End of week 14.. wow..

So, here I am..... sitting here, out of the poker game (!!!?!) and thinking.. well, it's been a few days, I should blog. But I'm finding myself at a loss for words. What do I say that I haven't repeated a million times in the last 14 weeks? Any damned thing I want I guess... LOL.. it's MY blog!! LOL...

Well, let me start with the workout yesterday. Cardio day. It was T, E & I. We did our warm up in the arena of IROC, then did our intervals of sprints, burpees & sprints 1 minute of each with 1 minute rest and 1 minute get up sit ups. After that we went outside and ran for 20 minutes. It was actually a nice little run. We ended up running by a mulch place and it smelled really good! It was a little misty, but otherwise it was good.

Today was a weights day so I met the girls at IROC (T couldn't make it) and we used the gym to do our workout. First of all, I have to say that I'm SO glad that Ben keeps his place cool (even in the winter) because the workout room at IROC was a freakin sauna!!!!! There isn't any ventilation or windows that you can open, so OMG it gets really HOT in there!! Anyway, we started doing push presses using dbs (M & I) and E & C did "pull ups". We didn't have anywhere that we could do pull ups so we did like this reverse crunch thing. Then we did A) push ups feet on ball jackknife and reverse lunge band pull (M & I started on this) and B)reverse crunch things and squat press. Do 6 reps of each back and forth for 10 minutes straight then switch to the other two. After that we did 2 minute sprints with 2 minutes rest X 3. We started out in the arena, but that was rough on the knees. So we switched to the walking track. The reverse crunch thing was really tough for me. I'm sure people have seen what you do this on. It's like this tall thing with 2 arm things. You put your arms on the arm things, hold onto the pegs at the end and your legs dangle below you, then you pull your legs up towards you. I couldn't seem to hold myself up. I kept ending up with my shoulders scrunched way up. It was irritating me that I couldn't do it, but I just kept doing it anyway. I am stubborn!! LOL.. but that's ok. We worked our butts off today.

I'm glad that we are proving that we can still work out when Ben is gone. We definitely miss him... miss hearing "Come on! Get there! Push!" I am still definitely motivated and push myself, but I don't think it's the same as during our classes. Just proves that Ben really knows what he's doing! Personally, I think I need that extra push. Obviously. Otherwise I would've been able to lose this weight on my own... anyway.. I'm rambling..

I think that's it.. Tomorrow is another cardio day so it'll be the same as Wednesday.. running running running! =)

~L

D Run & 4 days of catch up

Sorry again that it's been so long since I posted. Now that the weather is nice, it's harder & harder to stay inside and stay in front of the computer. Plus, since we aren't using fitday for the diet, I don't need to be on the computer as much which has made Mike very happy. LOL.

So let's see.. Friday.. we did this: Started with Deadlift 4 sets of 8 reps, then: A) Reverse Lunge Band Row x 6 reps per side, Stability Ball Push up Jacknife x 6. Complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes. B) Squat Press x 6, Pull ups x 6. Complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes. Then Intervals: 6 rounds 30 seconds high intensity 90 seconds recovery. We went outside and ran on Taplin Road for that part. I'm liking the new workouts. They're challenging and are made more so the more that I push myself. =) Harder you push the more fat you burn!!

Saturday we still did a bootcamp workout (I know.. we're nuts!!) but T, E & I were the only Moosers to make it. We did Deck of Cards. I really liked this one. It's kind of like Roll the Dice where you basically don't know which exercise you're going to be doing or how many until you pick the card (roll the dice). I don't remember what the specifics are of what we did but it was good. After that we did the Dandelion Run. It was pretty tough, but it was good. I was under the impression that my leg (the first) would be fairly flat. No such luck. There were plenty of hills. But that's ok. We ran for a good mile before we had to stop & walk. My sister-in-law ran with me and she was fantastic at keeping me going!!! So thanks sis!! =) We estimated that we ran about 2 miles of it and walked about 1 mile. Not too bad. I felt bad for T & Ben because they were on the 2nd leg and it was all hills. Like huge ones from what they said. A special thanks to T for running that leg because Deveney was supposed to run with us, but had to bow out at the last minute because of a conflict with a fundraiser that was later Saturday night. Then Missy was the 3rd leg and E ran the 4th. I am extremely proud of all of us for doing this run (and all the other bootcampers that did it!! ). We are AWESOME!!! Thanks to C for coming out and supporting us as well! I have to tell you that on Saturday I came home, had lunch, worked in the garden for a couple hours and I was done. I seriously could've taken a nap, but I just planned on going to bed early. Around 4 or 5 Mike was like, let's go do something!!! I told him, dude, you go right ahead. I am pooped!!!! I was not going anywhere!!! He ended up going to a poker game and I stayed home and relaxed and then went to bed (fairly) early.

Sunday was ok. It was the total protein day of the diet, so that was a little rough. To make it worse, we went to the races to watch my brother so I had to bring everything with me. So I had to eat my steak for lunch and chicken for dinner cold, but it was ok. I drank a TON of water and chewed gum. Oh, and got a nice sunburn ontop of the sun I had gotten on Saturday. It's not too bad though.

Yesterday was the first workout without Ben who is gone on vaca (and a business thing too). It went well. It was just T & I and we met up at IROC and did 2 rounds of sprints and 1 round of burpees 1 minute per round 2 minutes rest with 1 minute of that doing get up sit ups. Then we stayed at the walking track and ran for 20 minutes. I think tomorrow we're going to plan on running outside.

Today it was T, C & I. We were able to use the community room at IROC and did two circuits: A) Straight leg romanian deadlift - they had a couple bars with a little bit of weight so we used those - X12 reps and Crunches on the ball with 10lb weight x 12. Do as many rounds as you can in 10 minutes. T started on this one. Then C & I started on this one: B) Step ups (weighted - we had fairly light weights but busted out the rounds) x12 each leg and kb or db swing x 12 - we used 25lb plates. So the weight was fairly light for these exercises so we busted butt to do a ton of rounds. I think we did really well. =)

Tomorrow is cardio day so that will be back at the IROC walking track/arena for sprints, burpees and maybe high knees.. then running outside. =)

The 28 day diet is going well. I haven't really had too much trouble with it. I just have to sit down with the menu and figure out my substitutions. =) Not bad. I haven't really had too much trouble with being hungry except for the all protein day. I think that's why I was chewing gum. Helped to keep my mind off it. I've actually been chewing a lot of gum lately which I'm getting out of now. I don't want to start using it as a crutch to ward off hunger. I should be fine though.

Later!

~L

28 day program - the final push

Sorry that it's been so long.. My computer didn't have a virus like a thought, it was just the video card going to hell. Thanks Shaun for fixing it for us! (E's significant other) =) It's running great now!

Where to start? Well, on Monday we started the 28 day program. It's a diet designed to melt the fat off you and fast. The really nice thing is that the menus for the entire 28 days is planned out for you. Every single meal. The extra nice thing is that there is a "substitution list". Whoever came up with this is a genius!!! And must've known that I would be doing this diet!! Otherwise I would be one very unhappy girl.. there's a LOT of fish on these menus and this girl and fish, just don't mix. (Fish is at the top of the "blech list". LOL) It was funny Sunday because I printed out the first 7 days so I could make my shopping list, and I got the sub list out and made at least 1 substitution every single day. For some days there are 3 or more!!! But don't worry, I'm not straying!!! So far so good. I'm definitely not hungry at all and I'm still eating all the supportive stuff that I should be. The only thing is, this is very light on carbs and VERY heavy on protein. But that's ok. I can deal with that for awhile. I told Mike before I went shopping that there was a lot of chicken in my menu. He said: "good thing you could eat chicken every day!" I said: "ask me again after we're done!" LOL... It actually hasn't been that bad though. I am eating some lean beef and lots and LOTS of egg whites!!!! Today's lunch was a soup and OMG it was SO good!! =) I'm sure you're thinking, "she can have soup???", yes I can!!!!!! It was 2 cups low sodium chicken broth, celery, 6.75 oz chicken breast, onion and tomatoes. You cook the veggies in EVOO then add to the chicken broth & breast. I also put garlic powder, onion powder and oregano in my broth. The best part was after I heated it up I also put 3 tablespoons of parmesean cheese on top and mixed it in... yum yum yum!!!! Before now I always thought parmesean cheese was gross, but you know, it's starting to grow on me!!! The other night I had chicken parmesean.. oh was that tasty!!! It was 6.75 oz chicken (see? eating lotsa chicken!!) 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 3 tablespoons parm cheese.. try it!! =)

There are also specific workouts that go with this diet. You can check out Ben's blog for what we've been doing this week. I don't know if he's posted today, but I know he didn't on Tuesday. You didn't miss much there. We just did cardio. We did a 1 minute round at each of the stations with 1 minute rest and the 1 minute active rest (get up sit ups). The stations were sprints, bike and burpees. Then we went outside (yay for nice weather!!) and did a 20 minute distance run. Just run 20 minutes. On Tuesday we ran from the parking lot, out to Taplin Rd, to Rte 111, then turned behind the BBC building and back to the parking lot. It's not a bad little route, but kinda tough on the knees & legs to transition from grass to gravel to pavement to grass to gravel to grass. Today we ran down Taplin Rd, turned off on a little road and ran down there. We just went for 10 minutes and then turned around and ran back the other 10. That's a nice run, just one small hill, all gravel and nice scenery!! Next week will be a little tough as Ben will be gone all week so we will be on our own. He has given us our marching orders for the week so we're all set with what we have to do. It'll be interesting for sure.

Ummm.. let's see.. I think that's it.. I think I'm working my way out of my funk. Finding out I've lost nearly 50lbs in 12 weeks has definitely helped. I'm hoping that I'll hit 65lbs lost by the end. It'd be great to hit 15% body fat lost and 20". That would be amazing!! I'll "get there" though...

Saturday is the Dandelion Run. I'm nervous, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm really really happy that my sister-in-law will be running with me. I know she'll keep me going. =) If you're reading this and you're local, come on down (we start the run at 9am) and cheer us on!!! =)

~L

Catch me up

I'm hoping that this will post since my computer has some serious virus that is totally screwing it up.. but there is hope, E nicely volunteered her significant other to take a look at it for us and see if he can fix it. So keep your fingers crossed!

This has been a very emotional week for me personally. I found out on Sunday that my aunt in NY had died from lung cancer. She was only 53. May she rest in peace. And when a family member dies suddenly it makes you think... It was tough, I didn't really know her that well (sadly) because they live 6-7 hours from me, so I got to see them maybe once or twice a year. Plus, I wasn't able to attend the services which I feel really rotten about. I'm sure my family understands and will accept that my thoughts and prayers are with them. Then on Wednesday I found out that my co-worker, Flo had had a stroke and was in the hospital. On Friday I found out when I got to work that she never woke from the stroke and had passed away Thursday night. She was 63. My thoughts and prayers are with her family in this very difficult time. It was so unreal at work on Friday because I had just seen Flo on Wednesday. She was there, walking around and fine and now she's gone. I wish I could say that I knew her very well, but I'd actually only worked with her for about 5 or 6 months. She will be sorely missed at NGJ. RIP Flo.

Friday was measurement day for me. I was really nervous. I knew that I'd kept dropping weight, but I wasn't sure what my measurements would be like. Would the roadblock I'd been working through this week hurt me? The answer? Not a chance in hell. I lost 24 more pounds. 2.1% body fat and 4.5". So my totals so far is 47lbs lost, 8.6% body fat lost and 13.5" total lost. These #s totally blow my mind. Honestly this whole thing has just been surreal. It's kind of like I've been doing the workouts and eating what I was supposed to so that's been real, but the weight coming off and my clothes getting baggy hasn't been. Like I was on the outside looking in, watching. But I look in the mirror now and I see it. I see a new me and it's bloody wonderful!!!

Friday was the last day of 30:30:30. Ben hasn't really told us what we're going to be doing this coming week for cardio except it's 20 minutes of intervals and 20 minutes of running. We don't know what the intervals are yet. So Friday we did 30:30:30 of sprints outside. It was a really nice day so it was great to be able to get outside. Although I'm not that big a fan of sprints, it's definitely helped build my endurance which is great. On the very last sprint, Ben told us to really push and make it the best one yet. So somehow I was able to dig deep and just run, sprint as fast as I could. It felt great to really push myself and challenge myself to do better. I felt like my lungs were going to burst after, but I felt SO good!!

Saturday was "Bring a Friend Day". I brought my co-worker Bernice with me. We did a new one Ben is calling "Death Valley" which is an appropriate name for it. Lol. Here is what we did:

20-16-12-8-4-8-12-16-20

Pull ups/Rows
Clean and Press
Jump Squats/Sky and Ground Squats
1 Arm Kettlebell Swings
Russian Twists
Uneven Push ups/Push ups

Move through reps completing 20 for all exercises, then 16, then 12 and so on.

Bernice did VERY well for her first time and I am VERY proud of her!!! =) She almost puked, but not quite! =) So you know it was a good one. Ha ha ha. We got through the list 3 times. So we ended by doing 12 reps of each one. I hope that she will consider taking more BBC classes, but that's up to her.. who knows? Maybe we scared her away!! LOL...

After the workout we had our final MMC. It was kind of emotional, but mostly we just reflected on how this whole thing went, what was hard, what was easy. That kind of stuff. For me, the hardest thing was the emotional part. I don't think I ever realized just how much of an emotional thing getting healthy and losing weight is. All of the "baggage" and "issues" that you have to get over personally can be overwhelming. For me, my past has played a huge role in why I got big in the first place. One of the most valuable things I've learned is to let your past be your past and look to the future. Don't let something that happened in the past hold you back from being happy now or in the future. Take charge of your life. Trust has always been an issue for me as well. I've had people close to me, who I thought were my friends, hurt me. So trusting new people, not so easy. I used to put up walls to sheild myself. Just go about my business and not let anyone see the real me. But these women, these 4 women and Ben have shown me that I don't need to put up walls anymore. So I made the conscious decision to let go grudges of the past and make peace with it. I may still put up a few walls at first, but nothing like before. I can't believe how much I've been able to grow as a person through this experience. I can never thank everyone that voted for me enough for believing in me and helping me to start on this journey. I know it's not over yet, that we have 4 more weeks, but I hope you've been following along with me and I hope that I have inspired you. I hope that I can inspire anyone out there that wants to lose weight or get healthy to do it. Just do it. Do it for yourself, find that inner woman/man that you know is inside of you. Cause he or she is there, ready to be loved.

I've been listening to my Ipod in my car a lot lately and I found this song and I think that it really says what I want to say to my fellow Moosers. So here it is. Enjoy:

Artist/Band: Rascal Flatts
Lyrics for Song: My Wish
Lyrics for Album: Me and My Gang

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish. his is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

~L

Train the Trainer!!! ...and my Moo92 interview (I hope)

Today we did "Train the Trainer". OMFG it was SO funny!!!!!!!!!!!!! C took a video of the whole thing and hopefully she'll have it posted some time this weekend or by Monday. It's kind of long, but seriously worth watching!!!

So, here is what we made Ben do:

Cartwheels down the gym & back
Crabwalk down the gym & back
Handstand max hold
Band pull - Ben had an elastic band around his waist and had to pull 3 of us down the gym & back (sprinting)

Go through this list as many times as possible in 15 minutes. Ben did very well and got through the list 3 times.. maybe even 4. It seems like maybe I'm missing one, but I think that was all the exercises we had him do. He was sweating his ass off though!! Loved it!!! Ha ha ha ha ha! Ahh revenge is sweet! LOL.. It was a lot of fun...

After, the real work began. We warmed up and then did 8 rounds of:

KB high pull burpee
Flutter kicks
Push ups
Jumping pull ups

One time through the list is a round. Do each exercise for 1 minute w/5 second transition, no rest between rounds. After that we went outside and did what Ben calls the Birch run while your partner does planks. Ben & E were one team, M & T were another and C & I were the final team. The Birch Run isn't anything special, we just sprint to the Birch tree and back. But it was hard nonetheless. I don't know how far it is to that freakin Birch tree, but it's damned far enough!!

Last Wednesday I was interviewed by Moo92 about how it's been going so far. The djs Tod & Deveney were nice enough to put the interview on a disk for all of us. C has already posted hers and hopefully the others will post theirs as well. I'm hoping that this works. Ok, nope didn't work. =( UGH... I'm trying.. I'm just not sure how to post it.. I'll have to ask C how she did it. Plus, my computer is on the verge of a major meltdown so I'm lucky to get this blog in. I'm hoping that we can get the tower to the computer dude and get it fixed up soon.. But for now...

G'night!

~L

Run Forest Run!!

It was cardio day again in BBC land. We started doing our intervals inside when someone ( I won't name names -Missy) suggested that we run outside. So, we jogged out to the road and ran a gazillion 30 second sprint intervals. Oh it was so much fun!! (sarcasm is kinda lost on here LOL). Honestly, it kind of sucked. Like really hard. After awhile I started getting a pain in my hip in the front (apparently it's my hip flexor) on my right side. It KILLED to keep running with it hurting like it was, but I did. I kept on running. I definitely wasn't sprinting, but at least I was still running. So I'm hanging onto that. I kept going and pushed through and that's the important thing. I could've let it bother me, but I decided that it wasn't going to.

I think maybe I'm starting to come out of my funk. I felt pretty good today, eventhough I was walking around my office like an old lady. LOL. My hip hurt, my knees were sore, but it reminded me of the hard work that I'm doing. I am working hard (we all are) every damned day. The benefits are numerous. I haven't even reaped all the benefits yet. I can't wait until I can get rid of my stupid sleep machine. I'm starting to really hate that stupid thing. I will be a little scared when it is time to get rid of it because I've been using it for SO long that I feel like I'm kind of dependent on it, but I'll be fine. And, I know that Mike will be VERY happy when I get rid of it too. =) I can't wait to go back to my doctor after we're done and have my cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes tested again. How much do you want to bet that those are all normal now? I'd bet quite a bit!! Most importantly, I can't wait to have children. It's something that I've wanted for my entire life. I've always known that I wanted to be a mother since I was a little girl. My dream was to have a really big family and enjoy being a stay-at-home mommy. My weight has been holding me back from that, but not for much longer!!! I may not have as many as I had originally planned, but I will have at least one! =)

So for anyone out there that's reading this and wants to lose weight...Do it. Do it now. If you have goals or dreams that seem unatainable because of your weight, get your ASS up off that couch or out of that chair and do something about it. No excuses. You are worth it. You deserve to be happy. Once you start, don't give up. Keep going, remember why you're doing it. Remember those goals & dreams that you had on hold because of your weight and keep pushing. GET THERE.

I found this quote on Facebook and I think it's very true: "Today I give myself permission to be greater than my fears".

~L

Pile On!

We did Pile On today and it was really tough. Apparently this one is infamous for being hard and it has earned it's fame.

We started with:
KB swings
KB high pull
1 minute each one with a 5 second transition.

Then:
KB swings
KB high pull
Prisoner squats
Flutter kicks
1 minute each w/5 second transition

Then:
KB swings
KB high pull
Prisoner squats
Flutter kicks
Push up
Single leg hip extension w/knee bent & held to body

Then:
KB swings
KB high pull
Prisoner squats
Flutter kicks
Push ups
Single leg hip extension
Burpee
Wall sit

Then:
KB swings
KB high pull
Prisoner squats
Flutter kicks
Push ups
Single leg hip extension
Burpee
Wall sit
_________
Star burpees

I know that the star burpees was the last one we did, but I can't remember what the other exercise we did was. I'm not entirely sure this is the correct order either.

I have a confession.. I've been running at least 2 times a week, but my confession is that last week I only ran one day. Last Tuesday was the last time I ran. I had planned on running on Saturday, but life got in the way and I didn't. I just didn't and I take full responsiblity for that. Tonight I went for a mile & 1/2 run and I was only able to run 3/4 of a mile straight without stopping. I ended up stopping quite a few times. I'm really kicking myself for not running last week. I wish I had because tonight was ROUGH. I have only myself to blame for that and I'm irritated with myself. I will be running on Thursday and Saturday so look for updates on that. The Dandelion Run is next Saturday and I am nervous. I'm so happy that my sister-in-law will be running right next to me. Her support in this is tremendous.

So that's what's up. I still feel like I'm in a funk and I'm trying to work my way out of it, but it's not happening very fast. I'll come out of it though. I'm confident.

Night.
~L

What happened?

I feel SO bad for Missy!! She & I were doing sprints this morning and had gotten ahead of me and then all of a sudden tripped. She wasn't hurt and laughed it off. But a little while later she fell again!! This time she hurt her knee because she fell on the exact same spot that she had earlier. I felt so bad for her! She had to sit out for a few minutes because she was in pain. She bravely tried to do a few rounds on the bike, but that only made her pain worse. BUT, she did persevere and did push ups then see saw press. I am VERY proud of her for not giving up!!! =)

I feel like I've been having a hard time lately. This whole experience has been kind of surreal for me. I look in the mirror and I see someone completely new. I've never seen this girl. I have alway looked in the mirror and looked away. I NEVER liked what I saw. NEVER. Now I do like what I see, I just don't know who she is. It's kind of weird. It's like I didn't believe that I would lose all this weight. Maybe because I've failed SO many times before. Not one thing has ever worked for me until now. So maybe I thought that this wouldn't be any different, and it is different. Very, very different. I'm really really losing weight and getting healthy. It's scary actually. So I'm going to keep doing what I do every day and work through this.

I am extremely lucky to have my MF in my life. I leaned on them all today and they were as wonderful as they've always been. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I could not be going through this journey without Missy, Tonia, Christine, Erica and Ben. Thank you guys.

That's about it from me.. it's been a long day. Night!

~L

A, B, C, D O-M-G!

I have a feeling this is going to be a short entry today... sorry folks.. This girl is TIRED!!!!!!!! I had a work situation last night and didn't get to bed until 12:30. I got up at 6am this morning and did my BBC thing (I don't want to miss a class), came home, napped for an hour and a half and went to work, but I am STILL tired. So, as soon as I'm done this, I am going to bed. I can't wait!!

So today we did A, B, C, D. Basically this is four stations, 2 exercises at each station, 50 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 60 second rest after 3 rounds (was it 4?) at each station.

Station A was tennis ball single leg hip extension and dumbell clean & press. The tennis ball one is you take a tennis ball and put it at your hip, then pull your leg back so that it's squeezing the ball to your hip. Then, you do a hip extension. That is a lot harder than it sounds, and man does it work the ace area!!!! The db clean & press is you have a db in each hand (I started w/15s), you squat just a bit so that they're down at mid-thigh, then you bring them up by your shoulders, standing up straight and then press them up. Apparently I made it look too easy with the 15s because Ben came over and handed me 20 pounders. Upping the ante..like it!! =)

Station B was jackknife on ball (I'm sure Ben will call it something else) and sky & ground squats. The ball thing.. oh my lord! You put your feet on the ball (it's the workout ball we used on cardio day) and then get in a push up/plank position. The first trick is to balance. That is the first thing. Then, you pull your legs towards your chest. Very challenging!! Me likey! =) For the sky & ground squats you have a db in each hand (I used 15s), one arm is up over your head, one is down between your legs and you squat. This was not easy either!!

Station C was pull ups (jumpers - band assisted or no) and rene rows. At first I was going to do the pull ups with a band, but Ben said something about doing them without and I thought, what the hell? Give it a shot. Did all 4 rounds with no band. Harder, but I liked them just as well. =) The rene rows were really tough for me. I used 15lb dbs for these. I don't know if it was getting in the push up position with them or just trying to lift the weights or a combo of the two, but those, I didn't like..

Station D was planks and farmer's carries. I started out with 2 35lb kbs for the farmer's carries, but again, I must've made it look too easy because Ben had me switch to the 44lb kbs. Kind of had a little theme going here today... guess the lesson of the day was push yourself!! I am (absolutely!) getting stronger and to get even stronger I need to challenge myself more, use heavier weights. I thought maybe I had had that epiphany a few days ago, but I guess it really sank in today.

Tomorrow is cardio day and I can't wait to see what Ben comes up with. =) And on that note, this chica is hitting the hay. It's a little later than I had planned to get to bed, but still earlier than usual. Even a little extra sleep will be nice! Night!!

~L dawg

L dawg & the Moo crew

Today was my day to be interviewed by Tod & Deveney on Moo92. It was a lot of fun. =) If anyone missed it, they asked how it was going -great!! really great!!... what was the hardest thing so far for me - I said that my nickname is "blech" because I'm so picky so that's been the hardest thing. We talked about that a little bit. Tod started naming stuff to see what I liked... like broccoli.. BLECH!!!! It was pretty funny because he named off a few and I think he realized that it might've been easier for ME to name stuff that I like rather than him guess.. LOL.. They also gave a mench to the fact that I'm in the lead, but I told them that it's not really about that for me. It's all about getting healthy and happy. The main thing I hope that came from this is that I inspired someone out there to make the decision to get healthy too. That's one of the main things that I want after this. I really want to inspire others. I know a lot of people say it, but "if I can do it, YOU can do it!"

Cardio day.... Ben once again threw another twist at us. This time we were only doing 2 stations. That's it. 1 station for 15 rounds (30:30) then a different station for 15 rounds... no 8,7 8,7. What the french? Yeah. So M & I were teamed up and C & E were teamed up. T missed it because of a prior obligation. M started out doing high knees and I was on the bike. C did db clean & press and E ran sprints. Big kudos to her for asking to take on the sprints. Let me tell you, doing sprints for 8 rounds straight is tough, but doing it for 15 is even tougher!! So good job to E & C for "getting there". M & I busted out the rounds on the bike & high knees though. So good job to us too!! =)

So I think that's pretty much it for today... oh, almost forgot!!! I went for a run last night and upped my distance from 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles. I am very proud to say that I ran an entire mile without stopping! The last 1/2 mile was a little rough, but I can't believe that I did that. I know, I keep saying that every time I run. It just seems like I'm doing just a little better with every run so dammit.. I'm proud!!! Oh, I also mentioned that in my interview today. I said: "If you had told me 3 months ago to run a mile I would've told you where to go and how to get there, but now look at me. I'm running 2-3 times per week!!!" Hell yeah.

~L dawg

Where the F did the weeks go??

It's week 11. 11... are you kidding me?? What the F? I never dreamed when we started that the weeks would fly by like they have. It's actually kind of sad that this whole thing is coming to an end soon. For me, it's not going to end. I am going to keep going. I will be taking more BBC classes and I will NEVER stray from what I've learned in MM. But, it's like a chapter in my book is coming to a close. I guess I need to just keep looking at it that way. As just one chapter in the book of my life. There will be more chapters, lots more. A lot more will have to do with my get healthy journey. And, I know that I will definitely keep in close contact with my Mooser cohorts. Every single one of them will have to put up with me for a very long time so I hope they're prepared!! =)

Tomorrow I'm going to be on Moo92 (you can listen in at www.moo92.com and click on the "listen live" tab on the right hand side - I'll be on around 6:40am EST) talking about how it's going so far. It should be fun. =) E was on Monday and T was on today. Both had a good time so I'm looking forward to it.

Today we did Tabata Extra. But first, we did deadlift. 8 reps for 4 rounds with increasing weight. The last time we did this was back in April. We ended on 115lbs. This time, we started with 115lbs!!! C & I used the same bar and T, E & M used another one. By the end, C & I had gone up to 135lbs (I think).. T, E & M were at like 145!!! Kudos to them for kicking ace on that one!!! =) So the stations for Tabata Extra were: rows & kb swings w/44lb kb, see saw rows w/15 db in each hand and hill climbers, goblet squats w/35lb kb & planks with arms on exercise ball. The last one was very tough. It's very hard to balance yourself on that ball and try to do the plank thingy.. It was a good one though!! I did feel like I didn't push myself as hard today and I hate that feeling. I did work hard, but I feel like it wasn't hard enough. Not for me. I don't know what's been up with me lately, but I feel like I haven't really been pushing myself. I don't know why that would be now, but I don't like it. So tomorrow, bring on 30:30:30.. I'm ready. I'm going to push and work and I don't care if I'm hurting or tired.. or anything else. Time to rekindle the fire and make the final push to week 16. Like I said before, there will be much more to come for me, but I feel like week 16 is a short-term goal. There will be MORE from me. I guaran-damn-tee it!!!

L-dawg

Happy Monday!

Today was cardio day... whew!!!!! But first, E stopped into the radio station for a short update on how she's doing.. Sounded like she had fun. =) Tomorrow will be T's turn, I will be on Wednesday, C on Thursday and M will finish up the week on Friday. I still can't believe that this is week 11.. where the hell did the time go? I guess the old saying is true, time flies when you're having fun!

So we did: Bike & sprints and Burpees & lateral bench jumps. M & T were together and E, C & I were together. M started with the bike, T the sprints, E did the lateral bench jump and C & I did burpees. Again it was 30:30:30 go for 8 rounds on one then switch to the other for 7 rounds. Then switch to the two the other group was doing. I was actually a little bummed that we didn't do the firehose pull... call me crazy, but I LOVE that one! Maybe I was a firewoman (person? LOL) in a former life. =) Hopefully Wednesday that one will be back. =)

We went to Thunder Road yesterday to watch my brother race in the opening day there. We had a great time!! My father-in-law went with us and it was really great to get to hang out with him for the day. =) I, of course, packed a lunch, snack and dinner to bring with me since the food there is anything BUT supportive!! I will admit that when Mike & his dad each came back with a burger & Al's FF, I wanted to dive right in, BUT I didn't. I also have to admit that it was a little tougher yesterday to not get some of that bad food. I found myself a little bored a few times (the late models aren't as interesting to me as the other divisions) and had the urge to go get a fried dough or fries or something. I know that's more of a mental urge than a physical craving. I have always been an emotional eater and one who will eat out of boredom. I haven't really run into the boredom problem until now. It's not a problem though. I made it through yesterday just by concentrating on the races and thinking about how far I've come so far. That was also reinforced by my parents and friends that I saw at the races. I haven't seen my best friend Mya in MONTHS (as previously mentioned) and when she saw me she was like: "Oh my god you look so GOOD!!" which made me feel really great. My mom said: "I can really see the difference! You look great!!" Just more inspiration and motivation for me to keep doing what I'm doing (not that I would stop now!!). Oh, and I got a new T-Road 50th Anniversary t-shirt in... get this... an XL.. I put it on last night and it fit!! It was just a little tight for what I like, but I WILL be wearing it very VERY soon!!!! And then LOOK OUT!!! I'll be wearing that size L BBC shirt before too long!! =)

Have a good one! =)
~L-dawg

And... I'm back

Ok, so I officially suck at this.. blogging that is.. LOL.. But, as you can probably imagine, life is busy and finding the time to blog has become somewhat of a challenge. I promise that I WILL try to do this more!!

Wednesday: Caaaardiooo!!! We did: Sprints & Bike, Hill Climbers & Burpees. Ben threw a little twist in and had us do this in groups. So T, C & I were together and M & E were together. We started with burpees and did 30:30:30 for 8 rounds, then did hill climbers for 30:30:30 for 7 rounds while E & M did the bike and sprints for the same. Then, the groups switched. It was a neat change up. It certainly wasn't any easier for sure!!! I think it's actually a little tougher to stay doing the same one for so many rounds in a row.. Like I keep saying, Ben keeps things interesting, fresh & new!! No wonder I'm addicted!!!! =) =) You can tell by the goofy look on my face in the picture on Ben's blog.. lol... whatta dork!!! ha ha ha!!

Thursday: Roll the Dice (LOVE this one!!) Start each round with 40 Frog Hops then roll the die for your workout fate.

1's- Push ups x 15
2's- Rows/Pull ups x 15
3's- Reverse Crunches x 15
4's- Kettlebell Swings x 15
5's- Star Jump Burpees x 15
6's- Split Squats x 15 per leg

Again, we did this in pairs. C & I and then E & T (M missed it because she had to work and we missed her!!!). The new one is the star jump burpees (just when you thought burpees weren't fun enough, there's yet another variation!! LOL). You do the usual burpee, but when you stand up you jump up with your arms and legs straight out (you look like a star... get it??). C & I only rolled this one once. I think E & T rolled this several times, poor things.. lol.. I believe they even rolled it twice in one round!! C & I did all of them except the kb swings. We did all of the others twice.

Yesterday was cardio and yet again Ben changed it up. We did it in pairs again, M & I and E & T (Christine missed it because she wasn't feeling well - missed you C!). The stations were: Station 1:Bike, Firehose Pull (or Kettlebell Pull) Station 2: Sprints, Lateral Bench Jumps. Sp M & I started at station 1. The firehose pull was actually really fun. I LOVED it!!!! I hope we keep that one for cardio days!! Ben took the firehose and attached one end to a kb. Then we had to pull it across the floor, grab the end, run to the other end and pull it again. It was tough and hurt our hands, but it was great!! Watch the video, you'll see what a great workout that is. Total body baby!! So E & T started with sprints and the lateral bench jumps. Those bench jumps are HARD. You put one leg up on the bench and when it's time to go you use your leg to jump up, switch to the other leg and land on the other side. Keep doing this back and forth. I don't know if I explained that very well, but if you watch the video you'll see what I mean. When it came time for me to do that one, I didn't so much jump and switch. I stood up on the bench & switched. It worked though. I am seriously uncoordinated and if I can fall doing the lateral shuffle, I would surely fall doing that!!! Afterwards we were sitting around and were talking about being flexible and E & T ended up doing a little pretzel race.. check out the 2nd video Ben posted.. frickin hilarious!!! See, we have fun at BBC!!! =)

Today we did The Big Nasty and it WAS nasty!!! The stations were: 50 Hill Climbers per leg, 20 Rows, 25 Goblet Squats, 35 Burpees, 30 Single Leg Hip Extension per leg, 15 Jump Squats/Prisoner Squats, 24 Step ups each leg, 20 Push Press. The top performer for today was Margaret who ended up doing 50 burpees instead of 35. LOL... The reward was a Prograde Craver of her choosing. Congrats Margaret!! You earned it!!

Afterwards, E & I went for a mile run. I'm happy to say that I only stopped once this time and I walked for maybe 15-20 feet before starting to run again. It was definitely tougher after the killer workout this morning, but we got it done!! I plan on adding a 1/2 mile to my runs this week. I'll let you all know how it goes!! =)

Tomorrow the hubs & I are heading to my hometown of Barre for the opening day of racing at Thunder Road. I can't wait. It's always fun to go and watch my brother race!! But also, my best friend Mya will be there and she hasn't seen me in MONTHS. So I can't wait to see what her reaction will be to my transformation so far. =) If anyone reading this is going to the races tomorrow, don't forget to cheer for #37 in the Tiger division!!! Go Finck Racing!!! =) Oh, and don't worry about my food for tomorrow... I'm definitely bringing a cooler and will have lunch, a snack and dinner with me (no easy task with no microwave to heat food up!) so I will be all set!! No Al's French Fries or fried dough for me!! The closest I'll get to the consession stands is the bathrooms!! LOL... have a good one! =)

L-dawg