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...

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!

One too many Rest days...

So, I took a weekend blogging break and a mandatory rest day yesterday so here we are... What should be my day 10 is really my day 9 - and lots to catch up on!

Saturday was my day 7, or rest day... so I took it easy and hung out with my family. Our son, goofyboy, had his first ever t-ball game. He did pretty well and got to take a turn on the pitchers mound... which is basically where all the balls hit off the tee go in tball. He did pretty well, but watching them try to figure out what they are supposed to be doing is pretty humorous.

On Sunday, I did my Cardio Power and Resistance as scheduled and got to have a great night out with some great friends. I was going to wimp out on this day, as Sunday is usually my rest day, and if I pushed the schedule one day, it'd coincide with what my body is used to... but I decided not to wimp out. However, I waited until I barely had enough time to do the workout and throw on my clothes to go out with the girls.

Then we get to Monday, supposed to be my Pure Cardio day... but, I took it off. I'm not fan of excuses and if I'd gotten it in before my doctor appointment that would have been great, but I didn't. I saw a Physical Medicine MD and did get a real medical diagnosis on what's going on in my shoulder and neck. It's a form of migraine, so the good news there is that there's no injury, so no rehab is going to be required - I just have to figure out what to do to eliminate the migraine! She did some pain killing shots into the trigger spots and told me to take it easy for the day, but, she encouraged me to get back as close to normal as possible. Of course with that, there are a few exceptions - No over head movements other than stretches(no jumping jacks, squat jacks, etc), no push ups(but holding plank or low plank is fine), no pull-ups, and no hard punches. Of all the things she said I couldn't do until the muscle relaxes, the punches was the hardest to take... I've missed 6 weeks now of Turbokick, and that's a core component of the class! I want to be back in there! Soon enough though, soon enough...

Today - Pure Cardio. 38 minutes, just about 300 calories... and this includes about 10 minutes of stretching between the start and end. I had to do some modifications today to accommodate the restrictions I have until my trapezius calms down. The most notable modification was on the pushup jacks - I did plank for 30 seconds followed by a chataraunga and hold for 30 seconds(low position, nose/chin near floor but not on it - holding myself up still). Other than that, the rest of my modifications were mostly keeping my arms to shoulder height when they went over head.... pretty easy day to modify. :-)

I don't hate Insanity as much as I did a week ago... so we're making progress!

Day 6 - Knowing one's limits

Day 6

Day 6 should have been the Plyometric Cardio circuit, but I'm still dealing with the migraine from yesterday so after about 15 minutes of the workout I switched over to the Cardio Recovery workout. I still got in my 43 or so minutes, it just wasn't at the intensity defined on the Insanity calendar. I knew 5 minutes in that if I kept going I would end up making my headache MUCH worse and be putting myself in a bad position if I performed the whole workout, but I wanted to get a sweat on before I quit so I went at a lower impact pace until I was all sweaty and winded.

If you're not feeling good, by all means rest. If you're injured or over-sore, do what you can without pushing yourself to further injury. I know my limits when it comes to a migraine, so I'm taking it easy and will hopefully be ready to go hard on the next workout day .

Know your limits. Just don't make excuses. :-)

Insanity Day 1 Fit Test Results

Today my husband and I started Insanity. I just completed the fit test, and I am seriously whooped but wanted to post my results before I crash for the night!

Switch Kicks - 100

Power Jacks - 68

Power Knees - 101

Power Jumps - 31

Globe Jumps - 10

Suicide Jumps - 18

Push Up Jacks - 16

Low Plank Obliques - 50

My Bodymedia FIT registered 192 calories for the 25 minute test. This includes 8 minutes of rest, 1 minute between each exercise - Not to shabby!

I've taken several weeks off to rehab my shoulder for a trapezius injury, and this is my first venture back into working out, so I'm wondering what my results *could* have been like had I not been coming of a long rest/injury. However, I am pleased with my initial starting point and it'll only get better from here!

I will have to take my pictures and measurements, but I think I'll do those in the morning before our next workout since I forgot before the fit test to do that! Always measure before you workout - it's a rule I go by :-)