Day 77 - Interval Cardio & Yoga

I did some research yesterday about interval cardio, and there's a lot of stuff out there about how it's much better for burning fat than standard cardio. So I decided to try it - 30min, after yoga, alternating between 9mph and 4mph. After 12 minutes my side started hurting, which has only happened a couple of times, and by the end I was dripping wet and felt like a million bucks. Definitely it's going to be the way I go with cardio from now on. Did 3 miles, too, in under 30minutes.
Yoga was decidedly unsatisfying, for some reason. There was some soft music playing, which threw me off, and I think work stress made relaxation more difficult. I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't get in the mode until the last ten minutes. Kind of a waste of time. My first bad session, though, so I'm not putting much stock in one bad session.
Then I hung out in the hot tub. And it was amazing - had some very good thinking time, and relaxed perfectly. Love that hot tub.
Food was good today - oatmeal & protein for breakfast and a grapefruit, protein bar at 10:30, turkey & provalone on wheat for lunch, fruit at 2:30, protein bar at 5pm, and then a spinach/chicken salad with oil & balsamic for dinner. Good stuff.

Day 75 - two days off, but got it right today!

Not a great weekend for working out. Drank a ton of IPA on Saturday (IPA challenge for microbrewers in ABQ), and did a lot of yardwork, but no gym time. Sunday I got up late, had a fabulous late brunch, and slacked all day. Didn't eat much, either. I'm not taking weekends off on purpose, but they do tend to be less organized.
Today I was back in the groove - ate right, breakfast, protein bar, healthy lunch (mostly), fruit, protein bar, and steak, potatoes, and spinach with oil & vinager. My workout was intense and right on - I did more weight than I usually do, 250 on the leg press and 90lb upright row. 35lbs barbells on the swiss ball for fly and bench presses. I could've done more for the ball press, but I didn't want to go get more weights. The key is really keeping that adrenaline up - starting with some hard cardio, doing some hard cardio in the middle of the routine, and never slacking between sets.
I'm not posting any pics because I'm too lazy to mess with photoshop. sorry...

Day 70 - hard at work

Today was a winner! Ate mostly right, did a great and very cardio-intensive weight circuit, but did have a little beer tonight. Still, good day.
I did discover boiling water for oatmeal and frozen blueberries are a very bad combination. The oatmeal isn't hot any more but are lukewarm, and the blueberries aren't crisp and frozen anymore, just lukewarm. Pretty much the worst of all world. Definitely a mistake I'll not be making again.
The workout was great. I got everything going, then went running for about 5min in the middle of the workout. It got my heartrate up in the good zone, and I felt great, and blew threw the last half of my workout. Really an exhilarating push, and a good workout. I've been stretching post-workout, too, and I think that, along with the yoga, is really starting to make a difference.

Days 67, 68, 69 - Getting back in the groove?

The last three days have been, well, moderately successful. I haven't eaten much, and did my workout fairly regularly, but haven't done a hard-core cardio session since before the wedding. I did some great yoga, and it was an intense cardio yoga workout on Sunday, and I did a good ab session. Monday was a fairly intense, if slightly short, weight circuit, about 35 minutes. I didn't eat enough on Monday, and ran out of blood sugar & got shaky 35 minutes in. Did good abs, though, on Monday too. Tuesday I had a really long day at work, and never made it in to the gym. It was raining, too, so didn't run outside either. Only a late-night abs workout redeemed that day.
I'm finding it difficult to get my diet back together after that weekend of fabulous food. I'm not eating enough, and not eating good enough food when I do eat. Discipline is having a tough comeback!
I'm starting to feel a bit of the pressure. Time is running out - only three weeks left in this thing, so I've got to pick it up. No way I'm not getting abs after spending all this time at the gym!

Day 66 - back in the saddle

Well, I made it back to the gym in a serious display of will power. Did a good workout, not amazing, but definitely threw some weight around and did a great ab workout.
I'm not back on my food track yet. Grandparents are still here, so still ample supplies of homemade food floating around, which I cannot possibly decline for culinary and etiquette reasons. It just tastes so good!
Side note: Homemade cinnamon rolls are the best thing ever.
After the workout, I felt good. I feel almost as if with a couple days off, my body has had time to heal and rejuvenate. My weights didn't decline really at all, thankfully, although the cardio side seems tougher, at least mentally.
So back on the saddle again! 24 days to make it happen.

Day 64 & 65 - Two days off

Two days off in a row! My sister is getting married today, so I've been totally slacking. Both grandmas and a bunch of aunts in town, so the food is fantastic and it happens all the time! Some of the food habits I've been cultivating transfer smoothly, such as eating a lot of fruit & veggies instead of the main dishes, but I have to say, I consumed an enormous amount of an impossibly unhealthy bean dip!
I'll be back on track tomorrow, with a nice little workout of some kind. My lower back's been hurting, still, from the slip on the leg press, and I've actually been lacking energy for some reason. This week has been full of long, long, days with very little Tim time. Relaxation is going to be great this weekend.
The big thing is that I just can't let this break my rhythm. Gotta get back on it on Saturday.

Day 62 - Running!

Did 4.2 miles today, in 40 minutes. Not amazing, but waaay better than two months ago. So much of running is in the breathing, I discovered today. Much like lifting - monitoring my breathing lets me do a lot more weight and kept my pace going for longer. Also, I'm doing intervals - a couple minutes at a 8:20 mile and a minute at 20min mile, so it averages out to about 10min/mile. I've found 7.2 mph is a great pace for me. Any faster, and it slows down my overall pace.
Didn't eat too much, especially at night. Friend's b-day party, and then went to my dad's place, but they were out of food. So I ate plums and came home and ate a grapefruit.
Two days without yoga and I'm starting to feel it. Might try to sneak off during the weekend, but family is in town and it's going to be tough to get any workout done, especially an hour of yoga. Probably will have to settle for a quick morning jog or something.

Day 61 - Monday & back at it

Couldn't get up to save my life today. I was planning on getting up and running with the dog, but that sure didn't happen.
Not a big deal though - I'll do it tomorrow. Family starts to arrive for my little sister's big wedding this Friday, and that's going to make it tough to keep the routine up. Lots of early mornings, hopefully. I'm finally starting to see some results, so keeping the pressure on is a priority for me. I figure if I can make it all week, being good with family and family cooking, I can do anything.
Did a good routine today, except was doing the high leg presses and it somehow fell back on me, killed my back. It's fine now, I think - did lots of yoga back stretches and it felt better. Did some good ab work. I'm thinking my abs are definitely getting stronger - shooting for 100 abs each morning and night, although I've yet to do that. Hate working my abs, for some reason that I can't explain. And they're the whole reason I'm doing this.

Days 59 & 60!

Two-thirds of the way done!!
My double-chin is pretty much totally gone, which is amazing, because I've never been chunky and I've had that since I was 12. I'm definitely more comfortable with my body, but still impatiently waiting for the first signs of my abs. Legs are definitely stronger, and pecs have started to develop a little. Flexibility is way up too, which is great.
Incredibly relaxing day - got up, went to yoga, hit the pool, then the hot tub, then the sauna, before a cool shower and a fantastic burrito. Seriously probably one of the best Sundays in a while.
I ate mostly healthy, but didn't eat very much and only 3 meals. Yogurt, burritos, and snacks. Not enough to keep the metabolism going, but I did drink a fair amount of water.
So two-thirds in, and here's my thoughts: Massive time investment, at least 60min/day, but usually at least 90min/day after changing, showering, driving, etc. Definitely feel slightly better - not really emotionally, but more comfortable with the way I look & more confident. Love the extra flexibility, endurance, & strength.
Next plan - train to run a half marathon in September!

Day 57 & 58 - Still sore from the wakeboard

Thursday and Friday - after getting fried on Saturday, my sunburn is starting to face and has finally stopped hurting, but I'm sore nearly every day for some reason. Wrists & hamstrings from the lake, I think, and just blew up my upper body on Thursday again, so sore on Friday from that.
I've been looking forward to yoga all week, and when I did it today (Friday), it felt absolutely fantastic. Tough - my teacher made us do some really intense core workout stuff, abs and hamstrings, but it was very relaxing when it was over. My stretching has improved immensely - I can bend down about 4 inches further than I could when I started, and can actually briefly touch my toes. This comes from a loosening of my hamstrings & calves. Both incredibly sore and tight two months ago, and still, both are tight, but it's getting better.
At the end of the class, the relaxation part, it was pretty intense. I quieted my head, and then all of a sudden all the thoughts from work came rushing in, and kind of startled me. I guess I didn't realize how stressed I've been at work lately. Like AA, the first step to fix the problem is recognize it, right?

Day 56 - Morning run

Got up early to do a little run, but I think my workout last night took my hamstrings for a ride. Couldn't run for shit, so went for about half and hour dragging the semi-reluctant puppy and called it a run. Now gotta rest my legs so I can get a crazy workout tomorrow.
Good day for food - ate mostly healthy, with the exception of a little Kathy's Carryout Tacos, which are practically impossible not to eat occasionally. Especially if you work in the South Valley, like I do. But there's nothing, and I mean nothing, healthy to eat in New Mexican food down there. Mom & pop shops don't understand healthy in the South Valley. Which is why it's so damn good.

Day 55 - hard, hard, weights

Good day. Got up plenty early - I was planning on doing the early workout thing, but that didn't happen, so instead I went to work and started crunching numbers. Number crunching all day, which isn't particularly fun, but does have a beautiful satisfying feeling when I get a good-looking report thrown together.
Got out at five, dropped by my sister's place for a quick bowl of chili and a gander at my little nephew, who's doing just peachy. Then had a very successful meeting for an hour, and a great and intense workout. I told myself I was going to give myself a workout that would make me want to ralph, and yes, about 30 minutes in, I was ready to call it. But pulled it through, and went out for a great abs workout after.
Then went to my friend's place for some great pasta, found out I won a $5k grant for my work, and yeah, a good day altogether.

Day 54 - 4minutes from deep-fried

Back at work today, after a great weekend in the sun, and yes, I'm paying for it. Putting aloe on fairly regularly, because I hate peeling. Back trying to the diet today. I'm cutting carbs out entirely after 5pm, just fruit, protein & fat, & veggies. Still got the tummy fat I gotta get rid of somehow - that just isn't going away very well. If it doesn't go away in a week, I'm gonna try carb-free for an entire week.
I heard about this - by day 5 you're not thinking too clearly, dropping stuff, but on day 8 you eat regularly and it all shoots right to your muscle. We'll see - I gotta break this plateau somehow.
My exercise was good, but, well, lackluster. I'll do more tomorrow morning. I did 3.5miles in 50min, for an average of about 4.2 mph, which sucks, but I was dragging a 26 pound puppy. That was a lot of work, especially for sunburned me. Had to stop a couple of times. This was also my first free-run, and I learned it sucks to run on asphalt.

Days 51-53: Fourth of July weekend!

I totally took the week off from responsibility and watching my food and booze - almost. I bought a bunch of fruit to take with me, and tried to stick more with the vodka shots than the beer. Didn't really work for the most part, but that's ok. It was a great time.
Got burnt all to hell - parts of my body are bright red, almost orange. And my wrists and triceps are incredibly sore from wakeboarding. It was a good abs workout, anyway. By Sunday me and my buddies were all so sore, we barely made it out again - but we did. That's another thing this whole workout has taught me, especially working with Cera, the trainer - when you think you can't possibly go on any more, you probably can. Funny, too, that last ride, after I thought I was too tired to go on, was the best by far. Damn good weekend.

Day 50 - Going out for the good stuff

Wow, what a workout. Cera took me for my last training session - worked it out really tough. Lots of full-body exercises. I'm thinking I'm in decent shape by now, but 20min in I just wanted to give up all together. Really, really intense. We did everything - including one intense little exercise where I pushed a 25pound weight across the floor at full speed. Killed my legs.
I ate crappy today, except for breakfast. Treated myself to the first nice restaurant meal I've had since I started the program, at Villa de Capo, and Italian Restaurant downtown. They had this gorgeous artichoke dip, buttery and smooth - just a fantastic piece of work. Then had a little salad, and a combo plate with lasagna, fried eggplant, and bona mangiata, which is a rolled, stuffed eggplant. It was all pretty good, including the two glasses of Chablis.
We went home after, and I made milkshakes with fresh blueberries and strawberry Haggen-Daaz ice cream. I didn't eat much, but I had a good little taste. Fabulous. Tough workout, but a great day nonetheless.

Day 49 - 3 miles in 30 minutes!

Well, I know it's not spectacular, but considering I started with the capacity to run for about 10 minutes, I think it's pretty good! This is a measure not so much of my endurance, but of the strengthening of my calves, hamstrings, and lower back. They're sore, but they didn't stop me at least! And a pretty good ab workout on top of it.
I did wake up a little sore from yoga again. I bet it was the crow position - that's the one where she asked us to curl up standing on our hands. It hurt! I did it for maybe 15 seconds, and that was pretty much it. I'm really liking the yoga.