December Pregnancy/TTC Check-in

Hi Lisa,
Oh yay! Ultrasound day and your halfway mark! Congrats!! Happy, healthy thoughts to you and your amazing growing family.
Time to go buy your M&Ms... ;)
Sounds like you're having an amazing holiday season with your DD. That's beautful! :D
I'm so glad to hear your appetite is getting back to normal. Hope that means the nausea's on its way out, too!
Great job on XTrain Legs. Is the all legs premix the whole program with the bonus barre (but w/o rear delts)? That's a long workout! I haven't done it in a while -- will have to revisit it, as I recall really liking it.
This morning was LIHI back/bis/rear delts + RWH bonus abs 1. The whole workout clocked in around an hour and DD woke up just as I was taking my final deep breath! Nice work, baby. ;) I'm just loving these UB strength workouts.
I may try to get HIIT LB circuit in tomorrow morning, but at this point I think it's unlikely. I still need to pack for our Xmas travel (though we're not going far, 2 nights away with baby -- plus Xmas presents and everything -- is a lot of packing and prep). Plus, we're going to a potluck dinner tonight. I made the chewy chocolate chip cookies from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I've made them before and they're just excellent. Perfect consistency. I love ATK's recipes -- always so solid, and so well-tested (as ATK's name would indicate). And I love how they explain their 'research' process and conclusions for each recipe.
Oh! I forgot to mention another fave cookbook author -- Dorie Greenspan. ;) Always a winner.
Alright, mama! I must run and seize upon the rest of baby's nap as productive time. I will try to check in a couple times over the coming days, but not sure when I will have time or if/when I will be able to work out. So if you don't hear from me, just assume I'm off stuffing my face with bon bons. ;)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Wishing you and your growing family joy and light and merriment,
Roz
 
Thanks, Roz! The u/s was super exciting. The baby looks healthy in every way and is measuring SPOT ON! I'm so grateful for that as my DD1 was measuring small throughout and was ultimately labeled an Intrauterine Growth Restricted baby. Of course, she's healthy and all is well, but had to spend 4 days in the NICU because she was so small (less than 5lbs). This little one seems to be more motivated to grow, which is such a relief. We feel very blessed! Yep, definitely gotta go get those cake supplies today. ;) I will tell you whether baby is boy/girl later this week. I feel guilty telling anyone else before my family. I told my neighbor yesterday (one of my best friends) that she has to wait, too!

You are exactly right. The XTrain Legs premix I did includes the bonus barre but not the rear delts section. It clocks in at 67 mins but the time goes fast. Cathe takes extra breaks in this one, IMO, so you could probably fast forward here and there to shorten the length if 67 mins is too long for your schedule!

Today I decided to treat my sore legs to step. I think I did this one a couple months ago, but it is called Unexpected Step by Jenny Ford. Sometimes I follow her exactly (minus some of her weird spins) to make it an intermediate workout, but today I added jumps and power circles, etc to up the intensity to an advanced workout. Great way to start my day. And way to go to you on crossing another one of your pre-Christmas workouts off your list for the week! :) LOVE that your sweet girl timed her wake-up to coincide with your final deep breath in your stretch. Good girl!

Oh my, yes, even 2 nights away with a little one...and at Christmastime, no less...requires a lot of effort on your part. Methinks that packing your suitcases and loading your car will be a workout unto itself! These next few days are definitely days where you just have to roll with the punches. I always try to tell myself that, in the end, I will value the memories with families and loved ones much more than I will value any temporary buzz from accomplishing a to-do list or even a workout. That keeps the stress at bay for me. Also, no stress on our check-in. Just pop in when you can during this busy time.

I love ATK! The ATK cookbook I have is definitely a cooking Bible to me. My go-to brownie recipe comes from ATK. I never deviate from it, which is saying a LOT for me and my cooking ADHD. I am also quite familiar with those delectable chocolate chip cookies. The people you are sharing them with are very lucky! Never heard of Dorie Greenspan but I must go look her up!

May your Christmas holidays be filled with blessings, joy, and lots of family/friends all around. And, of course, those bon bons that you mentioned...:cool: All the best to you and yours.

Lisa
 
I'm back! How was your Christmas? Ours was terrific! The sun was shining, had lots of fun conversations and together time with family, and delicious food. The best gift = my Cathe Live subscription!!!!! I haven't had a chance to bust it out yet, but where should I start? I know you've given me some recommendations, but what are your tippy-top picks for this pregnant lady?

My DD also made out like a bandit. Her favorite gift is her big girl bed, mattress, bedding, and a little alarm clock with a stoplight so she knows when to get up and when to stay in bed (green light = wake-up time; red light = time to sleep!). Last night was her first night sleeping on it and she did SO well--didn't get out of bed once, didn't fall out (phew!), and slept soundly. She was also super tuckered out from Christmas Day, though, so I fear it was a bit of a fluke. The next couple of days shall reveal the truth of the matter!

I wasn't sure if workouts were going to happen or not, but I did end up making them happen. Christmas Eve was PUB, Christmas Day was Cardio Kicks (have you done this? it's a hi/lo goodie), and today was a total body weight workout by Gin Miller called Seriously Strong.

And, since my family all knows now, I can share with you that we are having a baby GIRL!!! We are thrilled beyond belief (is it bad to say I was hoping for a girl?). We already have a first name picked out that I adore, just need to settle on a middle name. We do keep the name secret until it's on the birth certificate, though, because at that point it is too late for people to express their opinions. In terms of the gender reveal cake, I actually ended up making a yellow butter cake because my sister-in-law had made a chocolate cake for Christmas Eve (it's my niece's bday). I didn't want it to be like Iron Chef/ my-chocolate-cake-vs.-yours (not that she would have felt that way) so I opted to use this yellow cake recipe. Worked out for the best because I think this is going to be my new go-to yellow cake recipe. I changed it by using two 9" pans as opposed to three 9" pans, but followed the rest of the recipe to a T. How can anything with 2 sticks of butter, 2.5 cups of sugar, and 7 eggs by bad? :p

I plan on working out tomorrow and hope to check in. Can't wait to hear how everything went for your family's Christmas!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,

Merry Christmas! So glad you had a wonderful time. So did we – lots of fun family time and food (which I didn’t really help much with! ;) ). What a blast to watch DD open presents – she loved it!! It was all totally exhausting (and we also got a magical post-Xmas baby supersleep), but worth the exhaustion. I just feel like I haven’t stopped running for a few days…

And wheeeeee! Congrats on your little lady! That’s so exciting!! :D And no, it’s not bad that you had a preference – I think that’s totally normal.
I’m honored that you wanted to share with me! (There’s never any pressure from me to share any info.)
Is your daughter excited that she’ll have a little sister?
The cake recipe looks fab! I will have to try it when I need a yellow cake recipe...

So about Cathe Live… I think one of my faves so far cardio-wise is Solid Cardio and HIIT. If I recall correctly, most of it isn’t really crazy intense, but I don’t remember specifically how much impact there is. I think it’s fairly moderate. (Obviously you’re smart and know how to modify, but it’s nice to pick workouts that you don’t have to alter completely…) Kickbox and compound weights is awesome, but I think there’s a certain amount of light-weights-swinging in the compound weights segment (only ~15 mins), so I don’t know if that’s good for you now. Hi/Lo Cardio + Core is really fun, but she gets into some HIIT about halfway through the cardio that involves some jumping moves that might put strain on your pelvic floor – not sure if this stuff is still comfortable for you. But you could do the (rather active) warm-up and Hi/Lo segment (prob the first ~17 mins) as an add-on, for sure. Oh! The Road Trip All Step rocks. All Step Intervals w/ Blasts.
Strength training-wise, Strong Upper Body + Core (minus core for you, I imagine) is great, and has a sort of PUB feel. Total Body Weights w/ Stability Ball is probably a pregnancy goodie, too.
Hope that helps and doesn’t lead you into any workouts you don’t like ;)

Great work on your holiday workouts! I did get HIIT LB Circuit done on Xmas eve morning (using a 60 lb BB for many moves -- I realized last time I actually used 50 lbs so this was an increase). Xmas day I took off.
Yesterday I did double low impact HIIT (warm up, LI HIIT 2, LI HIIT 1, cool down, about 50 mins total). It’s totally doable as a longer interval cardio workout. It’s challenging and really gets you breathing, but there’s (I think) an even greater challenge in how ungainly many of the moves feel. These workouts aren’t my favorites of the series. They’re very good, and I certainly prefer them to Shock Cardio HIIT, but many of the moves feel too slow or too fast and rather awkward. In LI HIIT 2, some breaks just feel too long. There’s a lot of work off the beat. But there’s some great new material and fun stuff – I’m not putting the workouts down at all.
This morning I did LIHI Chest/Tris/Shoulders. I’m just loving this workout (and its partner in the split, too). Total winners both. 40 minutes and I’m spent, but not obliterated for the day.
Also got a walk in yesterday (it was warmish), and hoping for another today!

This is my fourth week of RWH, so after this week I may switch to something else. Maybe a couple weeks with a greater focus on metabolic/cardio/endurance? Not sure yet… Feel free to put in your two cents! ;)

I feel like I have more to say but must run… DD calls!
Hugs and congrats again on your growing little lady-to-be!
Roz
 
Roz,

Thanks for the congrats and sharing in our happiness over our baby girl in my belly! We can't wait!

Your Christmas sounds magical! The fact that it flew by is always a good sign that it was filled with fun. Every year I'm always astounded at all the prep work that goes into Christmas and then BOOM, it's over. Just in the blink of an eye. I hope you got lots and lots of pics of your sweet girl ripping into her presents! ;) Did you get anything good, besides all the family time and yummy food?

Those Cathe Live suggestions are perfect. Thank you. Exactly what I was looking for. As I've previewed the workouts it seems like a lot of the strength workouts are going to be doable but the cardio workouts are more questionable given that HiiT work included in many of them. I will keep you posted as I try them! I have no doubt I will love them all.

Today I needed something fast and familiar, so I went with KCM's Get Ready, Step, Go. It's steady state and fun. More complex than most of Cathe's step but really quite simple to follow when you are a complex choreo lover like you and me. YOUR workouts sound amazing. I have read in other spots on the forums about how a lot of the RWH HiiT moves are off beat. Honestly that disappoints me because that is one thing that really really matters to me. Usually I don't care about the music itself (except some of the awful stuff in LIS) but being off beat is a huge pet peeve, and I think it's because I have an intense musical background. I guess I'm just going to have to look elsewhere and just follow the beat myself. Cathe is usually so spot on with this kind of thing...wonder what happened here? Glad that the weight workouts are some of your faves and I can't believe you've been doing the workouts for 4 weeks already! Where does the time go?

IIRC, you've done several leg-intensive rotations, so maybe switch it up with more total body and different kinds of leg conditioning? You are so great at creating rotations so I'm sure my suggestion won't be as good as yours, but what about a week that looks something like:
leg day (either GG or LLA or Turbo Barre)
metabolic cardio
total body weight
steady state cardio
total UB (like PUB or the MM UB premix or Cathe Live UB) or total body weight
HiiT cardio

Hope you have an awesome Saturday! Gotta jet because my parents just got here! Sending you wishes for walks in warmer weather and a terrific remainder of Christmas weekend. :)

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,
Oh, that rotation you drafted looks awesome!
I agree, I think I need a change.
Actually, I was just recalling that the 6-month bodybuilding rotation that I'm ostensibly doing a version of now calls for 2 weeks of shock cardio (and therefore a break from weight training, except for some circuit stuff). I don't think I can handle 2 weeks of shock cardio (they're not my faves), but I think something like what you suggest with maybe a light total body day... like flex train or something more metabolic in nature? (I've actually never done flex train...)
Funny you mentioned LLA + GG, because I was just thinking I needed to work those in...

So maybe I can adapt your suggestion to lighten the weight training for a couple weeks:
Leg day (LLA/GG/barre)
Kickbox
Light total body (e.g., Flex Train) -- would any of the high step stuff work here?
Step (steady state)
Metabolic
HIIT

How does that look to you?

Nice job on your step workout! That baby is going to be one coordinated lady! ;)

This morning I did Lift It HIIT It Legs. Still love it, but definitely had that 'ok, time for a change' feeling that I get by the end of a month of doing a rotation. I'm actually excited to do some more cardio and toning stuff.

Oh! And on the Cathe Live topic, I think you could probably do any of the boxing/kickbox stuff. (I imagine you'll just sub your own pregnancy core work for any Live core stuff...) I don't have a heavy bag, so I use 1-lb handweights for the heavy bag stuff. So funny, in Meso 3 I was doing BB rows over 100 lbs, then in my 'active recovery week' I used 1-lb weights for Rockout Knockout and totally had back DOMS. I guess it's all about variety, huh?

Eek gotta run, there's DD...
Happy day to you!
Roz
 
Hi Lisa,
Hope you had a great rest day yesterday!
This morning I did LIHI Back/Bis/Shoulders. Still a great workout, but confirmed that I'm ready to mix it up. I did the first 10 mins of the BF 360 athletic stretch (then DD woke). I think I may do a BF 360 day every week in my next rotation.
I think tomorrow I may do plyo HIIT (and skip HIIT LB circuit, just because I've done it so many times and am getting fidgety), then HIIT UB circuit Weds. Thursday (New Year's Day) off, then Friday begin my new rotation.

I've been fussing with the rotation a bit. Here's my latest idea:
Light total body
HIIT
Body Fit
Leg day (LLA/GG/barre-type stuff)
Steady state
Metabolic

I'm really excited to try some of the Live metabolic and cardio/toning lower body workouts.

By the way, I keep thinking about that stoplight toddler bed -- that's really ingenious! Is it still working well? What hours does your daughter sleep at this age? I can't wait till mine starts sleeping a bit later in the morning...
Happy New Week,
Roz
 
Happy Monday, Roz!

Had a great rest day yesterday and started my week with a good workout: LLA, minus the abs. ;) This version of the workout is about 50 mins. I really like many of the moves in this DVD but I do think she takes too many breaks, so I fast forward through those or add some cardio moves while she's talking to get my HR up. I also wish there was about 5 or 10 more mins of leg work, maybe some more floor work, so I tend to pause the DVD and repeat some of the standing compound portions before I stretch at the end.. I think the standing compound and the barre sections in LLA are harder than in GG but I generally like GG better. Sounds like I'm dissing LLA but I'm not. Just giving you a heads up that you might want to add your own finisher to this workout when you do it.

BTW, your rotation looks great. I totally agree that there is NO way I could do 2 weeks of Shock Cardio. I would go bonkers. Although I will say that CCC would be a great HiiT workout to use in your rotation. In terms of the high step workouts, they could probably fit into your light total body day but they do definitely have cardio so are really more circuit workouts. I do love HSC. HSTA is good too, but HSC is my favorite. Another light total body you might consider is Drill Max--IIRC there is a premix of the UB + LB moves (minus the cardio). If you wanted to add a few of the cardio moves to boost your HR you could always do that. Lastly, Jari Love comes to mind for some light total body weight work. I think I remember you telling me that you owned some of her DVDs and were OK with her style?

The stoplight alarm clock IS truly awesome. We call her Tami the Taxi and my DD is so good about staying in bed until the light turns from green (sleep time) to red (awake time). It also helps that she is in LOVE with her big girl bed. She typically sleeps from about 9 or 9:30pm (we put her down late intentionally) to between 8:30am-9:30am. She's NEVER been a good sleeper (only one nap, even as a newborn). She often wakes up in the night singing her favorite songs and having a party in her bedroom, but at least she's still staying in there despite the freedom that the big girl bed offers. Anyway, I highly recommend Tami the Taxi (we got it on Amazon, the girl version, here's the link) when your sweet DD is old enough. :) What is your DD's sleep schedule these days? Is she still waking up early to eat/nurse?

Hope you have a terrific day!

Lisa
 
Whoops, forgot to say that I'm going to be doing one of the 2 UB Cathe Live workouts either Tues or Wed, depending upon when my DH can resolve some home computer issues we've been having. I CANNOT wait!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,
Oh my goodness, the Tami the Taxi is so cute! Totally cracks me up. I will keep that in mind when the time comes for DD to get her own big girl bed -- seems so far away, but I'm sure the time will fly by!
She does sleep through the night (unless teething, sicks, etc.), but is usually up by 5. I would love it if she would sleep until 8:30! Someday -- fingers crossed.

Nice work on LLA, and thanks for the heads up. I will keep that in mind. I'm also hoping to try out some of the Live leg workouts that look like they have a bunch of leg-intensive cardio blasts, too.
I was totally thinking about using Jari Love for the light total body days. I'm kind of waffling, though, as I think I'm going to take a couple weeks off real weight training, and stick with more circuit/weights-that-intensify-cardio. I just can't decide where the JL DVDs fit in there. Thoughts? I think at least I could do one of her cardio-and-weights DVDs for a circuit day.
I definitely want to try CCC. Haven't done Drill Max in a while, but loved it when I did. Thanks for the reminder/suggestions! :)

This morning I did double plyo (plyo 1 then plyo 2), then bonus abs 1. I find the plyo 1 intervals to be more intense, athletic-type (rather than steppy), and shorter. Slight preference for plyo 1, but I really like them both. I actually enjoy doing bonus abs 1 at the end of these workouts, as I need more cooldown time. Also, when you feel like you're up to easing your way into these workouts postpartum, the abs-mixed-in premixes might be great to give you a smidge more recovery between intense intervals.
I do prefer the plyos to the low impact HIITs. They're very challenging, but for me, not undoable. I don't have issues with the burpee variations. On the contrary: I find them easier to coordinate than much of the low impact HIIT moves. But everyone's different, that's just me. Also, the off-the-beat work in the plyos doesn't bother me. There may just be less of it, but I'm also sucking in air loudly and my feet are smacking the floor so I really just hear the music less.

Oh hooray, have fun embarking on your Cathe Live adventure on New Year's Day! Hope the technology gets sorted. (Can't stand that stuff! Luckily DH is better with computers than I am... ;) ). I'm craving a Live fix myself. I think I'll get a good sampling of many I haven't tried in this upcoming rotation!

Are you cooking anything special for New Year's?
Happy final moments of 2014...
Roz
 
Roz,

Wow, your little lady is up at 5am? Yikes. That's one thing I'm not looking forward to about having a newborn again...those sleepless nights or, at the very best, very interrupted sleep! Eek! But, yes, big girl bed time comes before you know it!

I realized I've been recommending premixes to you a lot and I don't think On Demand has premixes available, at least not yet. Sorry about that. I'm just so used to the DVD options...

I think Jari Love's GR 1000 and GER 1000 would fit into your cardio/circuit plan. Other Cathe videos that would fit: LIC; Circuit Blast (shorter, but I do actually like this one); BM2; Boot Camp Original. Those are what come to mind right now. You have soooo many options! :)

Nice workout today! I love the idea of having the core work mixed in between intervals. Definitely gives more recovery time but also just breaks up the monotony of interval+ recovery, repeat repeat repeat. I think I'm going to like the higher impact stuff better, too.

Today I did an oldie from Cardio Hits: Step Works. I used a 6 inch step and repeated the 3rd combo in lieu of the step cool down.

You're going to think I'm so wacky, but we're actually having a turkey for New Year's Day! I don't remember if I told you, but my DH worked on Thanksgiving Day because we wanted him to take off the entire weekend to celebrate our DD's bday. I was still SO sick at that time and didn't feel like cooking anyway, and his company provides a huge Thanksgiving lunch for everyone working on Thanksgiving Day so it was a win-win. Now that I'm feeling better I'm making a belated turkey and using Ina Garten's turkey recipe in our NuWave oven. Yeah, we're weird and we know it! What about you? What's on your menu for that day?

Have a good one! Almost time to start writing 2015, which of course I won't really hammer into my brain until about mid-March. ;)

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,

Nice job on Step Works! I’ve never tried that one before. So many workouts, so little time! :D

Thanks for all your suggestions – that’s fantastic. And no worries about the premix suggestions – I’ll have access to them soon enough with the online workout blender. Definitely can’t wait for that!
I think you’re right about GR 1000 and GER 1000 – I have them both and would enjoy revisiting them. May skip S&L and RTTC for now – those are the other two I have. Oh, also got the original GR as part of a bundle, but never used it. I took a peek at it, and it was definitely a much easier workout. Maybe I’ll use it in pregnancy – I hope!

So here’s my latest (and I think final) thought on my upcoming rotation: there’s so much overlap between the categories I’ve listed as if they were discrete entities. So instead of being like the toddler who’s freaked out because the food groups are overlapping on his food tray (Eek! There’s cardio in my legs! There’s HIIT in my metabolic!), I’m just going to do what I feel like for a couple weeks with a focus on cardio (both steady state and HIIT) and toning/conditioning. Like, all the stuff I mention in the rotation above, but just without the worry about which workout goes on which day. So much of the stuff I haven’t tried but want to is that in-between stuff that’s often hard to fit in a strength-with-some-cardio rotation.
If you see me veering off in some direction or other during the rotation, feel free to say, ahem, Roz, you’ve done seven days of step in a row! ;)

Today was my last RWH day for a while! Woo! I did UB circuit and heavied up on many exercises again. Definitely love this one, but a number of the cardio moves are also in the plyo HIIT DVDs, so I might not do these two on consecutive days again, boredom-wise. No big deal, though. I concluded with bonus abs 2 (a tad more traditional than bonus abs 1 – no weights, and it’s all seated). I almost prefer this one. But I love the variety between the two.
In a word, I love RWH, but I’m looking forward to mixing it up.

I don’t think it’s weird that you’re having Turkey on New Year’s Day! (or Eve?) Do what you want! :D
I’m leaning towards Hoppin’ Jean and rice. Maybe some cornbread in there. Gotta get that good luck (for a little bean in 2015) while we can! ;)

Tomorrow’s my rest day, so I’ll be back on Jan 2.
‘See’ you in 2015!
Hugs,
Roz
 
Roz,

Ohmygosh, I can totally see myself doing 7 days of step in a row! I love it so much. I will keep you in check, don't you worry. ;) Your intuition and body awareness is so keen I'm sure you'll just naturally balance things out. Yes, definitely Jari Love was my go-to at the end of pregnancy. I think most of my strength/toning during the last 10 weeks of my first pregnancy were S&L, RTTC, and Cathe's SS and PP. I did a few other things here and there, but those were the meat and potatoes of it.

We both did UB today! I did my very first Cathe Live and I'm in *love*. I did the UB Sculpting from 7/3/14. I was really feeling it, especially the chest work. Cathe's just so superior in the group fitness setting, and I love the connection she clearly has with her class members. I'm thinking I'll do some Cathe Live cardio tomorrow or sometime before the week is over. Not sure what the holiday will bring in terms of time. Oh, and forgot to mention that my DD is sick so let's just say that last night was unpleasant. I'm keeping it G-rated but there are so many other more vivid words that would have described our sleep (or lack thereof) so much better. Yikes!

I can just smell the cornbread from your oven...I adore the stuff. I prefer it sweet, no surprises there. What about you, are you a sweet or savory cornbread gal? My favorite is this recipe for honey cornbread muffins.

As we slice into our turkey tomorrow I will be wishing for a baby dust tornado to hit your house during 2015. :)

Hugs and see you either tomorrow or whenever we both get back to it.

Lisa
 
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