Deafeat

I have finally decided to admit defeat and move on from Insanity to another workout! Two weeks ago, I had the botox procedure done for migraines and it has done wonders for my headaches. However, I had to take time off of Insanity after that as well as modify A LOT of the moves. Post procedure, I'm no longer allowed to do push ups or pull ups anymore due to a trigger point in my traps... Now, the pull ups part doesn't affect me as far as Insanity is concerned, but the push ups do. There are a lot of pushups in this bad boy! Also, I have been forbidden from doing planks and such for 4-6 weeks post procedure. I keep attempting to go back to it, but with my neck still having some residual soreness, I can hardly make it through the warm up before deciding that the pain isn't worth it. I know, Pain is weakness leaving the body... but trust me, this type of pain is a little different than just muscle sore and I'm not willing to risk backsliding this time! I'm learning to listen to my body - and it says it just isn't ready for a workout this high impact and intense.

All that being said... If anyone has any suggestions of another program, I'm all ears. And in the meantime, I'm going to go back to TKB tomorrow... again... and I'll be the "modifier" near the front. :-)

Fit Test and Max Interval Circuit... among other things!

First things first... we have hot water again! Whew... I don't think I've appreciated a hot shower in a long time so much as I did today! In addition to working out, I also was forced to clean up the garage and move a bunch of stuff so that access to the water heaters and to move them around, etc was easier on the plumbing crew. I also worked on killing the grass behind our pool in an "earth friendly way" by using vinegar... however, I smelled like vinegar(enhanced vinegar to be exact, so vinegar, orange oil and molasses) the rest of the day - AND, I still have 2/3 of the grass left to spray tomorrow.

My fit test I had some great gains today, and a few that I had lower numbers, but I think I improved form on those.

Switch kicks 94, last time - 107. So, 13 less, but I got my legs up higher and straighter than I had before

Power Jacks - 66, last time... 57. Very hard to improve upon and keep your form good, but I got 9 more!

Power knees - 112, last time - 102, 10 more!

Power Jumps - 39, last time - 38 and the first day I only got 31... so still seeing improvement here too!

Globe Jumps - 12, 1 more than last time!

Suicide Jumps - 22, 2 more than before.

Pushup Jacks - 24, 4 more than last time and 8 more than day 1!

Low plank Oblique - 70, 8 more than last time... 20 more than day 1!

After this I had to take a break! I don't know if it was the medicine they'd tried me on not being completely worn out of my system or if I just went that much harder... but I thought I was going to pass out at the end!

Max Intervals... what the heck! 60 minutes of pure torture! Tons of punches and lost of pushups... and by the end I was so tired I forgot I was supposed to be modifying it to keep my trapezius from getting angry - I did it all in the last several sets. My legs feel like my shoes are cinder blocks! It's hard to walk, it's more like a shuffle... I don't know why they put these 2 things together... but dang, almost 90 minutes of high intensity cardio! And I get to do it all over again in just under 2 weeks!

As for the migraine that just won't go away... it's still here, but I'm putting up a good fight and trying to keep unmedicated so we can break the rebound pain cycle. I am exhausted. Over 3100 calories burned today in total...

Ugh... Not sure what else to say about today... :-(

Started off today with a little zumba. It was really rainy and Goofyboy was begging to get to play with some friends so we hit the gym early today! Angela was out, but Adrienne stepped in and it was a super fun class!

After class, I got a call from the Dr that my insurance has finally approved for me to get botox to treat the severe migraines I've been having for the last 3 or more months. This includes having injections along trigger points in my head, neck, and shoulder and it's what I've been waiting to get done - not b/c I want it done, but because I am sick and tired of trying new drugs only to feel like crap. They are hopeful that this treatment that's been FDA approved will help with both the classic migraines that I've been having way too many of, as well as the shoulder that's been having spasms and causing issues. I've never had headaches this bad, but over the last several months they've started to take their toll on my quality of life as well as my family's... In the past 2 weeks, I've had to take my emergency relief medicine 18 times, I've been tracking it, so I can show the doctor. Also, the most recent medication they tried me on as a "preventative" measure causes me to black out and faint... and I'm not exaggerating! Twice today the world went black while I was moving around at home and I found myself on the floor! I am truly lucky I had been away from furniture else I could have cracked my head open. It'd happened yesterday at the store as well, but I managed to grab the shelf so I didn't completely go down... Once I got my composure back, I shuffled Goofyboy out pretty quickly. It's got my blood pressure way down too, some readings as low as 80/59. They did tell me to stop taking it immediately, so hopefully it leaves my system quickly and I can get back to normal! I hate taking medicine - I'm praying that the injections will allow me to get back to normal and they can take me off all meds! Today they gave me some pain injections to help alleviate the current migraine while they wait for the botox to arrive.

All of this excitement leads me to my Insanity workout... after having had the injections, I became super tired and *knew* I wasn't firing on all cylinders and that the fit test wouldn't be an accurate measure if I did it today. I made it through the warm up and stretch before I decided I should let the head/shoulder rest after the injections today... So, I'll pick it up again tomorrow! No excuses then!

To top off my super fantastic rainy day... Hubby gets home and asks me if I knew about the hot water heaters running out... Both 50 gallon water heaters died. No showers tonight unless we want cold ones! Brrr!

Here's to tomorrow being better!

edit: I totally forgot to mention that that stupid medication that they had me on has caused me to gain 8lbs in the past 2 weeks... which I'm not even sure thats physically possible for me to eat *that much* extra a day to gain that! So, on top of the blacking out and low blood pressure... GRRRRR

Week 4...

Ok, I must admit I have not been on top of blogging this week! Sunday I made up Saturday's workout, out poolside - to the sounds of my 5 year old screaming "Come on mommy, you can do better than that!". It did make me laugh, and try a little harder. It's hard doing Plyometric cardio on an uneven surface... adds a whole new level to the workout, and my calves hurt pretty bad Monday!

Monday I did zumba in addition to Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I have so missed my classes and friends there, but it was a little much to attempt to do it 2 days in a row, so I skipped TKB to do my Cardio Power and Resistance... I'm fighting the migraines still, so I am trying to keep from overdoing it too often, but I'm also doing my best to stay on track with the workouts. I did my plyometric cardio again yesterday, a day our son is not in preschool... and I had him cheering/booing me on again!

I also took on a challenge this week to not eat any grains or dairy products. I lasted 3 days... :-( I couldn't tell in those 3 days if it was helpful to my migraines, as I had a pretty bad one that lasted 2 of the 3 days. I plan to try it again when hopefully we've got the migraines back under control! The medication they gave me for the shoulder I think is aggravating the headaches, so I have to taper back off of it and try something else as well! Such a fun process these migraines are causing me to go through!

Well, Today is Cardio Recovery day, so I better get to it!

Migraines and Insanity...

Yesterday I did Plyometric cardio circuit and I don't think I have ever come so close to throwing up as I did yesterday... I spent 2 hours yesterday afternoon flat on my back after getting struck by a migraine around 3 or 4pm...

Today was Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I wasn't feeling it this morning because I'd woken up with a migraine, but I was feeling okay so I went for it. My little boy decided to do parts of it with me, and that kept me going because it's very entertaining and cute to watch a 5 year old try to do some of these moves. Of course, today he told me he likes p90x better - and I haven't done that one since he was probably 3 years old!

Some days I wake up with them, others hit me in the middle of the day and some don't even come on until late in the evening... but in the past 2-3 months I think I've had more days with a migraine than without. I've gone through my entire back stash of my emergency medicine and insurance only covers 9 doses a month. I think I've used 33 in the past 60 days... Never in my life have they been this bad, and I've had them since I was in grade school. I used to get maybe 3 a month. The Physical Medicine MD I saw about my shoulder pain has even diagnosed that as some kind of abnormal migraine. I go to the neuro on Friday to hopefully get some answers and a direction to make this better. Until then, I keep going because if I let them get me down, I become depressed and insufferable to be around.

I do my best, and *try to* forget the rest... HA!

I'll take a Mulligan please... Week 3 Do over!

So, tomorrow I am starting my week 3 over again from where I left off last week. I did the fit test, and so tomorrow I am back on track exactly one week behind! I did some of the workouts, but I am the type who won't skip one to stay on the schedule and with all the sickness at my house and then my 3 day migraine... I just decided I want to completely do week 3 over again(minus the fit test).

Today I did ChaLEAN Extreme... I agreed to video a testimony for it, so my workout today consisted of a sample of Burn Circuit 2, Ab Burner and Burn It Off so that they would have plenty to choose from for workout samples. I hate seeing myself on camera... I sound like a complete spaz. I started the process last week before the migraine attacked and finished it up today. I think the workout clips are fine, and I'm 100% cool w/ what I had written for my testimony... but hearing myself talk about it and ramble on - I sure hope they get some good clips out of it! I never realized how animated I was when I talked either... I seriously make some strange faces, funny gestures, etc. I am okay with it though - if it helps even one person change their life and get healthier, than I've done what I set out to do.

Insanity 2 week Fit Test

Technically, I should have done the fit test a few days ago, but with our entire house being sick, myself included, I took a couple days off to recuperate. I will workout with congestion or a headache, but with fever and nausea I won't. It felt good to get back to it after a 4 day hiatus.

And now for the results...

Switch Kicks - 107, + 7

Power Jacks - 57, -11 (although now I'm curious how in the heck I did 68 last time, my form must have been bad)

Power Knees - 102, +1

Globe Jumps - 11, +1

Suicide Jumps - 20, +2

Low Plank Oblique - 62, +12

Not a bad improvement for only two weeks time, especially when I took 4 days off do get over whatever crud we'd all caught. I gained 1lb on my measurements, but I lost almost an inch on my waist, and just over an inch on my hips. My calves are about 1/2" bigger, and everything else stayed the same.

:-)