging yoga poses. The longer I work out, the more self-confidence I have and the more things I find that I need to prove to myself. Today, for example, I got it into my head that I needed to hold a plank hold for 2 minutes. Now, with my hip not fully healed and already bothering me today, that was not the smartest idea. I did manage to hold a strong plank for about 1 minute & 20 seconds before my hip started to really bother me! I felt good about it but at the same time, I am now driven to not only hit the 2 minute mark in a couple of weeks but surpass it by say 15 or 20 seconds :) Yeah, I am competitive and that drives me in everything I do. You can also say it is quite a bit of stubborness in me too!
Craving running is new to me! For the longest time, I didn't want anything to do with running or jogging or anything else like it. In fact, when I met my trainer for the first time, I told him there were only two occasions that I considered cause for running...1) someone was chasing me with weapon...I would run because I would trip and kill myself anyways but at least it was a valiant attempt not to be killed! and 2) if someone I really loved was in danger, I would run to save them, but I would have to really love them :) (I know...I am a nut!) Over a year ago, my trainer got me to start running by running with me in the gym. I never imagined that out of those laps would form a deep desire to run in me. After that day, it was almost like every song I heard had running in it, every book I was drawn to was about running and well, I was at the time already in training for my first half-marathon. Now, craving running is like craving chocolate. I cannot have it/do it so I want to even more! Right now, I am unable to run. I have 4 more weeks before the physical therapist will allow me to start jogging or running. It scares me and excites me all at the same time! I want to run so much right now that I am so tempted to get a head start on the plan! But I will wait!
For me, the whole fitness thing gets easier the longer I stick to it. I admit that there are days when I don't enjoy it and I don't want to do it. But there are also days that I wish I could work out all day long. I enjoy the days when my muscles are so tired from a workout that I absolutely have to limp or crawl out of the gym! There are many people who think that my attitude makes me crazy. I have been accused of being obsessive-compulsive about working out. And you know what, I don't particularly care! It is my stress-reliever, my sanity, my passion. And frankly, it is becoming a way of life for me. I used to live to eat...now I eat to live and to fuel my body for a workout. I have to push myself because I won't let anything stand in my way to getting to my goals!
"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people." - Randy Pausch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)