Pilates = Birthing Positions 101?

Until this morning, I had never attended a Pilates class.  I tend to think in pictures.  This was my mental picture of Pilates…

Got this picture of this website

These women are extremely fit and they use those slider apparatus thingies that look like torture devices from the medieval times.  I think those things look terrifying!  I was freaked out that I was going to have to do something I was physically incapable doing.   Deep breath.  I reminded myself that I was Getting Fit like No One is Watching.

I’ve been attending my sister-in-laws gym in the mornings with her this week.  We decided to give it a whirl.  I’ll admit I was a little nervous about what I would look like doing God only knows what kind of exercises.  I have almost no flexibility so I know my range of motion would be limited.

I realize now that my mental image should be reserved for advanced Pilates loyalists.  Here’s my new mental image…

Here’s what I loved about it:

1.     Atmosphere: The instructor kept the lights dim. The music was very new age and relaxing.  I found myself relaxed afterwards even though I had worked my butt off.

2.     Breathing: The focus on when you should inhale and exhale allowed me to actually contract and release my muscles as needed.  I found it easier to make it through a whole exercises when focused on my breathing versus thinking about how awkwardly I had to hold my legs or feet.

3.     Flexibility of movement: Although I know I don’t have much flexibility, I see the benefits of exercising your body this way to strengthen the core and gain more flexibility.

Here’s what I didn’t like about it:

1.     No mat:  I don’t own a yoga mat so I was doing the exercises on a towel on a wood floor…my poor tailbone!  Anytime we did an exercises were we were balancing on our bottoms, I was in a lot of pain and couldn’t really focus on the exercises.  If you plan to start taking a Pilates class, invest in a mat.

2.     Low calorie burn: I don’t think I burned as many calories in this workout as I do other classes so I would do this on top of my regular exercises routine…unless you take it to another level with those torture devices.

I’m brand new to think and I do believe I will be trying it again.  I found myself having to keep myself from giggling several times.  Rhythmic breathing, there is a lot of grasping your legs behind your knees, contracting and releasing.  I’ll bet people who do Pilates regularly have amazing pelvic floors.

Today is Day12 on the LiveFit program.  It’s a rest day. I’m sticking close to home.  Doing some housecleaning and maybe even taking a nap! 

Squat it out!

Day 10 is legs.  I love working my legs.  I have always been able to get my legs to shape up the fastest.  And after two weeks, my husband is already noticing a difference.  This week I do a leg workout again on Day 12.  I look forward to it.  I really had to push hard to feel the burn.

Here's run down of my leg routine:

Leg Press: 105lbs (upping to 110 next workout)
Leg Extensions: 30lbs
Wide Stance Squats: Bar + 20lbs (upping to 30 next work out)
Leg Curl: 40lbs
Calf Raises: 12.5 lbs
Seated Calf Raises: 10lbs

I used the elliptical for my warm up. I need it to warm my muscles up, get my blood pumping.  I get in the zone during that warm up.  In fact, I was so focused today that the guy next to me nearly started me off the machine when he tried to get my attention to offer me a stick of gum. 

Tomorrow morning I'm deviated from my program to try a pilates class with my sister-in-law.  Its an ab day tomorrow so I'm really going to get a focused workout on that.  I've never tried pilates and I'm a litter nervous I wont be able to hack it.  We shall see!

On a completely non-fitness note...I chopped all my hair off!  I wont go into the why's but here is a before and after pic...



Ombre...never bleach your hair three times in a row.



Sporty layered bob.  No more ponytails!



One week down...11 to go!

I never thought I would think that maybe...just maybe...I might have some OCD tendencies.  I am an extremely messy person.  My desk at school and at home look more like a hoarder's desk than a professional  persons.  However, when it came to my new way of eating...I knew I had to come up with a better system than cutting up my veggies at every meal (5 a day!).  Meals were taking 10-15 minutes to prep before I could even start eating.  Completely unacceptable for this busy mother of two.

So I bought a crap load of cheap Tupperware at the Dollar Store.  I bought 6 four-packs of small containers, 5 larger round ones for my dinner salads, and five compartmentalized ones for Josh's lunches.  I wish I could say I came up with this idea but I didn't.  I saw a Pin on Pinterest and followed it to some chick's blog.  However, I forgot to actually like or repin it and can't give her credit.  If I ever see it again I will definitely do it because she is a genius!After Friday evening's grocery run, I spend almost 4 hours cutting and portioning out every meal four the next five days.  Here is a picture of all the containers with veggies:

The round blue bowls are for my dinner salads.  The top row is Spinach (1c), onion (1/4c), mushrooms (1/4c), and green peppers (1/4c) for my omelets.  All I have to do is grab one, dump it into my skillet, and add the egg whites.  The second row is for mid-morning.  Along with green peppers (1/4c) and cucumbers (1/4c), I added 1/4c green grapes and 1 skinless chicken tender baked with seasoning cut up in it.  The third row is my lunch salad.  The fourth row is my mid-afternoon snack which is the same as the mid-morning.  I will probably want more variety in the future but just ran with this for now.  It was a lot of work but now everything is finished.  I even labeled them with packing tape and a sharpie.I added tomatoes in there. I will have a pita sandwich with the salads for lunch and a raspberry vinaigrette or Greek dressing. 



I know what you are thinking..."How the heck did she get all that in her fridge!"  I had to get a little creative and raise one of my shelves.  I had to relocate some items.  And a lot of my condiments and salad dressings had expired (super eww but you know that happens to you too).  I designatned one shelf just for my meals and snacks.  My kids get one basket in the fridge that has snacks that are okay to choose during snack time.  Which you cannot see here but the kids know it's there. This set up actually keeps them from going in there an getting it themselves.

Look at that thing!  I never thought I would be one of those people who thought organization could be beautiful but I think this is pretty!  Mostly it gives me piece of mind that I will just be able to grab my food quickly and it's already ready and portioned so I can just fuel my body for the next 3-4 hours.  I ended up not packing my hubbies lunches though.  May just make him do those for himself!






One of the most beautiful human beings
I have ever met.

My sister-in-law, Jenna, has been a major source of inspiration and motivation for me.  She has been lifting weights and been on her fitness/health journey for a long time.  She has read more books and websites than anyone I know without a degree in health and fitness.  She suggested I take my measurements at the beginning of my own journey.  She advised not to get on the scale but once a week if necessary.  I'll admit it...I'm a bit of a scale addict.  I have the Wii Fit.  Last year I was jumping on daily.  I found myself obsessing about ounces gained and lost daily.  It was insanity even though I had an overall weight loss of 20lbs.  I certainly didn't keep it off.

I am very proud to announce that after one week of eating clean, lifting weights, and taking my supplements like a good girl I have lost 4.6lbs!  Without exorbitant amounts of cardio.
I started Week 2, Day 8 today!  It's the same as last week.  I was glad I used the print outs from the website because I recorded the weight I was using.  It helped me make decisions about trying a heavier weight or staying.  I highly recommend you be one of those people who walks around you gym with a clipboard or notebook...it really does help!

***I am not a dietician or professional trainer.  I am blogging my own personal journal using someone elses program. If you are starting a new fitness/health plan, consult your doctor before beginning.***

You're gonna do bodybuilding...what?!

I know it sounds crazy right?  Why would I, a 30 year old mom of two, turn to body building?  What's your mental image here?  Is it this?

                         

Yeah, that was my mental picture too.  Yuck right?  I do not want to look like a dude.  So I started reading a lot about what body building could be for a girl like me.  And I found these types of images to replace my old nasty ones.

                

I found Jamie Eason's LiveFit 12 week program.  I decided it would be a great fit.  I spent most of a day reading everything I could on her website and cross referencing some of facts and fitness information.  I'm still researching some of the supplements but I decided to go forward and start eating clean and lifting weights.

Before I went to the gym, I was really worried about hanging out in the free weight area of the gym.  I work out at my local YMCA.  There are lots of different kinds of people but I have noticed men like to congregate around the weights to spot each other.  They do a lot of joking and talking...not that much lifting...well, except for the younger guys who keep their headphones in and plow through their workouts.  Hey!  Can you blame me for observing?  Have you see their arms!?! 

      

Okay...that was a distracting 20 minute journey.

I was really worried before I started my workouts. Would people be watching me? I was guilty of watching other people while they work out. Don't start thinking I'm some kind of fitness stalker while at the gym! I'm just curious to see what other people choose to do. There is this super fit chick at the Y who does lunges across the room with a 50 lbs weight over her head. I watched and told myself...someday I will be able to do that.

So, I've decided to Get Fit Like No One Is Watching.  Of course, I decided to blog about it so everyone will be watching.  Ironic, right?  The point is, I've decided not to care.  I just want to be healthy and strong.  I want to give my life the best shot I can.  I want to encourage my children to be healthy.  My oldest has noticed my efforts and only drinks water between meals.  She asks to go bike riding or swimming so we can get healthy.

 Before I started day one, I purged my kitchen of processed foods and anything that had high fructose corn syrup. I picked 5-6 of Jamie's recipes to try and went shopping. That was a grossly expensive grocery trip. Not only was I restocking, I was buying mostly fresh fruits and veggies in bulk. The price tag certainly made my hubby cringe. I reminded him, however, that we would no longer be eating out. The $200-300 a week we were spending on buying breakfast, lunches, and dinners out was going towards food that would fuel our bodies instead of making them wider, slower, and sicker.

Here is where I'm at though:

Phase 1; Week 1: (click the links to see the exercise and food intake)

Day 1: Check and Triceps

• This was challenging.  Previously, I would do weights but keep the weight low and reps high to tone.  I was really worried about becoming bulky.
• Now I know that I am building lean muscle to make me strong.  Bulky female bodybuilders take testosterone and steroids to get unnaturally large.

Day 2: Back and Biceps

• I did not think I would make it through this one.  I was pretty sore from the previous day.  I continually second guessed not resting between weight days but am choosing to trust the system.  I know I get three days rest at the end of the week.

Day 3: Legs

• I have always felt the most confident doing leg exercises.  I have...let's call them substantial...legs and hips.  I can lifted 105lbs on the leg press but could only handle the bar + 20 for the wide stance squats.
• I added hip abductor and adductor to this work out. 

Day 4: Shoulders and Abs

• This is today.  My upper body is still pretty sore after Day 1 and 2.  I have done the steam room, hot tub, massage, alternated cold and heat to get relief, not to mention a ton of different stretches to keep limber.  I'm not so sore I feel I can't do the workout.  It's a productive kind of sore.  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Day 5-7: Rest

The hardest part of this week has been the absence of cardio.  For the first four weeks of the program there is NO CARDIO!  I was shocked and a little miffed.  Seriously?!  You want to take away my elliptical...my stationary bike....my treadmill?!  I've been using the Easy 5K with Jeff Galloway app on my phone to build my running endurance.  I'm 3 weeks in?!  What the heck!? 

Deep breath.  Can you tell I'm attached to my cardio?  I still sneak it in.  10 minute warm up on the Elliptical.  I'm planning to do a run on days 5 and 7.  I keep it at a light jog while my 5 year old daughter rides her bike alongside me.  It's good to be outdoors with her.

On last thing...these are my before pictures and measurements.  Accountability is a big deal for me.

Front: It's super ewwww!

Side: Double ewww

 My five year old took these with my phone...sorry they are crappy. 

Measurements (in):
Bust: 40
Waist: 37
Hips: 41
Biceps: L: 11 1/2  R: 12
Thigh:  L: 22 1/4  R: 21
Butt: 43
Calves: L: 14 1/4  R: 14 1/2

***Disclaimer:  I am not a dietitian or personal trainer.  I am following someonelse's program and writing about my personal journey.  If you are going to start a new health routine, consult your doctor.***