Back At It

Annoying Run

2010-02-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not the type to really complain about my work outs, but today I just need to vent. I think "annoying" is probably the best way to sum up my run today. First off, running with a stroller is WAY more difficult than simply running, and it makes it hard to concentrate on form, especially on a slightly inclined/declined road. Add a strong headwind to the picture, a right foot that kept falling asleep (even after loosening my shoe) that caused my entire leg to cramp up, scary dogs chasing me, and I think I've come up with a recipe for disaster. I really felt like EVERYTHING was working against me. For the fist 3/4 of the run I kept running anyway, but after awhile I just broke down and walked/cried the rest of the way - I was so over it. Oh yeah, and when I checked to see how far I'd gone, I found that my Nike+ sensor hadn't been working - sigh. The one good thing about the run was that my baby got to take a nap - she's finally contracted the cold I've been dealing with for the past few days. Poor thing. I was up with her early early this morning.

Other than today, work outs have been awesome lately. I've been keeping up with them even if I haven't been keeping up with the blog. What I really need is some non-baby time, so hopefully Josha and I will get to go out snowshoeing tomorrow.

Well, baby is awake now, so I'd better run. Hoping for a better run this week!

Chest, Shoulders, Tris

2010-02-01T19:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I did chest and shoulders. I was feeling a little "weak" - probably because it was morning and I didn't have as much food/water in my system as usual. Still, I benched 22.5 in each hand on my last set! :)

Today Josha and I went to the gym to do triceps. We did close-grip bench press(a favorite of mine) and tricep pushdowns. This time we used the rope instead of a bar, and boy could I feel the burn. Looking forward to being at least a little sore tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to try to take Brooks on a long run.

I've been doing good about eating more veggies - lots of salads and other green things. I'm definitely still eating plenty of junk though. I'm debating doing better on that. I was thinking I had the whole nursing thing on my side, but that's even more reason to eat less junk and more good stuff. Thoughts???

Busy, busy!

2010-01-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

Boy have I been busy! Josha and I have kept up with weights with the exception of Friday's workout which I will do tomorrow. Thursday I went for my first "long" run by myself. 3 whole miles including warm up and cool down. It felt sooo nice! I brought my dog along too - trying to train him to be a good running partner. He did super well. I also got Brooks' Chariot together Friday, so now she can go on runs with me too!

Today we watched Josha's son play basketball. 5th grade basketball players are the best!

Tomorrow I am hoping for either snowshoeing or another long run by myself. I can't even explain how good it feels to be back at this whole running/weight lifting thing. I feel so empowered and strong, and I love, love, love feeling that sore feeling after a job well done.

I've got the rest of the night to myself - hubby is playing poker and baby is sleeping, so I think I am going to sit down with a good book and a cup of tea. Ah, peace and quiet. :)

Blitz week 1 DONE!

2010-01-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Josha and I are already a week into our Blitz - feels so good!

Things are going super well. We usually do some weights at home and some at the gym - it's the perfect combo. We've done upper and lower body, yoga, and Josha got to Scooby Doo run up the sledding hill yesterday. We are planning a snowshoe adventure for Sunday on one of the trails around town. Exciting!!! Should be lots of uphill, which is hard and gooooood (or at least I tell myself it is) :) Today might be a ski day - yikes! I'm going to be brave though, and the snow is PERFECT for going down SLOW.

Now, time for breakfast and baby bath. Yippey!

Today's Plan

2010-01-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Today's plan is to run the trail around the water tower here in Lake City. I'm totally stoked - definitely hoping for more sun today, but the forecast is showing snow. At least that should mean warmer weather. I know, it sounds backwards, but it's true. It's warmer when it snows.

For now though, I'm off to love on my baby. :)

It's a yoga day!

2010-01-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

I came home from work and Brooks was sleeping, so I quickly donned my work out gear and weight gloves and started doing upper body. I did chest, shoulders, and back and then realized that it's not a weight day! It's a yoga day! Anyway, I'm saving bis and tris for tomorrow.

Yesterday I ran sprints for the first time since baby Brooks was born -they kicked my butt! I probably ran 10 or so, and didn't really feel loose enough for them until about 5. It was a beautifl day though - perfect for running.

I will probably make a trip to Gunnison to go grocery shopping and then Justin and I are going out on our first date tomorrow night since Brooks was born. I am very excited about this!

Lower Body done!

2010-01-08T13:17:00.001-08:00

Baby is starting to whine, so I must be fast! Lower body is done! I did squats, lunges, deadlifts and calf raises. Super great! Woohooo. Thinking of taking a before picture today. We'll see if it happens or not.

Update:

I am so sore I can hardly get up and down. WOW!

My Plan!

2010-01-07T11:06:00.001-08:00

I've searched long and hard for the last hour to find the perfect work out program. What I ended up doing was combining several different ones. I printed off some BFL work out sheets to record my weight lifting, but decided on a different schedule than the BFL schedule. I think this will work well with my hectic life. I also printed off exercises with pictures and explanations so that I can pick which exercises I want to do. I am going to hang all of these on the wall in my work out room! Pictures to come when and if I actually get around to doing this! :-) Here's the schedule I came up with:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Long Run (endurance)	Yoga	Upper Body	Short Run (sprints)	Yoga	Lower Body	Yoga/Free Day

Thoughts or suggestions anyone????

Update:

Brooks stayed asleep long enough for me to set up my work out room! Check it out!

Also, I got my new Nike+

sensor in the mail today (I'd lost my other one). So now I can watch my growth again!

Starting All Over Again

2010-01-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am thrilled to be writing again after over a year of silence - getting pregnant and giving birth will do that to you. Throughout my pregnancy, I maintained belly dancing as well as yoga, which I think contributed to the ease and quickness of my labor. For a pretty detailed account of Brooks' birth, read here. Now, 8 weeks after the birth of my beautiful daughter, I am ready to get back into some real training.

I went for my first run on New Year's Day, but didn't get very far because I decided to take our dog. Turns out he's a little more trouble on a run than I care to deal with. I am planning to train him to be my running partner though. Key word there is training. I also did a few ab exercises. My abs are definitely still not back to their original position.

Sunday, Josha and I went for a walking/running/snowshoeing adventure. It was a blast, and I hope we get to do it again soon.

For Christmas I got weights and a work out bench, so I should be able to start lifting again too!

Here are my goals:

Run at least twice a week - once will be more endurance and the other will be sprints.

Lift weights twice or 3x a week - I still need to find some sort of plan to follow - suggestions?

Yoga twice a week.

Eat more vegetables.

Run Like a Girl!

2008-10-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

Read my other blog post here. I'm too lazy to retype it or even to copy and paste. But I will add some pictures of the pretty leaves where we run. The pictures are from a couple weeks ago, before they all fell off. Here's more pictures.

Milestones

2008-10-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today marks my 200th post! Woohoo! It also marks my 100th mile - hooray! Check it out! Also, I've been married for three weeks! The wedding was PERFECT. See pictures from everything here. Last weekend marked my 10 mile run and now we're tapering off until the half-marathon in two weeks. I ran 8 miles this morning, and it was my favorite run so far. My long runs are by far the very best! It's been a great last few weeks, and I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to posting, but I am back now, so keep an eye out for posts! It might snow tonight here - wow!!!!

Trying to find time...

2008-09-05T15:02:00.001-07:00

Busier than I thought was possible. Full time job, taking classes on the side for my teaching certification, planning a wedding, whew! There doesn't seem to be a minute of chill time. So happy about the wedding though! It's just a week away! Then I'm not doing anything for a week in Cancun!!!! Hooray! If I can just get through until then! Hope you are are doing superbly!

To Houston!

2008-08-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

For showers, bachelorette parties and more! Haha, should be fun. If I don't DIE in the HEAT! Ran 4 miles yesterday, loved the short run. Who would have ever thought I'd call 4 miles a short run - woohoo! Well I'm off for now - hope every has a fantastic weekend!

7 miles!

2008-08-24T20:57:00.001-07:00

I did it and it felt AMAZING! That's all for now, but woohoo!!!!!!

2008-08-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

10K run on Sunday ROCKED! See Josha's post. Today I ran for 40 minutes. 3.66 miles. It was hard for me. Runs after the long distance runs are always harder for me. Felt great though. I'm definitely seeing a change in my body because of all of this running, and I like it!

Great run

2008-08-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Had a great run this morning, for awhile I completely forgot I was running. Another show tonight. Looking forward to it actually, and will hopefully crash afterward. Tomorrow my future in-laws are coming in to help with some stuff for the wedding, although I'm not too sure what I'm going to have them help with....ideas???

Another run down

2008-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

I ran for 40 minutes today. 3.69 miles. It was a nice run, and I took it easy for the first half for sure. The second half I sped up naturally since I was running at a slight decline. Good run over all. How's your week?

Back at it!

2008-08-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well I was going to try to run Friday and ended up feeling like I needed rest before our big show, which was GREAT by the way. I rested yesterday too, actually slept most of the day (do you think that might have something to do with being out all night the night before after the show???) haha. Anyway, I woke up this morning ready to run, and run I did! I ran 3 miles, which was nice after having taken a week off, and I had a great time doing it. Now I just need to stretch, but I wanted to share some pictures from the show.

crossing my fingers

2008-08-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

That I get to run tomorrow afternoon after class and before the big belly dance show. Hope you all are having a fantastic week!

This Week

2008-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm in class all week - nothing else is going to happen. :-(

I did it!

2008-08-03T09:41:00.001-07:00

I ran 5 miles!!!! And it felt SO SO SO good!

Oh and I bought my wedding dress yesterday!

Getting a little better

2008-08-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

I decided to take it easy on my run today and to not overdo it like I did last night, and I went farther by .01 miles - haha! The point is that I didn't try as hard and I went as far as before - woohoo! I decided to relax and enjoy the run instead of trying to be faster. It was nice.

We're off to Grand Junction tonight to eat at Olive Garden - yes it will be worth the 3 hour drive! Haha! Tomorrow we are looking for a wedding dress. Here are two that I like so far. Which do you like better?

This one or this one?

I'm so excited! Hope your weekend is fantastic!

two upper body days done!

2008-07-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Felt great. Ran 30 minutes yesterday - harder than I expected, but I did it. Vaseline did wonders for my feet - hooray! Looking forward to running Friday. Tomorrow will be too busy. Hope you all are having a great week!

4 Miles Done!

2008-07-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

Ran 4 miles yesterday - walked once. Feet are blistered - Ruth, did you say that Body Glide stuff will work for that? My arches are ruined. Glad to hopefully get some weights in this week at some point, although I have no idea when that will be.

Running in the Rain

2008-07-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well it was more of a mist, but it felt incredible! I tried running on Wednesday,but the sun was so hot and intense that I ended up walking most of the second half. I just wasn't motivated at all Wednesday. I didn't have a ton of motivation today (I've been stressing this week trying to get organized and plan my wedding!), but all the clouds gave me what I needed to get me out there. I huffed and puffed for the first long while, and then about 10 minutes into it I settled into a good pace and kept that up for the rest of the run. When it did sprinkle on me, I felt super relieved. It was a good run, not a great run by any means (found it harder to breathe today - I think it's allergies). Still, I enjoyed it and it really helped clear my mind. I pushed myself pretty hard and went father by .02 miles (haha) than I have on a 30 minute run before. My head was kind of spinning when I finished, and I was supposed to run sprints afterward, so I cooled down and then ran 4 sprints back home, taking each one as it came and knowing that if I kept feeling bad, that I wouldn't run another. But I did all 4 - woohoo! My sprints are AWESOME after I run - my stride is huge and I'm WAY faster. I like it. :-D Then I stretched, another woohoo! Now I'm tired. :( 4 mile run this weekend (probably Sunday). I'm a little iffy about it, but I'm going into it knowing that if I have to walk part of it it's OKAY. Now back to wedding planning - you think maybe that's why my head is spinning????

Well I really stink at this whole posting thing lately...

2008-07-24T06:09:00.001-07:00

Haha, thanks Josha for spilling the beans, I've been WAY too busy to even think about posting. My brain is constantly going, "What do I need to plan next?" So yeah, I'm engaged - YEAH! I guess it all happened this past Saturday evening. Here's the full scoop, and soon, I will have a special "We're getting married" page on there. This morning I'm actually torn between working on that and running. Tonight we're leaving straight from work to go eat dinner at his parent's house up in the mountains. What I'll probably do is run tomorrow, but I'm not exactly sure.

we did it!

2008-07-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Upper body today was great! I didn't kill myself, although I was exhausted afterward. I was in pain for almost a week after last Monday's work out, so I took it a little easier, but not much really. Some exercises I did more than I thought I could, others I did what I thought. All of it was good, and it felt great to be in the work out room again here in town. Back, biceps, and abs tomorrow - woohoo! Then another run on Wednesday - SO EXCITED about that! I'm loving this long distance thing! Bout to put up my Nike+ widget, so check that out!

What a run!!!

2008-07-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Arms are finally not as sore anymore! Woohoo! Yesterday we danced and danced in a nearby town. Super fun, but super exhausting!

I just completed my longest run yet - 2.77 miles!!!! Hooray for me. I never ever ever thought I'd be able to run long distances, but it's been so fabulous deciding that I CAN! Upper body lifting today. Excited about that too!

More yeow!

2008-07-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

All I can say is that I need a hot bath. SO SORE already!

Yeow!

2008-07-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Can't lift my arms above should height - ouch! Had a good 25 minute run on the elliptical yesterday, not my favorite way to run at all, but I did it! Woohoo. Seriously though, my arms hurt, and yes, I'm being a HUGE baby about it. :-D Hooray for biceps and back today with abs!

Update

2008-07-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

No posts for awhile because I've been out of a program for the last month and have been doing random amounts of working out here and there. Good news is: I can run two miles without walking, I got a Nike+!, new program and regular posts start on Sunday or Monday - YAY!

Missing Josha!!

2008-06-17T15:26:00.001-07:00

COME HOME!!! I ran today! And I did abs - woohoo! Planning on doing lower body sometime tomorrow - during my lunch probably. I'm so ready for Josha to be home though - it's really hard to eat super healthy when you're the only one in the house and Odell bought a bunch a junk food before they left! I eat wraps like 3 meals a day. Haha. Not quite that much, but I am tired of sandwiches, etc. I made chicken and green beans and rice last night for Jman and myself. It was yummy. Don't know what tonight will be.

On a more fun note: I went to a kayaking competition this weekend with Jman. He didn't compete, but he did get to get into the water a couple of times. Check it out!

We slept on the ground underneath the stars all weekend - HOW ROMANTIC! One night was even in an alley close to where we parked our car - he loves me, you know. Haha, nah it wasn't bad at all, and I had a FANTASTIC time, but didn't eat healthy AT ALL. That's life - it was fun, and so so so worth it!

What a week

2008-06-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

it's been a great week and I'm happy to say that I worked out tuesday, thursday, and today! Woohoo!!! Eats have been on and off throughout the day - family was in town, etc. I'm leaving this afternoon to go to Salida for the weekend to watch a kayaking competition with Jman. Might see if I can find a cool place to run Sunday, but probably I will just wait and do upper body on Monday. Will probably use the weights here at the house for that. A couple girls my age in town want to work out though, so we'll see. One of them is a certified personal trainer - maybe she'll have some tips for me! :-D Alright, I've gotta take a shower - it's HOT here today!

Hiking day

2008-06-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Justin and I are supposed to go hiking today. It's a little cloudy, so I hope the sun comes out so I can get a good tan while we're out! I have no doubt hiking will be a GREAT cardio work out, I know it was last night, and lower body too, so we'll see if I try and do that tomorrow. I may not be able to walk. Plan is to eat on track tomorrow, family is coming in Tuesday, will have to see what happens while they're here. Luckily they'll only be here a couple of days. Ready to be back in the full swing of things, that's for sure!

What a run!

2008-06-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

It wasn't super long, but after a week in Texas a nice quick run down Henson was everything I needed to feel fully home again! I cannot tell you how good it is to be back in Colorado! Here's to starting back full and strong tomorrow!

Don't know who's reading...

2008-05-31T10:53:00.001-07:00

I've been in Texas for a week, taking a break from working out, eating right, and all that jazz. You know sometimes it's just hard when parents keep taking you out to restaurants. I decided before we came down that I'd be taking a break, so it's all good to me. I'm super ready to be back on when we get back though. It's been a good week, so much fun and everything has gone really smoothly (meeting boyfriend's parents and visa versa). Everyone seems to like everyone, so woohoo for that. Life is good, but I'm ready to be back home.

Ah sprints - OWWW legs!

2008-05-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

Ran sprints early this morning (about 8:30). It was already warm enough to wear a tank top - hooray for summer being SO SO close! What's really funny is that last Saturday we woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground. Spring is so funny here. The high today is 60, so I've got my new swim suit on and am ready to head out to the trampoline to lay around for a few hours and soak up some great Colorado sun! Hooray! Tomorrow I plan to run a 3K in the morning and possibly go hiking with my man. Haha, now THAT will be a work out - my legs are already screaming at me for those uphill lunges yesterday. Some how I don't think they're going to have nice things to say after tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Another Crazy Week

2008-05-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

But a super fun one for the most part. Not a lot of working out, but it's all good. Today Josha and I did lunges and squats for lower body. Tomorrow we will hopefully run, or hopefully I will run. The weather is supposed to be nice - hooray! That's all for now. Sorry so short and sporadic lately.

This Week

2008-05-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Has been very very long! Lots of close to 10 hour days working all over the place, but I've managed to work out every day except for Tuesday because I felt awful that day. Cardio today was on the elliptical because it was raining/snowing/hailing this morning. Crazy weather. Tomorrow morning is upper body hopefully and then we are going to pick my cousin Mike up from the airport - hooray!!!! Should be super super fun!

Inspired by Josha

2008-04-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Josha's 3K inspired me to run my own today. Not nearly as hard as I expected, so hooray! My entire body aches from running and from legs yesterday. That's all I have the energy to write today. :)

Sprints by the river

2008-04-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ran sprints by the river yesterday - it was exhilarating. So beautiful! Life is great. Didn't do abs, why is it so hard to do abs? Watching little kids at wee care today, should be a work out in itself. Back, shoulders, biceps, triceps later this afternoon and then Justin is cooking me dinner! Hooray! Tomorrow is soccer in Montrose, which means fun watching the kids and hopefully Chilis - mmmm! Restaurant food never sounded so good - do you think that has something to do with the fact I haven't eaten out since the beginning of March? Don't get me wrong, home cooked food is WAY better, but it's nice to eat out every once in awhile. :) Just one more work out after todays and then we've got a week off. I need it.

Busy day!

2008-04-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Arms felt like jello for a long time after working out tonight. I'm exhausted!

Another cardio day done!

2008-04-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to announce that I did cardio today! I've had a hard time getting into doing cardio here first because of all the snow and then because of the mud, but I ran on the elliptical today and felt great! I did 20 minutes, 4 HIITS (2 min, 2.5 min, 2.5 min, and 3 min) woohoo! Much easier to go loner on the elliptical than on the road, but it felt super great. Hopefully I can run sprints by the river on Thursday - that's my plan at least. Josha and I got to to do a little shopping last night at a clothing party thrown by a lady here in town. THe stuff is usually really expensive, but Josha and I found some decent deals on stuff we really, really liked and therefore had to have. Here's the dress I got! The back is my favorite. :-D hehe.

Upper body was a go today

2008-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Good work out, went up on some weights, took it a little easier on other. All good. Had delicious spaghetti tonight, yum! And now, The Office. :-D

Sore arms...

2008-04-17T06:11:00.001-07:00

Arms are definitely sore from yesterdays work out, especially my shoulders, which seem to be perpetually sore. We belly danced for awhile last night too, which is another huge arm work out if you're doing the right dance. I'm about to do cardio on the elliptical because it snowed last night a little bit and then Josha and I are doing abs. Yippey! So far we've been doing great with our water challenge - a gallon a day! Josha's been doing super great and getting close to a gallon and a half - I'm afraid she might float away! That's all for now. Hope your day goes great!

OH what a day!

2008-04-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy day. Worked from 7:30-12:00, rested for a couple hours, played in the playroom, worked out (chest, triceps, biceps), belly danced for two hours. Tired, tired, tired. Arms are jello. Glad it's a movie night. I'm thinking Atonement or The Office. Maybe I'll crochet.

2008-04-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say that our combined chest-legs work out was fantastic! And also to say that Josha looked SO cute today, I just had to take a picture! Isn't she HOTT??????

And yes, I'm a belly dancer, part of a troupe here in town. Been doing it for about a year, and I love it! Josha's doing it too - aren't we awesome?!?!?

Bicep pictures and more!

2008-04-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today was back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Didn't really want to go work out today (it's been snowing and dreary all day), but we did anyway, and I felt a million times better afterward. Eats were on for the most part, although we missed a meal. (yikes!). Belly dancing was tonight and that was pretty great! I was told I had beautiful arms and one heck of a shimmy. Haha - hooray! I'm getting very excited about performing in August. It's so fun! So here's a bicep picture. And here's a picture of my cute running skirt Josha bought for me last week - she's great!

Chest and shoulders, done!

2008-04-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Did the second half of yesterday's work out today. It was hard. That is all. :)

Pink Eye, Really?

2008-03-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

What a bummer! I'm not quarantined in my bedroom, not to be let out except under emergency situations. Haha, just kidding. I do have pink eye though, and I'm trying not to touch anything or anyone. Frustrating! I did have to get out of the house this afternoon though, not being able to stand sitting in bed all day, especially when I FEEL fine - silly eyes! So I went and watched Josha and Mindy belly dance for awhile and then Josha and I did tris and bis (will do chest tomorrow). Then we went to our actual belly dancing class tonight for almost two hours. Man, that was a blast! It was amazing to learn new choreography - I've missed it so so so much! Can't wait for next week!

Shortened, but DONE

2008-03-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I can hardly move today (thank you sprints) and so Josha and I shortened our work out (back, shoulders, triceps, biceps). We had a great work out though, and I went up on most of my weight! My arms were definitely jello like when we left. Looking forward to the weekend being here, and having some free food tomorrow! MMMMM!

Poo-free and sore! and TODAY (updated!)

2008-03-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday marked one week of being poo-free and I thought I'd share a picture of my hair, which I LOVE! It's soft and wavy and wonderful!

We did upper body today, and I worked really hard. Went up on all of my weights except shoulders, which I've grown to HATE. Just because every exercise uses them, and I am exhausted by the time we get around to them. They're really not that bad, just frustrating. Everything else was fantastic!

Hope your day was GREAT!

______________________

A new video! Check it out! Pictures, fashion show, and further silliness!

GREAT arms day!!!

2008-03-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful workout this afternoon. I feel myself getting stronger and stronger every time I lift, and it is so great! My arms are super shaky now, and boy oh boy are my legs SORE from yesterday! We also belly danced, which I LOVE. Something about that really clears my mind and makes me feel absolutely great. Oh yeah and we did abs in between sets at the gym. All in all it was a fantastic day! And I know I'm gonna be feeling it tomorrow!

Legs of Jello!

2008-03-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

First off, Happy Easter to everyone! It's been a great last couple of days here in CO, GORGEOUS weather! Just got back in from doing legs, and man oh man! My legs are so jelly-like. Those triple drop sets are KILLER! This is what our work out looked like:

squats: 140x12, 150x10, 160x10, 170x10 with 3 sets of 10 on calves at 150, 160, and 170

then came those triple drop sets(tds): leg extensions 40x10, 20x10, 10x8, 40x8, 20x8, 10x8 - let me just say YEOW!!!!!!! then tds on hamstring curls 17.5x10, 15x10, 12.5x8, 17.5x8, 15x8, 12.5x8.

Really ladies, I strongly suggest this maximum growth program, it's SO much work and it SO pays off!

Maybe I can talk Josha into taking pictures tonight. We'll see! Hope your Easter was great!

What a day!

2008-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Skied this morning, went all the way to the top! Didn't come crashing down - woohoo!!!!! Lifted this afternoon: chest, shoulders, bis and tris. Worked HARD, arms feel a little like jello. Good work out. Good day. Ready for a free Easter weekend, though we will likely do legs tomorrow or Sunday. All I can think is mmmm chocolate! :-D

Skiing!

2008-03-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Went skiing today for cardio. Nice work out! Beautiful day here; the weather is spectacular. Cool breeze, sun shining, good if you're in long sleeves, snow everywhere. What a great place we live!

Done done done!

2008-03-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Two days of work down! Work out for the day complete. Eats on. Hooray for today!

Another day down!

2008-03-17T17:45:00.001-07:00

Today was great. Upper body was a good, hard work out. I went up on almost all my weights (yippy!) It's great getting stronger and stronger. But I mean, I am a super hero, what else do you expect?!?! Eats were good today too, and speaking of eats, I'm HUNGRY! Now to food!

Legs DONE!

2008-03-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Josha and I just did our lower body work out. I don't remember much of it, we were having some pretty great conversation throughout, made it go by super fast. Still have a bit of a cold, but its just all the yucky stuff in my lungs; it'll be gone soon enough! Looking forward to an on track week full of excellent work outs to post about! And maybe even some cardio one day! :-D

We did it!

2008-03-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

We worked out yesterday despite our illness and rocked it out! My arms and legs have gained a lot of definition these past two months, and I'm loving it! Starting to feel better today, but will probably skip cardio. Maybe we'll go for a walk instead. It's so refreshing here!

Sick!

2008-03-11T21:40:00.001-07:00

We are sick over here, just head colds, but annoying ones! My throat is all kinds of in pain and my body feels achey. No fever though. Lots of hot tea and rest is in order over the next day or so, and lots of Zicam - it's never failed me before! Still planning on doing our upper body work out tomorrow: chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps. I won't let this get me down! :-D

Oh OW

2008-03-10T20:11:00.001-07:00

Well, the past few work outs have been HARD and painful... AND WONDERFUL! I'm loving this follow-up! I've been super sore the last week, hooray for progress! That's all for now!

The results are in!

2008-03-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Alright here are the stats, pictures to come eventually, I promise!

Before/After weight lifted

Bench press: 65/70

Squat: 160/180 (YAY!!!!)

Bicep curls: 15/20

Shoulder press: 15/20 (I only did 3)

Measurements:

Chest: -.5"

Shoulders: -.5"

Waist: - 1.5"

Quad: -.5"

Arm: +.25"

Weight: I'm down to 129 - hooray!

I'm looking forward to making more and more progress, and I'm really looking forward to shopping this weekend and getting some better fitting, SMALLER jeans!

What a weekend!

2008-03-03T14:13:00.001-08:00

Well, it was a great weekend! We had a ton of fun skiing and snowmobiling! Justin was around a lot, which was fun too! :-D We did some serious playing of the Wii, which really is way more of a work out than you think. I promised pictures, so here ya go!

Josha and I started cross-country skiing on Friday and went out again on Saturday - I am STILL sore! My entire backside hurts, but in a good way! We're about to go belly dance for awhile and then we will do our strength test tonight, so look for an update soon! And pictures, hopefully!

What a day!

2008-02-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

Today we skied, and it was so fantastic! I'm really getting the hang of it - making turns and not flying down the hill at top speed. It was so much fun. Josha and I also started cross-country skiing today, and let me tell you ladies - that is a cardio work out! And what a fun one! I'm pretty sure they're never going to be able to get me to leave here. :-D

I'm so excited about a free weekend! I need it! Hope your friday was great!

Yesterday's work out

2008-02-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

was excellent! It was our last workout of this blitz, and to tell you the truth I cannot believe it's done! Can't wait for our strength test on Saturday, and hopefully (crossing my fingers) I will be able to get a run in today!!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, and I must take advantage of it. This weekend will be free (hooray!) and we'll plan on doing the 8 week follow up starting Monday. I'm excited to try something new! And as a side note, I've been looking at my body recently, and I hardly recognize it. Shaping up nicely I think. :-D We WILL have pictures and stats after Saturday!

Good work out!

2008-02-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

Great work out today - belly dancing for an hour and then back, biceps, and abs. I went up on all my weights which was way exciting. The feeling of getting stronger is fantastic and quite addicting! This blitz program is great! Our strength test is Friday or Saturday, and I can't wait to see what progress we've made in the last 5 weeks! Tomorrow is a cardio day, maybe it'll be nice enough to run! The snow here is incredible - we got a ton last night, and it's like walking on a cloud. I love it! Come visit! :-D

Finally!

2008-02-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

Been busy girls - and haven't had time to blog. We had a little Oscar party tonight and I made yummy chicken kiev for everyone. Justin came over too to hang out and watch. Sorry I don't have a picture yet. I'll work on that this week. Mostly I was excited about everything that won - there were so many great films this year!

We did upper body earlier this afternoon, and I benched way more than I have before during real work outs - 60 lbs! I can feel myself getting stronger by the day, and I LOVE it! Can't wait for our strength test this week!

We are amazing!!!

2008-02-21T17:27:00.001-08:00

I'm just going to say that. I mean seriously, Josha and I rocked out on lower body today!!!!! We maxed out on our squats at 161 lbs!!!! That was after 5 sets of weights varying from 136-161. Also, let me just say that on our strength test we maxed out at 160 and that was only doing 1 set of 5 reps. Basically, we kicked butt.:0) Okay that's enough about how awesome we are. Oh wait, I wanted to show off some great pictures of Josha and I in our new tiny jeans from American Eagle! It's been a really fantastic week for us here, and Ruth, I'll post a picture of my date when I have one. :-D

SOOOOOREE BACK!

2008-02-20T12:52:00.001-08:00

I didn't think I worked my back that hard yesterday, but WOW!!!!! I am SO SORE! I woke up feeling great about my biceps; I always do after a bicep day. I've seen the most dramatic change there, so I get very excited about it. :-D

Today I'm not feeling very well still, and I doubt that I'll do a cardio work out. I haven't been eating much of anything at all. It's not like I feel awful or anything like that at all. I just feel queazy and not really up for a run or anything, so I'm taking it easy. I did do my fitness test on the Wii, and my fitness age was 28! The last time I did it, I was 50, so that's a great improvement. haha. One of the activities was boxing, which was a pretty crazy cardio work out in itself. Then there was bowling, which I rocked at. Haha.

Tonight I'm hanging out with that guy again. We're planning on watching the lunar eclipse - woohoo!!!! We might watch a movie too or go sledding, depends on the weather really. I hope it's clear enough to see the moon.

A great last couple of days!

2008-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well ladies, the date went pretty well. We were going to watch a movie and ended up talking for almost five hours instead. Can't complain about that can we?

Anyway, yesterday's workout was killer. Today's was less so. I didn't feel well for part of today because I slept terribly last night - too much going through my mind. lol. Also, I started a job tonight - babysitting during a parenting class, so my workout time was cut kinda short. We got it all in, but I was simply in no mood to kill myself. And that's okay. I'm glad tomorrow is a day off/cardio day. So tonight at work one kid who is prone to seizures had one. I was pretty calm about the whole ordeal, but his mother flipped out bad (she has some serious issues to begin with). Anyway, that was dramatic. And now, I need to rest. :-D

OH LEGS!

2008-02-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

Lower body day was AMAZING!! I killed my legs, seriously killed them! Tonight's dinner was free - hooray!!!! Josha and I went up on weights for squats and I kicked butt. It was so fantastic! Tomorrow I should be sore, which I'm sure will be GREAT for skiing, haha! Hopefully there will be pictures.

Today's cardio

2008-02-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

consisted of hiking up a LONG street and sledding down FAST at night! It was great! It was a serious hike too, and by the time we got to the top I was huffing and puffing, and of course by the time we sledded down, I was ready to do it all over again. How fun! Looking forward to lower body tomorrow, and if I'm lucky a free dinner of tequila lime wings with chips and salsa. MMMMM!

How was your day?

Oh V-Day

2008-02-14T17:13:00.001-08:00

Our V-Day work out was good. Back, biceps, and abs. I really wore my biceps out - hooray! I need to up something with my abs because I'm not feeling them as much. Suggestions anyone?

Eats were not on today, but that's because it's V-Day! We had bagels for breakfast, oh and a Reeses - mmmmm! :-D Tomorrow should be back on.

I've got a few more glasses of water to drink tonight to finish up this challenge. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep it up though - I feel way better when I've had PLENTY of water.

How was your Valentine's Day?

Throbbing triceps

2008-02-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

They sure are! We had a great work out tonight and eats were on as well. Getting lots of water in as well. Things are generally fantastic! Speaking of water, I must go drink some. :-D More tomorrow!

This is for all of you!

2008-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

Well, our workout last night was tough! But we did it! I woke up this morning feeling very sore all through my upper body. That could be from working out. It could also be from my first skiing lesson. Or from the fall during my first time down hill. Who knows??? haha. We're headed back up to the ski hill today and will hopefully do lower body tonight as well. Busy busy busy.

Here's a little video we've been working on to inspire all of you! Enjoy!

OH Man!

2008-02-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

My arms are SOOOOO tired. In fact, it's hard to type, so I will keep it short. Didn't want to do upper body tonight, but we did it anyway, and it was really fun and great, so I'm glad we did it! Now all I have to do is figure out how I'm going to get this hoodie off... Note to self: wear a jacket on the next upper body day instead of a sweatshirt.

Lower Body!

2008-02-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

Leg work out was goood tonight. I worked super hard. Eats were on today too for the most part. We had some tortilla chips with dinner after our work out. Overall, great day. Plenty of water and fun! Looking forward to cardio tomorrow. Maybe it will be nice enough outside to run again. :-D Here's hoping!

What a work out!

2008-02-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

My entire upper body is exhausted! Josha and I combined yesterday's chest, shoulder, tricep work out with todays back, bicep, and ab work out, and man - it was seriously intense! We had so much fun doing it though, really, and I feel absolutely fantastic! I had more than my 14 cups of water today and eats were right on! It was a completely successful day, and I'm joyful about it! Now for dinner!!!! My muscles need it!

Will someone carry me to the kitchen?

2008-02-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

Josha's broiling some yummy burgers right now, and I'm afraid I'm stuck on this chair due to severely wobbly legs. :-D

Our workout was great tonight! I substituted leg presses for leg extensions (they hurt my knees), and I pressed 294 lbs. YAY!!!! I really didn't feel like going outside to get to the gym (today was another cloudy, cold cold day), but we went anyway, and jammed to The Kooks and worked our legs like crazy! Woohoo!

How was your work out????

Refreshing Run

2008-01-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

I had a terrific run this afternoon out in the sun! The air was so perfect and cool, and everywhere around me was absolute beauty! Ruth, I promise you that if you ran here, it wouldn't matter a bit how cold it was. It was a really inspiring run, and I'm going to want to go back out and run some more the next time we have a day like today.

A seriously snowy day

2008-01-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

A day where we had every excuse not to attempt even leaving the house to work out - especially after the UPS guy got stuck for over an hour! But instead of putting it off, Josha and I put full faith in the Jeep and trudged out to the gym where we worked our arms to the point where we fatigued on things we weren't even supposed to be fatiguing! I worked so so hard too! I lifted way more than I have before and really pushed myself! Hooray! If I don't feel this tomorrow or the next day, somethings wrong. I did a good ab workout too in between sets, so I should feel that tomorrow too - a mixture of Pilates, inclined crunches, and plank. Yeehaw! Seriously, I'm so glad we manned up and went! :-D Now what should I reward myself with? Dinner? yes!

Back at it!

2008-01-29T18:11:00.001-08:00

After a great few days off, and a couple of tummy aches, Josha and I got back into things full swing today. Yesterday we ate 'on track' and belly danced. Today we ate right and did the first work out in our second blitz - chest, shoulders, and triceps. Whew! My arms are all kinds of shaky.

Struggles: Not many - being up here with Josha at my side has been fantastic! It's nice to have a spotter and someone saying, "You can do one more!!!!" About the only thing this week has been being hungry! That's what I get for having two free days. And I'm craving chocolate and peanut butter...mmmm! Ooo and cookies. hahaha.

Happy Tuesday and I hope your Wednesday is superb! I hope tomorrow is a bit warmer here - today was freezing.

Strength test results

2008-01-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

After finishing up the last two weeks with Josha doing the blitz, I was so excited to see some major changes! When I stepped onto the scale today and it said 132 I was amazed! I've been close to 140 since I started BFL awhile back. Definitely looking forward to seeing more progress in that realm. The most exciting thing though, was how much weight I could lift yesterday at the gym. I didn't do a pre-test, but here are the post-test results:

Benchpress: 65 lbs

Squats: 160 lbs (YEAH!!!!!)

Bicep Curls: 15 lbs, but I probably could have done 17.5 lbs, only we didn't have them.

Shoulder Press: 15 lbs, but again, I probably could have done 17.5.

Here's my measurements:

Chest - 34"

Shoulders - 42"

Waist - 29"

Quad - 23"

Arm - 11"

I am so very excited to start another blitz on Tuesday with Josha - she's been a fabulous work out partner and such an inspiration! It's been nice to be around someone who's eating the same and working out the same that I am. I'm pretty sure having a buddy is the same in all different aspects of life, and I think God did a good thing when he made us relational beings - life is so much more fun that way! And it makes is so much more fun to have you all on this blog too!

More Tuesday when we officially begin!

Oh man!

2008-01-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterdays lower body work out was fantastic! Josha and I worked our buns off, literally - haha! :-D

Today I ran HIITS on the elliptical inside - I was huffing and puffing by the end, part of that had to do with getting used to the air here - it's definitely more work to run. Good though, and I look forward to getting used to it.

Saturday is our strength test, which I can't wait for! Hooray!

whew!

2008-01-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Back, biceps, and abs are done done done! Woohoo! And to top it all off, I finished reading Harry Potter 6 today, AND I unpacked some more of my stuff! What a productive day! My arms are feeling really wobbly now and I'm definitely sore from yesterday. Oh! I woke up this morning and noticed more definition (or definement) in my arms than I ever have before, which made me super excited! Can't wait to do the strength test on Saturday! Eats have been goood today too - it helps being in a house with someone who's doing the same thing - thanks Josha! I think it's dinner time now. Mmmmm!

Spaghetti Arms

2008-01-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well it's several hours later, and my arms still feel weak from doing upper body today. I'm going to take that as a good sign. :-D I do believe I'm going to feel this tomorrow. We did bench presses with the barbell tonight - first time I've ever done that, and the most I benched was about 65 pounds (doing sets of 6 and 8). Not too shabby, I thought. :) Eats were on today as well with lots and lots of water consumed and only one cup of coffee. It's hard not to drink a lot here when it's so cold. I'd like hot chocolate just as well, but it's more of a free thing. :)

2008-01-18T13:42:00.001-08:00

Ran sprints today on the elliptical. Glad that I'm not as sore as I was last time I did lower body. Tonight we're going to Chili's, so that meal will be free. MMMM! I've had a good on-track week and am looking forward to it. Tomorrow is upper body again - oh dear. :-D

Just as my legs had stopped hurting...

2008-01-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

it was time to go do legs again. I had very little motivation to go, especially since it's in the single digits here weather-wise. Yeah, COLD. It was great though because Josha pushed me to do my best, and I lifted WAY more than I thought I could! I am definitely going to be sore again tomorrow. Glad it's an 'off' day. All I want to do now is lay down and read, which is what I think I'm going to do.

On a side note, I've decided that I like lower body day way more than upper body day because my arms are so very week compared to my legs, and I feel like I burn out so quickly on upper body days. I feel super strong on lower-body days. I guess that's just motivation to keep pushing myself on upper days huh?

Well tomorrow night I will have been here a week, and I can already see a difference just from eating right and having worked out this past week. I feel a hundred times better physically and mentally, and a lot of that has to do with being more healthy. It also has a lot to do with being in a wonderfully positive environment in general.

I can't wait to start seeing real results!

Still sore!

2008-01-15T21:11:00.001-08:00

My legs are still killing me from my workout on Sunday, but Josha and I still headed down to the gym to do back and biceps. We'll do abs tomorrow. When we got done, I was exhausted all over, and I KNOW I'm going to feel every muscle in my body tomorrow morning when I wake up - something I'm not sure I'm looking forward to, except you know what it means... progress!!! Eats were on today as well, and I'm pretty sure I got all of my water in. It feels great to be back on after being off for a month, and I can't wait to start seeing changes! I hope your Tuesday was great as well!

Progress! (updated)

2008-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

Because that's what Josha yelled as I waddled away from the kitchen table this morning due to being more sore in my legs than I believe I ever have been. So that's a good thing! My first work out in about a month was pretty fantastic, and it was great to have Josha to cheer me on! We did squats and I discovered that I too am a super hero. Now all I need is a name to go along with it - so get your ideas in! Right now though, I feel like wobbly-woman. We also did leg presses, hamstring curls, and calf raises (sort of). It was a really wonderful and really hard, and I can sure feel it today! Progress!!!!Well, we went down to the gym tonight to do upper body,

and boy oh boy am I going to be sore tomorrow!

Here's a couple pictures of us being oh so very strong, and you know that super hero thing? Well, we donned our capes and did a little flying tonight as well. See?

Soo sorry

2008-01-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

I've been in Indiana for the last week eating more food than I care to think about right now. I gave myself a real vacation and just chilled for the week, enjoyed my family immensely, tried the cookies and the peanut butter fudge(oh my goodness, it was delicious), but surprisingly didn't gorge myself on any of it. I hope you all had a really great holiday week. Mine was excellent, but I'll tell you what, it's good to be back in Houston today.

What is really exciting is that I'm moving in 10 days! Until then, food and exercise will be the best I can do with what I've got. After I get settled in in Colorado, Josha's gonna whip me back into shape, right Josha?? ;-) Oh I have so much to do before then...

2007-12-24T10:59:00.001-08:00

I did push ups and upward rows today - not much, but way better than the nothing I've been doing this week. I had two bites of brownie, but other than that, eats have been on. There are too many sweets here: brownies, chocolate chip cookies, fudge, sugar cookies. Mostly, I've been trying to keep out of the kitchen. Lots of reading.

back on it, sort of

2007-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Doing the best I can today. Did some push ups and upward rows this morning and have eaten on track so far. Just got home from the dentist - no cavities! Woohoo! Now more Christmas shopping is in order...

It's Official!

2007-12-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

I'm a college graduate! Hooray! I've enjoyed having the last three days 'off' but am looking forward to getting back 'on' tomorrow as best I can. Now that I'm home, it will be easier and harder all at the same time, but I'm going to do the very best I can! I'm looking forward to jump roping with Tori (my 9th grade sister) first thing in the morning in the COLD! But first, I am going to enjoy some of my favorite Dairy Queen ice cream cake in celebration of a great day.

Took today off

2007-12-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Had so very much to do today to get ready for Saturday. Did laundry, cleaned my room for the first time in months, got a bit moreorganized so I know what is where and what can come home with me after graduation. Also, Leahanne's parents and my parents (and grandparents from Indy) will all be here at some point in time between now and Saturday, so we had to clean clean clean. This afternoon I had an induction ceremony to Phi Beta Kappa (a National Honors Society) and this evening I have an honors recognition ceremony. Then we're going dancing tonight, so that will count as my cardio!

Have a wonderful day ladies!

Wednesday, so far

2007-12-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Got up early this morning to go to work. Did not work out. Read for 3 hours at work - loved it!!! Came home and was going to eat, but decided I HAD to do SOMETHING today, so I lunged around my living room and did squats. Then I did pushups for back and biceps. My arms are wobbly. So even though it wasn't a weight work out, it was still something. Now I must feed my muscles!

Hiits are done!

2007-12-11T09:59:00.001-08:00

Well, I got all the way through the OkGo workout today, which made me very proud of myself! :-D I did a minute and a half of the two minute long interval, but other than that did everything good! Abs will be done later this afternoon. And I'm just about to have my first meal - yikes!

Thought I'd share some of my recent art work for our television show New Earth. Check them out here.

Productive day

2007-12-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

I got so much done today! I woke up at 8:30 on my own - not too happy about waking up that soon on my first Monday without classes, but oh well. Went down to the gym and did chest presses and inclined chest presses, then upward rows and side arm raises. I was going to do kick backs, but the 10 lb. weights were too heavy and the 5 lb were too light, so I decided to wait until later today to do tricep dips once my arms didn't feel like spaghetti. So i ran errands all morning and then worked for a couple of hours. When I got home from that I did my tricep dips. Eats have been great today except for lunch. I had left over quesadilla and chips and queso and you know what? They weren't even fulfilling, so I'm a little sad I did that. But this afternoon I got right back on track. :-) So all in all it's been a good day! How's your blitz going girls????

PS. It's 11pm and I'm already sore...woohoo!

Okgo kicked my butt!

2007-12-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

I decided to try out my Okgo mix this morning on the tredmill, and wow! Runners cramp set in after about 8 minutes and it was BAD, so I walked that out then ran two more HIITS and stopped. That is going to take some serious getting used to. I liked it though and have plans of continuing using it until I master it! or finish it, if that ever happens. :-). I should have listened to it before I went so I knew what to expect. Next time will be better!

Now I'm off to work for awhile where I will exercise my mind by reading Atonement.

Abs later. :-)