Thursday 24 May 2012

Did I Push Too Hard....?

Wow, what a day yesterday...!
After taking it pretty easy during my week away in Melbourne (I did walk alot, did Mish's workout on Saturday, dance my tootsies off on Saturday night and make it to the hotel gym once), decided in my glorious wisdom to hit it hard yesterday to kick start my next phase.

My normal schedule for a Thursday is a pump class in the morning and then maybe a boxercise class in the evening.  Well I did both of those things, AND a Personal Training session with my trainer Jodie.  By the time I walked in the door last night after the boxing, I felt like I had been run over by a freight train several times.

My training session with Jodie started out with her deciding that I needed to strengthen the muscles supporting my knees, so out to the back stairs we go and she gives me the wonderful task of walking up and down the stairs carting behind me a great big, heavy shipping rope... Then its outside to play ball, with a 2kg medicine ball being thrown against a wall, caught and then squats.... After a number of other torturous activities, we head inside to the gym floor and the bench press. "How much have you pressed before?" she asks. "Oh only about 10kg in pump" I reply... "Lets try you on 20kg then"  GULP... So there starts a series of bench presses with a 20kg bar and a series of other 'muscle building' activities, to help 'speed up my metabolism' she says... Maybe I should just have stopped at the personal training and Pump and given Boxercise a miss... but no, I had made the commitment to myself to do all three and I am now a 'woman of my word'... lol.. even if it kills me!

Needless to say, for the first time in ages, I have a serious case of DOMs and knowing myself as I do, know that tomorrow is going to be even worse... BUT, did I push TOO hard?  A difficult question to answer... yes I am really sore, yes I am going to be even sorer tomorrow.... but the fact is that I did it.  A few months ago I would never of dreamed of being able to do 3 sessions like that in one day, in fact just getting through ONE of those sessions would have been difficult.  The fact that I was even able to get through them is a major milestone for me, an indication of just how far I have come in my journey, and this journey is all about pushing myself and testing my boundaries and limitations, which is exactly what I did yesterday!

Wednesday 23 May 2012

One Round down... Round Two here I come!

Well I am a pretty slack Blogger... had major plans to record my journey from Round 1 of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation program here, and barely touched it!  But the question is, was the round a successful one for me?  And the answer to that question is DEFINITELY!

I started the journey weighing in at 114.9kg, and by the time the round one finale rolled round, I was down to 89.4kg... in my 80s for the first time in 24 years!

Next question, was it an easy journey?  Yes and no would have to be the answer to that question... Yes because I was able to stick to it in a way I have never been able to stick to anything ever before, and no in that I really had to push the boundaries of what I have made my body do and there were days when there was not a single inch of me that didnt hurt!

Was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!  I can now do things I never dreamed I could ever do... including being able to run/jog for short stretches and developing a real passion for boxing.  I am so much smaller than my husband, which I am loving.  My fitness, my strength, my stamina are all so much better than they were, I am now officially much fitter than my husband.. ha ha....

So where to from here?  Well there is still a long way to go... although I feel like I have my foot on the throat of the monkey that has been on my back all my life, he is still squirming around looking for an opportunity to climb back on board, so I feel like I still (and probably always will) need to maintain constant vigilance. 

I have joined round 2 of the program, and have begun to set new goals and map out the next leg of my journey.  Obviously there is still weight to be lost, so that is a primary goal, but there are others now too.. toning and strengthening... working on my running... continuing to work on my nutrition and food.  Although I have become much, much more controlled with what I put into my mouth, there are still areas that need to be worked on.  I still have days where all I seem to do is eat, however, because my house is a junk free zone, I can only shovel in low cal stuff, so the damage is much less. Because I am much more aware of what I am actually putting into my mouth and how that equates to exercise, I am also much less inclined to eat junk food and take away and always tend to head for the low cal option rather than the usual 'high fat' ones.  But again, I still need to aim for more consistency in food preparation and organisation, especially in the area of lunches and breakfasts. 

My long term aim is to be able to feel confident about having the band removed... and knowing I can maintain the good habits I am forming and cementing through this program... fingers crossed that I am able to come to that sooner rather than later!

The picture I have added to this blog is one that was taken at the Finale of round one... wearing a dress I would never have dreamed of wearing a few months ago... and I felt great!  I cant wait now to see what I will look like come the end of this round, weighing even less, more toned and 'tight'.... Look out world, here I come!