Change In My Workout Routine

I updated my workout page a little bit. My workout is still basically the same, I just changed my workout days around. Instead of doing strength training three days a week, I now do it twice a week. Tuesdays and Fridays are my strength training days now. I plan on doing more sets starting Friday. I do one set of 15 reps using my 10 pound weights. I've been saying for a long time now that I've wanted to do two sets of 15. Friday's the day. Enough of me saying I'll do it next week. By doing strength training twice a week now instead of three days, it might be a bit easier to do more than one set. More time in between so my muscles can relax and recover.

Cardio days are Tuesdays through Sundays. Mondays are my days off. I tend to get a lot of housework done on Mondays and tend to skip my workouts. It's not always easy to work out on Saturdays and Sundays, but I'm working on it.

I still get on my elliptical each day, but I've added something new to my cardio routine. Back in November, I bought myself a DVD. These DVDs were recommended by several of my SparkPeople friends, but I always hesitated to get them. Leslie Sansone is an awesome lady.

“Leslie Sansone is a nationally recognized fitness expert, and creator of the Walk at Home program. Her philosophy is simple. She believes that our bodies were made to move and we can walk our way to health and wellness.” Quoted from http://www.walkathome.com/

When I first heard about her from people at Spark, I hesitated because I wasn't sure if I could do all of the moves. I also thought, “Oh, it's just marching in place”. I had done that before while watching TV almost five years ago when I first started losing weight. But it's more than just marching in place. You march to the beat of music. She adds moves into the walks to make it interesting. Back in October or November, I found a few of her videos on the On Demand channel, and decided to check them out.

I tried three of them, and enjoyed them a lot. I tried the moves, and was able to do them. The only move I have problems with is the “tap out” move. It's sort of like a “side step” only you don't bring the other foot to meet the foot that stepped out (if that makes sense). I am able to do the knee lifts, and the kicks.

Then one day, I couldn't find the videos on the TV anymore. So I decided to buy one. I decided on the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk. You can customize the workout by doing one mile at a time, or all five miles at once. I tend to use her DVD as a warm up before I get on the elliptical. Warms up my legs so they're not tight when I get on. I have done all five miles at once...once. It's tough to do them all at once. It's about 65 minutes of walking in place. I take a break after every mile.

I like the fact that at the end of every mile there's a “boost” for two minutes. During these two minutes you boost the walk into a gentle jog. She does kicks and knee lifts during the boost, but I just continue to jog in place. She hops during the kicks and lifts, and...I don't hop. If I get tired during the boost (usually around mile 3) I go back to walking.

I feel like her DVDs are good for anyone, no matter what their activity level is. It's helped my balance I think somewhat. It's helps me have better posture on the elliptical I think.

So, yes, I've become a big fan of Leslie Sansone. I don't know if I'll get any more of her DVDs. Maybe one more, but I hear they're basically all pretty much the same. The conversations and commentary during the video can get a bit old, but that's OK. She's a bit perky, but not in an obnoxious way. And if you think you won't sweat with the DVDs, think again. I sweat just as much doing her DVD as I do on the elliptical.

So that's what I'm doing as far as my workouts go. I plan on working on endurance on the elliptical. I try to get one mile in when I get on, that's my goal. But if I do more than one mile of Leslie Sansone, I get tired pretty quick and do ½ mile. I still take a break after every tenth of a mile. But I'm extending that to 200 revolutions. A tenth of a mile is 160 revolutions, so I'm upping that to 200. I'm doing pretty well. I can go about .6 mile and then go back to doing 160 revolutions.

Tomorrow is Thursday, and my plan is to do 2 miles of Leslie and then try for one mile on the elliptical. I did 2 miles of the DVD today and only made it a half mile on the elliptical. Here's a link to a little intro to the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk

5 Mile Fat Burning Walk

Have a good one.

Coming Back!!

I am indeed coming back. It's been quite a while since my last post, and I believe in that post I was dealing with a string of bad balance days. I got out of that string of days, but about a month later, I went through another string.

Still don't know what causes it. It can be tough to go through, and makes me feel like giving up. “What's the point of exercising and keeping in shape if my balance isn't going to cooperate?” That thought went through my head countless times, and honestly, it still does. But, I can't let a few days (weeks, months) of bad balance get me down. It's easy to get caught in the downward swirl of emotional junk. It's easier to let the negative thoughts take over rather than come up with positive thoughts to replace them.

Don't think that it's all doom and gloom over here. It's not. Just saying the negative thoughts find a way to win every now and then. And the anxiety of fighting a problem that can't really be fixed is annoying also. Never been diagnosed, but I'm pretty sure I've had general anxiety all my life. I can't really remember a time where I wasn't worried about something. Oral presentations, tests, walking in front of people when I left class 5 minutes early, every day conversations. I was worrying about it all. And I still do. Dumb stuff that nobody cares about. I have to keep reminding myself that people are thinking about what they need to do. They're not worrying about what I'm doing.

I do think some of the social anxiety has gotten better. It's not totally gone, but it's better than it was. I have rough days still when I talk to people, but I try not to let it bug me. Words just don't want to come out smoothly. The more I worry about that, the more the words don't want to get out. Getting frustrated only makes it worse too.

Anyway, I've been working on the whole anxiety thing. Not trying to “fix” it, but to learn to live with it. I've always said that I don't want to go on medication, and that still holds true. Although, if I could find a pill or something that makes me feel as relaxed as I do when I have an alcoholic drink (minus the brain fuzz), I'd take it. I walk easier, talk easier, and just feel relaxed overall when I have a drink. I don't drink often at all. I'll have a Mike's hard lemonade every other week or so, but that's it. Well, when I go back east for family vacations, I tend to drink more (one a night).

I'm going to get writing again with this blog. Even if only a handful of people read it. I don't care if anyone reads it really. It's a good outlet for my frustrations. I am mostly a positive person, I really am. I'm agreeable and I try to make other people happy. I do have to learn to stand up for myself sometimes though. If I don't want to do something, I don't have to do it.

I have a few interesting blog posts I'll be writing soon. And I'll be doing Mileage Mondays for a while. I have been saving the pictures from the virtual walk site, and there's quite a few. Not as many as I'd like. I slacked off for a bit because of the balance junk and anxiety from that, but I'm back at it. I'm doing more full miles now than I was. I take breaks after every tenth of a mile, but I get the whole mile in.

So for now, I'll shut up. I could ramble on if I really wanted to. But, that's enough for one post. I'll write more about what I've been up to exercise-wise in another entry. Which reminds me, I need to update my workout page.

Keep moving!

Falling Sensation Explanation

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned a falling sensation that I talked about in my SparkPeople blog that I posted on Wednesday. I feel that needs a bit of an explanation on this blog. The falling sensation is my attempt at explaining what these series of bad balance days are like. My balance is awful regardless of what day it is, but maybe two or three time a year I experience a week or so of really bad balance.

The best way I can describe it is if you’ve ever had a dream where you fall. You have that sensation of falling and then you wake up startled. I have that same feeling sometimes when I’m awake. Not all the time, just sometimes. I searched for it online, and I found a few articles about it (I can’t find them now of course) and it’s not too rare I don’t think, but it’s not too common either. There’s not much to be done about it though from what I remember. You just have to go through it until is passes.

Today’s exercising sort of helped, but that feeling is still there at times. Not as much, but it’s not gone yet. I just need to push through it, and it will eventually go away. It always does. It’s just annoying when it happens. Doesn’t help the old confidence either. In the past, once it does go away, I still hesitate on certain things, because I’m expecting it to happen.

That’s the best I can do to explain things. Maybe it’s vertigo or labyrinthitis (a friend of mine who also has cerebral palsy has labyrinthitis). That could be exactly it. Because no matter what, every time I go to the dentist and they lean the chair back, I feel like I’m going to fall out! I‘ve had that feeling since I was a kid.

Makes ya think.

Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway

And that's exactly what I did. For the last 5 days or so, I've been having bad balance issues (even worse than usual). I've been avoiding certain things because of the fear of the falling sensation I described in yesterday's blog. But I knew I had to keep moving or it would just get worse.
So, I kept repeating the phrase "feel the fear and do it anyway" which I believe Bob Harper said a time or two on The Biggest Loser (it might have been Jillian though, I can't remember). That phrase has stuck with me since, although I might not always practice it. Today I did, and it helped.

I told myself to get on the elliptical and do just .1 mile at a time. For the first 10th of a mile I told myself to just use the side railings for support and not use the arm poles on my elliptical. I did, and yes it felt unsteady at first, but it did get easier. I got off and took a minute, then told myself to get on again for another 10th of a mile, and this time use the arm poles. Again, it felt unsteady, but got easier. After that I took it a 10th of a mile at a time. I did 1/2 mile and it was slower than normal (about 17 minutes instead of 15), but that's OK. I wasn't going for speed, just for the movement.

The scariest part was getting on and off. Not scary as in petrified, but still a little scary. I kept repeating that phrase over and over, and I got through it. Getting on and off didn't get easier, but I did deal with it and got it done.

I then prepared for my shower, and brought in my "shower shoes" (just a pair of pool shoes). I haven't needed those shoes since March or so, and I brought them in just in case. But, I persevered, and got in without them.

I won't say the string of bad balance days are over yet, but they might coming to an end. I hope so anyway. And until it is over, I'll feel the fear and do it anyway.

*Posted this on my SparkPeople blog, and decided to post it here also.

Anna Kournikova Is Leaving Biggest Loser

I wasn’t surprised at all when I read that one of the new trainers on The Biggest Loser, Anna Kournikova, will not be returning next season. The word is that she didn’t mesh well with the staff behind the scenes. And a lot of the contestants didn’t like her approach to training. They thought she was “too brash”.

I don’t know what Anna Kournikova’s background is as far as being a personal trainer, but I thought her approach was a little unsympathetic. She told one contestant to basically suck it up and deal with it when the teams got rearranged. She’s not the best when it comes to capitalizing on the contestants breakthrough moments. There are times when a contestant is worked out so hard they have a mental breakthrough. On an episode a few weeks ago, one contestant (I forget who it was now, Becky maybe?) was definitely at that breakthrough moment (the times when Jillian Michaels would ask “why are you here?" over and over), and Anna didn’t get it.

She seems like a nice person on camera, and I know she’s a wonderful tennis player. But I don’t think Anna Kourniva is cut out for the personal trainer scene. I don’t know if she realized that herself and left the show on her own, or if she was let go by the higher ups, but I hope she realized it herself and stepped down.

There’s no mention yet on who will be replacing her, if anyone. Personally I think Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince could do nicely by themselves. They’ve both got the personal trainer background experience, and they both are in-tune with how the contestants are feeling. They capitalize on breakthrough moments. Both Bob and Dolvett really listen to what the contestants have to say. They don’t just nod in agreement and tell them to deal with it.

Season 13 of The Biggest Loser starts January 3, and it will interesting to see who the trainers are. I haven’t heard anything about Dolvett leaving, so it will probably be Dolvett and Bob for sure, and possibly someone new. We shall see.

Fragile X Syndrome

I mentioned yesterday that I’d be doing a mile on the elliptical today for a special cause. Unfortunately, my left foot is acting up, and I’m taking that as a sign to switch back to my tennis shoes. I might wear my Five Fingers for shorter workouts, but anything longer than 1/2 mile (at least for now) I’ll be wearing sneakers. Anyway, I did not do the mile, but plan to do a mile hopefully on Monday for the cause.

The cause? Fragile X Syndrome. A childhood friend of mine has a son with Fragile X and for the last 4 years has been setting up a charity 5k run/walk event at the Miami Metro Zoo.

I’m a bit bummed I wasn’t able to do a mile today for it. I try to do it every year when I can. But Monday will be the day. Read more about Fragile X Syndrome here. Hope the event went well today!

Good News…Bad News

First let’s get the bad news out of the way. Tuesday, November 1 we had to put our oldest cat down. Paws got to a ripe old age of 15 and 1/2. He’d been starting to show his age in the last year, but in the last week he went downhill fast.

We think he stopped eating his dry cat food sometime in the last few weeks. We would give him bits of chicken or tuna and he would scarf that down and love it. However, sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning a switch went off in him. Monday morning he only had a bite or two of chicken then turned away from it. I tried several times throughout the day, but he wasn’t interested.

What really got me...was early Monday afternoon. He’d take a few steps then would lie down. A while later he’d take a few steps then would lie back down. So, he definitely wasn’t comfortable at that point. We made the decision to take him the next morning. Tuesday morning came along and he wouldn’t even drink water. So, I pretty much knew what was going to happen.

The vet ran some tests, and determined Paws was dehydrated, anemic and worst of all was in kidney failure. I knew he was in kidney failure. That morning I actually said “I bet he’s in renal failure”. Sure enough. So that was that. No waffling in our decision. It had to be done. And it was done quick.

Yes, we were asked if we wanted to stay while it was done, and yes we ended up staying. It was tough, but in the end I’m glad I stayed. I don’t know if I would do it again. I went back and forth a lot, and not just in the last few days. About 9 month ago, my brother in-law and his wife had to put their dog down. Then a few months later, my sister and her family had to put one of their dogs down.

I knew the time for Paws was coming, so I’d been thinking about it for a long time. Flip flopping in my decision all the time. I don’t know if I would do it again. We have two more cats, and I have no clue what I’ll do then. Knowing me, I probably will. But I really don’t know. The death of a pet is never easy, and that is a personal choice every time. No right or wrong answer.

Anyway, he was a good cat, and he will be missed. Most of the posts for this blog were written with him in my lap, and it’s strange not to have him here now.

Paws: February (or March) 1996 – November 1, 2011

Ok then. Onto happier news. Before this whole bad week started, I met one of my goals, and I also met one of my un-made goals that I was going to make for November. First, on Sunday, October 30, I managed to do 1/2 mile on the elliptical with no breaks. That same day, I decided to go for a full mile. I took breaks after every .2 mile and then did the last .1 mile. Felt good to finally be able to go for about 15 minutes straight.

I took a few days off this week obviously. I wasn’t in a good frame of mind to get much of anything done. But on Thursday, I got back to it. I did 1/2 mile Thursday and another 1/2 mile today, just to get my legs moving a bit. I plan to do one mile tomorrow (will write about that another time) for a special cause.

I’ve got some pictures from the virtual walk site saved, so I’ll add those now. This entry is a bit long, so don’t want to write a whole novel here.

Mile 310.2                                                               Mile 311

                 

Mile 311.6                                                               Mile 312

                 

Mile 313                                                                 Mile 313.6

                 

Mile 314



 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving, and give your pet a squeeze.