fitclubmom’s BodyBlog

This weekend will mark the end of month two of my fitness journey.  Two months of hard work, sweat, tears, and blood.  Two months of intense commitment to eating clean, cardio, and weight-lifting. Two months of learning the intricacies of muscles and how they work, grow, recover, and respond.  Two months of learning how food; the right kinds of food, make me healthier, stronger, and aid in helping all the muscle grow and the fat melt off.  And two months of meeting truly awesome people and forging new friendships on this site.

As I look back on these past two months I am truly thankful for all of the wonderful people I have met on this site.  My friends here have encouraged me, laughed with me, made me laugh, brought me to tears, made me feel a sense of familial pride in their accomplishments, let me impart some of my new-found knowledge on them and never made me feel like I am inferior or somehow less. And even though I have spent years learning about fitness I think I have gained a deeper understanding of fitness from all of the people I have met here.

My friends on this site understand what it’s like to actually walk away from something tempting and stick with my clean eating, the joy that it brings, the sense of wonderment in being able to say "no" to a food that I LOVE and want to eat so badly my mouth just waters thinking about it.  And they also understand and offer support if I give in and have that food that I shouldn’t have.  If I’m not able to say "no".  There are no recriminations, no smirks, no lectures.  Just support and positive feedback to pick myself up and get back on track.

My friends on this site understand reaching personal goals and that rush that overcomes us when we do.  They understand wanting to strive to do better, lift more, do more, want more, BE more.  And they understand the frustration of not being able to do as much as we want to, not lifting the weight we had set out to, not reaching a personal goal.  And they are always there to say YOU CAN DO IT!!  DON’T GIVE UP… DON’T GIVE IN…!!!  They always offer encouragement and support, even if I am cranky and posting my "rants" on my blog.

My friends on this site are not selfish with their knowledge… they don’t hoard their secret weight loss secrets or lifting routines… they impart all of their knowledge if you simply ask.  No money, nothing expected in return, no ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude. Just a willingness to help others and accept help in return if they need it.

So I want to say a big THANK YOU… you know who you are… you can run (hey we have to get that damn cardio in sometime!! lol), but you can’t hide!!!  Thank you for picking me up when I’m down, giving me a swift kick in the butt when I need it, supporting me, cheering me, encouraging me, making me smile and laugh so hard I can barely breathe, and most of all… thank you for being a friend!!

I can’t wait to see what the next two months brings, and the two months after that, and the two months after that, etc.  Thank you for being a part of my journey… are we there yet?!?! lol

I was mentioning to one of my friends here after seeing her fabulous progress pictures that I can’t wait until I burn enough body fat to see my muscles (’ShanBL’ for those of you who haven’t seen them… go look, she deserves tons of lavish praise!).  Right now I can feel them under there, but can’t see too much detail.  Lately, I spend so much time feeling for my muscles that I have started singing the song "I Touch Myself" by the ‘Devinyls‘ 

Some day soon, I won’t have to feel for them… they will just be there in all their glory!!

One more bit of interesting news for your Monday reading pleasure… when I went down to the gym today RHB was there as usual, but I noticed that every time I went to use a machine that was in her general vicinity she would disappear!  It was blatant enough that my co-worker actually mentioned the fact that RHB seemed to be hiding from me.  I think I scared her!   And that little imp STILL has his claws in me, because the fact that she was avoiding me like the plague really cheered my Monday up!

Sorry folks, but this is an ‘all cap’ moment …  I DID MY VERY FIRST DEAD-HANG PULL-UP!!!!!! And for those of you rolling your eyes saying "yeah, so what?"… STOP IT!  This is a very big deal for me.  I have been working so hard trying to get my body strengthened enough to do one and it was getting very frustrating to hang on that bar and not be able to lift myself even half way.  Well, if I swung my legs, and did a little hop, I could get myself up.  But I couldn’t pull myself up from a dead hang.  But, today I was able to do it!!  Of course I couldn’t do it a second time, but that’s okay.  I’m fine with that.  That just becomes the next challenge!

And the BEST part of it was that RHB was there to see me do it!!  She had to have been in shock, because normally she tries hard not to let me know she’s watching me.  But when I dropped down and started jumping up in the air, pumping my fist, and yelling "I did it!! WOOT WOOT…. BOOYAH!" I happended to glance her way and her mouth was hanging open.  Hmmmmm, now that I think about it, her mouth could have been hanging open because I was jumping up in the air, pumping my fist, and yelling "I did it!! WOOT WOOT… BOOYAH!" But I prefer to think it was hanging open in pure, abject jealousy.  I guess that little imp still has his claws in me!! lol

AND, my hubby comes back tonight after being gone for a week…  WOOT WOOT… BOOYAH!

KP

After yesterday’s run in with my nemesis, the RHB (see yesterday’s blog for details ) I calmed myself down and got back to my normal, fun-loving attitude.  This morning my co-worker called to let me know she wouldn’t be able to make it to the gym.  So I went down by myself and RHB, is of course there.  And this time I didn’t have anyone to pull me away if I have a ‘Linda Blair’ moment.  But not to worry, because I am a calm, cool, collected woman.  Nope, I didn’t get mad… I got even .  After every machine I worked (including dumbbells) I would walk past her and just say the amount of weight I had lifted.  The first couple of times she just rolled her eyes at me, but after about the fourth time, she snarkily said (yes, ’snarkily’ is a word )in her Minnie Mouse squeak "Why do you keep telling me what weight you’re lifting?".  I told her that since she seemed to be so interested in the weights I was lifting I was being nice and saving her a walk over to the machines to see what the weight was set at.  Then I sashayed my ever-shrinking butt over to the Smith Squat machine.  And I happened to glance up at the exact moment that RHB was peeking in through the window of the room to see what weight I was squatting. LMAO!  I already knew she figured out the weight by counting the plates that were racked, but I still walked past her when I was done and said "235#" (I found out the Smith Machine bar is 25#, so I can add that weight in now).  Her friend said audibly "She’s already squatting 70 pounds more than you, how did she get ahead of you so fast" (ummmm, just how long has she been checking my weights, anyway?! Geesh!).  So I turned back around and, with big innoncent eyes,  said "wow, I guess this means YOU’RE competing with ME now… good luck with that!".  And I smiled sweetly and sashayed my way to the treadmill for my HIIT. Ahhhhh, yes… getting even does the body good!

  KP

I knew this morning that I was going to be in a feisty mood after my reaction to someones comment in one of my friends blogs.  Well, my day just got better and better… NOT!

I’m usually always in a good mood.  Hey, I love life… and being in a good mood is much better than being in a bad mood and frowning.  Frowning gives you wrinkles and anger gives you ulcers and all kinds of other bad stuff!  So it’s fairly rare that I will be in a bad mood and even more rare for me to stay in a bad mood.  I’m one of those people who get’s angry, yells, and get’s over it.  Not today!

It’s getting to be ‘that’ time of the month (and if that’s TMI, that’s just too damn bad!:-)) which normally doesn’t affect me all that much… a little bloating, more cravings, a little more teary; but generally I don’t have wild mood swings. But I’m feeling a little blue because the hubby is out of town and I’m missing him.  He left on Sunday and won’t be back until Friday . I’m blaming that on my ‘off’ mood!   (Sorry honey, if you read this, but I have to blame something! lol)

Anyway, I was supposed to work out this morning with my co-worker but she called me at the last minute and asked if we could switch it to later this afternoon.  I was fine with that, because there is a certain woman who goes to the gym at the same time I do and we don’t get along very well.  Not that I’ve ever done anything to her.  I’ve tried to say "Hi", I’ve tried being pleasant and smiling at her and she just ignores me .  Never acknowleges me.  I have blogged about her before.  She is the one that wouldn’t let me rotate in on the Smith Squat machine and had such an attitude and then took the treadmill I had signed up for.  She’s just unpleasant.  But I refuse to change the time that I work out just because she’s a biyatch!  Uh-uh, no way-no how!  But today, I was okay with not going downstairs and having to deal with her.

Well, we get downstairs this afternoon and guess who’s there?  Mmmmhhhmmm the red-headed biyatch (no, not me!! Although that could describe me today, I guess! lol).  I wanted to work Lat Pull-downs today because I am still bound and determined to be able to do dead hang pull-ups!  And she was on the machine, so I told my co-worker that we would work on the machines across the room.  When I saw that she had left the lat pull-down area, we went over to use it.  I have been trying to increase my weight on it, but it’s a hard one for me to do right with correct form when I use heavier weights.  But today I was shooting for 90#’s  I put the pin in and got about three reps in when I hear RHB (red-headed biyatch) talking behind me in her irritating Minnie Mouse squeak of a voice.  She had the nerve to tell the woman with her that I was "competing" with her, because I hadn’t used that much weight last week.  WTF?!?!  How the hell does she even KNOW what weight I was using last week???  I don’t work out around her!  Talk about creepy.  And I have no idea what weight she was using because I was on the other side of the friggen room when she was using the machine.  When I went to put the pin in, it was sitting on top of the rack, so I wouldn’t have been able to tell that way.  I think my head must have started spinning on my shoulders because my co-worker grabbed my arm, told me to breathe, and pulled my butt away before I attacked the RHB.  On the plus side I killed my HIIT session after that!  

Okay, I am feeling much better now!!  I have been listening to calming music and breathing deeply (sitting in lotus position).    

Today at work I was listening to two women chatting and, I swear, trying to one-up each other on reasons/excuses that they couldn’t work out.  Now this was AFTER carrying on a 20 minute bitch-fest on how they’re each gaining weight and ending that discussion with a lunch date at McD’s because they "just can’t say no to the fries" (in all honesty, neither can I, I think McD’s puts addictive drugs in those fries to keep people coming back… but that’s also why I don’t go to McD’s.  If I can’t say no, then I take it out of the equation).  Anyway, I digress… sorry… those McD’s fries get me every time!!   So back to the story.  After setting their lunch date they started chatting about how they should use the gym downstairs because they need to do something to get the weight under control (ummmm…. eating better might be a good place to start, duh!).  This is where the one-upsmanship started.  One lady said something about her knees, then the other lady said something about her wrists, then the first lady started in with the surgeries that she’s had, and the second lady had to start listing off her surgeries too, and back and forth it went until I had to leave for a meeting.

But while I was in the meeting I could’t stop thinking about what is a valid excuse and what is just an easy way out of exercising (I’m not even going to get started on eating healthy!).  I know how easy it is to find an excuse not to exercise… that’s why I’m where I’m at right now… because I found excuses, that to me were valid at the time (or that’s what I told myself).  But, I have all those same conditions now that I had then, and I’m finding the time now.  So were they valid?  Not really.  I could have jumped right in to those ladies’ conversation and listed off my:

Injuries/health issues: still recovering from a broken wrist/arm, scoliosis, severe lumbar lordosis, umbilical hernia, kidney problems, anemia,  migraines, etc. And…

Surgeries: I have had 4 kidney surgeries so far, 2 hernia surgeries, and a c-section (and a few other, more minor surgeries).  and… upcoming sugeries: I have to have another surgery for the umbilical hernia… damn hernias! and I have to have a tumor removed from my ovary.  Plus at some point I will have to have another kidney surgery… damn kidney’s!

But I am still going down to the gym and working out at home, busting my ass and giving it my all!  I am eating clean, and doing the best that I can to be the healthiest I can be.  Could I still use a variety of excuses or easy outs?  You betcha!  And I have used them in the past.  But no more!  I have learned that you have to MAKE the time for fitness… You have to MAKE the decision to eat clean and healthy… and you have to MAKE yourself accept no excuses or easy outs.  It’s tough, but all worthwhile things in life are!

And for those of you who have to take it easy for medical reasons… that’s not what this post is about!  Definitely listen to your doctor and follow his/her advice!!!!  This is simply a way to say, evaluate your excuses and see if they are valid.  Don’t be afraid to push yourself.  Don’t be afraid to start again (and again, and again, and again, if that’s what it takes).  Keep moving forward and make a commitment to yourself to be healthy and work out.  Make it a non-negotiable commitment. 

I’m stepping down off my soap-box now!

For some reason I seem to be seeing a lot of really awesome posts today.  I tend to go into my friends’ profiles when I sign on and check out their blogs to see what’s new with them.  And then I ’surf’ around on the body blogs and read posts that catch my attention. I have read some powerful stories of truly amazing people overcoming some heart wrenching obstacles and coming out all the stronger for it.  People who have taken control of their eating.  People who have bested their personal goals and records that they set for themselves.  People who are pushing themselves beyond their limits to achieve amazing transformations in a very short time frame.  And people who have the ability to understand the gifts, lessons, and growing experiences we are given, and give (or pass on) the gifts they have learned to others who are open, accepting and have the ability themselves to understand what those gifts are.

One of the biggest (and best) life lessons I have learned has been to use the power of positive thinking and commitment.  When I truly believe I can do something or change something, then there is nothing that can stand in my way.  There may be obstacles I have to jump, but I use commitment to keep me on track and moving forward.  For my fitness journey, positive thinking lets me visualize the way I want to look and KNOW that I can achieve it!  And commitment is what keeps me going to the gym and pushing myself every day to achieve it.

Commitment keeps me drinking a gallon of water a day and I use positive thinking to visualize myself being healthier and fitter because we all know how vital water is to our bodies.  I visualize my body running more efficiently and becoming younger and healthier by eating the right kinds of foods.  And commitment is what makes me reach for a protein shake instead of ice cream.  And when I stumble, I see it as an obstacle to jump over and keep moving forward.  I don’t look back at how many obstacles I’ve jumped, because it doesn’t matter.  What matters is that I keep using my positive thinking and my commitment and keep moving forward.

There are a lot of us on here that use positive thinking and commitment.  And my hat’s off to each and every one of you!  I read a lot about motivation, and motivation is great… I have a lot of motivation!  But my positive thinking and commitment keep me going even when I have temporarily lost my motivation!  I usually find the motivation hiding just past the obstacle that I jump as I’m moving forward!   I have learned a lot of life lessons in my lifetime, but I wanted to share those two today.

After yesterday’s leg workout I was expecting to be sore today.  Heck, I was already sore yesterday.  So I knew today would be a challenge as my muscles work to build muscle and recover.  Last night I spent a good portion of the night walking off leg cramps.  Everytime I would stretch in my sleep my legs would cramp and I would have to pop out of bed and walk around.  There is a remedy for leg cramps that I have shared with a few people.  It sounds icky and crazy and kind of ‘woo-woo’ but it works!! 

The remedy is pickle juice.  I swear it works and the few people I have told who have tried it swear by it too.  If you get a leg cramp and drink pickle juice (a few swigs), the leg cramp goes away in seconds!  Seriously!  I almost ALWAYS have pickle juice on hand just for that reason.  When I start getting a lot of leg cramps I even have a jar of pickle juice on my night stand! 

If you’ve ever had a "charlie horse" that knots and tightens your calf up so bad that you can’t move or even breathe you will try pretty much anything to ease the pain.  These aren’t the kinds of cramps that you can walk out either.  You can’t even stand up when you get them.  I started getting those kinds of leg cramps when I was pregnant and have had them ever since.  The doctor is the one who told me about the pickle juice. 

Last nights leg cramps were not that kind, just your run of the mill, regular cramps that you can walk out (not that they don’t still hurt like crazy!).  I would have used the pickle juice, but I didn’t have any .  And I didn’t think the hubby would appreciate me waking him up at 2 a.m. to go to the store for pickle juice .

So today was a P90X Yoga day… and I really thought that yoga would help loosen up my legs and help the tightness go away.  Mmmmmhhhhhmmmmmm.  I obviously didn’t have my ’smart’ hat on this morning!  The P90X yoga dvd is really hard.  The first 45 minutes are Vinyasa’s, which are flowing moves.  You are constantly moving from one hold/position to another.  There are no breaks.  And I actually got through it better than I thought I would.  My wrist still gives me a lot of problems towards the end because there are so many Downward Dogs.  But that is normal for me. 

We decided to just do the first 45 minutes of yoga today and we will do the rest later.  So when the 45 minutes were up I started to walk up the stairs and that’s when I realized that the yoga strained my legs even MORE.  Uggghhhh.  So I am a walking leg cramp today.   As long as I stay moving, it’s not too bad.  But when I sit down and then try to get up… YOUCH! It’s a good thing I won’t be doing legs again until Friday… I have a feeling my legs are going to need the recovery time.  Hmmmmm… except I still have to do Plyometrics on Tuesday which will be interesting.  Hopefully the legs are recovered by then.

Actually my legs are like jello because I killed them on my work out today!  AND I beat a personal record!  I was able to squat 210 pounds for 6 reps on the Smith Machine!!  Woohoo!!  It might even be more if the Smith Machine bar has weight… I know the barbells are 45 pounds. But I’m not sure if the Smith Machine has weight?!  My leg workout:

1 lap around the track doing walking lunges (ouch!)

3 Pyramid sets on the Smith Machine; Set 1 - 12 reps @90#, Set 2 - 10 reps at 160#, and Set 3 - 6 reps at 210#

4 Sets of Plie squats with a 50 pound dumbbell

3 Sets on the Standing One-Leg Pushdown;  Set 1 - 10 reps @ 70#, Set 2 - 10 reps @ 90#, Set 3 - 10 reps @ 105#

Finished with 4 sets of Ab Planks holding each set for 60 seconds.  Two sets alternated between regular planks and side planks.

And 20 minutes of HIIT on the Elliptical

Tonight is supposed to be a P90X leg day, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.  The nice thing about the P90X leg dvd is that they call all be done using body weight, and that is exactly how I will do them tonight!

Wow, yesterday’s P90X dvd was back and biceps and it Kicked. My. A$$.  This dvd is unique in the sense that no move is repeated twice; in most of the dvd’s you repeat an exercise twice.  And it is heavily geared towards the biceps!  If there is anything out there that will get my biceps in shape, I have NO doubt that this dvd will do it!  This one gave my biceps a workout and I only have 8# weights at home right now.  The hubby and I are investing in adjustable dumbbells, but until they arrive, he uses the P90X bands and I use the dumbbells.  I love the fact that there are so many new exercises in this series.  A lot of them I already knew, but there have been a lot of exercises that I have never seen or heard of until starting this series.  It keeps things interesting and I am never bored.  Yesterday’s a.m. workout I ended up working my back pretty hard and not doing any bicep work because the biceps were still fatigued from Monday.  And I didn’t know what the p.m. workout was going to have since the dvd’s for Phase 2 are new and we didn’t preview them.  It worked out very nicely in this instance because my biceps responded well with the weights I had and the back exercises (mostly pull-ups) I was able to use the bands on so I felt like I got a really good workout.  My biceps are fine this morning, but I am really feeling it in my back!

I am still getting in my 1 gallon of water a day and my eating has been on track.  I am starting to see a slight decrease in weight now that my body is adjusting to the new eating and water challenge.  I have also started taking Cytolean by Gaspari.  I posted my review in the forums, but will say here… this product is AWESOME!!  If you have a hard time with fat burners (like me), I have had zero side effects with this.  And that is a first for me.  I recommend looking into this product.

  KP