The Climb: Part 2

ReachingForTheStars · January 6, 2014

Hey y'all,

I'm not witty enough for a clever opening, but welcome to my battle log for my second challenge all the same! You can check out my current challenge here. Let's get started everybody!

I'll post a full entry for today later after I eat all the eats and move all the moves, but to begin the first day of the challenge, I did my official weigh-in for the start of my Whole30 and then hid my scale in the closet. I am currently 149.5 lbs. with a short-term goal of 140 lbs. I will not weigh myself again until my Whole30 is officially over. I am biting my nails already.

ReachingForTheStars · January 7, 2014

1/6/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

15 min. walk before lunc

7/6/4/3 chin-up negatives

20/20/20/20 squats

0:34/0:19/0:30/0:32 side planks (right/left/right/left)

49 in 3 min. squat thrusts

Food:

Hard-boiled eggs and fruit salad for breakfast

Hard-boiled eggs over lettuce with fruit salad for lunch

Stir-fry with chicken, onions, peppers, broccoli, and snow peas over cauliflower rice for dinner

Flexibility:

Using the GMB's Focused Flexibility program, today I took the BAP diagnostic.

Squat - 4

Crossleg - 10

Longsit - 7

Hip/knee flexion - 9

Hip rotation - 8

Shoulder combined motions - 5

Backbending - 6.5

Neck motions - 7

So, I'll be working on the squat and shoulders first. I'll pick my first four stretches tomorrow and add in some split work just for fun.

Japanese:

Made up some flashcards for kanji and brushed up on my hiragana.

Driving:

Yup, we went out!

Very nice day over all, and I'm officially back to work after my long holiday. It was interesting to go a little stricter with the paleo today - I had to get olive oil and coconut oil as well as a few other Whole30-friendly ingredients to keep my cooking lively. I was extremely careful about my labels in the grocery store, and my fridge is now chock full of meat and veggies for the week. I was annoyed that I couldn't find coconut aminos, as today's stir-fry would've been somewhat better with a more Asian-y soy sauce-y taste, but balsamic vinegar served as a suitable replacement for today. The rest of the week will definitely be less ad hoc and more scrumptious.

moomin · January 8, 2014

Welcome back! Nice challenge you have going on. I see you are trying plenty of new exercises! Great work!

And I like that you are learning Nihongo as a life quest! Are you an anime fan like me?

I never really learned but I picked some stuff up by watching anime! I tried memorizing the hirigana but even that was HARD!

Oh and I'm totally jealous -- travelling to Japan when the yen is just so cheap! You'll be carrying heavy bags of souvenirs on your return trip!

ReachingForTheStars · January 8, 2014

1/7/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, and tomatoes for breakfast

Hard-boiled eggs over salad with cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and raisins with balsamic and red wine vinegar and a blood orange for lunch

Marinated chicken breast over zoodles topped with bruschetta

Apple and raisins with almond butter for a snack

Flexibility:

Chose a couple of stretches for each problem area.

Squat - kneeling quad stretch, spinal combined motions

Shoulders - lounge chair, prone scaption rotation

Also to work more on bridges and splits.

Camel

Kneeling lunges

Calf stretches

Japanese:

Made some vocab. flashcards, practiced more kana, read the introduction to "Japanese: the Manga Way"

Driving:

Yup! Took him to the mall and had him practice some parking.

I was SO tired today (adjusting from the holidays, lol). It turns out that the whole series of stretching takes a long time, so I think I'll leave out the extra bridge/split work on my strength training days and do the full thing on my "rest days". They're harder than I thought they would be, but oddly relaxing. I like it.

Cooking with coconut oil is interesting. Didn't taste anything with the chicken and zoodles, but when I cook my eggs in it in the morning, it leaves some grease on them that has an interesting sweetness to it. Very different, and I'm still kinda getting used to it. I do like it, but I can't wait to try my ghee (which has yet to arrive in the mail).

ReachingForTheStars · January 8, 2014

Welcome back! Nice challenge you have going on. I see you are trying plenty of new exercises! Great work! And I like that you are learning Nihongo as a life quest! Are you an anime fan like me? I never really learned but I picked some stuff up by watching anime! I tried memorizing the hirigana but even that was HARD! Oh and I'm totally jealous -- travelling to Japan when the yen is just so cheap! You'll be carrying heavy bags of souvenirs on your return trip!

Thanks and welcome! Totes an anime fan, I make new cosplays every year for my annual cons, and I go to Anime Boston, CTCon, and Another Anime Con every year. I might trade one of those for New York's ComicCon next year or the year after. Actually going to Japan for my honeymoon, which is awesome. We'll be going right during the sweet spot of cherry blossom season! I did notice that the yen is uber cheap right now, which is awesome and saved us a bit of money that I didn't expect. Gosh, I've been practicing my kana so long that I could read through a whole children's book without too much trouble. Unfortunately, I think my vocab's pretty sub par, so I probably wouldn't understand everything. ;; Hiragana and katakana are no big - you just have to write them down again and again and again. It helps to learn the order of it (a, i, u, e, o across, and a, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa down). There's one point where I kept a small notebook and a pen with me at all times and would scribble down both syllabaries whenever I had a moment. I could go on and on, though, Japanese is so much fun to learn!

ReachingForTheStars · January 9, 2014

1/8/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

15 min. walk before lunch

8/7/5/4 chin-up negatives

7/7/7/6 close-hand pushups, sloppy

1:21/1:00/1:00 planks

43 in 3 min. squat thrusts

Food:

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, and onions for breakfast

Marinated chicken over zoodles topped with bruschetta for lunch

Taco meat over lettuce with tomatoes, peppers, and guacamole for dinner

An apple and raisins for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

More kana practice, more flashcards and vocab practice, got through a lesson in each of my two books

Driving:

Ex-nay.

Weekly dinner at the in-laws tonight, so some concession with the taco meat as I said I would allow. Still did the best I could by avoiding cheese and sour cream, and making it a salad instead of using the tortillas.

I feel somewhat bendier after just two days of my flexibility training. I have a feeling this will do wonders for my posture. My back is definitely loving the attention.

moomin · January 9, 2014

It'll be so romantic to go to see the sakura on your honeymoon.

And you, my friend, are really brave!! It takes real guts to go out dressed as a cosplayer, I think. People would stare and take pictures. I'm incredibly self conscious that way.

The image of you dressed in Bleach Shinigami/assassin-style dress doing silks in your local trapeze school while the children watch eating ice-cream is now in my head. Woah!

ReachingForTheStars · January 9, 2014

The image of you dressed in Bleach Shinigami/assassin-style dress doing silks in your local trapeze school while the children watch eating ice-cream is now in my head. Woah!

OMG, MIND OFFICIALLY BLOWN. I HAVE TO TRY THIS. DUDE. Must train, must train...

We will see SO many cherry blossoms, it'll be crazy. And one shrine in Kyoto lights up their trees at night, which will be super beautiful.

I've been cosplaying since senior year of high school. So I've done it for nearly seven years now. I've gotten used to it and actually enjoy when people stare/take pictures/ask questions. I've worn costumes for special events at school and in college, I had wooden geta (the kind elevated on two wooden blocks) that I would go to anime club with (along with a customary cup of instant ramen, lol). Once you realize that you're having tons more fun and freedom than the "normals" around you, it's easy! Plus, when you go to cons, everybody else is dressed up, too, so the concept of "normal" is pretty much tossed out the window. You enter a whole new world when you start to see the telltale signs of cosplayers milling around within a few blocks radius of any con. Seriously, you have to try it. SO much fun.

ReachingForTheStars · January 10, 2014

1/9/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers for breakfast

Marinated chicken over zoodles topped with bruschetta for lunch

Samosa filling (like those Indian pastries without the pastry) and brussel sprouts cooked with raisins and almonds for dinner

An apple for a snack

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Read another lesson in "Japanese: the Manga Way".

Driving:

Yup! Had him drive to the mall.

Dinner was a mix of two very differently themed food items. I mean Indian samosa filling with...brussel sprouts with holiday-type flavors? Seems like they wouldn't go together, but I was desperate for a side dish, so... Anyway, somehow they were awesome together! Seriously, an amazing combination. Heck, I started mixing the two together and eating the meat and sprouts in the same mouthful. Super yums.

Almost missed my bendiness, but I got in my time right before my shower. Didn't get in the extra split and bridges work, but at least I got in the important FF bit.

ReachingForTheStars · January 12, 2014

1/10/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk in the morning

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Fried eggs and an orange for breakfast

Chili (no beans) with guacamole for lunch

Chili (no beans) with guacamole for dinner

Apple and raisins for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Got through another lesson in both of my books.

Driving:

Yup!

Completely unmotivated to get my workout in today. Got in my flexibility training just in the nick of time at the end of the day.

ReachingForTheStars · January 12, 2014

1/11/14

Exercise:

7/7/5/5 push-ups

10/8/5/4 chin-up negatives

25/25/20/20 squats

0:43/0:39/0:37/0:30 side planks (right/left/right/left)

43 in 3 min. squat thrusts

Food:

Shrimp and beef stir-fry over cauliflower rice for lunch

Chili (no beans) with guacamole for dinner

An orange, an apple, grapes, nuts and raisins for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Not today!

Driving:

Yup!

Hard to get through dinner today. Went to a party to watch football, so I brought along a bowl of my own chili to avoid eating whatever snacks might be there. It worked pretty well, and I just nibbled on fruit and nuts when the chips and whatnot tempted me.

ReachingForTheStars · January 13, 2014

1/12/14

Exercise:

Rock gym

Food:

Scallops and asparagus for lunch

Chipotle salad with carnitas for dinner

An orange, raisins, and cashew butter for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch

Spinal combined motions

Camel

Lounge chair

Prone scaption rotation

Kneeling lunges

Calf stretches

Japanese:

Rosetta Stone for half an hour.

Driving:

Yup! Drove to the gym.

ReachingForTheStars · January 14, 2014

1/13/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

11/10/6/4 chin-up negatives

7/7/7/7 close-hand pushups

14/14/14/14 squat/lunge combos

1:30/1:13/1:10 planks

41 in 3 min. squat thrusts

Food:

Fried eggs and an orange for breakfast

Chili (no beans) and guacamole for lunch

Steak, veggie stir-fry, and artichoke for dinner

Cashew butter and raisins for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Another lesson in "The Manga Way" and some Rosetta Stone

Driving:

Nope.

ReachingForTheStars · January 15, 2014

1/14/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

Food:

Scrambled eggs with coconut milk for breakfast

Chili (no beans) for lunch

Chicken in enchilada sauce with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus for dinner

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Another lesson in "The Manga Way".

Driving:

Yup! An extra lesson, too. Still deciding if that will make up for yesterday.

Long day today. Just barely got my bendy training in again, but I did it! Did a lot of cleaning around the house when I got home. Btw, y'all gotta try out this enchilada sauce recipe:

http://everydaypaleo.com/ok-fine-a-real-enchilada-recipe/#more-3064

Very yummy. I used shredded chicken instead of seafood (just stir-fried it and then tore it up) and didn't keep it in the oven as long (because the chicken was already cooked). There's also a carnitas recipe on the same site that would probably also be super awesome. Yum!

ReachingForTheStars · January 16, 2014

1/15/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Scrambled egg with no-bean chili and fruit salad for breakfast

Chicken in enchilada sauce with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus for lunch

Salmon, broccoli, and a baked potato for dinner

A banana, blackberries, and cashews for snacks

Flexibility:

Didn't do it this night, but I stealthily completed it at work the next morning

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Yup! Completed another lesson in both my books. Oh, and I might've found a study partner here on NF! Very much excite.

Driving:

Yup!

Today was tough, I'm not really sure why. I didn't even get my flexiness in until the following morning. I only had one egg this morning, so I cooked it up with a little coconut milk over some of the leftover chili and supplemented it with fruit salad. It was a great idea - super yummy and a spicy kick to start my morning.

moomin · January 16, 2014

I stealthily completed it at work the next morning

^^ This. The official Stealthy Assassin Workout.

And great progression on your bodyweight workout (I'm assuming that's according to the strength guide)! And new exercises in stretching too!

(... Moomin goes off to read about squat thrusts and lounge chairs...)

ReachingForTheStars · January 16, 2014

^^ This. The official Stealthy Assassin Workout.

And great progression on your bodyweight workout (I'm assuming that's according to the strength guide)! And new exercises in stretching too!
(... Moomin goes off to read about squat thrusts and lounge chairs...)

Haha, yup!

You... do not want to know about squat thrusts. They are devilspawn, and burpees are the devil. Lounge chairs, however, are sort of relaxing.

Ok, I'm actually REALLY excited about upping my plank counts, yay! Gosh, I still need more work on my darned push-ups, forms not quite up to snuff yet.

moomin · January 17, 2014

Ok, I'm actually REALLY excited about upping my plank counts, yay! Gosh, I still need more work on my darned push-ups, forms not quite up to snuff yet.

Hooray! Your alternate side plank/front plank training may have something to do with your increasing plank counts. Good work!

And good form close hand push ups are hard! Gotta work hard for perfect form.

ReachingForTheStars · January 18, 2014

1/16/14

Exercise:

5 min. walk this morning

Food:

Hard-boiled eggs, fruit salad, and a banana for breakfast

Chicken in enchilada sauce with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus for lunch

Chicken and veggie stir-fry over cauliflower rice for dinner

Flexibility:

Didn't do it this night, did it the next morning

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Completed lessons in both textbooks and did some Rosetta Stone.

Driving:

I got a flat tire, so unfortunately we couldn't go out until it was replaced.

This has been a rough week thanks to lady things. I haven't been getting my workouts done properly, and I'm feeling sluggish and ick. My diet is still perfectly in check, though, thank goodness.

ReachingForTheStars · January 18, 2014

1/17/14

Exercise:

Bouldering

Food:

Chili (no beans) for breakfast

Chipotle carnitas salad for lunch

Scrambled eggs with onions and peppers for dinner

Blackberries, raisins, and toasted coconut flakes for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions

Camel
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Kneeling lunges

Calf stretches

Splits

Japanese:

Rosetta Stone

Driving:

Tire got fixed, but my husband left his permit at his parents' house. Grr. At least I tried. Hopefully, I can take for an extra long lesson this weekend.

Despite this week being harder than usual, I did discover two awesome things. 1) Toasted and salted coconut flakes are freaking awesome, especially mixed with raisins. Yum. 2) I can officially climb the rope in my rock gym! I didn't try to get very high today, but I definitely did it! Huge step for me, as I couldn't even get up a little bit at the start. W00t w00t!

ReachingForTheStars · January 20, 2014

1/18/14

Exercise:

5/5/5/5 each leg, assisted pistol squats

0:39r/0:36l/0:38r/0:34l, side planks

10/10/10/10, squat/lunge combo

28 in 2 min., squat thrusts

Food:

Scrambled eggs with onion as well as blackberries for breakfast

Stuffed bell pepper with ground beef, onion, and cauliflower for lunch

Tikka masala and cabbage and apples for dinner

Toasted coconut flakes, raisins, and an orange for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Started my NF PvP for Japanese practice and did more Rosetta Stone.

Driving:

Snowed today, didn't feel safe having the hubby drive.

So, after a very bad week for my workouts, I think I finally got myself back on track. I caught up on my flexiness and pumped out a workout despite feeling completely unmotivated. Because of my procrastination on workouts this week, I split my last two workouts of the week into a leg/core day today and an arm/back/chest day tomorrow to allow for rest for my muscles and all that. I also took it a bit easy to allow myself to shake off the icky feeling and get into the exercise again. Making sure to tell myself to shake off the bad week and keep going. That said, my diet is still well on the right track, and I'm pretty happy about that.

ReachingForTheStars · January 20, 2014

1/19/14

Exercise:

7/7/7/7, push-ups

8/8/8/8, chin-up negatives

7/7/7/7, close-hand push-ups

30 in 2 min., squat thrusts

Food:

Fried egg and homemade applesauce with raisins for breakfast

Not so much lunch as avoiding football food today - lettuce and tomatoes, blueberries, toasted coconut flakes, raisins, and grapes for lunch

Chicken and apples as well as brussels sprouts with almonds and raisins for dinner

Raisins and an orange for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Rosetta Stone

Driving:

Unfortunately, no.

Ugh, this has been a tough week for both exercise and driving. I finally feel back on track now, though. For my workouts, I'm going a new Tues, Thurs, Sat schedule instead of Mon, Wed, Fri, as I think this will work better in my schedule and make me less stressed throughout each week.

ReachingForTheStars · January 22, 2014

1/20/14

Exercise:

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes for breakfast

Tikka Masala and cabbage with apples for lunch

Sliders on sweet potato "buns" and a salad for dinner

Raisins, toasted coconut flakes, and an apple for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

Another chapter in each of my textbooks. Pimsleur. Posted in Japanese PvP.

Driving:

Yup!

Ok, back on track and feeling good. I'll be reassessing myself for Focused Flexibility tomorrow, hopefully I've improved!

ReachingForTheStars · January 24, 2014

1/21/14

Exercise:

15 min. walk before lunch

9/9/9/8, chin-up negatives

8/8/8/8, close push-ups

15/15/15/15, squat/lunge combo

1:14/1:10/1:12, planks

43 in 3 min. squat thrusts

Food:

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions as well as blackberries for breakfast

Pork and butternut squash stew for lunch

Meatballs over spaghetti squash with enchilada sauce for dinner

An apple and raisins for snacks

Flexibility:

Took the diagnostic again since it's been over two weeks.

Squat - 7

Crossleg - 10

Longsit - 8

Hip/knee flexion - 10

Hip rotation - 7

Shoulder motions - 7

Backbending - 7

Neck motions - 6

Improvement, yay! I'll shift the focus of my stretches a bit now.

Japanese:

More chapters, Pimsleur

Driving:

Another snowstorm, so no driving today.

ReachingForTheStars · January 24, 2014

1/22/14

Exercise:

15 min. walk before lunch

Food:

Fried eggs and an apple for breakfast

Tikka Masala and cabbage with apples for lunch

Chicken and broccoli stir-fry for dinner

Blackberries, cashews, raisins, and an apple for snacks

Flexibility:

Kneeling quad stretch
Spinal combined motions
Lounge chair
Prone scaption rotation

Japanese:

More chapters, Pimsleur

Driving:

No

Couldn't eat the rice provided with the stir-fry at the in-laws tonight, and I didn't have an alternative, hence some extra nut and fruit snacking.

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The Climb: Part 2

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