Kettlebell circuit

Kettlebell workout, and put my kettleguards to good use! If only they guarded my palms....as you'll see

Hindu push-up- 25

Hindu Squat- 50

Back bridge- 60sec

2x (pretty basic warmup, albeit longer than ever, the last push of each rep definitely got some grunty-faces out of me)

KB Swing/ Snatch- 25lbs 15/15

4x (so far so good, J happened to be doing his own snatch workout right next to me so that was pretty cool! And he let me use his chalk which definitely helped even if it did just delay the inevitable)

Circuit

Kb swing 35lbs 15/15

Kb clean 35lbs 10/10 (it was about midway here that my left hand tore at the same old callous, pretty deep, but didnt break the last layer of skin. It stings. A lot. But still looks worse than it actually is)

Kb push press 35lbs 8/8

Kb front squat 35lbs 8/8

3x 1st set- one side at a time, 2nd time switch after each complete set, 3rd set your choice

There's the tear, I ended up tearing twice, and barely kept a third from going. My right palm is tender, but still fully intact. I just have issues with lefty. I wonder if being left handed has anything to do with this)

Abs- Turkish get up 1 snatch at top- 25lbs 5 per side (aka snatch on the right side, so I did an extra getup on the wimpy side, BUT more importantly I was able to finish them, unlike the other week when I was running on fumes)

And here's my hand wrapped up to be socially acceptable (and protected) for the ride home awaiting an evening of ointment and drying out

Cardio Triathlon Ladder Sweatfest

Well, I was intending to do a 10k around the park today, but nature had different plans in mind, in the form of unpredictable thunderstorms.  So, rather than risk getting soaked and stranded (and pissed) somewhere on the corner of 110th and hell, I decided to stay inside and spend some time with my old neglected buddies, the treadmill and bike. And even let my nemesis the jumprope tag along just for kicks.

So, 30 minutes running, starting at 6.5 and gradually increasing speed throughout, and it wasn't terrible! I made it a little over 3 miles and for the first time in a long time (maybe ever), my treadmill running was faster than outside running

Then 20 minutes on the bike while I still had some energy, I had set it at slightly higher levels than usual and really noticed a difference in my cadence for the standing bits, so I just focused on staying consistent with eack set, and it worked out okay

Then to finish off, and really give my calves something to cry about, ended cardio with ten minutes jumprope. And since J was busy I got to pick the rope out myself and found the tiny wire-like rope which is my favorite because it weighs literally nothing, you might as well just jump around by yourself, it would feel the same. Except, because it's so tiny, you are essentially flinging an invisible wire whip at a very high speed, very close to your limbs. So anytime I mess up or trip up, I get a tiny little sting, and avoiding THAT keeps me going. Definitely got a few lashes today, ending cardio with jumping it was kind of inevitable. Here's a pic of the glorious bugger:

So tiny, so vicious.

Training day w/j

It's training day! And J had us start out with...measurements?!? Aargh

I already know this is going to be bad. Like, regressed to before I started training bad. But with slightly more muscle. So, we just got that over with, J wrote up my calendar for next month. I'm probably going to just do more cardio on top of that anyways, since that's the only thing that I can really control.

Anyways, we got that over with and started in with the workout, walking warmup, then over to the free weight room (shudder) where I lifted things, first with a 40lb bar, then two 22.5 free weights : deadlift, clean/press, squats and reverse lunges, followed by 15 knee raises on the air chair

Then back up front and J brings over the 35lb Kettlebell for....snatches. !! Ooookay crazy. So I give it a go, and it is awkward st best. But J is there coaching me through it and has me do some swings with the 45 blue bell, and by the last set I almost got it, and got some kudos from the other trainers while I was at it

Then extra stretching time and a bonus forearm massage (the painful kind,like the really good, really painful deep tissue kind)

And off I go, to see if I can do this for another month!

Training day w/j!

It's training day, and boy do we have a lot of work to do!

J just got back from a Kettlebell competition over the weekend, and he did really well! Got a personal best and everything! He even got a trophy, which he proudly showed me, so good job J!

I wore my nifty new underarmour outfit, And the leggings still feel pretty weird, but I think they might just be a bit big, and longer than I'm used to, and has more seaming than I'm used to. So I was fiddling with them until J kept me busy:

Inchworm pushups and three point lunges to warmup, followed by 100 swings with the 35lb bell! Basically 10 swings per arm till you reach 100. So, now more than fully warmed up, we moved on to fun stuff

Did various handstand exercises, regular handstand hold, attempted to do a slow handstand (definitely needed J's help on that one) then some half pushups and I did the last set all by myself!! HaHA!

Then I juggled two 25lb bells, at least that's what it felt like. J is used to working two bells together, but I've only done it a few times! But with J's coaching I got the hang of it and did clean and squats and push-presses ( did a few jerks in there too by accident)

Then we wrapped it up with vups and backbridge pushups. And very painful and vocal stretching.  Now that I have more space in my apartment, I can do way more stretching and conditioning at home!

Cardio improv

Today was supposed to be jumprope day, and I already was feeling crappy. Tired after a long weekend of construction and cleanup and sleeping crazy and work....and my body is reacting poorly to the stress. Usually I just get tired when I have a lot going on, but today I started to feel actual aches and pains along the back of my neck, really more across my shoulder blades more than anything

I must have slept funny. So I already was talking myself out of doing jumprope and burpees, if anything to avoid being in pain, even for a short time. Plus, I knew J wouldn't be there today (thank you social media). So I flip flopped back and forth all day between talking myself out of, and back into, going to the gym after work.

'If I don't eat TOO much today and tomorrow, then I'll be ok skipping today'

'Its just a quick cardio, so i can get in and out quickly and still get all my chores done at home'

'If I just do more burpees for longer, I could do those at home and be ok skipping the gym'

'If I don't go, J will find out from the other trainers, so I have to make an appearance'

All day

Ultimately I did go to the gym, not because I had made a determined decision when I left the office, but more because my body went on auto-pilot and took me to the gym instead of the subway, like it's supposed to on Mondays.

So, there i was, knowing that J wasn't there to have a jumprope handy, but figured SOMEone ought to have one, I've always been able to scrounge one up before. 

Nada.

Not a rope to be found, even with other trainers to look with me. So, I had to improvise. A better client would have just done more burpees, but between the lack of warmup, and my back/neck feeling sharp tings, I opted for a bike/treadmill combo instead. I worked up a decent sweat despite the crushing disappointment of not getting to jumprope (and my lingering feeling crappy-ness). I figure any cardio is better than no cardio

I did pretty well on the bike, gradually increased resistance, although I'm sure my form needs vast improvement

And while I was biking, I pondered what to do next, either stepmill (my favorite lazy sweat), or the burpees I was originally slated to do. After the bike ride, I got off the bike, saw an open treadmill and claimed it for windsprints. Totally random, but they felt good, I did five sets, starting at 8.5, then 8.7, 9, 8.8, 8.6. 

All in all, not the worst lazy workout I've done.

Food, glorious food

Food. Fooooooooood. If I've learned anything this year, it's that I love to eat. I mean, I already knew that, but this year definitely solidified that piece of trivia. By far the hardest thing about losing weight is not overeating. Because its so easy to do!!  On the one hand, you need to eat less, but you need to eat every three hours, as soon as you wake up (when I'm not hungry) but stop eating before you get home at night (when I am the MOST hungry) and you can't have anything until the morning (yeah, right, THAT's been happening)

So the struggle continues, my need to eat enough to fuel myself for the day, but NOT go over my 'limit' to tip over to the fat side. And I've tried everything (everything that I'm willing to do, that is. No fad diets, no starving, nothing unhealthy, unnatural or artificial). I tried meal prep, which is just exhausting and by Friday you are left with a box of mush; I've tried semi-meal prep where I have ingredients for the week and assemble as I go, and the latest thing I've been doing is protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and a wrap for dinner on my way home. Which is great, and definitely works... If i lived in a perfect bubble and had no plans and could always do the same exact thing every day and never see anybody or go anywhere. 

Oh yeah, and if I had no stomach. That would be awesome (actually I shouldn't say that....foreshadowing? That would be TERRIBLE, like just skip the formalities and send me straight to hell)

If only I had unlimited supplies of energy to do high intensity workouts every day with no need for recovery time or food to get in the way of progress. Where's the iPhone for my body, that knows what I need before I even know that I need it?

All this thinking is making me hungry.

New year, new blog

Unbelievably it's been almost a year since I started this journey. Oddly enough, the hardest part of  this new lifestyle isn't he exercise or diet (although THAT is still a work in progress...). But keeping up with the online blog posts and updates is just a little too much of a hassle, even though I find it the most useful, even just for my own reference. So, I'll give this new blog a shot and see if there are any areas for improvement. And hey, if someone else benefits from it, all the better!

you can always check out my old site: ladyrose22.shutterfly.com