Be Afraid Day...

Jan 7

My eyes open and I try to take stock of my body. Sore? Without question. My abs, both upper & lower, are achy. My legs? Very unwilling to take themselves off the bed. Even my arms and shoulders are sore. They say day 2 is often worse and they're right.

Time wins the 'stand-off' and I'm forced to roll out of bed and get ready for work. At least it's casual day, and I can slip into some jeans. Not just any jeans. Jeans I haven't worn in over 2 YEARS! And, they're even a bit loose! Very very cool!

The scales still refuse to show what G and others are noticing. Maybe I should pay more attention to my measurements instead of the digital read out. Still, it frustrates me.

One of the girls at work notices that I'm looking different and she asks if I've lost weight. That felt really, really good. It's nice to be able to say that I have lost weight. And, it's super cool that others are starting to notice.

Home to a nice healthy dinner, TV and my blog.

Night all!

Jan 6 "B Day"

I slept badly last night. It often happens when I know I have to get up early the next day. Add a few disturbing dreams to the mix and it's no wonder I wake up feeling exhausted. Fortunately, I organised my clothes last night before dropping into bed. I pull on my workout gear, zip up my bag and head to the kitchen to prepare my lunch and my pre-workout breakfast. Bananas are hard for me to eat first up so I cut one in half and throw it and a nectarine in the ziplock. I'll eat them on the way.

It's cool this morning and it looks a bit like rain. Traffic is still pretty reasonable. Some people must still be on vacation. Suits me fine. A little aircon, some tunes to get my blood pumping and an easy trip across the Harbour Bridge. Not a bad start to the day.  I wonder if it will just be me or if A will be joining us today.

It looks like it's gonna be me and J. She's got the new circuit worked out for me. We start with the familiar warm up of running back & forth across the Centre. Stretches and then straight into the new stuff. Elbows on the ball, and rolling forward to stretch my lower back. 2 sets of 15. Then, with my lower back on the ball, it's curl ups with a twist to target my obliques. 2 sets of 15. Hip extensions- 2 sets of 15.  Are you noticing a pattern!? Finally, we finish that bit with a new stretch. I steady myself against the wall, bend my knees slightly and then raise up on my toes. It's meant to target a muscle in my foot and ankle. Seems ok, but by the second set of 15, I'm feeling it.

Then the real fun begins. The new circuits are predominantly legs and core. We start with the 'medicine ball dead lift'- essentially a squat to pick up and put down a medicine ball. Yep you guessed it- 15! Followed by sumo squats- standing with legs wider than shoulder width apart with the heels pointing towards each other. How many you ask? 15.

When J shows me the next exercise I give her a look of complete disbelief! She smiles and demonstrates it for me. She lies face down on one Swiss ball with it positioned under her chest. Then, she lifts her feet and places them on the 2nd ball. After steadying herself, she rolls the ball under her feet towards the one she's resting on and then rolls it back. It's like a hamstring curl but instead of lying flat on my back, I'm gonna be suspended between 2 balls on my stomach!! This is insane! My attempt did not go so well. I couldn't get the hang of balancing.

Let's put it all together, she says.

Yeah, let's, I think to myself.

So, here we go: 15 medicine ball lifts, 15 sumo squats, 15 jack-knife rolls, run back and forth and start all over.  The second set of Jack knife swiss ball rolls go better in the balance department, but my legs are killing me.

Time to move this party into the weight room. I get my wish. It's finally time to use V's weight bench! But, instead of lying on my back doing, some wicked chest presses, J's got me lying on my stomach, with only my legs dangling off. Now, using my glutes, I've got to lift my legs level with the rest of my back. Another 2 sets of 15.

I haven't felt this bad during a workout for a long time. New exercises are always challenging, J tells me. And, she's preaching to the converted. I'm definitely a believer.

We finish with a cobra stretch. I lie on the floor on my stomach, lift my chest and squeeze my shoulder blades together. 2 sets of 15. It's harder than it sounds. Stretches to warm down. As I sit on the ball to stretch out my neck muscles, I get a painful head-rush. I can feel each heart beat as it pulses through my brain. J asks if I'm ok. I know if I breath deeply, I'll get through it.

By the time I finish the stretches, my head is back to normal. Then, I collapse in a heap on the floor. J gets the Bliss cd sorted...but it seems to have a mind of it's own. It sticks a bit and it sounds like a DJ remix! Both of us have a giggle and then J changes it. Man, I'm needing this 3 mins of BLISS. Today has been really tough. I was right to think 'B-day' could stand for "Be afraid day'! Oh, where was A when I needed him! He could have saved me from this circuit --well, at least prolonged the inevitable for another few days!

I say good bye to J and make my way slowly down the stairs. My body aches in a whole bunch of new places!

Later in the day, I try sucking my guts in, but I can't. Guess that's the true measure of a good core muscle work out.

My workmates gang up on me- and 2 of them order pad se ew for lunch. I wonder when I'll be able to eat Thai again. Certainly won't be for a while. My birthday deadline is looming!

Home for a long, luxurious bath and a good book. Then TV. Salmon for dinner and early to bed.




Jan 5

I'm not as sore as I thought I'd be after yesterday's full on '60min 4x through the Tuesday circuits' session with J. Actually I am quite impressed with myself for getting through it. 2 months ago, I would have paled at the thought of all of those squats! Today, I can say I DID IT! Too cool!

Typical day at work. My work mate has a thing for vegetarian pad se ew. She sits beside me, and as soon as she unfolds the flaps on the takeaway container the aroma fills our pod. OMG. Thai used to be one of my staples. In fact, from 2005 to 2009 I'd say I prolly had Thai for lunch 98% of the time and pad se ew was one of my 3 favourites. It is SOO hard to look forward to my healthy lite cottage cheese with the smell of her lunch in the air. Sigh...

After work, G and I pop by Woollies to pick up some more supplies. They're out of mangos. Bummer! I've been loving my daily mango. Instead I have to substitute with kiwis, bananas and nectarines. Thought I'd branch out a bit so I popped a package of tofu into the trolly. Might be nice to shake things up a bit. J mentioned quinoa as a pasta substitute, but I think I'll save that for next time!

Another dinner of scrambled eggs and sauteed vegetables. YUM. A bit of TV and it's time to hit the blog. Gotta catch up on the last few days. It takes me longer than I think. I don't make it to bed until 10.45pm.