Tonight we had our first soccer game of the spring season! Wonder Boy had practice that overlapped buy a bit, so I missed most of the first half. Wonder Dad got there on time and represented for our family until the Boy and I could join him.
I simply ADORE soccer! I didn't really play as a kid. It wasn't offered in my hometown until my senior year in high school. But Wonder Dad played as a boy and he introduced me to the beautiful game and it's been my favorite sport to play ever since. In the months leading up to Wonder Boy's birth, we found an adult league in town that was just getting started and they even had an "old folks" division. We had found our soccer home!
We play on a team of "mature" folks, many of them friends and coworkers. We bring our kids and spouses - in many cases both mom & dad play on the team, but in the case where only 1 parent plays, the rest of the family acts as cheering squad for us all. It's a wonderful atmosphere in which to play, I must say!
While I enjoyed each and every minute of tonight's game, it was C*O*L*D out there tonight! By the start of the 2nd half, my toes were completely numb. But despite the frigid temps, I stayed vertical throughout. And to put the cherry on top of a great, fun night, our team pulled out a 2-1 win! In fact, Wonder Dad scored the go-ahead goal (off of a beautiful pass/assist to boot)! So to say I "enjoyed" our game tonight seems like such an understatement.
I felt GREAT! I don't know ... it just felt so good to get back out there on the soccer pitch. Back with our friends. Back to running and playing. Just ... fun. Ya know?
Another thing about tonight is that I was able to feel some positive changes due to our workout routine. The crossfit workouts are definitely helping in my ability to recover more quickly. A couple of good sprints up and down the pitch was enough to get me asking for a substitute in seasons past. But I really felt great tonight. In fact, when I came out of the game to take my time in the cheer squad, it was because I wanted to make sure all my teammates got some playing time - not because I needed to collapse on the sideline. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up such efforts once the temperature warms up, but for now, I'm feeling good. And I'm going to soak it up!
And one final note - since this is the last day of the month, I made it a point to remember to do my plank. My shoulder is still bothering me, but it felt wrong to not at least TRY to get a plank in today. So I held my breath, counted sheep in my head, sang the words to every silly kids' song I could think of (in my head, still) and manged to hold on for a new PR of 3:30 on my plank! And then I did 100 air squats as well.
A good day. A GREAT night!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Guilty Pleasure
As part of this fitter/better New Year deal, I've been avoiding a lot of my favorite treats. Unfortunately, I am just not the type that can indulge in moderation. I don't keep my favorite sweet drink (Dr. Pepper) in the house. And chocolate is something we keep at arm's length as well. Crackers and bar-b-que chips are also on the "keep away" list.
But I have found one treat that I can have in moderation that fills so many of my cravings.
Orange Juice!
I've taken to just calling it "liquid sunshine." It is certainly better for me than the soda that I crave. But this is one drink I can manged to not over indulge. How?, you might ask.
It's simple really. Though I truly love OJ (and oranges in general), I get heart burn when I over indulge. And there is nothing like that crazy burning sensation from stomach to tongue that will discourage you from imbibing too much or too often. I guess it doesn't hurt that I am the only family member that enjoys a big glass of that sweet, tangy sunshine. So we don't typically keep it in the house. And that means I have to make a special trip somewhere for my treat.
Regardless of the reasons, I am enjoying OJ more than I have ever done before. Once or twice a week I'll pick up a bottle and just inhale it. It leaves me feeling bright and bubbly, which is something I cannot say about my beloved Dr. Pepper. So for the time being, I plan to keep the occasional bottle of OJ as my not-so-guilty pleasure.
Bottoms up!
But I have found one treat that I can have in moderation that fills so many of my cravings.
I've taken to just calling it "liquid sunshine." It is certainly better for me than the soda that I crave. But this is one drink I can manged to not over indulge. How?, you might ask.
It's simple really. Though I truly love OJ (and oranges in general), I get heart burn when I over indulge. And there is nothing like that crazy burning sensation from stomach to tongue that will discourage you from imbibing too much or too often. I guess it doesn't hurt that I am the only family member that enjoys a big glass of that sweet, tangy sunshine. So we don't typically keep it in the house. And that means I have to make a special trip somewhere for my treat.
Regardless of the reasons, I am enjoying OJ more than I have ever done before. Once or twice a week I'll pick up a bottle and just inhale it. It leaves me feeling bright and bubbly, which is something I cannot say about my beloved Dr. Pepper. So for the time being, I plan to keep the occasional bottle of OJ as my not-so-guilty pleasure.
Bottoms up!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Feb 26 - Memory Lane
OK. The title is a little cheesy and not really accurate, but I'm tired so that's my best effort. :+P
Tonight I got my 20 minutes of "jog time" in during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. The fields where he practices (& has his games) are in a park dedicated to Veterans. And one of the neat things that the City has done with this park is that, on the sidewalk looping through the park, they have "year markers" every few feet. The markers have a year number on the far left and are followed by significant historical events from that year.
It's kind of fun to try and read an event or two from each year as I make my way through the park. It's a nice distraction. Though I do admit, when I get near Wonder Boy's field, I only focus on his team and picking out what he is doing at the time. A mom has to have priorities, ya know.
Still no plank for today. My shoulder is starting to feel better, but I wanted to give it at least one more day. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Tonight I got my 20 minutes of "jog time" in during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. The fields where he practices (& has his games) are in a park dedicated to Veterans. And one of the neat things that the City has done with this park is that, on the sidewalk looping through the park, they have "year markers" every few feet. The markers have a year number on the far left and are followed by significant historical events from that year.
It's kind of fun to try and read an event or two from each year as I make my way through the park. It's a nice distraction. Though I do admit, when I get near Wonder Boy's field, I only focus on his team and picking out what he is doing at the time. A mom has to have priorities, ya know.
Still no plank for today. My shoulder is starting to feel better, but I wanted to give it at least one more day. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Seirous Craving
I gave up my beloved Dr. Pepper (again) back in December, just before the holidays. And for the most part, it's been a pretty smooth transition. I haven't had near the cravings or withdrawal that I have experienced in the past. I attribute that to the fact that I really wasn't drinking too many of these - a few a week - at the time I quit. I had mainly been using them on days when I was tired and needed a boost. I don't care for coffee, so this was my "wake up juice" on the days when I was really dragging.
So that brings us to today. And I am tired. Seriously tired. My seasonal allergies have kicked into high gear and have given me a splitting head ache. And I want a tall, frosty Dr. Pepper like you wouldn't believe.
I'm sitting here sipping a flavored water instead. And I have no real intention of caving to this craving. But I will admit to wanting it. More than I have for months. I'd settle for a nap as well.
Oh well.
So that brings us to today. And I am tired. Seriously tired. My seasonal allergies have kicked into high gear and have given me a splitting head ache. And I want a tall, frosty Dr. Pepper like you wouldn't believe.
I'm sitting here sipping a flavored water instead. And I have no real intention of caving to this craving. But I will admit to wanting it. More than I have for months. I'd settle for a nap as well.
Oh well.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Feb 25 - WOD
Today's WOD is called "Grace." And "Grace" is where you do 30 clean and jerk repetitions in as little time as possible.
This is especially difficult following yesterday's WOD where we did all of those push presses. But we pushed through it anway.
My time today was around 4 minutes and 45 seconds. I think it was a little bit quicker than that, but honestly, I forgot to write it down before Wonder Dad started his set and so I just don't remember fully. I *know* it was under that time though by at least a few seconds. So that is what I am recording for today. I set my weight at 80 lbs. This is still a bit below the prescribed weight of 95 lbs for women. But I'm getting closer. I'll just keep adding a few pounds each time we try it.
I skipped out on the planks and ab work again today. My shoulder has really been achy as of late and holding that position is not easy when my shoulder is complaining like that. I am hoping to get back on track tomorrow, but after all of these cleans, I wouldn't lay money on it.
This is especially difficult following yesterday's WOD where we did all of those push presses. But we pushed through it anway.
My time today was around 4 minutes and 45 seconds. I think it was a little bit quicker than that, but honestly, I forgot to write it down before Wonder Dad started his set and so I just don't remember fully. I *know* it was under that time though by at least a few seconds. So that is what I am recording for today. I set my weight at 80 lbs. This is still a bit below the prescribed weight of 95 lbs for women. But I'm getting closer. I'll just keep adding a few pounds each time we try it.
I skipped out on the planks and ab work again today. My shoulder has really been achy as of late and holding that position is not easy when my shoulder is complaining like that. I am hoping to get back on track tomorrow, but after all of these cleans, I wouldn't lay money on it.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Feb 24 - WOD
Today's WOD was pretty straight forward ... 7 sets of push presses, 3 reps each set.
When we have a WOD like this, we try to increase the weight with each set, hopefully setting a new PR by the last set.
My 7 sets looked like this:
Set 1: 60 lbs
Set 2: 75 lbs
Set 3: 80 lbs
Set 4: 85 lbs
Set 5: 90 lbs
Set 6: 95 lbs
Set 7: 100 lbs
As usual, this doesn't look like much of a work out when written out like this. And granted, there wasn't much of a cardio component in this WOD, but it still kicked my tail.
And I'm still hurting from Friday's killer ab workout, so no planks and no ab exercises today. Gotta give my body time to recover or I'll end up wearing myself down. Plus, we've got places to be this evening and just no more time for anything else.
So maybe not our most grueling WOD, but still some good work for my sore old body.
When we have a WOD like this, we try to increase the weight with each set, hopefully setting a new PR by the last set.
My 7 sets looked like this:
Set 1: 60 lbs
Set 2: 75 lbs
Set 3: 80 lbs
Set 4: 85 lbs
Set 5: 90 lbs
Set 6: 95 lbs
Set 7: 100 lbs
As usual, this doesn't look like much of a work out when written out like this. And granted, there wasn't much of a cardio component in this WOD, but it still kicked my tail.
And I'm still hurting from Friday's killer ab workout, so no planks and no ab exercises today. Gotta give my body time to recover or I'll end up wearing myself down. Plus, we've got places to be this evening and just no more time for anything else.
So maybe not our most grueling WOD, but still some good work for my sore old body.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Feb 22 - WOD
Friday. Even the word looks optimistic. And today has been a pretty good Friday. It's been a busy day, but still a good one.
Decided to skip the side planks because they are hurting my rickety old shoulder. But I managed to hold on for a 3:11 regular plank. And, as usual, I finished up with 100 air squats.
But the real workout came after our day jobs were done. Today's WOD featured power snatches and Burpees, as follows:
12 - power snatches
12 - Burpees
9 - power snatches
9 - Burpees
6 - power snatches
6 - Burpees
3 - power snatches
3 - Burpees
When I look at it listed like that, it really doesn't look like much. But the reality is, again, it is much more difficult than it looks. This effort took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds, but I think I stayed gasping on the floor for at least that long afterward.
We finished out the day with 50 "21 crunches". I don't like that exercise at all. And I hope never to try it again. But at least today I can say I finished every part of our workout.
Decided to skip the side planks because they are hurting my rickety old shoulder. But I managed to hold on for a 3:11 regular plank. And, as usual, I finished up with 100 air squats.
But the real workout came after our day jobs were done. Today's WOD featured power snatches and Burpees, as follows:
12 - power snatches
12 - Burpees
9 - power snatches
9 - Burpees
6 - power snatches
6 - Burpees
3 - power snatches
3 - Burpees
When I look at it listed like that, it really doesn't look like much. But the reality is, again, it is much more difficult than it looks. This effort took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds, but I think I stayed gasping on the floor for at least that long afterward.
We finished out the day with 50 "21 crunches". I don't like that exercise at all. And I hope never to try it again. But at least today I can say I finished every part of our workout.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Feb 21 - Staying Busy
I had one of those rare, truly productive work days today. Not a lot of time spent in meetings and very few interruptions during my day. It never fails to amaze me how productive I can be when left to my own devices. ;+) And it feels REALLY good to leave work with fewer items on my to-do list than I started with that morning.
ANYWAY ... with no other interruptions to get in the way, working in my plank and squats for the Planks A Lot Challenge was a snap. I held on for 1 minute and 15 seconds for each side plank (left & right) and the same for a "regular" plank as well. And I topped off those efforts with 100 air squats. My shoulders are really not liking the side planks. Not sure what to do about that.
This evening after work and before Wonder Boy's soccer practice, Wonder Dad and I made the loop around our street (X 4). I really enjoy these little jogs. We keep our pace pretty sedate and nice and even. The weather was beautiful (though a touch humid) and Wonder Dad made me giggle when he mimicked the ballet moves of a young girl practicing in her yard. The girl and her sister were THRILLED with the attention. And it gave me something on which to focus rather than my labored breathing. I do adore my dear husband. He makes me smile every day. And he knows how to turn even a less-than-exciting loop around the neighborhood into play time. And in the end, we shaved just under a minute from our normal pace. Not to shabby, I'd say!
I may have to dial the daily squats back a bit on the days we are running. My knees were tired and achy during the run and the only thing I have really done as of late that hits the knees is the squats. We'll see how my weekend run goes and make plans from there.
Not a bad effort overall, imho. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow already. :+)
ANYWAY ... with no other interruptions to get in the way, working in my plank and squats for the Planks A Lot Challenge was a snap. I held on for 1 minute and 15 seconds for each side plank (left & right) and the same for a "regular" plank as well. And I topped off those efforts with 100 air squats. My shoulders are really not liking the side planks. Not sure what to do about that.
This evening after work and before Wonder Boy's soccer practice, Wonder Dad and I made the loop around our street (X 4). I really enjoy these little jogs. We keep our pace pretty sedate and nice and even. The weather was beautiful (though a touch humid) and Wonder Dad made me giggle when he mimicked the ballet moves of a young girl practicing in her yard. The girl and her sister were THRILLED with the attention. And it gave me something on which to focus rather than my labored breathing. I do adore my dear husband. He makes me smile every day. And he knows how to turn even a less-than-exciting loop around the neighborhood into play time. And in the end, we shaved just under a minute from our normal pace. Not to shabby, I'd say!
I may have to dial the daily squats back a bit on the days we are running. My knees were tired and achy during the run and the only thing I have really done as of late that hits the knees is the squats. We'll see how my weekend run goes and make plans from there.
Not a bad effort overall, imho. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow already. :+)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Feb 20 - Rest
Today has been (mostly) a down day. We had some business to take care of this evening and then I had to put in a short amount of time on actual work work. But since we've managed to stick to our workout plans for the past 4 days, a rest & recovery day was much in order.
We don't actually plan most of our rest days. We try to keep on going until life gets in the way or until our bodies cry out for rest. It usually works out that life will pop up and say "time for a break" before our bodies get too beat up.
With that said, I did manage to get in my planks & squats for the day. I did 1:10 on each side (left, right, regular) for the planks and followed that up with 100 air squats. That was plenty for today.
We don't actually plan most of our rest days. We try to keep on going until life gets in the way or until our bodies cry out for rest. It usually works out that life will pop up and say "time for a break" before our bodies get too beat up.
With that said, I did manage to get in my planks & squats for the day. I did 1:10 on each side (left, right, regular) for the planks and followed that up with 100 air squats. That was plenty for today.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Feb 19 - plank, jog, sprint
Each day I am starting to feel a bit more like myself. And that feels good!
Today I managed to squeeze in my planks between meetings. I am still trying to work on the side planks, so I held on for 1 min 5 seconds on each side and then did a regular plank for 1 min 5 secs as well.
After work, Wonder Dad and I did a quick 4 loops around our street. We finished in just about 20 minutes. We kept up a good place for most of the run, but the last lap was a bit slower (despite the fact that I felt like I was trying a lot harder). Oh well ...
Then we capped off the night with some sprints up and down the side lines during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. Our first game is just a week and a half away, so we figured we better start pushing the pace a bit.
We also have our first 5K of the year coming up in just under a month. We've decided to run the Warrior Dash again. We ran one last fall. And while we both completed the run as well as every obstacle, our times were ... well ... let's just say "less than spectacular."
I felt bad for Wonder Dad as he could have made better time, but he chose to stick by me throughout. And I'll be honest, I had to walk a bit of it. I had trained running the 5K distance, but the obstacles took a lot more out of me than I had bargained for. I am hoping to be better prepared this time around.
Today I managed to squeeze in my planks between meetings. I am still trying to work on the side planks, so I held on for 1 min 5 seconds on each side and then did a regular plank for 1 min 5 secs as well.
After work, Wonder Dad and I did a quick 4 loops around our street. We finished in just about 20 minutes. We kept up a good place for most of the run, but the last lap was a bit slower (despite the fact that I felt like I was trying a lot harder). Oh well ...
Then we capped off the night with some sprints up and down the side lines during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. Our first game is just a week and a half away, so we figured we better start pushing the pace a bit.
We also have our first 5K of the year coming up in just under a month. We've decided to run the Warrior Dash again. We ran one last fall. And while we both completed the run as well as every obstacle, our times were ... well ... let's just say "less than spectacular."
I felt bad for Wonder Dad as he could have made better time, but he chose to stick by me throughout. And I'll be honest, I had to walk a bit of it. I had trained running the 5K distance, but the obstacles took a lot more out of me than I had bargained for. I am hoping to be better prepared this time around.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Feb 18 - WOD
Today's WOD featured kettle bells! So this gave us our first opportunity to use the KBs we picked up at the end of February (at the Fringe Sports garage sale.
The goal was to do as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes. Each round was made up of:
10 - Kettle Bell Swings
10 - Box Jumps
10 - Ring Dips
As with all of our crossfit workouts, this one was SUPER TOUGH! And the hardest part (for me) was the ring dips. I have worked my shoulder strength/stability back up to where I can do a decent dip on a dip stand, but the ring dips were another matter all together. I couldn't do a single good dip, so I opted to do negatives. I could have switched to the dip stand, but I figure I have to start building up the stabilizing muscles that are needed for the ring dips. I probably need to dig out the paralletes and do some L-sits as well. But I'll tackle that on another day.
The box jumps went much better today. I don't know if I am starting to get comfortable with this new box or if I am getting stronger. Maybe it's a combination of both (I hope). But I was glad that this was not the stumbling block (yes, pun intended) that it has been in the last few workouts.
We finished off our WOD with 50 v-sit ups. Those are always tough! But we did them. So I'm happy.
The goal was to do as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes. Each round was made up of:
10 - Kettle Bell Swings
10 - Box Jumps
10 - Ring Dips
As with all of our crossfit workouts, this one was SUPER TOUGH! And the hardest part (for me) was the ring dips. I have worked my shoulder strength/stability back up to where I can do a decent dip on a dip stand, but the ring dips were another matter all together. I couldn't do a single good dip, so I opted to do negatives. I could have switched to the dip stand, but I figure I have to start building up the stabilizing muscles that are needed for the ring dips. I probably need to dig out the paralletes and do some L-sits as well. But I'll tackle that on another day.
The box jumps went much better today. I don't know if I am starting to get comfortable with this new box or if I am getting stronger. Maybe it's a combination of both (I hope). But I was glad that this was not the stumbling block (yes, pun intended) that it has been in the last few workouts.
We finished off our WOD with 50 v-sit ups. Those are always tough! But we did them. So I'm happy.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Weekend Round Up
I'm afraid I had another one of those "need to unplug" weekends. It started with an awfully long work day on Friday (6am-ish to 11pm). And that just took the steam out of me.
I'm happy to report that, while I didn't do any blogging over that period, I still got in most of my workouts.
On Friday, the long work day caused us to forgo our crossfit work out, but at least I managed to work in my planks/squats. I decided to mix things up a bit since I had actually met my goal of a 3 minute plank on Thursday. So this time, I did a 1 minute side plank on my left, a 1 minute side plank on my right, and a 1 minute "regular" plank. The side planks are H-A-R-D. I guess they will be my new challenge. I followed that up with 90 squats. The squats felt pretty good.
On Saturday, we made it to the gym for the first time in what feels like eons. We did a "traditional" strength workout featuring squats and bench presses. We made gains on every exercise! This made me feel really good as I know we are not losing any strength with the switch to our home-based workouts.
And on Sunday, we wrapped things up with 5 loops around our street for a total of 3.5 miles. We picked up the pace considerably from our Valentine's Day run and did the 3.5 miles in 26 minutes. And except for the last lap, we shaved almost a whole minute off of each lap compared to what we ran on Thursday. THAT made me feel pretty good!
Let's hope we can keep this momentum going into the new week.
I'm happy to report that, while I didn't do any blogging over that period, I still got in most of my workouts.
On Friday, the long work day caused us to forgo our crossfit work out, but at least I managed to work in my planks/squats. I decided to mix things up a bit since I had actually met my goal of a 3 minute plank on Thursday. So this time, I did a 1 minute side plank on my left, a 1 minute side plank on my right, and a 1 minute "regular" plank. The side planks are H-A-R-D. I guess they will be my new challenge. I followed that up with 90 squats. The squats felt pretty good.
On Saturday, we made it to the gym for the first time in what feels like eons. We did a "traditional" strength workout featuring squats and bench presses. We made gains on every exercise! This made me feel really good as I know we are not losing any strength with the switch to our home-based workouts.
And on Sunday, we wrapped things up with 5 loops around our street for a total of 3.5 miles. We picked up the pace considerably from our Valentine's Day run and did the 3.5 miles in 26 minutes. And except for the last lap, we shaved almost a whole minute off of each lap compared to what we ran on Thursday. THAT made me feel pretty good!
Let's hope we can keep this momentum going into the new week.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Feb 14 - Happy Heart Day
What can I say? It's been a good day! I actually stayed in bed ALL NIGHT last night. I can't say I'm caught up on sleep, but dang it, it felt good to not spend half the night on the couch hoping to not disturb the rest of the family with my coughs.
Then this morning I decided to push a bit harder and get all the way to the 3 minute mark for my daily plank. It hurt like heck, but I figured it would lessen the guilt I would feel after a Valentine's lunch date with Wonder Dad. I followed up the plank with 80 squats and went to lunch feeling pretty pleased with myself.
At lunch I ate only a portion of my entree. That means I have some great leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
To cap off the day, we did one of our little "couple runs" here in the neighborhood. We did four loops around our street. Took us 24 minutes to do 2.8 miles. Not a tough pace, but enough to feel like we're starting to move again. I know Wonder Dad was ready for a more brisk pace, but my lungs were just not ready for it yet. We had a good time though. And after so many sick days, it was good to get moving again.
All in all, there was quite a bit today that made my heart happy.
Then this morning I decided to push a bit harder and get all the way to the 3 minute mark for my daily plank. It hurt like heck, but I figured it would lessen the guilt I would feel after a Valentine's lunch date with Wonder Dad. I followed up the plank with 80 squats and went to lunch feeling pretty pleased with myself.
At lunch I ate only a portion of my entree. That means I have some great leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
To cap off the day, we did one of our little "couple runs" here in the neighborhood. We did four loops around our street. Took us 24 minutes to do 2.8 miles. Not a tough pace, but enough to feel like we're starting to move again. I know Wonder Dad was ready for a more brisk pace, but my lungs were just not ready for it yet. We had a good time though. And after so many sick days, it was good to get moving again.
All in all, there was quite a bit today that made my heart happy.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Feb 13 - WOD
Another sleepless night, an all morning meeting, and a couple of 11 year old boys = one worn out old girl.
But I am oh so pleased to let you know that we stuck to our workouts today. We went looking for a WOD with some running in it since we missed our run yesterday. Thought we would get a two for one out of it. So today we did "Nancy."
"Nancy" consists of 5 rounds of the following:
400 M run
15 - overhead squats
"Nancy" took me just over 20 minutes to complete.
I am still doing my overhead squats using only a PVC pipe instead of a weighted bar. And while I hate to admit that little fact, I am really happy with how they are starting to feel. I am confident in the form I am building and plan to try some light weight bars at the gym the next time we get there for a workout.
In addition to the WOD, I did my plank (2 minutes & 50 seconds) and squats (70) for the Planks A Lot challenge and even completed 50 "penguins" for the February Fab Abs challenge. Ths was another silly sounding exercise, but at least I felt it a little in my oblique abs.
Is it too much to hope for a restful night tonight? I just know I am beyond done with all this coughing.
But I am oh so pleased to let you know that we stuck to our workouts today. We went looking for a WOD with some running in it since we missed our run yesterday. Thought we would get a two for one out of it. So today we did "Nancy."
"Nancy" consists of 5 rounds of the following:
400 M run
15 - overhead squats
"Nancy" took me just over 20 minutes to complete.
I am still doing my overhead squats using only a PVC pipe instead of a weighted bar. And while I hate to admit that little fact, I am really happy with how they are starting to feel. I am confident in the form I am building and plan to try some light weight bars at the gym the next time we get there for a workout.
In addition to the WOD, I did my plank (2 minutes & 50 seconds) and squats (70) for the Planks A Lot challenge and even completed 50 "penguins" for the February Fab Abs challenge. Ths was another silly sounding exercise, but at least I felt it a little in my oblique abs.
Is it too much to hope for a restful night tonight? I just know I am beyond done with all this coughing.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Feb 12 - Taking It Easy
Had high hopes for today. Despite another night with no sleep, I had big plans to fulfill all my challenge items and to then have a nice light run to cap off the day.
Sometimes my best laid plans just don't work out.
I did get in my plank and squats. I hit a new personal best on my plank: 2 minutes and 45 seconds! And I followed that up with 60 air squats.
But I'm afraid the highlights end there.
Wonder Boy had a late dentist appointment and quite honestly, the sleepless nights are just wearing me down. So we took it easy tonight. Wonder Boy got caught up on his homework and even had time for some fun time. Wonder Dad and I rested and laughed and got some quality "unwinding" done. I even made a Valentine card!
So even though it was not the efforts I had planned, I think it was just what I needed. And at least I got in my plank and and squats.
Sometimes my best laid plans just don't work out.
I did get in my plank and squats. I hit a new personal best on my plank: 2 minutes and 45 seconds! And I followed that up with 60 air squats.
But I'm afraid the highlights end there.
Wonder Boy had a late dentist appointment and quite honestly, the sleepless nights are just wearing me down. So we took it easy tonight. Wonder Boy got caught up on his homework and even had time for some fun time. Wonder Dad and I rested and laughed and got some quality "unwinding" done. I even made a Valentine card!
So even though it was not the efforts I had planned, I think it was just what I needed. And at least I got in my plank and and squats.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Feb 11 - WOD
Doing a little better today though still coughing a lot more than I would like. Despite that, we managed a full compliment in our workout.
First, I managed to hold a 2 minute and 30 second plank followed by 50 squats for the Planks A Lot challenge. I was only shooting to hit 2 minutes today, kind of a break in day, so I felt pretty good that I made it to 2:30. The 50 squats weren't too bad either. Could have kept going but I've been low on energy and didn't want to push it.
Our WOD for today was 7 sets of hanging squat cleans, 2 reps each. If you have never seen a hanging squat clean, check out this quick video. I started at 65 lbs and worked my way up in 5 lb increments, ending at 95 lbs. I'm good with that for today. I barely managed the last rep. But I think that's good. I pushed myself, but not so hard that wasn't able to finish the WOD.
Finally, we finished up with 50 Sumo Crunches for the Feb Fab Abs Challenge. I'll admit, I felt like this one was pretty dorky and am glad only Wonder Dad was watching me get through them.
I really hope I can manage some sleep tonight because tomorrow is a run day and I really don't want to wimp out on it after being sedentary for so many days.
First, I managed to hold a 2 minute and 30 second plank followed by 50 squats for the Planks A Lot challenge. I was only shooting to hit 2 minutes today, kind of a break in day, so I felt pretty good that I made it to 2:30. The 50 squats weren't too bad either. Could have kept going but I've been low on energy and didn't want to push it.
Our WOD for today was 7 sets of hanging squat cleans, 2 reps each. If you have never seen a hanging squat clean, check out this quick video. I started at 65 lbs and worked my way up in 5 lb increments, ending at 95 lbs. I'm good with that for today. I barely managed the last rep. But I think that's good. I pushed myself, but not so hard that wasn't able to finish the WOD.
Finally, we finished up with 50 Sumo Crunches for the Feb Fab Abs Challenge. I'll admit, I felt like this one was pretty dorky and am glad only Wonder Dad was watching me get through them.
I really hope I can manage some sleep tonight because tomorrow is a run day and I really don't want to wimp out on it after being sedentary for so many days.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Feb 10 - Back In The Saddle
In my last post, I bragged that even though I felt bad, I managed at least part of our workout. I guess I shouldn't tempt the fates like that because that was the last physical thing I have managed in 4 days, unless you count the crunches I've done while doubled over coughing.
It's been a tough couple of days, but today we took the first step to getting back on track.
Our WOD went like this, 2 rounds of:
100 - jump rope revolutions
50 - barbell shoulder presses
25 - toes to bar
My time was somewhere in the neighborhood of 16:36.
We followed it up with 50 "heels to heaven" for the February Fab Abs Challenge. I'll get back on the planking bandwagon tomorrow.
I'm beyond exhausted now. And my coughing has come back with a vengeance. But even though I can't say I feel better since the workout, I am really glad we did it. Hopefully, I can remember that tomorrow.
It's been a tough couple of days, but today we took the first step to getting back on track.
Our WOD went like this, 2 rounds of:
100 - jump rope revolutions
50 - barbell shoulder presses
25 - toes to bar
My time was somewhere in the neighborhood of 16:36.
We followed it up with 50 "heels to heaven" for the February Fab Abs Challenge. I'll get back on the planking bandwagon tomorrow.
I'm beyond exhausted now. And my coughing has come back with a vengeance. But even though I can't say I feel better since the workout, I am really glad we did it. Hopefully, I can remember that tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Feb 6 - Down But Not Out
Woke up this morning feeling like my head was going to explode. Looks like I am coming down with the bug Wonder Dad has been struggling with.
I made it into work, but I didn't last long.
But before throwing in the towel and heading home, I completed my challenge tasks for the day:
* 2 minutes 40 seconds on my plank
* 50 squats
* 50 Russian twists
That's all I could manage today and I sucked wind throu it all. But I did it. Now I am off to try and find a comfy spot on the couch.
I made it into work, but I didn't last long.
But before throwing in the towel and heading home, I completed my challenge tasks for the day:
* 2 minutes 40 seconds on my plank
* 50 squats
* 50 Russian twists
That's all I could manage today and I sucked wind throu it all. But I did it. Now I am off to try and find a comfy spot on the couch.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Feb 5 - Crazy 8s
Today has been pretty good. Managed 2 minutes & 35 seconds on my plank and followed that up with 45 squats mid-morning. I have been doing this challenge at the point of the morning when I normally start to get the munchies. It happens that it is at this time of day when I am often getting out of meetings. It has just worked out this way but I am really thankful. I end up getting the challenge work in, it breaks up my morning, and staves off my sweet tooth.
This evening I was able to squeeze in a run between judo class and dinner. I was just running the loop that our street makes. And to mix things up a bit, I ran it a bit differently. Ya see, our street makes a loop, but there is another street that cuts the circle almost in half, so I used that to turn my circuit into a figure eight.
It's the little things, ya know. Just adding that extra turn made all the difference in the world. And I could feel an immediate change in my attitude. I even used that extra spark to push myself on the "hill" on the back stretch of the loop. Granted it's barely more than an incline, but it felt like a mountain on my 3rd loop around. And on my last lap I rewarded myself with a gentle pace after busting up that "hill" to finish my run.
And finally, I wrapped up the day's efforts with 50 oblique crunches for the February Fab Abs Challenge.
I plan to ride this new inertia wave as long as I can!
This evening I was able to squeeze in a run between judo class and dinner. I was just running the loop that our street makes. And to mix things up a bit, I ran it a bit differently. Ya see, our street makes a loop, but there is another street that cuts the circle almost in half, so I used that to turn my circuit into a figure eight.
It's the little things, ya know. Just adding that extra turn made all the difference in the world. And I could feel an immediate change in my attitude. I even used that extra spark to push myself on the "hill" on the back stretch of the loop. Granted it's barely more than an incline, but it felt like a mountain on my 3rd loop around. And on my last lap I rewarded myself with a gentle pace after busting up that "hill" to finish my run.
And finally, I wrapped up the day's efforts with 50 oblique crunches for the February Fab Abs Challenge.
I plan to ride this new inertia wave as long as I can!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Feb 4 - Inertia
Inertia, I have read, is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion.
What that means for me is, after taking yesterday off for the most part, I have had a really tough time getting my body back in motion today. But despite feeling magnetically drawn to the couch, I actually checked a few things off my fitness to-do list today.
I did my plank (2 minutes & 30 seconds) followed by 40 squats for the Planks A Lot Challenge. Not a bad effort for a sleepy Monday morning.
And then this evening Wonder Boy and I took the pooch out for a neighborhood romp and then finished up with 50 - leg lifts and 50 - 90/90 crunches for the Delta Life Fab Abs Challenge.
I really did want to come home from the office and become one with the couch. And getting up off of it once I had settled down on it was NOT an easy thing to do. But I am feeling better about myself for having managed to overcome the inertia to get my body back in motion. Here's to continuing that into tomorrow.
What that means for me is, after taking yesterday off for the most part, I have had a really tough time getting my body back in motion today. But despite feeling magnetically drawn to the couch, I actually checked a few things off my fitness to-do list today.
I did my plank (2 minutes & 30 seconds) followed by 40 squats for the Planks A Lot Challenge. Not a bad effort for a sleepy Monday morning.
And then this evening Wonder Boy and I took the pooch out for a neighborhood romp and then finished up with 50 - leg lifts and 50 - 90/90 crunches for the Delta Life Fab Abs Challenge.
I really did want to come home from the office and become one with the couch. And getting up off of it once I had settled down on it was NOT an easy thing to do. But I am feeling better about myself for having managed to overcome the inertia to get my body back in motion. Here's to continuing that into tomorrow.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Feb 3 - Ouch
Yesterday's WOD has put me solidly on the couch. *sigh*
There is hardly any part of my body that does not ache. And as such, we are now "enjoying" an unplanned down day. I really hope that by taking the time to recover that we will be able to pick back up and be back on schedule tomorrow.
There is hardly any part of my body that does not ache. And as such, we are now "enjoying" an unplanned down day. I really hope that by taking the time to recover that we will be able to pick back up and be back on schedule tomorrow.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Feb 2 - WOD
Today was one of those days that just wasn't quite what we had planned.
First though, we have to back up to last night since that is where we started to get off track. Our plan had been to get in our WOD so that we could take a road trip "back home" the next day to enjoy some barbecue ribs with my dad for a late birthday celebration. But as the day ore on, Wonder Dad and I both just started feeling really run down. It had been a long week both at work and in our workouts. And we were feeling it. So we decided to take it easy and rest so that we could pick it back up after our little road trip.
We turned off the alarm clock and gave ourselves a chance to wake up once we were rested. We haven't done that in weeks and it felt great! I woke up feeling e best I have in days and started in on breakfast. It didn't take long though to find out that I was the only one feeling that way. Wonder Dad had taken a turn for the worse over night.
So that changed our day quite considerably. We called my dad to reschedule and switched gears to focus on needs around the house. I don't regret one minute of it. And by late afternoon, Wonder Dad felt well enough to attempt our WOD with me.
Today's WOD was made up of 3 exercises: pull ups, dead lifts, and box jumps. For each round, we were supposed to do 30 reps of each exercise. And the goal was to do 3 rounds in as little time as possible. That breaks down to 90 pull-ups, 90 dead lifts (135#), and 90 box jumps.
In true crossfit fashion, this totally kicked my bum! It took me a bit over 25 minutes to make it through all 3 rounds. I am making some improvements on my pull-ups though. I was able to do about 10 unassisted reps in each 30 rep set. That is a fairly nice improvement for me and it makes me hopeful for future progress.
When we finished our workouts, I tried to work in a plank, but my body totally gave out by the time I hit 2 minutes. That was kind of disappointing. But at least I did something.
For the "Fab Abs" challenge, we were actually a day behind since we took the night off last night. So we decided to catch up and do a set for yesterday (50 donkey crunches) and a set for today (50 bicycles). We should be back on track for everything tomorrow, but I am pretty pleased with our efforts from today, even when not feeling our best.
First though, we have to back up to last night since that is where we started to get off track. Our plan had been to get in our WOD so that we could take a road trip "back home" the next day to enjoy some barbecue ribs with my dad for a late birthday celebration. But as the day ore on, Wonder Dad and I both just started feeling really run down. It had been a long week both at work and in our workouts. And we were feeling it. So we decided to take it easy and rest so that we could pick it back up after our little road trip.
We turned off the alarm clock and gave ourselves a chance to wake up once we were rested. We haven't done that in weeks and it felt great! I woke up feeling e best I have in days and started in on breakfast. It didn't take long though to find out that I was the only one feeling that way. Wonder Dad had taken a turn for the worse over night.
So that changed our day quite considerably. We called my dad to reschedule and switched gears to focus on needs around the house. I don't regret one minute of it. And by late afternoon, Wonder Dad felt well enough to attempt our WOD with me.
Today's WOD was made up of 3 exercises: pull ups, dead lifts, and box jumps. For each round, we were supposed to do 30 reps of each exercise. And the goal was to do 3 rounds in as little time as possible. That breaks down to 90 pull-ups, 90 dead lifts (135#), and 90 box jumps.
In true crossfit fashion, this totally kicked my bum! It took me a bit over 25 minutes to make it through all 3 rounds. I am making some improvements on my pull-ups though. I was able to do about 10 unassisted reps in each 30 rep set. That is a fairly nice improvement for me and it makes me hopeful for future progress.
When we finished our workouts, I tried to work in a plank, but my body totally gave out by the time I hit 2 minutes. That was kind of disappointing. But at least I did something.
For the "Fab Abs" challenge, we were actually a day behind since we took the night off last night. So we decided to catch up and do a set for yesterday (50 donkey crunches) and a set for today (50 bicycles). We should be back on track for everything tomorrow, but I am pretty pleased with our efforts from today, even when not feeling our best.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Feb 1 - a Challenging Month
This month, I plan to continue to try to keep up with my pal Wendy over at One Tough Mother Runner and her Planks a Lot daily challenge. This month she's adding squats to the agenda. I'm going to keep to air squats for that part of the challenge and see how many I can build up, going unbroken, after I finish my plank each day.
Today I hit another personal best on my plank: 2 minutes and 25 seconds! I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane though. And I was glad to do something different when I finished with my 30 squats. Not a bad effort in between meetings.
The other challenge for this month is another that will target my abs. It's called the Delta Life Fab Abs February. The goal is to complete 28 different ab movements in 28 days. So they pick one exercise per day and you do 50 repetitions of that one move. Today we have "donkey crunches." Wonder Dad is doing this one with me, so we plan to add it to the end of our WOD each day.
Hopefully we will both come out on the other side of February with some seriously improved abs!
Today I hit another personal best on my plank: 2 minutes and 25 seconds! I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane though. And I was glad to do something different when I finished with my 30 squats. Not a bad effort in between meetings.
The other challenge for this month is another that will target my abs. It's called the Delta Life Fab Abs February. The goal is to complete 28 different ab movements in 28 days. So they pick one exercise per day and you do 50 repetitions of that one move. Today we have "donkey crunches." Wonder Dad is doing this one with me, so we plan to add it to the end of our WOD each day.
Hopefully we will both come out on the other side of February with some seriously improved abs!
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