Shrinking Violets Check-in for March 14-17, 2007

[BelovedHeather]

Good evening, Violets! We are halfway through March now. Let’s kick some butt during the second half of this month. :7

This was a better day than yesterday. My body is slowly acclimating to the time change. After my quiet time this morning, I did the second Gym Style Legs timesaver premix. I was running a few minutes late and needed to save time. This gave me a taste of the whole workout. The standing leg work is my favorite part. Even though I am not a big fan of floor work, I enjoyed the exercises with the band. I love the pretty peach tops Cathe and the girls are wearing. That is one of my favorite colors. Next week, I may do the standing work and floor work on different days. I missed the slow-count lunges and the calf work by doing this premix. I missed the deadlifts too now that I think about it. I did this workout a few times last year, and I am writing this on memory. I just know that the standing work in this premix is too short for my taste. When time is an issue, I would be better off to save the floor work for another day.

The upper body workouts are new to me. I am planning to try the timesaver premixes for both of them in the morning just to get a feel for them. I need to take a peek at them before bedtime tonight so I can get ready.

I bounced on my rebounder tonight. I was hoping to do some intense cardio but did not have enough time or energy. This month is not going according to plan, but I am staying on track by sticking with my rotation as closely as possible while listening to my body and making adjustments as needed. I have been cheese and chocolate free for a month now with no visible difference in my body. In my experience, eating super clean is not necessary. Moderately clean plus portion control is good enough. Moderation, variety, and balance are keys for me (as well as avoiding anything that causes an allergic reaction).

Mom called me during my lunch hour to let me know that my brother and sister-in-love are expecting a new baby in November. I am so excited! :7 I will have another niece or nephew to love on Thanksgiving! My niece is walking now and growing up way too fast. I am so happy to have another baby on the way.

I made it to bed by midnight last night, and I am on track to be in bed much earlier tonight. My counselor cancelled our Friday night session due to a family emergency, and I am actually glad. I need rest more than I need counseling this week!

Hugs to Jean, Kali, Kim, Maeghan, and Wendy! :*

Blessings,
Heather B.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).

 

[Fit_mommy]

Good Morning!

Heather, Congrats on the new niece or nephew! That's fabulous news!

I have CST/ARX and yoga on tap for today. My legs are talkin' to me a little bit due to BBC y'day. I wonder how loud they will get? LOL

Hope everyone has a great day...I'll be back later on!

 

[megadoo]

Hi ladies! Wendy, I am with you on the DOMS! Mine have gotten increasingly louder thruought the day. My biceps and chest. I am thinking of going in the living room and doing some yoga with the kids crawling around. I know, not very relaxing, but my body could use it. I need cardio, but that will have to wait till later.


Maeghan AKA megadoo


Added pics to NYC GTG and Christmas Albums 3/6/07




http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=megadoo2&x=15&y=7

 

[Fit_mommy]

Meg,

I got HSTA in the mail today. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[BelovedHeather]

Shrinking Violets Check-in

WARNING! I have severe PMS. Read this at your own risk!

Now that I have issued that disclaimer, let me just share that this was so not a good day. Either I have the worst case of PMS in the history of womankind, or I woke up on the wrong side of the futon. (I have not slept in my bed in years in case you are wondering. Do not ask. Just do not even thinking about asking.) I had a whole series of evil thoughts and not Sunday school words swirling through my mind, and I decided before 8:00 a.m. that I was not feeling the Cathe love anymore. It was downhill from there. What did Cathe do to me? So glad you asked! She made me do endless push-ups for starters. And that was just the warm-up of the first timesaver premix! Here is my review of the Gym Style upper body workouts. I do not like them at all! I did both upper body timesaver premixes this morning and decided halfway through the first one that I would rather give up my washing machine and beat my undies against a rock in the river than finish the workout. Yes, my first experience with these workouts was that bad. They are way too hardcore for me and so not my cup of tea. Why oh why did I order these? I previewed a friend’s DVDs and did not bond with them. I talked myself into acquiring these because I kept reading about the benefits of weight training and decided to discipline myself to do them. They are great workouts. I am sure that they are very effective too. I have no doubt about that. But there is no fun factor at all (other than the band work). I have to admit that the band work is creative and stellar! Maybe I can find a way to incorporate those exercises into the Muscle Max upper body premix because I love Muscle Max. I am not a fan of weight training in general. I am a cardio lover and circuit training queen. I need my cardio fix. I have not done a cardio workout since Tuesday, so I am having cardio withdrawals on top of extreme PMS. Did I mention that I may hurt someone if my cycle does not start in the next 24 hours?! If you are on praying terms with God, I could use some prayer! I really need to give these workouts another whirl when I am hormonally balanced and relatively sane and not exhausted beyond description as a result of the time change and getting to bed too late every night this week.

Cathe was not herself when she filmed these workouts. The whole crew looks tired and sad. The music does not rock my world either. I prefer the Muscle Max music. The rest of the Hardcore Series has great music. I rely on Cathe’s energy and enthusiasm to motivate me for upper body weight training workouts. Her demeanor in these workouts is way too serious for my taste. She is a little more serious than usual in all the Hardcore Series workouts, but this is different. There is something about these workouts that I feel in my spirit. Just previewing them depresses me to the point of tears, and doing them makes me want to spit nails at someone. I literally cried on the way to work because I felt so heavy in my spirit. Has my cycle started yet?!

Oh, I forgot to do my Bible study this morning. That just dawned on me. No wonder I had such a bad day! After a stressful day at work, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things. Whole wheat angel hair pasta and a loaf of organic garlic bread jumped into my basket. That is another thing I hate about weight training. It makes me ravenously hungry. I was hungry enough to eat a horse’s butt tonight, and I am not a big meat eater. I was on the verge of passing out from hunger and fatigue by the time I walked through the front door. I was so tired after a stressful day at work, and my hormones were raging out of control. Chocolate and cheddar cheese are natural antidepressants, but I am still fasting those. I ate a small plate of pasta and a chunk of organic garlic bread before I knew what hit me. Then I had to do an unplanned load of laundry because I got pasta sauce all over my favorite pair of pink underwear. Again, do not ask! When you are single and having a hormonal crisis, getting dressed for dinner is not as important as getting a carb fix! The carbs from the pasta and bread calmed me down, and I crashed in the living room and took an unplanned nap. I woke up feeling very bloated, drugged, and lethargic. Whole wheat pasta is clean enough. The garlic bread is most likely the culprit because my body is not accustomed to white flour.

I did not totally backslide today. Even in the midst of the hormonal hurricane that hit this morning, I did not throw my weights at Cathe or toss my Gym Style DVDs out the window like frisbees. I am so grateful for that little demonstration of self-control! I also finished the premixes instead of giving up my washing machine. I am so glad because I was too tired to go down to the river and beat my undies against a rock tonight! The good thing about today is that it is almost over, and tomorrow is Friday! I need to go drink some water and start flushing out this PMS bloat so I can fit in my pants tomorrow morning! See you tomorrow! I am off to bounce on my rebounder for a few minutes before bedtime.

Blessings,
Heather B.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).

 

[megadoo]

RE: Shrinking Violets Check-in

Heather- I enjoyed every last word of that post! LOL!! I am sorry you had such a rotten day, but your description of it made me laugh LOL!! (((HUGS)))

I don't know what I am doing today. Surely will snowed in later though. Nice. Not.

WEndy- glad you got it back in one piece!


Maeghan AKA megadoo


Added pics to NYC GTG and Christmas Albums 3/6/07




http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=megadoo2&x=15&y=7

 

[dreamyjeanie]

RE: Shrinking Violets Check-in

Godd morning to everyone and I mean everyone. Heather that includes you. Hope today is 100% better for you.

I don't think I posted yesterday so I'll recap it today. Yesterday was 50 min jog with 10 min. walk. Last night we had dinner with DD and her boyfriend at the Cheesecake factory. I did good and ordered a cobb salad with no dressing. It was one of the worst salad's I've eaten. I barely touched it. I did try a couple bites of DD's strawberry shortcake and was not impressed. It may be that I am just sweeted out. I've had sweets around me since Monday so maybe that's it. Since my birthday and her birthday are back to back it makes for a long week when you have little self control with sweets. I did better than ususally and even threw out the left over cake. As for the Cheesecake Factory, terrible service overall. DH had asked them to sing Happy Birthday to DD, but they apparently forgot. Now mind you, on our table is a gift bag with Happy Birthday balloons floating in the air, and yet they can't figure out that's one of the table to sing to. (They sang to other tables). As I notice my tone changing, I think I'm joining Heather on the PMS rant. Anyway, I think DD had a good time and it was nice to visit with her and her boyfriend.

Today I got up and Cardio & Weights. Feeling good.


Heather, GS are toughies. Try it again later when you are in a better frame of mind.

Wendy, keep up the great work out. You're almost done with X aren't you? Then what?

Maeghan, hope you don't get snowed in. Spring is right around the corner (I hope).

Hi to Kali and Kim.


Jean

 

[Fit_mommy]

RE: Shrinking Violets Check-in

Hi Everyone.

Well ladies, I fell apart today work out wise...I've only done BBC's non-TM cardio of Shoulders and Back and have no motivation to do anything else. x(

I am hoping for a better day tomorrow. I need to work legs and abs and would like to get a run in as well!

Jean, Yes, I have 3 more weeks of the X and then it's on to a Barry's BootCamp rotation for a month. }(

 

[BelovedHeather]

Shrinking Violets Check-in

Good morning! Rise and shine! :7 This is my Cathe anniversary! :7 I have been a member here for a year today! :7 Thanks for sharing the journey with me and laughing with me and crying with me and giving me so much love and support. :*

I am feeling better this morning. I still have PMS, but I am not as emotional this morning. I went to bed early last night and woke up at 3:00 a.m. this morning.

Yesterday was an active recovery day. I enjoyed Stretch Max yesterday morning and bounced on my rebounder last night. I am planning to do Kick Max or one of the premixes this morning, which will wrap up 3 weeks of the Hardcore Series. I was planning to do another week of the Gym Styles. In light of my experience Thursday, it is time to move on to something else. I am declaring a fun week! :7 If I ever like the Gym Styles, it will be when I am close enough to my goal weight to see visible results. At this point in my journey, I just want to have fun and burn fat! :7

Shoe shopping is on the agenda for today. :7 Yes, shoe shopping. No, not workout shoes. I am not that crazy. :7 I need shoes for work. My feet have been killing me all week.

I am hoping that I can keep my eating under control this weekend. I have been eating whole wheat pasta like it is going out of style. Start cycle, start!

Maeghan, I am glad you appreciate my humorous writing style! I laugh to keep from crying sometimes. ;-)

Hugs to Jean, Kali, Kim, and Wendy.

Blessings,
Heather B.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).

 

[Fit_mommy]

RE: Shrinking Violets Check-in

Glad you are feeling better Heather and congrats on the 1 year anniv. How exciting!!!!:+ :7 :+ Sorry you did not like the GS series but don't beat yourself up over it. Every work out is not for everybody and perhaps you are right...down the line it may be more your speed. For now, put it away and do what makes you happy. It'll be there when you need it!

Well, in an effort to squeeze a bunch of missed work outs into one day's time my work out was a bit outside of the X "box" today. I needed to cover Legs and Back, cardio and abs. To do the actual work out Legs and Back AND cardio AND abs would have taken a good 2 hours so I nixxed it and did this instead....

At the gym I worked all of the leg machines plus the assisted chin up machine and knocked out legs and back in 30 mins or less. I then hopped on a TM and did a 25 min run with my buddy Grace from Itrain. When I got home I knocked out ARX with Tony. All in all in took me about 1 hr and 15 mins and it all got done! I'm very happy after my less then adequate work out y'day...

Tomorrow I have yoga on tap. I am giving up my full rest day in order to fit it in and then week 10 of the X will be complete. YEAY!

Have a great afternoon ladies!

 

[BelovedHeather]

Shrinking Violets Check-in

This was a great day. My cycle still has not started, but I have been in a delightful state of mind all day. After my quiet time this morning, I did the Kick Max boot camp challenge premix followed by the first segment of Core Max.

I had a nice phone conversation with my father this afternoon. I am still hoping to meet him someday, and he is still promising to make that a reality.

I took a long nap then went shopping this afternoon. My feet were crying after walking around in the mall. Thankfully, I found a new pair of shoes that are cute and comfortable. They were on sale too, and I got the last pair in my size. After searching through every shoe display in the place, I was praying that God would provide for me. He did! I am so excited about my shoe find because cute, comfortable, and cheap is a hard combination to find. Now if my cycle would start.

I have been eating intuitively all day and delighting in the freedom. I enjoyed whole wheat angel hair pasta for breakfast and treated myself to a kiddie cup of golden vanilla frozen yogurt with caramel and almonds tonight. :9 Yummy! It was a tiny portion, but it satisfied my PMS cravings. I ate a small cup of Kozy Shack butterscotch pudding later tonight. :9 I am craving sweet dairy products this week.

The worship service was so powerful tonight. I cried a river of tears. Of course, it does not take much to move me to tears this week. My pastor’s message on perfectionism really spoke to me. Perfectionism is the enemy of living. I was convicted that I need to relax and start enjoying the journey again. It dawned on me that I was seeing better results in January when I was having fun with my favorite Cathe workouts and eating more intuitively. I have cleaned up my eating a little too much, and I need to bring this area of my life back into balance. I completed the 11th consecutive week of all-Cathe workouts, so I am not surprised that I am so tired. I have historically been able to stick with Cathe exclusively for 6-8 weeks without a break. I am planning to wrap up my 12-week rotation next week with my favorite fun Cathe workouts like Rhythmic Step, Supersets, and Step, Jump, & Pump. I just want to have fun for a week and enjoy less intense workouts. I am planning to do a TLT and FIRM week after that.

It has been a whole week since the time changed. Hopefully, my body has finally adjusted. I am looking forward to a restful Sunday. I am off to bounce on my rebounder and start winding down for the night.

Wendy, thank you for the encouragement. What a workout today!

Blessings,
Heather B.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).