CL/PH2/WK2/Day2
Good morning everyone. Okay, I'm going to try to type a message. Baby has taken to insisting on sitting on my lap when I'm at the computer, and playing with her toys. If I try to move the keyboard close enough to type, she gets angry and pushes it out of the way. My 15month old is running my life. (sigh). She has finally gotten bored and gone to play somewhere else for a few minutes.
Okay. Interesting thing. What I thought yesterday was core DOMS from KenpoX with weighted gloves on Saturday may in fact have been a virus. I'm not sure. I was exposed to some people with a nasty flu bug last Friday. On Saturday I developed a very, very mild stuffy nose and sore throat. The throat is feeling better, but I still feel a touch of congestion. The pain in my stomach started when I was sleeping Sunday night, lasted all day Monday, and disappeared when I was sleeping Monday night. I feel absolutely fine today. When I started my workout yesterday I was going to skip or modify anything that hurt. Well, the only time my stomach hurt during the entire workout was in the high impact portion of the warm up: running, jumping jacks, running lunges. I did those very, very lightly, and they were still excruciating. I thought ARX would be out of the question, but didn't feel the pain at all during any of the moves. So, I'm pretty sure I wasn't feeling core DOMS, but had a bad stomach. Didn't affect my appetite, though. I was able to eat just fine, and had no nausea. Today I'm hungrier than usual, too. Has anyone ever experienced a stomach bug that only made your stomach hurt, and nothing else? Seems weird, in my book.
At dinner time I learned the hard way that I have a hole in my oven mitt. I took a metal tray out of a 450 degree oven, and burned the fleshy part at the base of my left thumb. Man, that hurts. It blistered immediately, about the size of a dime, and there's a tender area about the size of a silver dollar (or a looney, here in Canada). Of course, my first thought was, "how am I going to practice pull ups and do my bicep work on Wednesday?" I'll have to put a good dressing on it tomorrow, underneath my weight gloves. Hopefully that will work. And I'll pop an Advil before the workout
A girl's gotta do.....
I did decently well with Ch-Sh-Tri yesterday. Went up in most of my weights (think I was feeling conservative the first week), and increased my reps in some versions of the push ups. I have trouble gauging the right weight for the tricep work. I find, for example, that if I use a 12lb db, I can do at least 12-15 reps. But I'm not doing the Lean rotation, so I want to max out closer to 8-10. But if I go up to 15lbs, my elbow joint feels too stressed. I find that workout, in general, really stresses my elbow joints. I suppose I should just play it safe and stick with the lighter weights, accepting that doing higher reps will give my triceps a nice toned look? Any thoughts? Okay, enough about me. Time for some personals!!
Tracy - I WISH I had a hard time getting enough calories! Yes, all those push ups are really planks in disguise, so they will do wonders for your core; and contracting/strengthening your core will do wonders for your push ups. If you can already do the Mason Twists (with a weight no less!), then I'd say your core is already in GREAT shape! Thanks for the words of support about making the thesis a priority. I think it would be easier to ignore the housework if we didn't keep having guests come over. Fortunately January is a slow time, socially, so hopefully I can take a page out of your book. What about your social life? Did you make time for your friends, or did you cut them off for a while? I have a very, very hard time telling my friends that I can't do something because I should be working. I believe that the joy and meaning in life comes from sharing time with other people. I also think my kids need to get more stimulation than being closeted in the house to play on their own while I try to get work done (be it academic or house work). This is a tension that I find very stressful to live with. How did you cope? How old were your children while you were writing? The best PlyoX move for working the core, IMO, are the tuck jumps. I always feel it when I do those!
Deb B - what do you mean "Week 6"? Do you mean you're two weeks into Phase 2 (6 weeks from the start)? Enjoy Back & Biceps!
Traci - sleeping in yesterday; going for early coffee with a girlfriend. I want to be "retired"! LOL! I kick DH out of bed for snoring sometimes, too. More often, though, I go sleep on the couch. Maybe you and DH need separate bedrooms? I once spent about a year sleeping on the futon couch in the living room, because I just got a better sleep that way. And so did DH, because he wasn't having me kicking him all night long. And there were many nights when he came thisclose to being smothered with a pillow. It was for the good of our marriage, and for his very survival. Over the years he's actually reduced his snoring significantly, so we're back in the same room. Some nights, though....LOL about adopting a 44 year old! I'm only 36, so how about we call ourselves siblings? I always wanted an older sister. Thanks so much for the kind words about mothering. DD was complaining about something at dinner the other night, and I told her she wasn't getting what she wanted because we were bad parents, and if she wanted to, we could have social services come in and they would find her a better family to live with. I said this in jest, of course, and she knew I was teasing. It made us all laugh, and she got over her little snit.
X - it sounds like you're enjoying P90X so far. Interesting week you have planned. Traci suggested a post-Xers check in a week or so ago. There were plenty of takers, so I think it will happen.
DB - I was dreading the monotony of doing ARX 30 times in 13 weeks, but half way through the program I'm finding the repetitiveness very beneficial to my core. Just when they start to soften up a bit, BAM! I hit them again. And the frequency is really helping me to cue into the sublties of the moves. CoreMax is a great dvd. I highly recommend it. I've been drinking lots of water for about 15 years now. After a while it just becomes second nature. One thing that is critical for me is to have a 16oz bottle of water next to my bed, and I drink it as soon as I sit up in the morning. I'm not particularly thirsty when I wake up, but there's something about loading up my system first off that helps me waken up better and clear my head. The abs in MM are about 10 mins long, and they're quite tough. I also recommend the whole workout. It's strength focused, and covers the whole body in 70 mins.
Laurie - I hope you enjoyed PlyoX today. I think you and I are on the same day of the program.
Gayle - you're a workout machine! I love that you get your kids involved, too. And yes, you could sub a coremax for arx, but like I said to DB above, I personally find the repetitiveness of arx beneficial. By the end of phase 3 I may have a different opinion! Regarding the swim breathing - just keep practicing. In this, repetition is critical. One day it will click. It's a different kind of breathing than with other activities; you have to exert constant control. Your lungs need time to condition to the change. It takes time, but once you've swum for a while using deep breathing, you come out of the water feeling like you just completed a deep yoga meditation. I love, love, love it.
Debra - I had the exact same experience as you did with BB and the burning forearms last week. We gonna be Popeyes when this is over!!
Lea - Yup, you're dead on about DD teething the other night. I found a top tooth starting to poke through the next day. She won't let me get a good look to see what all is going on in there, but there's probably at alot. She's 15 1/2 mths old, and this only her 3rd tooth. They're probably all lining up for launch at the same time. You may not have felt great during your w/o yesterday, but a done workout is still a done workout. "Just keep pushing play." You're still going good things.
Monica - I don't have time to add in a second workout a day, either. I would like to, but sometimes life just doesn't let us have everything we want, the way we want it. You're still doing extremely well to add in Cardio X a couple times a week. I agree the push ups work our chest superbly. I still miss doing good ol' flies and bench presses though. They're easier
Buffy - BG bonus abs are one of my favourites. Glad your shoulder is feeling better!
Jeanette - It's the Mother for me today, too. And I'm not feeling as energetic as you sound! Good for you!!!! I'd personally rather be doing a Cathe step cardio. Or napping. I'd always rather be napping. I'm motivating myself by telling myself that I can do the modified versions of the moves; I don't have to kill myself. But I know I will. Once the blood gets moving, I usually find the energy to bring it. It's all a mental game. And that workout moves by quickly. That's the best part of it
I LOL'd at your "Driving while relaxed" story. Nice that the cop let you off! I had a woman drive through a stop sign and right into my vehicle....The day before we were to use that vehicle to move to a new home across the country. I can't say anything about that situation was relaxing
I managed to exceed my goals yesterday for my academic work. Amazing what can happen when you actually focus on something! I'm off to see if I can do some more of that good work. Not looking forward to doing PlyoX while the baby is eating her lunch (I hate interruptions during cardio workouts), but sometimes that's the compromise that has to be made. I'm still doing good things, right?
Have a great day,
Sandra
