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!

Day 19- Rest is Best

Hey! So I did my workout the other day, but yet again I forgot to write down my experience. It was a good workout. I was able to keep up a faster pace than normal which shows improvement. Sadly today I woke up feeling a cold coming on so I decided to avoid exercise today. My body needs rest and lots of nourishment. As soon as I finished my day in the office, I came home and got in my pajamas. I have been taking airborn all day hoping that it might work. I have had a nice cup of tea to sooth my throat. The lack of physical activity has allowed me to reflect on life. I really believe that rest today is the best! I will continue my journey in the near future.

Day 16, 17,18- I am a slacker

So I have slacked on writing this week, but that doesn't mean that I have slacked on working out. Biggest lesson learned this week is to make sure you eat before you attempt to workout. One morning I was all pumped to exercise, but after the warm up I felt like throwing up and had to end the workout. From now on I will make sure to eat breakfast and digest before trying to workout. Also a great find this week, I am down to 174.5 lbs! I am happy so far and can't wait for next week!

Day 15- Still Rough

I am back into action! After taking a few days break, I am working as hard as ever to make more improvements physically and mentally. Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. It is interesting because you would think by now that my body would be use to this workout. I still struggle with the workout, but I am capable of doing more. This means that I work harder and push myself to the point of exhaustion. I really felt exhausted after todays workout. Not only exhausted, but accomplished because I knew that I was capable of pushing myself today and I did. I love how on Insanity they always say form over speed. This means that it is more important to do the exercise correctly rather than trying to keep up with the people on the video. They also mention multiple times during the workout to go at your own pace. I love this because it makes me compete with myself rather than the super fit pros on the DVD. Today was awesome and I can't wait for my next workout!

Day 14- IMPROVED!!!

Today was my second fit test. The first thing I noticed was that the fit test was less challenging than when I first did the workout. I will list below my numbers with how much I improved next to the new number. I will also be listing my measurements and my improvements.

Fit Test #2 (results from the first fit test)
105 switch kicks (52 switch kicks)  53 more
31 power jacks (25 jacks) 6 more
80 power knees (70 power knees) 10 more
21 power jumps (0 power jumps) 21 more
8 globe jumps (5 globe jumps) 3 more
12 Suicide jumps (6 suicide jumps) 6 more
12 push-up jacks (10 push-up jacks) 2 more
40 low plank oblique (16 low plank oblique) 24 more


Measurements (results from the first measurements)
Weight 178 (Weight 179) 1LBS lost
Arms 13.5" (Arms 13") .5" gained
Waist 34" (Waist 38") 4" lost
Hips 42" (Hips 42.5") .5" lost
Bust 38" (Bust 39") 1" lost
Thigh 24" (Thigh 25.5") 1.5" lost

I love these results I have seen within two weeks of the program! Although I have only lost 1lbs, I know that I have definitely gained muscle and lost fat. It is important to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. That is why the BMI test can be inaccurate when it comes to short muscle men and other muscular individuals. It is also awesome that I doubled most of my fitness test numbers. These results only motivate me to work harder. I am only a fourth of the way through this program. Imagine the result I could have after eight weeks!

Day 13- Cardio Resistance

I am almost to my 2 week mark of working out. I know I have been taking breaks, but I am seeing result. The only thing I really need to change is my diet. I need to cut back on fatty foods. I haven't been eating that much sugar which is great. This will be my next goal. The workout today was good. The only thing that sucks is having a bum knee. It is super sore all of the time, but I want to continue doing the workout. Some of the exercises I need to adjust so I do not risk an injury. Other than that, I love Insanity! It makes me feel great when I have completed a workout. I have been noticing changes in my body. They are not dramatic, but I am happy with the improvements. My arms are looking better (more toned). I am also finally not sore all of the time which is great. My energy is awesome, I have noticed that endurance has increased. This is awesome considering that I am almost a fourth of the way done with the entire workout plan. I can't wait for another workout tomorrow!

Day 12- Cardio Abs

Today was Cardio Abs. The cool thing about this workout is that there are no crunches or sit ups involved. That sadly does not make the workout easier. I could literally feel my core work and scream for mercy during this 16 minute abdomen workout. I know that this is the real deal to getting nice abs along with cardio of course. I only have 48 more days to go!

Day 11- HardCORE

Another day of Insanity down. Today, I decided to do something a little different. I was in the middle of my Cardio Recovery workout when I decided I needed to stop and do something else. I didn't feel like I was benefitting from doing todays workout due to my weak knee. This workout was more holding lunge positions. I decided to do a fun abdomen workout. I got this workout from one of my fellow coworkers. Her husband is a soccer coach for a competitive soccer team. He created this workout for the girls that he coaches. This workout includes push ups as well, but I only did the core part. It was also recommended with this workout that the person does at least 30 minutes of cardio. Here is this lovely workout if you dare to try it.

Push ups
90 regular
30 diamond
30 elbows in
50 mini
50 five count

Core
100 crunches
100 toe touches
100 bicycle kicks
100 penguins
50 right elbow to left knee (crossed)
50 left elbow to right knee (crossed)
1 minute plank
5 wall sits (1 minute per rep)
50 superman elbow reaches (work back)

Even though I did not do the entire workout, I am almost positive that tomorrow my abs are going to be on fire! If you try this workout, let me know what you think about it. Good luck and farewell!

Day 9/10- Music and Motivation

Yes, in case you were curious I did exercise yesterday. I just did not document the event. So I am doing a double document. Yesterday I did Pure Cardio again. I felt that I did not exercise to my potential due to girl problems and my sore knee. Today though I had a break through on my workout. I noticed I had more energy and my performance and endurance has increased. I was able to do most of the workout without having to take breaks other than suggested. I need to wait to check my weight do to bloating to make sure my numbers are accurate.

Anyways fascinating research! Did you know that the kind of music you listen to influences your performance during a workout or other physical activities? There have been multiple studies concerning music and physical performance and the results are way cool. Music does influence your performance. If you have some time, check out this article called "The Effects of Music on Exercise?". Overall I love working out! It gets even better when the results appear!

Day 8- Peas Please!



Well today I survived. The workout was a resistance one, but it was difficult because my bad knee was giving out. I was not capable of doing multiple exercises, which will hurt my results. I have a history of having a bad left knee. When I was in 8th grade, I was playing Ultimate Frisbee in gym and twisted the wrong way which cause a hyperextension of my leg. I was in pain for a few days so I decided to go to the doctor. The result was a fractured femur growth plate. I had a cast from my foot to my groin for four lovely weeks. After healing, I have pulled ligaments in this leg at least two different times requiring  MRIs. Also a few years ago, I had been working my outer thigh more than my inner thigh which caused my knee cap to pull to one side and irritate my meniscus. Anyways now that you have heard my pity stories, here are some results from my Fitbit! I have yesterdays and todays results and here they are:

1/8/2013

Miles-2.72
Calories burned- 1,114 kcals
Steps- 6,439

1/9/2013

Miles-2.46
Calories burned- 1,061
Steps-5,820

I plan to research goals on how many steps a person should take in a day. I will be setting personal Fitbit goals. I love this device because it sort of gives me an idea how my physical activity is going. I have also taken a test within the last two years called an REE test. This test measures calories burned by just keeping your body alive. For this test, you need to drink a good amount of water for accuracy. A nice big see through looking bowl attached to a tube is placed over your head and you breath for about five minutes. My results were that I burned approximately 1,800 kcals by just breathing alone. If I add this number to calories burned, then this is the amount I assumedly burned for the day.

Day7- Sore like I've never been before!

All I have to say about today is OUCH! This is the most pain I have been in by far in the longest time. I don't even want to walk to the bathroom since every muscle in my body feels like blubber. There was not a new workout today. I did Plyometric Cardio Circuit again. The thing about Insanity is that it confuses the body so it does not get use to the exercises. Without muscle memory, the body is able to advance physically faster than just doing the same exercises every day. I guess that is why they say no pain no gain.

Day 6- If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!

Monday night Dodgeball is a workout. I know it doesn't seem like it would be that good of a workout, but it is. Tonight I played with my church group for about an hour. This means an hour of cardio as well as bicep exercises (throwing the ball) and squats (jumping to dodge). The only downer is I think I pulled my gluteus maximus (my butt).  This night was not only fun, but great exercise. I know my Insanity workout has been put on hold, but that will continue tomorrow. It is nice to have some fun instead of killer daily workouts. This journey is not to be perfect. No one is perfect, so why try to be something that is impossible. I can only do my best and try my hardest. The purpose is not to get a six pack (although that would be nice) but to be active and live a healthy lifestyle. My diet has been pretty decent. My portion sizes have decreased which means less caloric intake which equals weight loss. So far I have lost 2.5 LBS!! It has only been one week. This is a huge number for me and I can't wait for more results.

Day 5- Failure.

Well I am considered an Insanity failure because I decided to have a fun Friday night rather than workout. So I counted Fridays workout as the rest day and will work out on Sunday instead of resting. Todays workout was Pure Cardio. We all know how I feel about cardio, and trust me I was not a fan of this workout. The entire workout was drills drills DRILLS! Every drill lasted for an entire minute. A minute doesn't sound so bad, but trust me it sucks. Well I am glad today is over and I get to live my life without cardio for another 24 hours.

Day 4- RECOVERY!!!

Oh the joys of day 4 on Insanity! This has by far been one of the best days as of now. This workout is ZERO cardio! I was not a huge cardio person to begin with, so this disk has been a blessing from above. The workout is called Cardio Recovery. The first third of the workout is stretching. It felt so good to stretch since I have been sore for a few days. The rest of the workout focused on slow exercises. For instance there were multiple squat and lunge exercises. These exercises were all about holding the positions and moving slowly. The most difficult part about this workout was holding the different poses. Other than that, todays workout was phenomenal!

Day 3- Cardio Power Resistance

Yay for being half way done with my workout for the week! Today was interesting. I have found that I am not the best morning person, so I have been working out in the evening. The workout today was more focused on the leg and arm muscles. There were many squat and jump exercises as well as a variety of push ups. The warm up still kills me before the actual workout, but I am enduring to the end. I find it funny that all of the participants on the video struggle with the workout. Typically on workout videos, all of the participants do the exercises with ease. I like how they struggle because it makes me feel less bad about not doing the exercises perfectly and having to take breaks. Well I am still sore especially my lower abdomen and calves. I hope the pain fades so I am capable of moving during the day at work. Well another day down and only 57 to go!

Day 2- New Year = New Pain!

Happy New Year!! Today has been rough. Staying up late to bring in 2013 did not help my motivation. I spent the majority of the day sleeping in my bed. I finally rolled out of bed and got ready for my day two workout. As I got out of bed, I realized that my lower abs were a little sore as well as my calves. I wasn't sure if these aches were from dancing the night before or my lovely fit test. Anyways I started the day two workout which happened to be Plyometric Cardio Circuit. The cool thing about all of these workouts is that Insanity focuses on a warm-up session prior to starting the workout. I honestly believe that the warm-up alone would help me lose weight if I did it everyday along with eating the proper diet. After the seven minute warm-up I was dripping sweat. Then comes the workout. Again it is all intervals with 30 second water breaks in between every round of exercises. It is suggested that when taking a water break to check your heart rate to make sure everything is okay. I guess that means my next fitness purchase will be a heart rate monitor. If there are any suggestions on what to buy, feel free to comment. After the grueling workout, we stretched and did a nice cool down breather. I would have to say the ending stretches are probably my favorite part of the workout because I felt like I survived. Well day two is over and although I am a little sore I am sure when I wake up it will be much worse!