arkadia

Update! Friday's Workout https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/21327852/ I totally had a funny moment during my workout. When doing the one arm deadlifts, I had started with 35 lbs but that felt a bit too easy, so I decided with my next set to move up to 40. Much to my surprise, the 40lbs seemed much heavier than I anticipated, and I was struggling a bit. Come to find out, someone had switched the order of the weights on the rack and I was actually lifting 45lbs instead! Needless to say, I kind of felt badass that I actually was able to lift the 45lbs (mostly had grip trouble with left arm) and I'm going to work on trying that again. Onward and up! Veggies are still going well. Honestly, I just feel so much better when I have some greens. Kale is my absolute favorite and I could totally eat it everyday. I need to work on my sleeping though, I guess some of that jet lag is still remaining because my sleep schedule was all over the place this weekend. Getting up early, napping in the middle of the day, staying up until 2:00 am. Yeah, I think I just need to be more consistent and just aim for a specific time. No yoga this past week, so that's my goal for this week!

I'm of the mindset that nothing tastes bad with eggs My biggest issue is I typically eat breakfast at work which means eating what can be easily consumed with what I have available (greek yogurt, oatmeal with fruit, etc). I think what I need to do, is fit in with my goal of being places on time, and get up early enough to make myself a great breakfast that includes veggies!

Yeah, no kidding. I feel like I get way too stressed about time, it would be nice not to be!

First strength workout in about a week https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/21146802/ Was a little limited on how much weight I had since I didn't have access to my normal gym, but still felt pretty great afterward! Also walked for the first time since Japan, and it was nice and sunny out. I do wish we had more places to walk like in Japan (talk about a great system), but I'll take my lunch time walks over nothing. Operation veggies is going great so far, I really missed them! Picked up some precut stuff at the store to have as snacks and have had at least two servings at dinner. I just need to find a way to incorporate some for breakfast. For some reason I don't feel like veggies and breakfast mix due to what I normally eat, but maybe a green smoothy is what I need. Still a bit jet lagged, so I need to work on sleeping earlier still. I plan on just doing a little at a time. Like tonight I'll sleep at 1:00 am versus the 2:30 of the last few nights.

Since I was out of the country for the end of my last challenge, I'm raring to go on this new one. Even more, I turn the big 3-0 next month and I want to on the path to a healthier and stronger me for the start of this new decade. I'm also having a comic hero themed party, so they're my inspiration for this challenge. Let's get to it! Fitness Goals Continue strength training 3x a week following the Dumbbell Division guide. Focus on form and aim for some new personal bests.Continue my weekly walks. I really enjoyed walking last challenge and would love to continue to do so during the week. PLus, it helps me get some sun!Try for weekly yoga again. I failed at this last challenge for sure, but am determined to give it another shot this time. Diet Goals Eat more veggies! While in Japan, I seriously missed my veggies since the majority of meals involved meat and usually lots of rice or other carbs.Eat/Drink less sweets! Definitely indulged a bit while away, which included drinking more soda than I have in awhile. I just need to get back to my regular routine now that I'm home which is little to no soda and sweets on occasion (typically once a week). Personal Goals Work on my timeliness. Steve mentioned in this blog post about being upset at things out of your control due to your own tardiness, and I definitely see a lot of this in myself. So I'm going to work on trying to be more on time, and also get my husband on board since he typically is the cause of my tardiness too.This also means getting enough sleep! Right now I'm suffering from jet lag from the trip, but I want to aim to go to bed earlier which will allow me to get to work earlier and leave earlier so I have more time at home.

Totally had to take the night off from my normal workout last night because I was still hurting pretty bad from Monday. I haven't been treating my body well this week (not stretching, staying up late working, not sleeping enough, etc) So I decided to actually listen to it and feel much better for it. Plan on getting in a workout tonight though! I think my diet is going pretty well, I can definitely start to see more muscle definition, even when not flexed. Realized that most likely I wasn't eating enough calories after doing a little tracking. So I've been trying to at least get some extra ones in, or snack more when I'm hungry (veggies or fruit typically). My personal goals are all over the place. It's hard to maintain clean when you try to do a creative project at the same time! Tonight's the last night though, and I'll be spending tomorrow getting everything ready for my mom to visit (she's pet sitting while we're away). I can't believe it, my trip is next week! I'm insanely excited. Since the jet lag is terrible (waking up at 3:30 am anyone?) I plan on hitting the gym in the mornings while no one is up and about yet. Plus all the walking should be great. I figure that will cover all the food I plan on eating

Second set done today. Have a comic convention this weekend, so hope to get the last set in tomorrow!

Yeah burpees aren't something you can't really jump into (pun not intended) but I like how full body they can be. My 20 "in a row" involves a lot of resting in between Also, how awesome is it to say "I love working out"? I never thought I would, but I really love it! Glad you do too!

Last night's workout was full of distractions, a puppy came to visit, spilled my water, etc. So I totally forgot to stretch afterward and I'm really feeling it this morning. Going to try and do some yoga tonight in the hopes that that will help. https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/20016960/ I'm also working on this week's mini challenge, so I did 20 burpees during my warm-up. Mine are definitely more of the small hop and push-up variety, but I'm hoping to get there through practice. This Friday friends are coming into town, so I'm going to try and get up early enough to get a workout in the morning so I can enjoy my evening. Here's hoping!

Did my 20 during my warm-up last night in place of push-ups. Definitely feeling it today!

Ahhh, I haven't been keeping up with my thread as much as I would like. With both a convention (Wondercon!) and my trip coming up, I'm been crazy busy. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been working out. Here are my workout from last Wednesday https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/19808541/ and Friday https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/19887064/ I even managed to do two more 85lb lat pull downs, so I know it's not a fluke! I can't do them in succession yet, but know that I often get the best results when I listen to my body and do things slowly but consistently. In preparing for my convention this weekend, I've been working on some costumes, and as a result have started to really notice my muscles. My calves feel muscular without even flexing. I'm pretty sure it's the first time they've ever been that way and I couldn't be happier! My food goals are going fairly well too. Haven't had any french fries, or much fried food for that matter, and don't have many sweet cravings either. Unfortunately, my life goals are suffering a bit due to being so busy. I think I may try to study Japanese while on my daily walks (I have an app on my phone to study). The apartment is also pretty messy from my sewing projects, but I've been keeping on top of other day to day stuff, so it's not as bad as it could be. I will however need to have everything cleaned back up by Saturday since my mom is coming to town to take care of my cats while we're in Japan. That will be really good motivation!

Oh man, burpees are eviiillll. I'm so in!

You really are doing so well considering the circumstances. Talk about a tough challenge mentally. It's a wonder that working out really does seem to make a difference in how you feel in such a short amount of time. Keep up the great work!

15 more kneeling push-ups and 39 regular last night for an overall total of 97 this week. I honestly had no idea how many I tend to do in a week until I was counting for this challenge. Good luck to everyone else and congrats for those that completed the challenge!

How's everyone doing so far this week? Had a rough day yesterday, but doing pretty good today. I even managed to do a 1:22 minute plank this afternoon after my walk

Decided to channel my frustrations from yesterday into my workout last night. Accomplished two things. One, I was finally able to do 3 complete circuits of this particular workout (Dumbbell Division Rank Two, Session A with modified push-ups), and I FINALLY was able to pull down the 85lb weight for my lat pulldown! I've been trying for weeks to work up to the 85 lb. I finally figured out that I tend to be at my best during the 2nd circuit because my muscles are warmed up and I'm not fatigued yet, and it totally worked! The next step is to get to more than one. Last Night's workout: https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/19710646/ I also tried out a youtube yoga video and felt really great afterwards. I wanted to do something that focused more on relaxation and stretching rather something that's meant as more of a workout or cardio, if that makes sense. Funnily enough, I didn't think what I was doing was going to do much just because it seems so simple, but I felt so relaxed afterwards! Here's the video I used In case anyone else is interested in checking it out. Diet stuff still going well, although I think I may indulge in some sweet a little more once I'm on my trip, but I don't plan on going overboard by any means. I've fallen a bit behind on my Japanese studying though, so I need to get back on that. And the apartment is getting messy now that I'm in the middle of sewing a costume. My supplies tend to explode a little...whoops. So those are two areas I really need to work on again.

You're absolutely right. It's hard to predict how weather will be and what the conditions will be more than 6 months in advance. I just happened to guess wrong. If we don't catch any this year, we'll just have to plan to go back again some time. Thanks for commenting!

Did 15 kneeling last night for warm-up and 28 regular during my actual workout. Should have the rest done tomorrow. Yay push-ups!

Just found out today that the cherry blossoms are blooming early and by the time we get there, they'll be gone. Trying not to get too down about this since I know we'll still have a good time. However, when you planned your whole vacation around this one event, it's hard not to be a little upset about the whole thing. Don't plan on letting this whole thing derail me too much, but definitely not feeling it today :|

Thanks for the recommendation, I totally signed up! I think I'll try to start logging my food this coming week to see if I can get a good idea.

I'm pretty sure that this week was more crazy than last in terms of my work week, but I managed to keep at my challenges as best as I could. Thanks to the weather, I was able to walk 5 days in a row which was a great way to get out of the office. Wednesday was a late night, so I tried to get a few body weight exercises in while waiting around the office. Fridays workout was much more substantial https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/19619982/ Downloaded some apps to quiz me on Japanese vocabulary, and I'm pleased to know that I know more than I think I know. Who would have thought studying everyday would be beneficial Lastly, while my weight and measurements tend to stay the same, I'm totally starting to notice more muscle and that's making me ridiculously giddy! I'm totally motivated to workout more to see more changes. Human bodies are amazing!

So I used a combo of this recipe for the sweet potato part http://www.primalpal.net/blogdetail/54_savory_paleo_sweet_potato_shepherds_pie and yours for the meat (added mushrooms and carrots) and wholy crap was it good! I'm pretty sure I like this better than regular shepard's pie.

Wanted to pop in and say thanks for the great article on recipes. I'm going to be making sweet potato Shepard's Pie tonight and can't wait!

I'll have to send you some of our current weather, it's going to be in the 70's-80s (24 C - 28 C) this week I didn't get a chance to do my yoga last week, so I'm going to try and get it in twice this week. After all the strength training, I REALLY appreciate the stretching it provides.

Last night's workout: https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/19426945/ Slowly working up the weights by 2.5lbs when I can. I tend to drop the weight down if I can't keep my form, so I can at least practice doing it right. Also, pistol squats are my bane at the moment. I have no idea how to squat low while keeping my leg straight. I'll just have to keep working on it. I'm also so so close when it comes to chin-ups. Found out the other night that i could totally do negatives, so I might switch to that over assisted since it might help me more to get at least one! Working on diet a bit more. Trying to pay more attention to what I'm consuming and might even try out some of those great recipes that Catspaw posted on the blog. I think where I'm having trouble is on the weekends. At work I can have a very set schedules, and on the weekends, since I don't maintain that same schedule, I don't tend to drink as much water, or break up my meals as much. On the personal goals front, keeping the apartment clean is getting a tad more difficult since I have been working late nights at work for the last week and will again this week, but I'm trying to stay on top of it as much as I can. It's definitely not as bad as it has gotten with similar circumstances. So progress! Also, as a funny side effect of studying Japanese more, I've been dreaming in Japanese. The human mind is so interesting that way!