Where Have I been??? P90X & Ab Confusion!!

I haven't written a blog since August? What?? How can this be? What have I been up to in these last months?

The same thing! Working and working out.... I'm still on my fitness journey. I'm on Day40 of P90X. It SUCH a great program. The exercises are simple but very effective. And Tony Horton... This guy can make ANYTHING fun! Such enthusiasm! Such motivation!! And to my shock not everyone loves him? WHAT??

Anyway.. P90X. I've been modifying some of the exercises. The only real difficulty I am having is that I have a hard time fitting in Ab Ripper. Oh and I totally hate YogaX. I'm advanced yoga so its sort of boring because I prefer flow yoga. And I love love love yoga. The YogaX is 73 minutes which is very long for me. Its great for people who are beginners yogis or have never done it before. Its basically set up into sections with sets of yoga poses. Instead of doing YogaX I do one of my own yoga sessions. Its not just about exercise with yoga, it's also calming & centering- getting back to where I need emotionally. I still sweat up a storm & really workout my muscles!

I LOVE StretchX. It's a really good hour of stretching out all those sore muscles from the week! I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I have! Its an hour but it goes by so fast and all that stretching helps me relax which makes me less sore! Cant go wrong there!!

And Ab Ripper. Its becoming my arch nemesis!! Its only 16 minutes but its after the hour workout at the end of my day when I get up at 0350 to get ready for work! I have to figure something out because my abs DEFINITELY need working out & I'm notorious for skipping it. Part of the problem is that I pull on my neck at lot because my abs are weak. Which means I need to work on them but I end up with neck pain!! I don't have this problem with yoga even when I'm doing shoulder stands!!

I'm giving myself this weekend to come up with a new ab plan. Maybe switch days? Do it before work?? Find a different one & work up to Ab Ripper??? To be Continued...

Ciao
USMCdaffy

Injury!! .... And some workout thoughts

First off I was able to complete all of ChaLean Extreme. WOO HOO!! I took a month off doing random workouts without a real schedule to follow which included swimming. Since we only have a few months of pool time around here I am trying to get in as much as possible!!

I started Round2 of P90X2. It was a lot of fun. I really wanted to do it again. There is so much muscle confusion that I forgot what all the workouts entailed! LOL I got through Week1 and it went well I thought. I got to Week2, Day8 I was doing Warrrior 3 Crunch Tucks (exercise 2) and I did 3 reps when my entire hip either popped or shifted! WOW! It really scared me! My right hip has a history of severe injury. It is actually why I had to get out the Marines. And it took YEARS to heal. I know part of my heart racing was because of the exercise but some of that was from fear.
Did I re-injury a dormant injury? I stopped, I walked around, I did some stretching. I don't think there is any damage but there are some strained muscles. I made it through the workout. I had a decision to make. I'm not 23 years old anymore & I find it takes longer to heal from injury Do I go on? Do I continue with P90X2? Ultimately I decided to take that week off and just concentrate on swimming. Its very low impact & it helps with stretching.
New week started Monday. The hip has been sore but I have doing a lot of sitting and my work was crazy busy. Things have settled down quite a bit. So yesterday I thought about what I was going to do for workouts. I love @Tony_Horton but Im not sure about continuing and my USMC reunion is in November. Time is ticking & I have to get moving on something aside from swimming.

So yesterday I did Day1 of Round4 (?) of @TURBOFIRE.
It went well. My hip muscles are still sore so I modified. I did Fire30 and it went really well. No crazy pain, no stopping because of pain. My conclusion is that there are some strained muscles because there was extra movement in the hip socket that was NOT normal! So your muscles, ligaments, tendons get strained. It's something that can heal & you are perfectly fine! It just scares me when I think I cant workout! I need it!! It helps me manage my stress more then anything else! So I'm back on the TurboFire train! WOOOOT WOOOT!
Shout out to my new friends/workout buddies from Twitter!
This guy ---> @Krazeejarhead is a gym hardcharger! He motivates me to get back in & fight it, take charge of it, & make it happen, so THANK YOU!
This lady ---> @Tania110usmc she does TurboFire too & she motivates me! Thank You!
And OF COURSE... They both are Marines! #oohrah #TeamGetSome

Ciao

USMCdaffy

Ooooh Rahhhhh..

 I was in the United State Marine Corps. I love my beloved Corps. I support all branches but I will never love another like I love the Corps. That time in my life made me who I am today. I have never regretted being part of it because it's always with me. I miss it even though there were times when I didn't understand it. Orders are orders. I keep those USMC values and teach them to my son. As a former Marine I have an instant bond with other Marines. I don't have to know them personally, its just there. It's something that cannot be described. I was a Marine during peaceful times. It is easy for me to sleep at night because I know that they are out there protecting us here. And when I think one of us/them is hurting I hurt. I want to help. It's the Marine Corps way.

I have a twitter account (@usmcdaffy) and I follow lots of people. I follow sports, dispatchers, police, fire, soldiers, Airmen, Seamen, and of course Marines. Lots of them. Retired ones, active ones, young ones, seasoned ones, veterans, etc. Awhile ago I started following an active duty Marine. All I am going to say is he has seen combat, he is active duty and he is from the South. I feel drawn to him. I don't know his name. I dont know where he is stationed. I don't ask. That is okay. He has a broken heart I think. And not a regular broken heart. The kind that never really heals. The kind of broken heart that was broken because he couldn't save his friend/brother/Marines.

It's called survivors guilt. And it is a very tough thing to live with because it's always there. You have to be able to forgive yourself. And he may never do that. I dont know. I want to help him. I don't feel like he is in danger or dangerous, just sad inside. The only way I can help is say goodnite. Every nite. So he knows every night that one person cares.

So if you see someone struggling. Or hurting. Or needing help. Sometimes its the small gesture, the extra smile makes it better for at least that day, that moment, that right now. Say hi. Hold the door for someone. Take a moment to think that maybe they aren't having a great day too. But maybe that small gesture will help them.

 It doesn't have to be big to have big meaning.

Ciao

USMCdaffy

Sylvia.....

This is my pal Sylvia. -------------------------------->>
 She has officially lost 100 lbs! She did it through hard work. Better food choices. And no pills, tricks, shakes, mixtures..... Just exercise and nutrious foods. She tracks her food on myfitnesspal.com. Yes. It took a long time. It took THREE YEARS. So I asked her. Who? What? Where? When? And most important why. Why did you start this fitness journey? Here is her story.....

Sylvia went to her doctor three years ago because she wanted to lose weight and she had tried on her own without success. She wanted 'help' and her doctor (YAY Dr!!) refused to give her any meds without a FULL blood work. And when her results came back she was shocked to find that she was Type II diabetic and high cholesterol. She was shocked and scared! There is a long history of diabetes in her family. There are so many medical complications that can occur with diabetes whether it is Type I or II and Sylvia has three lovely children & great husband!

So she began. First step was changing her food choices. She doesn't follow a specific plan but she learned about what foods were better choices. She figured out how she could keep her blood sugar where it was supposed to be for her body. She lost 20 lbs just from that! Success! She was not allowed to drink Shakeology because it was too sugary for her body. No diets pills, no shakes, no mixes, just good nutrition. Does she fall of the wagon? Of course! But she keeps getting back on it. I see her on MFP logging her foods. Tracking those calories without depriving herself. Is it hard? Of course!! But.... Eating bad makes her feel sick and unhappy.

She exercises. She uses TurboJam, ChaLEAN Extreme, and TurboFire. It helps her handle stress. Sylvia now can get on the treadmill and run three miles! Just like when she was in the Marines. Yes. Sylvia was in the Marines for 12 years. She probably runs better now then when she was in the Marines.

For the first time in 15 years as a soccer mom she can now partipate with her kids rather then sitting on the sidelines. And that makes her kids and her very very happy.

WAY TO GO SYLVIA! Thanks for motivating me! :o)

Ciao
USMCdaffy

I DID IT!

YES! I did IT! I completed P90X2. Sunday April 8th, 2012 was the VERY last day of P90X2. It was a rest day and I took it! But the program was not as hard as I thought it would be.. Now it is HARD. Matter of fact it is brutal! But it is NOT so hard that it could not be completed. It does take determination, dedication, and time. I made time. Tony Horton is so motivating and he knows how to talk to people. Getting them to push a little harder for a little longer. I didn't want to disappoint him. I didn't want to disappoint myself. There were time I had to skip a workout here and again but I never fell off the program. I never gave up. The more I did the more I wanted to do. The farther along the program I went the more I wanted to keep going.

Am I at my goal weight? No. Am I where I want to be? No. Am okay with that? Yes! I wish people could know how great exercise feels. Sounds crazy.. I know, I know.... BUT. I started out with a 'weight loss journey' but it has become so much more. I wish people could understand where the dedication and determination comes from. I forget what is bothering me. I forget how bad things can get. It gives me focus. It gives me joy. It relieves a lot of stress. It ultimately makes me feel good. It makes me want to do more. Resistence to exercise has become futile. Crushed. Smashed. Broken!  Every day before I go to bed and every day when I wake up I think about what I am going to do to exercise. It took MONTHS to get here. M-O-N-T-H-S.

Chalene Johnson (TurboJam, TurboFire) says don't think of how you feel when you start to exercise, think of how you feel when you are done. That is the difference. I think about how GOOD it feels when I am done. Not the aches, pains, twinges, strains. The end of the workout. The finish...
You can do it too.

Ciao
USMCdaffy

Well I am now on week three of Phase II. I think it is going great!! Every Tuesday is Plyocide and its a killer cardio workout. It's only 55 minutes and it does go by very fast. Tony Horton calls it death by jumping. It sometimes feels like death by jumping and this last Tuesday (yesterday) it really kicked my booty! KICKED IT! HOLY. I was very proud of myself because I was able to do the last exercise nearly the whole time and its the longest minute OF MY LIFE! Its a lot of up and down, up and down.... The only part I still cannot do is the Plyo part because its a pushup with a clap. I'm not quite ready for that level but I can do all the pushups AND because it's a drill he just calls out what we are doing. VERY FAST! I really have to push myself to finish it out! I did it! YAY!! 

"Do your best and forget the rest"! ~Tony Horton

Today is Ash Wednesday. So that means its the start of Lent. I have observed Lent for quite a few years now. This year I am giving up white flour anything and potatoes.... Its gonna be HARD! But you are supposed to pick something that challenges you and this is certainly going to challenge me! I had been thinking of giving this stuff up for a while now. I really wanted chips today. DESPERATELY! Wanted chips!! Instead I made a greenberry shakeology with banana. It was good and it filled me up. On to a decent start! :o)

Ciao

USMCdaffy

Sick, Still!!! Progress in the P90X2 journey. (old unpublished one)

Yuck! Still sick! If you have been reading my facebook updates you know I have been sick for now week number three. Tired of this nose/sinus issue! I have had severe allergy/sinus/nose issues in the past and it's LOATHESOME! Week one I didn't really take any medications and I was coming to my first Rest/Recovery week after finishing Phase I (four weeks!) of P90X2. So instead of Yoga X2 & Recovery and Mobility DVD that week I didnt do anything. I started week 5 STILL sick but I finished. I didnt do Yoga X2 that week because I could not bend over with my head sooooo stuffed! YIKES! Again rested on my Recovery & Mobilty DVD day!

I am on DAY FOUR of another over the counter medicine. This time I got Mucinex-D. HA! It is the most hard core top of the line over the counter medicine- MOST powerful! How do I know aside from the tons of milligrams of meds crammed in each pill/ It's TWENTY-SIX dollars. YES! You read correctly $26 AT Walmart... That about a dollar a pill. It BETER be working... Its my last attempt on my own before going to the doctor. I've already been through one bottle of Theraflu and some of the Alka-Selzter super pills, 6 boxes of kleenex, one bottle of nose spray (#2 was bought yesterday) and countless cough drops! Bought another hefty pack of sugarless cough drops. This is the finale chance. I think it might be working....

This is officially day one of week two of Phase II. Going so well! The first week of a new routine is me basically flopping around trying to figure out modifications, new moves, etc. Basically like a prep week for all the exercises that are new. This week I really kick it into gear. Plus I write down my reps this week. I am still using bands and not a pullup bar. I do recognize that I either need stronger, tougher bands or a free standing pullup bar. I think I am going to do the bands. I also would like some pushup stands. I have been doing ALL my pushups on my toes and I have been able to more then before. Am I where I want to be? No. But I am progressing like I want to be doing at this point. YES! Can I do all reps? No. But its progress and progress is really what I am looking for at this point. I have a long way to do go on this long journey. I'm rather then I have been before.

Today I decided that during Ab Ripper X2 that I was going to do 11 of EVERY exercise. Granted its not all of them but its the most I have ever done! YES! It does not make me feel bad or down on myself that I can't do all the reps. More progress. Day to day. Week to Week.

Tony Horton says " Do your best. Forget the rest." Thanks Tony. I needed that.

Ciao
USMCdaffy
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