~note: this blog was started on december 11, 2007~
jenn & i were at the Y tonight, & yes, it's been a while since we've been there, since, obviously, there's been a lack of blogging about. (right before i got promoted so did jenn. & with promotion comes extra responsibilities & longer work hours & less time to go stare at pretty boys, i mean, workout).
so we were back at the gym tonight & it was packed, which was annoying. but we did half an hour on the machines that are like a gazelle, i have no idea what the name is, probably some kind of cross trainer. then as a cool down before we left we did a half mile walk around the track.
when we got done on the track we were just leaving when we heard a voice say "hey, where have you been?"
busted.
it was holly, the girl who teaches the boot camp classes & helps with the friday night kick box d'oh classes.
so jenn & i basically stammered & stuttered & somehow explained the past few months with my bronchitis, her promotion, my promotion, & all the adjusting that new jobs require. yeah, it was lame, but we didn't have to drop & do any push ups right then, so that was good.
by the time we left jenn wound up promising we'd be at the tuesday night as well as the saturday morning boot camp classes. d'oh! & not as in kick box. not that i'm opposed to hard work, because i'm not in anyway, but i had been struggling at the boot camp classes & that was before i'd taken a several month vacation from the gym. i do know that i need to make friends with my local Y once again. i always feel better when i work out.
Showing posts with label tales from the Y. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tales from the Y. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
the oddest damn case of insomnia
so gang, i've been suffering from the oddest case of insomnia. for the past couple of days i haven't slept a single night straight through.
it started this past week, it was wednesday night, well, technically thursday morning. i work up thursday at a little before 5am. for no reason. no alarm, nothing. just dead asleep one second & then the widest of wide awake the next.
my first reaction, while staring at my ceiling in the dark was:
FUCK!
FUUUUCK!
I got up, went to the bathroom, crawled back into bed, curled up in the most comfiest bed in the world, and tried to go back to sleep.
NO DICE.
so i did what any insane girl living in minnesota would do at 5 in the morning when she can't sleep: i packed my bag for work, got dressed, went to the Y for an early morning workout, and then went to work.
of course.
my sleep has been pretty fragmented since then. i've been sleeping in small few hour at a time segments since then. saturday morning i woke up somewhere around 4:30-ish am, ok, PARTLY cause a boy from OZ (australia) called me & hung up after like a nanosecond cause he thought i was asleep. but even without that call, i would have been up much earlier than i intended.
& now, i'm typing this at almost half past five am. i've been awake for about an hour and a half. for no good reason. just am.
what do we say boys & girls?
yup:
FUUCK!
this sucks.
maybe it's the universe's way of telling me to use the quiet morning hours to work out? or better yet, write?
so if you're bored at 4:30am. call me. i'm probably awake already.
it started this past week, it was wednesday night, well, technically thursday morning. i work up thursday at a little before 5am. for no reason. no alarm, nothing. just dead asleep one second & then the widest of wide awake the next.
my first reaction, while staring at my ceiling in the dark was:
FUCK!
FUUUUCK!
I got up, went to the bathroom, crawled back into bed, curled up in the most comfiest bed in the world, and tried to go back to sleep.
NO DICE.
so i did what any insane girl living in minnesota would do at 5 in the morning when she can't sleep: i packed my bag for work, got dressed, went to the Y for an early morning workout, and then went to work.
of course.
my sleep has been pretty fragmented since then. i've been sleeping in small few hour at a time segments since then. saturday morning i woke up somewhere around 4:30-ish am, ok, PARTLY cause a boy from OZ (australia) called me & hung up after like a nanosecond cause he thought i was asleep. but even without that call, i would have been up much earlier than i intended.
& now, i'm typing this at almost half past five am. i've been awake for about an hour and a half. for no good reason. just am.
what do we say boys & girls?
yup:
FUUCK!
this sucks.
maybe it's the universe's way of telling me to use the quiet morning hours to work out? or better yet, write?
so if you're bored at 4:30am. call me. i'm probably awake already.
Friday, August 24, 2007
the rules of kindergarten don't apply here
my first comment is: jesus bobby!
so jenn totally kicked my ass at kick boxing! twice now! on wednesday we were practicing "elbows" which is basically using your forearm in a sweeping motion to smack the shit out of your opponent. well, at one point she hit the target pad with pretty intense force & i was caught off guard & the target pad i was holding with my left hand bounced back, hitting me in the face & nearly knocking my glasses off my face. awesome. to jenn's credit, she felt really bad about hitting me in the face with my own arm. luckily i didn't bruise at all, & other than being a bit startled & kinda sheepish about hitting myself in the face, with jenn's help, no harm no foul.
so i figured that was a one time fluke accident. bizarre, but nothing that could happen again, right? WELL, not so much. two days later, once again at kick box d'oh at the Y, jenn punches me in the face, with my own hand, again. jesus bobby.
it was the same thing, practicing elbows, i was the target she was punching. she's also left handed, which means her left hand & arm are stronger than her right. & since i'm right handed the exact opposite is true for me. SO, when she is using all of her strength & putting her whole body into her left elbows, she's making contact with my left hand holding the target pad. but, i also think that i need to hold the target a bit lower, more toward my chest, that way, if something gets bruised it's my boobies & not my face.
the lesson in all this? don't piss jenn off, cause she can elbow the crap outta you.
so jenn totally kicked my ass at kick boxing! twice now! on wednesday we were practicing "elbows" which is basically using your forearm in a sweeping motion to smack the shit out of your opponent. well, at one point she hit the target pad with pretty intense force & i was caught off guard & the target pad i was holding with my left hand bounced back, hitting me in the face & nearly knocking my glasses off my face. awesome. to jenn's credit, she felt really bad about hitting me in the face with my own arm. luckily i didn't bruise at all, & other than being a bit startled & kinda sheepish about hitting myself in the face, with jenn's help, no harm no foul.
so i figured that was a one time fluke accident. bizarre, but nothing that could happen again, right? WELL, not so much. two days later, once again at kick box d'oh at the Y, jenn punches me in the face, with my own hand, again. jesus bobby.
it was the same thing, practicing elbows, i was the target she was punching. she's also left handed, which means her left hand & arm are stronger than her right. & since i'm right handed the exact opposite is true for me. SO, when she is using all of her strength & putting her whole body into her left elbows, she's making contact with my left hand holding the target pad. but, i also think that i need to hold the target a bit lower, more toward my chest, that way, if something gets bruised it's my boobies & not my face.
the lesson in all this? don't piss jenn off, cause she can elbow the crap outta you.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
no wonder marines are so cranky
last night was another fabulous new experience at the y, & that is not at all meant with the dripping sarcasm that one may intuit, honest injun! so jenn & i finally attended the famed boot camp class led by the intimidating holly. honestly, holly is one of those women that is beautiful, fit, & looks like she could totally kick your arse from one side of the planet to the other & barely break a sweat. she's definitely not someone i would want to cross. incidentally, jenn & i first met holly in the kick box d'oh class, she was a co-instructor one night. after class she told us we should come & see her at boot camp class. jenn immediately said "will do" & looked too peppy for someone who had just finished kick boxing class, & my response was "yeah, i'll work on that" meanwhile shooting jenn the you are mother frickin crazy daggers with my eyes.
well, oddly enough, i was the one that pushed jenn to go to the class last night with me. i think i just heard a thud, someone must have passed out from shock. well, they'll rejoin us again very soon. typically jenn is the one that takes me kicking & screaming, almost literally, to the classes (like body pump & kick box d'oh) but, for some strange reason, last night i was feeling particularly energetic & i told her that we should take the class. that was after we did some laps around the track, about a mile and a third, the last half of it we alternated between walking a lap & then jogging a lap. don't worry, i won't break my arm patting myself on the back, BUT, i am pretty flippin pleased with myself that not only did i make myself go to boot camp, but i got jenn to go along with me.
now, i will admit, i was having some serious shooting pain in my left ankle & my right hip was twinging a bit after the jogging, but there was something inside me that said i just had to go to boot camp last night, it was like a life or death pinnacle moment for me. usually i can't tell those pivotal moments in my life until they're in the past, the ones on which an entire future turn, but i know that last night was one of those moments, & going to that class would be, IS, the event that changes everything. i can't see what it is changing for me, but i know it is. to quote a song miss jenn & i listened to last night during our mc-crack fix: "the past is just the future with the lights on." btw, i /heart that line & i think it's really a motto to live by. it's deep man, super deep.
i'm not even going to pretend that boot camp was a cake walk. mmmm, cake. but, i'm also not going to say that it was impossible, because it wasn't! it was a challenge. since neither of us had been to the class we didn't know all of the moves. & our bodies are still not at the michelle kwan flexibility stage yet, but they're getting there. so one move, the garbage picker, neither of us did very successfully. basically you start a couple feet away from a stepper, you hop in, put your hands on it, hop just your feet back keeping your hands on the step, do two push ups, then hop your feet forward & stand up. yeah. i know. read it a second time. my reaction when holly showed it to us was: WHAT?!
&, at one point, mentally, i did pull out the "homey don't bend that way." much like last week at power down, holly very calmly said (while everyone was sitting on their step): "put your right ankle up on your left knee, ok, now put your hands behind you on the step, & slide yourself forward off the step, feel that wonderful glute & hamstring stretch." now, to my credit, i held in the snorted laugh that i was tempted to let loose, but i did give her my patented homey-don't-bend-that-way-look. & i did do my best regardless. i crossed my ankle over my left leg, i leaned back, & i scooted my butt forward as far as i could. i knew that if i moved my butt off that step that i would proceed to fall & crack my head on the studio floor. which is bad for business. interestingly enough, the staff at the Y don't like their members passed out & bleeding all over their floor. i know, how rude.
once again, this is a class that i would like to attend again. the big down fall of boot camp is that on tuesdays it is from 5:30pm-6:35pm & the power down class i like is on tuesdays from 6:00pm-6:40pm. yeah, that makes me a bit of a sad panda :( there is a yoga class after boot camp called power yoga, so once i feel a little less awkward from boot camp i'll have to try that also. luckily, boot camp is offered twice a week, so i could always drag my butt the 25 miles from my apartment to minnetonka to go to that some morning with the fabulous miss jenn.
boot camp did live up to its name, definitely! today i am one hurting unit. interestingly enough i have found glute/thigh muscles i didn't know exist. & my chest is hurting in ways it never has before, all of which is very good. if your local Y has a boot camp, i highly recommend it. holly was great about pushing everyone in class (we even got an extra set of running steps because no one told her their glutes were hurting. . .i won't make that mistake twice!), but she was also great about showing everyone adaptations of some of the tougher exercises so that those of us who aren't yet able to do all of the exercises, could keep pushing along. she also came up to jenn & i at the end of class & made a point of telling us that we did a really good job for our first time at boot camp *beaming*
with that said, boot camp gets an over all grade of an A from me. a really great workout, i can feel it the next day, but also very adaptable for different skill levels, & not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
well, oddly enough, i was the one that pushed jenn to go to the class last night with me. i think i just heard a thud, someone must have passed out from shock. well, they'll rejoin us again very soon. typically jenn is the one that takes me kicking & screaming, almost literally, to the classes (like body pump & kick box d'oh) but, for some strange reason, last night i was feeling particularly energetic & i told her that we should take the class. that was after we did some laps around the track, about a mile and a third, the last half of it we alternated between walking a lap & then jogging a lap. don't worry, i won't break my arm patting myself on the back, BUT, i am pretty flippin pleased with myself that not only did i make myself go to boot camp, but i got jenn to go along with me.
now, i will admit, i was having some serious shooting pain in my left ankle & my right hip was twinging a bit after the jogging, but there was something inside me that said i just had to go to boot camp last night, it was like a life or death pinnacle moment for me. usually i can't tell those pivotal moments in my life until they're in the past, the ones on which an entire future turn, but i know that last night was one of those moments, & going to that class would be, IS, the event that changes everything. i can't see what it is changing for me, but i know it is. to quote a song miss jenn & i listened to last night during our mc-crack fix: "the past is just the future with the lights on." btw, i /heart that line & i think it's really a motto to live by. it's deep man, super deep.
i'm not even going to pretend that boot camp was a cake walk. mmmm, cake. but, i'm also not going to say that it was impossible, because it wasn't! it was a challenge. since neither of us had been to the class we didn't know all of the moves. & our bodies are still not at the michelle kwan flexibility stage yet, but they're getting there. so one move, the garbage picker, neither of us did very successfully. basically you start a couple feet away from a stepper, you hop in, put your hands on it, hop just your feet back keeping your hands on the step, do two push ups, then hop your feet forward & stand up. yeah. i know. read it a second time. my reaction when holly showed it to us was: WHAT?!
&, at one point, mentally, i did pull out the "homey don't bend that way." much like last week at power down, holly very calmly said (while everyone was sitting on their step): "put your right ankle up on your left knee, ok, now put your hands behind you on the step, & slide yourself forward off the step, feel that wonderful glute & hamstring stretch." now, to my credit, i held in the snorted laugh that i was tempted to let loose, but i did give her my patented homey-don't-bend-that-way-look. & i did do my best regardless. i crossed my ankle over my left leg, i leaned back, & i scooted my butt forward as far as i could. i knew that if i moved my butt off that step that i would proceed to fall & crack my head on the studio floor. which is bad for business. interestingly enough, the staff at the Y don't like their members passed out & bleeding all over their floor. i know, how rude.
once again, this is a class that i would like to attend again. the big down fall of boot camp is that on tuesdays it is from 5:30pm-6:35pm & the power down class i like is on tuesdays from 6:00pm-6:40pm. yeah, that makes me a bit of a sad panda :( there is a yoga class after boot camp called power yoga, so once i feel a little less awkward from boot camp i'll have to try that also. luckily, boot camp is offered twice a week, so i could always drag my butt the 25 miles from my apartment to minnetonka to go to that some morning with the fabulous miss jenn.
boot camp did live up to its name, definitely! today i am one hurting unit. interestingly enough i have found glute/thigh muscles i didn't know exist. & my chest is hurting in ways it never has before, all of which is very good. if your local Y has a boot camp, i highly recommend it. holly was great about pushing everyone in class (we even got an extra set of running steps because no one told her their glutes were hurting. . .i won't make that mistake twice!), but she was also great about showing everyone adaptations of some of the tougher exercises so that those of us who aren't yet able to do all of the exercises, could keep pushing along. she also came up to jenn & i at the end of class & made a point of telling us that we did a really good job for our first time at boot camp *beaming*
with that said, boot camp gets an over all grade of an A from me. a really great workout, i can feel it the next day, but also very adaptable for different skill levels, & not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
homey don't bend that way
ok, OK, so yeah, i'll admit it, i did enjoy my workout last night. not while i was doing it, but afterwards. to be honest, while i was on the elliptical doing my time i kept thinking "holy god this is boring, dammit i want off this ride!" & jenn didn't have her esp turned on, i kept glancing over at her giving her my i-am-dying-&-want-off-this-thing look, but she didn't look at me once. then again, she could have been observing my pathetic plea for mercy from her peripheral vision & ignoring me, which is always an option. in the end i'm glad i stuck it out though. because once i finished the grueling time on the elliptical we went to the power down class in the mind/body room.
i'll give this to the Y, i'm loving all their free classes. while i really love getting my aggression out & getting the gloves on in kick box d'oh, so far my favorite is the power down class. for anyone who hasn't attended one, it's a combination yoga/meditation class. it is very relaxing, although, a bit challenging also. the challenging part is that i'm pretty well convinced that you need to be a direct descendant of gumby to be able to do all of the stretching exercises. at one point in time, fairly early in the class, we were laying on our backs, knees bent, the instructor said "now put one of your legs up on the knee of the other" so i obliged, crossing my legs thinking, huh, this feels kinda nice, she then said "now reach between your legs, grab that bottom leg & pull towards your body" yeah, about that. i reached my arms straight out, trying for all my might, trying to use the force, thinking to myself, USE THE FORCE, to get that leg to pull up to my body. somehow i managed to do it without intervention, but it was not easy at all.
oddly enough, even though this is only the second time jenn & i went to this class, & the first time was probably a month ago, i feel like i was able to bend a bit farther, stretch more, & in general just a wee bit more flexible. although, i still hold to this blog title in that "homey don't bend that way." mainly cause it's fun to say.
today my back is twinging up a bit, not necessarily full blown aching, & not the sharp kind of pain where you really want someone to punch you out, but just twinging. my lower back feels all tight & curled up on itself. i think i would feel better if i could just grab a chin -up bar & dangle there for a while. unfortunately i won't be able to do that until i get off work, in five-ish hours, & get over to the Y. yup yup yup. planning on hitting the gym again. i'm kinda bumming because miss jenn won't be going tonight because she has to work late, which means no kick box d'oh for me. so sad. i know i don't NEED jenn in order to attend a class, except, i really do need a partner for kick boxing. they request that you show up in pairs. & even though it's tempting, i think there would be something slightly wrong about me hanging out in the fitness center going "pst, hey, you, what are you doing tonight from 6:15-7:15? can i throw punches at you for half an hour? i'll let you do the same. really, it'll be loads of fun." **ponders** yeah, i just don't see that as being a viable option. that kind of behavior could get me an invitation to not return, for at least a little while.
& on that note, i'll close this by saying, if anyone knows the hottie who was weight lifting at the Y last night in the fire & rescue t-shirt, please give him this message: hey baby, you can come rescue me any time. & twice on sundays.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
exercise: my favoritist drug of all
ok, maybe not my FAVORITIST of all time, because i'm a pretty big fan of caffeine. & the mccrack cone at the golden arches. but it's definitely a very close runner up. as my blog from yesterday indicates fairly well, to those good at reading between the lines, i was in a wee bit of a blue mood. not necessarily related to any one thing in particular, just kind of a compilation of a bunch of little things that when taken as a whole were a hard pill to swallow.
but, last night, i wound up at the Y with miss jenn. & the sadistic chick made me do an hour on the elliptical. ok, well, she didn't hold a gun to my head or anything, but she was doing an hour & since we were working out together i also felt compelled to clock an hour. & then every time i felt myself starting to get lazy & ease off on my pace or intensity i felt her glance my way, even though i didn't catch her in the act & so then i put my head down, gritted my teeth, & pushed harder.
now while i was at the Y glistening like a pig i wasn't all warm & fuzzy about the exercise schtick. i was kinda wishing i was lounging in a recliner curled up with my lappy cruising random websites & watching bad tv, yes yes, i really DO know how to live it up. yo.
but post workout, after i was able to shower & get into fresh clothes, i felt a lot better. i won't lie & say that i felt a million times better & like clicking my heels together for joy, but i felt more presentable, more put together, more relaxed, & just better able to cope in the big bad world. isn't that amazing?
yeah, i think i've come to this same conclusion in a previous blog. er, several previous blogs perhaps? i will say that with the impressive amount of random bullshit that i can memorize & store for years i find it incredibly amazing that i continually forget uber important things about myself. like, that i actually enjoy working out & it makes me feel loads better. or that writing keeps me sane & balanced (ok, once again, won't lie, as balanced as i ever am, but that's still pretty balanced, sorta). selective memory? too bad you can't clean out your brain like the memory on a computer. if i could there are several memories that i would like to rid myself of. including the embarrassing moment back in high school when i was blithely walking along, minding my own business, miserable in my own teenage awkwardness when i did a full on slip on the ice, my feet came out from underneath me, ass over teakettle to quote my dad, & i landed hard on my tail bone. yeah, that's one i could do without. & if that's what i share with people on a blog you can imagine what i have hidden in my grey matter. oy.
so, guess this means when i get off work i should head to the Y right? & that i'm all excited & uber motivated to get there & sweat out all those negative feelings that may be lingering & the tension & stress of a tuesday in a call center? yeah, not so much. while i know that it will make me feel better, i'm not super jazzed at this moment to head over to the gym. i know i'll go. i know i'll feel better when it's all said & done, especially post shower when i'm in my jammie-jams curled up with my lappy & able to say "yes, yes i did work out today."
then again, a habit doesn't become one over night, it takes time, takes perseverance, hard work & a few slips. i've had quite a few of the last as of late. & by slips i mean things ala my above story from my high school gory days. but i'm really trying to get back my gym-jo. if for no other reason than #1 it's fun to say gym-jo & #2 there are some cute weight lifting boys at the Y that i wouldn't mind ogling.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
kick-box D'OH
so, after talking about it for many months, jenn & i finally went to the kick boxing class at the Y. & i'll preface this by saying: yes, i enjoyed myself, & yes, i will be going back again. with that said, it was quite an experience.
even though i know enough about exercising, and especially group exercising, to know that you always do some kind of warm up, i just spaced that fact. so the VERY first thing the instructor says, after making sure we're all paired up with a partner, is "let's do some jumping." my immediate gut instinct response is to think, "fuck jumping, i'm so out of here." & even though the last thing i really wanted to do was jump, i did indeed start jumping. & we kept jumping. up & down. left to right. front to back. bouncing all over the fucking place like picachu on speed. for me it was more like semi animated stepping & less like jumping because, well, i need to work on my jumping. & my jumping muscles.
then we went on to the punching. & the kicking. the instructors would show us three different combinations & then we'd get to do them on our own with lovely background music, some of which really did make me want to punch someone or something. i was completely willing to let jenn be first puncher & i was willing to be the first target, but she insisted that i punch first. i have to say, at first i was a little bit hesitant & scared to punch. i was afraid i'd hit jenn in the face accidentally, or that i would look like a total ass, or that i'd fall flat on my fucking face. but i didn't do any of the above. i may not have been the most graceful person in the gym, but i did a good job of keeping up. one of the instructors even came over to me & told me that i could slow down if i wanted to since it was my first time taking the class. which i took as a compliment that i was working hard enough to impress. or, possibly, i looked like i was going to keel over dead.
but obviously i made it through the class alive & kicking. which, we did do some kicking too. i actually enjoyed the punching more. i planted my feet & tried really hard to put as much power as i could into each punch. imagining that i was beating the hell out of, uh, a certain someone. with miss jenn's encouraging, of course.
jenn did great too. actually, she scared the hell out of me. if she & i were to get in a fight, she would kick my ass ten ways from sunday, trust me. she's a serious hard core scraper. then again, she did grow up with older brothers. i, on the other hand, am the oldest. & way tougher than my brother. i kind of think when she was punching she was holding back alittle because i'm not as strong as she is, so i wasn't quite able to be a steady target, if you know what i mean. but i think she still got a decent workout.
the only downfall to the kickboxing class, & this is kind of a big one, is that the communal gloves are, well, a bit funky. & not funky in a good way, but, a bad way, really bad. let me put it this way: after having the gloves on for 20-ish minutes & removing them, i couldn't get my hands far enough away from my body. so, note to self: if i'm going to continue kick boxing, i need to invest in my own gloves. that's a recommendation to anyone who is interested in taking kicking boxing.
even though i know enough about exercising, and especially group exercising, to know that you always do some kind of warm up, i just spaced that fact. so the VERY first thing the instructor says, after making sure we're all paired up with a partner, is "let's do some jumping." my immediate gut instinct response is to think, "fuck jumping, i'm so out of here." & even though the last thing i really wanted to do was jump, i did indeed start jumping. & we kept jumping. up & down. left to right. front to back. bouncing all over the fucking place like picachu on speed. for me it was more like semi animated stepping & less like jumping because, well, i need to work on my jumping. & my jumping muscles.
then we went on to the punching. & the kicking. the instructors would show us three different combinations & then we'd get to do them on our own with lovely background music, some of which really did make me want to punch someone or something. i was completely willing to let jenn be first puncher & i was willing to be the first target, but she insisted that i punch first. i have to say, at first i was a little bit hesitant & scared to punch. i was afraid i'd hit jenn in the face accidentally, or that i would look like a total ass, or that i'd fall flat on my fucking face. but i didn't do any of the above. i may not have been the most graceful person in the gym, but i did a good job of keeping up. one of the instructors even came over to me & told me that i could slow down if i wanted to since it was my first time taking the class. which i took as a compliment that i was working hard enough to impress. or, possibly, i looked like i was going to keel over dead.
but obviously i made it through the class alive & kicking. which, we did do some kicking too. i actually enjoyed the punching more. i planted my feet & tried really hard to put as much power as i could into each punch. imagining that i was beating the hell out of, uh, a certain someone. with miss jenn's encouraging, of course.
jenn did great too. actually, she scared the hell out of me. if she & i were to get in a fight, she would kick my ass ten ways from sunday, trust me. she's a serious hard core scraper. then again, she did grow up with older brothers. i, on the other hand, am the oldest. & way tougher than my brother. i kind of think when she was punching she was holding back alittle because i'm not as strong as she is, so i wasn't quite able to be a steady target, if you know what i mean. but i think she still got a decent workout.
the only downfall to the kickboxing class, & this is kind of a big one, is that the communal gloves are, well, a bit funky. & not funky in a good way, but, a bad way, really bad. let me put it this way: after having the gloves on for 20-ish minutes & removing them, i couldn't get my hands far enough away from my body. so, note to self: if i'm going to continue kick boxing, i need to invest in my own gloves. that's a recommendation to anyone who is interested in taking kicking boxing.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
you really can't take me anywhere
week before last, thursday to be exact, jenn & i had hit the Y to try to get back into the tuesday/thursday girl swing of things. which basically means actually going to the gym four or more days a week, eating healthy, & lifting weights. ya know, the TTG* way of life. our gym return was less than triumphant. we did some upper body stuff, some time on the ellipticals & then we were done. so over the Y for the night. this was post the mean boys at the gym, but we were still trying.
i was getting ready to drive jenn home & offered her some crack, er, mcdonald's ice cream. we have developed this VERY bad habbit of going to mcdonald's for one of their ice cream cones. per jenn they are about 150 calories per cone if made according to the corporate specifications. & now it's almost kind of like pavlov's dogs: i leave the Y & i want a mcdonald's ice cream. i can even tell you how much two cones cost, with tax, at the plymouth mickey d's. $2.13.
but me & my crack, er, cone habit, are not the point of the story. the point is the absurd things that happen when i'm allowed to go out in public. so jenn wanted to get a salad when we went to mcdonald's because she didn't have anything to eat at home, er, nothing that was semi healthy. which, depending on the dressing one chooses, the mcdonald's salads are not terribly bad for human consumption.
so we roll through the drive through & order two ice cream cones & a salad, their new south western salad or whatever it's called. so we get to the drive through window, & we're in my saturn so we're riding pretty low to the ground. the guy hands us jenn's salad, then the two cones & goes away. jenn checks the salad & they gave her whatever the dressing is that matches up with that salad, & it had about a billion calories in the package. & she wanted a low fat dressing. so she & i both turn to our left & stare up into the drive through window. & we sit. & we stare. finally the guy turns around, looks startled, & then comes over to the window.
"uh, can i help you?" the mcdonald's dude asked.
"yeah, do you have any light or low fat dressing?" i asked while taking a lick of my ice cream cone.
"yeah we have a balsamic vinaigrette and, uh, yeah, that's it," obviously confused & disjointed.
"can we have the vinaigrette?" i flashed my dimples.
"one minute." he disappeared momentarily, the drive through window snapping shut.
as soon as his back was turned and the window shut, jenn pipes up, "yes, yes i did just order ice cream & i'm asking for light dressing with my salad."
if my life were a movie jenn would have actually said her comment to the drive through dude, as it was, she just said it to me, but it was still pretty hilarious none the less.
*tuesday/thursday girl AKA TTG is my own creation, don't swipe it or i'll beat you severely with wet spaghetti noodles. & trust me, if anyone knows how to inflict pain with pasta it's a fat girl
i was getting ready to drive jenn home & offered her some crack, er, mcdonald's ice cream. we have developed this VERY bad habbit of going to mcdonald's for one of their ice cream cones. per jenn they are about 150 calories per cone if made according to the corporate specifications. & now it's almost kind of like pavlov's dogs: i leave the Y & i want a mcdonald's ice cream. i can even tell you how much two cones cost, with tax, at the plymouth mickey d's. $2.13.
but me & my crack, er, cone habit, are not the point of the story. the point is the absurd things that happen when i'm allowed to go out in public. so jenn wanted to get a salad when we went to mcdonald's because she didn't have anything to eat at home, er, nothing that was semi healthy. which, depending on the dressing one chooses, the mcdonald's salads are not terribly bad for human consumption.
so we roll through the drive through & order two ice cream cones & a salad, their new south western salad or whatever it's called. so we get to the drive through window, & we're in my saturn so we're riding pretty low to the ground. the guy hands us jenn's salad, then the two cones & goes away. jenn checks the salad & they gave her whatever the dressing is that matches up with that salad, & it had about a billion calories in the package. & she wanted a low fat dressing. so she & i both turn to our left & stare up into the drive through window. & we sit. & we stare. finally the guy turns around, looks startled, & then comes over to the window.
"uh, can i help you?" the mcdonald's dude asked.
"yeah, do you have any light or low fat dressing?" i asked while taking a lick of my ice cream cone.
"yeah we have a balsamic vinaigrette and, uh, yeah, that's it," obviously confused & disjointed.
"can we have the vinaigrette?" i flashed my dimples.
"one minute." he disappeared momentarily, the drive through window snapping shut.
as soon as his back was turned and the window shut, jenn pipes up, "yes, yes i did just order ice cream & i'm asking for light dressing with my salad."
if my life were a movie jenn would have actually said her comment to the drive through dude, as it was, she just said it to me, but it was still pretty hilarious none the less.
*tuesday/thursday girl AKA TTG is my own creation, don't swipe it or i'll beat you severely with wet spaghetti noodles. & trust me, if anyone knows how to inflict pain with pasta it's a fat girl
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
boys are pushy & mean
***warning, for the record, i am TOTALLY NOT, one of those women who's had some a-hole boyfriends & now hates all men, but the boys i'm talking about are: pushy & mean***
last night at the ridgedale Y there was a mildly triumphant return of the tuesday/thursday girls. basically jenn & i have been MIA from the Y for the past three weeks. with good reason i might add. i've been busy finishing class, planning a baby shower, planning a bachelorette, attending a funeral & a wedding & just in general being a busy busy (little) bee.
& jenn has been wicked busy too. i'll be honest, i've been pretty me-centric lately so i can't even say exactly what she's been busy with, but i'm sure that it is very important stuff that needed her immediate attention.
so with just eleven days left of may, & both of us needing to get to the Y at least 8 days to get our discount for the month's membership, we slunk into the Y last night. & for the record, while i'm loving the new work hours, getting to work at 7:30 am & getting the hell out of dodge at 4pm, the Y is not so wondrous a place at that time.
by the time we both got changed & then made our emergency stop by best buy for new headphones, the Y was pretty hopping. we each managed to score an elliptical, but not really near the other one. so while i was set up for an hour long cardio session jenn was done & wiping down her machine after a thirty minute workout & a three minute cool down. & maybe she would've just stayed on her elliptical for another half hour if she would've known what was to happen next.
((yeah, we're getting to the pushy mean boys))
as you'll all recall, jenn & i have been getting into weight lifting this year, mainly due to our (former) trainer, riley. with riley gone to a new Y for full time benefits, jenn & i are on our own with the weight lifting. which, is actually something that isn't SO bad. except for, it was a very hostile environment at the Y last night.
so i strut, or, as close as i can come to strutting since my legs are all jello-y weak & my face is cherry red & i'm sweating head to toe, carrying my pink weight lifting bible & pink water bottle into the weight lifting area. talk about being uncomfortable, the boys obviously didn't want a fat girl there, much less one dragging her friend along with her. they kind of gave off this vibe like they didn't want me touching their equipment. er, yeah, the weight lifting stuff. that's what i meant.
the ridgedale Y actually has a fairly large weight lifting area, at least three or four benches set up for bar bells & then at least three other benches for use with dumbbells. so plenty of room. except, the boys didn't want to share. they were hovering over equipment they weren't using because, well, they didn't want to share. finally jenn & i spotted a free bench. someone had left plates still on it, but that was fine, we're strong chicas & we can de-plate & replace a barbell. except...
WHILE jenn was removing a plate from the left side this skinny-ass boy in a pair of scruffy looking hospital green scrub pants came up & put a plate on the right side & basically glared us down.
& that's when we left the Y.
it's not like we were looking for a hand out or anything. but we wanted one bench, to share, to lift some weights. & the mean boys wouldn't let us play. the bastards.
last night at the ridgedale Y there was a mildly triumphant return of the tuesday/thursday girls. basically jenn & i have been MIA from the Y for the past three weeks. with good reason i might add. i've been busy finishing class, planning a baby shower, planning a bachelorette, attending a funeral & a wedding & just in general being a busy busy (little) bee.
& jenn has been wicked busy too. i'll be honest, i've been pretty me-centric lately so i can't even say exactly what she's been busy with, but i'm sure that it is very important stuff that needed her immediate attention.
so with just eleven days left of may, & both of us needing to get to the Y at least 8 days to get our discount for the month's membership, we slunk into the Y last night. & for the record, while i'm loving the new work hours, getting to work at 7:30 am & getting the hell out of dodge at 4pm, the Y is not so wondrous a place at that time.
by the time we both got changed & then made our emergency stop by best buy for new headphones, the Y was pretty hopping. we each managed to score an elliptical, but not really near the other one. so while i was set up for an hour long cardio session jenn was done & wiping down her machine after a thirty minute workout & a three minute cool down. & maybe she would've just stayed on her elliptical for another half hour if she would've known what was to happen next.
((yeah, we're getting to the pushy mean boys))
as you'll all recall, jenn & i have been getting into weight lifting this year, mainly due to our (former) trainer, riley. with riley gone to a new Y for full time benefits, jenn & i are on our own with the weight lifting. which, is actually something that isn't SO bad. except for, it was a very hostile environment at the Y last night.
so i strut, or, as close as i can come to strutting since my legs are all jello-y weak & my face is cherry red & i'm sweating head to toe, carrying my pink weight lifting bible & pink water bottle into the weight lifting area. talk about being uncomfortable, the boys obviously didn't want a fat girl there, much less one dragging her friend along with her. they kind of gave off this vibe like they didn't want me touching their equipment. er, yeah, the weight lifting stuff. that's what i meant.
the ridgedale Y actually has a fairly large weight lifting area, at least three or four benches set up for bar bells & then at least three other benches for use with dumbbells. so plenty of room. except, the boys didn't want to share. they were hovering over equipment they weren't using because, well, they didn't want to share. finally jenn & i spotted a free bench. someone had left plates still on it, but that was fine, we're strong chicas & we can de-plate & replace a barbell. except...
WHILE jenn was removing a plate from the left side this skinny-ass boy in a pair of scruffy looking hospital green scrub pants came up & put a plate on the right side & basically glared us down.
& that's when we left the Y.
it's not like we were looking for a hand out or anything. but we wanted one bench, to share, to lift some weights. & the mean boys wouldn't let us play. the bastards.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
it's like a bad 80's movie
i was going to name this blog "say goodbye to hollywood" but that wasn't quite right. & then i thought about just "say goodbye" but i think i did that one. so instead, i'll pull on the collective memories of 80's movie complete with perms, leg warmers, teased hair, t-top trans-ams, inspirational song tracks, & a montage. yeah, gotta have a montage.
last week jenn & i got some semi devastating news: riley got a new job. i mean, ok yeah for him, if he really thinks he needs to work full time & get benefits. but it means he'll be moving to another Y. & at first it appeared that perhaps he'd be able to continue to train jenn & myself, but alas, he only has a couple of weeks that he's allowed to do that, & then, if we want to continue to train with him we'll need to make the trek up 169 from minnetonka to coon rapids during rush hour traffic. yeah. right. about that. not gonna happen.
while i /heart riley as a trainer, i just don't have the dedecation to him to travel that highway to hell. for anyone who doesn't live in minnesota & is not familiar with 169 i'll explain. 169 is basically hell on earth in general, but especially from the hours of 3pm to 7pm monday through friday. which leaves me trainer-less.
*tear*
i'm now a gym orphan. well, ok, jenn & i are now gym orphans. we just started to get our balance in this whole weight training thing & our options are: a) find a new trainer or b) try to go it alone. both are unequivocally scary for their own reasons. after about three months with riley i feel like we finally found our stride. he knows us, he gets our jokes. ok, he doesn't ALWAYS get our jokes, but about 96% of the time he's right there with us & he isn't even uncomfortable when i make fat girl jokes.
like today when he was stretching out jenn & i's lower legs he said "you girls have some loose hammies"
& i said "mmm...ham, i'm hungry."
& jenn shot in with "never doubt a fat girl to bring ham into the equation."
so i'm not super excited about the thought of having to break in a new trainer. i mean, it's taken us the majority of the past three months to properly break in riley. so that leaves option b, going this alone. & while jenn & i have both had success in the past with losing weight on our own, but then again, neither of us is a size 0 skeleton wannabe. i'm still too fat to be a plus size model. at least according to twiggy & tyra.
there are definite bonuses to going it alone, the first being we'd each be saving $70 bucks a week, which means i could use that to put in my savings, or pay extra on bills, that would be an extra $280 a month i'd have to do something else with! & let's face it, i'm still kinda a broke ass hoe cause i'm working two jobs & going to school & still trying to live that big dream, so 280 is a whole lotta scratch for me. in a way i can't believe i've been shelling that out & not even cringing, must be because we pay each week.
i am still pretty worried though that i'm going to *twump* fall flat on my face & fail. again. my friend dev suggested that jenn & i make a pact that if one of us punks out on gym time then they owe the other one 20 bucks, which i think is a great idea. i'm not sure yet how miss jenn feels & if we'll be doing that or not. but it's an idea. i have all kinds of "incentives" set up for myself, but it's still hard to keep motivated day after day when i'm not losing a freaking thing.
i have been in the 250's since february, bouncing all over the freaking 250's, but not able to break through down into the 240's. can i get a mother fucker? mother fucker.
maybe with jenn as my co-trainer i can break through. i hope. i really really hope. cause this blows monkey balls. seriously.
last week jenn & i got some semi devastating news: riley got a new job. i mean, ok yeah for him, if he really thinks he needs to work full time & get benefits. but it means he'll be moving to another Y. & at first it appeared that perhaps he'd be able to continue to train jenn & myself, but alas, he only has a couple of weeks that he's allowed to do that, & then, if we want to continue to train with him we'll need to make the trek up 169 from minnetonka to coon rapids during rush hour traffic. yeah. right. about that. not gonna happen.
while i /heart riley as a trainer, i just don't have the dedecation to him to travel that highway to hell. for anyone who doesn't live in minnesota & is not familiar with 169 i'll explain. 169 is basically hell on earth in general, but especially from the hours of 3pm to 7pm monday through friday. which leaves me trainer-less.
*tear*
i'm now a gym orphan. well, ok, jenn & i are now gym orphans. we just started to get our balance in this whole weight training thing & our options are: a) find a new trainer or b) try to go it alone. both are unequivocally scary for their own reasons. after about three months with riley i feel like we finally found our stride. he knows us, he gets our jokes. ok, he doesn't ALWAYS get our jokes, but about 96% of the time he's right there with us & he isn't even uncomfortable when i make fat girl jokes.
like today when he was stretching out jenn & i's lower legs he said "you girls have some loose hammies"
& i said "mmm...ham, i'm hungry."
& jenn shot in with "never doubt a fat girl to bring ham into the equation."
so i'm not super excited about the thought of having to break in a new trainer. i mean, it's taken us the majority of the past three months to properly break in riley. so that leaves option b, going this alone. & while jenn & i have both had success in the past with losing weight on our own, but then again, neither of us is a size 0 skeleton wannabe. i'm still too fat to be a plus size model. at least according to twiggy & tyra.
there are definite bonuses to going it alone, the first being we'd each be saving $70 bucks a week, which means i could use that to put in my savings, or pay extra on bills, that would be an extra $280 a month i'd have to do something else with! & let's face it, i'm still kinda a broke ass hoe cause i'm working two jobs & going to school & still trying to live that big dream, so 280 is a whole lotta scratch for me. in a way i can't believe i've been shelling that out & not even cringing, must be because we pay each week.
i am still pretty worried though that i'm going to *twump* fall flat on my face & fail. again. my friend dev suggested that jenn & i make a pact that if one of us punks out on gym time then they owe the other one 20 bucks, which i think is a great idea. i'm not sure yet how miss jenn feels & if we'll be doing that or not. but it's an idea. i have all kinds of "incentives" set up for myself, but it's still hard to keep motivated day after day when i'm not losing a freaking thing.
i have been in the 250's since february, bouncing all over the freaking 250's, but not able to break through down into the 240's. can i get a mother fucker? mother fucker.
maybe with jenn as my co-trainer i can break through. i hope. i really really hope. cause this blows monkey balls. seriously.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
how's your snuffleupagus tendon doing?
*face palm*
so, week before last i was dead dog sick. & then, monday, my talented self managed to injure my left leg. i was running downstairs at home to get my wallet to make a phone payment & my left foot hit the riser & a sharp crippling pain hit my calf & suffice to say, i was limping for the rest of the day.
monday at work i spent the day icing my leg, keeping it elevating, & wondering how the hell i was going to manage to get through the last week of the competition in order to actually lose weight & possibly win this thing. because, on monday, i was barely walking. & by barely walking, i mean i was full on limping, dragging my left leg behind me, & doing a lot of whining. the icing & the advil helped, & by tuesday morning i wasn't so sure i needed to go to urgent care. but then after going to the bathroom & walking on it a bit, i figured, the $15 copay at urgent care was worth it to see what was happening with my leg.
& it's a good thing that i did. i felt like kind of an idiot when i was explaining everything to the nurse. & she looked at me kinda like i was an idiot. &, interestingly enough, i think she was looking at me like i was drug seeking. on my file they have me down as having a script for vicodin, which i do, & was filled once, no refills, back in october, from when i found out about my back problems. & admittedly, i limped in there, told her my ankle had been bugging me all weekend, which it had, & then monday morning i was rushing down my stairs, which i was, & i put my left leg down & felt a snap & then shooting pain, (which i did, on all three).
luckily for me, it wasn't the nurse who was diagnosing me, it was a nice older gentleman, dr. d we'll call him, who also happened to have diagnosed me with bronchitis back in march of 2006. he asked me about it, felt up my calf, caused some shooting pain, wincing, & a few involuntary tears, had me walk on my tip toes & told me that i had: plantaris tendon rupture. nice, eh?
basically, the plantaris tendon is a little used muscle on the back of the leg that runs from the ankle up to the knee, about the size of a pencil. it doesn't really DO anything, but when you injure it, the stupid little guy hurts like a mofo. the only upside, is that it shouldn't take too long to heal. i was given some heavy duty anti-inflammatory meds, told to alternate ice & heat as tolerated, elevate when needed, & try to baby it a bit. but, dr. d also told me i could still work out, as much upper body as i want (yippee!) & that i could walk, just to take it a bit easy & make sure i'm not doing anything to cause it pain.
so i'm still in the running for the money, wa-hoo! the only bad thing is since i can't hit the gym as hard core as i WANTED to, i need to be perfect about my food. no indulgence's at all. which kind of sucks, but also a good thing. since i only have about two & a half months left till my birthday, i got my kickass boots in the mail on monday, &, as expected, the high boots are not *quite* fitting my calves yet. boo.
even with being on the injured list i hit the Y yesterday for personal training with riley. who gave me lots of grief since jenn & i only made it in for our training sessions once last week & once the week before. *GULP* he didn't even give me much slack being on the injured list! although, i'll give him credit that he didn't make me do the jumps. & that he did ask me a couple of times how my leg was doing. & jenn even asked me how my "plant, er, uh, snuffleupagus tendon" was doing.
after today just four more days to lose as much weight as possible to try to win this thing. & you know what gang, i do want to win it. BUT, if i can just get into the 240's i would be ecstatic. so that would be ok with me too. maybe it's possible. lots of self discipline. pushing myself as i can. yeah, i'm beating myself up a bit because in the past eleven weeks i've "cheated" more than i should've, & the only one that hurts is me. i've also not worked as hard as i can. i let myself use the excuse of being: sick, tired, pms-ing, & anything else that i thought i could get away with.
on the upside, i've been getting lots of compliments at work on looking like i've lost weight. i'm not feeling as tired as at the start of the year. & i really do feel like i'm getting stronger. which are all really awesome improvements in my health.
so, week before last i was dead dog sick. & then, monday, my talented self managed to injure my left leg. i was running downstairs at home to get my wallet to make a phone payment & my left foot hit the riser & a sharp crippling pain hit my calf & suffice to say, i was limping for the rest of the day.
monday at work i spent the day icing my leg, keeping it elevating, & wondering how the hell i was going to manage to get through the last week of the competition in order to actually lose weight & possibly win this thing. because, on monday, i was barely walking. & by barely walking, i mean i was full on limping, dragging my left leg behind me, & doing a lot of whining. the icing & the advil helped, & by tuesday morning i wasn't so sure i needed to go to urgent care. but then after going to the bathroom & walking on it a bit, i figured, the $15 copay at urgent care was worth it to see what was happening with my leg.
& it's a good thing that i did. i felt like kind of an idiot when i was explaining everything to the nurse. & she looked at me kinda like i was an idiot. &, interestingly enough, i think she was looking at me like i was drug seeking. on my file they have me down as having a script for vicodin, which i do, & was filled once, no refills, back in october, from when i found out about my back problems. & admittedly, i limped in there, told her my ankle had been bugging me all weekend, which it had, & then monday morning i was rushing down my stairs, which i was, & i put my left leg down & felt a snap & then shooting pain, (which i did, on all three).
luckily for me, it wasn't the nurse who was diagnosing me, it was a nice older gentleman, dr. d we'll call him, who also happened to have diagnosed me with bronchitis back in march of 2006. he asked me about it, felt up my calf, caused some shooting pain, wincing, & a few involuntary tears, had me walk on my tip toes & told me that i had: plantaris tendon rupture. nice, eh?
basically, the plantaris tendon is a little used muscle on the back of the leg that runs from the ankle up to the knee, about the size of a pencil. it doesn't really DO anything, but when you injure it, the stupid little guy hurts like a mofo. the only upside, is that it shouldn't take too long to heal. i was given some heavy duty anti-inflammatory meds, told to alternate ice & heat as tolerated, elevate when needed, & try to baby it a bit. but, dr. d also told me i could still work out, as much upper body as i want (yippee!) & that i could walk, just to take it a bit easy & make sure i'm not doing anything to cause it pain.
so i'm still in the running for the money, wa-hoo! the only bad thing is since i can't hit the gym as hard core as i WANTED to, i need to be perfect about my food. no indulgence's at all. which kind of sucks, but also a good thing. since i only have about two & a half months left till my birthday, i got my kickass boots in the mail on monday, &, as expected, the high boots are not *quite* fitting my calves yet. boo.
even with being on the injured list i hit the Y yesterday for personal training with riley. who gave me lots of grief since jenn & i only made it in for our training sessions once last week & once the week before. *GULP* he didn't even give me much slack being on the injured list! although, i'll give him credit that he didn't make me do the jumps. & that he did ask me a couple of times how my leg was doing. & jenn even asked me how my "plant, er, uh, snuffleupagus tendon" was doing.
after today just four more days to lose as much weight as possible to try to win this thing. & you know what gang, i do want to win it. BUT, if i can just get into the 240's i would be ecstatic. so that would be ok with me too. maybe it's possible. lots of self discipline. pushing myself as i can. yeah, i'm beating myself up a bit because in the past eleven weeks i've "cheated" more than i should've, & the only one that hurts is me. i've also not worked as hard as i can. i let myself use the excuse of being: sick, tired, pms-ing, & anything else that i thought i could get away with.
on the upside, i've been getting lots of compliments at work on looking like i've lost weight. i'm not feeling as tired as at the start of the year. & i really do feel like i'm getting stronger. which are all really awesome improvements in my health.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
what happened to my tuesday/thursday girls?
today riley totally called me out on my lack of exercise outside of the training sessions. granted, week before last i was sick, so i did have a pass then, but i wasn't sick last week, i was just kind of being lazy. i did go in for personal training on tuesday, & then again on thursday when jenn was out of town (& that one cost significantly more expensive!) but besides that i didn't go at all. no extra cardio. nothing at all. well...i did shovel snow for about 2-3 hours with the white out that we received at the end of last week, but yeah, doesn't really count.
so i'm down a total of 13.4 lbs from january 8th, which isn't too shabby, that's an average of 1.625 lbs a week. which is a pretty decent rate, if i can keep that up by the time my birthday rolls around i can have lost another 20-ish pounds, which i would definitely love. but, deep down, ok, not even really THAT deep, i know that if i just watch what i'm eating more closely & if i get in five days of cardio a week & five days of weight training that i can lose much more than that. sometimes it's really hard to find the motivation.
as lame as it is, often it's much more appealing to go home, watch the most recent episode of gilmore girls curled up under my covers, & that really is what i feel like doing tonight. just cocooning myself until tomorrow morning when i have to get up & go into work again. at this moment i'm thinking that i should go to the Y, even though i REALLY don't want to, then again, i did get an hour workout in this morning, weight training, but that doesn't help me toward the end of trying to get in those cardio sessions.
what did happen to riley's tuesday/thursday girls? is it just that with time your interest has peaks & valleys? is it the snow which makes everything so oppressive & makes you want to go home as quick as possible & get cuddled up into cozy blankets? is it because it's tuesday & i'm tired? because, despite my steady results, i still have a feeling that all of this really is way too much too handle? how about we just chalk it up to a couple of bad weeks, quit the whining, & start focusing on the long term goals again.
yeah, that sounds pretty dang decent.
so i'm down a total of 13.4 lbs from january 8th, which isn't too shabby, that's an average of 1.625 lbs a week. which is a pretty decent rate, if i can keep that up by the time my birthday rolls around i can have lost another 20-ish pounds, which i would definitely love. but, deep down, ok, not even really THAT deep, i know that if i just watch what i'm eating more closely & if i get in five days of cardio a week & five days of weight training that i can lose much more than that. sometimes it's really hard to find the motivation.
as lame as it is, often it's much more appealing to go home, watch the most recent episode of gilmore girls curled up under my covers, & that really is what i feel like doing tonight. just cocooning myself until tomorrow morning when i have to get up & go into work again. at this moment i'm thinking that i should go to the Y, even though i REALLY don't want to, then again, i did get an hour workout in this morning, weight training, but that doesn't help me toward the end of trying to get in those cardio sessions.
what did happen to riley's tuesday/thursday girls? is it just that with time your interest has peaks & valleys? is it the snow which makes everything so oppressive & makes you want to go home as quick as possible & get cuddled up into cozy blankets? is it because it's tuesday & i'm tired? because, despite my steady results, i still have a feeling that all of this really is way too much too handle? how about we just chalk it up to a couple of bad weeks, quit the whining, & start focusing on the long term goals again.
yeah, that sounds pretty dang decent.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
have you ever been in a fat girl? would you like to be?
it's official. jenn & i shouldn't go anywhere together. we're like a walking comedy show. last night we went to the gym, which i totally didn't want to go, but did anyway so that i can get my credit for my at-least-eight-times-per-month for my membership discount. & yeah, i know i'm in this competition, trying to avoid the slicey-dicey & all that jazz. but i was throwing a major three year old tantrum complete with floor kicking. & cramps. & then when we were there jenn told me that we were going to spend an hour on the ellipticals.
jesus bobby! & yesterday my abs & upper body were screaming from the torture of my tuesday workout. so i was one hurting unit, to quote my father. but i hung up my coat & slunk into the gym anyway & hopped myself onto my favorite elliptical to do some interval training. i think i mentioned this before, but riley has jenn & i doing interval cardio, so for two minutes we'll go along easy as pie & then push as hard & fast as we can for two minutes, then back to the pie. ((mmmm....pie....)) which, this whole thing is a lot harder than it sounds. i challenge you to do 30minutes on a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike however you normally would. then the next day, go back & do the interval. it will ki-ck your ass, in a good way.
i had my time set for an hour because, well jesus bobby, miss jenn said we were doing an hour, & it's just not acceptable to sit in the middle of the Y & read the subtitles on medium without actually doing any kind of sweating or exertion. & for some reason the interval training was just killing me yesterday. my lungs were on fire. i could feel that my face was hot, most likely fire engine red, & i was literally dripping sweat. i kept wiping my face with my scratchy Y towel. at about twenty minutes in, i reached up to wipe my forehead again, this time without said towel, & something didn't feel quite right. & that's when i realized i never took off my winter hat. over my bandana i was wearing my cute turquoise stocking cap with the white snowflake embroidered on it.
& i'm not entirely sure, but pretty close to sure, that i made a very weird face when i made this realization because jenn happened to look at me just as i realized i'd been killing myself on the elliptical for almost 20 minutes & i wouldn't've been so freakin hot if i would've taken off my hat. nice, eh? & jenn started laughing uncontrollably from whatever the odd expression it was on my face when i realized i'd been working out with a hat on for twenty minutes, she actually had to take a personal moment, pause & collect her thoughts to keep her from falling off the elliptical. oy, that's all i need is to be responsible for her untimely death at the Y due to a fall from cardio equipment.
we each only lasted 30 minutes of interval training on the elliptical, so then we decided we wanted to get in a full hour. i decided to do the exercise bike because, well, i got to sit on my ass, where as the treadmill would have meant doing interval training i would have to do something far too close to running for my personal comfort. eventually my bad self will run because, well, it's on my list of 1001 things, but wednesday was not the day.
while i happily intervaled my way along on the bike listening to augustana & dividing my attention between the twins game & the cnn coverage of the "astronaut love triangle" jenn was behind me nearly dying on the cardio equipment. too bad exercise bikes don't have rear view mirrors, i may have been able to see what was going on, even though i wouldn't've been privy to her inner monologue. which, as it turns out, was pretty damn funny.
now i wasn't going to do interval training on the treadmill because of the afore mentioned running that would have to take place. jenn on the other hand, not only felt up to the challenge, but faced it head on with a heart of moxie. she told me that after her two minutes, she upped the speed & started her running, & she managed to run about 1/10 of a mile before she decreases the speed & went into her "resting" phase. & while she was doing her resting she imagined telling riley the next day how she did. & some how in the midst of her day dream she was trying to convey how difficult it can be for a fat girl to run. except. she phrased the question, to her inner imaginary riley, as: have you ever been in a fat girl? which was completely & totally innocent at the inception of the question. & then turned dirty with a quick flick of the tongue to, would you like to be?
oh stop.
all she had meant was, had he ever been a fat girl. er, had he ever been fat? er, out of shape? um, had he ever put on the gwenneth paltrow fat girl suit? in any case, it was a conversation that never wound up occurring, because, well, he just may take that the wrong way. the whole would you like to be in a fat girl, yeah, wee bit inappropriate. & we want to do some more training with him before he realizes how inappropriate we can be at times. & by then he'll love us both for the fan-ta-bulous people we are that he won't want to lose us as clients so he'll put up with, & encourage, our inappropriate behavior.
jesus bobby! & yesterday my abs & upper body were screaming from the torture of my tuesday workout. so i was one hurting unit, to quote my father. but i hung up my coat & slunk into the gym anyway & hopped myself onto my favorite elliptical to do some interval training. i think i mentioned this before, but riley has jenn & i doing interval cardio, so for two minutes we'll go along easy as pie & then push as hard & fast as we can for two minutes, then back to the pie. ((mmmm....pie....)) which, this whole thing is a lot harder than it sounds. i challenge you to do 30minutes on a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike however you normally would. then the next day, go back & do the interval. it will ki-ck your ass, in a good way.
i had my time set for an hour because, well jesus bobby, miss jenn said we were doing an hour, & it's just not acceptable to sit in the middle of the Y & read the subtitles on medium without actually doing any kind of sweating or exertion. & for some reason the interval training was just killing me yesterday. my lungs were on fire. i could feel that my face was hot, most likely fire engine red, & i was literally dripping sweat. i kept wiping my face with my scratchy Y towel. at about twenty minutes in, i reached up to wipe my forehead again, this time without said towel, & something didn't feel quite right. & that's when i realized i never took off my winter hat. over my bandana i was wearing my cute turquoise stocking cap with the white snowflake embroidered on it.
& i'm not entirely sure, but pretty close to sure, that i made a very weird face when i made this realization because jenn happened to look at me just as i realized i'd been killing myself on the elliptical for almost 20 minutes & i wouldn't've been so freakin hot if i would've taken off my hat. nice, eh? & jenn started laughing uncontrollably from whatever the odd expression it was on my face when i realized i'd been working out with a hat on for twenty minutes, she actually had to take a personal moment, pause & collect her thoughts to keep her from falling off the elliptical. oy, that's all i need is to be responsible for her untimely death at the Y due to a fall from cardio equipment.
we each only lasted 30 minutes of interval training on the elliptical, so then we decided we wanted to get in a full hour. i decided to do the exercise bike because, well, i got to sit on my ass, where as the treadmill would have meant doing interval training i would have to do something far too close to running for my personal comfort. eventually my bad self will run because, well, it's on my list of 1001 things, but wednesday was not the day.
while i happily intervaled my way along on the bike listening to augustana & dividing my attention between the twins game & the cnn coverage of the "astronaut love triangle" jenn was behind me nearly dying on the cardio equipment. too bad exercise bikes don't have rear view mirrors, i may have been able to see what was going on, even though i wouldn't've been privy to her inner monologue. which, as it turns out, was pretty damn funny.
now i wasn't going to do interval training on the treadmill because of the afore mentioned running that would have to take place. jenn on the other hand, not only felt up to the challenge, but faced it head on with a heart of moxie. she told me that after her two minutes, she upped the speed & started her running, & she managed to run about 1/10 of a mile before she decreases the speed & went into her "resting" phase. & while she was doing her resting she imagined telling riley the next day how she did. & some how in the midst of her day dream she was trying to convey how difficult it can be for a fat girl to run. except. she phrased the question, to her inner imaginary riley, as: have you ever been in a fat girl? which was completely & totally innocent at the inception of the question. & then turned dirty with a quick flick of the tongue to, would you like to be?
oh stop.
all she had meant was, had he ever been a fat girl. er, had he ever been fat? er, out of shape? um, had he ever put on the gwenneth paltrow fat girl suit? in any case, it was a conversation that never wound up occurring, because, well, he just may take that the wrong way. the whole would you like to be in a fat girl, yeah, wee bit inappropriate. & we want to do some more training with him before he realizes how inappropriate we can be at times. & by then he'll love us both for the fan-ta-bulous people we are that he won't want to lose us as clients so he'll put up with, & encourage, our inappropriate behavior.
Friday, February 02, 2007
it's a good thing you're cute
in our original interview with riley jenn said something about needing someone to kick her ass in the gym. & riley did remember that come tuesday. damn. & that's what he did on tuesday. double damn.
on tuesday we started with upper body. lifting free weights. using some of the machines to do rows, high cable flys, low cable flys. & then using exercise balls to do ball bench press, back extensions & tricep exercises. & on wednesday i felt it. a lot. do you realize that when driving you do actually use your triceps? an amazing, & painful revelation. but great at the same time. because i felt like i got a great work out in on tuesday, used muscles that had been laying dormant for some time. & the pain felt good.
hurt so good. Sometimes love don't feel like it should, you make me, hurt so good.
um, yeah, once again, not karaoke night.
on wednesday i could barely get my jacket on because my arms & shoulders were pretty sore.
& even though jenn & i were both in pain, we made it to the Y that night, did a half hour each on the elliptical, taking riley's suggestion to do interval training. so basically go for a minute or two, get our heart rates up, then kick it up, go as fast & hard as you can for two minutes, then back off, let your heart rate & breathing drop down for two minutes. & repeat. & THAT really kicked my ass too, in a good way. i felt like i got a much more intense workout in those 30 minutes than i usually get by doing the weight loss program on the machine.
when i left the Y wednesday night my heart was racing, my lungs were burning, my legs were worn out, & my upper body was still one giant ache. i limped home, & went to sleep hoping to feel better in the morning.
& by yesterday morning, our second appointment with riley, i was feeling better & pretty optimistic about things to come. & what came was a lower body workout. ouch. & he remembered the whole ass kicking thing again. double ouch.
& then, because he's cute, with the brightest blue eyes & most adorable smile, i couldn't wimp out. so i pushed myself hard to try everything he suggested. & when he asked if the weights were ok or just light, i actually said, they're a little light, let's bump it up. jesus bobby. i'm really not a masochist, but when you're paying $35 an hour for personal training, you may as well get the most out of it, right? & that's exactly what i did.
today i woke up because i could feel the muscles in my big toes crying out in pain. i didn't even know that i had worked out the muscles in my big toes. but evidently i did. cause they were letting me know they hurt. along with my calves, thighs, glutes....basically everything, even that muscle at the very top of your inner thigh.
have i mentioned that i live in a basement? with no bathroom or kitchen facilities in said basement? getting ready for work this morning was definitely an adventure. & it seems like my legs are getting more & more sore with more time. so that i'm walking more funny now than when i woke up this morning with the aching toes. stairs are NOT my friend right now.
& then yesterday riley suggested that jenn & i try to weight train 4 days a week, so two with him & two on our own. & i was thinking for me the weekends would be the best time for me to do weight training. which means i should try the upper body workout tomorrow & the legs on sunday. & once again, cause he's gorgeous i don't want to punk out. so my dumb ass will be getting to school early enough tomorrow to work out & shower before my class starts. jesus bobby.
on tuesday we started with upper body. lifting free weights. using some of the machines to do rows, high cable flys, low cable flys. & then using exercise balls to do ball bench press, back extensions & tricep exercises. & on wednesday i felt it. a lot. do you realize that when driving you do actually use your triceps? an amazing, & painful revelation. but great at the same time. because i felt like i got a great work out in on tuesday, used muscles that had been laying dormant for some time. & the pain felt good.
hurt so good. Sometimes love don't feel like it should, you make me, hurt so good.
um, yeah, once again, not karaoke night.
on wednesday i could barely get my jacket on because my arms & shoulders were pretty sore.
& even though jenn & i were both in pain, we made it to the Y that night, did a half hour each on the elliptical, taking riley's suggestion to do interval training. so basically go for a minute or two, get our heart rates up, then kick it up, go as fast & hard as you can for two minutes, then back off, let your heart rate & breathing drop down for two minutes. & repeat. & THAT really kicked my ass too, in a good way. i felt like i got a much more intense workout in those 30 minutes than i usually get by doing the weight loss program on the machine.
when i left the Y wednesday night my heart was racing, my lungs were burning, my legs were worn out, & my upper body was still one giant ache. i limped home, & went to sleep hoping to feel better in the morning.
& by yesterday morning, our second appointment with riley, i was feeling better & pretty optimistic about things to come. & what came was a lower body workout. ouch. & he remembered the whole ass kicking thing again. double ouch.
& then, because he's cute, with the brightest blue eyes & most adorable smile, i couldn't wimp out. so i pushed myself hard to try everything he suggested. & when he asked if the weights were ok or just light, i actually said, they're a little light, let's bump it up. jesus bobby. i'm really not a masochist, but when you're paying $35 an hour for personal training, you may as well get the most out of it, right? & that's exactly what i did.
today i woke up because i could feel the muscles in my big toes crying out in pain. i didn't even know that i had worked out the muscles in my big toes. but evidently i did. cause they were letting me know they hurt. along with my calves, thighs, glutes....basically everything, even that muscle at the very top of your inner thigh.
have i mentioned that i live in a basement? with no bathroom or kitchen facilities in said basement? getting ready for work this morning was definitely an adventure. & it seems like my legs are getting more & more sore with more time. so that i'm walking more funny now than when i woke up this morning with the aching toes. stairs are NOT my friend right now.
& then yesterday riley suggested that jenn & i try to weight train 4 days a week, so two with him & two on our own. & i was thinking for me the weekends would be the best time for me to do weight training. which means i should try the upper body workout tomorrow & the legs on sunday. & once again, cause he's gorgeous i don't want to punk out. so my dumb ass will be getting to school early enough tomorrow to work out & shower before my class starts. jesus bobby.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
the cute boy litmus test
last night jenn & i made our some what triumphant return to the Y after being gone from the gym for a little over two weeks. part of our motivation being that we both feel like crap after stuffing our gobs with cookies, fudge, gravy fries, alcohol, & such until we thought we would actually literally burst. & then part of it is that challenge number two rolled around & she & i have some serious competition this time around & we need to kick some serious tail this time around! when we strolled into the Y, ok, jenn strolled, i was more like waddling into the Y, there was only one elliptical free, which i graciously told miss jenn to take, only to have another open up ten seconds later, so i was ellipticalling in no time at all. when people say it's a whole lot harder to start something again after quitting, they are so not lying! yesterday i almost died on the elliptical, seriously. jenn was so close to having to post me on mydealthspace & then attending my funeral. but luckily, i drank some water, counted down the seconds, & didn't fall on my face as i dismounted the elliptical. face planting in the Y is definietly not a good thing.
i walked by jenn's elliptical as my legs did their impression of jello, she was breezily gliding on the elliptical with another 27minutes to go, she was doing an hour. the chubi. seriously, love her to death, but wanted to punch her square in the balls because i was there hyperventilating & she was breathing normally & looking decidedly NOT sweaty. she offered to leave early for me, & s grunted that nah, i should really do some time on the treadmill.
as i walked to the back of the gym to the nice brand-new-just-arrived-after-thanksgiving treadmills i noticed a boy. correction. a hot boy. & then i had this awful image of this dark haired beauty running & watching my jiggly ass in my black leggings bounce around & laughing so hard that he trips & is shot straight into the wall. no way was i going to be responsible for that. so i went to the back row on treadmills, an old guy is short-shorts between me & the beauty.
but then i started doubting myself. cause my cute boy radar has been quite dodgy lately, i’ve been declaring males hot who were showing up as a definite not. & i was seriously wishing jenn was next to me so i could get her spot on opinion of the dark haired possible hottie. i was still dutifully plodding along on my treadmill at a whopping 2.2 miles per hour with a everest like incline of 3.0 when the hottie jumped off the treadmill & went to lift weights.
ye-haw. he was going to walk right in front of jenn’s machine.
if he was indeed cute i’d see a sign, even from halfway across the gym. so the dark beauty with the built upper arms & tattoo walked right in front of jenn & nothing. damn it. & then. something wondrous happened. jenn’s head tilted ever so slightly to the right & i just knew, just KNEW that her eyes were following the boy into the weight room. now it’s not like she was ogling him like a ravenous dog & a steak or anything, it was the smallest little movement, as if she was looking at the clock, which just so happens to be right above the weight lifting area. but the timing was just right so i knew that she sure as fuck wasn’t checking out the time.
hot damn, he really was hot. he passed the jenn test.
but the very best part of the whole night was as i was dropping jenn off at her apartment. & i was telling her that there was this cute guy that i saw, but then i wasn’t sure if he was cute, & then, he walked in front of her & i saw her checking him out. & she kinda couldn’t believe that i caught her checking him out.
& i have a whole new reason to drag my ass to the Y every night, the beautiful tattooed boy. although i’ve also developed an odd phobia regarding how people view me from the back when i work out. maybe it’ll even out in the end.
i walked by jenn's elliptical as my legs did their impression of jello, she was breezily gliding on the elliptical with another 27minutes to go, she was doing an hour. the chubi. seriously, love her to death, but wanted to punch her square in the balls because i was there hyperventilating & she was breathing normally & looking decidedly NOT sweaty. she offered to leave early for me, & s grunted that nah, i should really do some time on the treadmill.
as i walked to the back of the gym to the nice brand-new-just-arrived-after-thanksgiving treadmills i noticed a boy. correction. a hot boy. & then i had this awful image of this dark haired beauty running & watching my jiggly ass in my black leggings bounce around & laughing so hard that he trips & is shot straight into the wall. no way was i going to be responsible for that. so i went to the back row on treadmills, an old guy is short-shorts between me & the beauty.
but then i started doubting myself. cause my cute boy radar has been quite dodgy lately, i’ve been declaring males hot who were showing up as a definite not. & i was seriously wishing jenn was next to me so i could get her spot on opinion of the dark haired possible hottie. i was still dutifully plodding along on my treadmill at a whopping 2.2 miles per hour with a everest like incline of 3.0 when the hottie jumped off the treadmill & went to lift weights.
ye-haw. he was going to walk right in front of jenn’s machine.
if he was indeed cute i’d see a sign, even from halfway across the gym. so the dark beauty with the built upper arms & tattoo walked right in front of jenn & nothing. damn it. & then. something wondrous happened. jenn’s head tilted ever so slightly to the right & i just knew, just KNEW that her eyes were following the boy into the weight room. now it’s not like she was ogling him like a ravenous dog & a steak or anything, it was the smallest little movement, as if she was looking at the clock, which just so happens to be right above the weight lifting area. but the timing was just right so i knew that she sure as fuck wasn’t checking out the time.
hot damn, he really was hot. he passed the jenn test.
but the very best part of the whole night was as i was dropping jenn off at her apartment. & i was telling her that there was this cute guy that i saw, but then i wasn’t sure if he was cute, & then, he walked in front of her & i saw her checking him out. & she kinda couldn’t believe that i caught her checking him out.
& i have a whole new reason to drag my ass to the Y every night, the beautiful tattooed boy. although i’ve also developed an odd phobia regarding how people view me from the back when i work out. maybe it’ll even out in the end.
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