Doing some blogging catch up...

I last left off with us reaching our 30 day mark. What results have I seen thus far? Well, weight wise I have not seen much loss. I lost 3 pounds in the 30 days. At first this was discouraging but when I saw how many inches I have lost that was really encouraging. I have lost a total of 6 inches. Yes! SIX inches in 30 days. To me that is cause for celebration, Carrot sticks for everyone!!!

We are doing P90X classic and that is one of the reasons I am not loosing as much weight. But that is ok because I am losing stored fat and that is important to me. I am getting toned and stronger. I am building muscle and we all know muscle is heavier than fat. It is solid! I love the way my arms feel and are starting to look. My legs... not to be vain but I have always had pretty legs. I think they are now getting a little too muscular for my taste so I'll have to tone them down a bit. Tom likes them, but we'll see.

So what have we done this week? This week we have done some new exercises. We did a new upper body routine which I mentioned on Monday. Tuesday we did Plyometrics. Plyometrics were good. We got to do more reps. and more jumping than before. On Wednesday we did Back and Biceps. It was a really good routine. Again it was a new routine for us. It felt really good and I used 10-15 lbs weights on these. On phase one I had been using 5-10 lbs weights. It is nice to see improvement.

On Thursday we did Yoga. We are still struggling there. We love it but at the same time we hate it. It really pushes us to do things with our bodies we don't normally do. By the time we are done with it we are glad that we stuck to it and didn't quit.

On Friday we did Legs and Back. We had to do this one in the afternoon and it is so much harder to do with our children running around and needing us to do things for them. We are just finding it so hard to get up in the morning. We have been getting to bed earlier but we are still sooooo tired in the morning. I think we need to change our diet again and add a bit more carbs. I'll have to go back to the forums and read up some more.

Today we did Kenpo X!! Thanks to Mike and Teesha for letting us borrow their Kenpo X. We cannot find our copy =( We think the kids moved it when they were playing in our room. We got to find it because we'll need it again next Saturday. Today though was good. Joseph got up while we were in the middle of it and he wanted to join us. He did and did pretty good. He did the best he could and forgot the rest =D

Tomorrow is rest day! I am soo looking forward to not getting up early. Although I gotta say that by afternoon time I miss not having the morning workout. Monday our routine starts again and with it, week 6. Bring it!!!

Bringing it baby!!!

I had to add this picture I took yesterday of my Stud Muffin. Yeah!! He is wearing a size MEDIUM shirt, yes MEDIUM and it looks great on him!! (Hehehehehe)

Start of phase 2, day 1...

Today was the first day of Phase 2. This workout was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. The workout was awesome! I wish we had pushed ourselves more so we could feel it more. It was still a good workout but when we were done we both felt like we didn't push hard enough. I don't know if part of it was that it was our first time doing theses exercises and we stopped several times to see what they were doing so we would get the right form. The problem with that was that we didn't rewind to start with them once we got the form. We would just start from there and therefore not do as many reps.

What I noticed about this workout is that everything we did on Phase 1 was to prepare us for phase 2. For example on phase 1 we did many push ups (regulas push ups) Now that we are on phase 2 the push ups are more difficult, yet we are able to do some repetitions on each one. One of the push ups is the single handed push ups. Those I have to do on my knees because I cannot support myself on my feet and 1 hand yet. The other pushups are the ones where you add a clap on the up position. The other is the sliding push up. I won't explain this one, I'll add a picture of this one next week when we do them again.

The weight training was also good. On some I used 5lbs. weights and on others I used 10lbs. weights. We also did some dips. This time around I was able to do about 10 to 15 more than when I first started. It is great that we have to keep a record of what we do in each session because we can look back and see our improvement. We can compare what we did before with what we are doing now and see where we need to push more and where we are doing good.

Tonight I'll go running and then Ab Ripper X. Tomorrow we it is our 30 day mark. We are excited for what we have been able to accomplish and look forward to the next sixty days. Bring it!!!

End of Phase 1!! Pheww (wiping sweat from forhead)...

Talk about an early morning! Today we got up at 4:15am, and yes, it is Saturday. I wanted to go to a sale of scrapbooking materials that was a bit away from home. I knew if I left early without working out I would later regret it. So, last night I asked Tom is he would get up early with me to do Yoga X. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he did. We got up early and did Yoga first thing. After I showered and made it to the sale =D

I'm super happy!! Why? Not only because I got great deals on items I wanted, but because I started out my morning right. Tom and I pushed hard this morning. We noticed that our stretches are getting better and our flexibility is improving. It is really cool to see our bodies doing things that on day four (our first time doing Yoga) just seemed so unatural. You have no idea what a great feeling it is to go from dreading and hating Yoga to enjoying it.

There are still some poses that are not easy to do but for the ones we CAN do it's awesome. The Royal dancer is still on we struggle a bit with. With Royal dancer you balance on one foot, say your left foot, while holding your right foot back with your right hand and extending your left arm forward as far as you can. We are doing better at it from our first time but we still wabble.

The floor stretches for the legs are good. We have both improved how far we can go with our arms. Today I was able to touch my nose to my knees for a few seconds. That felt awesome! Tom was able to hold the Crane position for longer  as well. What can I say? We are enjoying our workouts and love seeing small improvements each time. Tomorrow is our resting day and Monday we start Phase 2 of our workout. Monday, Bring it!!!

Core Synergistics, "I hate it!! but I love it!!!...

Tony many times says that his students hate some of the workouts but at the same time they love them. I have that love/hate relationship with many of the workouts. This morning we got up early so we could do our "Core Synergistic" exercises. It was our second time doing them and we did very good. I was very pleased with the workout and in how much we pushed each other and ourselves.

As you are exercising some of the exercises take so much out of you that you just want to lay down and have the police put crime scene tape around you and call it a day. Thankfully we didn't call it a day and instead we pushed harder, even when we felt spent. 

I've mentioned before that Tom is my rock, he still is. I am amazed at his progress and determination. I have not included any pictures of him because he doesn't want his picture taken yet. I wish you could see some of the stuff he can do. He rocks!!

I have included a couple of pictures of me doing the "reach high & under push ups". I hope you enjoy and that you are able to stay motivated. Tomorrow we have Yoga. Yeah baby!!! Bring it!!!!

For this exercise you start with a push up. When you are up from the push up you turn to your side and balance on one hand and feet and reach your other arm up into the sky....

... you then bring your raised arm down and under yourself as far as you can. As you can see here, I cannot go very far yet or I lose my balance.  From this position you go back down and do a push up and do the other side. You do as many as you can in one minute.

For this routine I was only able to do 3 in a minute without falling over or messing the pose =D Soon we'll be able to keep up with Tony. Bring it!!

Stretching, oooh, ahhh...

Once again we slept in, aghh! We really need to work on going to bed early and getting up early. We worked out in the afternoon and it was hard with the kids around us. Specially the baby, she wanted to be on my mat and she wanted to cuddle to me every time I would go down to the floor. It was hard but not impossible. Oh yeah, the workout today was Stretching... just what the doctor ordered, *peaceful sigh*.

I got to say that I was impressed to see how flexible we have become. As we were stretching I noticed that Tom was down lower, closer to the floor on some of them, on others he was standing pretty tall, which since he is already tall, he looked huge. I of course did not stay behind. I have included a picture at the bottom showing one of the stretches. I was able to reach beyond my foot on the stretch and used a yoga block. Although my head is not yet touching the knee my leg was straight and all the way on the floor. That totally made my day.

As I was stretching I tried to clear my mind as much as possible even though the kids were around us asking questions and wanting our attention. It felt great and I felt very relaxed. After we completed the stretches I felt so relaxed. Now it's been a several hours and my muscles feel so relaxed and my whole body feels so good. I loved the stretching. For those who have not done it yet let me tell you it feels soooooooooooo good. Not as much during as when you are done. I think I am ready to bring it to the next level, which starts next week. But for now I'm heading to bed and I think I will sleep pretty relaxed =D Good night all. Tomorrow... bring it!!!

As you can see, I was able to use a Yoga block to extend the stretch. My foot is pointing up and my whole leg is down. That is my little girl taking a break from distracting us =D                

Countdown to day 30 is on!!!

Yesterday Tom came home from work pretty sick. He could not hold anything down and I was worried today we would have a hard time working out. This morning he was still feeling sick so we didn't workout in the morning. The whole day I felt like it was dragging. I went to the forums to find motivation but instead I found discouragement for me.

Many of the people who were where I am today, meaning on the fourth week, were talking about how they have lost between 8 to 13 pounds. Now these were women saying that. If it had been men I would have thought, well men loose weight quicker and more than women. Since it was women who were saying that I felt a bit discouraged. I have been sticking to the diet and have only cheated twice, I have been working out every day and we have been pushing each other as much as we can and I have only lost one pound!

I do feel stronger, I can see my arms and legs are getting more toned and I can feel the muscles in my arms without flexing too much. I also know that muscle is heavier than fat and I feel that I am putting on muscle, not in a gross way, in a nice way. Tom and I were talking about it and then I also spoke with my Mom about it. I don't feel like quitting, I just felt a bit discouraged.

Talking it out helped. I noticed that on Sunday when dressed for church I did not have to put on my "tummy sucker" on (girdle in English?) I was able to wear my favorite skirt without it and I looked good and felt good. So once I remembered that I started feeling better.

Tonight Tom was feeling much better than earlier so after we put our children to bed we hit "play" and brung it! We did Kenpo X and we pushed each other all the way. By the time we were done we both felt that tonight we pushed ourselves and each other more than usual. I think if we keep this up the excess fat will soon melt away and our new lean bodies will show.

Thank you Love for helping me stay focused and for your support. I love you! =D
Tomorrow is another day and another workout... bring it!!!

Core Synergistics...

Well... I knew it was going to be strenuous but I guess that was not preparation enough for what we got. As the name says it, it is a lot of core workout. There were several exercises I could not do as easily and gracefully as they could but once again we brung it!

Some of the exercises were not too bad so I shouldn't complain it was just hard on my core. Seeing what I have to do now I look forward to Friday, which is when we'll do it again. I felt like I needed to push myself more and sadly I didn't. By the time we were done we were both sweating but not as much as we usually do.

I can list different reasons why we didn't push so hard today. I can say that we are too tired, it was our first time doing this routine, etc. But, the bottom line is those are just justifications for my lazyness today. I could've not been as tired if I had gone to bed earlier. I could've put more effort into doing it better since this was our first time doing this routine.

By the end of the workout I noticed that today I burned half the calories I normally burn. I know this because of my handy dandy Heart Rate Monitor =D. Tonight I will be doing Tae Bo so I can burn more calories and feel like I really did a workout today. Tomorrow is another day and I will push myself harder. Tomorrow is Kenpo X!!! Which by now, if you have been following my blog regularly, you will know it is my favorite workout. So tomorrow I WILL Bring it!!!!

Week 4, Day 1!!!! Yoga X...

This morning I knew I had to get up and push my hubby because he has pushed me soo many times. We got up and go on with our workout. Since this is recovery week we will be doing more stretching and cardio exercises from I have seen in the forums. What are my thoughts on Yoga X after three weeks?

Well, I am really psyched about it! Today I pushed myself harder than on Saturday. I think that there were some poses where I goofed on the posture, which is the most important part of it, but still got it done. Next time I will try and concentrate more on clearing my mind and focusing on getting good posture.

I don't love Yoga yet, but it has gained my respect. Today I was able to hold the stretches longer and lower than the first time I did it. I still struggled on the crane but I know it's just a matter of time before I can do it and feel great about it.

The first half I would say is the hardest. It's a lot of leg and arm work. The last half of the workout is better. More standing up poses and stretching of the arms and back. I can see why they say that those with back problems should do Yoga. If you are doing it right it feels great on the back.

Well, that is all for today. Thanks for stopping by to read my updates. Bring it!! Click on the link below for an awesome explanation of Yoga by the Man himself, Tony Horton!!! =D

Tony explaining the importance of Yoga.

End of week 3!!

Yesterday, Friday, we did legs and back workout followed by Ab Ripper X. It was very good. I have been wearing my heart rate monitor to make sure that I am pushing myself. I notice that whenever I don't workout first thing in the morning I find it hard to workout later in the day. We still do workout but the day I just seem to drag until I have had my workout.

I am still struggling with doing the pull ups in the bar so I am still using the chair. As I mentioned in one of my previous postings I feel stronger and with more stamina so I am not losing courage. I just wish that I was able to do at least one unassisted pull up. I know in time I will. In the meantime the leg workout and the shoulder workout feels great! After I'm done it feels great to see that I have accomplished a whole hour of workout.

The Ab Ripper X is also great. It is very strenuous yet I am getting better at it. In some of the exercises I am able to do most of the reps, on other exercises I am still doing the best I can and the reps are not as many but little by little they are increasing.

Today we did Kempo X. We got up bright (or dark rather since it was still dark out) and early =) and did our workout. It is still my favorite but today I was very sore. For some reason I was not able to do as many reps because my arms were hurting from yesterday's back exercises, or at least that's what I think it was. It was good to complete our third week. Next week we start recovery week. From what I hear and have read, recovery week is not at all what it sounds like. It is pretty much lots of cardio workouts and then the following week we start a new series of routines. Bring it!!!

Yoga X baby!!!!

This was day 4 of week 3. As you may know by now I was not too happy with Yoga. Even yesterday I called it "the dreaded Yoga", today I'm happy to be singing a different tune. It was super duper hard for me still, but I followed a friend's advice on some of the poses and holds and it helped greatly.

I did my best and I noticed that I am starting to get a bit more flexible than last time. Tom did his best and pushed himself hard. Seeing his motivation, dedication and perseverance made me push myself too. What really made my day was seeing Tom do the Crane pose for the first time. For those not familiar with the crane, it is a pose in which you crouch down with your hands on the floor and slowly bring your feet up above the ground. It was awesome to see him do that and not fall. It motivated me to keep trying. Hopefully next time I'll be able to do it too =D

I am looking forward to next week. It is recovery week and that means lots of cardio, stretches and Yoga. Yeah baby!!! But for tomorrow we have legs and back. Bring it!!!!

Another day of Bringing it!!!...

Today we pushed ourselves hard nonstop since the alarm clock went off. Since we worked out last night we felt pretty tired and didn't want to get up. We pushed ourselves out of bed and got on with our Shoulders and Arms workout followed by the Ab Ripper X. I was insane and after that I went for my 30 minute run (Couch to 5K Program).

I enjoyed the workout this morning. I was able to increase my weights. I mostly used 10 lbs weights this time. I know it might not seem like much but for someone who was hurting with the 5 lbs weights, this was fantastic. There were only a couple of exercises were I used the 5 lbs weights. I felt so exhausted afterwards and that made me feel good emotionally. I knew I had pushed myself!

After we were done Tom suggested we left the Ab Ripper X for tonight. I knew if we did I would not push myself as much because my body would be cool. We pushed through and did it this morning. As I mentioned Monday, I kept track of how many repetitions I was able to do of each routine, well today I did the same. On Monday I did a bit over 100 and today I did over 200!!! That felt great! I then went running and paced myself. By the time I was done I was ready to collapse. Tomorrow we'll be doing the dreaded Yoga. I am trying to stay positive and I got great tips from a friend who has taught Yoga for several years. I will try her suggestions tomorrow and see how it goes. Bring it!!!!

Plyometrics...

This morning we slept through the alarm and we didn't get to workout first thing in the morning. That was hard on me. I don't like working out at night because I already feel tired from my day's tasks. Well, we sucked it up and did Plyometrics after we put the children to bed.

I was used the heart rate monitor today for the first time (something the Easter Bunny brought me =D) It was good to have it on because I kept checking it and pushing myself harder whenever my heart rate went down.

I noticed that although I was pretty tired at night I was still able to improve on my form and endurance from last week. I gotta say that I have never sweated as much doing other workouts as I am with P90X, the exception is the Tae Bo advanced.

I feel very happy to see my progress. I am still struggling but I can see it is worth it. I still don't look ripped but I have already lost 1 inch off my waist. That to me is great news! Tomorrow... Shoulders and Arms... Bring it!!!

Week 3 here we come!!

This is going to be a great week!!! I started out my morning with Chest and Back exercises, moved on to Ab Ripper and tonight I will be going running. In the DVD Tony tells us to keep track of our reps and weights, etc so we can see what we did the previous time. I love that! Today as I was putting in my information I noticed that my reps are increasing, not by too much, but I know that every little bit counts.

When we were doing the Ab Ripper X, Tom and I pushed ourselves more. The total amount of reps is over 300 by the time you are all done. No wonder people get those abs of steel =D. Well, I'm not near there yet but I am closer than I was when I started. I decided to keep track of the number of reps I can do and by the time I was done I was a little disappointed to see that I did less than 200. On the other hand I realized that it was much better than the amount I did on the first day (which was less than 100)

I will admit that this morning I did not want to get up and I think that if Tom had not gotten up out of bed I would have probably stayed in bed too. I feel grateful to have a wonderful husband and exercise buddy to help get me out of bed and keeps me going. I was very glad that I worked out instead of sleeping in. I feel great! My 3 year old saw me lifting some heavy furniture today and he said "wow! Mom you wock!!" (translation:"Wow! Mom you rock!!" Totally made my day. Tomorrow we do Plyometrics, Bring it!!!

End of week 2

I love Saturdays!!! Why do I love Saturdays? Because on Saturdays I get to do Kenpo X. It is my favorite of all the workouts we've done so far. Today I noticed that I was able to do all the jumping jacks without taking breaks and then moved on to the "X Jumps" and did them all. That is more than I was able to do last week =D That of course makes me very happy.

Yesterday we didn't get to do the Ab Ripper X so today we did it after Kenpo. I am still struggling with the Ab Ripper. I push myself but I still cannot do all 25 of each. I did however do more this time than last. I have noticed that I have been increasing my repetitions little by little. I am hoping by the end of next week to be able to do even more of the Ab Ripper X exercises.

My goal is to be able to do all the exercises in the Ab Ripper by day 90, especially the "Mason Twists" As of now those are my least favorite exercises. Anyway, tomorrow is our resting day. Stay tuned for my next update on Monday. Bring it!!!

Still on week 2 days 4 and 5

O.k. So, I'm late bloging today. Yesterday I didn't get to blog about my workout because we went out of town. We were supposed to go camping but we had to cancel the trip due to a death in our group. We decided to drive down to AZ instead, but before we left we did the dreaded Yoga.

Yoga was not as bad. I think in part it was because we didn't finish =( We did about half of it and then we had to go. We took the DVD with us to finish at night but were unable to finish. Next week we'll have to push ourselves more.

Today we came back from AZ. It was a long drive!! We ate dinner, got the children ready for bed and after they were all asleep we got ourselves ready for our workout. Wow!! it is not as easy to workout at night for me. I was tired because of our trip and then on top of that to do pull-ups and legs felt like murder!

I feel good that we worked out tonight. Both Tom and I were sweating like crazy. My legs were screaming several times during the workout. I gotta say though, after spending several hours sitting down in the car driving, it felt really great to stretch out my legs.

Tomorrow is my favorite workout, Kenpo! Bring it baby!!!!