2015 Exercise Log/Challenge

[Catrin]

My eating is been pretty much c*ap this last week, for some reason I am falling to ye old sugar temptation - this hasn't been a problem for a long time. Need to tighten down the hatches. Because of my schedule today I couldn't get to the gym for my usual Sunday session, so I did 20 rounds of a deceptively simple kettlebell workout at home (2 types of lifts and a body weight exercise). I was good, I didn't do any of the competitive lifts, though as rapidly as things are healing I think that I could have. Very nice simple workout, and it comes with rests built in. Glad I did it, felt great aftwards

[Crankin]

Got through my Chanukah dinner last night. I did not eat too much, but had more alcohol than normal. We made a cocktail for everyone and then my son brough home made sangria, which I did not ask him to bring! My weight was down .2 lb., but still very much in the danger zone this morning. I woke up early, so I did go to boot camp, which was very good, as she did tabatta today. I feel better today, so I guess all of my over the counter and holistic stuff helped.
I will go to spin tomorrow if I feel like I have enough sleep. Just have to get through Chinese food on Wednesday night and Christmas dinner at our friends on Thursday. She's making scallops, so not bad.

[Crankin]

I decided to take my rest day today. Most of this is based on the weather forecast! It's going to be quite warm at the end of the week, so I know I will be riding, a real treat this time of year. My body is feeling the boot camp and spin classes from the past 2 days. I actually slept 8 hours! Trying to be more mindful of this, as well as other stuff to keep me healthy.
Going upstairs to stretch, just spent 30 minutes with the heating pad on my back. I have a busy day today, with back to back clients from 10 to 6. Then, a few days off.

[Catrin]

Hit my usual Tuesday evening KB training session last night. My coach is being stubborn about my not doing any sport lifting for now - but that doesn't mean that I can't use kettlebells in other ways, just no overhead work for now ;-) Hoping I will still be able to compete in 45 days, time will tell. The current thinking is my adding long distance rowing to my schedule at Thanksgiving is what tipped my shoulders over the edge - they were doing great before then. One arm has improved greatly, and the other one appears to be headed in the right direction :-)

Today I will take on a cardio-KB workout at home (with a light weight). I want to do something before leaving for church for an afternoon service. I will be serving as a greeter/usher which I always enjoy. I don't do it all of the time and it is always nice when I do, a great way to meet new people!

[Crankin]

So, it was very wise for me to take yesterday off, but I think I should have done some light walking or spinning to loosen my body up. It was too wet to take a ride and I did work until 6 PM. So, I did 3 sets of my back stretches. Woke up today incredibly stiff and sore. My ribs and upper abs were screaming! We only did one new thing, a partner exercise where one person was on the floor and the other one pushed their legs down and the person lifted them back up. I had to modify this a bit, but I think this is what did my upper abs in. For someone who has a really strong core, I am not used to this. So, off I went to step and sculpt this morning. This class is always crowded and it was very crowded today, which means the room gets steamy, as it's also warmer out and raining. I get there early, to get by the big fan and the door and I use Nuun in my bottle. So I did a 10 minute warm up on the TM, mostly hill walking, but 3 minutes of running, too, figuring this would help. Nope, my back was hurting for the whole class, I sweated so much, it got in my eyes and messed up my contact in my left eye, but the worst was when we went down on the floor to do abs, I could not do half of it, they still hurt so much. Oh yeah, and when I was changing position doing these plank type push up things, I cracked my knee on the floor. All in the name of being able to eat a bit more over the next day, but I finally am feeling better after doing more stretching and attacking myself with the foam roller, as well as a hot shower. I will use the heating pad tonight, because it looks like I will be riding outside 3 days in a row!
I haven't had a day at the gym like this in many years.

[Catrin]

Fantastic that you can ride three days in a row at this time of the year! Take care of that back....

As for me, I attempted to do my planned KB-cardio workout today, but there was a bit of soreness after last night's workout. So I will do the workout tomorrow rather than today. I DID complete one full round with a grand total of 100 single-arm swings (each side) mixed with some body weight stuff (after my usual warmup/mobility work) but one round is barely getting started. Oh well, listen to my body today so I can play tomorrow or Friday. I've learned that if I listen to my coach and chiro that things go MUCH better ;-)

Crankin, was your partner new to you or someone you usually work with for partner exercises? I've learned in the past that it really matters - especially that type of exercise.

[Crankin]

We don't usually do partner exercises, so no, not someone that knows me well. However, she did notice that my legs were going down to the left and asked if I was a lefty. So, she was astute enough to recognize something was off. She's a tri-athlete, who seems to be recovering from injury, as she modifies a lot of stuff that she didn't before. So, after I gave her a list of having "uneven" sides and a lumbar issue, she got it and I modified!
Hope your greeting duty goes well. We are going to our neighbors for a drink in about an hour and then for our "Jewish Christmas," aka Chinese food at 7:30. Will ride a short ride tomorrow before we go to dinner at our close friends at 3.