Win some Stuff!

If you don't yet know my feelings about raw local honey... I'll be happy to tell you another day. Today, however, I would like to point you at a great giveaway happening on a really fabulous blog. YOU could win a tri-pack of good, local, raw honey from Nude Bee Honey!

Another Day

Another few points. I had another Wii-Fit day. Did you know the Wii-board seems to get really happy when you pop by for a body test two days in a row? Who knew an inanimate object could be so invested in one's health.
Stats:
I still suck at the hip-bump-math thing. I had a "personal best" answering 19/20, but my little Mii still gets sad face because she didn't get all of them. Again, the issue was with a forward pelvic thrust. Maybe I do them wrong.
I did a whole routine of stretch/strength, which I hadn't done in a while. It felt pretty good, but it also felt out of practice. No one's fault but my own.
My shoulders are a bit tender from the (totally awesome) massage I had yesterday, so I didn't do the bird flying thing. I did, however, do some "cycling" and boxing, which irritated the junk out of me because it often doesn't register my punches and I swear I'm doing them exactly the same each time.
I rode my bike to work, and will (obviously) ride it home.
I ate about a million servings of vegetables.
Tally:
40mins Wii work-out: 2 points
6+km on the bike: 2 points
ALL the veggies: 1 point
Total: 5 points.

Beats yesterday. Tomorrow I'm skipping yoga in favour of getting some work done, but am picking up some extra bike kms and doing yoga on Thursday. And probably Saturday. Woop.

Challenge (actually) Begins

Today it rained. It rained hard and cold. This meant, to my horror, that there would be no biking today.

I had an appointment in the afternoon which ensured that yoga class was not an option, since there was no way I could get between the two on time. This meant I had to have a home work-out.

I don't know how much y'all know about me, but here's something you might not: I love structure. I like rules (so I can break them), I thrive in a goal-oriented, very focussed environment. On top of that, I can be pretty lazy. These two things together add up to one thing:
I need classes.
I need other people around. I need competition (but I can't be the worst in the room cuz I'll quit). I need a little trash talk, or motivational speaking while I'm sweating and trying really hard not to grunt because it's unattractive. Home work-outs generally do not provide these things, so I turned to my favourite alternative:
Wii Fit.
I rocked that thing for 40mins. My Wii Fit age is 24. I'm tiny shifts away from perfect balance. I'm a hoola-hoop goddess.

I am master of the step routine.

That said, I also suck at boxing, need to improve my "flying bird" skills, and could really use some work on my math (cuz yeah, they combine balance exercises with MATH now).

Of course, the system isn't perfect. It doesn't register some of my more subtle shifts (although I think some of them were on purpose; as if it couldn't seriously tell that I was doing a REALLY emphatic pelvic thrust to make the stupid numbers add up to ten. I think it was trying to embarrass me. It didn't. Take that, sucker).

Sometimes it didn't register my boxing punches, which was lame becauase I totally did them.

Nevertheless, I feel good about it. I got nearly 2000 spins in super-hoola (6mins!) and felt like a super hero. I'll stick with it.

Today's points:
40mins with Wii-Fit: 2 points
Walking 1km: 1 point
7+ v/f servings: 1 poing
Total: 4 points.
A whole weekend in a Monday. Bring it on.

On With the Challenge!

The Challenge has begun and so far I have done:

Bupkiss.

That's right. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Well, that's not fair. I'm definitely eating enough vegetables to have earned me one point each day this weekend, and today I biked 6km, so my weekend totals 4 points. I had PLANNED on making today a pretty serious day with Bikram yoga and biking combined. This fell through, however, and instead I slept until class would have begun and spent the day in my pyjamas all warm and cozy on my couch. I don't really have any excuse for this except:
1. I spent the day kinda stressed out yesterday over personal matters and
2. I wanted to be in my jammies all day. It was cold, kinda windy, and the prospect of freezing my face off just to go get all hot, sweaty, and wet only to have to get all frozen again on the way home was simply unappealing.

I promise I will be better this week.

Tomorrow's plan: 60-90min workout with a DVD, spend some time in the office, 6km biking and my first ever visit to a massage therapist. I'm pretty excited.

Upcoming activities: Bikram on Wednesdays and Sundays, DVD workouts Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and the possibility of a weekly workout with a personal trainer, which I will likely schedule for either Fridays or Saturdays.

Other activities include: chaperoning 12 year olds to the ballet this weekend (that really should count for some kind of work-out points accumulation), meeting with my SIL to comb over childhood holiday decorations, my personal annual drunk decorating extravaganza (which is a lot like an olympic event, but with wine), Holiday gift shopping (an Ironman-esque activity; everyone should get bonus points for this), the One of a Kind Show, and all other holiday events.

I think my head just exploded.

Challenge Practice: Day 7

Today felt really productive, although I did not get much in the way of "work out" time. I did about 20 mins of weights (1 point!), then was just too excited to get on with my working to do any more.

Instead, I biked. Everywhere.

Total bike distance for today: 10km (3 points!)
I biked to see my homeopath. I biked to work. I biked home. This took me from Riverdale to Leslieville to Church/Wellesley and back home to Riverdale. It was windy, too, so I had to work extra hard.

Finally, as always, I ate about a billion vegetables (1 point!).
Breakfast: miso soup, steamed kale, and a slice of spelt bread with Earth Balance vegan buttery spread.

Lunch: ... I kinda skipped it. But I had a huge apple for a snack.

Dinner: Black eyed peas with spinach, spinach/almond/rice casserole, sweet potatoes, vegetable soup.

Snack: Raw cucumber, carrot, celery and hummus. Sour cherries. Tea.

Challenge Practice Days 5/6/7

Day 5:
This was totally my rest day and I took advantage. I thought it was going to coincide with the start of my wolf days, but it didn't. I was somewhat disappointed by this.

I still get 1 point for eating veggies.
Also: 2 points for walking 2km. Yeah, I did that.
After dark, Jim Graham and I went for a totally delicous and wonderful walk in the fog. It was stunning. And a little scary. But mostly awesome.

(Photo Credit http://astrologyexpressed.wordpress.com)

Day 6:
And thus began the wolf. I did some stuff at home:
20mins weights = 1 point

30mins cardio = 2 points

ALL the veggies = 1 point
I also took a supercharged nap and ate sushi.

Day six was basically awesome.

Day 7:
Brings us to today. I meant to go to yoga and ride my bike everywhere, but I felt kinda icky and it rained. Instead, Jim and I:
1. had brunch with our friends (VEGGIE POINTS! for eating a big breakfast salad), 2. played video games,

3. drank tea and

4. read together. Super awesome couples day that totally beat any kind of yoga.

Challenge Practice: Day 4

Or: Thank goddess tomorrow is rest day.

I did a bikram class today.
Well, for starters I totally ate brussels sprouts for breakfast with couscous and some "minty chocolate" tea made with rice milk. Then I biked to yoga, did the yoga, biked to the coffee shop, drank the coffee and had wonderful conversation, biked to work where I am currently enjoying a decaf soy latte after having soup and veggie loaf for dinner.

How was that for a sentence?

Today's class was FULL of people.

So full in fact that it took me almost an hour to shower, change and get out of there once all was said and done. It's never taken that long before. It wasn't my greatest class, either. I dropped a few poses (or "fell out" of them as they term it). I felt like I was sitting in a few of them - such that I wasn't feeling like I was working as hard as I could. I have reasons for this, but I still feel a bit guilty for doing it.
Yoga Summary:
Postures Improved - are basically the same as written previously. Today I felt especially good in the twist and in camel; no real reason why. Also, I did much better at the Dancer's pose; I only fell out during the last one and right at the end.
Postures Needing Improvment - are also basically the same, but I adding:

The Rabbit. This pose hurts my head. I think I might be doing it wrong. I should probably ask about that.

Today's breakdown:
Biking 6.5km = 2 points
Bikram: 40mins stretch/strength = 2 points
45mins cardio = 3 points
7+ veggies and fruits = 1 point
Total = 8 points.

Beats yesterday.
Rest day tomorrow!! Wish me luck; I may not be able to resist lifting weights or something.

Challenge Practice: Day 3

Or: Kinda lazy. Or: I pushed too far.

My calves hurt. (Why are they called calves?) A lot. They're clearly "overworked" and underpaid. Stretching is good; contracting is not. Going down stairs = no fun.

I'm going to blame running yesterday, mostly because I can but also because it's the only "unusual" thing I've been doing recently. I likely have pretty bad form, didn't use proper footwear, and the impact was probably a bit weird. It'll take some adjusting. I'm not going to stop, but I am going to be aware of what can happen.

I've also been doing about 20 calf press-ups/evening on a stair at work. I put all my weight on the balls of my feet and let my heels hang into space. I let all my weight down as far as is comfortable, stretching the muscle. The I slow press up into full releve. It's awesome.

It usually feels amazing; kinda hurts today. I think they need a rest and possibly an epsom salt bath.

Today's tally:
Pilates Mat work 20mins = 1 point
Biking 6+km = 2 points
7+ fruits/veggies = 1 point
Total = 4 points.

(I wonder if I can say 2 points for the fruit and veggie thing since I'm vegan and get twice as many as most people.)

Tomorrow is another serious biking/bikram day. I bought brussels sprouts to have for breakfast. I'm really excited.

This is starting to really work for me.

Challenge Practice: Day 2

I tried running.

It wasn't too bad.

I know, everyone who has ever heard me talk about working out is picking their jaw up off the floor. I have (had?) an ungodly hatred for running. I despise it almost as much as yesterday's yoga pose (blasted compression pose). Today, however, I finally decided to see what all the fuss is about.

I used to run in elementary school. I was a sprinter from the 4th-9th grades, but hated distances. My throat would close, I'd get all mucousy and want to cough and vomit after a few minutes. I did track (100 meters and relays only, thank you), and tried Cross Country distance running in grades 4 and 5. I hated it in grade 4. In grade 5 I got partway though the season before I remembered "oh yeah, I hate this" and promptly stopped going.

In university I was "diagnosed" with "exercise induced asthma" but it was pretty moot at that point since I had decided that running was not for me. Sure, I did eliptical machines and sometimes a treadmill, but mostly I stuck with biking (real and stationary), some stair climbing, and rowing. Eventually I also decided that I hate the gym atmosphere, so I stopped going there and stuck to yoga and dance classes. This is what has kept me going for the past 7 years.

Lately, everyone around me has started running. My friend Jessica does marathons, Amy runs for fun, Carrie has gotten back into the groove... so many people have casually mentioned "(blah blah) after my run." Even my oldest friend (another professed run-hater) did a half marathon in France a few weeks ago. It's crazy.

So today, I turned on the Wii (for the first time in 255 days... yikes) and got down to business. They make you do things in stages, so I had to do this pitifully short little ditty twice - about two minutes and they don't tell you how far you've gone. Annoying! However, once you prove you can keep a good steady pace, you open the "free run" which is considered distance. It's tracked by time; I chose 10mins cuz I can't imagine wanting to do more than that pretty much ever. This one measures distance.
I ran (jogged?) 2.6km in 10mins.
I think it lies.
I wasn't winded, I was barely tired. But I was sweaty, and my knees and ankles hurt a little. And I was a little bored. (Note: next time, music.)
I've decided that I need a rebounder if I'm going to keep this up (and I plan to) since that will reduce the impact on my knees, ankles and hips.

Also, if I feel comfortable enough (and feel fancy enough to buy shoes) I may consider going... outside.... to run.... in the spring.
I know. I can't believe it either.

So, practice tally:
Weights for 20 mins = 1 point
Running 2km = 2 points
Biking 6km = 2 points
7+ servings of veggies = 1 point
Total = 6 points.

Update:
I realize I didn't tally yesterday, so here it is:
Biking 9km = 3 points
Walking 2km = 2 points
7+ veggies = 1 point
40 mins stretching, abs etc = 2 points
45 mins "other" cardio = 3 points
Total = 11 points

I can see bikram days are going to kick most other days' butts.

Still feeling good; Ill stick with it. In it to win it.

Holiday Challenge Practice

Although the actual "Challenge" does not begin for another 12 days, I think it's appropriate to make sure I can actually handle the things I've put in my schedule.

Today was a bikram day, since I'm a day behind, and I've planned another for Thursday.
Stats: I felt better afterward than I had last time, which makes sense as I'm getting back into it.
Postures improved:

Half-moon pose: I'm basically L shaped, but upside-down.

Camel. This pose has the propensity to make me feel sick and want to vomit. This sensation has lessened significantly, and I've been successful with it repeatly in the past several classes (including "dry" yoga).

The Twist. I've always been pretty good at it, but it felt extra pretty today.
Postures needing improvement:

Ironically, the Dancer's pose. While I could probably maintain similar posturing with modification, for some reason having to hold onto my ankle and kick makes my arm really really unhappy. I blame my failed upper body strength. I'm working on that.

The Triangle or Master pose. I suck at this pose, especially on the left. For no good reason. I have a feeling it has to do with some kind of core/hamstring combo I just haven't figured out yet or am not strong enough to pull off, but it'll get there. Oh, it'll get there.

Compression pose. I hate this pose. Unbridled, passionate, hatred. Any time I have to compress my neck and try to "breathe normal" I want to punch someone in the face. Not so zen of me, I suppose. This pose hurts my neck (which consequently hurts my head), my lungs and to some extent my hamstrings. It'll get better; I nearly had it last year when I was going 2-3x/week for 6 weeks. I have faith in it, but that doesn't make me hate it any less.

Also, I biked: 3.5km to Bikram, 3km to work, then 3.1km home.

So far my challenge schedule has at least an hour/day of SOMEthing, and a rest day either Saturday or Sunday since healing and repair is important. So far, it looks something like:
Sunday and Wednesday = Bikram Yoga - 90mins of intense cardio, strength and flexibility training all at once. Plus, you sweat like mad. Serious points.
Monday and Friday = Weights and Wii Fit activities - I'm going to TRY to focus on the running and strength training options the Wii provides. But I hate running, so I'll have to get back to you. That particular practice begins tomorrow (I'm a day behind this week).
Tuesday and Thursday = Pilates/Mat Work at home. Stretch and strength, my friends.
Added to this, I bike 6km/day 5x/week, sometimes more on days there are yoga classes involved.
My secret (well, not anymore) plan is to see what other people's points add up to in the first week and see how mine compare, then add as needed. (You'll notice I won't subtract; Like I said, in it to win it.)
Possible additions = bellydance classes 1x/week, jazz/ballet classes 1x/week, possibly a third bikram class in a week that can withstand it. We'll see how it goes.

Challenge!

I joined this:



I'll be keeping track of my progress (but probably not daily) here on this blog. Hopefully enough will be going on to keep it interesting. So far, I've set up what I think is a heroic schedule, but there's always room for improvement. I'm totally going to watch other people's point scores, then up my game as needed. I'm in it to win it. You should be too.