Redefining Challenge

I went to bed at a reasonably hour but was awoken by massive discomfort in my back and stomach. Uh oh. I know that feeling. It's something I ate that is just sitting in my stomach, causing my back to spasm, and a terrible burning feeling to spread through my diaphragm. There's only one way to get relief, and that means a trip to the bathroom to barf up the offending and apparently indigestible food. I'm back in bed by 2:20 but I can't sleep until my muscles calm down. By 6:20, I've hit the snooze button twice because I'm still exhausted. And it's chilly outside.

I need coffee but don't have time to brew it before getting the dog walked, and my son on the school bus. He's been experimenting with using his phone as an alarm clock, but it'll ring for 3 full minutes before I finally say, "Get up and shut off your phone." Apparently, he needs a human voice to rouse him. Maybe I should switch his alarm to something like a quacking duck. The barking dog noise only sounds like our dog or the neighbor's dog and he'll ignore it. He's not a light sleeper like I am.

Today is an "Active Rest Day". I have things I need to get done before my son gets back from school. I also have swim class tonight. So, I go to the gym anyway, but only do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. I wanted to do the cross-trainer, but the easy one is occupied, and I'm too tired to wrestle with the other machines. Ellipticals don't put my feet to sleep so I'm happy about that. I do one set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups, skip the 100 push ups because I'm saving myself for the "challenge", and go straight to Core. There's a yoga class in the classroom so I have to wait a bit anyway.

I make a point of counting aloud, but somewhere between 11 and 16 I lose track of where I am. I think I've done 22 but when I review the video, I count 24. Ugh. In the locker room, I run into A who teaches BodyPump and a few other classes. She suggests that the "challenge" isn't a challenge for me, so it's easy for me to lose count. That's probably true. It's not a challenge. But I could make it one by doing T-push ups instead. When I do that variation, I usually only get to 25 reps, 30 at most. Or I could pause after each 5 push ups and then just add 2?

I'm still tired. Swim class tonight isn't going to make that any better. Oh well...

Angles make the difference

Thursday

30 min elliptical
Prgm3
280 cal
2.50 miles

HGPU 31
Knee-In 50
Crunches 3 X 50
Bird Dog 2 X 60 sec
Elbow Planks 2 X 30s

Day 8  22 push-ups? Oops... 24

Week Two Day Four Active Rest Hah!

My husband bought a whole box of hand-warmer packets some months ago. I've been cracking a packet open each morning to keep in my gloves while I walk the dog, and they're still hot enough to use while I stand at the bus stop waiting for my son to come home 8 hrs later. If I'm lucky, they'll continue to generate enough heat for the dog's evening walk as well. Today's an "active rest" day according to the Shred Program. Ha!

Distance / Calories / Time Elapsed

I got to the gym and hopped on the elliptical for 20 minutes, pedaling at a leisurely 180 Strides Per Minute. The mileage is nearly identical to 20 minutes of HIIT where I'm running like heck for a minute and then walking to catch my breath. Because these new ellipticals have more resistance on their glide motion, there's no way I'll be able to match the mileage I used to get, but at least they don't give me blisters. After a quick Cage Stretch, I wrap my hands and put all my gear under the Nexersys. I'm a creature of habit so I punch in 9 rounds of Beginner Follow Me. My accuracy is probably the best it's ever been so it's a good thing that I've started doing a few rounds on the Intermediate level which continues to flummox me. Eventually I'll get the hang of it. When I finally remember all the combinations and what I can use to substitute for them!

My accuracy and strikes are lower than last week which is a bummer, but the program isn't predictable. I missed a few punches and kicks for the first two rounds because the program is much quicker in calling the combinations. I'm also leery of doing the Upper Cut punch because there's a danger of crunching your wrist. Elbow jabs are safely replaced with lead and power hooks. When I'm done I notice an odd screw among my things. It seems to have fallen out of the machine. Uh oh. Punching and kicking too hard? I hand it off to a gal at the front desk before I drop onto the Mat for a quick stretch. Then I clamber back onto the elliptical for a slow 15 minutes of LISS.

The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs. I've been trying to watch my salt intake. Today my home scale reads 110.2 lbs and a Body Fat of 20.6%. Yesterday it was 21.1% and I'm going to attribute it to water weight which can really mess with muscle and fat readings. What I can't deny is that I'm still softer than I was last spring and summer when it averaged 19%. I can see it in the mirror, in photos and my BF was lower according to my home scale. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to reach my goal of 16% BF and if I ever get there, how long will I be able to sustain it? I know I'm not a naturally lean person. But it'll be interesting to try.

Active Rest Day

20 min moderate cardio = 1.69 miles
Cage Stretch
Nexersys: 9 rounds Follow Me Beginner
  Accuracy 95% / Strikes 105% / Average Power 131% 
Nexersys: 3 rounds Follow Me Intermediate
  Accuracy 48% / Strikes 86% / Average Power 91% 

15 min LISS cardio = 0.91 miles

photos posted for actual stats:

Follow Me Beginner Female

Follow Me Intermediate Female

Day Four Active Rest

Not really sure what an active rest is suppose to be, but it's not suppose to be sitting on your butt. I went to the gym, got on the Precor elliptical and pedaled for 20 minutes. My glutes and hamstrings are still sore from Tuesday so I was feeling a bit slow out of the gate. After 20 minutes of ever increasing my pace (starting at 160 SPMs and peaking at 240), I'm feeling a bit warmer but somewhat unfocused. Usually my head is clearer. I only log in 2 miles so I know I'm in a fog of sorts.

A quick Cage stretch and then I wrap my hands so I can punch the Nexersys. As I did last week, I plan to do 9 rounds Beginner and then 3 rounds Intermediate. I don't want to forget everything I figured out so I have to keep practicing! I'm not sure if it's the Shred Program and my uncharacteristic soreness that makes me less focused than usual but I'm punching and kicking too hard which results in a lower accuracy rating. Several of my blows don't register at all. I need to slow down and draw out my punches so that they're more of a hard push than an actual jab-cross. The Beginner Follow Me summary shows me greater power and lower accuracy. It's frustrating.

I'm a bit nervous with the Intermediate Follow Me program and miss several combinations in Round One, but eventually I regain my focus, pulling my punches and concentrating on accuracy. By Round Three I feel like I've finally figured it out. Next week I'll add a few more rounds to the Intermediate level. I'm really not looking forward to tomorrow's Shred Day Five program but maybe I'll be able to work through all this soreness. I've almost emptied my water bottle so I'm not surprised that the gym scale reads 113.0 lbs. I'm having lunch with friends from a recently-dissolved photography club at the local seafood joint. Well, my diet won't be completely blown, but it'll sure taste good.

Day Four: Active Rest
20 min elliptical = 2.02 miles
Cage Stretch
Nexersys:
9 rounds Beginner Follow Me Female
  Accuracy 83% / Strikes 105% / Average Power 131%
3 rounds Intermediate Follow Me Female
  Accuracy 57% / Strikes 95% / Average Power 89%

photos posted with actual stats: