We're In This Together (April 2013)

[cokonkel]

Whew, busy couple of days! Thursday night we had Lydia's kindergarten music program, Friday night was Dylan's karate belt testing (he's now a green belt ) and yesterday was the typical weekend flurry of activities. I also took Lydia and we went to get our nails done! I had a pedi and Lydia got a mani-pedi. It was so cute!

I woke up this morning to find it is SNOWING AGAIN!!! These snowflakes are HUGE!

Friday was my rest day and then yesterday I did All Out Low Impact Hiit (extreme cardio premix) + November 101 HC. I can't decide what today will be...maybe Crossfire? I am so crazy addicted to CF and TTM!

This week with the fitbit has been a bit frustrating. I can't believe how much harder it is to get 10,000 steps in than I thought! I really underestimated my overall activity. Even on the days when I worked out, and even though I was going out of my way to get up from my desk and walk around I still struggled to get more than 8000 steps on most days. On Friday I only got a little over 6000! I suspect I didn't average more than 5000-7000 normally before I got this little bugger. I brought some Leslie dvds to work with me to sneak some steps in between patients!

Sarah- Hehe...on my creative descriptions of my co-worker...if I'm gonna curse on the internet I usually add in a "pardon my French" but that day I, er...forgot to . LOL Good job on your workout combo! Hmm, maybe I'll dig out STS Hiit today instead....
I do like Zuzana a lot. In fact, I recently got a blue ray player for the bedroom so I can stream youtube (as well as Pandora and Netflix ). I'm thinking about getting her Power Yoga dvd that just came out, however I'm not sure I'll do it now that I'm in love with Travis Eliot.

Marie- Speaking of Travis, I'm so glad you are loving UY! It just blows all other yoga dvds out of the water, doesn't it? So sorry about the lack of sleep the other night. I ask myself all the time why we live in Wisconsin. Isn't this snow ridiculous?

Natty- I'm so glad you are loving the BB Cardio stuff! I know you were a little leery considering there was some plank variations. That is so awesome about the back DOMS! I LOVE when I get those! It's so hard to hit the back, especially the upper back. So cute about you and Bella working out together. Lydia joins me whenever Cathe does "scoot scoot DIG!" which happens to show up in AOLH as well as CF. Did I tell you another lady on my VF check in recently decided to do a Body Beast rotation with her brother? I may have to cave and get it at some point, although right now I'm enjoying my new HC's (just joined her club so I got a whole bunch of new ones!). Once I feel like doing an STS-like rotation again I may just have to finally get it!

Jen- Any new developments in the job hunt quest? How are things settling in with your new digs?

Okay gotta get up here and do something useful. TTYL girls!

 

[mfv3]

UY Strength this morning. I forgot how ahrd that one in. I'll be getting shoulder DOMS from that tomorrow for sure

At work now taking a pumping break. TMI

Colleen- Sounds like a great couple of days. How fun that you got your toes done with Lydia. Yup----snowing again?! Totallly agree with why do we live in this area lol?! I've said it before and I'll say it again....I'm ready for summer! Yes soooo in love with Travis. I just feel so great after his workouts and actually feel like I got a workout in. Of course I've only done CT, Cardio and Strength but those are good for a sweat. Yin, not so much---I'm determined to get into that one. I'm thinking Detox or Flexibility tomorrow

Sarah- Way to rock out that hard workout! Major DOMS on the way If you like the broccoli stem I bet you would like this. I went to a party awhile back and on the veggie tray she had peeled and sliced the stem of fresh broccoli. It was pretty tasty.

Hi Natty and Jen!

 

[cokonkel]

Marie- I LOOOVE Detox! It is definitely a favorite! Flexibility is good, too but Detox is wonderful. Lots of twisting moves, so it always feel so good on my low back.

 

[mfv3]

Colleen- Detox tomorrow it is

 

[mfv3]

Marie - B is sooooo cute. Makes me miss having a little one to cuddle. Does he like sitting in his Boppy? How did the sweet potatoes go?

He does real well with the boppy. He still doesn't have all his balance when sitting so it helps a lot. The sweet potatoes went great. We actually gave him yams. I can never tell the difference. The first day we gave them to him warm and he didn't really seem to like them...could have been the new texture too. The past 2 days we did them cold and he did really well. He would have kept chowing but I stopped him cuz I didn't want to give him too much.

 

[mini-natty]

Hope you all had some nice enjoyable weather this w/e. It's been so nice here, so hopefully no more snow. Watch, I probably just jinxed myself .

Yesterday Bella and I went for a nice walk around the neighborhood. It was damp out, so we didn't end up going to the park. My w/o was BB Build Legs (evil, evil, evil). My w/o on Sat was BB Build Shoulder's (the best shoulder routine I have ever done). I have always wanted nice, round, shapely shoulder's, so I think I really do need an entire w/o that focuses on them. Here's hoping Sagi pulls through for me .

BTW, I was reading on the Body Beast forum (lol, I don't plan on becoming a member there ) and there is this one thread called Advice For Women. There are many women that have had amazing results from this program. One lady, 47yrs old, got amazing results after initially being skeptical of the limited cardio. Check it out!:
Team Beachbody - Advise for women doing Beast - Connect: Message Boards
I'm also seeing results already. Weight training rocks!

Can you believe I have had a few people PM about BB saying how much they loved the program. I guess they read on the thread I posed on OD about Shaun T's new workouts coming out.

Colleen
I meant to tell you that I found Barefoot Cardio on youtube! The entire w/o! Yesterday Bella and I did about 20min of it before I had to put her to bed. It was SO nice . I am going to do the whole thing sometime this week.
How cool that you and Lydia got a mani-pedi together! Bella loves nailpolish too.
Don't fret about the steps. I know for me, it's hard to get in 10,000 during the winter. In the summer it's so much easier because I just want to be outdoors all the time. When you are not working, do you tend to take the car short distances (like to the corner store)? I have got into the habit that I will never do that. I walk pretty much everywhere, even if it's 30min away. To me, steps are an important part of my life, more so than cardio or strength training. You will get the hang of it...trust me!

Marie
What is a boppy?
Proud of you for getting in your yoga w/o's! OMG I have been very neglectful of my stretching lately . I know it's important, and yet I somehow manage to convince myself I don't need to do it. I'm gonna follow suit and try to get some Yoga in .
You have the Magic Bullet?! That's so cool! Is it easy to puree the food?
Don't stress about B not liking certain foods. There are gonna be some that he loves and some that he hates (I love those disgusted faces). I remember Bella absolutely HATING the junior foods with pieces! That's when I started to ween her off jar food and starting giving her homemade pasta w/meat sauce, eggs, stuff like that.

Have a great day ladies!

 

[mini-natty]

Ok guys. So I was perusing youtube for exercise vids , and I found some great quality, full length Beach Body Insanity w/o's. Apparently, Pure Cardio is supposed to be extremely hard. I was looking at it, and holy crap I think I can def do it! Not as crazy high impact as I thought it would be . I mean, ya it's plyo and drills, but Cathe's Tabatacise is like that too. Hmmm...I might have to test that sucker out during my day off .

Here is the link BTW:Fitness(insanity) workout day 5 PURE CARDIO - YouTube

Sarah, I know you mentioned wanting Insanity. TBH, it does not look that rough! GET IT

 

[mom2kttj]

Nat Thanks, I already had to check it out. Super awesome. I have so many workouts calling my name in different directions. Just not enough time and energy to be able to do them all. I'm very excited to hear about your results when the bb three months is over. I'm glad to hear your weather is nice. The older I get, I think the more the weather might impact my energy level. It is a beautiful day here too. On Wednesday it is suppose to be 76 degrees. That's almost warm enough for me to wear shorts (otherwise I'm always cold).

Colleen - your weekend was busy. Sorry about our snow : ( I love snow but I know it probably gets old for you. I loved getting pedis' with the girls even though they aren't girly that was one thing they did enjoy.

Marie - did you end up having shoulder DOMS from UY? I actually didnt have DOMS from Saturdays hiit and b and g. Go figure???

Jen - Getting everything in it place? How was that burger on Texas Toast?

My rest day was lovely and I didn't even go for a walk. I was just to tired. I feel great and look good. My core is tighter now than it has ever been (still a pooch and jello skin but good) I haven't gotten on the scale since the last blow out I had with it. Even better, I really feel like I don't want to anymore. Todays WO was suppose to be just Legs and Glutes but I really wanted to do a little KPC also so I did about 35 minutes of KPC then legs and glutes. I feel tired in a good way.
Getting excited to see what month 2 of the Get Ready For Summer Rotation brings next week.

Sarah

 

[JT]

Hello Friends.

Life is slowly getting to be a new normal.

Sarah. Glad you enjoyed your rest day. Your body needs it. KPC is great. Kudos to you on feeling great and looking good.

Colleen. Sounds like your weekend was crazy busy. Congrats to Dylan on his greenbelt. Fun to see music programs by little kids. The snow machine doesn't quit.

Marie. Love seeing pics of B on FB. He's getting so big and he's so adorable. Great smile.

Natty. Congrats on seeing results. Don't jinx your weather. Nice to go for walks.

Update:
After being ill for most of the weekend, I am now unpacking. Opening up a claim cause one of my IKEA chairs is ruined. Thought it was dust but looks like a blanket full of oil covered it. They blamed my stuff but where I had food, no box damage.
The burger from the cafe was great. Very few McDonalds, Burger Kings or Wendys here in my area. It's mainly southern, western or Texas franchises. Hoping to have most of my unpacking done by Friday night. Some classmates whom I grew up with in Detroit. We all are hanging out all day Saturday. They are showing me around although they live in Little Rock AR.
On the job front. Cause I collect MI unemployment, I have to go to Texas unemployment. I asked the counselor on what is the average length of unemployment here in TX? She told me it depends on the person. Persistency does pay off. Follow up and stay in contact. Yes, she agrees MI is SO much worse than TX. Praying that GOD leads me the way to my new employer too. Job hunt and pray.
My master bedroom is my office and workout room. Two walk-ins for cat litter boxes and storage. Hope to start working out again next week. Job fair in week and half at the Texas Speedway. Kinda cool. Plan to go to Arlington on Thursday for another job fair.
Grand Rapids, my former residence, is under water. If you watch GMA on ABC, it was on the news today. This rain is slowing up my house to get ready for renters. Although, they wouldn't be able to get there. Do I miss GR? No. I miss my friends but not the "higher than thou" attitude. There is a strong Texas pride here but not like GR. Will I ever move back? Doubt it strongly. Felt comfortable here. Many helpful and kind people. A few acquintances here thru network events but making friends takes time.
Hope to post more often since my pc is up and running now.

 

[cokonkel]

Hola Chica's!

Today my workout was Crossfire (premix plyo tabata + firewalker tabata minus c/d) and then Gym Style legs (standing only minus calf work and c/d) and 100 rep hip thrust with 50 lb barbell. The hip thrusts were killer today for some reason. Normally I can get to 50 reps before I have to take a break but today I had to rest at 30 reps and then every 15 reps after until I finally got to 100!

I had an extra long lunch today so I left the office and went home for a bit. I did about 30 minutes of yoga like stretches (kind of following Yin Yoga but mostly doing my own thing, varying the length of time and throwing in different stretches here and there). It felt so good, I almost felt like I was on some really mellow drugs when I got back to work! LOL

Jen- I'm so sorry you were sick! I bet all the stress from moving and getting settled got the best of you, there. I'm glad you feeling better anyway. Good luck with the upcoming job fair's!

Sarah- You're results from the Cathe rotation made me look it up. It looks awesome! I wish there was some way I could do a formal rotation like that while still doing HC and yoga. I'm so bad about sticking to rotations!

Natty- Thanks for the link on the Insanity workout! I totally think I want to get his new one coming out in June...T25 or something it's called? I saw your thread on OD about it and checked out the clip. Sean T sure is a cutie . How awesome that you found Barefoot Cardio!! I haven't done Ellen in so long...see what I mean??? I just don't have the time to do everything I love! I swear, if I could swing it I'd totally workout twice a day. Not that I would do high intensity that often...but it would be so nice to be able to throw in more yoga and Ellen without sacrificing a whole workout day!

Marie- Speaking of Yoga, have you tried UY: Balance yet? I did about 40 minutes of it last night, but had to quit early since Lydia and Mark kept coming into the bedroom to distract me. I just love that one, but it does require lots of focus! lol How did Detox go? They are just phenomenal workouts. Like you said, ZERO dread factor.

Okay girls, gotta scoot. TTYL!

 

[mini-natty]

Hello ladies

Yesterday's w/o was BB Tempo Chest & Tri's (50min). This w/o is similar to Cathe's S&H series. One word: FIRE . So here is the low down: you start off with 15R with a 6 count up/6 count down, then 12R with a 3 count up/6 count down, 8R with a 3 count up/3 count down. I could literally see my chest and tri muscles quivering! Best feeling! Once you are done each group of exercises, you proceed to AB WORK . For example, once you have finished all your chest presses (as if your arms and chest are not burning enough), you have to finish off with spider mountain climber's . Most of the ab exercise are plank related, which is really hard after your chest & tri's are so fatigued. While finishing the last group, during the oblique plank twists, I literally dropped to the ground in sheer exhaustion. One of THE BEST w/o's I have ever done.

I took a rest day today. I am just too darn sore! I did however spend about 1 1/2hrs outside walking, and at the park.

Colleen
I forgot to say congrats on Dylan's green belt! You must have been the proud mamma .
OMG I think I really want Focus T25 too! Shaun T is awesome .

Jen
I'm so sorry to hear that you got sick .
I'm glad to hear that you like TX so much. I think you made the best decision for YOU.

Sarah
Your post made me smile . Your positive attitude made me so happy. I think one of the most important things in life is self-love and acceptance.
Which rotation are you doing BTW?

 

[mom2kttj]

Today's WO was a leisurely 3 mile walk this morning because it was beautiful, but cold. Then I did Burn Sets Bi and tri. Then grocery shopping, Yuck! I'm going to try and make scallops. I've never had them and When I watch cooking shows everybody over cooks them so we will see if I can do them any justice. I also got some kale to make chips with. Again, we will see. I feeling very hungry right now. Hopefully I can push through until dinner since I just had a snack.

Sarah

 

[mfv3]

CSS plus the step bonus for me this morning. B watched me in his exersaucer and ended up falling asleep. It was so cute! I'll post a pic.

Lunch date with my dad and stepmom.

Then to MOA...aka....Mall of America...to walk 4 laps...takes about an hour.

B has been doing better with the yams. Tomorrow we are going to try squash. He has his 6 month appt at 2:30. I'm hoping some of the wet goes away outside so we can walk there and then to the grocery store. I'm with you Natty.....LOVE walking! I always walk to Target when it's nice out....takes about 30 minutes. Love my vitamin D

I ended up working a double yesterday. I didn't really want to of course but they have been offering bonuses for picking up extra shifts and with the overtime it was worth it. I almost said no though cuz I really hate being away from B that long. It was a 16.5 hr shift. T was off so I had him bring B in so at least I got to spend my break with him but I really do hate being away from him. I just miss him so much I almost want to cry.

Colleen- Detox yesterday was awesome! My back felt amazing afterwards. I'll have to try Balance next and I'm really wanting to try Flexibility. I just can't get enough. I hope Travis comes out with a UY2. I would buy it within a second! That had to be such a nice lunch break you had today.

Sarah- Nice Job on your walk and Burn Sets today. Hope the scallops turned out. What temp and how long do you bake the kale? I need to try those. I have apple chips in the oven right now. They smell so good. Shoulder DOMS from UY? Yup sure did Strength is not easy! So obsessed. I just love it!!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=bop...Q&biw=1024&bih=672&sei=XVl3UbjYO8S6iwLroYCQBA

Natty- You are working those BB workouts. WTG! So happy you're loving them and seeing results already! That's awesome that they have that Pure Cardio workout on YouTube. I have Insanity. I haven't done the whole thing in its entirety. I think it's too much high impact. Pure Cardio is good but Cathe has some way harder workouts A boppy is the semi-circular pillow B is sitting in for his 6 month pictures. It's great for breastfeeding when they're tiny and nice for tummy time and sitting when they're older. The magic bullet is great to purée the food. We used to try and make smoothies in it but you had to add a ton of liquid which wasn't good. Too much water and you have no flavor. Too much yogurt and you have too much sugar. Great for baby food though.

Jen- Sorry to hear you were sick. Glad TX is feeling like home.

 

[mfv3]

So sweet!

 

[mini-natty]

Sarah
Scallops are easy to over cook . Make sure your pan w/ oil is hot but not too hot before adding the scallops or else they WILL burn (have you seen Hell's Kitchen?). A delicate science those little guys are! Make them right and they will literally met in your mouth. Overcook them and they become rubbery crap . Seafood is my fav! Good luck!

Marie
Ohhh, the pillow is the Boppy! Silly me . Ok then, I had a boppy too. I've attached some pics of Bella in one. Also, remember I was talking about those cute little disgusted faces? I have a funny pic for you!

 

[mom2kttj]

I'm hesitating on Tabatasize. I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll be back to post, it not youll know I'm lying in a puddle of vomit and sweat in the middle of my floor mumbling bad things to Cathe.


Sarah

 

[cokonkel]

I have today off of work and am at home right now getting some wicked cleaning done. Ahhh, it feels SO good to have a clean house! I cringe at how quickly I know it's going to go to pot once Mark and the kids are home, though.

I haven't gotten my workout in yet but I put XTrain Bi's and Tri's in the dvd player hours ago. I'm planning on doing that and one of the new HC's I got. I got so distracted by cleaning, though, that the home menu just kept playing over and over and now I think the dvd player went to sleep. lol I got hungry and now I'm eating lunch while checking in quick.

Sarah- You can do it! Tabatacise is tough, but not her toughest I'd say. If you can do Crossfire and To the Max you can do this one! Did you get the package yet?

Natty- I burst out laughing at Bella's "disgusted face" LOL She is and was ADORABLE!

Marie- Have fun on your lunch date with dad and stepmom! I wish I had a Fitbit when I worked at the LensCrafters in the Mall of America. What a great way to get steps in!


Hi Jen!!

TTYL!

 

[mom2kttj]

I did it! Boy, I had built that thing up in my head way worse than it was.

Colleen - I picked it up from the post this morning. I'm excited I should have time to play today and tomorrow, thanks. I can't fathom doing thrusts with 50lbs. Holy rock hard tush. Your hubby must happy ; ) I love a clean house it frees up my mind. Right now it it trashed, big time. Usually I clean over Wednesday , Thursday, Friday. Then by Friday night it looks like it wast clean to begin with : ( I gotten way better about not being super worried about it. When the kids were little I cleaned the house everyday. I was super uptight about it. Right now my kitchen floor is sticky because I spilled grapefruit juice on it and I'm like oh well tomorrow is the day I clean the kitchen floor. I wiped it up but not enough, lol.

Marie - I really do feel like you are taking the time and enjoying this moment with b. good for you, he is so cute, and they grow so fast. I got all teary eyed on Saturday because I was talking with the kids regarding family nights. I realized that we probably only have about 6 years left before the kids will have jobs/friends and we won't have those fun nights together watching survivor. 16.5 hour shift, wow. Those days seem like forever ago to me. Super nice of your hubby to bring b on your break too.

Nat - Too funny, Hell's Kitchen is the reason why I wanted to try and cook them.
They were good, I got the pan super hot and seared the first side for 2 minutes then put a pat of butter in flipped them and basted them with the browned butter for another minute. They were sweet and tender. I would like to try fresh scallops and see if the texture is different. To me the texture/taste was like a really mild clam. The only scallops I have found are the ones that have been soaked in tsp then frozen. So my recipe said to soak them in water and lemon first. Okay your are totally making me want to do a bb rotation. Bella pictures are so cute.

The recipe I used for the kale chips was from Foodtv Melissa de'arabian. They were good, not like potato chips though. I prefer to use convection which my oven doesn't go below 300 with it so I set it 300 and just kept a close eye on it. I sprinkle sesame seeds all over them too. I was super hungry yesterday and just couldn't get enough food. I was too naughty, the worst thing I ate was about 15 potato chips. For me, that's a huge break through.

Jen - I'm glad your settling into your new normal. I hope you have fun on Saturday!

Sarah

 

[mini-natty]

Hello ladies

Yesterday's w/o was Tempo Back & Bi's (same concept as Tempo Chest & Tri's). Nothing much to say except I was burning and sweating the entire time. Good stuff!

So, my goal was not to lose weight with this program. I have no clue as to how much I weigh, but I can just tell that I have lost weight (my breasts get smaller, my ribs are slightly more visible, my pants are looser, little clues like that). I really do hope I lost body fat and not just water weight or muscles . I know, boo hoo for me I got problems right? I'm just hoping by the end of the program I gain muscle mass. Perhaps I need to eat a little more -- I honestly thought I was eating enough . SO I guess it is possible to lose weight without doing so much cardio just as long as your diet consists of mostly clean foods and you don't eat more than you burn. OTOH these w/o's ARE pretty intense.

Sarah
I knew you could do Tabatacise no problem! Spinning seems so much harder, and you are able to do that like a champ .
Glad to hear the scallops turned out well! I have had fresh scallops and YES they taste so much better . Do you have a fish market near you?
About the hunger, have you ever eaten a huge egg white omelet with veggies to fill the hunger? With BB, I'm learning that if I'm hungry, I need to eat or I become an angry food monster . The trick is to eat the right foods that will provide your muscles with fuel it needs to grow. IMO, you can never go wrong with protein and veggies .

Colleen
I love me a clean house. Unfortunately Bella is SO friggin' messy! I might as well share my house with farm animals sometimes .
You'll be happy to hear that I've made peace w/planks and plank related exercises. I've been doing so much of them lately .

Marie
Sorry to hear about the double shift . It was so nice of Tony to bring B in so you could see him .
How did the 6 month appoint go?
I had no idea you had Insanity! I think I might purchase it one day...not to do a rotation, but just to have some challenging cardio w/o's. I love Shaun T too . What a hottie .
Great jobs on the walks! I'll say it once and I'll say it a billion times, walking is THE BEST.

Have a rockin' day folks!

 

[cokonkel]

Hiya ladies!

My workout yesterday got changed around a bit due to time constraints. I ended up doing HoCo Year 2 December (Strength and Length) and then XTrain Burn Set Bi's (minus the crazy 8's at the end). I wanted to do more upper body (especially triceps) but I had to get going because I decided to pick up the kids from school...by walking there! It's a little less than a mile to the school and gave me about 4000 steps on the fitbit altogether. It was really nice, too, as the kids just loved it. We had fun talking and joking on the way home. At the end of yesterday, I hit my highest step count yet (11,100 ). I gotta say, though, on the days when I've gotten close to or over 10,000 steps I am wiped out! Obviously this is more activity than I'm used to.

Today I did Kick Max, stopping at the 55 minute mark (after first set of leg conditioning drills). I did most of the high impact on the rebounder, too. I was definitely in need of some kicking today (still sore in the hammies). I am SOOO ready for my rest day tomorrow! In fact, I'm at work right now and I feel like I could use a nap.

Natty- Ho boy, I am now thisclose to getting Body Beast. I'm feeling the need for more weight training as I've been really focused on cardio and endurance lately. I even have it in my cart at TotalFitness right now...I almost hit buy, but then I paused...thought about the money I just spent on the Year 2 HC's plus the Fitbit...and decided to hold off at least for a little bit. I want those lower body DOMS! The only thing is I'm not sure how I'd incorporate HC into that...I can't give those up!

D'oh! Just got a file...gotta run.

Waving HI to Sarah, Jen and Marie!