Getting Ready for the Next Phase

Now that the Whole Life Challenge is over, and I'm just one workout away from finishing Phase II of the New Rules of Lifting program, it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do next.

There are, of course, a few things that I really want to do but I can't just yet for various logistical reasons. Thinking about all those things was starting to get me down but then today I decided to focus on all the things that I can do. I still have so much work to do in terms of getting in shape that there really will never be any shortage of workouts to do/good habits to follow/clean foods to eat! So, with that much more positive attitude in mind, I'm moving on to my next phase, which I hope will last until I travel in June.

My materials from the ISSA arrived yesterday so I've got everything I need to start working towards my Personal Trainer certification.

My good friend K, who is a LesMills instructor, has been encouraging me to do my training to teach Body Pump and Body Combat. I've already practiced studying the choreography for Body Pump, but it's the first time I'm looking at the Body Combat choreography. It's definitely more challenging than Pump. It's an exhausting class; add to that the whole speaking while teaching/jumping around and you get to a whole new level of fitness! Still, I'm up for the challenge. I started practicing day before yesterday and I spent quite a bit of time on it today. We'll see how it goes.

In terms of weight training, I'm just going to move on to the next Phase in the New Rules of Lifting book. I'm happy with how I've progressed through this phase. The more I lift, the more I love it!



Those are the three main things I'll be getting into. In the meantime, I'm still continuing with CrossFit, my MMA training (though it's not nearly as intense as it was before), my yoga/balance classes, and my cardio ... and of course Eating Clean!



Today's Food:
Breakfast #1: 1 teaspoon of peanut butter & 2 dates
Breakfast #2: 3 egg muffins, 1 cup of grilled vegetables (cauliflower, sweet potato, and bell peppers), and half an avocado
Lunch: grilled chicken with 2 cups of vegetables
Dinner: coconut shrimp curry
Snacks: 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt; 3 peanut butter date balls

Today's Workouts:
Kickboxing (30 minutes)
Combat training (45 minutes)
Body Balance (1 hour)
Day 2 of squat challenge: 60 squats

Back into It

Friday schedule: Body Combat, Body Pump, Zumba - 3 hours back to back; 1350 calories burned.

At first I felt hesitant about whether or not I should do all three classes, but I've learned from the past that this hesitation needs to just be kicked in the ass! 

It felt good to be back in the gym and doing the workouts again. 

In particular, the highlight of my day was going into the Body Pump studio to find this on my bench (sorry for the blurry photo): 

There was also a doctor's coat on my bench. KD, the Body Pump instructor, pulled me to the front of the class (OMG I was so shy and totally blushing!!) and congratulated me - it was so sweet though and presented me with the doctor's coat. Everyone applauded and congratulated me. I was embarrassed but happy at the same time :) We did clarify that I had not become a medical doctor, but I did wear the coat for a few minutes of the warm-up track (made even harder to get on and pull off coz' I was so sweaty from Body Combat). Here's a photo that we quickly took after the workout (at this point I had completed 2 classes, so excuse the dazed/sweaty look, lol): 

In yesterday's post I was wondering about whether or not I should do CrossFit because I still haven't finished NROL4W. I'm almost done with the New Rules program though so I've decided that I'll start CrossFit training from next Wednesday. I'll be able to squeeze in 4, maybe 5 sessions before I travel next. Still, I won't be gone for long so I can rejoin when I return - and then it'll be about 6 full weeks before my next trip (yes, quite a bit of travel this summer). 

I also desperately need to get my eating on track. My crazy huger has subsided, but I have yet to do a proper shop and load up on good fruits and veggies for us. It's on my list of things to do and hopefully something I can tackle tomorrow. 

I'm still trying to catch up on the blog reading/commenting. Slowly but surely I'm making progress - though that stack of papers to grade is calling my name. I'm not sure how much longer I can ignore it!

Trying to Gain Control

I leave for London in three days. OMG - 3 days. I'm starting to freak out. I have so much left to do and not nearly enough time to do it all. I'm trying to tackle each thing one at a time; I really don't have any other choice.

Ironically, before when things would get hectic, the first thing that would get dropped from my schedule would be my gym time. Now, however, it's the one thing I really dread dropping from my scheduled. I do recognize that sometimes things are crazy busy and I just can't make it to the gym - I used to feel incredibly guilty, but now I don't feel that much guilt. Sometimes you just have to take care of other things - as long as that's the exception and not the norm.

There are also times (many, many times) when I use the gym to procrastinate and put things off. I know that a 1-hour workout should suffice, but I stay for much longer because I just don't want to get other things done. It may sound like a 'healthy' way to procrastinate, but when I'm putting off important things, it actually just ends up adding to the stress sometimes.

So, for the next few days I've got a gym plan, but I've also told myself that it's ok if I don't make it because right now getting ready for my PhD thesis defense is really the most important thing.

Today, however, I did go to the gym and did what has become my routine Friday workout - Body Combat followed by Body Pump followed by Zumba. There was no way I was missing Zumba as this is the second week in a row I've only had time to go the Friday class. I think my body has gotten used to doing the three classes back to back, though I do leave the gym feeling exhausted, but very happy!

Tonight was the last night with my in-laws. They wanted to go to a pizza place. Of course I heard the word pizza and I immediately tensed up. I didn't get a chance to look up the menu online so I had no idea what I would order. In the end I told myself not to freak out - I could have a slice of pizza or some pasta - it wasn't going to kill me. I really do have to learn not to panic so much. Regardless of the circumstance, I am still in control.

I got lucky and they had a delicious salad - lettuce, red bell peppers, avocado, boiled egg, potato, and chicken. I asked them to remove the chicken (since I don't each chicken) and add some extra veggies. They were happy to oblige. I was a bit worried about the potato, but it was just 2 new potatoes boiled, so it wasn't a big deal. Overall, it was really yummy. Whew. No need to panic!

Tomorrow things should get a bit more back to normal in terms of eating ... well, maybe. As I said, I have a lot of work to do, so I know I won't be spending a lot of time cooking. We'll see how it turns out. I may have to rely on D to prepare dinner for us for the upcoming days! 

My Aching Thighs and Shoulders!

I'm not sure how I made it to the gym this morning after yesterday's CrossFit session. Actually, getting to the gym was not a problem. I guess I should say - I'm not sure how I made it through today's workouts because my thighs and shoulders were on fire!

I did my usual Body Combat, Body Pump, Zumba Friday routine. Both Combat and Pump classes had lots of lunges and squats - they did not help my aching thighs one bit. Plus all the punching in Combat followed by chest presses, tricep presses, and push ups (to name a few) that were targeting my shoulders/arms -- OMG. I wanted to stop at one point, but I didn't. Zumba was my treat of the day, especially since I missed both classes during the week. So, I got a mega-workout in today ... but let me tell you about yesterday.

I got my first taste of CrossFit yesterday.

We met in an outdoor field and were introduced to the basic idea of CrossFit and shown some of the basic moves. None of us (7 girls) had ever done CrossFit before, which was a relief for me because I was nervous. We had two coaches - F, who I mentioned in my post at the beginning of the month, and YAB, who professional competes in CrossFit competitions.

We started off with some jogging, rudely interrupted by burpees! Have you ever done a burpee? To me, it's a form of modern-day torture. It really is a challenge (for me) to put all the movements together - jump down into push up position, pull your knees in to your chest quickly, and jump back up. Try doing three of those after being out of breath from jogging and then continuing the jog only to be interrupted again by burpees. I wanted to cry (in a good way, kinda).

The when did a combination of some other moves - squats, push ups, leg raise holds, followed by another jog. We did walking lunges, deadlifts, and more sprints, burpees, and other jumps.

Since this was just an introductory taste, we didn't use any weights. It's amazing how much of a workout you can get without using any weights at all!

All in all, I loved it! It really got my heart rate going and challenged my body to MOVE. Those quick shifts from one position to another are themselves a challenge enough. This is definitely something that I want to continue doing. I think once my PhD is completely out of the way and I finish my NROL4W weights program I will be able to devote time to CrossFit. I can't wait :)

By the way, CrossFit Regionals are happening right now.

Moments like these ...

Finally, the end of what has felt like a chaotic week.

Today's workouts:

Body Combat, Body Pump, Zumba -- all one after the other -- a total of 1430 calories burned.

Needless to say by the time I got home, I.Was.Exhausted!

Doing 2 cardio classes with a weights class in between is quite intense, but I like this routine. Combat allows me to practice my boxing moves and get some additional footwork in; Pump is a chance for me to loosen up all my muscles - though this time I upped a few of the weights. OMG, my muscles were screaming during the shoulder and bicep tracks! By the time I get to Zumba, I'm tired ... but once the music comes on, I forget about the pain and just start dancing. In fact, I found that burned 70 more calories than last night! I knew it was my last workout of the week, so I had to make it count!

Tomorrow is my day off from the gym -- definitely some much, much needed rest. I know that I've put in the effort this week, but I am worried that it won't show on the scale come Sunday morning. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but I can't help it ...

It's moments like these that I have to keep reminding myself of -- because of course, just before or right after a weigh in you think, 'Did I do everything I could this week?' 

I ask myself this question several times during the week. Every Sunday (and really everyday) I want my answer to be a confident Yes.

I know that each day is not the same as the other. Like yesterday, I knew I was tired. I tried my best, but I knew that it wasn't as good of a workout as it could have been had I rested. Perhaps not having done the evening session would have been better for me - who knows?

The idea of taking a day off, or skipping a workout in order to rest and reenergize, is scary to me. At the same time, I know that there have been times in the past when taking a day (sometimes two or three days) off have really helped me get that extra energy boost that I needed to have a good workout - particularly when it comes to lifting weights. Anyway.

I know I hit all my workout targets. Now I just need to make sure that I eat well and get some sleep. Hopefully the scale will show me some love on Sunday. 

Oh My!

My usual Friday routine is 15-30 minutes of cardio warm-up (either treadmill or cross-trainer) followed by Body Pump and then Zumba.

Today I decided to change that up a little.

When I wrote my review of the week I did feel like I needed to change up my routine, especially because I feel like I'm losing/gaining the same few pounds over and over again. I want to break through is plateau in a BIG way ... and break through it for good!

The thing is, I also want to continue with my weight lifting routine. So often have I started a plan and then become frustrated after trying it for a few weeks and not seeing the results I wanted and then giving up. Not this time. Even though I want to change up my weight lifting routine, I am going to stick to what is outlined in New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROL4W). The slow and steady approach has been effective - I'm just antsy.

So, what can I do? I guess it's all about changing up the types of cardio that I do because I have some flexibility in that area.

This morning I went to the gym a bit earlier than usual and went to the 10 am Body Combat class. I haven't done combat in AGES. I could not remember the last time I was in the combat studio. With all the boxing training I've been doing lately (and totally loving it) I thought it would be great to attend the class for some added cardio + boxing ... and my trainer is the one who teaches the class so I knew he would be watching my form. {Before I left the gym he told me that my form was improving and he was glad to see me trying to keep my guard up at all times - I appreciated the positive feedback!}

I absolutely loved being back. I forgot how intense the class was - by the end of it, I was totally drenched in sweat. My t-shirt was literally dripping (gross, but satisfying too!) so I had to rush to my locker to change my t-shirt before Body Pump ... followed by Zumba.

Oh my indeed!

By the time I got home at 2 pm I was EXHAUSTED. I felt really, really good, but also really, really ready to just lie down!! :)

I'm so glad I booked a massage for this evening - I have a feeling I'm going to fall asleep on the massage table! It's a good way to end my workout week!