Week 2 Day 7 progress report

Up early and did my first sessions of the day back to back (one of them my cardio). It’s Father’s Day here and my daughter has plans to take her dad out and I’m helping her get things ready. I honestly think that the workouts and nutrition are the things that are helping me stay healthy physically and mentally right now as I deal with the pressures of changes at work, home, and school. There are still mental exercises that Dax has recommended that I’m trying to work through.  Just not enough time for everything the moment I’d like to do since the paper for my class is a priority (deadline looming). Sleep too must be considered.  I’m still having a rough time with it and may up the adaptogens just a bit again. That seemed to help keep me resting the other day when I didn’t realize how much was in each tablet.

The progress has been good so far. I don’t feel deprived at all and am still losing weight while maintaining or gaining muscle. While doing a bit of straightening in my room yesterday, I came across my original “Meltdown/MAP” sheets from January. How gratifying it was to discover that when I did my trials this time around, my baselines were three to four times greater than they were then – after almost three months off program due to surgery and other life situations (job changes, etc.) getting in the way. Coming back and hitting it hard but in a controlled manner certainly works.

Now time for the first exercise of the day for week 3!!

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Week 2 Day 7 pictures

As promised, here are the latest pictures. My daughter’s only remark was that it wouldn’t hurt me to smile for once.  😛

I haven’t quite figured out how to put them up side by side to see the “before” and “current” ones.

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Week 2 Day 7

Two workouts in thus far today and….tah dah! It’s measurement time again!!

Date: June 20, 2010
Body Location	Right (where applicable)	Left (where applicable)
Chest	35”
Waist at Umbilicus	29.875”
Natural Waist	27.25”
Hips	35.25”
Upper Thigh	18.25”	18”
Lower Thigh	14.5”	14.5”
Upper Arm	10.375”	10.5”
Weight as of 6/20/10	129 lbs

I was afraid to say anything about breaking the 130 lb barrier yesterday, but it looks like the measurement is consistent!! My original goal weight was 122 lbs by the end of July and this certainly keeps me on track.

Thus far a total of 4.625″  and 5 lbs lost.  I’m happy and feeling great about the progress thus far.

I’ll post the latest pictures later.

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Week 2 Day 6

I managed to get all the workout in while juggling weekend errands and trying to make headway on my schoolwork. The difficult thing is there is no “me space” in the house outside of my bedroom that isn’t regularly invaded by other members of the family. There are times even getting the privacy for my workouts is a challenge. My younger daughter is getting better about it since she now has a rower to keep her busy and in shape (her absolute fav from school and our family holiday present this year).

I was tired but triumphant by the end of the day. I can tell that I’m getting stronger and the slack abdominal muscles are tightening up. Once MAP is done, I may go back to incorporating chin-ups and pull-ups into my routine again. I’m rather curious as to how cut I could get my back and arms.  Heck, I’m looking better in my fifties than I ever looked in my twenties and teens.

Pushing the times again on the workouts today.  When I compare to my original circuit time on one of them, I realize that I’ve shaved over 25% off the time and I’m still challenged.  If I can get to below 30 seconds per exercise on the total circuit, I’ll look at retesting and starting the whole cycle over again…or adding weight and trying to make my times.

The best thing thus far has been no matter how hard I push, I’m not seeing any injury risk. It’s like the body is conditioned by whatever is going on in the previous weeks and ready for the next phase as new materials are added. In all honesty, there is no way one can say there aren’t some exercises that are just dreaded because everyone has favorites.  However, once all are done, I congratulate myself on fulfilling the program.

Thank you, Dax, for making it all possible!

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Week 2 Day 5

Today was a day of workout exhaustion and new triumphs. There were heavy thunder storms last night in the area that disturbed everyone’s sleep with a noise and light show. However, I pushed through my workouts anyway and kept to my nutrition regime.  I am extremely thankful to the co-op for having organic celery at 99 cents per head last week. With the varying heat and humidity, it’s watery crispness has been a welcome treat.

I beat my earlier circuit times by pushing on my second workout of the day and re-introduced an old favorite as the first. Twice through that one in the estimated appropriate time although my abdominals still seem a little lacking, which surprises me. I’ll watch my form a bit more carefully on all of the cores and see if that doesn’t straighten out in a week or so.

I can tell that the sessions and nutrition guidelines are really paying off.  Scale keeps moving down, slowly but surely, looking at about two pounds per week. In addition to that, the muscles are definitely building, particularly noticeable to me in my arm and shoulder area.  I still have a bit of a “worked out” feel in the area, but it’s all good.

On another note, Dax has had us looking at root causes for our decision (with a little ‘d’) to participate in the program which forces an examination of motivation. Not the most comforting thing in the world as I realize the devastation of two bad marriages and the way I allowed them to erode my self-confidence.  I kept fighting but immature mates have a way of wearing one down. Now it is up to me to take stock of my strengths and weaknesses and go on from there.

Balance. Ever and always, it’s all about balance.

Weekly measurements and pics coming up soon!  It should be interesting.

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Week 2 Day 4

The last two days, along with everything else, there has been a thinking assignment mulling around in my head. Why am I doing this and what in me resists change?

At one time in my life, I embraced change. It was exciting, it was an opportunity to learn and try something new and to discover something new about myself in my responses and my own strengths and weaknesses. Now, my life has really turned around. Struggles through relationships, trying to survive the aftermath of two disastrous marriages (hey, if at first you don’t succeed…) that left me financially crippled for a long time due to actions other than my own. I lost confidence in myself and my own abilities, but those were always rather shaky. This despite evidence to the contrary – always graduating at the top of my class and commended on the quality of the work that I do. However, in my personal life, surrounded by people who were poison for one reason or another.

Now, I’m not as ready for adventure and have become a great deal more cautious. If nothing else, this quest to return to fitness and health has shaken things up a bit. I’m watching my peers suffering from low back pain, arthritis, overweight, diabetes, hypertension…the range of onset of chronic preventable disease.  They ask me for advice and I tell them – be careful of what you eat and enough but not too much, get out and walk, take a water aerobics class,  or do something to get your body moving, follow your doctor’s advice on medications and such  and work to get those numbers down where they need to be, etc. It falls on deaf ears as they would rather continue as they are and complain than do anything about it.

Now I have to sit and ponder.  Am I the same way in other areas beyond fitness? What about my personal relationships? What about my education? Am I doing what is best for me in every case or just some of the time? What do I fear to face and what challenges am I not taking on because of change or discovering that I’m going to need to work hard to develop where I am currently weak?

Not exactly a fitness and fat loss kind of post at this point, but maybe closer to the root of why I’m here.  Am I trying to turn back the clock and reclaim my life?

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Week 2 Day 3

Another rough day for keeping with the workouts and sometimes all I can do is keep my eating clean.

Work this week has been insane. Last minute arrangements for a potential “spousal hire” who should also meet with a speaker who is visiting this week just so my supervisor can have feedback on the speaker’s impression. Then a Fulbright scholar arrives and I’m running all over campus with him trying to get everything in place since the international office on campus doesn’t seem to think that we are responsible for anything and he’s on his own to sink or swim. This is how we treat visitors to our country? So I’m learning my way through that maze and suffering along with him.

On the personal front, scheduling in overdue medical checks, watching a friend’s  house while she’s gone, and responding to the mini-emergencies of my younger offspring while still trying to finish reviewing dozens of references for a paper that I must turn in in less than two weeks…and word one isn’t on the paper yet. Just ideas churning in my head.

Of course, with everything else going on, getting time and space to get workouts in while at work is next to impossible.  I’m lucky to escape to the restroom when I need to.  Don’t even mention the sleep issue. The frustration is mounting….

Last day of the “new” workout regimen is tomorrow. Is it too much to ask to get through one day with all sessions done, following the nutrition plan, and getting enough sleep? I hope not.

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Week 2 Day 2

Started the day off strong and on schedule. Then, in the afternoon, the storms hit and a torrential downpour. Received a call from a “special friend” who lives about an hour away.  He asked me down for dinner so we could then later retrieve his car where he had had to leave it the night before when one of his team mates accidentally left with his keys.  Then a call from my younger daughter to give her a ride home from work since she had no umbrella and no car. Finally road construction and closure due to flooding topped off the trip home. No evening workouts for me.

I did watch what I had for dinner and just decided to relax and enjoy the conversation and the company.  Life has been such a constant rush lately that I think I needed that break both mentally and emotionally. I don’t have another adult IRL to simply sit and chat with and online can only go so far.

Afterwards, a drive to the ball field to pick up his car and then an hour’s drive home for me.  I think I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

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Week 2 Day 1

The start of a new flurry of madness in the workouts and nutrition, but not to say that I didn’t expect it.  Loaded the cupboards with “good food” and now just have to take the time to eat it.  That’s become a bit of an issue.  Not super hungry right now, so I’ll have to keep an eye on my intake.

A few stressors, as usual, but I’m going to keep at the program and keep pushing.  Now, when I know that I’m going to be hard pressed to get a particular workout in, I try to make the others that much harder – adding greater weights to prolong recovery time, an extra circuit, etc.  Anything to get some more work in in the time that I do have.

My body feels good.  “Used and worked” but not in a bad worn-down, broken-down way.  It’s more in a way that makes me feel more alive and present.  My outlook is coming back to the old optimistic person that I was in my younger years. All very fine with me.  I’ll be more than pleased to dump the down moods along with the negative physical weight (read unneeded fat and weak muscles) and exchange them for something that makes me happier with the person I’m in the process of becoming.

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