Stronger, Better, Faster Challenge September 25th. . .

lotusfromthemud

Morning!

OK, so today is my big exercise day: weights and spinning.

I'm trying to formulate a plan for next month. I think what I'm going to do is concentrate on getting in cardio three times a week, strength three times and yoga at least two (or three) and allowing myself an "optional" day off. Dropping dance, and going to the gym for cardio on Sundays. I find that sometimes I crave a day off, and some times I don't. If I'm incorporating lighter days in, that could easily make the day off optional. I think for Mondays. . .I'm either going to take the day off, or try a yoga class at my gym. Without the heat, I think it will feel more restorative. I can always go in the sauna to get hot afterwards. . .I don't want to burn out (no pun intended) on the bikram series.

I think I'm going to concentrate on eating clean foods, but not tracking calories (oh, the scandal). I think if I concentrate more on the exercise end of things, I can push through to the end.

I weighed, and I'm up four pounds from the last time I weighed myself (I think it was July) I'm wondering how much of that is new muscle mass. I certainly feel (with the exception of "gutly" as I've taken to calling her) more firmed up. Anybody have any science on how much muscle weight a girl can gain in four months?

OK, so for those that just want the summary:
weights. (and pushups! day two week one)
spinning.
waters.
vits.
:flowerforyou:

lotusfromthemud

Morning!

OK, so today is my big exercise day: weights and spinning.

I'm trying to formulate a plan for next month. I think what I'm going to do is concentrate on getting in cardio three times a week, strength three times and yoga at least two (or three) and allowing myself an "optional" day off. Dropping dance, and going to the gym for cardio on Sundays. I find that sometimes I crave a day off, and some times I don't. If I'm incorporating lighter days in, that could easily make the day off optional. I think for Mondays. . .I'm either going to take the day off, or try a yoga class at my gym. Without the heat, I think it will feel more restorative. I can always go in the sauna to get hot afterwards. . .I don't want to burn out (no pun intended) on the bikram series.

I think I'm going to concentrate on eating clean foods, but not tracking calories (oh, the scandal). I think if I concentrate more on the exercise end of things, I can push through to the end.

I weighed, and I'm up four pounds from the last time I weighed myself (I think it was July) I'm wondering how much of that is new muscle mass. I certainly feel (with the exception of "gutly" as I've taken to calling her) more firmed up. Anybody have any science on how much muscle weight a girl can gain in four months?

OK, so for those that just want the summary:
weights. (and pushups! day two week one)
spinning.
waters.
vits.
:flowerforyou:

Carrie6o6

Viv, you are crazy! Sheesh!! hahaha

So im starting over today! Ive been at my parents for the last week and yesterday mom made spaghetti with garlic bread... my favorite!! I had some.. But I still lost weight. I didnt workout yesterday, but I DID manage to drink all my water :laugh:

Today NO going over! hahaha Another busy day here! This morning I am going to talk with the pastor for my mentoring, and then Im rushing home.. My husband FINALLY brought home some boxes... and 6 days and the house is ours! :bigsmile:
I really cant wait!! Right now I live with my husband, kids and my brother and sister. My brother drinks all my milk, and my sister is just a pain!! I cant wait to get out! haha Though my brother in law will be living with us... But hes not like my siblings haha

yoginimary

I remember getting my house - it was so exciting. We went from a 1 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house. We had a lot of empty rooms. We really lucked out as far as timing went - we can no longer afford, even remotely, a house in our neighborhood. Property taxes + insurance are equal to our mortgage payment. :noway:

Anyway, yesterday I did the cybex, elliptical, yoga, and walked. Good thing: put on a pair of size 10 pants hiding in the back of my closet - should go get a size 8. Bad thing: worried about the weight going up during this vacation. Evil scale. Also took yoga pictures - standing poses as my wrist is still too sensitive to do arm balances and the like. Will post some soon.

One of the things that turns me off about ashtanga is the whole "series" thing. I like working on different areas of the body and going with a class that fits my mood. But I could probably do one a week.

Today is a 20 mile bike ride. I'll check back with the calorie burn on that one!

yoginimary

Ok, the pictures are up.

One of the biggest eye openers about taking these pictures is that I could find something wrong with almost every one of them. My warrior 3 and revolved half moon had a bent lifted leg. I really need to focus on what my body is doing. I think I need a gym sized mirror installed in my living room :laugh: The three that I did well are posted which are: To the left is reverse side angle (my revolved side angle is one of my worst poses and is not being displayed! - too much of "me" getting in the way) - in my pictures are revolved triangle and baby dancer.

cp005e

Vivia - 4 pounds of muscle in 4 months seems perfectly reasonable to me... but I don't have any science for you. What sort of body fat test were you looking at that was so expensive? At my YMCA, I can get a free 'fitness assessment' that includes a caliper test for body fat (as well as cardio/VO2Max approximation, strength/bench press, abs/sit-ups, and flexibility/sit-and-reach). I had one done in June, and plan to go again in December.

Nice pictures, Mary! The 'baby dancer' one is very impressive. And congrats again on the house, Carrie - it is so nice to have a place of your own.

I think I will head to the gym for elliptical, and then try and do Shred when I get home. Happy workouts!

mechanicmom

Hey everyone,
Nice pictures Mary....what I would give to be a size 8/10.

Today is another crazy day. I'm kind of getting tired of them. Alex and I went shopping this morning and he's been in a great mood and it was going so well until....he slipped on a spill at Walmart and hit his head!:explode: It takes a LONG time to get him to settle down, even if he wasn't hurt badly. I heard his head hit so I imagine it was hard enough. I got someone to clean up the mess. But Alex was not happy. I am very patient with him until he screams at me (I know it was out of frustration and anger from falling, but I wish he wouldn't scream!). I dug into his snack box that I was buying and got him a snack to help him settle down. I couldn't get him to stop otherwise. I hope I am not teaching him to turn to food as a comfort! I do that! I don't want it to start with him too. I just didn't know what else to do. Anyway, he seems fine now and is playing.
I have to go to a school meeting at 1:30. I plan to homeschool Alex but because he is delayed I have to look into therapy for when he turns 3. ECI only does it until then which is in November, so we need to see what else is available. I don't want to go to the meeting but I have to. Oh well. I don't know what I am going to get done this afternoon. Maybe some cleaning since Alex probably won't be getting a nap.
I'm done rambling now. Thanks for reading this long post!
Melissa

mechanicmom

Oh CP, way to go on the 108 push ups yesterday! Totally awesome! Be back later to check on you all!

yoginimary

Cycling, 21 miles, 90 minutes, 622 calories.

yoginimary

Finally called doctor - no gallstones.

Calling the dietician next. My husband needs orthopedics and the stupid insurance won't pay for them unless he had diabetes! That's really messed up thinking. Also, the plumber just found roots in our pipes, so really, what's another couple hundred bucks, right? :noway:

lotusfromthemud

OK, have decided to schedule another body scan doo-dad at the gym. I'm going to try to get my trainer to do it during our Saturday session, but if I have to pay for the full deal, then that's what I'll do.

(I posted elsewhere that I got paid today and my check was bigger than I thought it would be . . .hooray! money!) So, I have just as quickly found a way to spend it. It's just that if I start living by the scale again I'll need to spend that money on a stay in a mental health facility.

I'm loving the pictures, Mary! . . .oh and no gallstones is good news, right? Although, I can appreciate wanted medical answers for the loss standstill. I keep hoping my cyst magically weighs 10 lbs.

:flowerforyou:

mechanicmom

Mary, you are just getting hit on all sides huh? Sorry to hear that. At least you don't have gall stones. I will be praying for you this week.
Viv-way to go on the push ups and then going to do more! And congrats on getting more money than expected! That's always good news!
Well, I'm physically tired and I am not sure why. ha ha. I walked the stores today, went to the meeting, and then came home and relaxed for a bit, started laundry and made dinner. I shouldn't be that tired. Tomorrow I am officially starting the calorie counting again. I've been making a small effort but I really need to do it this time! Don't know if I will have time to exercise tomorrow either. I will probably be cleaning most of the afternoon. I feel like I need a day off, but it's not about to slow down!

cp005e

I'm glad you don't have gallstones, Mary. They hurt! Did your doctor have any other bright ideas about what might be going on?
Woo-hoo on the extra money, V! I'm still curious about what this body scan is and why it's so pricey?

lotusfromthemud

I'm going to check into the university and see if they have a body fat test that's cheaper (or . . .dare I dream. . .free). My gym apparently only gives it as part of a training package purchase, so it includes a full fitness test and three sessions with a private trainer (that's why it's so much). I'm hoping my trainer will just sneak me into the room and hook me up to the electrode doo-dads.

cp005e

Electrodes, huh? Kinda like those scales? Do you know if those are more accurate than the caliper methods? I had heard that the most accurate way to measure body fat was underwater (using displacement, I think), but I've never really seen anywhere that offers that.