JustCallMeAmber eats that frog

[JustCallMeAmber]

As I write this, it is currently raining and cold. (Well, cold for Florida anyway.) I've taken quite a bit of time to reflect and look forward a bit over the last few days, and for once maybe I'm approaching something of a plan.  (At the very least I didn't immediately start moping and feeling overwhelmed.) I'm hitting a milestone birthday this year, so that may have contributed to that train of thought. I wrote out a bunch of stuff that I would ideally do/be/accomplish, etc. and I'd like to keep adding/subtracting. Some small stuff, some conflicting goals (I'm pretty sure that's a requirement for this sort of thing), and fortunately some things with a bit of overlap so I can check multiple boxes at once.  Yay, productivity!

 

Oh yeah, I guess I should explain the title.. I remember someone saying to me that you should start your work day doing That One Thing you always put off/hate doing, etc. The fear/loathing of thing makes it 10 times worse than it is to actually do the thing. Then you can focus on doing the things that you actually enjoy doing. So, there will be things on my challenge(s) that I have been putting off because "I don't wanna!" and then fun things too.  New year, new challenge, so let's get this thing going. 

 

For the gains:

• Video at least 1 of the heavier sets of each lift. Yes, it's a PITA. But to avoid becoming an ACTUAL pain in the assets, this needs to happen.
• Try out some new accessories. Maybe some bro stuff, because upper body strength is important (and lacking ATM.)

 

For the money:

• Be more focused at work. Do not obsessively check news/NF/endless non-work-related articles of interest. May need to set a time limit, depending on how this rolls.
• Better budget awareness. Need to cut down on frivolous spending, because Christmas. I'd rather spend the money on things that would help further my goals.

 

For the Alliance ahem, brain:

• Read things that challenge me. Read at least one of the following: classic literature, self-help, or otherwise educational
• Stop saying "I'm old"

 

Misc:

• Oil change

 

Rolling goals

Devo

Walking. 20 minute minimum. Bonus level: 8,000 steps.  (Score / reward TBD)

#Yoga365 730.  Bonus level: 2 sessions/day. (Score / reward TBD) Don't forget front split practice!

 

[Mike Wazowski]

Woo, doing hard things!! Go you!

 

Following along, obvi. Also, amazing consistency on the yoga!!!

[Scaly Freak]

Following for the yoga. Do you do all of it at home, or do you attend classes outside home as well?

[Jord]

i'm disappointed by the lack of frog gifs... 

[CourtnieMarie]

[Scaly Freak]

31 minutes ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

i'm disappointed by the lack of frog gifs... 

 

I misread that and thought is was "frog gills". Have spent the majority of my morning trying to remember whether that frog we dissected in 7th grade biology had gills or not..

 

I need more coffee.

[JustCallMeAmber]

On 1/1/2018 at 11:45 AM, MikeWazowski said:

Woo, doing hard things!! Go you!

 

Following along, obvi. Also, amazing consistency on the yoga!!!

Yay! Thanks! I am hoping this helps me prove to myself that I can do long term goals, even if short term ones are much easier.

 

(I honestly have no idea. Sometimes the gifs just come to me..)

19 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

Following for the yoga. Do you do all of it at home, or do you attend classes outside home as well?

Hey, welcome! I do all of my yoga (well, actually all of my workouts) at home.  I think I would be less apt to do it if I had to be somewhere at a certain time, etc. Are you also yoga-ing this challenge?

 

3 hours ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

i'm disappointed by the lack of frog gifs... 

Better?

 

3 hours ago, CourtnieMarie said:

 

[Scaly Freak]

12 minutes ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

Hey, welcome! I do all of my yoga (well, actually all of my workouts) at home.  I think I would be less apt to do it if I had to be somewhere at a certain time, etc. Are you also yoga-ing this challenge?

 

I started it in my first challenge (the Tutorial), and it's now one of the "things from previous challenges that I must keep doing" challenge goals. I did a mobility focused shoulder and chest yoga practice yesterday, and will most likely do one with leg stretching as the focus tomorrow evening.

[calanthrophy]

Looked for relevant frog gifs. Didn't find any, but was not disappointed:

[JustCallMeAmber]

4 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

I started it in my first challenge (the Tutorial), and it's now one of the "things from previous challenges that I must keep doing" challenge goals. I did a mobility focused shoulder and chest yoga practice yesterday, and will most likely do one with leg stretching as the focus tomorrow evening.

Cool! Momentum is a powerful thing, and keeping a streak of consecutive sessions was particularly motivating for me. Hope you continue to build on your success!

 

I've been doing more shoulder work lately too. Usually my evening sessions are very hip-centric, presumably because I sit at a desk all day and they tend to get tight. But the shoulder work feels good and I need to keep that in the rotation as I get back to business.

2 hours ago, calanthrophy said:

Looked for relevant frog gifs. Didn't find any, but was not disappointed:

Dude, you find the oddest things.. 

[miss_marissa]

Video lift sets is kind of difficult and PITA to do at first, but so helpful and worthwhile! Once you get over the initial fear/embarrassment it's second nature. I try to film one of my top sets of all my lifts and then others that I'm struggling with too.

[JustCallMeAmber]

Video lift sets is kind of difficult and PITA to do at first, but so helpful and worthwhile! Once you get over the initial fear/embarrassment it's second nature. I try to film one of my top sets of all my lifts and then others that I'm struggling with too.

It's definitely more a case of me being lazy about it than anything else. Just haven't wanted to take the time to do it. And I think it would be helpful to get a few of them posted and have more sets of eyes looking things over too. It has been a looong time since I did form checks.

Also, I really wish I had filmed my last deadlift top set so I could settle whether I set or just tied PR this morning. My notes (and CNS for that matter) said it was PR but my brain keeps insisting that I've seen that combo of plates before...

I think I'm going to dig out my old phone and use that for vids. That way it doesn't interrupt my timer or music.


Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Mike Wazowski]

Go you - I still haven't gotten around to filming lifting sets, and I'm kind of nervous to start.

[JustCallMeAmber]

1st one is up: squats

 

 

[ixaera]

21 hours ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

I think I'm going to dig out my old phone and use that for vids. That way it doesn't interrupt my timer or music.

 

This is literally the #1 cause of my not taking vids. I hate interrupting my musics.

[JustCallMeAmber]

2 hours ago, ixaera said:

 I hate interrupting my musics.

This is the absolute truth. I cannot lift or run without tunes. I just get distracted and I can't focus without music even though I train solo. (Actually, come to think of it, the best way to tell that I'm not working while I'm at work is if my headphones are missing. Hello, my name is Amber, and I am a music addict.)

[Scaly Freak]

7 minutes ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

Hello, my name is Amber, and I am a music addict.

 

Hello Amber! *waves*

 

I'm a music addict too. I have been since I was about eight years old and have no intention trying to change. Pandora and Amazon Prime Music are my best friends.

[Grumble]

2 minutes ago, scalyfreak said:

 

Hello Amber! *waves*

 

I'm a music addict too. I have been since I was about eight years old and have no intention trying to change. Pandora and Amazon Prime Music are my best friends.

 

Is this a confessional? MA Anonymous? Hi, my name is Grumble and I'm a music addict. Is it bad I am turning grimble into one as well?

 

That reminds me, I need to build a playlist for grimble's bday party.

[Scaly Freak]

2 minutes ago, Grumble said:

 

Is this a confessional? MA Anonymous? Hi, my name is Grumble and I'm a music addict.

 

Yes, but without the anonymity. We're currently meeting in this thread.

[RedStone]

Made it! HIIIIIIIIIIIII  

 

On 1/1/2018 at 11:05 AM, JustCallMeAmber said:

Try out some new accessories. Maybe some bro stuff, because upper body strength is important (and lacking ATM.)

 

 

Oh ho ho ho!!! 

 

[JustCallMeAmber]

3 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

Hello Amber! *waves*

 

I'm a music addict too. I have been since I was about eight years old and have no intention trying to change. Pandora and Amazon Prime Music are my best friends.

ONE OF US.

 

I've been using Spotify for the past several months. I like it for the most part, but lately they've gotten into a nasty habit of playing the same ad for Marshall's that truly makes me want to throw my phone every time I hear it. (I was actually tempted to spring for the paid version when they had it on special just to avoid having THAT commercial.) Ahem. Sorry. In lieu of phone throwing, I am reminded that I have options. 

3 hours ago, Grumble said:

 

Is this a confessional? MA Anonymous? Hi, my name is Grumble and I'm a music addict. Is it bad I am turning grimble into one as well?

 

ONE MORE OF US.  You must pass on, what you have learned. 

3 hours ago, Grumble said:

That reminds me, I need to build a playlist for grimble's bday party.

Not sure what's on that playlist, but it needs more Owl City. Just sayin'.

3 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

Yes, but without the anonymity. We're currently meeting in this thread.

Oooh shiny!

1 hour ago, RedStone said:

Made it! HIIIIIIIIIIIII  

 

 

 

Oh ho ho ho!!! 

 

Helllloooo!

I confess I have made zero progress on that particular goal so far lol. But the week is not yet done, so some research/planning may yet happen. 

[Grumble]

1 hour ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

Not sure what's on that playlist, but it needs more Owl City. Just sayin'.

I know we've had the owl city fandom discussion, and I already have When Can I See You Again, Unbelievable, and Captains of the Sky from his acoustic project.

[CourtnieMarie]

On 1/5/2018 at 7:49 PM, JustCallMeAmber said:

I've been using Spotify for the past several months. I like it for the most part, but lately they've gotten into a nasty habit of playing the same ad for Marshall's that truly makes me want to throw my phone every time I hear it. (I was actually tempted to spring for the paid version when they had it on special just to avoid having THAT commercial.) Ahem. Sorry. In lieu of phone throwing, I am reminded that I have options. 

SO and I share the family paid version of spotify. it's been wonderful. $15 for up to 6 ppl as long as they all put down the same address.

 

try out some bro accessories!

[JustCallMeAmber]

Week 1 (or zero?) summary:

• Video at least 1 of the heavier sets of each lift. Squats done. Next up deadlifts.
• Try out some new accessories. Maybe some bro stuff. Not yet.
• Be more focused at work. Do not obsessively check news/NF/endless non-work-related articles of interest. About 50/50 here, but got the important stuff done, so that's enough to start.
• Better budget awareness. Need to cut down on frivolous spending. Check! Stuck to the stuff on my list at the grocery and no online shopping.

• Read things that challenge me. Read at least one of the following: classic literature, self-help, or otherwise educational. Check!
• Stop saying "I'm old" Check!

Misc:

• Oil change Not yet.

 

Rolling goals

Devo 7/7. Check!

Walking. 7/7. Bonus 7!  (Score / reward TBD) Check! New high score: 9 weeks straight!

#Yoga365 730. 7/7. Bonus 4. (Score / reward TBD) Don't forget front split practice! Front splits have hit a wall. Made quite a bit of progress at first, but stalled out around the same place where I quit last time. Now I can pretty much only get my calves to the ground post-run, where I was able to do that consistently daily a couple of months ago.

 

Feeling pretty good about the start of this challenge. Squats need a bit of work, which I kinda knew, but getting the vids done helped show where I need work. I was relieved that posting the vid didn't become too much of A Thing mentally.

Spoiler

I know I weigh 15lb more than I did in my very 1st vids, but by the same token, ain't no friggin' way that chick was squatting something that weighed more than she did does. I do sometimes think about "if I had all the gear I have now when I started, where would my numbers be now"? But then, if I had waited til I had everything just right, essentially I'd just be starting now. My numbers may not be spectacular, or as much as I'd like, but the path getting here was a winding one and an imperfect start was better than nothing.

I do think I've finally decided I erroneously-mathed my previous deadlift PR, and thus I matched instead of beating it Thursday. I'm ok with that. I definitely did not have anything left in the tank afterward, so I can't be upset I didn't try for more. (Ironically, this was supposed to have been a deload week anyway. I just YOLO'D deadlifts because I'd eaten 1/2 jar of PB the previous evening and was feeling pretty good energy-wise.)

 

ETA: Forgot to say that I skipped my conditioning circuit again. I need to add this here, so that I do NOT skip next week. (I did go for a run both times, and the weather was sufficiently cooperative that I was able to run 25 and 30 minutes without stopping, respectively. Slow, but I'm still pleased with the lack of pausing.)

 

Onward to Week 2! (or 1?.. whatever.. lol)

 

[JustCallMeAmber]

1 hour ago, CourtnieMarie said:

SO and I share the family paid version of spotify. it's been wonderful. $15 for up to 6 ppl as long as they all put down the same address.

Oooh! That has some promise! Wonder if any of the rest of my crew would be interested in doing that

1 hour ago, CourtnieMarie said:

try out some bro accessories!

On my to-do for this week!