A Hot Mess at the Gym

Workout: Day 27                                                                             Whole 30: Day 5

Today was a weird day, workout-wise.  We planned to go to the 11:30 Pump Express class.  Knowing I had some time, I joined some other ladies here for breakfast and coffee at The Island Scoop.  I had Scrambled eggs with lots of veggies and bacon.  And before the Whole 30 crowd jumps on me for eating out, they made them Whole 30 compliant. :)  

So I was well nourished.  When I got home from breakfast, I was feeling shaky for some reason.  If I felt like this in the past I would drink a glass of OJ to see if that helped.  Today I had some Sunflower Butter and an apple.  And left for the gym.

Apparently, my day was more off than I thought.  I thought we were early for the 11:45 class.  But obviously we were late for the 11:30 class.  Oops.

Luckily(?), the instructor was having an issue with her music and we had some time to get all of the equipment together.  Then I realized I forgot my headband.  Class with a big hank of hair hanging in your face isn't fun.  I was just having a hard time in class.  I felt a bit light headed.  I sat out the last set of exercises (shoulders--you don't use those muscles much, right?).

I came home and ate some leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage that Brian kindly reheated for me.  Then I headed upstairs to take a nap.  I couldn't fall asleep, but I enjoyed being in my warm, electric blanket cocoon.  Did I mention it was freezing cold today?

So to summarize:  Felt like crap.  Did it anyway.  Took a break.  Feel better now.

Now to figure out what we are having for dinner. . .

The Final Stretch

Workout:  Day 26                                                                              Whole 30: Day 4

Today there was a bit of wake-up call at the gym.  It is February 27.  The Make Your Way Across America Challenge ends on March 14th.  I need to complete 40 workouts by then.  Do the math.  I have to workout every day between now and then. Yikes.

I have blocked off all of the workouts in my calendar.  

Today I did the virtual bike trainer again. It was good to stretch out my legs since I was still really sore from Tuesday's Pump class.

Easy, delicious lunch

The Whole 30 went well today too.  

• Breakfast:  Eggs, Canadian bacon, cantaloupe, and blueberries.
• Lunch:  Rotisserie chicken, sauteed snow peas and red peppers.
• Dinner: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef and Cabbage

DVD

Workout: Day 25                                                                          Whole30: Day 3

Not much to say about today.  Did a DVD workout.  Pilates.  Abs. Enough said.

Ate what I was supposed to eat. 

So much fun.

Planks and Pasta

Workout: Day 24                                                                       Whole 30: Day 2

Tuesdays are my favorite gym day.  I get to sleep  in and not leave for the gym until 9:00.  Then I get to go to my favorite class, Pump & Pilates, with a good instructor.  Because the gym didn't have group fitness classes last week due to installing TRX wall anchors, it had been two weeks since I had taken this class.  I was a bit sore and Mark (the fun instructor) had a bit of a mean streak.  And then there are the abs.  Sitz bones, roll ups , and planks.  Oh my.  I seriously need to get a handle on the abs. My planks were non-existent.

As for the Whole 30 part of the day, that was fairly successful too. 

Breakfast was my typical, pre-workout fare, with a twist:  sunflower butter instead of peanut butter (and an apple).  

Post workout was a banana and a handful of almonds.

After the gym and a trip to the commissary, my lunch was rotisserie chicken and brussels sprouts.  It was actually very good and satisfying.

Around 3pm, I had a cup of herbal mint tea.  It was the perfect break on a chilly winter afternoon.

Dinner had the possibility of being extremely problematic.  I was joining my classmates for a farewell dinner. At a restaurant called Pasta Beach.  Good luck to me. 

It wasn't as problematic as I had envisioned.  

I did not take pictures of my plate.
This is very close to what it looked like.

As an appetizer, I had Prosciutto di Parma with Melon.  Two ingredients. Delicious!

For my entree, I had an arugula, shrimp, and cherry tomato salad with lemon juice and olive oil for the dressing. Five ingredients. Also delicious.

Done and done.

Whole 30

Workout Day 23:                                                                               Whole 30: Day 1

Jumping on the bandwagon!

I hit the gym again today.  I slept in and didn't go to spin class because my gym buddy and I chose to hop on the virtual trainer bikes.  I like this option.  Something else I found out is that the virtual trainer mixes up the programs because I had a completely different workout today than I did yesterday.  And I am one workout closer to completing the challenge.

Since I have a pretty good handle on heading to the gym regularly, I am now going to work on changing my eating habits.

I have done a lot of reading about different diets, different lifestyle changes, different ways to eat.  I had been going back and forth between Paleo and South Beach, both of them having a lack of carbs in common, but hadn't fully committed to one or the other.    Since I have an all or nothing personality, I really needed to find a program that I could  commit to completely.  Then, a few days ago, a friend posted on her blog, The Patriotic Baker, about her family's results following the Whole 30 plan.  I picked up the book It Starts with Food at the library.  After reading it, it reinforced my belief that I need to get carbs out of my diet.  The hard part is going to be cutting dairy, but it's only for 30 days, right?  I am looking for some particular results which, according to the book, can be achieved through this way of eating:  1) An end to migraines, 2) reduction in inflammation (joint pain), 3) better cholesterol numbers,and  4) more energy.  According the the book, any weight loss is just a happy by-product of eating healthier and using food to heal your body.  I will take that too.

Have you joined the Whole 30 journey?

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Day 22: Not So Easy Sunday Morning Ride

I don't usually go to the gym on Sundays.  It's a lazy day around here, but my youngest wanted to go to Open Swim at the pool.  I wasn't going to get in the pool.  I don't have a swimsuit phobia or anything like that, it is just that the water is too cold.  They keep it cool for people doing laps.  Rhode Island has been cold enough this winter. 

Getting everyone up and moving sounded like a good idea though so we packed everyone up. My husband took the kids to the pool and I headed toward the bikes.

I tried the indoor cycling bikes (same bikes as the spin class bikes, but hooked up to a video screen and virtual trainers) for the first time.  I picked the outdoor riding program because the indoor spin program looked really boring.

I really liked this.  Each interval, between 3-5 minutes, takes place on a different outdoor course.  I rode along Lake Michigan in Chicago, dirt roads in Utah, trails in Grand Canyon National Park, and I rode up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.

Virtual Mt. Washington

The program lets you know positions, resistance, and rpms just like a spin instructor.  I got a great workout today.  I was a red, sweaty mess at the end.

The upside to this is you can do it when you want.  When I choose this option, I don't have to get up at 5:00 in the morning to get to spin class.  You can also pick your own music.  The downside to this is no one watching to make sure you stay on the bike for the entire workout.

I needed to do 45 minutes on the bike for it to count on the Make You Way Across America Challenge.  I flirted with the idea of doing 30 minutes and doing a 15 cool down as I walked out of the gym to my car.  Another gym patron was on the bike at the end of the row and she wasn't stopping.  That gave me the extra motivation needed to do the full 45 minutes. So there is that.  

Over the Hump

Day 21:  I went to the gym today.  Spin class was cancelled, but that gave me a chance to complete one of the pitstop challenges.  Today's choice was the Cybex machine.  It's basically a souped up elliptical trainer.  I took it slow and easy, not because it was hard, but because I wasn't feeling great.  Another Rhode Island headache.  Even if I had been feeling 100%, I don't think this will become a fitness favorite. Hoping the gym is back on track with the group classes next week.

Halfway

Day 20:  Spin class this morning marked my 20th workout for the Make Your Way Across America Challenge at the gym.  I need to get 20 more workouts in between now and March 14th.  It's going to be tight.  

Between sick days, snow days, and the gym not having group classes this last week, I am a bit behind the schedule.  But I looked at the calendar and it is doable.  I just need to make sure I am not missing any workouts for the next few weeks.  

As for the shoes, it was better today.  My right foot was not exactly right.  I think I just need to loosen the straps on the shoes next time, not change the clips. Yet.

Got My New Shoes On

Day 19:  I did not sleep last night.  I was looking for any excuse not to go to spin. Seriously. Any. Excuse.  But I figured since my gym buddy would be waiting for me to pick her up, I needed to be there.  So I got into my freezing cold car and went to pick her up. At her dark house.  

I waited. And waited.  No light, no movement.

My cool new shoes.

Now the question:  do I turn around and crawl back into bed or head over to the gym by myself.

I made the right choice.  I went to the gym.  I wanted to try out my new spin shoes.  

I got them in the mail on Tuesday.  I had Brian help me put the clips on the bottom (according to the directions I received) and then I went to the gym to see how they were adjusted and try to figure out how to clip in and out of the pedals without looking ridiculous.  I am very glad I did this.

Wednesday morning, I clipped into my pedals just fine.  Unfortunately, as the class progressed, I could tell that the clips were adjusted quite right.  I ended up pulling my right foot out of the clip and using the regular pedal.  I didn't want to cause any type of injury if I could avoid it.  

I was glad I went to class, but knew I would need to readjust my shoes before I went back on Friday.  This necessitated a trip up to Warwick.  They centered my clips a bit more and checked the alignment.  I should be good to go.

I am heading back to spin on Friday.  

Pump It Up

Day 18:  Tuesdays are the best!

Went back to exercise class at the gym on Tuesday.  I took a hiatus after my migraine on Friday.  I needed it.  Both the break and getting back to class.

The weights are good.  I get a good sweat going.  I still intensely dislike the abdominal workout.  

Stick figure not drawn to scale.

Done.

Day 17: 

Went into the gym today to complete one of the Pitstop Challenges for the Make Your Way Across America program at the gym.  Today's challenge was to complete one of the Google Map runs on the treadmill. 

This sounded like a good way to ease back into running.  My training for the Army 10 Miler was to begin on Sunday.

My gym buddy and I stepped onto the treadmills and picked the "Road to Hana" video workout and set off on a 35 minute run/walk workout.  

2.4 Miles

As you can see, it was a slow 2.4 miles.  And then the treadmill emailed the workout to my phone.  Pretty cool.

Gym buddy and I decided to celebrate our run with a trip to a super yummy burger joint. After I placed my order, I started to get a migraine aura.  We got the burgers to go ( I donated mine to her husband) and she drove me home and dropped me off.  I headed up to crawl into bed.  This was a bad one.  Six hours later, I was able to crawl back out of bed.

So now what?  I think I am done running.  I just can't keep getting migraines after I run.  I have had a lot of success with other forms of exercise and not getting migraines.  I will stick with that for now.  It's not worth the pain.

High Five!

Day 16:  I am headed into Week Five.  High Five for me!

The snow started falling yesterday as we left the morning spin class and continued to fall all day.  Activities were cancelled yesterday afternoon, but the plows were out all night and the roads were clear this morning.

Phew.  I would have hated to cancel my Tuesday Pump & Pilates class. 

I was running a few minutes behind this morning (don't know why) so when I arrived the class was packed.  I ended up in the front of the class.  Yuck.  Next week we are leaving 15 minutes earlier.

I started the class by smashing my finger between a stack of weights.  It is hard to type right now, but I will push through the pain.

Class went really well.  I always think I could add a little bit more weight until I am in the middle of the set.  My arms were shaking while we were doing triceps and I had a puny 5 pounds on the bar.   Lunges were killer.  We also did jump squats and I just proved that I have no jumps. I was doing okay until I looked in the mirror and could barely see any air between my shoes and the floor mid-jump.  

I don't have these.

Then came my least favorite part of the class:  Abdominals.

I REALLY don't have these.

Luckily, Mark the Instructor, is such a sweetheart that next week he plans on replacing some of the other exercises (like biceps) with MORE ab work.  

I need it.  I know I need it. 

But I don't have to like it.

Back At It

Day 15:  

Since I could actually breathe and swallow again, I made myself go to Spin this morning.  I said I would, so I did.

Class was heavy on the hills today. This afternoon, I my knees felt it.  

 I didn't enjoy it, but I was glad that I went.  Lays the groundwork for going again tomorrow.  And the next day.

Under the Weather

                                             I will return on on Monday.