Friday!!!

Grabbed a smoothie on the run this morning for breakfast...careful...slipping into old bad habits. After 15 minutes of 100 Huntley Street on the TV a nice girl came and saved us, switched the channel. Phew! Our souls are already saved, so we don't need to be subjected to that horrible budget program. Ugh. We did 25 min on the treadmill, felt good. Met a new friend, let's call her TV girl. Very sweet, getting married in Vegas in a few days. When she found out my Reason for Living and I have been married 20 years this June, she said YOU? I thought you were my age...yes I love her. And of course we're the same age, I had an arranged marriage at birth so was married VERY young. This working out hasn't done anything for my a** yet, but my self esteem is feeling pretty good today.

We're thinking we should be videoing this and making a documentary. That'd be interesting. We'll see. I don't have the time or energy to get up and look good enough for a camera first thing in the morning...

We squeaked out 2 1:10 min planks today. Man I hate those suckers. Oh, ya, but "I'm learning to like them" that's our mantra. My whole body shakes and I break into a sweat...it's a total mind game...

Sauna again. I really look forward to this. Lynn and I were talking about how tired we have been feeling since we've been working out, not exhausted, just kind of sleepy. Today she said, what if this is just what relaxed feels like. Nice. I think I can like this new relaxed kind of feeling.

And now, bring on the weekend!

Hump Day!

Well I just gotta love that Lynn...she showed up to pick me up at 8:30 and she'd bought some funny cheery stickers to "decorate" our workout folders. How fun is that? And that little Suzy Sunshine gave one to the nice "I hate Monday" lady too. I think it's cheered her up and made her day a little brighter.

Work out was good. I must say that I do have some scary visions of my little buddy getting squashed in the leg press machine...it's kind of a nasty unit, much potential for squish-action and leg crushin'...which btw, I don't think it's meant to do. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of excercising your legs if you just crush 'em anyhow. Just saying.

Some of the other workin' out type o' folks are starting to talk to us a bit...ya, they must have recognized our hidden (well hidden as it may be) potential for being extreme athletes. Ya baby.

We each managed to do 3 consecutive 1:00 min planks, and neither of us vomitted. So that's pretty awesome.

Hit the sauna again. I really like it alot. This is where we solve all the world's problems and this time we applied our new stickers to the duo-tangs as well.

When we were leaving, Linden told us, "you two definetly bring a little sunshine to this place". Awww. I wish Rick could have been there to hear that. I think I might make him a little balloon dog and take it in on Friday. heh heh. cuz who can resist smilin' at a balloon dog, that's why!

Beginning Week 3!

Excuse for not going to the gym #7 ...I so could have played that card today. Ugh. Lucky for me, my good buddy, Lynn had enough cheery for both of us this morning cuz I was needing to get pulled back over from the dark side. We got to the gym just after 8:30, even young Linden looks tired today, a point that Lynn asked him about...a question not well recieved, I might add, I guess Linden's a little cranky too. In the locker room we run into the older lady who's always there, she's always so friendly. Lynn said have a great Monday...I think the lady did a growl. Oh no, not the nice lady too!!! What's going on???? That's okay, I won't let this "bad luck Schleprock" kinda feeling get to me! Lynn was being very much like we'd like our men to be...very kind and careful, knowing that on this particular day of the month, we're really all just one lucky break away from a murder conviction...she suggested that we just take it a little easier today, maybe even have a sauna instead of doing our core...I knew there was a reason I liked this gal! Anyway, we pushed through our workout, even the core routine. We both managed a minute in the plank 3 times. A victory that won't feel so sweet tomorrow, I'm sure. After we were done, we headed down to the sauna. We weren't sure what the protocol is for sauna-ing...I asked Linden what people do, are they naked, towels...he said whatever you like...helpful. I'm not overly modest, but never want to be the only one in my scivvys...I remember the camping trip about 20 years ago, I was the only female member of this party and we decided to set up one of the native sweat lodges out at Kootenay Plains, all of us but one of the guys were already in the sweat lodge, not naked, but apparently no one mention this to our buddy, J., after we'd been in a few minutes, he climbs in, completely buck naked takes a look around, says, "oh, I thought everyone was naked!" and scampers out again to find his boxers. Funny.

End of Week Two!!!

Uh-huh...that's right...we're dancin'...we're singin'. Woot Woot!

Went to the gym for 8:30 today, we're gonna start going a little earlier. Right down to business, didn't get stumped till the 2nd excercise...neither of us could quite remember how to do it. We're messin' around, trying to figure it out, joking that, "oh well if we do it wrong, we'll just find a muscle that hasn't been invented yet." Fine and dandy, only too bad for us, because we actually said it out loud and made eye contact with another member when we did. CREEPER ALERT!!! Seemed like a nice older Dutch man, always friendly...he came to share his expertise, which involved very little expertise and too many compliments on how good we already looked...ALERT ALERT...we're not stupid, we're at the gym for a reason...might have fallen for that at 20, however...okay, so I can deal with that, BUT the friendly little pat on my a** after he was thru with his demo, was WAY over the top. Note to self. (1)Learn to do the exercises so not to need any assistance from bystanders (2) Never make eye contact. That's right kids, head down and keep working.

On a postive note, though, we DID do our core routine at the end of the workout again, even though Rick said it's "optional". The only excercise we skipped was the plank, but since my sides and ribs feel like some one's hit me with a 2x4 from Wed's side extensions...I'd call that just about even.

Been countin' the caloric intake daily for the past four days too. And just a little tip for all you coffee fans...Starbuck's "Skinny" Latte, has nothing to do with skinny!!! 242 calories in the small size I ingested yesterday in Red Deer. Oops. Who knew?

Oh ya, just thought of excuse #4 for why I can't go to the gym:

4. Scared of Creeper

Forgot to mention, that I calculated out my BMR...if you don't know what that is, I didn't, it's the number of calories that your body requires just to be awake. Kinda cool, eh? So mine is 1414.13/day. That's right, I'm burning away right now. I think I get extra points for typing. So then there's this formula based on your level of activity, so you times your BMR by that number, and voila! The number of calories you need to take in in a day to maintain your weight where you are right now. Mine is 1900/day. So if you reduce by 200-5oo cal/day then you would lose .5-1lb/week. Interesting. So food for thought, since we're talking about eating, all the 12-1500 calories/day diets are crap. You'll lose weight, sure, but your brain gets all freaked out and goes into starvation mode, and as soon as you eat normally, BOOM, you're storing every extra calorie you eat. There's your little lesson for today kids. Now eat smart!

Workout Week 2!! Day 2!!!

As you can see by the date...I have now been put under some crazy CRTC broadcasting law which imposes a one day delay on all my postings for censorship purposes...okay, I just didn't have it in me to write yesterday...this working out stuff is HARD.

Yesterday was our 1st day unsupervised with the new program. As we drove into town, we were discussing what we had to do that day...there were a couple excercises we didn't like, but decided that we had to give them a fair shot and do them anyway. Who are these two so agreeable women? I think together these couple of crazies, actually make one pretty fine sane chick!

Got to the gym, and straight to business. Chatting the whole way thru the cardio makes the time go by in a jiff. All the excercises went really well. I didn't even pull my shoulders outa the sockets on the crazy pec dec fly thing-a-ma-jig. Rick would be proud. Or at least not scolding me.

Added on our core workout today too. Okay, THIS IS NOT FUN at all!!! Wow. Nice little move called the vacuum which we've fondly renamed "mo-fo". Then the side extensions, this time we used the dumbells...NOT the 20lb "cow bells" we used last time. Ahhh, did I mention the plank. That's a real beaut...just hold as long as you can. Felt like one of the final 4 elimination challenges in Survivor. I definelty have to work on holding as long as I can NOT as long as I feel like it. There were a couple more excercises then we were done.

Both Lynn and I agree we wouldn't still be there if it weren't for the other, but man am I ever proud of us. We're doing awesome girlfriend!!! Thanks!

BTW...OUCH! This is my blog afterall, I reserve the right to whine a little...

Program Day!!

Lynn picked me up at 9:15 and we were off. Both a little nervous about starting the new program, and the fitness assessment...how could I have forgotten that? Whose bright idea was it to have a fitness assessment done??? Rick told us to warm up on the treadmill for 5 then he'd come over, he did, and told us to run for 12 minutes. Sounded pretty easy. So the "princesses" he spoke of last week who came to the gym all made up and couldn't sweat, obviously were not us. I was sweating like a little piggy. Next we headed to the little sound proof room, where "no one hears you scream..." and began part 2 of the assessment. First up. Push-ups. As many as you can do in a minute. We did not too bad. Then sit-ups, same drill. Only too bad for us, cuz he actually meant good old fashioned all the way to the floor and all the way up sit-ups. Holy Nelly! I haven't done a real sit up since middle school! We got through the rest of the excercises, then on to the weight and measurement portion of our show...we felt that surely, THIS would make Rick crack a smile. But he was very kind, kinder than his scale, I might add. Lynn decided that we should conduct our own little "assessment"...see how many times we could get Rick to laugh...that was definetly a highlite for me. We worked our way through the 3 days of workouts he'd prepared for us, and discussed our results at the end. I think it went pretty well actually. And hey, we were there. I'm kinda proud of that Lynn & me. We're gonna be just fine.



Oh ya, and while we were doing our 12 minute run, we decided that we should blog a list...top ten excuses why we can't go to the gym...here goes:



10. I don't have proper shoes.

9. I forgot to bring my proper shoes.

8. I forgot my water bottle....that doesn't actually work, cuz Linden just gave me another one.

7. I got my period. (that's pretty much a blanket one that works for any occasion)

6. Rick scares us.

5. I'm too embarrassed after the "posing as a triathlete incedent".

4.

3.

2.

1.

Well I guess things are looking up cuz I can't come up with anymore...I'm sure they'll come to us! (must have been real tired after the workout, because I'm just finishing this post at 11:00 pm on Tuesday!)

Workout day 3

Woohoo! Done our first week! We went in at 12:00 today to meet with the trainer, Rick, to get a program started. Neither Lynn nor myself were all that enthused about going today. BUT we went anyhow, and now I'm glad. Rick wasnt' there when we arrived, so we just started our cardio. First stop the bikes...'cause the treadmills were busy...my "daisy duke" shorts as Lynn referred to them, weren't protecting my poor thighs from rubbing together. Ouch. And just an FYI, sometimes the shorts you use to wear and looked good in, don't anymore. I'll save those for another day...or give them to someone I want to bless, who's in much better shape than me....but of course I'll tell them that the shorts were too big for me. heh heh. Ya, that's a good idea. We did a little on the weights then Rick was ready for us. We went into his office, which kind of had a principal's office feel...maybe because we knew we're in trouble. He had a teeny tiny wooden bench for us to share...Lynn said that's a test, cuz if our butts get so big that we can't both fit on that little cute bench, then we need to step it up a little. We're going to have a fitness assessment done as well...lots of measuring and weighing... I think a harsh reality is just what we need. Rick doesn't really have a sense of humor. I think we'll wear him down. Cuz we're pretty funny. At least we think so.

Workout day 2. Really hard draggin' my sorry butt out of bed this morning, but once I was up I was feeling okay. Really thankful for Lynn, cuz today would have definetly been a "miss" day. Wow, I'm so committed. We got to the gym and headed straight to the eliptical trainers. Not my favorite, I must say, felt a little like I was doing it backwards or something...10 min. then we abandoned ship and hit the treadmill again. Much better. I'm definetly sore. After our cardio (just saying cardio makes me feel fitter) we did the free weights. Actually felt good to stretch out those sore lil muscles that have been complaining for the past 2 days. As we were down on the floor doing some stretching, Lynn commented on how many muscles you don't even realize are there...I said I've become aquainted with quite a few of them lately...she said, "it's kinda like a highschool reunion. There's lots of them there that you haven't seen in long time, some have mustaches now and some have just gotten kind of fat." Wow, is that true or what. The mustache part kind of scared me though...is that possible. Eww. We decided to get "Rick" to make us a program, that way we're not just ramblin' along aimlessly. If we're gonna do this, I'd like to get the best bang for our buck. I still feel like I could bail at any moment. Must. Keep. Going.

Post Workout

It's 8:00 am. Rigormortis has officially set in. It hurts to type. I even told My Reason For Living, yesterday, how lucky it was, that I'd gone to the gym in the past, so if I learned nothing, at least I know not to overdo it. He said you probably did anyway. How did he know? Maybe I'll dig out my "Hip Hop Abs" DVD, that'd be a good way to work out some of the kinks, otherwise I'm not going to be able to get outa bed tomorrow. I think I will call Lynn and ask her to come hold my coffee cup. I'm definetly gonna need coffee today.

Workout. Day 1.

Feeling pretty good about this. Okay, I'm not so original. Along with kajillions of others ready to make a fresh start in the new year, here I am. I've actually been thinking about working out for a long time now. The only problem with that, is that "thinking" about it, doesn't actually do much for my ever growing butt. Luckily for me, last week over a Tim Horton's coffee and a chocolate danish, the deal was made. My buddy Lynn and I would start going to the gym on Monday. I was so excited to have a plan and a workout buddy who could work around the same schedule as me. Woke up today, feeling as though I was coming down with the flu...turns out, it was just a strong physical reaction I was having at the thought of going to the gym. Not a good excuse. Called Lynn and she said she'd pick me up at 9:30 am. No backing out. We get to the gym, met by a handsome young man (young, as in I have shoes older), full of piss and vinegar, ready to dish out twice as much sarcasm as we could dish him. He wouldn't even fill out the paper work for us to join the gym. "Try it first," he said, "that way it doesn't waste my time, or yours." A challenge. Ya, I think I like this. Next we're off to the locker room where I put on my hikers. Seems my running shoes have disappeared since my last time at a gym. We're feeling pretty sassy. Hit the treadmill. It's a lot more complicated than I expected and takes me a few minutes to figure out. I must have set it wrong, or it could read my level of fitness pretty well, because it kept slowing down. Lynn's just going to town burning up the calories, and I'm just figuring out how to get my machine working. Ugh. After about 25 minutes at a brisk walk, we're done. I get off the treadmill. I'm dizzy. Whoa. We head to the machines, time for some serious weight training. Okay, it's not that serious. We're having a little trouble as we can't stop laughing. I think laughing burns calories too. This is gonna be awesome! (BTW we bought a 6 month membership.)