Maaya's Eternal Quest to Level Up - 2014 edition!

[starsapart]

I don't know that anyone would stop you from frolicing.  

 

This is a fair point.  Once this pesky thing called my full time job is over for the day, perhaps I shall go find a meadow to shamble through~

[AquaPandaManda]

Do you think frolicking is good exercise? I could do that.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

I think if done right, frolicing would be a great exercise.  I'm going to look into proper frolicing methods and caloric burn.  

[Ciara]

I think you have to have the obligatory white summer dress and sunhat for it to work properly. Maybe add a basket of flowers slung over your arm.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

And pics or it didn't happen.  

[starsapart]

Do you think frolicking is good exercise? I could do that.

 

Come over and let's frolic together 

 

I think if done right, frolicing would be a great exercise.  I'm going to look into proper frolicing methods and caloric burn.  

 

Perhaps it counts as calisthenics?  You must let me know the results of this research.

 

I think you have to have the obligatory white summer dress and sunhat for it to work properly. Maybe add a basket of flowers slung over your arm.

 

Hahaha I am actually wearing a white crop top in my pic, but you know what, I bet I can substitute with a different sundress.  And I freaking love my hat.  Maybe flowers tucked into the band, too?

 

And pics or it didn't happen.  

 

I'll see what I can do. 

[rachelkaz]

I think if done right, frolicing would be a great exercise.  I'm going to look into proper frolicing methods and caloric burn.

I thin MyFitnessPal counts it!

[starsapart]

Today was sadly lacking in frolicking and consisted mostly of pain, alas.

 

Calories in: 2014 (1244 net of exercise).  Not the best ever food day - I solved my deficit with steamed sesame buns, which... I know aren't the world's best life choice.  But such a delicious life choice with tea after a long, painful day.

 

Exercise: 60 minutes of zumba.  I think today's sub is supposed to start teaching full-time now that my beloved zumba teacher is leaving.  I feel okay about it, I guess.  Her choreography is kind of meh but the energy/difficulty level is high.  It was definitely a hard workout, and that's why I go, right?  Also, sometime in the middle of class (as people were panting and leaning against walls), she asked, "How's everyone doing?"  I answered, "Just fine!" and this woman in the back row piped up at me, "Oh, you don't count, you're like... a zumba professional."  Everyone laughed, but I have to admit, it made me feel good about myself.  Also, someone who hasn't seen me in months freaked out over how much slimmer I apparently look?  I don't see it but... yay!  Good times.

 

Other Goal Progress: I have my strength training plan courtesy of the trainer I saw yesterday, and it is... painful (thus, likely good for me).  Day one on my own is tomorrow: Wednesday and Saturday will be weights days (and Monday bodyweight day, because parkour).  Then I think I'll keep Sunday as rest day, Tuesday as zumba day, add yoga on Friday and... that just leaves me with Thursday to fill, since Pure Barre is gone (and anyway, I have that damn meeting).  I'll have to wait for the new group exercise schedule to come out for August before I decide... I need another group class!  Maybe Bootcamp will be moved (sighhhhhhhhhh) or idk, Bosu Blast which is probably hellish too.  ANYTHING BUT CROSSFIT OR TABATA.  Or I could go to the park and practice parkour I suppose, except lol, it is too hot and sunny to go out without frying like the pasty white vampire I am.

 

Still feeling the effects of leveling up my workout.  Today it's mostly my legs that hurt today, oddly enough.  My arms, which hurt so badly yesterday, are more or less fine, and my neck feels as though nothing happened.  My body is an eternal mystery.

 

Tomorrow should be interesting!  I'll be out at a work-sponsored volunteer event for most of the day (hope I don't burn to a crisp, speaking of being a pasty vamp!!!!!), then in the evening, a houseguest arrives!  This will be my second houseguest experience since changing my diet - the first was near the beginning of the process, and that was freaking hard.  I remember one day I worked out like... two and a half hours to stay under my calorie goal.  I think I can manage to do better this time, stay tuned for updates!

 

Also, I have my entire challenge written and coded already... hahaha.  Just waiting for the forums to open up.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

As a fellow pasty vampire (Minnesota White), I have found a secret I'd like to share with you:

 

Works wonders.  

[starsapart]

Sunblock!  What a novel concept~!

 

(No, in all seriousness, I burn in spite of sunblock unless I find the time to reapply every hour... sighhhhhh.)

[starsapart]

I was going to write a whiny post, because today mostly sucked.  Then I took my before pictures for my challenge and realized I have abs.  They're not great abs, but I can actually see them.  And then my bad mood went poof.  I am doing something right.

 

Calories in: 1566 (1390 net of exercise).  Today was not a good day food-wise.  I had nothing homemade at all.  Dried fruit for breakfast.  Qdoba catered my work volunteer event, so I had some Mexican for lunch... but I did skip the tortillas and the chips and the cheese, loading up on meat, black beans, lettuce, pico degallo, and guac.  I skipped the cookies too.  That has to count for something.  Leftover lo mein for dinner.  I snacked on cauliflower and raspberries after dinner.

 

Exercise: 40 minutes was all I had between meetings, sighhhhhhhhh.  And I had to work out in yesterday's sweaty clothes because I am an idiot.  But I went.  Warmed up on the treadmill, cooled down with stretches and some yoga (dammit, Crow, cooperate) and in the middle, did the first half of the strength circuit assigned to me by the Bootcamp coach (he broke it into two days, so second half is Saturday).  I got through it once in 30 minutes, with brief water breaks between reps.  Was going to do it twice, but no time.  The circuit was as follows:

• 3x8 bicep curls (weight: 12.5lbs)
• 3x8 tricep kickbacks (weight: 10lbs)
• walking lunges, 3x length of gym (weight: 10lb dumbbell in each hand, so 20lbs total)
• 3x15 sit-ups
• 3x8 shoulder press (weight: 12lbs)
• 3x8 barbell high pulls on the Smith machine (weight: 30lbs)
• 3x15 glute bridges
• 3x15 supermans

Strength day #1, I have survived you.

 

Other Goal Progress: Got my challenge thread set up!  Otherwise, today was a wash.  Speeding ticket, sweaty gym clothes, pain in my glutes, terrible self-esteem issues, trying not to cry in public, you name it.

 

But I have abs.  So it's going to be okay.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

And you kick ass, so you've got that going for you as well.  Two things going right for you.  

[starsapart]

And you kick ass, so you've got that going for you as well.  Two things going right for you.  

 

You're kind and you made me smile, thank you.

[starsapart]

Work is a madhouse right now ahahahahaha.

 

Calories in: 1876 (1351 net of exercise).  Nothing particularly exciting to report here.  Food is food, it was had, all manner of things are acceptably well.

 

Exercise: 45 minutes of Bosu Blast (taught by the Bootcamp guy).  Never tried this class before, and I was really pleasantly surprised.  Lots of balance work + dumbbells, so it's a strength/cardio hybrid with just enough challenge (NOW DO THIS SQUATTING ON A BALL) to keep it from getting boring.  Some calisthenics (bosu burpees and mountain climbers, anyone?) and lots of sets of upper body weights (I could not help but notice that I picked the heaviest weights of any woman in the class - and made it through, though I was hurting).  A really useful class for my overall goals since balance + strength seems to be a recurring theme, so I think I've found my new Thursday jam, until someone schedules another meeting on top of it like a d-bag.

 

Nothing else to report, because work is a madhouse, as previously mentioned.  If you see me on the forums tomorrow morning kick me the hell off, I need to deliver this freaking program pitch and have it not suck monkeys, and I am really stressed out about it.

 

But!  Tomorrow night, sushi and contra dancing.  My reward!

[starsapart]

Contra did not happen.  Sushi did happen.  Boss loved my project.  All in all more good than bad in this day.

 

Calories in: 1900 (1323 net of exercise).  Half a carton of raspberries for breakfast, tiny lunch of veggies, then sushiiiiiiiiiii.  And then an ounce of cheese and a bit of chicken pate and a single serving of tiny whole wheat crackers with raisins and rosemary for a post-workout snack.  Yum yum, a little bit of self-spoiling today.

 

Exercise: 45 minutes of zumba.  Almost didn't work out at all when contra fell through, but I felt wrong taking a rest day, so, welp.  Would have been nice to yoga, but lol, work.

 

Tomorrow there are going to be weights.  Which means tomorrow night there is going to be whining.  There also needs to be rolling ahhhhhhhhh how is it the weekend already, parkour practice, I need to do this before Monday or the ninja bear will get me.  There is room in my strangely enormous bedroom for rolls, I should, you know, do that (to my wife's great entertainment I'm sure).

 

Other Goal Progress: I'm feeling like I've been much kinder to myself lately.  I haven't caught myself saying "ugh, go die you fatso" when I look in the mirror.  This afternoon, I did say something negative about myself but then thought about it and decided I owed myself an apology.  Sure I'm really imperfect, but I work hard, and hard work is worth some pride.  So here's my affirmation: showing up is half the battle, not quitting takes you most of the way to the finish line, and doing these two things makes me a sexy badass.  So there.

[Quilly]

showing up is half the battle, not quitting takes you most of the way to the finish line, and doing these two things makes me a sexy badass.  So there.

 

Totally going in my siggy.

[starsapart]

Feeling terrible today.  So, so sad, down on myself, helpless, just awful.  Nothing to do with my fitness routine, which is going fine, which makes it worse, since I don't think I can control the source of my current distress.  I wish I could just wave a wand and make things different.

 

Calories in: 1882 (1417 net of exercise).  Hit my protein goal.  Failed at trying to make syrniki but ate the ruined remains anyway, which is probably why.

 

Exercise: Tagged on with a fellow Rebel to her gym so we could work out together (using a guest pass).  90 minutes total. Elliptical warm-up, then weights day.  Day two - the hard day:

• 3x8 bench press on the Smith (weight: 65lbs, no wonder it was hard, I didn't realize the bar was 5lbs heavier than at my usual gym, sigh)
• 3x10 each leg lateral lunges (weight: 30lbs total, 15lb dumbbell in each hand)
• 3x8 reverse rows (knees still somewhat bent)
• 3x45 second plank
• 3x10 push-ups (negatives)
• 3x8 barbell squats on the Smith (weight: 65lbs)
• 3x10 each hand cable pulls (weight: 30lbs each hand)
• 3x20 bird dogs (done on the bosu for balance component)

Once through the circuit.  After that, some stretching, some Crow practice, a failed attempt at rolls (ow hard floor in group exercise room ow).  Apparently someone was checking out my ass during the lateral lunges, idek, I only heard this secondhand.

 

Other Goal Progress: Officially out of XL shirts/dresses and into L; tried about a dozen things on today and nothing was too small.  Unfortunately, otherwise things feel crappy.  Fixing my fitness is so much easier than fixing everything else in my life.  Sigh, #nope.

 

Sorry to be a downer, I'll try to be better tomorrow.

 

Might take an active rest day tomorrow and go to yoga in the morning since I have this 3-day gym pass, we'll see.

[Quilly]

What's got you so down, Maaya? You can PM if you want to vent about it. :c 

[starsapart]

What's got you so down, Maaya? You can PM if you want to vent about it. :c 

 

Thanks, dear.  Just some personal life things that I can't figure out how to solve yet. 

[Ciara]

We're always here for you to help you in any way you need   It's hard to shoulder life on your own.

[Kagetsukai]

Hey, just keep in mind that you are still a badass. Life might try to bring you down, but all you have to do is change it to a major key Or listen to Mulan music. Nothing inspires me more than being told to be a man

[starsapart]

Active rest day.  Slightly better than yesterday on the personal front, thankfully.

 

Calories in: 1575 (1361 net of exercise).  My lovely wife made peach muffins tonight, so I am glad I ate lightly.  Homemade, so yes, still flour and sugar, but not processed crap!  And mannnnn they are delicious when made with fresh peaches.  I only had one, because I have some self control somewhere.

 

Exercise: 60 minutes of yoga at my friend's gym.  Slow and easy, just what I probably needed (even if, aside from Half Moon and Crow, which I requested, borinnnnnnnnng).  A good way to kick off a rest day of chores and napping.  Challenge starts tomorrow, BOOYAH.

 

So far, next week's plan:

Monday: Parkour

Tuesday: Zumba, balance practice in the evening, social time with fellow rebel Vicki!

Wednesday: Weights (sob), balance training

Thursday: Bosu (more weights), balance training

Friday: Possibly yoga if I can get out of my meeting, if not zumba at home and balance training

Saturday: Heavy lifting day.

Sunday: Rest, try a new recipe.

 

We'll see if this changes!

[Quilly]

How are your lifts looking? Any concerns over form you'd like to address?

And what's your parkour look like?

[starsapart]

How are your lifts looking? Any concerns over form you'd like to address?

And what's your parkour look like?

 

My lifts are looking pretty good, I think?  I spent some time with a coach who ensured my form was good before letting me out into the world on my own (and writing my strength training regimen for me, for that matter).  I do wish I was stronger (sigh, I nearly died trying to bench press 65lbs) but that's why I'm doing this, right?

 

I enrolled in a level one parkour class for adults at a local parkour gym, so it looks however my insane (and hilarious) blue-haired teacher wants it to look.  Usually there's a dynamic warm-up, followed by drills - we spent a lot of time covering various kind of QM, last week we did forward and backward rolls in combination with other things.  Jumps and landings, sprints. Some work on a balance beam.  We ran an obstacle course the first day - we will run it again at the end of the 10 week class to see how much we've improved.  Also lots of bodyweight strength work: squats, push-ups, pull-ups (or, for me, negatives, because I can't do a pull-up to save my life).  It's exhausting and pretty fun!

[starsapart]

There is no place I don't hurt.  Also, the ninja bear had a machete today, and there was something about it jumping through windows and shards of glass.  I didn't fully understand, but it was properly motivating.

 

Calories in: 1708 (1023 net of exercise).  I felt sick all day, and I suspect this was due to eating takeout yesterday and this afternoon - in very small quantities, but nonetheless.  I felt much better having fasted awhile, so I am trying an experiment.  Dinner consisted of baked vegetables with olive oil and lemon, and some organic whole wheat noodles, then a bit of cheese, nuts, and a pair of apricots.  If I wake up feeling healthy, I'll know the junk food was responsible.  Ugh, I like Chinese food, but it made today hard.

 

Exercise: Parkour for 75 minutes.  More details in my challenge log, but can I say, freaking ow.  Today, there was a lot of tumbling.  Highlights: I can still do a very pretty cartwheel on my right side.  I can't do one at all on my left.  My rolls are better.  I have a hard time getting height in jumps, which is confusing since my legs are quite strong.  Not sure yet what is causing this, but I'm trying to work it out, because it's not helping me.  I no longer feel like I'm just falling out of negative pull-ups - I almost controlled the descent today.  Held my longest ever Crow (still not fully balanced, though).  Fell on my ass a lot.  Thanked my lucky stars for the soft floor.  Did okay at dive rolls.  Nearly died during the QM circuit.  Pulled something around my glutes, stretched it out (hopefully).  Have rug burn on my feet and a bruise on my ribs.  All is as it should be.

 

Other Goal Progress: Nothing to report, but it is 10:08, I am finishing my dinner as we speak, I am already showered, and I think I may manage to get to bed early.  I just hope I'm tired enough to sleep through the night; insomnia's been wreaking havoc with me lately.

 

Work tomorrow is another crazy deadline, so I'll try to stay away.  Kick me off the boards if you see me in the morning.