So... Mondays!

Why do we have to make an already bad day worse? Monday are rough enough right?!

Then lets add below zero temperatures that make you want to stay in and eat comfort food!

But lets make Mondays leg days too!! Who decided this? Really, WHO? I would like to know, so I could go punch them in the leg on Tuesday. HEHEHEHEHE

So when one thinks of leg day they probably think of lots of lunges and squats. At my fitness studio it seems to be a day of hated exercises in addition to the expected variety of lunges and different types of squats.

Lets add burpees! Seriously with the burpees! And numerous sets of burpees.

And AMAP(as many as possible) rope slams in a minute. I did 90 rope slams in a minute! I have seen rope slams where people only move their arms. Umm not at the house of burn you basically do a squat on each slam.

And box jumps, sure that sounds fun too... sarcastic.

And if wall sits, squats, and bend over rows aren't bad enough lets add arms to them with overhead presses, upright rows, overhead presses....

And some cardio jumping jacks, jump ropes, mountain climbers...

Then some ab work.

Just another fun Monday night!

Gotta love Mondays!!

No but seriously I do love the house of burn and my fit family! Love all my ladies!
See you all tomorrow when we come back for more!

Thought…

I think I haven’t been doing well with posting blogs because I think it will take too long to write an entry. So often a thought or an idea pops into my head but I don’t think that I have time to write about it. So…

So… posts will start being what is going on and more written out thoughts. Stories.

But I will be introducing Thoughts… These will be short posts, not a true blog entry. Just random thoughts.

First Thought of 2014:

Thought… does anyone else get excited when they get three workouts completed in a week? Because if you went to a doctor and checked 3 times a week for how many times a week you exercise, for once wouldn't be lying?

So…Holidays.

So…Holidays.
Wedding planning! Work! and Workouts! Hardly time to blog, let alone really edit, so please forgive me. 

Holidays are really cutting into my workouts and I do not like it!!

I totally had all intentions of working out on Monday, Christmas Eve’s Eve (the day before Christmas Eve). With wedding planning and working out, Christmas snuck up on me popped out and screamed BOO. Like it was friggin Halloween. Not cool Christmas not cool. Christmas Eve’s Eve we were driving out to the Legends for last minute shopping and quality fiancé and soon to be sister-in-law bonding time. We did sprint in the frigid cold through all of the Legends looking for Topsy’s Popcorn to get Popcorn for my dad.  Seriously who moves Topsey’s to the other end of an outdoor shopping area. That counts for a little. To add injury to insult, lol, I fell in a pothole in Kohls parking lot. Its like I just dropped down 8 inches. My lower back over a week later is still messed up. I spent Christmas Eve on a heating pad.

Tuesday was Christmas Eve and we had a 8:30am workout scheduled. Thank the fitness gods because this girl needed to workout. I was so excited I was able to get my workout in. It set my day up to be health focused going into Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was at my parent’s house with my grandparents. Let’s call this Christmas One.

We didn't have a workout on Christmas. This was Christmas Two and at my Fiancé’s parents house. I didn't do as well with my nutrition that day. I really think having a workout makes you more focused.

Thursday does not have a night workout, only a morning workout. So no workout on Thursday. L I worked on wedding stuff and I didn't work out. Really takes Fit By Burn having a workout to get me to workout sometimes. Self motivating at home is challenging when everything I have to do is staring at me reminding me of the other aspects of my life I have let down.

I was feeling awful thinking I might only get one workout in all week. Friday I was able to make the workout. Fridays workout was touuuugh. Mendy looked at me and said lets weigh you. Oh heck no. she said jump on the scale. Nope. She said what were you not good? I said I ate chocolate this week. She said just do it! I walked in there preparing to have to come out and laugh off and smile through a gain. I knew I was going to have to face it. I had been struggling to lose weight lately. I don’t want to say the P word (plateau). I feel that can become an excuse.  I walked in stepped on and looked and looked again. I walked out and told Mendy you need to come look at it. She said what you can’t look. I said you just need to come look at it. She walked in. I stepped on. Then mouths dropped open. Hands in air and hug! I had been banging my head against 190 bouncing around 192 and 193 for awhile. Okay now that sounds awful to probably most of you reading this. 190 I know football players weigh that. I can’t believe I am posting that. Heck on the New Years Eve Challenge on the Today Show the two women started at 170s and the man started at 190.  Way to weigh more than people who don’t eat well and don’t workout and are starting their first fitness challenge Jessica. Oh well 190 was my weight after being 216. But on this day, after my first workout since Christmas… I was 187. I lost 5 pounds over Christmas! I had lost 29 pounds total.

And then I made the workout again Saturday morning. Saturday morning at 7am. It was so hard to get up. I couldn't tell you the last time I went to bed before midnight. Or the last time I slept in after 7am. I average about 5.5 hours of sleep a night. Saturday I just wanted to sleep in so bad. But I made it in.

Three workouts wasn't horrible for a week with two Holiday days.  But I was getting nervous for this week. New Years. Saturday I asked if we had class Tuesday/New Year’s Eve or Wednesday/New Years .  They said no. I was so bummed. I said ouch night workout girls only have one workout next week. (The Daily Burn class has morning workouts M, T, W, TH, Fri.  Night girls have M, T, W night. There are also Saturday Morning workouts. ) They had a morning class on New Year’s Eve but I had work. Then hallelujah! It was decided to have Wednesday class at 6:30pm.

I knew I had to make Monday’s class. As if Mondays aren't bad enough let’s make them leg days!

New Year’s Eve I had to work and I did not drink at all!

New Years Day we celebrated my fiancés birthday. We went to lunch at BD’s Mongolian BBQ. Meat and veggies. Not too bad. Then oh crap the snow started. I felt like I had to go. I pushed for a Wednesday workout. My little two door car braved the snow and idiots in large vehicles. There were 5 of us! YAY US! Then got home in time for the snow to keep piling up. Here is to starting off the New Year with a workout! 

So... This is Awesome

This is awesome!

http://mashable.com/2013/11/12/russian-subway-squats/#:eyJzIjoiZiIsImkiOiJfNGEyZ29qdWFqYXY4aTN5emhqcHcxdjdmdTVfIn0

These people use a subway so they obviously live in a city. When I lived in Europe for 7 months and walked everywhere I dropped 50 pounds easily. You buy far less groceries when you have to walk there and then back with them. J  When I lived in New York for a summer we walked to work or walked to the subway to get places. Cities that have this type of transportation people normally do not have cars so they walk more than we do here in Kansas City.

Subway Summer in New York

 

Yes the real Eiffel Towe!

 

 

 

We live in Kansas City, a very spread out city, that the majority of people have cars and use their vehicle for transportation. Just made me think about they are already doing more physical activity than most of us just by doing daily tasks. We get up and get ready so might walk around our house a little bit, sit in a car for a commute to work, sit at our desk for long hours at a time, then sit in our car for the commute home, sit and eat dinner, or eat/drink dinner as you drive somewhere to sit in a meeting (busy schedules here people) and then sit or lay to watch tv, and then go to bed. For most of us there is not a lot of walking. The most walking is probably from the parking lot to our office. This is unless you have a non-desk job of course.  I know I can be working at the computer at work and realize at 2 or 2:30 that I hadn’t gotten up to eat or go to the bathroom. Whoops. So I am starting a challenge with myself to get up and leave my desk at least three times a day, walk to the other end of the building get water and come back. Lindsey if you are reading this you can hold me to this and even join me!

Hmmmm should I make the challenge even harder? Maybe punish myself for being a horrible blogger and not blogging much anymore? (Please view previous blog.. things have been a little crazy!) Okay Okay! Thinking I should challenge myself and anyone who wants to do it with me…. 30 squats, 30 jumping jacks, 30 burpies before you get in your car in the morning. On a suit and/or (heel for the ladies) day maybe these should be done before you get dressed J Because they did 30 to get their subway ticket we will stick with the 30.

But back to the video clip Russia. This reward system is awesome! I always said I would run on a treadmill for an hour if it spit a chocolate chip cookie out for every mile. Also reminds me of this commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO7iCbtlcIc. We can be motivated to work out with fun, interesting concepts or rewards.

So would those people have done squats on their own… no. Would these women have jumped on a treadmill? No. They were motivated by a reward. When is feeling better and looking better not a reward. Maybe because these rewards are instant and tangible. Okay I will talk more about awards in my next blog…

 

So... workout buddy?

Disclaimer! If rambling, bad grammar, and writing mistakes offend you, you better stop reading now..

The last few weeks have been… well crazy! Indescribable!

Last week I had something every single night and wasn’t able to work out.

 

My (soon to be) sister in law moved in on Sunday. We were roomies before my fiancé and I got engaged so it’s like a reunion. So Monday was our first work day as roomies again. She came upstairs from her room in shorts, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt. I was in yoga pants (even though I have never done yoga, not even once), a t-shirt and tennis shoes. She said she was going to go for a run. I said why don’t you just come workout with me. It is free your first time. I caught her in a moment of weakness and a moment where she didn’t have time to make an excuse. We filled up water bottles and rushed out the door. Anyone who knows me knows I am always running somewhere. I am not the most punctual person which is the opposite of my soon to be family. So the urgency probably played a factor that she really didn’t have time to think about it and decide. My punctuality is a flaw I know it. I like to cram so much stuff, obligations, events, tasks in that I can’t possibly do them all or do them on time. For example this Saturday I have three things going on. A wedding, a charity event, and a friend’s birthday and of course they all overlap and I can’t possible clone myself by then so I will be running around like an idiot. Okay Okay back to the topic of working out. This is a great example of how my need to overflow my day leads me to be forgetful and get sidetracked. But that is something great about working out at the gym. While I am there I have to focus on what I am doing. I am not distracted by the 800 emails on my phone (seriously I have over 800 I need to get to), the facebook messages, the direct business tasks, the organization responsibilities, work, social obligations, family obligation, chores, paperwork, shopping list….Instead it is me, the music, a mirror I try to avoid looking at, the dry erase board, some other ladies (depending on how many came that night) and a trainer. Yes I avoid the mirror. I normally stand where the dry erase board is front of me. One so that I can read the board (without glasses) and two that the board covers up my reflection from shoulders down. When looking in the mirror it is like one of these things is not like the other. And it is so easy to compare your bodies to others. Yes and the number of other ladies working out just depends on the night. Sometimes it is just me or one or two others. Oh yea back to my (soon to be) sister in law and us working out.

 

While in the car I was trying to describe the class format to her. That you come in and the board has the workout written on it. That there is normally some cardio as a warm-up and the cardio is then sprinkled in throughout the rest of the workout. The rest of the workout being strength training and normally ending with abs. That it is only girls and a cute gym. That compared to other bootcamp gyms it has a lot of equipment. Bosu balls, foam rollers, jump ropes, bands, TRX, barre, box for box jumps, exercise balls, different weights of medicine balls, free weights and kettle balls, stretching straps…She told me she has never done a class format. I explain that it is at your own pace and the trainer just comes around and helps you have good form and answers any questions or provides modifications. I think once she agreed she instantly started regretting it. I think it is a good value because a personal trainer at the gym is $40-$60 an hour. And I get a trainer to myself or with a few ladies for an hour with 4 class times a week for $98 a month.

 

We walk in the gym and the trainer says oh wow this is a really hard workout. That it is not a typical workout. Meaning not a good one for a guest to try. It was not at your own pace. There was no time or breath left for talking. And the trainer wanted to do my body fat %. So she had to get the equipment together for the workout herself. So I guess I should report on my body fat. I have lost 3% body fat. Which isn’t huge. But I did have the lake this summer and a lot of stress. So I then got to jump into the warm up (jump roping for 3 minutes). The workout was a series and variations of burpes, lunges, squats, mountain climbers, kettle balls… We would do each exercise in the series (like 3-4 )for 60 seconds and then 45 and then 30 or something like that. So say burpes for 60 seconds, mountain climbers for 60 seconds, squats with weights for 60 seconds, and then go through all again but 45 seconds and then all again for 30 and then rest 20 seconds. There wasn’t much talking but some choice words and us asking how much longer. How much longer was a justifiable question because the trainer would get distracted and forget and we would do it for like 120 seconds. LOL I guess extra credit. And cool down with abs.

 

But afterwards I think she really did like it. I think I might be able to get her to come to one a week. I want her to try a more normal one. Last night her and I we still feeling the burn. J

 

I will keep you updated on any % of body fat change or if I can con her into going with me again.

 

So... When to work out?

Everyone has their struggles working out. Everyone is busy. If working out was easy and convenient we would all be skinny. You have to figure out what works for you. How you can fit it in your life.

I am so jealous of all the people who can work out in the morning and get ready for work really fast. I get up at 6am to get ready for work. I use to get up at 4:30am and be at bootcamp by 5:15am. I was always late to work because I wouldn’t get home till 6:40am. I would be late to work and then by 2:00/3:00 just not be there mentally. I was scared I was forgetting things and would make a mistake at work.

Those of you in a corporate setting understand where I am coming from too that if you get there at 8am and take a lunch and leave at 5 you are perceived as doing the bare minimum. If I came to work with no makeup and hair on top of my head it would be viewed as I didn’t care. People would ask me if I was sick. People who stay late are viewed as working hard. It is a social pressure in the corporate world. It’s just how it is. So coming into work or leaving early for a workout doesn’t look really good. Plus I have work to do.Being busy at work is good too. If I had nothing to do I would be worried about my job.

I am jealous of those who get to work out at work. My only workout equipment at work is walking to the bathroom or to reception and carrying packages. There is no workout facility. There is no shower. So if you go run during lunch you will be a sweaty mess the rest of the day. Lately my lunches have been a protein shake at my desk while working. I am not complaining about my job. I love doing events and enjoy the people I work with. Fitting my workout in at work is just not an option for me that’s all.

So I started working out at night. But night has its own challenges. Scheduling out my workouts is difficult. I could work late every night. Tonight I only stayed until 5:30 and came home and changed clothes and was there just in time for my workout. Then I got home at 8pm. Still have to shower and fix something for dinner. I am unfortunately not one of those people who can shower at night and then not need to shower in the morning. Night workouts can easily be pushed aside for work, work events, organization commitments, family obligations, wedding planning, my direct sales business…
Then I need to find time for my fiancé. I have neglected our relationship by working all the time before and never saw him even though being in the same house. I cannot do that again. Then being a 20 something professional without kids there are friendships to maintain, dinners, happy hours, client lunches, weddings, birthdays, bachelorette parties, football games... that can easily get you off track. Then try and sprinkle in going to the bank, post office, house work, grocery shopping, Dr appointments… I can tell you right now there are light bulbs burned out in my house, laundry that needs to be done, paper work to go through, rooms to be cleaned, we are completely out of zip lock bags, things I cannot find and other house items… But those just aren’t making the priority list.

So any night I make it to my night workout I view as a personal victory but there is a sacrifice being made somewhere else. A sacrifice I hope continues to pay off. I have only lost 12 pounds. But it is better than nothing. It can get frustrating when you make sacrifices and don’t see any immediate results. You have to motivate yourself to keep going even though it isn’t easy. 

I wish luck to those of you trying to fit a healthier life style in their life. 

So... I am punishing myself for not posting blogs regularly

I have not been good about posting blogs. I am sorry. I am punishing myself for not posting blogs regularly by posting the below photo.

 

Work has been really busy with numerous events and projects at the same time.

Trying to get the last bit of the summer in we can at the lake house.

The wedding planning to-do list is growing at a rapid speed. OMG it is getting so close.

Been working out at night if we do not have a wedding appointment.

I have not been doing a very good job of taking care of the house. Do not ask me where anything is because there is no way I could tell you.

Adding Pure Romance parties to my schedule to help pay for some of the wedding items.

Visiting my grandma in the hospital. Who now, I am happy to report, I will be visiting her at her house.

Calendar filling with fall weddings and football games.

Cannot sleep. Normally it is 1am when I fall asleep and I get up at 5:45.

Okay so I could easily take all this stress and busyness and make excuses not to workout. Last night I was so stressed, but I turned it into motivation.

 

I am so glad I went even though I was still sore from Tuesdays. One of the girls who work out at the daily burn has a t shirt that says it all. “Sore as hell and back for more” I truly enjoy the workouts. Well maybe not right that moment while doing them. But I love the format. 4 night classes during the week and they have days classes I cannot attend because of work. But you show up and foam roll and then the workout is on the dry erase board. It is different every day. The trainer  is there coaching you through the workout, correcting your form, encouraging and motivating you. Normally there is only me and one or two other girls so you get a lot of attention. Which is good and bad. LOL It makes you honest with how many reps and makes you push harder and dig deeper. You do it at your own pace. Tuesday night I talked it wasn’t only good physically but mentally to talk about some things going on. The class is somewhere we can vent and support each other. Last night I did not want to talk. I kept looking at the board not knowing how the heck I was going to get through it. But I did it! Would never have done all that was on the board without the trainer and the other girl there. Love the format! Love the trainers!

 

Here is my desk before going to the gym.

 

Here I am after the gym. A little sweaty!