It's been about ten days since I last posted, but do not think that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping my commitment. Okay, I'm only half telling the truth; the initial commitment was to do bikram yoga along with boot camp. I have been doing boot camp but not keeping up with going to yoga. :-( This is mostly due to how tired I have been and how busy I have been with school. Hopefully, this week, I can get back into going to yoga regularly.
Boot camp continues to be difficult but I have noticed some improvements. A few people have said I look like I'm slimming down a little bit, which is good. Of course I do not notice anything because, well, I'm me and see myself every day. But if others are noticing, awesome! I haven't been eating as well as I should be but I'm also not eating as badly as I was a few weeks ago, so that's a plus.
Carlos did fantastically during yesterday's boot camp; I didn't do that bad. On Thursday, Gabe (the guy whose boot camp we attend) beat the crap out of me. I mean, I had almost no energy by the time it was over. I was the only person who showed up, which meant all of his attention was focused on me. AWESOME! I had to do over 300 up and down things with this giant ass battle rope. I had no idea how I was going to get through each set. It started out with just doing it for a minute and then I was instructed to do it 100 times and then, at the end, I was told I had to do it 200 times to finish up. There were, of course, many breaks I had to give myself for a few seconds but I got through it.
Saturday consisted of a lot of jogging back and forth. On another note, tomorrow I'm going to try and the 6 AM session so I can come home and nap for thirty minutes before getting ready for work. I hope this helps to recharge my energy a bit.
I've been putting off writing this blog out of sheer laziness but I'll try to cover three days. Wednesday was an off day so there wasn't much to say but FUCKING OWWW!
Let's get one thing out of the way, I hate stairs. When I'm God-Emperor (under a firm vitocracy), I will outlaw stairs and require everywhere to have escalators. It's not even walking up the stairs that hurts; it's going down the stairs that are just so painful. It's like someone shot me in both knees and told me to jump on a trampoline.
After Monday, my upper body didn't hurt so much and my arms only hurt slightly. The pain was primarily in my ass cheeks and my legs. By the time I woke up on Thursday for my second session, most of the pain was gone except in extreme movements (i.e. really bending my knee). I want to say, the pain is not directly in my knees, it's in my the lower part of my quads above the knee. But, within five minutes of starting the workout on Thursday, the pain was residual and tolerable.
I understand that the soreness is not something that is long term and as your body acclimates to working out; it becomes either tolerable or less severe. I also understand that drugs like ibuprofen aren't good to take because it could limit ones ability to build muscle. Soooooooo..... percocets, anyone? I kid, of course. There is no easy way to shed weight and it's going to hurt. (and I know this, man!) I've accepted it but I'm still going to make jokes. Also, I'm going to bitch to whoever will listen (coughcoughthisblogcoughcough).
I will, however, say this about yesterday's session: I kinda kicked ass relative to myself on Monday. That is not to say that I'm the best and that I was just the most awesome exerciser in all of awesomedom, but I was able to do more. I think the instructor noticed but he did make a comment that the other person that was doing better than I (he was trying to be cute; it was a joke, really). My first response was "I'm okay with that." I'm not here to compete with anyone and trust me, I'm watching what the other people are doing. I'm here to get fit but not damage myself to where I need medical attention. Thus, I limit myself a bit. All in all, Thursday was a better experience than Monday.
Today, Friday, my arms hurt like crazy. I have another session tomorrow (Carlos the Fiance's first session). I'm dreading it for a number of reasons: 1) I'll probably be in more pain tomorrow; 2) It's right before noon so it'll be warmer; 3) I have a very busy schedule tomorrow. Alas! I committed and I'm going.
Diet the last three days? Totally been slightly sorta cheating:
Wednesday and Thursday morning I had fruit cups with yogurt and lowfat granola for breakfast. Wednesday for lunch I had a Tuna sandwich with a pickle, apple, and small cup of french onion soup. Thursday for lunch I had whole wheat pasta with pesto sauce and artichoke hearts. As a snack I had a quinoa salad that was meh. Wednesday for dinner I low sodium chicken noodle soup (I wasn't feeling well) and a small bowl of cereal. Then Carlos came home and made a tofu vegetable mixed fry thing that was delicious. Thursday for dinner I had about half of an order of general tso's tofu, two spring roles, and a few sips of egg drop soup. It's Friday and Carlos made me eggs (non-cholesterol egg beaters) with pieces of turkey- small portion so that's good!
So my diet hasn't been great the last two days but it's still substantially healthier from when I was having meat for breakfast lunch, mid day snack, dinner, dessert, and 2nd dinner. That's a plus!
Today is an off day as tomorrow is session 3 and Sunday is bikram. Monday will be an off day. I'm still figuring out my schedule for next week.
Yesterday completely kicked my ass. Let's not mince words here, I was dead by the time I stumbled back into my apartment. Nevertheless, after a short nap, I was fully energetic. Throughout the day, my muscles began to hurt (thank you delayed onset muscle soreness). I figured, a great way to try and deal with the pain would be to do an early morning bikram yoga class (what fun!!!!).
I don't know what the hell I was thinking with the notion that doing another physically demanding exercise would help with the pain. Well, okay, it did help. The pain I was feeling when I went into class today is not the pain I am feeling right now. I can barely walk, my ass cheeks are on fire, and my arms feel like someone shot them. Basically, the class shifted the pain around. Awesome!
For those who don't know what Bikram Yoga is, it's a series invented by a guy named Bikram Choudhury based on traditional Hatha postures. The room is set at 104 degrees F with 40% humidity (minimum). The 90-minute practice is intense and challenging but ultimately rewarding. As I mentioned yesterday, one of the things I learned in Bikram is following something through, even if I'm struggling. This is important for me with exercising as I have had a tendency to give up early on when work outs get to hard.
Moving on, doing a fucking class at 6:45 AM the day after doing Boot Camp --- DUMB. FUCKING. IDEA! I did feel a lot better after class, however. Will I do it again? Probably. Why? Because I feel amazing mentally. My body may be screaming 'GURL-- WHAT THE FUCK IS YOU DOIN?' but I feel great about myself afterwards. That's enough to keep me going back. Tomorrow is a rest day but I really want to do something. I just have to remember that Thursday I have my second session of Boot Camp.
Food today- I had oatmeal before class. A banana and strawberry yogurt with low fat granola, cut up strawberries, and raisins for breakfast. Sashimi for lunch. And two small chicken breast for dinner (okay, and two pieces of genoa salami and two pieces of american cheese, but god damn I earned that!) As tomorrow is rest day, I'll be on a modified diet, which also means no meats or cheeses (remember, a life without cheese is a life not worth living).
I used to maintain a blog on here. Alright, I lie! I tried to maintain a blog but I got lazy. Anyway, here is another attempt. I have deleted all of my old posts to start with a clean slate.
Today is the first day of an intense work out regiment I have put myself on for the next five weeks. It consist primarily of Boot Camp by Rugged Strength in Fort Tryon Park in New York City and Bikram Yoga at Bikram yoga NYC Midtown Studio.
First off, I did not think Boot Camp was going to be easy. If I wanted a walk in the park, I could have done it on any day without paying. Nevertheless, at some point during today's workout, I had the same thought I get somewhere around forty-five minutes into a Bikram class: WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING TO MYSELF?
I did push myself to complete the session, even though I was dizzy and couldn't tell if the bugs flying around were stars or actual insects. Once I set my mind to not give up, things began to clear up and I just said "even if I only do a couple of each set, at least I'm trying." This is where my time with Bikram has taught my a valuable lesson: seeing something through. Too often when I have felt something too difficult, especially with working out, I'd just walk away. Well, anyone who has ever done a Bikram class knows, a lot of it is about staying in a 104 degree room with 40% humidity for 90 minutes (it is often hotter). Even if you end up sitting on your mat for half of the class, you never leave that room. (I will post more about what Bikram Yoga is when I do class tomorrow.) So, I applied that lesson to today's Boot Camp session, even if I only did three push ups, at least I know I tried.
That having all been said, I also had another thought, it may take me the full prepaid 20 sessions to do a full session properly, but I made this commitment, so I will do my best to see it through. When it was all finally over, I felt completely drained. I basically crawled to the subway and went home. Luckily, it is only one stop away (I was laughing at myself for having the thought that I should just walk to boot camp, ha! fuck. that. nonsense.)
Once I got home, I passed out for about an hour from being so drained. I woke up with all of my energy restored and proud that at least I got through one session. That is not to say I don't feel it. I can tell that the bulk of my energy this morning went to the first part of the session, as that seemed to be primarily legs and my legs hurt like crazy.
I'm both afraid and excited to finish out this week. I had a nice chat with my wonderful fiance as I was getting ready for work about not pushing myself too hard and burning out after a week. I cannot imagine what I'll be like next week or in three weeks or at the end of it. I'm not allowing myself to think in terms of "if I get to the end;" I'm only allowing myself to think in terms of "when I get to the end..."
Some quick background: Three sessions a week of Boot Camp (Monday Thursday and Saturday) Two-three sessions a week of Bikram yoga (Tuesday or Wednesday, Friday and/or Sunday) Food - No meat during Monday-Friday. Meat substitutes are, however, allowed and encouraged! Low-carb (this is probably going to be hardest one for me). Lunches should consist primarily of vegetarian and/or vegan foods.
Song of the day: Hardcore Masif - Love the Way You Lie (Technikore Remix)
