DAY 10: Plyo cardio circuit

This one still kills me. I can talk all nicely about Pure Cardio... but not this one. When I get into the second circuit (there's two circuits you repeat 3x each) - it just kills me. I think it's all the ab work from the plank position that gets me... All I know is that I pressed pause today. Only once, but still. It was warranted. But... this is TOTALLY what I signed up for! I did swear a lot today, I was totally impressed with what I achieved and when I met or exceeded the goals I set for myself - I felt like s superhero. Thank you Shaun T!

DAY 9: Pure Cardio

Yep. I love this program. And I LOVE not repeating a circuit in the Pure Cardio program. Thank you Shaun T! Now, oddly, I haven't lost any weight over this past week, which surprises me, but my goal was just to stay in a range - and I'm still there. So, wish granted. I did A LOT more of the program today than I did last week! I didn't track any numbers of the exercises you could count, I was kind of feeling today like I should... but I didn't remember any of those numbers either... :) I did press pause once... but that was it. Pretty heroic, really.

DAY 8: Cardio Power Circuit

I'll admit... I'm REALLY enjoying this workout program. Yes, there are still times that I feel a bit light-headed and need to take a break... but, doing all this moving and jumping... it leaves me with a great endorphin rush. And for a woman like me, who laughs A LOT, it's hard to find a good endorphin rush. That's why I stopped running. :) In today's workout, you do "hurdles" - run on one spot and then jump, one leg at a time over to the left or right. (Not exactly hurdles, but...) Anyway, when I'm doing them, all I can think about is Jessica Zelinka - a Canadian heptathlete that competed in this summer's Olympics in London. She's from London, Ontario, and a friend of mine at work and I decided we wanted to be hepathletes after watching her perform her first day of events. Seriously - 7 events over 2 days - and they want to crown Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian...? 7 events. Anyway, Jessica got a bunch of personal bests and did an AMAZING job on the hurdles. Those hurdles look taller than me. I don't think I could do "real" hurdles, so I'm thankful this workout only has me doing a version that looks more like I'm trying to jump over a 2 ft hurdle...

DAY 7: Rest day

So, week one is complete. Gotta love rest days! I am really impressed so far. I am enjoying my workouts, really feeling challenged and can see lots of development opportunities. And yes, I do swear and I am beginning to feel a bit like s auperhero... Mission accomplished so far!

DAY 6: Cardio Plyo Circuit

Wahoo - my first repeat workout. I know, that's not what I'm going to be feeling a in a couple of weeks when I've done this routine SEVERAL times, but for now - wahoo! :) This time - I made it through until the warm-up, stretch, first time through routine 1 and the second time through routine 1 before I needed to break. I was really impressed with how much I could handle, even from Day 2. Mostly I think it's because I knew what was coming and I'm learning how to pace myself during the warm-up. Now appreciating that the "circuit" routines have you repeating the same circuit three times in a row - and for you to do them mild, medium and hot - makes my stamina last longer! During the second routine, you drop and do "Level 1 drills" - 4 push-ups, mountain climbers in plank, ski jumps in plank and ab in and outs... and it's pretty intense. But, I could do WAY more this time than before! And my push ups are returning to normal... On Day 2, I did more of my push ups like my nephew - not really going down, just a slight dip and that's it. So, I felt much better today really lowering down each time.

DAY 5: Pure Cardio

Basically every workout is fashioned the same at the start... Warm-up by repeating the same circuit three times - mild, medium and hot... And then you do a stretch and then you "really" start the workout... During the stretch, Shaun T says - "I'm actually really nervous about this workout..." What a way to warm up the audience! I was even more intimidated! (Not like I would have stopped the video... the fear was not THAT great...) However, I thought it was a great workout. Yes, at times, it was really hard and I had to take small breaks... but overall, great time. The best part... No repetition! You do everything for one minute, one time. LOVE that! At about 30 minutes in (10 mins left), I got my second wind. It was kind of funny - I was totally ready to go another 20 minutes (or at least the "me" who knew there was only about 7 minutes left before the cool down, bravely said that...). And, when I was done, I was really impressed with making it through. That's going to be a lot more fun when all of the moves feel more familiar.

DAY 4: Cardio Recovery

I was pretty nervous this morning with a title like that... Yesterday was Cardio Resistance.. but I thought it was HEAVY on the Cardio, ultra light on resistance... And my quads and I, we wanted a bit of a recovery... And we did. What a great workout! It's a solid workout - you are definitely still working out and still being challenged - but at a great pace. You're not rushing from one thing to another. I think after a couple of times, I'm really going to feel like a superhero after this one. One thing Shaun T has you do is go into a lunge (both knees at 90 degrees, not a wide lunge), hold there (FOREVER) and then do 16 pulses and then hold longer. When he was talking about it, I was like "I got this" And then I was getting to pulse #12 and thought I would die. I could feel lactic acid going through my veins... I had to stand and shake out my legs while they were continuing to hold... I can't wait to master that one! In time...

DAY 3: Cardio Resistance Circuit

So, in my mind, I was thinking from the name of this workout that it was going to be more resistance, less running and jumping. But no. All that really seems to be different is that at the end of each circuit, Shaun T adds a couple of extra "resistance" moves - like tricep dips. Now, that being said, there is still some resistance work in the circuits - more squats, push-ups and the like. There was some swearing this morning. I won't lie. Oh, and at the end, I just laid down on the ground, only to look up and see that most of the participants in the video were too! I felt like we were working out together. Ha! Right now... some soreness in my legs and in my lower back. I expected my arms/shoulders to be quite sore, but doing pretty well. I also went to Yoga tonight, so that may limber things up a bit too. Today, I was in a meeting for an hour and a half. I wasn't really thinking about the length of time I was just sitting there... and when at the end, I went to dash out to my next meeting, I walked the first couple of meters totally straight-legged. My quads and hamstrings were NOT talking to each other. It was pretty funny for a moment. :)

DAY 2: Cardio Plyo Circuit

Did I swear today? Nope. Didn't have enough time, breath or train of thought! Great work out though. I'm sure as I become more familiar with movements/routine and build up more cardio endurance, I'll enjoy it more. I doubt there was a single circuit today where I kept the whole way through. The best part - even in the group that's doing everything thing with Shaun T, there are guys that stop and have to take a break - or who just walk away for a few minutes. That was pretty awesome to see. (I don't even care if it was staged). I'm so glad I wore a sweatband today!!!!! P.S. I was a little sore this morning when I was getting out of bed. All that has soreness has eased up... hopefully it doesn't return as I'm sitting at my desk all day!

DAY 1: Fit test #1

Wow. Ok. They’re for real. If the Fit Test is anything to go by… this program is NOT for a newbie to the workout world or someone who is faint at heart. Thankfully enough, I’m neither of those! The Fit Test is about 30 minutes long, and they walk you through 8 common exercises from the program that you have to do your max amount of reps within the time limit. (My ego wants to say that each one was two minutes… but I think it was only really 1 minute – but yes, the longest single minute ever…!) 1. Switch kicks - 137 - kick one leg up, and then the other leg up while holding your arms bent into your chest (your hands would be at your shoulders). I did well here… I got a lot more than both the woman and man who were there demonstrating. (Although, I am thinking every rep would be a kick with each leg… and I was counting them as single counts… mostly because I felt like I was pretty much keeping in time with Tonya and Chris…) 2. Power jacks - 40 - a jumping jack, but you’re going into a wide-leg squat at the bottom. I knew my hips were tight, but overall, did a great job... I did more reps than Tonya and Chris (and no worries about counting single vs double reps this time!) 3. Power knees - 85 - When Shaun T was going over this one, I was like "Cake walk!" - this is common in most exercise routines... (pull knee up to the corner or the room, raise arms to the corner then down beside your knees when raised) however... following the other two and going hard, I was beginning to feel it. I had to pause the video for a minute when I finished. I was ahead of Tonya and Chris again (yay me!). And I gotta tell you, at this point, when I was ahead of them again, I was kind of wondering if I was going to surpass them with every exercise… But in actuality… I should have been pacing myself… Lesson learned. 4. Power jumps – 21 - Ok. You got me. Hello light-headed feeling! Another low, reach high jumping exercise... my heart and brain were both feeling taxed. I had to pause - and sit with my head low for a minute or so and then pace the room. Tonya and Chris, they can have this one. 5. Globe jumps - 7 - This is one I will probably improve on... you jump 4 times - once to the right, then back, then to the left, then forward. It was a good thing I'd taken a break... 6. Suicide jumps - 10 - these are the ones that had intimidated me the most when I heard about them. However, at the end of the day, they’re just burpees. And if they’d been the first item – I would have done WAY better… But holy goodness. It was tough to get out the number I did! 7. Push-up jacks - 30 - do a push-up, jack your legs out, go down again. These are also featured in P90X, so it was easier once I found my rhythm back. I’m finding that sometimes my right shoulder isn’t as strong as I want it to be (depending on the angles) – so hopefully some extra push-ups in my world will help it gain some lost strength. 8. Low oblique twists - 50 - in a plank position, pull your knee up towards your elbow. Similar to the suicide jumps, if I had more momentum left, I would have done much better! That being said… this is an exercise that I have gone WAY better at over the past two years! So, even today, I was recognizing the improvement. Did I swear?? YES! Did I feel like a superhero? Well, maybe one coming out of retirement... It will be interesting to see how the next fit test goes at the start of week 3. Not only will I know how to pace myself out – I’ll have numbers I want to beat… And more experience with these “common” exercises. Also, this morning, I kept with my usual lemon juice in warm water and an apple, as my pre-workout snack… And I think I’m going to have to return to my Vega pre-workout energizing drink. My body definitely needed more calories to operate near the end of this workout! I’ll give it one more morning with just the lemon/apple to see if my body was just shocked by the fit test. And I’ll also see if I can build in more time for absorption before I start moving… Let's see how a "real" class goes tomorrow morning! Especially after I go to a rock concert tonight... :)

NEW CHALLENGE: INSANITY!!!

Hi - I'm starting a brand new challenge tomorrow... INSANITY!! First of all, I can't believe how excited I am to start this program! Even though it's named INSANITY... We're about to find out if that name is appropriate or not...! EEK! INSANITY is through Beachbody - the same peeps that brought P90X to the world. This one is hosted by Shaun T and is supposed to be all focused on cardio and really pushing yourself to the MAX! Why am I so excited? Let me count the ways... 1. I finished doing Chalean Extreme (also in the Beachbody family) in the fall, and it was great to have a program to do daily. (I am WAY more consistent with my workouts when it's part of a scheduled program...) So, I've been looking forward to starting a new program. 2. One of the things that I found missing from Chalean Extreme was the "superhero" feeling that I'd get during P90X... Going so beyond where I first thought I was capable of... and feeling the amazing rush afterwards - all day actually - of being impressed with yourself. 3. Don't tell my mom... but I also missed the swearing. Working out so hard and pushing myself that I HAD to swear. It was the only way for me to make it through... 4. It's time to shake things up a bit! I've been focused on strength for awhile now, and I'm ready to just spend my time MOVING! My goals... All of the above... plus... I REALLY want to get through this holiday season without gaining weight. I like the zone I'm in right now... and so, I'm hoping not to gain any weight (I'll allow a general fluctuation upwards of 2lbs, but that's it). Of course, if I lose weight... well, that's just all the better! I ultimately want to lose about 10 more pounds, so, if that's part of this... MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!! :) (And for those of you keeping score... that will have seen me lose 50 lbs!!! How amazing!!) So, tomorrow is Day 1 of 60. It all begins with a Fit Test! As per, my P90X blogs, I will do my best to record my entry the same day as each workout. I still don't know how the holidays are going to play into this... do I just "skip" days... or do I put the schedule "on hold"... Dunno yet. Hopefully, I'm still pushing play then!! :)