Weighty Wednesday

Daily Prompt: Conflict

Seriously…like you haven’t had this conflict…EVER?

Life Check: What AM I Doing To Myself???

I follow several fitness bloggers, my favorite being Steve & Bonnie Pfiester and their BCX Boot Camp page and LiveExercise program (um…no…really…I’m not a stalker). They have honest, practical, in-your-face content I just suck up.

Not to be confused with “suck it up” – that’s later.

Bonnie’s latest blog is about Celebrity Bodies, before and afters, what’s normal, etc. In her post she talks about what her weight typically looks like, what it looks like when she preps for photo shoots, and when staying a bit leaner. Bonnie also mentioned she’s been a bit more than her leanest weight, what makes her feel, miserable, and what twenty pounds more feels like.

I don’t want to quote her entire post. What I do want to quote is this: “We all have that weight where we feel our best, and mine is (go read the blog). That is a weight I feel good at, and I feel like I can maintain without being miserable.”

This is a frigging fantastic comment and one I cannot comfortably say. For while I’m incredibly happy I do not stare at numbers which loom slightly under the 400lb mark any longer (I still can’t wrap my head around that, I am not happy where I’m currently at – which is still another 55-60 pounds from my goal weight.

My goal isn’t out of reach. I know all I have to do is get off the lazy truck and do what I know I’m supposed to be doing. I have a lot of motivation: my friend Jill who weighed just ten pounds more than I did when we both embarked on our weight loss journeys (she threw herself into the gym – and that is an understatement!). My #1 Jesus Mum – Debi – who’s healthy as a little horse (seriously…”You’re not the boss of me”…totally takes on a whole new meaning) – she has mysteriously high cholesterol and sports several heart stints. I have online pals who follow my weight loss antics (okay…some are downright hysterical…I fall off stuff really well).

I have women in my life who when we do workout together, it’s a blast. It’s really infrequent. I get discouraged because we’ve had discussions on “Yah! This’ll be great!”. Commitment is an issue…and then my commitment to myself becomes an issue. I know it’s an excuse. I can’t tell you how challenging and fun it is to workout with someone. Working out alone is…alone. Dumb excuse.

Life check. What the heck AM I doing here???

For those of you on the post-op wagon who got off track, those friends who run when I invite them to play at the park, the other friends who’ve opened the weight loss door of discussion then flee like a warehouse fire erupted when I hold you to it: all in or all out? Longevity of life to chase nieces, nephews, grand-kids, spouses, Minions, new cute little man-babies (okay…I really, really, really like Beckham) do a pull-up.

I want to continue to be amazed at the little stuff: I can put another half of me in an airplane seat – where I use to spill over into the next one. I can cross my legs…like…all the time. I’ve been in the bathroom twice on the plane – to pee – but I can walk in without turning sideways…or knocking the toilet paper into vortex below.

Personally: I’m either 100% in or I’m 100% out. My health, though vastly improved, is not optimal. Physically – if I don’t get the remaining weight off I’m in for a real headache. Knee replacements are on the horizon, and one will have to be in the next 12-18 months. My back hurts where my spine curves. The added weight doesn’t help. My butt bounces when I run (I need a butt-bra). I want to do Cross Fit (I can do most of the stuff). I’d KILL to get up to the top of a muscle rope – right now I can’t even pull my body weight over a bar.

Time to get off truck of lazy and focus on making my life matter. Not just in the Jesus realm, in the physical too!

 

Saturday Boot Camp: No, Can’t, Sh**t

Someone cancelled out of boot camp last night, and my other participant was half an hour late this morning. So by the time she arrived at the park, I had already completed the warm-up & four rounds of the first set of exercises below.

I let her know the bar was moved up (generally this elicits a rather loud “oh no”), and that I had three rules:

–You are not allowed to tell me no, nor what you will or won’t do.
–You are not permitted to say “can’t”. That means you’ve already given up and that makes for a crap workout.
–You can’t say “sh**t” (it’s her favorite word).

Anne is a friend from church. She also works at my doctors office, knows my PCP and my weight loss doctor. Anne started seeing my personal trainer last year (I drug her to a session). Admittedly – I get after her quite a bit to be more active – she gets mega props though: she’s lost somewhere between 50 & 60lbs! For a woman who recently turned happily 60, that’s incredible!

Saturday Boot Camp WOD

Warm Up
Forward Lunges: 15 reps (each leg)
Side to Side Squats: 15 reps (each leg)
10 Incline Push Ups

Set 1:
Quick Step Ups: 20 reps (quick breather) and 20 reps (3x)
Incline Push Ups: 15 reps (3x)
Incline Jump Backs: 15 reps (think half-burpee with a bench) (3x)

Fourth Round: 30 seconds of each in set 1

Set 2:
High Knees: 30 seconds fast (3x)
Jumping Jacks: 15x (3x)

Fourth Round: 45 seconds of each in set 2

Set 3:
Dumbbell Swings: 10lbs – 30 reps (2x)
Toss & Squat: 6lb Medicine Ball – 15 reps (2x)  Anne ate the ball once

Tuesday Workout of the Day

Hey!!

Check out the WOD here: http://wp.me/p3N8DT-2P

 

 

Wanda’s All Heart: Saturday Early Bird Boot Camp

I want to give a MASSIVE shout out to Wanda D!

Wanda has a heart condition where her heart pumps about 30% to capacity (I reserve the right to correct this – I have another friend who’s lungs are functioning low, so I may have the numbers slightly off), she also has crummy kidneys which requires daily dialysis treatments. Last week at a short girls lunch out, Wanda told us she was going to come to boot camp, she felt motivated by me (sometimes that may not be the best thing to like about me, but I’ll go with it).

After the holiday I sent her an email with a short to-do list. Nothing major, I just wanted to make sure her health was first and foremost, but I didn’t hear back. My friend Anne said Wanda was still coming to class, and so was she! I was thrilled!

So thrilled in fact, I bypassed all three of my alarms (my anxiety and sleep issues don’t have the best timing). Thank God I have Momma Hen Anne who came to the house to make sure I was okay, it’s not like me to just not show up without a heads up.

Anyways, we all made it to the park and a had a really great time. I chased after Anne to keep up, coached them both through each exercise so they wouldn’t hurt already stressed joints, and they weren’t allowed to say “I can’t”.

Wanda did an incredible job! The woman with the heart condition, with crummy kidneys, who clearly stated she would take a nap as soon as she got home…she not only kept up but set the pace.

If these two feisty gals who are forever 21 can meet up at 7:00 on a crispy Saturday morning and allow me to chase them around a park for an hour – you can too. It’s just about healthy choices. And no healthy choice is a bad one (oh, and her doctor cleared her to participate!).

Wanda, you were awesome. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with you and Anne this morning.

Workout of the Day

-Walking Lunges x 3 with KBands cone markers
-Three brisk laps around the park
-Squats 15×3
-Rows w/KBands straps 15×3
-Triceps extensions w/KBands resistance bands (yellow and green) 15×3
-Pull downs w/KBands resistance bands (yellow & green) 15×3
-Biceps curls R&L w/KBands resistance bands (yellow & green) 15×3 per arm

Monday Motivation: Get a Buddy Better than You

A handful of us from church signed up for the Gilda’s Club 2013 5K Run/Walk on October 12th in honor of Foster Braun. Foster’s a member of our church, and also a radio personality here in the Detroit area (Foster has a voice that would melt Wolverine’s metal alloy adamantium skeleton). He’s married to a lovely woman, Ginny – they are just the perfect couple. Foster is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. Our team, Team Foster, will be helping to raise funds for Gilda’s Club and the research to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma.

Prepping for is so not like riding a bike.

My friend Rebekah and I got together last night to “run together”. My cocky-meter was set to about medium-high because you know, I workout. So we meet up, agree on timed runs (6 minutes on, 2 minutes off), set our respective fitness apps, and away we went for a nice 3.1 mile jaunt. I kept up once or twice, but for the most part Bekah was a good half mile ahead of me. It sucked. I got smoked by a mom of four extremely rambunctious boys!

Kick up your routine: consider a workout buddy who’s better than you are at a certain activity. It’s extra special if that buddy encourages and pushes you to go a little further – even if they’re a lot cuter than you and a half mile ahead of the game.

And if you’re able, consider making a donation to help us raise funds for Gilda’s Club and cancer research. Our team goal is $500.00. I’m hoping all of you will consider helping us make it to $2,000.00.

Get up & GO!

 

Friday WOD!!!

Hey, check out the workout of the day!

What did YOU do??

http://spfitdet.com/2013/08/23/friday-wod/

 

Only Your Best. No Excuses. Never Quit.

Just Do It

 

Workout of the Day!

Hey! Check out today’s WOD!

http://spfitdet.com/2013/08/21/wednesday-workout-of-the-day/

Only Your Best. No Excuses. Never Quit.