Kenpo + DVR = Magic

I did Kenpo using the book today while I caught up on my DVR.  It was so fun!  I did karate a bit in the past, so I'm familiar with the form.  I watched an episode of the Office and Big Bang Theory.  Love it!  As usual, I love the knuckles with a front kick and back kick.  

I have a couple more days of my recovery week and then it's on to Phase 3!!!  I'm running a half marathon on Sunday, so I might take Monday as a rest day and get going again on Tuesday.  I'm leaving for vacation on Wednesday, so I'll be packing my book and bands so I am all set!

Another day, ANOTHER WORKOUT!

You know, it's so funny to me how quickly working out becomes difficult to do.  I took 5 days off, and it seems like such a huge feat to get back into it!  Luckily I'm too stubborn to do anything else, so I got up this morning and did my Core Synergistics.  Fun times!  I absolutely love the pushups at the end when you turn and balance on your hand and feet and sweep under.  I'm getting much better at Chatturanga in general, so all those crazy moves are getting much better.  I'm happy my few days off didn't completely derail me!

On another note (sort of), I read an article in Fitness about how skimping on sleep is worse for you than missing a workout, so it made me feel slightly better about missing a few workouts last week!  Basically it said that you increase your risk of disease when you have less than 7 hours of sleep and a workout doesn't counteract that enough to make it worthwhile to sleep less just to workout.  Now of course I'm not going to take this as an excuse to skip workouts... I'm going to use this as motivation to get enough sleep!

Keep pushing play!!!

I'm back!

My life has returned to "normal" and so I did a workout this morning!  Yay!  I left off at recovery week for phase 2, so I started there today.  I decided to substitute Cardio X for Yoga because I didn't have a full hour and a half to exercise this morning.  I figured since there's yoga in it, I wasn't doing too bad.  I feel awesome!  I am so happy I worked out today!  I burned 458 calories, and I'm also planning to walk to and from school today.  That will end up being an additional 3-3.5 miles of walking with my backpack on.  The weather is quite warm in PA, but I'm loving it!

Only one more week of school, and then I head off on vacation with my family!

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming

My crazy week is settling down, so I'm going back on the wagon tomorrow.  Phew!  I still have lots of homework, but the work outside of the classroom has definitely slowed down.  We had a big weekend for admitted students who are trying to decide whether or not to go here for school, so I was heavily involved in that plus the whole studying thing.  We put on this silly show on Friday, and I was in a Thriller dance.  Fun times!  At least I was doing that all week for some exercise...

I'm picking up with phase 2 recovery this week, and then it's on to phase 3.  I MISS MY PUSHUPS!!!  How funny is that?!?!?

Busy Busy!

I am barely able to find time to eat and sleep right now, let alone workout.  I'm taking a rest day today and trying to figure out the rest of my week!  Must salvage but must also be realistic!!!

End of Phase 2...

Wow, it is busy for me right now!  I have one more workout to do before I start the recovery portion of phase 2.  Hooray!  I subsituted a run this weekend for my Kenpo X workout because I'm planning to run a half marathon in 2 weeks.  It felt great to go out in the spring air and run!  I'm doing Legs and Back today, and then it's on to recovery.  I haven't done Core Synergistics in so long, so that will feel great!

On another note, life is great right now!  I feel so much better about life in general, and I know a lot of the positive energy comes from my workouts!  I feel so strong, and it definitely improves my moods!

The next two weeks are going to be uber-busy because it's the end of the school year, and then I head off on vacation.  I'm going to need a vacation plan so I know I can stick to everything.  I'll work on that soon!

Back and Bis

Today was my last back and bi workout before recovery week!  It went well.  I need to get some heavier weights.  I wasn't sweating nearly as much as I should've been and I wasn't being lazy!  When I did Ab Ripper X, I noticed that I am so much stronger!  I can easily touch my toes without any assistance in the exercises where your legs are extended.  Rock on!  I love this!

On a more personal note, I've been in such a great mood this week!  I'm sure some of this has to do with P90X.  I had a couple people mention my progress, so that's always nice!  The pants I'm wearing today are now too big!  Woo hoo!  I'm trying to figure out what to do next...  I have Slim in 6, which is an easily traveled workout, so I think I might do that this summer.  I'll be traveling a lot for work, so this will fit in well.  When I first did Slim in 6, I used these wimpy bands, so this time around I'll use something with higher resistance!

Hooray for so many followers too!  Thanks for the support!  

Plyo + The Biggest Loser

So today I was way tired in the morning and didn't workout. I had a few hours off in the afternoon, so I put on The Biggest Loser on DVR and did plyo with the book. It was awesome! I love that show, and I'm pretty sure again I pushed harder not having the DVD on. Works for me to get through this week! I'm so looking forward to the variety of recovery week. I'll have to add some runs in there to get ready for the race.

Class tonight! I am so happy I got in my plyo workout! Woo hoo!

I was definitely in a flop sweat...

Phase 2, Week 3

I started off my morning with the chest, tri, shoulders workout. I can tell I'm getting fitter. I only burned 600 calories! I wasn't feeling as strong with the pushups... I didn't do as many reps, but I was trying to go lower in the pushups, so maybe that was it. I've noticed I dread doing ab ripper x, again for the boredom reasons. I pushed through it today though! On those V-up Roll-up things, I change it up a bit. When you're in the V and pulse up, I actually SLOWLY let my legs down, and it ends up being another little ab move. Tony just flops his back on the ground. I don't get in 25 total reps, but I feel the burn!

On the running front, I'm feeling awesome! P90X has really upped my overall fitness level! I'm really excited for the half marathon! I have to put together a killer playlist. I'm not expecting a crazy good time since I haven't been training for real, but I expect to do just fine!

Have a great day everyone!

Shaking things up a bit

Today was a Kenpo day for me, and I slept in pretty late! I didn't get my morning workout in, so I had to push it off until after dinner. Let's just say I didn't feel like it. I decided to shake things up a bit and do the workout while watching tv. I turned on the DVD and did the warmup with Tony, but I was so not excited about listening to the DVD for the next hour! Once the warmup was finished, I switched off the DVD and grabbed the book. I put on some DVR I had from last week and I kicked it! I think I worked harder than I would've with the DVD!!! I was seriously kicking and punching! I burned over 800 calories, which was much needed after some Easter candy. I feel great! I am sooooo happy I actually did my workout even though I wans't feeling it. Now I can relax!

Happy Easter!

Awesome workout day!

Yesterday was yoga day, and I was just not feeling it. I really needed a mental health day so I went shopping, napped, and relaxed. I felt very rested today! I'm just going to call yesterday my rest day for the week and throw in yoga on my rest day.

Today was a whole different story! I had some work to do in the morning, but when I got home, I stuck in the legs and back workout. The pullups were tough today! I don't know if I was putting less of my weight on the chair or if I was still tired. I was definitely feeling those pretty quickly though! I checked a couple days ago and I can now hang from the bar pretty easily. Next stop, unassisted pullup!

After my legs workout was done, I decided to go for a jog with friends. It was great! I felt so fit! One of my friends runs a little faster, and I felt fine! I ended up doing 4.3 miles which is longer than I've done in a while. Just think... the race is only 9 more miles than that! :) Oy! Thank God for P90X because I would be a mess without it!

Bring it!

Spring is here!

I just got back from my jog and it was wonderful! It's sunny and there's a slight breeze here. I love it! I'll be doing my back, bis, and arx later on today. This was a long week for me, but I've gotten all the work done I needed to do. It's nice that I was able to get in the run AND the other workouts later. I ended up doing 2.5 miles in 25 minutes, which is my normal pace. I'm guessing most runners out there know this, but just in case, you can map your routes here:

http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/

Time to get ready for school!

Plyo AGAIN

As you can probably tell from my title, I'm getting a little sick of plyo. I was so dreading it this morning! I find it kind of boring even though it's an awesome workout. I actually burn almost as many calories in the strength workouts, but still. It does rock. I threw the DVD in anyway, because, really, is there any other choice? I made it through as expected, and I burned 826 calories! As the workout went on, I actually stopped dreading the fact that I was doing it. It turned into an excellent workout... not shocking, but I definitely finish much happier than when I started! I also used my new running shoes for this workout, and my feet felt AMAZING!!!

Tomorrow I'd like to try to make it a doubles day but I'm going to jog instead do Cardio X. The half marathon is quickly approaching and I have done very little to prepare! That's gotta change!
I have nothing else exciting to report except that it's not snowing today like it was yesterday! Woo hoo!

Horoscopes

Today was the second week of phase 2, and it started out quite well! I read my daily horoscope, which I know is odd to some people. I find it entertaining, and sometimes, depending on my mood that day, it can be inspiring! This was today:

"For one brief, shining moment, it may all make sense - who you are, and why you are where you are. Revel in the clarity, and stockpile some for later."

I love it! Whether it's real or not, it's great! And I'm going to take that with me all day...

Today's workout was the Chest, Tri, etc. extravaganza! My one arm "pushups" are seriously improving! I'm no longer frightened I'll crash down onto my face and lose some teeth. I might even say I do them as well as the woman in the video. She hardly does them, and now I do the same! :) It definitely makes me feel stronger.

Not sure if I had other workout-related shining moments today... it went well, and I burned 720 calories! Woo hoo!

Off to school for a looooooooong day! I'm making my dinner right now, actually so I don't have to buy junk. This is one of my favorite lazy meals ever!

1 cup of brown rice (cook according to directions - I like using broth instead of water so it tastes better)
1 can of black beans (I remove the "liquid" cause I think it's salty and gross)
1 can of Rotel
little bit of salt and pepper
some cumin, maybe a little cayenne or chili powder

Yummy! And healthy!

Have a great one! Bring IT!

Thanks!

I just wanted to post a little thanks for everyone for their support! I'm loving that I have P90X to focus on right now, and I'm also happy there are people out there following me and supporting me! I had a kick butt session of Kenpo X today. I love it! I burned over 700 calories on that one. I still love the whole blocking section. And of course, I love the knuckles! It makes me think I'm in some kind of superhero movie, and there are bad guys on two sides of me, and I knock them both out at the same time! Take that b!tches! :)

Tomorrow is my rest day, but the weather is going to be gorgeous, so I think I might do a little outdoor workout like a walk/jog. Would be a good thing to do since I signed up for that silly half marathon! Good thing I have P90X because I'm already so far ahead with my endurance/cardio strength!

Weekends and stress...

Hello X'ers! I have been successful in keeping up with my workouts this weekend. My mom and sister are visiting, and they were lucky enough to witness me doing yoga and legs and back. Yoga went very well this week! I feel much more flexible! I've been able to put a flat hand on the ground for quite a few exercises! The split things are still pretty killer, but I will try, try, try, every time I do it! I again loved the side stand thing. It's like the middle of the pushup to side stand exercise. I feel so powerful balancing on one hand and my stacked legs. I think it might be time for me to try to put one of my legs in the air! Next time...

Legs went well too! Because I fell off the wagon in my stressfulness last week, I had not done this workout in weeks! OMG! I forgot a lot of it, but it came back. Those lunges on your toes the whole time are NUTTY. Again, I think being a dancer as a child helps this because I've learned to balance on my "tippy toes" as Tony likes to call them. Tomorrow is Kenpo, and I really think I need it!

I'm a bit off right now... with all the personal things I've been going through, I'm having a hard time staying focused. I'm at a point in my life where I thought I knew exactly where I was going, and that all ended. It's hard! I am managing to continue my workouts, so that's good. They keep me grounded and help relieve stress. I'm doing the best I can with school... my grades are definitely not suffering. It's just that I'm having a really hard time with this abrupt change... it is weird thinking you knew what was going on, and then all of sudden you don't. Where to go from here? I guess I can look at it as exciting to have all the options in the world. I'll just have to keep reminding myself of that. Change can be good right? I just hope I figure it out eventually...

Back and Biceps

Ahh just finished up and getting ready for my day! I had fun with that one today! I feel like I was relying less on the chair than I usually do. I got pretty tired of hammer curls though. The weather is nice today, so I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt to show off my new guns! hahaha

I burned a total of 600 calories!

This is the point I made it to last week before I fell off the wagon... not happening this week! I am uber-busy for the next week, but my workouts are still a priority!

Bring it!

Plyo Lovin'

Day 2 of my reinvigorated phase 2 is going well. I will (I promise) put up some results photos although I don't have the day 1 photos. On the ex's computer and couldn't get them off... ugh. At least I'll have these and I can compare after 60 days! I was sore this morning when I woke up, so I guess I worked some muscles yesterday! Plyo is as plyo does... I like it but it's not my favorite. I burned a boatload of calories though, so that's good! Today it was 808 calories! Woo hoo! I think my favorite move is the military march or maybe the gap jump. The gap jump reminds me of when I was dancing all the time and also when I was a kid and pretended my bedroom floor was water with a bunch of alligators in it. I saw an episode of John and Kate Plus 8 where the kids do that too... is that something that all kids do? Weird. :)

Have a fab day X'ers! BRING IT!

PS - Bring it just makes me think of the movie Bring It On when the girl says "It's already been broughten!" Love it!