Be stronger than your excuses.

Be stronger than your excuses.  I need not only to remember this, but to actually practice it!  WHAT a crazy week - but good news...school starts back next week, so my schedule should be back to normal!  Lord, I hope so!!  As you can tell, I did not work out yesterday.  It was 4:40 when I pulled into my driveway.  Thank goodness for Starbucks, or I would have had the worst headache - I was running on empty by the time Katy finished at her doctor's.  The only upside?  Honey-Buns cleaned while I was gone AND cooked Domino's for supper!!  ;)  I have such a great guy!!  If only I could figure out a way he could do my workouts for me?  Hmmmmm.....nah, just kidding.  I'm going to get back on track.

Since it's already Wednesday (!), I'm going to start my "training" next week.  I am doing yesterday's CaliFit and White Head workouts - they were actually the same thing, but White Head included a run at the end.  :)

For time:
   20 Front Squats w/40 lbs
   30 Box Jumps
   40 Kettle-bell Swings w/20 lbs
   50 Wall-ball Shots w/10 lbs
   *Run 1 mile after completely cooling down/normal heart rate - time separately

This was also a "Compare To" workout - compared to 2/6/13.  I'll have to look up and see what my time was on that day - I love "compare to" workouts!!  :)
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So, I totally forgot my notebook with today's workout written down, so I just did a 30-minute pre-programmed treadmill workout.  I went 1.5 miles (mostly on 7 & 8 inclines @ 3.0 & 3.5 speeds), burning 244.5 calories.  I don't know about you, but I actually HATE to see the calorie count - it just doesn't seem right when I'm sweating and out of breath!  lol -  Well, I did workout today and that makes me happy.  I do admit it's been awhile since I've done one of these workouts and it wasn't as bad as I remember and THAT'S a good thing!  :)

A regular exercise plan is not optional.

A regular exercise plan is not optional.  It gives us the energy to kick ass!  I need to remember this - the "not optional" part!  I've got to get it together, but I have just been running around so much that I just don't feel like doing anything by the time I get home.  I have another busy day today, but I am determined to get a workout in!  I have to go to Atlanta to pay/pick up our IRP tags for our trucks.  I also have to swing by my brother's so he can sign a form I filled out for him to get a copy of his GED transcripts/diploma, then I'm mailing that for him.  How crazy is it that you can't request your transcripts online?  All you can do is print out the request form, then you can either mail it or take it to them in person.  But regardless of which method you use, it still takes up to 3 weeks to process?  You'd think in this modern age of technology that they would have it together!  Oh well, one day...  After going to Atlanta, I'm coming back home to pick up my daughter and then take her to her doctor in Athens.  They're going to check her blood pressure again, then do some blood work to determine if she has pre-eclampsia.  I'm hoping she doesn't - SHE'S hoping she doesn't!  Regardless, we're not letting her do anything while she's here, except going to the bathroom by herself.  I think her blood pressure might have been up because she had her baby shower on Sunday and she was out and about for so long.  Her doctor told her it shouldn't be going up with her just moving/walking around and apparently that's what it's doing.  So....taking care of both my babies!!  I'm going to do my best to workout today - even if I have to force myself to do it!!

Just a refresher of what I'm doing:

Warm-up

   CD1 - Condition Drill #1

      5 reps each

         Bend & reach

         Rear lunge

         High jumper

         Rower

         Squat bender

         Windmill

         Forward lunge

         Prone row

         Bent leg & body twist

         Push-ups

   MMD - Military Movement Drill

      25 yards, each

         Verticals

         Laterals - 25 yards each left & right

         Shuttle sprint

Activity

   Walk 4 minutes, run 2 minutes - 5x

Cool Down

   SD - Stretch Drill

      Overhead arm pull - hold 20 seconds, each arm

      Rear lunge - hold 20 seconds, each leg

      Extend & Flex - hold 20 seconds, each movement

      Thigh stretch - hold 20 seconds, each leg

      Single leg over - hold 20 seconds, each leg

:)

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Calm down, you can do this!

Alright, sweetheart, let's be realistic.  You CAN'T drop two jean sizes in one day.  You WON'T lose 100 pounds in a week.  You WILL binge.  You WILL go a day or maybe even two without working out.  Your weight WILL change throughout the day.  You WILL try new things that won't work.  You WILL cry.  You WILL want to give up.  But you're only human...calm down, you can do this!!

So...I'm starting the my Army fitness training today and needed a little bit of inspiration/pep talk to get me going.  But it's okay, I'll stay calm so I can do this!!  ;)

Last week was such a busy week, I'm hoping this week will be a little bit better.  I do know I have to go to Atlanta tomorrow to pay our IRP tags for our trucks, but that should just be a drive there and back.  My very pregnant daughter is coming to spend the week with me since her husband will be out of town taking a training class for his job, so she will go with me tomorrow and we can lunch somewhere different - that's always fun!!  She had her second (and final) baby shower yesterday.  THAT was really fun!  The bedding that I ordered for little Addy's room at my house should be here today, so I can't wait to get that all put together, then it's just a waiting game.  This is gonna be one extremely loved little girl!!!

As I mentioned earlier, I'm starting the Army fitness training exercises today.  It's basically just boot camp, but I'm hoping I can get into it since my goal IS to be Army-fit by the end of the year.  I have to admit, just writing stuff down today was a little intimidating.  It just seems like it's a lot of work, but it will be worth it!  I'm not going to post the other workouts that I have been following while doing this 12-week schedule - it's just a lot of stuff to be posting and I don't think anyone really reads my blog to see stuff that I'm NOT doing.  At least, that's what I'm going with!  It looks like all of these workouts consist of three things - warm up, activity, and cool down.  Sounds simple, right?  We'll see!

I'm doing the workout that's geared for the person who "failed" the initial Army fitness test, which is called Workout #4.  The Army fitness test consists of three criteria - running 2 miles, push-ups, and sit-ups.  Two weeks ago, my results were:

    2-mile run - 34:07

   2 minutes push-ups - 2 (really 1 using the "Army" count)

   2 minutes sit-ups - 32 (really 16 using the "Army" count)

I have discovered the Army uses a 4-count system, so from here on out, anything I post about reps will be using that same 4-count.  Should be interesting!!!!

Warm-up

   CD1 - Condition Drill #1

      5 reps each

         Bend & reach

         Rear lunge

         High jumper

         Rower

         Squat bender

         Windmill

         Forward lunge

         Prone row

         Bent leg & body twist

         Push-ups

   MMD - Military Movement Drill

      25 yards, each

         Verticals

         Laterals - 25 yards each left & right

         Shuttle sprint

Activity

   Walk 4 minutes, run 2 minutes - 5x

Cool Down

   SD - Stretch Drill

      Overhead arm pull - hold 20 seconds, each arm

      Rear lunge - hold 20 seconds, each leg

      Extend & Flex - hold 20 seconds, each movement

      Thigh stretch - hold 20 seconds, each leg

      Single leg over - hold 20 seconds, each leg

I know the "activity" alone will be 30 minutes, not sure how long the warm-up will take, but the cool down should only be around 5 minutes or so.  Y'all wish me luck - I'm really gonna need it!!

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Nothing today - my daughter is here and her blood pressure is up.  She was told to take it easy, so I'm taking care of her today.  She's laying on the couch getting spoiled!!  Looks like I'm working out on Saturday as well, this week!!

I spent my entire childhood wishing that I was older.

I spent my entire childhood wishing that I was older.  Now I'm older and...this shit sucks!  :)  Today is my 48th birthday and I thought this was appropriate!  Being a grown up does indeed suck at times, doesn't it?  Don't you wish you could just play all day and not have to do much more than clean up your room and a few chores?  No worries at all, just be happy and live life.  Ahhh....the good ol' days!  

I had to break down and take an aspirin last night before going to bed.  My shoulder/back muscles were crazy-mad sore from those modified handstand push-ups!  The soreness is gone this morning, thank goodness!  Plus - I'm well rested.  I fell asleep on the couch somewhere between 9:30 and 10:00.  Honey-Buns woke me up to go to bed at 11:00, and I still didn't want to get up this morning!  ;)  Not a lot planned today, we're celebrating my birthday next week with the entire family (which is what I prefer, anyway!).  Tomorrow is Hayley's 20th birthday - I can't believe that she's going to be 20!!  My brother is coming to stay tomorrow, so today will be spent doing laundry and straightening up.  Not too bad!!  

CaliFit Mamas:

   25 Push-ups

   50 Knees-to-elbows

   75 Push-press, 20 lbs

   100 Jump rope

Brand X:

   puppies - Row 5000 meters

White Head: 

   90 Jump rope OR 30 Double-unders

   15 Burpees

   5 Power Cleans

Well, today is a run day, so I'm not doing anyone's workout but creating my own.   I'm going to do Week 1 of 5k training again today, but with a twist...I'm going to run 1.5 minutes, and walk 1 minute for 8 rounds - instead of running 1 minute and walking 1.5 minutes each round.  After that, I think I'll do 50 sit-ups and 50 push-ups, just because those are the Army Fitness exercises.  Fifty sounds like a good number, doesn't it?  Wish me luck!  :)

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So, spent my day:  lunching with the fam, shopping, taking down old curtains, putting up new blinds, installing 2 baby gates (for my dog to NOT go upstairs nor down the ramp) stripping beds and re-making them, and washing clothes.  Honey-Buns cooked supper (which means he picked it up) - my favorite sushi from my favorite Japanese restaurant.  Yummo!  Will try again tomorrow, but not sure how that will work.  My morning will be busy with my normal Friday paperwork/billing/payroll and then in the afternoon I'm going to Atlanta to donate an old wheelchair to FODAC (Friends of Disabled Children & Adults), then more shopping at Ikea, then to pick up my brother to come spend the night.  It's Hayley's birthday tomorrow and she's requested grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and a birthday peach cobbler.  Now that I think about it, I probably won't even blog tomorrow - doesn't look like I'll have time.  If you don't hear anything else from me, y'all have a good weekend!!  :)

Hand stand push-ups suck!

Hand stand push-ups suck!  I came across this shirt the other day and thought it was cute, don't you?  :)  Well, it's back to work today.  I have to say my hamstrings are still kind of sore.  I think it's from doing the yard work on Saturday, then climbing up and down the ladder on Saturday  night at the race track, and maybe (?) from all of the stairs yesterday.  At least I'm not as sore as I was last night when I went to bed, so that's a good thing!

Excited today - having lunch with two great friends to celebrate our birthdays!  One of my girl's birthday was July 12th, the other one is August 12th, and mine is tomorrow.  We always get together just the three of us and celebrate.  So, I'm super excited!  We just don't get together as much anymore like we used to.  You'd think that once your kids grew up and moved out you'd have all this time for your friends, but I think I'm actually busier without the kids at home.  How crazy is that?

CaliFit Mamas:

   21-15-9

      Wall-ball shots, 10 lbs

      Sit-ups

      Thrusters, 20 lbs

Brand X:

   Puppy weight/Pack weight

      20 Front squats, 10-25 lbs/95 lbs

      30 Box jumps, 12-15"/20"

      40 Kettlebell swings, 10-15 lbs/20 lbs

      50 Wall ball shots, 6-8 lbs/10 lbs

White Head:

   2 Rounds for time

       Run 400 meters

      15 Front squats

      15 Push-press

      Run 400 meters

      15 Power cleans

      15 Hand-stand push-ups or regular push-ups

I'm glad to see some running in one of the workouts today, since I had planned on doing just that!  So...I'm doing the White Head workout today.  My goal, right now, is to run all of the 400 meter runs - definitely as much of it as I can.  I know for a fact I can get one of them in without stopping, so I'm planning on really pushing myself and running as much as possible.  Y'all wish me luck!!

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31:38 - So...so...so tired!  That was tough!  I so did not want to work out today, but I did and am really glad I did.  It's nice to do something that makes you sweat, huh?  ;)

I used 38 lb dumbbells with all of the weighted exercises.  I also did modified handstand push-ups...I had my knees on my weight bench and did push-ups that way.  I made sure my head touched the floor every time I went down, but boy!  My arms were so wobbly by the last five, I was afraid I was going to face plant!  lol

15:17 was my total treadmill time - I do believe that is a new PR for me for doing a mile!  I know you're not supposed to count it since it wasn't a solid mile, but still...I could always use a little ego boost!  lol  - I did not run 400 meters without stopping (bummer), but I did run 2 minutes, then walked for 1 minute, then ran until I hit the 400 meter (1/4 mile) mark.  So, of the 15:17 only 4:00 was walking and THAT is a good thing!!  For me, anyway!

Sweating great!  Feeling great!

Today's workout song:  Paradise City by Guns-N-Roses - FYI - this song started while I was doing a run segment.  I finished that run segment, did 15 front squats and push presses, and started another run segment before it was over!  That has GOT to be the longest song!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbm6GXllBiw

Help! I've run out of weekend!

Help...I've run out of weekend!  I don't know about you, but this is how I feel on Monday mornings...and Tuesday mornings...and Wednesday mornings!!  Can you tell I'm not a morning person?  lol

Well, another great weekend is in the bag, and now I have a busy, busy, busy week planned.  My goal for this week is to do laundry (it seems like that is ALWAYS one of my goals!) and to clean out the guest room - closet, drawers, etc.  My guest room used to be my daughters room before she married and moved out.  For some reason (girls!) she left some things that she just couldn't throw out due to  sentimental reasons and I've realized it's a whole closet full of stuff!  So, I'm going to get all of that boxed up and down in the basement for storage, then really clean up the room and carpet and get the crib put up and everything ready for my beautiful (I already know she's going to be gorgeous!) granddaughter, Addy!  I'm picking up one of my brother's from Atlanta on Thursday and he's going to spend the night, then we have to get up early on Friday morning and I have to take him to mid-Georgia for a meeting of his.  No one else is able to take him and my schedule is usually pretty flexible, so I told him I would do it.  I'm actually excited about getting in that room and cleaning it up.  I've been meaning to do it anyway, and since my brother is coming and going to be sleeping in there, I might as well get it done.  I finally settled on my choice for Addy's bedding and a new quilt for the guest bed and cannot wait until they arrive.  Don't you just love redecorating?  The best thing?  I don't have to paint!  Don't get me wrong - I love to paint, but only when I'm in the mood and I just haven't been in the mood yet.  Busy, busy, busy!

Well, today is a 5k training run day.  I'm still doing Week 1 training and will do it until I can complete it without holding on!  Last week, I made it to 4 rounds without having to hold on, so my goal this week is to beat that!  CaliFit Mamas is having a run day as well, so I will also do their workout with my run.

CaliFit Mamas:

   Run 1000 meters - .621/miles

   50 Thrusters w/20 lbs

   30 Pull-ups, modify as needed

Brand X:

   Rest day

White Head:

   *nothing new was posted on White Head's site*

As I mentioned earlier, I will be doing CaliFit today with my run.  I'm going to go ahead and finish my 5k training run before I do the thrusters and pull-ups.  I will note my time on the treadmill when I reach .621 miles, then start my timer as soon as I get off of the treadmill - which means I won't be resting and catching my breath as long as I have been since the timer will be running!  lol - Sounds like a great start for the week!

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No running today - notice I did not say no workout today...I've been clearing out the guest room and it's closet.  I've discovered that my daughter is apparently a hoarder, but she probably doesn't even know it because all of her "hoarding" stuff was left in that closet!  lol  I made 8 trips downstairs and then down to the basement with boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes, etc.  Then, I made two trips downstairs with boxes and stuff to the garage to take to our local Goodwill.  It took me from 1:00 until 3:30 to do all of this.  All that's left to do now is to remove the leather chaise lounge chair out, move the crib in and put it together, replace the bedding, and install new curtains.  Almost ready for baby Addy!!  :)  Going shopping on Thursday when I go to pick up my brother in Atlanta - I'm going to swing by Ikea and pick up some curtains.  I love Ikea.  Right now, I only plan to buy curtains.  And curtain rods.  Hopefully  I won't see anything I can't live without, but since I have a birthday this week, it will be okay if I do!  :)

Strength comes in all shapes and sizes.  Don't spend your time trying to look like someone else.  Embrace who you are and build your own strength.  This is sooooo true!  I'm all about individuality - always have been, always will be.  That is one thing my parents, especially my Daddy, have instilled in me and the one I am most proud of.  I don't care if I'm like everyone else - I'm me.  I like who I am and could care less what anyone else says.  If you talk about me and I hear it, if it's not true I don't care.  If it is true, I don't care.  As long as I know my truth, and stay true to me - what anyone else thinks doesn't matter one little bit.  Just be yourself, stay true to yourself.  The rest is just life.  :)

I enjoyed going to the birth class with my daughter yesterday!  Of course, we ended up shopping.  Katy needed to get a few small things for Addy's room and we found the cutest Georgia Bulldog booties that matches the cutest Georgia Bulldog dress we bought a couple of weeks ago, so I just HAD to buy the booties as well!  :)  Then, we had lunch with my son-in-law - Olive Garden soup and salad (one of my faves!)  Then off to Katy's and I helped her with Addy's room for a bit, then came home.  Great day!

I'm doing yesterday's CrossFit White Head workout that I missed.  Just a refresher...

   4 Rounds for  time

      15 front squats, weighted

      100 feet bear crawls

      100 feet broad jumps

      15 push-ups

I'm really looking forward to this and am hoping, hoping, hoping the bear crawls are easier than last time!  At least, I don't have burpees to do this time, but still....looks hard, but fun!

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Got carried away doing fun things yesterday and no time to exercise!  I was going to do a training run today, but ended up helping some friends do demo- and yard-clearing work on their house.  SO hot, tired, and sweaty!  Saving this for Tuesday - Monday is a training day.  Y'all have a good weekend!!