Mama Works Out

Week 4: Missing a Sara

2009-06-22T18:02:00.001-07:00

I forgot to post this last week. Honestly, I could have swore that I did. Obviously, I didn't.

ANYWAYS, Sara was on doctor orders to stop the running until further notice so it was just Angie & I this week! It was lovely weather, though. A bit windy, and I hate running in the wind, but the temperature was good. We know that we only have a few more weeks of decent temps to run in before it heads on up to "oven" level around these parts.

I have to be honest. This week was haaaaard. We had such a slow pace, that I'm not even going to post it here. We were dragging, BUT after we got done with our prescribed run, we still made it a point to walk to a total of 5K. So, we got the distance, but we didn't get the good time. I'll take it. Week 5 is going to eat our dust!

Operation Beautiful

2009-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

The only weight-loss/fitness blogger I follow is Angie at Angie All the Way. I love the way she writes, she's accomplished SO much, and she takes some bad ass pictures of her meals that make me drool.

Today, she posted about Operation Beautiful & it struck me as something that I would love to do as well.

Stand by for updates about my sneaky, sneaky post-its spread all over the greater NW Ohio area.

I did it! I did it! I freakin' did it!

2009-06-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

I finished a 5K today! It wasn't a race, but it was still 5k. 3.2 miles in 30:44. I am proud of myself! Although I accomplished this feat on my nemesis (the dreadmill), I'm still nervous about attempting it outside. Hopefully on Sunday, I'll be able to check that off my list. Watch out 5K race, I'm coming for you!

I'd like to thank the academy...wait...wrong speech. I'd like to thank the Couch to 5K website. I'd also like to thank my buddies on MFP (Marla, Andrew, Janie, Shannon, Bobbi, Mir, Emi, and all y'all) that have pushed me in this direction & proved that ANY one can do it...Shannon especially. She's running her first HALF MARATHON this weekend! WOO! Also, thank you to Sara & Angie. If you two didn't agree to run in August with me, I'm not sure I would have kept with it. Love you guys! Thanks to Doug, too. I'm not sure what you did, but I'm sure you did something. Oh, that's right. You encouraged me to get new shoes. ;) Just kidding, baby! I love you!

Couch to 5K: Week 3...in the books

2009-06-12T05:16:00.000-07:00

I'm having a bit too much fun with picnik.com, still. hehehe

I think Thursdays are destined to be chilly. For the third week in a row, we've had to make the debate between long sleeves or short sleeves, pants or shorts. The first week, Angie's nails were turning purple! Yesterday was no exception, but there was rain. Chilly, cold rain. It was a good run, though.

Week 3 is a little more challenging b/c the running intervals start getting longer. However, Ang & Sara both said that they preferred week 3 over week 2. It's almost like it makes the time go faster.

Not as many contact with wildlife this week, though. Only a couple deer that made me squeal and another deer Ang & I named Leslie while we were doing our cool down walk. S/he (we weren't sure either way) was following us to our cars. I thought he'd make a good pet.

Couch to 5K: Week 2

2009-06-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

Plus, I'm having fun playing with Picnik! We had a great run tonight! I'm so excited for this 5k in August, I can't even tell you. Something I've been terrified of my entire life & I'm beating the junk out of it! Bring it, 5k. Bring it.

Power 90 with Tony Horton

2009-06-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

This is my new "trainer". Meet Tony Horton. He's the man behind 10 Minute Trainer, Power 90, & P90x to name a few (all of which I sell in my BeachBody store). My newest addition to my exercise regimen is Power 90. Now, I'm not doing this b/c I "want" to. I'm doing this b/c DOUG wants to. He's decided he's in a place in his life that he needs to start making exercise a priority & I'm trying to support that by doing this program with him. We started just a few days ago so we have a long ways to go!

So far, I am enjoying the program. It is no Turbo Jam, but I can feel it's effectiveness! You rotate days between weight/resistance training & cardio/abs. Breaks it up nicely so you don't get bored with one or the other. Right now, we're on level 1 of both, but I'm hoping to get him to kick up at least the cardio in the next week.

*takes a deep breath* Okay. I've been holding on to this pic for nearly a week. This is my "before" Power 90 photo. Doug is not letting me publish his so you just need to shield your eyes from my...self. Take note! I'm hoping to see some serious results in the next 85 days!

ACK! Once we're done with this, Doug would like to move on to P90x. I'm not sure I can hang. Stay tuned!

2 Sara's and an Angie on the 5K Journey

2009-06-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Our first week of training. :D

I'm training with 2 of my closest friends from high school! How fun is this going to be?! We aren't that far into the program so if any one else cares to join us, let me know! We're meeting once a week to run together, but other than that, we're on our own! This is all leading up to the Pemberville Free Fair's 5k in August. There's also on at the Harley dealership in P'burg at the end of August that we might run as well. Then, the ultimate test of how far I can push myself in a few short months: An 8K in September. That's a lofty goal for me, so it might have to wait a year. We'll keep you posted!

Prayers for my friends

2009-05-21T03:31:00.000-07:00

I'd like to ask all of you to pray for our dear friends Jim & Monica. Monica delivered their second son, Duncan Thomas, into this world and directly into the arms of the Lord on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. Click the link and read their story and please pray for them in this very difficult time.

Whoda thunk it? I'm running!

2009-05-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been updating this blog (or my other blog for that matter) for awhile now & I'm sorry. Life got weird for a little while there. I'm back & hopefully I can post regularly. I'm aiming for at least once a week on this one. Anyhoodle...

I've decided to start running. I know what most of you are thinking since you've known me for so long *cough*Angie*cough*, but I really mean it! I was doing pretty good at training before we left for vacation, but not doing so much as walking with a stroller as exercise while in TN took a wee bit of a toll on my body for that week. But now, I'm back at it. How, you may ask, has a non-runner, turned into a wanna-be runner? Simple! The wonders of the Internet.

Through myfitnesspal's boards, I found a Couch to 5K plan. Now, I'm not following this as it is written, but I have a few friends on MFP that are & are having great results with it! Following rules just isn't my style (hehehe). I'm at about the Week 6, Day 2 level right now. I set the treadmill for a 10 minute mile & can get between 1.25 & 1.5 miles before I start begging for mercy. I have a ways to go, but I think this is the challenge I've been looking for!

I'm looking into a 5k races to do this summer. Anyone wanna join me?!

Do me a favor, please?

2009-03-24T10:26:00.001-07:00

Could you please check this link & let me know if it works. I'm having problems with it, but I'm not sure if it is ME or not. Thank you in advance! Just leave a comment for me letting me know if it worked for you or not. Gracias!

http://www.mamaworksout.com

Zumba!

2009-03-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I was very skeptical going into my Zumba class last Wednesday. For those of you that don't know, this is how Zumba is billed on their website:

Zumba® fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exhilarating hour of caloric-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life!

Eeeehhhhh...I bought the dvds last fall & opened two of them. I was less than impressed. This was for many reasons, but one of the main reasons was that the instructions were given in Spanish, followed by instruction in English. Darn me for forgetting 3 years of high school Spanish! Anyways, this really annoyed me & I found it difficult to really enjoy doing in my living room by myself. They quickly sold on eBay. So, I trucked my butt into class at Urban Active on Monday ready for mundane chacha'ing & very little sweating.

It didn't start off too promising. I walked in literally two minutes before class was to start & it was me & the instructor. I thought, "wow. this should be fun?" Soon after I got acquainted with the instructor (a really good thing to do, I've discovered), everyone else showed up. Still wasn't feeling like the class was going to be all that thrilling b/c...well...let's just say it was the Early Bird Special crowd. Sure, there were a couple of girls around my age & most of them were probably in their late 40s, early 50s, but I swear there were two people in there that looked like they left their walkers in the hallway.

So, class started & the first thing I noticed was that the music was really good. Just like the website suggests, it was full-fledged Latin music. Fun, upbeat, colorful. Good stuff to shake your rump to. The instructor (I feel so horrible I forgot her name), was very aware of her class & made sure that there were high intensity, moderate intensity & low intensity moves for everything that she did. I don't know how she kept track of the call-outs with all the moderations, but she did great with this.

It is a very dance oriented work-out. I had to channel my inner-dancer that I packed away a good ten years ago to get me through some of the moves. However, it was beneficial that I had a dance back ground b/c she could call out a dance move & I would be able to do it without too much practice-time. If I didn't know a traditional chacha step, I probably would have fallen behind a few more times than I did. The end of Zumba threw dance out the window & we plopped ourselves on the floor for crunches & some upper body strength training. Only about 5 minutes total for this so even for those of you that HATE ab work & strength training, it wasn't too horrible at all.

Zumba turned out to be a pretty good cardio workout. I burned around 400 cals in the 45 minute class. That's about middle of the road for me. I do need to work on loosening up a bit, though. I'm so trained these days to kick & punch at things during my workout, my body is a bit rigid & I look like a zombie trying to do some of the moves...and yes, I did punch & kick a few times when I was speicifically NOT supposed to be. Old habits die hard. Overall, Zumba is a welcome change of pace!

Hip Hop Abs: Fat Burning Cardio

2009-03-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop Abs is another of my Beachbody workouts that I just acquired. It features Shaun T & has some music that keeps your booty shaking. This is a FUN workout. That is one of its biggest Pros. I actually caught myself grooving away & I'm not exactly the "grooving" type of girl. :) The exercise (as its name suggests) is very ab-focused. I burned 200 cals in the 30 min. session and for me, I consider that a lower-impact exercise. This was the first of the workouts I tried from this package. There are 4 or 5 more that came with it & I'm hoping to blaze through those the next couple weeks.

Pros - Like I said, lots of fun. The moves are very simple to catch onto & he covers everything slowly before he just dives into doing it. My abs felt quite worked out by the end of it. The music that is featured works really well with the moves. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to that. If the beat doesn't match the move, I don't bother with it. Thank you, marching band & 10 years of dance instruction.

Cons - It was on the low end of calorie burn for me. If I'm going to work out, I wanna feel the burn! Although my abs felt great at the end, the rest of me was like, "What? Did we just work out? Why didn't you tell me?!"

This would be a great workout for someone who wants to have lots of fun, but isn't so concerned about burning a huge amount of calories. I mean, the calorie burn was there, but I still get a lot more when I'm doing Turbo Jam (my addiction).

Yoga Booty Ballet: Cardio Cabaret Burlesque Style

2009-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

This YBB is coined as a "live" workout so I'm not sure this is where I should have started my YBB exposure. It is interesting to say the least. There are moves like "flip your hat" and "take off your gloves" that are called out & I'm just simply not used to that. I have a HUGE list of Pros vs Cons for this one, but I decided to be fair to YBB, I'm going to start with the "real" workouts first & then review from there. At this point in time, not my cup of tea, but I could see how people would enjoy it.

My first day of spinning

2009-03-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

and boy does my...pelvis...hurt. It has been WAY too long for my big old booty to be on a bike seat for 45 minutes in one go round. Geesh! I wasn't able to keep up beat for beat, but it was something that I felt I could improve on & work up to the level of the entire class. My lower body hasn't had that kind of work out in ages!

Pros - the instructor was GREAT! He had wonderful music & was very clear in his call outs. He didn't very often "over count", it was all straight forward. Since he knew I was new in the class, he helped me set up my bike & he insured me that I would live to see 10:00am. He also caters to those of us that wear HRMs. More than once he called out where he wanted our HR %ages to be! Bonus!

Cons - I am coming to discover that I don't like being attached to a machine for that long of a period of time. I'm more of a jump around like an idiot type of girl. 45 minutes on one machine makes me stare at my watch, even if my HR is up in the 90%s & I'm gasping for breath. I'm thinking that if I keep going to the class & get more of a handle on it, this will go away. However, my disdain for the elliptical will always be there. :)

The beginning of the adventure

2009-03-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go again. Breathe in that nice, warm new blog smell. *sniff sniff* Aaahhh. :) The main reasons for this blog is three-fold.

1) I need some place to tell my "fitness/exercise" stories. I've had some good ones (Oy with the gym stories already!) & I just don't feel comfortable writing about it on our family blog. It's just weird for me. I've never liked people that "force" their fitness lifestyle on others & I felt as though I would be doing that there if I were to blog about it ESPECIALLY since I'm still new to this world. This way, you know what you're getting into. Be afraid...be very afraid.

2) I started an at-home business through Beachbody. I am now a Beachbody "coach" and this blog is another vehicle to get that fact out there. It is a similar business as Mary Kay or Pampered Chef, but I'm not doing in-home parties. People buy products from my site & then I act as their "coach" by answering all their questions that they may have about Beachbody, the product they bought, or if they would also like to start an at-home business as a coach. This is a topic that I am truly giddy about.

3) Reviews! As a Beachbody coach & a new gym member, I've been trying out new equipment, classes, videos, etc... nearly every day for the past week. It's been a whirl wind. Some of it I'm thrilled about, some of it...not so much. I'd like to use this blog as a place to trash...I mean...I'd like to use this blog as a place to give fair reviews to those new things in my life!

So there you have it. Now you know what you're getting into. Read at your own risk. I'm looking forward to taking this journey & be sure to visit me at my Beachbody store: http://www.mamaworksout.com/. See you there!