Aftermath of my Double Workout

To say that I possibly may have overdone my workouts on Monday is to say that I was my normal self. LOL. Yes. I managed to get two workouts in Monday. I hit the gym early for a killer upper body workout with Tripp. Of course, he managed to pick my most hated exercises to focus on for that workout and multiple sets and reps later, I was completely and totally trashed and still hate them (mostly!) Then, he gave me a workout plan for my lower body workout with Lindsay. He wanted me to KILL her in 30 minutes and then put her through about 12 minutes of cardio.

Well, I am not certain if I killed her. I almost made her puke and to be quite honest, I almost puked multiple times during the workout. So. I think it was a pretty killer workout. In fact, my poor quad cramped when I went to show her walking lunges and I was not sure I was going to be able to get back up! And my legs were so very sore Monday night and yesterday and they are just plain miserable today!

I was so exhausted physically on Monday that when Tuesday morning rolled around and it was time to get up, I was still dreaming. I dreamed that someone was in my house. I could hear noises just as if someone was in the house. My subconscious reminded me that the alarm was set and since I had not heard it go off that I was indeed home and safe. However, my mind was struggling to wake me up and get me to move my body. I could not open my eyes or move a single muscle in my body in the dream. I struggled with the idea for a few more moments until my mind said screw it, the alarm is set, just sleep. I woke up a short time later and realized, I need better dreams. And probably more sleep!

I will probably hit another double workout in the future. Two-a-days are quite insane but I know I pushed myself to the limit and held nothing back. That is a good day and a great workout. Now, I have several very busy days ahead to the weekend and I am looking forward to enjoying some chill time over the weekend. Then next week, I will likely put in at least one two-a-day and see what next week holds.

I actually signed up to be a race marshall at the Palmetto Half Marathon which I think will be fun and interesting. It will be my first chance to see it from the view of the spectator/side lines/cheerleading sections. I am psyched that I decided to volunteer. I have no idea what my duties will entail, but I guarantee you that when the runners pass by me no matter where they are in the pack, they will feel encouraged!!!

Anyways, lots to do. So, I am going to head to bed.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Okay...I won't lie. I LOVE the A-Team. And I love the quote in my title from Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith :)

Things are going really well with my new plan. I have been focusing this past week on getting everything right. I know it's not going to be perfect but I am trying to stick as closely as I can to the new plan. Each day brings new challenges since I am not 100% familiar with everything yet.

I was out of town this weekend visiting with a friend's family. The mom is a dear friend and she is in the hospital and I wanted to make sure Dad had some home-cooked meals. So, I took some of my recipes from Marc Lobliner up there to cook. They were a hit. The chicken parmesan recipe was hands down the absolute best chicken parm I have EVER had. It was extremely healthy and delicious!!! And my friends loved it too!!

And the exciting part is that I am seeing progress. Only one week in and I am down 5 pounds. I didn't even get all my workout sessions in this week. Since I was out of town, I did not make my exercise plans but my diet was spot on with the exception of my free meal (and that was spot on too!) So, this was a successful week!!

Anyways, I had an amazing leg workout yesterday and a fantastic chest and triceps workout tonight!! I am looking forward to some abs and cardio tomorrow!!

Things are moving along and I am really enjoying being back on plan and getting back to business!

What A Difference A Week Makes...

Last week, I was attempting a low-carb food plan for awhile. I was tired and not really feeling great about the idea of eating low carb for a very long time. My workouts were going well but I was still unsure about the direction of my food.

Enter the Machine, Marc Lobliner, and I have a brand new food plan and a new workout plan. I have a whole new supplement plan as well. It's crazy how things changed so quickly. I just filled out all the information he needed on Friday and very early Saturday morning I had a complete plan customized just for me and my goals. This is so amazing! I was so excited I ordered all my new supplements right away. I decided that even though I did not have everything I needed, I was going to do my best to start following the plan on Sunday.

So, I did. I got up that morning and started following my new food plan. It was not easy and Sunday was not perfect because it was new to me but I made my best effort. Monday was better and today was pretty darn close to perfection. So, each day it gets easier and more fluid.

And I am eating things I have never eaten before...brussel sprouts. Who would've thought that I would love these things because I have always hated them in the past!!! But I made Marc & Katie Lobliner's roasted brussel sprouts and they were delicious!!! I am also eating a ton of eggs and egg whites. It is unusual for me because I am not overly fond of eggs. I still don't love them but at least I am getting used to eating them. It's not so bad when I mix in some other stuff to make it better. And I eat a ton of spinach, tons of it. I kinda love that too. Crazy, huh? And it is pretty amazing that some of the foods I am eating eliminated some of the supplements that I was taking....it's so cool!!

Other weird changes for me is meal prep. I am prepping food for my entire day the night before. It used to be I would come home and go to bed after a little while or I would wake up early enough to head in to work on time. Now, I am staying up late and preparing my food for the next day which means no eating out or missing meals. It is insane. The last two nights on my way home from the gym I had to stop at the grocery store and pick up food to make my meals for the next day. It is not quite like me but I kinda love it. I love knowing that my food is available and ready for me when I get up and that my entire day is planned out foodwise. It means no thinking and no worrying about what I will eat. It also means I try very hard to stick to a schedule for eating on time.

Today, I got to meet the man behind my new meal and workout plan. Marc Lobliner is completely and totally amazing! He is smart, funny and outspoken. I enjoyed visiting with him today and getting the opportunity to know him a bit better. And I look forward to achieving results with him because I know this plan is going to get me to my goals and I simply cannot wait!!! I feel so blessed that he has given me such a gift and I will be working my butt off (literally) to get those results!!

Yesterday I did my high intensity cardio and I am not sure I have ever sweated so much. It was insanely crazy but awesome! Tonight, Tripp helped me go through my first leg workout written by Marc. It was so intense and I am not 100% certain I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. And I LOVE it :) Tomorrow morning I will be heading to the gym early to get my workout in before work.

Here's a pic of me with Marc in my store today:

Anyways, I will keep you all posted!

Time to Go to WORK!!

Lately I have been struggling with my schedule and with my diet and well, to be quite honest with some complacency. Having become fed up with the struggles, I decided to get rid of them and get back to work. I have taken too long off from working towards my goals and I am ready to get back in the game and get to my goals. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions and I am not planning on listing out all my goals here either. What I will say is that I am back and better than ever. I am committed and in the game and doing the work.

This week I have had two freakin' AMAZING workouts. I am talking workouts that had me so sore that it was like I had just started strength training. And the great thing about these workouts is that I pushed myself and lifted heavier than I thought I would. I admit I am still testing out the strength in this wrist and though I am working into it slowly, I am no longer allowing FEAR to guide me. Instead, I make the attempt and if it bothers the wrist then I adjust. I got really tired of being afraid with my hip and I let that fear guide me and keep me down awhile after surgery. So, this time around, I decided to kick fear in the butt and keep moving. My wrist needs to get stronger and it will not do that if I do not put the challenge out there. I am no idiot so I clearly won't be doing anything to cause reinjury and will work within the doctor's guidelines, but I am going to test the waters.

So, maybe this year is going to be about testing the waters. Maybe it's going to be about working my butt off some more. Regardless, it is my year and I refuse to waste another moment of my life feeling complacent. Marc Lobliner is an amazing guy in the supplement industry. He is a trainer, a husband, a father, a business owner and a pretty awesome guy. He used to be the CEO of the company that made one of my favorite supplements, Xtend. Well, he says that "Complacency is mediocrity." I don't want to be mediocre. I want to be extraordinary. So, why am I settling?? No more.

So, I am back on plan and it is exciting. It is insanely crazy how much I love the aches and pains I am feeling from my workouts. But I missed it...the insanity, the intensity, the fun. I love being back in the game. I am not going to let anything get in between me and my time. I crave it and need the workouts. And I am not going to let my diet go by the wayside for something easier or more convenient or anything else.

And what's really exciting for me is that I get to meet Marc Lobliner next week. You should follow him on Facebook and check out his videos. The man is literally a machine. I love his commitment to what he believes in and I love that he is just downright honest. He has some awesome videos with recipes and reviews of supplement products too. Here is a link to his Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/MarcLobliner Check it out....follow him. He knows his stuff.

Well, time for me to try and get this adrenaline rush from tonight's workout to chill out because I need some sleep so I can hit the gym for some cardio tomorrow morning before work :) Night all!!

Soreness and Motivation

I love this slogan I found earlier today when surfing the web and looking at a site my friend Laura sent me to!!

It's so true. I often find myself commenting on how sore I am or how tired I am from all the strength training and working out. But honestly, I never regret it. Never. I know that every step of the way I am doing exactly what my body needs me to do. I am pushing forward towards my goals and I am making myself stronger and more fit. These are things that are important to me. So, if I have to choose between being sore or sorry....sore will always win out!

Today, I got up really early because my friend, Cathy, texted me the night before to see if I wanted to hit a LSD (long slow distance) day today. I knew that Tripp and I had a planned strength training session but didn't know what time we were working out. But I also knew that I wanted the time with Cathy as well as the distance. So, in spite of the fact that my legs and glutes are still completely trashed from Thursday's leg day and Friday's cardio, I agreed. I do not regret getting up earlier and getting my 6 miles in with Cathy. There were a couple spots along the path where I hurt and my body questioned me, but I knew that I could and would finish what I started. And yes, the end of the 6 miles was a blessing!

After breakfast and a trip back to my house to shower and grab my workout clothes, I got my stuff ready to hit the gym with Tripp. Today's target was back, biceps and triceps. And though I may have been a bit tired. I gave it everything I had and then some. No excuses to back down or go lighter. Instead, I pushed myself and Tripp pushed me and we had an amazing workout!

Was it perhaps a bit much to do both a LSD and a strength training session in the same day? Maybe. However, my nutrition was spot on and there was enough time in between the two sessions which allowed me some recovery time. So, it was pure perfection!

Am I sore? Yes. I am not certain there is a day that goes by during the week that some muscle isn't sore! Is it worth it? Absolutely. There is no point in my training sessions if my muscles do not continue to get stronger. And stronger often means soreness. I feel more fit and much stronger than I have in a long time. I am gaining more confidence in myself. I am a lot more knowledgeable about why I do what I do and how to do the things I do. I push myself harder because I know that I have someone else who wants me to push harder even when we are not working together. And when my motivation and will try to fail me, I remember that I cannot fail Tripp when he believes I can accomplish this. So, I push through the BS (as my former trainer Jake used to say!) Tripp has been a great inspiration to me in that he has never asked me to do anything he does not believe I can do and he is always pushing me to push myself harder and reach for more than what I think I can. It's awesome! So, if the price I pay for feeling better about myself and being stronger is being sore, I will take it and then some. Bring it on!

Laura posted this on my wall on Facebook earlier today. I loved it! It is so true. I get up everyday and whether I like it or not, I have to think like this poster!! I challenge you to do the same! Don't let soreness or anything else get in your way! Just do it!

Pushing Through...

So, I finally feel like I am making some headway in my workouts and in my return to my normal training intensity. I had several great workouts this week with Tye. Monday, we did shoulders, biceps and triceps....and my arms were killing me most of the week. I wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that I gave blood that day or the workout, but OUCH!! Wednesday was our leg day and it was awesome. My legs were wobbly as I was walking out of the gym that day. It felt great. We haven't had a leg day like that in awhile. And Friday was chest and back with some abs.

Yesterday, I headed out for my talk/walk/jog/run with Cathy. Depending upon the way my hip feels and the terrain is what determines whether we walk, jog or run. Yesterday, we were at the Harbison State Forest. I am not much for trail running because I am just pretty clumsy. So, I am more cautious there. We generally just get some good hiking in...6 miles of it! There are lots of hills and twists and turns...not to mention, there are tons of rocks and roots and things to trip over. We did do a small amount of running yesterday, but I was experiencing a little bit of difficulty with my ankle. It was weird because the day before I had some trouble with my shins but that was on the treadmill. I decided to take my friend Chuck's advice and tape my ankles for my next run...which will be this afternoon with Cathy!

After my time with Cathy, I came home and spent about 30 minutes trashing my abs. And I do mean trashing. Last night at work, I could already feel some tenderness there!! Wow! Who knew that I could pick ab exercises that would just kill me!! I got a couple exercises from my new magazine that I subscribe to...Fitness. The other exercises were ones I remember from Cathe Friedrich's workout. After abs, I spent some more time stretching. I wanted to make sure I got a good amount of stretching in. Also, I iced the hip last night and took Advil. I want to run with Cathy today so I am hoping that all my extra work will pay off in my running today!

With several races upcoming, I am getting more and more nervous about the running. I admit, fear is setting in deep. So, I am trying to work through my fears! I have been blessed with several good friends who have been helping me. Cathy and I have a regular running date on Saturdays. She challenges me but also keeps me mindful of my hip without making me feel bad if we have to slow down or stop. And Chuck gives me great advice on how to improve my running and technique so I can endure longer runs. I have yet to run with Chuck yet but mostly because he is so much faster than me that it intimidates me! But we will be running together soon. And I will have to keep in mind that I have to run at my own pace. I cannot try to run someone else's pace whether it be in my training or in my races. And Chuck would never make me run his pace because he knows I am rehabbing the hip still. I was also told by one of the trainers at the gym that is studying to be an athletic trainer (and has physical therapy experience) that it would likely be about a year before my hip would feel normal again! I am thankful for Cathy and Chuck who both understand that I am rehabbing a hip and don't push me past what I can do, but also challenge me to improve.

Tye has also been a great resource. He understands my fears since he has experienced an injury that changes his workouts some too. His shoulder is still not back to normal after surgery over a year ago. It takes time and patience to get back to your former patterns. So, I have hope to get where I want to be!

I look forward to continuing to push past the fears or reinjury or other injuries and the fears that I will never run the same again. My next few races may not produce any amazing times, but they are starting points for me to work back into and hopefully improve as I go. And I am okay with that. I want to get back into my sport and will take what I can get, even if that means I will be doing a whole lot more walking than I intended to!

I am also going to start working on some tips from trainer, Bob Harper. The first one I am woking on is to take one or two of my cardio sessions a week and double the time. This should be interesting because that means I would spend 2 hours on cardio!!! Of course, it doesn't all have to be done at one time but all on the same day. I have also been doing his challenges that he posts. Yesterday was a yoga challenge. It feels good to challenge myself!

Getting Into A New Routine

This summer has taken its toll on me and my routine. It didn't help that I started out the summer recovering from hip surgery. However, I am craving my normalcy...I want to get back into a regular routine. No, I need to get back into a regular routine. Before hip surgery, my work schedule was regular and so were my workouts. I knew exactly when everything was going to take place. But this summer has really goofed up the whole routine!

So, here is my current plan. I need to ramp up (safely of course!) my workout schedule again. My next half-marathon is in approximately 10 weeks. So, I need to get my butt in gear and start getting my workouts in and my cardio and my mileage again. Next week, Tye and I are returning to our pre-hip surgery routine of 3 strength training sessions a week. I am very excited about this and cannot wait to get started...just hoping my energy level vamps up enough to help it all out! In addition, I have decided that I want to go back to my routine of taking 2 yoga classes a week at the gym. I have really missed my regular yoga practice and now that I can start doing it regularly I want to start scheduling that.

As for cardio, I need to get my plan going. I generally trade off running days with elliptical or arc trainer days. So, since that is usually pretty successful, I think I will stick with that. Just time to start getting that implemented again.

As for mileage, I am now going to be training Jason to walk his first half-marathon in December. He told me today that he wants to join me and some friends for the half that I am planning to do in Charlotte. I am excited! So, that means I need to get him started now since he is recovering from foot surgery. We will start out slow. My plan is that every night after dinner this week, we will walk a mile. I want to work him up slowly to more mileage and this plan gives me plenty of time to do that. If I get him in a regular practice, I can start increasing mileage and get him ready to kick butt in December! Jason has no grand illusions about this. His goal is completion. He knows he cannot run it or jog it due to injuries he has sustained in a car accident in 1993. However, I am so thrilled that he wants to try this out. I told him I was going to start giving him supplements to help out with some joint issues...fish oil and glucosamine chondroitin and a multi-vitamin. I think he will do awesome. My hope is that Cathy and Robert can work out their schedule and join us. That way, Jason and Robert can walk and Cathy, Chuck and I can run without feeling bad. If Cathy and Robert cannot work it out, then Chuck and I will walk with Jason and all cross together. Either way, it will be awesome!

And I will be continuing my new stretching routine...even though I missed a couple days this week. I am going to try and stretch every night for at least 30 minutes. I want to make sure I start getting the whole body stretchy and ready to go. The more stretching I do, the better my body recovers.

On Saturdays, Cathy and I have been getting together and walking/hiking for a couple hours and then grabbing breakfast together at Cracker Barrel. (Don't freak out...we are eating rather healthy when we eat there! It's a wholesome breakfast...egg beaters, turkey sausage, blueberry muffin, fresh fruit and yogurt with granola...delicious!!! And under 300 calories) I love our time getting together and walking and talking. We have a great time and get a great workout in!

Things are about to get crazy here. I am going to start adding some ab workouts in to work on strengthening my core and helping out the hips. And all of this means, I will need to get my sleep schedule back on track! Lately my sleep has been off and I do mean really off. With Jason being out of town this past week, I didn't sleep well at all. In fact, a couple nights I got very little sleep at all. So, hopefully, I will be able to get back to trying to get at least 8 hours a night in.

I cannot wait to get into a good routine and making it all a reality. Lately, I feel like I have been letting my life run away with me instead of me running away with it. So, this is my attempt at getting things back on track. So, if you don't see much from me for a little while, it's because I am crazy busy with my training schedules for myself and Jason. No worries though, I love to blog...so I will carve out some time in my schedule for it at least once a week!!!

What's On Your Playlist?

I LOVE music! When I was a child, I used to make up my own songs while I was playing or doing chores. I was always singing. I pick up lyrics to songs after only hearing them a couple of times. Music is a pretty integral party of who I am. I love singing and I love to have music around me on a regular basis. And frequently, you can find me singing in the car or around the house or in my office at work.

Music is also a HUGE motivator for me in my cardio workouts. I confess that during strength training (unless I am on my own and have my iPod), I generally don't pay much attention to the music playing in the background at the gym. Frankly, the times I have noticed it, it's generally because they are always playing the same thing or it's something so terribly inappropriate for a family facility that it disturbs me. Gyms realize, however, that music is a huge motivator for working out too and they generally try to tailor their music to the crowds. (Occasionally I think they do a pretty poor job of this!) But at least they try!

My taste in music varies quite a bit! I am constantly adding new music to my playlists and a lot of times there is music on there that would surprise most people. For example, one of my guilty pleasures is that I happen to like some of Miley Cyrus' songs. Yeah, I will admit to it! There are lots of artists on my playlists that would cause others to make lots of jokes and laugh out loud! But, it doesn't bother me. Music is an outlet for me. So, if it's something I like, then I go with it!

Here's a sampling of some songs on my current running playlist:

Your Love Is My Drug by Ke$ha
Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen
I Wanna Be Sedated by The Ramones
Step Up by Drowning Pool
The Distance by Cake
Stronger by Kanye West
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Iron Maiden
The Promise by In This Moment
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Pressing On by Relient K
When Your Heart Stops Beating by +44
Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts
Kicking and Screaming by Miley Cyrus
Here I Am by Skid Row
Best I Can by Queensryche
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Not Afraid by Eminem
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy
Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert
Hey Soul Sister by Train
Get Back Up by Toby Mac
Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce
Get the Party Started by P!nk
Party Up (Up in Here) by DMX
I Am Free by Newsboys
Sexyback by Justin Timberlake

And that is just a very small sampling. I change up my playlists every month or so...that is usually about as long as I can stand to listen to the same music over and over again. But I do occasionally add back songs later because I know they motivate me and if I add them in with new songs, it's pretty great.

The really great thing about my workout mixes is that certain songs will really push me to push the edges of what I think I can do. I may set goals during my workout based on songs, for example, I will run at a certain speed for the length of a song. That occasionally gets me in trouble because I am notorious for picking a 6 minute long song to run at 7.0 mph! But it also teaches me to endure and persevere!

So, what's on your playlist? Are you motivated to work harder when listening to music?

Ready to Make A Comeback...

Today's workout was pretty awesome for me! I can't say that I lifted fantastically or that I was intense, but I can say that I was pretty soaked from all the sweating! Today was an ab, glutes, and back day. I came in a little sore from attempting the Insanity Fit Test yesterday. I did my best not to focus on it and to ease into the workout. Tye actually asked how I was feeling this morning and I just told him that I was a little sore and why. We both agreed that the Fit Test was not a good judge of my level of fitness right now and attempting to actually do it well at this point would be a bad idea and possibly cause me to re-injure myself.

Anyways, it was a pretty good workout. After a few sets of some of the exercises, my hip warmed up a bit more and I was able to do a little more than I expected. Also, we were doing one of the ab exercises and I got really nervous because at about 10, my hip started to pinch a bit and by 15 it was hurting a little more. So, that first set made me nervous. At which point, Tye also got a little more nervous. We agreed that we didn't want my pain level to go any higher than 5...so we'll stick with pain levels between 2 and 5 and that way he can continue to safely push me without pushing too hard.

After I finished with Tye, I headed to cardio cinema with my iPod for some cardio. I decided to do a little more interval jogging and ended up getting a nice rise in my heart rate and quite a bit more sweat! Then I finished up with some time on the elliptical. My cardio is where I applied some intensity today. I wanted to really keep my heart rate elevated and get a good burn in! And when I walked out of cardio cinema, my entire body was glistening with sweat! It was the first time in two months that I have walked out of the gym after training and cardio and been completely soaked! I cannot even describe how awesome that felt today!

Ultimately, I am starting to feel a bit more normal! That's a pretty great feeling for me!!! Thursday and Friday will be primarily cardio days this week but I think I may try out one of Insanity's ab workouts tomorrow. We'll see how that goes!!

Then tomorrow afternoon, Jason goes to have a flexor tendon release done on his fourth toe of his right foot. We'll be doing the procedure in the doctor's office if all goes well. Jason is a little worried about getting a local block to do the procedure but I think he will do fine. The recovery time for him is about 6 weeks. So, he gets a new chauffeur! LOL! I pray for his sake that all goes well tomorrow for him. It seems like just as I am healing up, Jason will be starting the healing process. I pray he heals quickly so that we can enjoy a semi-active summer :)

Over the next few weeks, my goal is to continue slowly getting back into my old workout routines. I hope to work my jogging up into running before my next appointment or at least be jogging at a better speed and for a longer amount of time. And I really hope to start putting some more intensity into my training with Tye!!! And well, there is Insanity!!! I cannot wait to be healed up enough to do the Fit Test and the rest of the workouts, but I am pretty pumped to try out the cardio and core sections :)

So, I would definitely say a comeback is on the horizon for me...and honestly, I cannot wait!!! Life is good and God is awesome!!!