Legs

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

That's all I could say with every step I took today. I didn't want to move. I walked around all morning and afternoon like I had something seriously wrong with me -- but it was just the impact of yesterday's workout. It was definitely a 'good' sore vs. an injury - but crazy painful nonetheless. I used to think images like these were cheezy -- but today I think there's nothing more accurate!!

My only thought was - how will I make it to Kajukenbo in the evening? The thought of walking down the stairs was painful enough, let alone the thought of running around during training.

Still, I went. I had to go to get over what happened last time. I didn't want my fear and hesitation to build. I already have enough trouble getting into the right mindset before my workout. I still have doubts and worry that I won't perform well or make it through class (will I ever get over this self-doubt??).

As my luck would have it -- legs were the focus of today's class. OMG.

There was a tiny part of me that wanted to protest - I did legs yesterday; I'm SORE!!!

However, I'm glad that the main part of me focused on thinking - SUCK IT UP! You're here to train. It's just muscle soreness. You're not injured.

So I went on. I kicked and kicked and kicked.

Then it was time for me to hold the pads so  my partner could have a go. After doing the first part, she was wiped out and had to take a break. That's when the assistant coach grabbed the pads and said, ok, you kick again.

So while others were resting (alternating between kicking & holding the pads), I was kicking the whole time - side kicks, low kicks, high kicks. I just tried to dig deep and keep kicking. At one point, I just stopped feeling and was kind of on autopilot, though still focusing on getting my form right and putting some power behind my kicks --- my high kicks definitely need work. They didn't feel high at all.

This was followed by squat holds against the wall, with our arms held straight out in front of us, for what felt like forever. I kept trying to center my focus, but it was tough.

Today was definitely filled with mental and physical challenges - trying to push through the pain, trying to keep the bigger picture in mind, and doing my best during training practice.

Overall, it was a good, challenging day.

Bewildered

I feel pretty confident that I know the difference between being sore and being injured. Although my arms and my thighs have been feeling crazy sore - the kind where you say ouch with every movement & you can't lift your arms to move your coffee cup to your lips let alone brush your hair - I really did put my soreness towards Monday push-ups/push presses & squats along with bike riding for the first time on Tuesday ...

The pain really did get quite bad so I took a painkiller. It didn't really help. This morning when I woke up, it felt worse (though possibly from inactivity during sleep). What really shocked me, however, was that both my triceps were swollen. My right arm was huge! I had never seen my arm react like that before.

Still, I'm convinced that it's not an injury. I guess my body just reacted negatively to the workout ... add the burpees plus the kickboxing from yesterday (particularly throwing elbows at the pads; that definitely didn't help), and I don't think I did my arms any favors.

I hate having to take painkillers, but I'm sticking to that at the moment. I decided to also try some KT tape. I really don't know if it works, and although their website is quite detailed, I have to admit that I'm a bit skeptical as to whether or not it really is effective. Still, it can't hurt, right? (I hope) [Has anyone ever used this tape? Did it help?]

This pain, unfortunately, has overshadowed the really big news of the day which is something that I've been looking forward to with great excitement and anticipation for the past two weeks ... I joined a martial arts academy!!

Sidekick Academy is the leading martial arts (namely taekwondo and jiu-jitsu) academy in Kuwait. I've heard many, many good things about it ... and today I decided to check it out. They told me you could try your first class for free - so I did and then I signed up! :)

I have quite a few things to say about the academy and my experience so I'll save that for another post.

In the meantime, I'm resting and trying to get through this soreness plus resist what feels like an oncoming cold (seriously?!).

My food was less than stellar today which surprises and disappoints me, but I know it's not a habit. It was carelessness on my part.

Today's Workout
Stretching: 15 minutes
Sidekick Academy: 1 1/2 hours (taekwondo/kickboxing & jiu-jitsu)
Burpees: 20 - arms and legs were just way too sore to continue past 20 {challenge total: 140/20,130}


Today's Food
Breakfast: Lebanese mezze with bread (again)
Lunch: Small baked sweet potato with black bean salsa (I've come to really like this combo)
Dinner: Pan seared white fish with half a baked potato and black bean salsa (as I said, I really like the combo plus I had made a ton of that salsa)
Snacks: cup of green tea; 6 chocolate covered coffee beans; 1 chocolate chip cookie; 1 chocolate tart (I'm not proud of those chocolate items; I think my emotions/general funk of my arm/leg pain got the best of me)

Pushing through the soreness

I was still super-sore this morning. I mean, super, super, super sore --- I could barely lift my hands up to my head to tie my hair back. I guess that's what I get for the 200 push presses (only a 20 kg/45 lb bar though - wtf?) along with 200 push-ups that we did on Monday. In addition to my arms, my thighs were killer sore - I think it's a combination of the 200+ squats from Monday as well as the frantic biking  of yesterday ...

Am I complaining? No.

I'm just surprised at how sore I am. Not doing CrossFit for 3 weeks will do that to you I guess!

I went to the gym this morning and couldn't help but laugh when I saw that it was empty. What happened to everyone's New Year's Resolutions? lol

I didn't have anything adventurous planned for this morning. I decided to do a slow and steady walk on the treadmill at an incline to loosen up my thigh muscles. The first 3 minutes were really painful. I actually thought about stopping, but I knew that the only way to loosen them up was to keep moving. Slowly but surely, my muscles began to loosen up and by the end of the half hour, I felt fine. My legs were still a little sore, but not anywhere close to how they were feeling before.

I then decided to tackle the burpees challenge that I set for myself. I never, ever thought that I would do burpees voluntarily, but as both Jenn and Norma have said before - if you hate it, you should do it! How else will I get better at them unless I practice (I'm saying all these positive things but believe me, I'm still resisting inside). Anyway - 60 burpees done.

Unfortunately since nobody showed up for Body Balance class it was cancelled so I had to stretch on my own. The instructor did work with me for a bit though to help me loosen up my tricep and chest muscles. It helped SO much!

I had the rest of the afternoon to get some errands done and rest a bit before heading out to kickboxing class. I was really nervous about how my legs and arms were going to hold up for the class, but I survived! I definitely paused more times than I would have liked to, but there were points when my arms were just burning. Still, no pain, no gain ... so I kept punching on. It was tough, but it felt great to be back!

At night I met up with a friend of mine who is visiting from the States. She's actually the only person I've literally known my whole life. It was lovely catching up :)

Today's Workout
Stretching: 20 minutes
Treadmill: 30 minutes (slow, inclined walk)
Burpees: 60 {challenge total: 120/20,130}
Cardio kickboxing: 1 hour {class at ClubFit}

Today's Food
Breakfast: Egg white and black bean salsa scramble (turned out much better than I expected)
Lunch: Small baked sweet potato with black bean salsa (I've got a ton that needs to be used up)
Dinner: Grilled lamb with some hummus and a few other bits of mezze + a piece of bread that I should have resisted :/
Snacks: 1 banana; 1 tablespoon of peanut butter; cup of green tea; 3 dates; 6 cranberries

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.

Last Workout of the Week

As much as I do enjoy working out, I have to say, Wednesday's boxing workout left me quite sore. The extra resistance of working with the swinging bag made quite a difference in terms of how much impact I felt. Add the ab twists and side bends that I did on Thursday, and my sides/lower back were aching big time!

I hadn't planned on doing the 8 km last night, so I didn't really want to overdo it with another 8-10 km this morning. Instead I just warmed up on the treadmill for 15 minutes and then went in for Body Pump class. Since KD, the usual instructor, is away on vacation, S was taking the class -- I've never taken a class with him. Overall it was quite good. I wish he had used the microphone as it was difficult to hear him at times, but other than that, it was a good class. Even though I did weights already 3 times this week, I like going to Body Pump on Fridays because it's kind of like an overall workout/stretch for all my muscles. Although I did increase some of the weights from last week's class, I didn't go crazy and overdo it. Still a challenging workout though. After Body Pump I did another Zumba class. It does feel a bit strange since I just did the class last night, but I absolutely love to dance, and Zumba is the perfect chance/excuse to do it!

I think I hit all my goals in terms of workouts this week. Tomorrow is my day of rest - I can't wait! Will work on my week in review post for Sunday.

Giving In

I gave in last night and took two sleeping pills. I was just absolutely exhausted and drained ... I didn't want to, but I was desperate. Although I did manage to get almost 6 hours of sleep, I was still restless (work up 5 times during the night) and didn't feel all that rested once I woke up ... I just don't get it. I'm so frustrated!

Today was an easy day, mainly because I was insanely sore after yesterday's boxing workout. I could barely move my torso - coughing/sneezing hurt like you can't imagine! When I walked into the gym my trainer saw me and started laughing because he knew exactly how I was feeling. He was like - your posture is perfect now! - And I thought, well of course it is. I can't blood move my torso!! My knuckles hurt too! In any case - it was a painful but good type of sore.

I warmed up on the treadmill for half an hour and then went to Zumba class. I just needed to dance off all of this stress -- plus having my new Zumba shoes helped cheer me up! {Yes, I'm that person who buys the accessories to match the workout ... why not? Plus you know I'm a shoe addict!}

Love them!! {Um, I bought Zumba socks too - I know, insane, but I couldn't resist!!}

The shoes actually made quite a difference. They're light and slide easily on the floor, making some of the moves much easier than before.

Anyway.

I received a few compliments today on how I was looking more toned and trim. I don't really see it when I look in the mirror, but it's always nice to hear others say something positive. Hopefully I'll be able to see what others see one day - for right now, it's just me and my Zumba shoes.

Recovering

This week was a big week. Not only did I go back to work, but I also had quite a few errands to do to prepare for Thanksgiving ... Although Monday and Tuesday were terrible ... I did feel better on Wednesday and Thursday, but after waking up this morning, I now realize that I may have overdone it. I tried to take it easy, but there was a lot of movement involved - a lot of bending to pick things up or stretching to reach. I didn't feel any pain - and I don't really feel any pain right now, but I'm definitely uncomfortable - kind of like my intestines have shifted inside me. I know, I don't even know if you can really feel the presence of your organs, but that's the only way I can really describe how I'm feeling right now.

So the only thing on today's agenda is REST.

I am glad that I was able to move as much as I did ... I just have to remember that just because I can doesn't mean I should. However, I do have to say, although I'm not feeling that great at the moment, it was totally worth it -- I love Thanksgiving :)

Trip to the Avenues

I really needed to get out of the house, so D took me to the mall (I'm still not allowed to drive). The one thing I was dreading (and something I remembered from my previous surgery) was the road leading up to the mall which is not made with proper pavement, but rather paved with bricks ... which makes it very, very bumpy. It was unbelievably painful - and just those two minutes on bumpy road had me feeling dizzy and winded before even stepping into the mall.

I'm glad we went to the mall early because it was so quiet - it gave me plenty of time to leisurely stroll from one end of the mall to the other and back ... though I have to say, I was exhausted. I walked for just over an hour -- sounds like a lot, but I was walking very, very slowly - and also browsing in a few shops along the way.

The Avenues is not an easy mall to walk in. First of all it was cold - very cold; they seem to still have the AC on high even though it is definitely becoming cooler outside. Second of all, the floors are not easy to walk on, especially when you want to take your time and need a lot of energy just to stand straight and walk slow.

By the time we got back to the starting point I was exhausted. Still, it did me some good to get out of the house and actually walk. Although I do feel quite a bit better today in terms of pain, I am once again reminded of how much time the body does take to heal ... I was hoping to maybe make it to the gym in the next few days ... but if the exhaustion I'm feeling now after that little stroll is anything to go by, I think that's a bit of an optimistic estimate!

Packing in a run

Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack. See a pattern?

Yesterday’s journey wiped me out. I woke up completely sore all over. I had expected my legs to hurt from all the walking and possibly my arms from carrying two heavy bags, but I hadn’t expected my abs to be so sore … I underestimated how exhausting and painful climbing up and down all those flights of stairs plus running from platform to platform was going to be – especially after my cardio session at the gym. Oh well, I guess I got in a bit more cardio plus some resistance work. I sure am glad I worked on my resistance training before traveling – it came in handy yesterday!

Now I’m repacking for tomorrow’s trip.

Over the years, I have definitely become much better at packing light – mainly because I know that I’m going to have to handle my own bags as I’m hopping on and off trains. However, no matter how long or short the trip, there are certain things that I have to take with me … add workout wear and you’re going to need to come up with a whole new packing strategy.

A few years ago, before going on any trip I’d look up the hotel and check to see if they had a gym. Whenever there was one I’d be sure to take workout clothes with me. More often than not, I didn’t go … However, in the past 2 years, I’ve been good about going to the gym when traveling. Packing gym clothes for a 3+ week trip isn’t a problem. However, packing gym clothes for just a few days – it sure does seem like a lot of stuff to take.

So for my 2-night trip to Canterbury I’ve packed all my usual stuff … plus my running shoes, 3 pairs of socks, 3 t-shirts, 3 sports bras, 3 running capris, a pair of weight lifting gloves, my small gym bag, my heart-rate monitor, and my iPod shuffle & headphones … oh well, I guess it could be worse ...

Somewhat Sore

I can’t believe I’m sore. I mean, I know that I did the first workout of NROL4W yesterday and that I hadn’t lifted any weights for about three weeks, but I really didn’t think I would feel the effects of yesterday’s workout since I didn’t lift very heavy weights – and it was only 2 sets of 15 reps for each exercise. Still, I definitely feel the tightness in my arms. I’m pleased. I wonder how tomorrow’s workout will go.

I slightly regret having gone to the gym yesterday when I really felt like I was coming down with a cold. My headache has been persisting for over 24 hours now and I still feel fatigued from all the travel etc. I hardly slept last night and I know my lack of sleep in general has been a problem in my overall energy levels. Still, I’m taking today to rest – just trying to make sure I don’t push too hard in the beginning only to make it difficult to complete this 6-week task.

Workout B tomorrow!