Dizzy and Distraught

 

After all of my optimism and happy planning, I hit a huge bump in the road. I recently decided that I wanted to go off of a medication. Instead of being smart about cutting back, I decided to be like an ambitious ex smoker and quit "cold turkey". Due to my non intelligent idea, I have been abnormally dizzy for the past three to four days. It was difficult to focus at work or on anything without feeling like my eyes were going to burst out of their sockets.

 

This has put a massive kink in my exercise routine. Finally I looked up the information of this medication online and learned that a person should never quit the medication, but should slowly wean off so there are not any problems. The whole point of this post is to admit that I have not been able to start my new and amazing fitness plan. Last night, I started my medication again in hopes that in the next few days that I will be able to feel somewhat normal again. I plan on hitting the gym Monday for sure and will let everyone know if I make it or fall off of the treadmill because my vision is similar to the picture above. Wish me luck!

Wheezing Up A Plan!

My sleep last night wasn't the best. For some odd reason my nose was congested and I was wheezing when I would breath. It was really annoying. I experienced this same issue with my workout today. I was able to work through the shortness of breath and horrible sounds. I am sure this is probably allergies as well as athletic induced asthma.

 I debated on if I should work out  at all today (due to me being lazy), but I decided that I should so I don't feel bad when I watch the new season of The Biggest Loser. Well today I felt much better during my workout compared to the last time. I was mentally in this workout. I know I got a good burn even though some of the exercises had to be adjusted due to a problematic knee. I did so well that I had sweat dripping off of my forehead!

During this lovely workout, I decided that I need to do more than just my original two day plan. Currently money is being wasted on my gym membership with the county (only $14 a month). Well this lovely idea popped in my head that I can go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; then do the Insanity workout Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am lucky to be able to take a fitness break during my workday. This fitness break is approximately 45 minutes of fun. Weight lifting is my passion, so I am excited to get back into this gym routine. And so the plan begins... we will see if it lasts.

Mentally Tired

Have you ever felt like you were not mentally into something? It could be anything from doing homework, cleaning, or cooking. Yesterday I struggled to put my all into my workout because mentally I was not there. It was disappointing to be in the middle of a workout and realize that I was not giving it my all. I suffered through an excruciating 45 minute workout that I felt like I got nothing out of. It was not only a waste of time, but a waste of the effort that I put forth (not that it was a lot). Today I did notice that my legs are quite stiff and sore due to the fact that I did my share of squat exercises (that I did not slack on). I know that this workout program will

guaranteed success, the issue is that I need to put effort into the program in order to reap the success. I plan on working harder tomorrow to head down the trail of success. I have come to the realization that weight loss and muscle gain isn't as important as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This will be my life long goal since it is never ending until the day that I die.

This is me after the workout with a sweat covered brow and a lack of motivation. Hopefully it will turn into a look of determination and sweat.

I'm Back, and I Think I'm INSANE!!

Hello,

I am back to my lovely fitness ideas. It all started with the engagement. I recently got engaged to my fiancé back in July. We decided not have the typical LDS rush wedding that would typically happen one month after an engagement. Our wedding date is set for April 25th of next year. One of the biggest concerns of most brides is the fact of looking flawless and skinny on wedding day (or at least that is what I think). This got me into the mentality that I need to maintain/tone up for wedding day. One motivator is the fact that I purchased and received my wedding dress at least 9 months before wedding day. This means that I cannot gain any weight!!! I think I may be gaining stress weight about not gaining any weight if that is even possible.

Anyways back to the story. For weeks I have been saying, "The diet starts tomorrow." well sadly tomorrow never comes. I realized this when I was eating every day and worrying about caloric intake (I know I am weird to think calories all of the time). I told myself last night that I would pack my gym bag so I could take a fitness break during work and get some exercise. Well, plans changed this morning as I dragged myself out of bed and I was too lazy to throw some gym clothes in a bag (horrible I know). I told myself well Ashley if you do not go to the gym today, you need to do the Insanity workout when you get home. This all sounded like a great idea to just do a nice easy workout of Insanity this evening. Too bad I forgot that the name actually matches the intensity of the workout! Blogging about my torture has actually been motivating to continue with the workout trend.

The Insanity workout is done six days a week with the seventh day as a rest day. Due to the fact that I actually have a life and may not have time to complete a workout and blog about it everyday, I will do my best to accomplish at least three to four workouts a week. I am hoping by doing the program this way that I will not get burned out like I did last time. Today, the workout is the Fit Test. This is considered a test to figure out how fit a person is so that progress can be tracked. Even though today was a test, my butt got kicked hardcore for all 25 minutes (I am a wimp, I know). Well I know you all want to see how out of shape I am so here are my measurements and test results:

Height: 5'9"
Weight (night time): 177.5
Waist: 35"
Bust: 38.5"
Thigh: 24.4
Arm: 13"

Fit Test (week 1)
Switch Kicks 80
Power Jacks 32
Power Knees 69
Squats 19
Globe Jumps 6
Suicides 11
Push-ups 22
Side Oblique 36

Chocolate Chip Cookies = Nurtition

Ah, I love to feeling you get after a great workout! Your muscles ache but you seem to have an unbelievable feeling of energy and calmness. It must have to be the release of hormones while working hard. One of these is endorphins. They have said that they are the bodies natural drug. I have even heard that eating chocolate can release this hormone. The only issue with eating chocolate whenever you want to feel good, you end up with a wider waist and possible health problems in the future.

When I was attending SUU, I had my fair share of amazing and informative nutritional classes. One thing that I will never EVER forget is that my professor said that there is no such thing as a bad food. Society tells us that there are lots of bad foods. Carbs are bad because they make you fat, sugar is awful because it causes addiction, protein is bad because it can cause ketoacidosis and so on and so forth. Lets think of one of our favorite so called "bad" foods. One of mine would definitely have to be chocolate chip cookies. According to the world, chocolate chip cookies are of the devil right? WRONG, the chocolate in chocolate chip cookies provides a mineral that the body needs. This mineral is called manganese. So next time someone tells you that you probably shouldn't eat that cookie, tell them that you feel somewhat deficient in manganese and that will shut them up. Well I just felt inspired to write today. If you read this, which you may not feel free to ask questions and I will attempt to find an answer

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Day 21- Something New

Well I would like to say sorry to disappoint any readers, but my game plan on this blog has changed. I was half way through the Insanity journey and I stopped. I just got bored with the workout DVDs since they just repeated. I also was struggling with knee pain from all of the jumping. I have switched back to my original workout in the gym. I am however going to use this blog for interesting exercise and workout tips. I want to be able to research and find new and interesting facts about exercise. I am also going to work on my nutritional habits and write about them on here to hopefully keep myself on track. I need to focus on drinking more water everyday and eating less sugar (even though I love sugar). I am still going to workout and try some new things and review them. We will see how this change works!

Day 20- Rejuvinated

I am back to the good old grind of Insanity. I was ill last week, so I decided to recover. On Monday night, I was able to play a great game of volleyball. The only downer to playing volleyball is that jumping that much seems to have a negative effect on my bad knee. Last night I was busy and was able to rest my leg for today. The workout today was rough. I can tell that taking a break has definitely effected the quality and duration of my workout. They say if you fall off of a horse, you get up and get back on. This is how I feel about my workout progress. I fell off of my weekly pattern and now I am starting fresh and new. After my workout today, I feel fresh and rejuvenated. I love the way exercise makes me feel. It just motivates me to keep up the work!