lucky fire dragon takes good care of herself

[lucky fire dragon]

lucky fire dragon takes good care of herself

 

 

After a rather wobbly challenge last time I was lost for about a week as to how to go from here. Aiming for all the things is not going to happen right now and also seems not the best approach for me, so I'll go back to my main passions with pole and hoop and having enough ease and fun in my life

 

that decision feels so good, probably combined with the restful 4 day vacation last weekend, I am climbing up on top of my world again and getting EXCITED

 

Add the new mini theme, ooooooooh

 

 

well, you have me excited a whole lot more and it goes so well with the theme that finally took shape this morning between work sessions and household catching up:

 

This challenge I will be REALLY good to myself and take the best care, because I am worth it                

            and because it will enable me to have even more fun                    

                             and because you have to be in tiptop shape to help destroy a ring in Mordor

 

 

So let's get with it

 

 

Goal 1 Good fuel and Hydration

 

- moooooar veggies!!! Looking for variety and want to up that part of my meals as it has bored me for a while and now I notice that that is not good

- less carbs and sugars! Meaning less pasta, rice, etc... less sugary or alcoholic drinks and rather

- mooooooar water! Minimum of 2 Liters / day, aiming for 3-4 days / week again with 2,5 liters minimum

 

The water will help with all the rest as I know from the past. Hobbits and dwarves had not much else on their journey either, except at rare rest places and celebrations. Those times are restricted to one evening/week where I can indulge in anything I want to, granted I had my minimum water

 

As for my meals, I will list all intake here and hope that will motivate me enough to keep things healthy Also it might be a good reference point for any hindsight. Will see, have never tracked any food before, am curious on any result, sure it can only be progress

 

 

Goal 2 Get stronger

 

Frodo really wouldn't have got far without Sam! And why? Because Sam was not only true and wise, he was also strrrrrrong!! I want to be too.

 

In order to give this a nice structure, yet flexible, I will adapt Steve's Angry Bird Workout a bit - I love that workout structure

Workout will consist of

 

x reps of deep bodyweight squats 

x reps of pull ups on hoop or pole

x reps of chin ups on hoop / pull ups with other hand up on pole

x reps of sit ups on hoop / hang back sit ups on pole

x minutes of plank

x minutes of side plank each side

 

Will do my first workout tomorrow to determine how many reps of each. Will see how many I can do over 3 sets, use that number as a starter and once I can do them in 2 sets or less, will up the number of reps.

 

Will do the whole workout with either pole or hoop 3x/week

With a nice stretching session afterwards, I will be flying again in no time 

 

Talking about flying: aiming for 2 pole and 1 hoop training at home in addition to the weekly classes

 

Tentative schedule:

 

Mon     run training, Angry Bird on hoop plus train a bit

Tue*      Angry Bird on pole plus train

Wed     run training, hoop class at night

Thu      pole class at night

Fri        hike or chill with hubby during morning

Sat       Run training, Angry Bird on pole plus train and dance

Sun      rest day

 

* Tuesday might end up a rest day from time to time, depending what is happening around me and how my body is doing. I want to leave enough play for it all to be good long term and no stress. After all I want to take good care of myself

 

 

 

 

Goal 3 Having fun

 

There is a lot going on in my life right now with work, family and the awesome sports stuff, that it's easy to get into a mode of working hard and forgetting when to stop and smell the roses. So I will schedule those times - again, that is, I have had this element before in a challenge and it was simply beautiful: 2 plan free afternoons / week. No appointments, no tasks set, just free time to spend however I want to. If I want to be productive on something that tickles me, I can of course, but the beauty is to not have to 

 

A win for this goal is also every time I get inspired instead of escaping into mindless distractions that don't really relax me in the end. For instance watching "Got to dance" inspires me, watching little youtube movies on facebook distracts me but doesn't relax me.

Proper relaxation like a delicious hot bath, or lying with my legs up the wall, or meditating and breathing are fabulous wins, too, of course.

Will see how many wins I can collect over the course of these weeks     

 

 

Side goals:

 

- stick to my training schedule for the 10 mile run on October 11th

- finish said run honorably, personal goal is to finish in 2 hours 10 min

- another translation project for work, that I have kept for procrastination savoring and that I will track with a progress bar in signature. Those are just so cool

 

 

That's it for now. Will draft some spreadsheets still for easy tracking progress. No before and after pics, rather some hoop and pole win pics during the challenge

No rewards as benefits from all this will be super rewarding in themselves.

No stat points as I lost interest in them and this way is simpler.

 

Oh yes, that is another side goal: simplifying my life 

 

[SymphonicDan]

Found you

[Mrs Van]

Yay! Gotcha! Will stick like glue to watch the fun develop. Awesome that your focussing on all round improvement - health, strength and relaxation!

On a side note: please tell me how to upload pictures from my hard drive (computer's) directly. I succeeded once, one late evening, and can't seem to get it right again!

[lucky fire dragon]

Found you

 

Yay!! Glad to have you

 

Took me a while to find you though - over there so far away with the warriors Getting strrrrrrong, are ye?

 

 

Yay! Gotcha! Will stick like glue to watch the fun develop. Awesome that your focussing on all round improvement - health, strength and relaxation!

On a side note: please tell me how to upload pictures from my hard drive (computer's) directly. I succeeded once, one late evening, and can't seem to get it right again!

 

Ooooh, happy to have you glued

 

When you click on the arrow next to your user name the last option bottom right is "my gallery". Upload into there and then you can insert into your posts using the "My Media" icon. Does that help? Excited to see what goodies you'll post

[lucky fire dragon]

Day 1 Week 1

 

Good fuel - check

 

breakfast: banana, nuts and herbal tea with honey 

lunch:  turkey fried with curry, cream sauce and fried veggies (zucchini, tomato, paprika and spring onion) plus a little feta cheese - very yummy

desert after lunch: 4 little cubes of strawberry-mint chocolate *bliss* and left it with that even though temptation for more was soooooooo big

supper: tomato and mozzarella spiced with salt, pepper, fresh basil and vinegar - one of my all time favorites, you will probably see that a lot in here 

 

Good hydration - soso

 

had nearly 2 Liters of water, if you count the herbal tea, it was

If you count what I sweated out running, more would have been better... but it's a start and today I started better

Win: hubby had a small beer in the evening, I declined and stuck to my water 

 

Get stronger - good enough

 

with all the things to do after vacation and just before kids starting school again (had their first day after summer break today) I did manage my run, but no Angry Bird Workout. Will catch up today.

Proud to have done my run. 10 km in 75 minutes, whoohoo. And it felt good.

 

Have fun - check

 

scheduled my plan free afternoons (and a whole lot more), got my challenge up and joined the MINI 

set intention to have more retreat participants instead of single sessions (simplifying all the things) and two people signed up just a little after that, yay

did other things right, too, it seems as I slept like a baby 

[lucky fire dragon]

Today's wins before I forget:

 

- cleared clutter around house (simplify)

- started on translation project without waiting for all emails etc being done first

- had a delicious hot bath first thing (fun and relaxation)

- was super hungry from eating too little/too late because of client showing up earlier than expected - instead of doing silly bun or bread things then quenched hunger with water and a Vienna sausage, now it's off to cook a proper meal 

 

4 wins on day 2, I like this challenge already

[SymphonicDan]

When you post what you eat, I wonder how anybody voluntarily chooses to live off Chinese takeaway and coke... it always sounds so nice

 

It's good to avoid the feeling of always having to do something, even when you've all caught up on important tasks. It's good to do extra productive things, but only if there's also times when you just relax and enjoy the moment. I like that you have that in your challenge.

[Mr_Willes]

did other things right, too, it seems as I slept like a baby  

 

This is something that gives me such great comfort afterwards, waking up, with a feeling i have rested good and long enough.

 

Sounds like your off to a very good start! Keep it going! Looking forward to the next update!

[lucky fire dragon]

When you post what you eat, I wonder how anybody voluntarily chooses to live off Chinese takeaway and coke... it always sounds so nice

 

It's good to avoid the feeling of always having to do something, even when you've all caught up on important tasks. It's good to do extra productive things, but only if there's also times when you just relax and enjoy the moment. I like that you have that in your challenge.

 

Hey thanks Guess I take a lot of good things for granted. Which is not a bad thing either

 

Yes, I felt I was too much into hard working or totally nothing so this is intended to enjoy free time more, aaaaaah life to be lived

 

 

 

 

 

This is something that gives me such great comfort afterwards, waking up, with a feeling i have rested good and long enough.

 

Sounds like your off to a very good start! Keep it going! Looking forward to the next update!

 

 

Best feeling!

And thanks will give it my best

[lucky fire dragon]

Day 2 Week 1

 

Good fuel - check

 

breakfast: as mentioned rushed, 1 banana early, then herbal tea with honey, later Vienna sausage to catch up 

lunch:  beef steak, potatoes for kids and hubby (first time with instant pot, yay) and defrosted a pack of veggie mix as no time for fresh (peas, carrots, cauliflower)

desert after lunch: 3 little cubes of dark mousse chocolate - again *bliss* and temptation for more was huge, but good intentions won   

supper: tomato and mozzarella spiced with salt, pepper, fresh basil and vinegar - as mentioned absolute favorite, will shorten it with T&M from here on

evening snack: pistacchio nuts

 

Good hydration - check yessss

 

had 2.3 Liters of water, plus several cups of herbal tea

nothing else

hubby had a small beer again in the evening (we're still switching from holiday mode...), I struggled, thought of my Gryffindarlings and declined, stuck to my water instead  :triumphant: 

 

 

Get stronger - check

 

Did my first Angry Bird Workout with pole elements. Was pressed a little for time with lots of work and family appointments yesterday so managing to squeeze it in was a big win already

Made video for form checks and comparison to end of challenge, might share it for amusement here once I edited it a bit (lots of puffing between sets, taking notes, wiping hands dry etc...)

 

Sumo Squats:  20/25/25

Push Ups: 10/7/6  

this is where I notice lack of training most, I used to be able to do a lot more. Might mean it will go up quickly again?? That would be nice  

Pull Ups on pole left hand higher: 3/2/2

Pull Ups on pole right hand higher: 2/3/1

Ahahaha those were ridiculously hard!! I started with arms outstretched and barely managed to get my nose to finger knuckles, maybe video will be good here for explanation and hopefully surely progress proof

Hang back sit ups on pole left leg straight: 2/1/1

Hang back sit ups on pole right leg straight: 3/2/2

Okay those I knew would be tough and surprise they are The straight leg holds me in place and you can see my left side is a lot weaker on that. This will be good training hah!

Planks: 75 sec/ 60 sec / 60 sec

Side Plank on left elbow: 30sec/30sec/30sec

Side Plank on right elbow: 30sec/30sec/30sec

Here both sides were quite similar which is great.

 

And best part: afterwards I had 5 minutes left for actual pole training (was reallly pressed for time but made the most of those 5 minutes) and I managed my spinning combo!!!!!!! Not entirely neat yet, but I got all the way around and landed where I am supposed to. Felt like good spin, too. I simply could not believe it. And I hadn't even tried the over shoulder back look (forgotten oops) so yayyyyyyyyyy

 

Trained a little on the body wave from handstand on pole too (sort of like caterpillar prep) and realized how much core and lower back strength it needs. Planks will surely help there, yessss

All in all great training session     

 

Have fun - check

 

before mentioned bath in morning

squeezing pole workout in

leaving emails waiting - okay this is only partly fun as it means more to catch up with today, but it felt real good to set other priorities yesterday

instead I sat in at my daughter's first ever drumming lesson and that made her very happy. Happy kids = happy mommy It was interesting too, especially as I have no clue about drumming. Used to play the harp for many years, some flute and sang in choir, but those are all very different

 

[Lightning]

Wait... you can do pull ups with your arms at different angles?! Please explain how you do this magic!

I have a recipe on my Pinterest that you might like A Lot. You layer tomatoes with some finely chopped basil, slag and pepper then mozzarella. Do another layer of the same ingredients and bake until the cheese looks all melts and perfect. I think you drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the casserole dish first, I'll have to find the exact recipe if you are interested. It's just a warm and gooey version of your T&M.

[SymphonicDan]

Pull Ups on pole left hand higher: 3/2/2

Pull Ups on pole right hand higher: 2/3/1

Ahahaha those were ridiculously hard!! I started with arms outstretched and barely managed to get my nose to finger knuckles, maybe video will be good here for explanation and hopefully surely progress proof

 

No surprise that these were harder than normal pull-ups! you have to grab much harder onto a pole (or rope, or even on a horizontal bar of wide diameter) than on a nice pull-ups bar, and the gripping muscles pull on the pull-up muscles so that they're doing more work than usual before they even start to do the pull-up. Try to stay in a deadhang without any tension in your arm and shoulder muscles and you'll feel the chain of tension.

 

If you're managing sets of 3 of these that's impressive (unless your hands were very far apart) - how many standard pull-ups can you do now? 

 

Liking your updates as always

[LydiaJaybird]

ANOTHER FELLOW POLER!!! =DDDDD

[Mrs Van]

Wow, you are doing awesomely great!

LOL for the drumming you attended (and making your daughter happy!). A neighbour's son, two houses down the street, took drumming lessons years ago, and we could hear him practice every afternoon! They obviously thought at first very few people are home during the afternoons, so they didn't sound proof the room, but then the neighbour in-between our houses complained and suddenly the drumming was very faint. The drumming did become a bit monotonous after a while, but still interesting to listen to when out in the garden.

[lucky fire dragon]

Wait... you can do pull ups with your arms at different angles?! Please explain how you do this magic!

I have a recipe on my Pinterest that you might like A Lot. You layer tomatoes with some finely chopped basil, slag and pepper then mozzarella. Do another layer of the same ingredients and bake until the cheese looks all melts and perfect. I think you drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the casserole dish first, I'll have to find the exact recipe if you are interested. It's just a warm and gooey version of your T&M.

 

Ahahaha I just imagined what it must have looked like in your mind with one hand higher in normal pull up positions that would be wonderful magic indeed!

 

No, simple thing - pull up bar = horizontal, pole = vertical - it would be tricky to have both hands next to each other So I stack them on top of each other. Yes, will have to at least edit some pics out of video or something to show than you can see.

 

Mmmmmh baked tomato mozarella dish sounds divine! I sometimes mixed it into fresh hot pasta, but without the pasta it will be even better nomnomnom

[lucky fire dragon]

No surprise that these were harder than normal pull-ups! you have to grab much harder onto a pole (or rope, or even on a horizontal bar of wide diameter) than on a nice pull-ups bar, and the gripping muscles pull on the pull-up muscles so that they're doing more work than usual before they even start to do the pull-up. Try to stay in a deadhang without any tension in your arm and shoulder muscles and you'll feel the chain of tension.

 

If you're managing sets of 3 of these that's impressive (unless your hands were very far apart) - how many standard pull-ups can you do now? 

 

Liking your updates as always

 

oh Dan, can I just hug you quickly over the seas? You are always so encouraging, thank you! 

And you are totally right, of course. It's actually part of my plan, I totally need to improve my grip strength on the pole. As soon as things go a little tricky I sweat and can't hold on anymore. Liquid magnesium only helps so far, so I decided to up my grip strength instead. Hold thumbs please

 

Hm, will have to test standard pull ups. I can do my dead hang one on the bar that I tested yesterday and recently tested that I can still do my 5 chin ups in one set if I don't go all the way down in between. With pull ups I think it is only two however. Maybe more after this challenge?? Would be cool   

[lucky fire dragon]

ANOTHER FELLOW POLER!!! =DDDDD

 

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Let's have ALL THE POLE CHATS

[lucky fire dragon]

Wow, you are doing awesomely great!

LOL for the drumming you attended (and making your daughter happy!). A neighbour's son, two houses down the street, took drumming lessons years ago, and we could hear him practice every afternoon! They obviously thought at first very few people are home during the afternoons, so they didn't sound proof the room, but then the neighbour in-between our houses complained and suddenly the drumming was very faint. The drumming did become a bit monotonous after a while, but still interesting to listen to when out in the garden.

 

Ugh, I am still wondering how to handle this best. Thing is, on the 16th birthday of my eldest, she had some friends over, playing with their band for her birthday. Electric guitar, drum sets, ... the whole thing. And we were pleasantly surprised how soft it was upstairs when they played the music in the basement room with the door closed. So when my youngest decided to have a crush on drums I thought, "Okay we are fortunate enough to have a room even for her". Now it turns out she plays a lot louder than they did, or maybe the extra people in the room had dampened the noise back then... and our poor neighbors do hear it more than planned. So far they are being really nice about it, but as you say with time it might get a bit monotonous for the untrained listener. 

Am hoping for the best and an easy solution.

At least it's only the immediate neighbors that are affected, no further than that. Oh, and us of course

[Mrs Van]

Ugh, I am still wondering how to handle this best. Thing is, on the 16th birthday of my eldest, she had some friends over, playing with their band for her birthday. Electric guitar, drum sets, ... the whole thing. And we were pleasantly surprised how soft it was upstairs when they played the music in the basement room with the door closed. So when my youngest decided to have a crush on drums I thought, "Okay we are fortunate enough to have a room even for her". Now it turns out she plays a lot louder than they did, or maybe the extra people in the room had dampened the noise back then... and our poor neighbors do hear it more than planned. So far they are being really nice about it, but as you say with time it might get a bit monotonous for the untrained listener. 

Am hoping for the best and an easy solution.

At least it's only the immediate neighbors that are affected, no further than that. Oh, and us of course

Egg cartons on the walls and ceilings - those trays that hold 30 eggs. Of course then you'll have to paint or decorate to make it look less... cardboardy... eggy... gray...?

[Mad Hatter]

It sounds like you've found your way back with this challenge. I love your having fun goal and proper relaxation time. I have to be super diligent about it this time of year, and honestly because of B always being around now... [emoji14]

[Mr_Willes]

 

in my neighbourhood they use egg mat for it, (again) don't know the translation it looks like this:

 

[LydiaJaybird]

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Let's have ALL THE POLE CHATS

YAASS. I'm super impressed by your pole pull-ups, btw! I can only do a pole hold, and thats a struggle!

[lucky fire dragon]

Egg cartons on the walls and ceilings - those trays that hold 30 eggs. Of course then you'll have to paint or decorate to make it look less... cardboardy... eggy... gray...?

 

 

 

in my neighbourhood they use egg mat for it, (again) don't know the translation it looks like this:

 

 

good idea, both of you! Hoping to not need as it's the room I train in and I like it pretty for my dancing

But yea maybe it could even be prettied up. As is, she is just starting to learn and not playing that long yet. It's totally bearable so far 

 

 

It sounds like you've found your way back with this challenge. I love your having fun goal and proper relaxation time. I have to be super diligent about it this time of year, and honestly because of B always being around now... [emoji14]

 

YESSSSS, I am and it feels glorious  The fun and relaxation goal is essential I realized and also my theme of "taking good care of myself" is a big boost that often helps make the right decisions when torn. Very happy with my challenge so far.

 

So good that you are preparing this well for you!! And yay to B being around enough to keep you honest and up, best thing to have, someone who cares about you 

[lucky fire dragon]

Oh and Hatter, did you sense me?? I was thinking so much of you just last night when you must have written that... guess what caught up with me right in my first pole lesson again not enough ooomph on my spin lol

Guess this is my chance to get it *this needs a happy and tortured face in one - anyone have one for me?*

 

It's actually just a simple climbing spin, only we need to have one leg on pole in knee hold, the other straight for momentum and spin for 1 1/4 turns before doing the body wave up. The turn is still in squatting position and ugh, my leg just doesn't make enough oooomph - I only get 3/4 of a turn instead of the 1 1/4

For a change my teacher was real sweet on me (she's normally rather tough) as she said I have the excuse of a break due to hoop. So it was "just" me being frustrated and I turned that into extra motivation to get it oooooomphing ALL THE WAY now.

 

Which made me dearly think of you and your encouragement 

[lucky fire dragon]

YAASS. I'm super impressed by your pole pull-ups, btw! I can only do a pole hold, and thats a struggle!

 

ahahaha, wait until you see it before you are too impressed. Pole holds are HARD, my pull ups are quickly over believe me

 

What are you training on at the moment? Will have to pop over soon again to peek, mmmmh such fun stuff