Solstice Tiger, Up Up and Away

[Solstice Tiger]

3 sets of 10? Da-mn! Good job!

 

Heheh, I squeezed them into my circuit before the dumbbell rows. It felt like cheating to do assisted pull ups....but considering I cannot yet do a pull up, I will have to get over that thought!

[Solstice Tiger]

Another quick phone update:

Yesterday

No pull up practice

No circuit required

Stretched my arms, so, did half of my stretches

Did not get all of my water

Today

No pull up practice. I worked out in my work building and though I brought my pull up bar, all the doors were too deep so it wouldn't fit. Poopsicles.

Circuit completed!

Stretched after workout

Water successfully consumed

[Solstice Tiger]

Quest Log Update

 

Jan 16

No pull up practice

Circuit not required

Went to bed before stretching

Thiiiiis close to getting all water

 

Jan 17

2 sets of 10 assisted pull ups

2 circuits (went to downtown Denver to play Ingress afterward so didn't want to have to be wobbling everywhere with 0 arm strength left though as it turns out I think I could have managed 3....)

Stretched after workout

WATER CONSUUUUMED

 

Jan 18

no pull up practice

no circuit required

Stretched before bed

Successfully drank all water

[Solstice Tiger]

Week 2 Round Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (practice 3x/week)

T, Sat

2/3 So close.

 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

T, R, Sat

3/3 Success!

 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

T, W (0.5), R, Sat, Sun

4.5/7 Meh.

 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

M, T, R, Sat, Sun

5/7 Meh.

 

Oof. So this week wasn't as great as Week 1. I am pleased, though, that I worked out at work on Thursday instead of pushing it off to Friday (though it is sad that the doors at work don't facilitate my pull up bar).

 

So I have some work ahead of me. 1--consistently stretching. I am usually harried in the mornings, so the evening is likely when I will do this. I need to time myself and see how long I need to add to my nighttime routine. 2--consistently drinking my water. It's generally easier at work when I can have it next to me and I'm not moving around much. (Though this weekend those days were pretty easy to get water in...go figure.) The real trick is starting early enough in the day which is only a problem when I bring coffee, too. I love my coffee, but it may be time to ditch it in the mornings. It'll be easier to do that with a better sleep routine...the days I get to bed late precede the days I feel like I need coffee. (But a bedtime routine is a whole different animal, though I think I will begin to work on it during this challenge.) 3--pull up practice. Usually not a problem when I'm working out from home, so I won't really count this as a problem.

 

And now for something completely different: I'm teaching myself to juggle!!

I am not this cool....YET.

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 19 Quest Log

 

So, the fiancé had the day off (while I didn't) and a couple friends came up to spend the day with him. They were still around with I got home from work, so no circuit for me! That is the good thing about having a fairly flexible workout. Their small child is pretty adorable though, and he likes me, so that's cool. Most small children don't.

 

No pull up practice (though I showed everyone the pull up bar and we spent a fun few minutes all failing to do pull ups)

No circuit

Stretched before bed!

Drank my water

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 20

3 sets of 10 assisted pull ups

Bodyweight circuit

Stretched after workout

Water accomplished

Jan 21

No pull up practice

No circuit

Stretched before bed

Water accomplished

Jan 22

3 sets of 10 assisted pull ups

Circuit completed

Stretched after workout

Water accomplished

Jan 23

No pull up practice

No circuit

Too tired to stretch before sleep

Water accomplished

Jan 24

No pull up practice

No circuit

Stretched before bed

Water accomplished

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 25 Quest Log

 

3 sets of 10 assisted pull ups

2x through circuit

Stretched after workout

water consuuuumed

 

I cut my workout short yesterday because I thought I didn't have the time due to other obligations...turned out they dropped and I wasn't aware of it until after I was all done. I kind of wish I had done all three circuits anyway and I'll keep that in mind for next time. I did make sure I got in 3 sets of pull ups though. Because I'm really wanting to be able to do a pull up. 

[Solstice Tiger]

Week 3 Round Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (practice 3x/week)

T, R, Sun

3/3 Success

 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

T, R, Sun

3/3 Success

 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

M, T, W, R, Sat, Sun

6/7 So close

 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

M, T, W, R, F, Sat, Sun

7/7 Aw yiss

 

So this week was better than last week, which is really what we're going for here. However, what the numbers don't say is how frickin' hard it was this week to get my butt in gear and work out or stretch. You may notice that instead of a Saturday workout it was a Sunday workout. And what that doesn't tell you is that Sunday almost didn't happen.

 

I'm not quite sure why it was such a struggle this week, but I'm pretty sure part of it is that I don't really have an in-person support system. My fiancé and I have similar work schedules, so he's home when I'm working out. Except he's playing video games and that doesn't do good things for my motivation. I also don't tell many people that I'm working out because when I did I would get comments like "You look fine," "But you're already healthy," and "You don't need to lose weight." And it's an interesting/awkward conversation to have with some people when you tell them that as a girl you want to be stronger. (It's just not done! *swoon*) So I don't really tell people. That and I can only think of one friend off the top of my head who works out regularly.

 

Thanks to Steve's latest e-mail, I think I'm going to have a brainstorming session on how I can work to improve during this next week.

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 26 Quest Log

 

no pull up practice

no circuit required

Stretched before bed (so close to forgetting but I did it!)

Drank all my water

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 27 Quest Log

3 sets of 10 assisted pull ups (tried hanging lower this time than in previous sets [see, I'm pretty tall, so if doors aren't towering, I can reach the pull up bar with closing on 90 degree angle arms]. Hanging lower is harder, holy cow. Also...I may be death gripping the pull up bar and hurting my wrist...this needs looking into)

circuit completed (with most of the pushups done on the couch arm instead of half there and half on the back of the couch. Time to move lower?)

stretched after workout

Drank all my water

 

Jan 28 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no circuit required

did not stretch before bed 

drank all my water

 

The 28th turned out to be the most difficult day this week. I've been doing really good in terms of mental space (changed things up at work which is having a good impact on everything else), but Wednesday for some reason was difficult. I grouched most of the evening after I got home from work and made dinner.

 

And while my headspace has been pretty good recently, I'm also feeling the need to socialize. It seems like it's been too long since I saw friends, even though I had dinner with some girlfriends within the last couple weeks. Good thing it's my birthday soon...

[miss america]

I'm not quite sure why it was such a struggle this week, but I'm pretty sure part of it is that I don't really have an in-person support system. 

 

I have trouble with this too! For a long time I even tried to time my workouts only when my boyfriend wasn't home... which... didn't really work But good on you for sticking with it! Your water challenge is so BOSS and I love all your pull up progress!

[Solstice Tiger]

I have trouble with this too! For a long time I even tried to time my workouts only when my boyfriend wasn't home... which... didn't really work But good on you for sticking with it! Your water challenge is so BOSS and I love all your pull up progress!

 

Thankfully, over the weekend, we had a little heart to heart, me and the fiance, and he's now joining me for workouts! It'll be good for my mental state and good for him since he's been pretty lazy recently. He's very encouraging when I'm struggling to finish my push ups and has helped me be more beastly (at least for the last workout we did )

 

Updates next!

[Solstice Tiger]

Jan 29 Quest Log

 

No pull up practice

No workout

Stretched before bed

Water consumed

 

Jan 30 Quest Log

 

After getting some advice from the pull up ladies of NF, I did a way different pull up practice this day.

Set 1: 3x4 scapula pull ups, two 8-second negatives and one 5-second negative, 5 assisted pull ups from about halfway

Set 2: 3x4 scapula pull ups, one 4-second negative (dang things are HARD), 7 assisted pull ups from about halfway

Set 3: 3x4 scapula pull ups, 0 negatives, 7 assisted pull ups from about halfway

Also completed bodyweight circuit with ALL PUSH UPS ON THE COUCH ARM THIS IS A BIG THING

Stretched after workout

Drank all the water

 

Jan 31 Quest Log

 

no pull up practice

no workout required

stretched in the evening

drank my water

 

Feb 1 Quest Log (My birthday!)

 

Two 8-second flex hangs

Did the leg workouts (squats [i am getting GREAT at these holy cow] and lunges + jumping jacks)

stretched after workout

drank all my water

 

Feb 2 Quest Log

 

Pull ups set 1: one 9-second negative, one 8-second negative, one 5-second negative, approx 5 scapula pull ups

Pull ups set 2: 0 negatives, 10 assisted pull ups from about halfway or a little lower

Pull ups set 3: 10 assisted pull ups from halfwayish

Did the arm workouts (push ups [again, all on the couch arm. THIS IS GREAT!], pull ups [above], planks)

Stretched after workout

Drank all my water

 

OK, so I did the legs one day and arms the other (Feb 1 and 2) because my fiance agreed to start working out with me! Huzzah! This way I will have in person support and we'll both be getting stronger and healthier together. I'm really pleased about this. He joined me for the workout on the 2nd (wasn't feeling well for the 1st) and we'll continue on Wednesday with a full circuit.

 

I will be moving my push ups to the coffee table! Lower than the couch arm and I am SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS. It feels like it's been forever since I've moved lower with these and even though it's really difficult to do the last couple push ups on the couch arm, I'm very happy to be able to feel like I can move lower. Of course, there isn't really anywhere lower than the coffee table other than the floor...so that'll be fun!

 

Next post: Week 4 round up (has it really been that long? wow...)

[Solstice Tiger]

Week 4 Round Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (practice 3x/week)

T, F, Sun (ish)

2.5/3 Very close!

 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

T, F, Sun (half)

2.5/3 Very close!

 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

M, T, R, F, Sat, Sun

6/7 So close!

 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

M, T, W, R, F, Sat, Sun

7/7 Yes!

 

Better week in terms of mental state. Especially at the end, now that my fiance will be working out with me. Or, at least, if he's not working out with me, he'll be more encouraging in my progress. And that's good.

[Solstice Tiger]

Oof, I really gotta post more often...

 

Feb 3 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout required

Stretched before bed

Drank all my wayer

 

Feb 4 Quest Log

3 sets of 10 assisted pull ups from lower than halfway

bodyweight workout completed (And I did all but the final 3 push ups from my coffee table!)

Stretched after workout

Drank all my water

 

Feb 5 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout required

Did not stretch

Drank all my water

 

Feb 6 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout (went to dinner with some friends for birthdays celebration)

Stretched before bed

Drank all my water

 

Feb 7 Quest Log

2 sets of 10 assisted pull ups from lower than halfway

2 rounds of bodyweight circuit

Stretched after workout

Drank all my water

(Fiance's parents came up to take us out shopping and to lunch and dinner [it was a full day] so I'm pretty proud of myself that I got up beforehand to work out instead of curling up with coffee and a book like I prefer to do on weekend mornings.)

 

I'll get to the week 5 round up tonight, after I make sure I drink all my water and get some stretching done

 

I really want to report on my push ups because I am SO PROUD OF MYSELF. I've lowered my push up height by at least a foot (possibly more) over the last two six-week challenges, and I am THIS CLOSE to being able to do all 3 sets of 10 on my coffee table. With nothing else in the house lower, I'll be moving on to the floor this next week (and probably splitting the push ups between the two locations). But I'm seeing progress, and this is so exciting!

 

It's time for me to progress on my squats now, too, since they are by far the easiest part of the workout. I've seen some bodyweight workout progessions around here and I'll be checking them out for something cool I can start doing with my squats.

 

I feel more beastly now, at the end of week 5, than I did when I started this challenge, and I think that's a great thing.

[Solstice Tiger]

Feb 8 Quest Log

 

no pull up practice

no workout required

Stretched before bed

Drank all my water

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

Feb 9 Quest Log

 

pull up practice! 3 sets of 1 12-second negative + 10 assisted pull ups

bodyweight circuit completed (WITH ALL OF MY PUSHUPS ON THE COFFEE TABLE and I switched up my regular squats for deep squats and hoo boy that was fun!)

Stretched after workout

Drank all my water

[Solstice Tiger]

Week 5 Wrap Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (practice 3x/week)

M, W, Sat

3/3 Woo!

 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

M (half), W, Sat

2.5/3 woo!

 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

M, T, W, F, Sat, Sun

6/7 So close!

 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

M, T, W, R, F, Sat, Sun

7/7 I'm a beast!

 

Having my fiance do some of these workouts with me has been a tremendous boost in my motivation. I'm also seeing progress with my squats, push ups, and pull ups, and all of that is really helpful too. I love finishing a set or a workout saying, "That was really hard...and REALLY FUN." Doing just a little better than last time has been great for my mental state.

 

NOW TO CRUSH WEEK 6.

[miss america]

Rawr, you're doing SO awesome!! Week 6 is going DOWN!!

[Solstice Tiger]

Rawr, you're doing SO awesome!! Week 6 is going DOWN!!

 

Oooooor I am, lol. Started feeling not super well Wednesday night and went home early on Thursday... I'm feeling somewhat better tonight, so I'm still going to try and crush at least two circuits!

[Solstice Tiger]

Feb 10 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout required

Stretched in the morning

Drank my water

 

Feb 11 Quest Log

2 sets of 1 12-second negative and 10 assisted pull ups

2 circuits of bodyweight workout (went with regular squats due to not feeling up to par)

Stretched after workout

Drank my water

 

Feb 12 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout required

Did not stretch

Drank my water because I definitely need to hydrate when I'm not feeling well!

 

Today (13th) some friends and I were going to go to Geeks Who Drink trivia, but turns out that the Friday night one we were going to go to was canceled in the last two weeks? Whaaaat? So instead I'll be going home to work out (which I'm excited about, actually. Didn't think I'd get to the point where I looked forward to workouts, but here I am!) This weekend is full of stuff: fiance is going to a MTG thing on Saturday and then we're headed to a play that evening. Sunday will be full of yarn shopping with a friend of mine so we can work on making a blanket for some other friends who are getting married later this year. But I will be sure to stay hydrated through it all and stretch!!

[Solstice Tiger]

Feb 13 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout

did not stretch

drank my water

 

Feb 14 Quest Log

2 sets of 1 14-second negative and 10 assisted pull ups

2 bodyweight circuits

stretched after workout

drank my water

 

Feb 15 Quest Log

no pull up practice

no workout required

did not stretch

drank my water

 

Friday (the 13th)...ugh. I came home after work and decided that I should look at healthcare options (y'know, with the deadline not far away at all) instead of working out. I am here to say that I believe that was a mistake. Friday night sucked. I got so stressed with the damn healthcare things that I started trying to do my taxes and got stressed with that so I started... you see the pattern. Moral of the story is that even if I don't think I'm in the mindset to workout, I'm probably less in the mindset to do anything else before I chill out. (Which, coincidentally, working out is good for. Go figure.)

 

The weekend was busy and I kept forgetting to stretch in these last few days. Next up: week 6 round up and a 6-week evaluation.

[Solstice Tiger]

Week 6 Wrap Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (practice 3x/week)

M, W, Sat

3/3
 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

M, W, Sat

3/3
 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

M, T, W, Sat 
4/7 Not good

 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

M, T, W, R, F, Sat, Sun

7/7 Outstanding!

 

Lesson learned: hard to want to stretch when you're not feeling well. But I still got my workouts in while I wasn't feeling super great. Modified them a little so I wasn't doing as many circuits so I think that worked out.

Another lesson learned: work out when you're stressed. (Because not working out makes you more stressed!)

 

Next up: Full challenge re-cap and level up

[Solstice Tiger]

Six-Week Challenge Wrap Up

 

Quest 1: Do a pull up (buy bar in week 1, practice 3x/week weeks 2-6)

Desired number of workouts: 15

Completed number of workouts: 13.5

Grade: 90%

 

Quest 2: Bodyweight workout 3x/week

Desired number of workouts: 18

Completed number of workouts: 17

Grade: 94%

 

Quest 3: Stretch every day

Desired number of days: 42

Completed number of days: 33.5

Grade: 80%
 

Life Quest: Drink 64oz of water per day

Desired number of days: 42

Completed number of days: 39

Grade: 93%

 

Lesson learned: stretching is hard to want to do in a couple of different circumstances. Circumstance 1: it's early morning and sleep didn't happen on time. Circumstance 2: it's late at night and you're tired. Best way to change these circumstances is to alter my routine; setting my alarm to tell me to get to bed earlier is probably the easiest way to start changing that.

 

Lesson learned: I can do more than I ever thought I could. I can't do a pull up yet, but I can do deep squats and some of my pushups on the ground. I continually surprise myself with that I am now able to do, and I look forward to seeing what else I can accomplish.

 

Lesson learned: Drinking water is amazing!! While sometimes I forget about my water bottle, I did really well with this quest and discovered what it might feel like to be truly hydrated almost all of the time. Water in the morning helps with alertness. Water in the afternoon helps with "am I hungry or do I just want to eat?" I could also tell about halfway through the day by my tiredness level if I'd had enough water yet. Water, man!

 

And now...ding level 3!