Hi Everyone!
First, thanks for all your good wishes. I am feeling better but am not pushing myself too hard. Took the day off from work yesterday and went to the doctor. Got stuck there for over 3 hours! He did give me plenty of meds though to clear up the chest congestion. I'm on antibiotics and prednisone (steroids). The prednisone really helps to open up the lungs. I've had asthma for about the last 5 years. Went to the hospital once before. Usually when the temperature goes below 40 degrees, I have a hard time. My DH asked the paramedics about that and they said they see lots of weather-related cases. My DH was funny. He's telling the Dr. in the ER: "I don't get it. She's healthy, takes vitamins, eats well, works out, weight lifts and she's in here when I'm 75 pounds overweight and smoke." DH used to have asthma, bronchitis, allergies when he was a child and now he's fine. Now I'm stuck with it.
It was pretty scary but I think the last time I sent to the ER was worse. Now for what I've done so far:
I didn't know how far I'd be able to go yesterday so I started with Ab Ripper X. It's 11 ab exercises, some more intense than others. Basically every exercise contains 25 reps except for the Mason Twist of which I did 40 (some people in the video do 50 for a bonus). These are done by lifting your knees in the air and twisting your body from side to side touching your hands to the floor on each side as you twist. I was wondering why my whole rib cage was hurting this morning. Ab Ripper X is awesome.
Next, I did Chest & Back. I was only able to do one round because my SIL called and then I had to rush to the doctor. Here are my weights & reps:
Standard Pushups - 23
Wide Front Pull-ups (hard!) Attempted 4
Military pushups - 14
Reverse Grip Chin-up - 1 and 1/2
Wide Fly Pushups - 12
Closed Grip Overhand Pullups - did 3 halfway up
Decline pushups - 10
Heavy Pants - 8 reps at 25.5#
Diamond Pushups - 10
Lawnmowers - 8 reps at 25.5#
Divebomber Pushups - 10
Back Flys - 10 reps at 12# (next time I'll do 8 with 13#)
Today was Plyo X. Not as intense as Cathe's Imaxes, but still an extremely good workout. Was in my target heart rate zone for 59 minutes. Burned 432 calories. Actually, this is about how many calories I burn with the IMAXes. The IMAXes usually send me to over 90% of my Target Heart Rate but Plyo X got me up to 88% which is fine with me. Each exercise is about 30 seconds long. He does 4 exercises - 3 that are 30 seconds and the 4th which is a minute. He then repeats the cycle. There are 5 cycles like this and then a bonus round. All the exercises are athletic style drills. I went a little easy on things like tuck jumps. He did a circle run where you just put your towel on the floor and run around in circles each way. That got my heart rate up. He also does an exercise called hot foot where you're hopping on one foot making a cross with your hops, up, back, left right.
Believe it or not, exercising actually helps my breathing. I think because I'm controlling it better. When you're wheezing, your breathing is totally out of control. I think yoga will definitely be helpful as well.
I have to DH to take my pictures tonight. With all the drama, I never got to ask him.
Gin: I agree with Deanie. KPC abs are definitely one of my top 3 favorites as well. Wanted to let you know I got Baron Baptiste's Ultimate Challenge (Level 3). I might sub these in for Yoga X here and there. I hate to say it, but clean eating is a must. Exercise is great but clean eating really helps you lose. I know it's hard, but toss out the junk. I saw Kelly Ripa on Shape. Her arms look great. The rest of her looked pretty good too. I saw Valerie Bertinelli on the commercial with Kirstie Allie. I didn't realize how much weight she gained. I hope she gets back to her normal weight. She used to look so great.
Deanie - One of my Capris (tan khaki) has a wide cuff on the bottom. I also got a pair last week (same ones but green khaki). They're kind of like gauchos. They're so comfortable and they look great. Wore them to dance class and everyone loved them. The other pair is like an off white. They're like cargo pants. I can't wait till it's warm enough so I can start wearing them. You should try ebay for Core Syn, but you should know that it is also possible to buy individual workouts from Beachbody. I think each one is $20. I think Core Syn is definitely worth it though.
Tracee - Hope you're having a good day and have a great workout.
Sorry for the long post guys. Had a lot to report. BBL.
Marcy
