So, the reference to Saturday as “Caturday” sometimes annoys me. Generally because it has nothing to do with cats, but moreso because it tends to be overused by those in my social circle. However, today was such a Caturday, I can’t help but use it. I slept half the day away, did some lounging, looked at sunbeams, basically saw into the inner workings of being a feline. Eventually I was somewhat productive, fortunately. Mostly because my tummy was growling. Much like a cat. So, I bathed, and we got some eats. Since we were out, we picked up an air purifier. With my slow process of Spring cleaning, I seem to be kicking up some nastiness. So, we are starting with one unit, see how we like it and go from there. I managed to get a couple of long talked about, but procrastinated websites up and running (more on that) and am working toward rebuilding one so it can actually be used. Damn, it is turning into a project. (many thanks to G for being awesome and helping with the rebuild!). Now I am all fancy, and G is shaving so we can go out and play!
Now, onto the meat. In trying to get my blogging under control, and to help avoid procrastination, I am labeling days. Hopefully this will help avoid the trap I get into, in which I think about blogging, think about all I’ve forgotten, then don’t because I realize no one wants to read about a decade of activity in one sitting. So, I bring you to Fitness Saturday!! I have been super lax about my general well being. Mainly taking action through whining about my general fatness. So, now that I am more in a habit, I shall start keeping track here. So, here’s what I did for the week of March 30-April5th!
Sunday-nada
Monday- 45 minutes on the elliptical in cross training mode, full body strength (takes about an hour), 15 minutes of stretching
Tuesday-Nada
Wednesday- 45 minutes on elliptical in CC mode, full body strength, 15 minutes of stretching
Thursday-nada
Friday 30 minutes of biking on Cross country setting, full body strength, 15 minutes of stretching
Saturday-nada (in theory I could count the dancing I am to do tonight, but I don’t)
I weighed in today at 144.5 (W00T–on my way down!) I am just going to use this as my start weight, since I haven’t been actually documenting my weight for some time.
Goals: May 12th-weigh 138. My reward for this will be getting a tattoo of Sabbath on my right thigh.
July 3-Weigh 128 (my final goal!) My reward for this will be getting a tattoo of Mystery on my left thigh, along with being hot.
In a dream world, I would weigh 125, but I don’t really know that would be realistic, especially given that I want to be a little muscley.
Next week, my plan is to repeat three days of strength and cardio at the gym, and up the weights on about half my strength (I won’t bore you with all the specifics, the list would be long). I am going to spend the off days in April getting my shite together in my personal life and home, so that in May I can start to add additional Cardio on my current off days (things like Rollerblading, DDR, walking/running, etc.)
Eating wise, I am not doing terribly, but I do need to start turning down the white carbs. I do pretty well, but it’s hard when mashed potatoes are staring me down in the staff cafe!
Archive for the ‘Fitness’ Category
caturday
Saturday, April 5th, 2008running man
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007Harumph. This getting in shape stuff is hard. More because I feel like my progress is so minimal. I want to be buff, dammit!
Maybe I’m just frustrated because I just got back from trying to go for a run. Try is the key word here. Now, I’m just a beginner, and the fact that I’m running at all is a small miracle. I mean, even as a kid, I was not a runner. Remember the Presidential fitness dealie? The first time we did it, I did not even finish the one-mile run. Later, I was barely able to complete it, and that was with a lot of walking. Now, as an adult, I would like to be able to run. Part, because I would feel like a badass if I could run for 5 miles. Part, because I want to be slim and toned.
The part of me that wants to be slim and toned is a little worried that I will just be one of those chunky people you occasionally see out running or at the gym. I admit I know at least one of these. The woman I know works out like five times a week, and takes all these classes, and goes for long runs…yet she just seems to be gaining weight. Heres the thing. I can gain weight just sitting on the sofa eating cheesey poufs. So, if I’m not going to have anything to show for all the work, I would rather just sit on the sofa eating cheesey pouts.
Anyhow, back to the run. On Sunday, I ran for a mile-and-a-half before I went to the gym. My muscles were fine with it, however, I thought one of my lungs was going to wind up on the sidewalk there for a bit. However, when I got back to my front walk, I felt like I could probably go for a bit more, if I wanted to push myself. Today, not so much. I was a little ways in, and felt like I wanted to stop, but thought that was ridiculous, so I kept going. I got to about a mile in, and my lungs felt like they were going to explode, and my legs were like jelly. so I walked for a block-and-a-half, and tried to run some more. I made it like two blocks, and had to slow down again. WTF? I admit I know next to nothing about running, so maybe this is normal…but frankly, I don’t like it. Any of you runner types care to weigh in?
As for my gym going, I am trying to figure out the best way to do it. I generally do my strength training, and then half -an-hour of cardio. I was doing all my strength training every other day. Lately, I’ve been alternating between upper and lower body, but trying to do one or the other each day. The only problem I have with this is that when I do inevitable skip a day, then it puts two days minimum between that muscle group instead of one (so more like 72 hours between working said muscle instead of just 48). If I do the whole shebang, then if I don’t get to the gym, ideally it would be on a day I was skipping anyway, and I just might not get my cardio in that day. (as for how I do my strength, I am mostly using machines right now to work on building up and form, then slowly working into more free weight stuff. I work large to small on each group, add weight as I am able to max out my reps without losing form, occasionally change the order so my muscles don’t get used to the routine). Anyhow, again is one way better than the other? Back in the day, I just did the machine circuit straight through three times a week. However, now, I am doing more sets of reps and more different exercises. I don’t mind taking extra time to work out, if it means I will get more results, I also don’t mind going more if that would be the better way. I am just trying to figure out which is the best.
My final wonder of the day is how often I should change up my cardio? Besides the trying to get myself up and running, I rotate my cardio on the machines at the gym. I am concerned that mixing them up too often is as bad as not mixing them up at all, in that my body is just getting used to everything and getting efficient and not giving me the max workout. However, what is better once a week, once a month, one mainstay and tossing in something else every now and then?
Man, maybe I should just invest in a lifetime supply of cheesey poufs.
since i’m heading to the gym…
Saturday, June 16th, 2007Garumph. Today has not gone at all as planned. So, instead of going to GZ, I am going to work out. Since I am going to work out, I thought I would mention how that is all going. To my delight, I weighed in at 142 on Wednesday. Yay! That means I am down 5.5 pounds. I can get into more of my clothes, and people are noticing that I am losing weight and toning up again, which I like. Sadly, I only made it to the gym twice last week…boo. Though, it hasn’t been quite normal around here with my boy gone and getting used to my work schedule. I really want to hit my every other day full gym work out stride. Then I want to get where I am doing some sort of activity on my other days like rollerblading or walking and eventually running…and if we can ever get new bikes, biking. Though that may be a harder sell on G now, since he doesn’t like the way bikers look. He says they are too skinny. I say anything that tones my legs is good. We shall see.
I am happy that I am getting stronger again. I like that I am getting tone back in my arms and back, though it is happening slower than I would like (damn this aging thing!). My arms still seem weak to me. I am staying at the same weights on all my exercises, as I am not at my ideal number of reps yet, though I am working up. I have gone up quite a bit on all my other stuff though.
Eating tanked a little this week….I treated my Goth Prom (more on that another time) date to dinner, and decided to splurge a bit and split a bottle of wine with him, and had some pasta (spinach noodles..yum!). On the bright side, I can usually chow through the pasta at this place, and I wound up with some take away. Thursday was our work picnic, and I had a couple of treats there…finally yesterday Creamer came over and we decided to get KFC. So bad for me, but so tasty. So, I cheated a couple of times and feel like I went a bit overboard, but I am not going to beat myself up too much. I just need to keep eating the good stuff overall, and really focus on working out. Getting my heart in shape and my muscles strong will help me burn all those pesky calories.
All right, enough of the rambling…off to the gym!!
TGIF!!
Friday, June 8th, 2007I never thought I would say that!! However, it is the end of my first week at my new DAY JOB. I still work for the same place, but instead of a completely random schedule, I work M-F 7-3:30. My night owl system still isn’t wanting to wind down at the time I should be in bed, but otherwise, it is going well. I get to be creative now, and don’t have to deal with the customers so much. I think having a set schedule will be good for me. I usually sleep until the last minute no matter when I work, this makes for a more productive day. Plus, I get weekends OFF. And when I am in shows, I no longer have to turn in elaborate availability requests. Yes, it is a sweet deal. However, as my system is not acclimated, I am glad to be done for the week. Of course, I need to get extra sleep this weekend, so as to enjoy Goth Prom to the fullest.
In health news…
So far, so good. While my eating was better, I was at a maintenance level, not at a loss one. Since I am trying to tone up, I realized I need to improve my eating habits to see the results I want. I decided to go back on the South Beach diet. It worked when I need to get rid of those Paxil pounds, is a healthy, sustainable way of eating, and requires little additional work on my part (other than actually preparing food). Basically, in this first two weeks, I do need to be stricter, but it really does work to get me to not crave junk food. I can’t drink any alcohol, and have to say no to breads and pastas…but I am getting some good lean protein, which I normally neglect, and which my body needs to build muscle during my strength workouts. It also forces me to eat more veggies, and I’m eating breakfast and small snacks to keep my metabolism going all day.
It is a little difficult at work when we have a manager who brings goodies every day (doughnuts, brownies, cupcakes, cake, candy…) and when we had our monthly birthday celebration on Wednesday in which cake was served, and when I had to turn down more cake Thursday and Friday for a woman’s birthday who is in my department. However, it is worth it to be healthy and fit. Not to mention not having to suffer the resulting carb coma.
I am doing pretty well on my workouts. I need to focus on my abs more, and work more of my arm muscles. I am spending about two hours a shot at the gym (two 30 minute sets of cardio–which I rotate, strength training, and stretching). I have been able to fairly consistently up all my workouts. I can do harder cardio than when I started, and I can do more weight on many machines. My arms are slowly getting stronger. This one is hard, because in my youth, I could add definition to my arms with very little effort. Now, it takes time and effort. Stupid aging. However, I was able to squeeze out more reps on my arm stuff…and I think I am finally able to see a bit of tricep develop!! I am hoping that additional muscle will help burn the layer of fat that is hiding my progress.
I noticed that my work pants are looser. This is good, because I went up a size from when I started. I couldn’t wear my old pants at all, and the new ones were getting too tight. Now they fit a little loosely. One day I should be back in my old work pants!
I weighed myself on wednesday (when I planned to post this) and came in at 144.5#. That is down 3 pounds from the first time I got brave enough to step on a scale post-recent weight gain.
So far, so good!
you’re looking at my gut, aren’t you? well, i’m working on it!!!
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007Well, it’s not so much my gut, as my large ass and flabby arms. With no kitchen, and the kitchen living in the living/dining room, this caused some serious problems in my well being. Outside of the mess driving me CRAZY, there was no room in our house to work out, and no place to prepare food. So, much dining out was done, fast food was consumed, and no exercising was had. As a restul, my ass has spread. Well, my whole body has flabbed out. Yuck. I was feeling down anyway, and let me tell you, flabbing out does not help ones depression.
Well, the kitchen is now in the homestretch. We are making food at home, so no more fries or pizza. I actually still need to actually diet some to lose the weight I need to, but at least I am not gaining any more.
Mid-may, we joined a gym. It’s a basic gym, but it has all my needs, ellipticals, weights, and weight machines. It has some other stuff, too, but I don’t concern myself with those things. I don’t have a problem doing cardio, in general. However, strength training of any kind bores me. Well, except for crunches. But, I digress. Somehow, going to a gym, and having a circuit, and a routine make me enjoy my strength training. I work muscles I would ordinarily ignore. So, this is a good thing. We got a special that gives us the summer free. This rocks for me, because heat and I do not mix. I get sick and wilty, and it sucks. Being in air conditioning helps this immensely.
So, we are shooting for every other day. I do some cardio to warm up, my strength circuit, more cardio (right now, it’s at 50 minutes total between the two, but I’m going to start upping that), stretching, and crunches. We want to start adding other activities on our off days, like running and rollerblading to mix things up. But, we are getting there.
Sunday, I was bold, and stepped on the scale.
It said:
147.5 # (I tried not to cry because this is what I started at, pre working out)
30% body fat (I did not cry, because that is lower, and theoretically I’ve lost about two pounds of fat)
So, there I am. Methinks I will take a page out of The Seamster’s blog, and start posting about my fitness regularly. I figure having my embarrassing body stats out there for everyone to see will help keep me motivated, and get me back to where I was not so very long ago.