Half way done: 30 days in to Gym-sanity!

It has come to my attention that I never full explained why we're doing the 60 Day challenge. Obviously, exercise is good for the body, but the main reasons stem from a greater life challenge that I began with friends in February of 2011. I was about 15 pounds heavier and in desperate need of losing a few pounds. So I started the Biggest Loser competition with five of my friends. None of those people are still in the competition, but I picked up Zapp B last fall to fuel my fire and continue on more inspired.
We use a Google Doc to log our weight and the days we exercise. This is where the problem started. I noticed a precipitous decline in workouts since my inaugural semester of grad school. I would literally set goals to make it to the gym once a month so as not to waste my $20/month membership money. It got to a point where I was so exhausted, I was barely keeping up with once a month. This was when I knew I had to change something. After losing 10-12 pounds, I was feeling SO much better physically (Clothes were fitting better and my thighs don't touch as much anymore!) and mentally (I actually feel GOOD about myself!). But I'd stagnated since the fall and I really wanted to hit my goal weight loss of 15 pounds. BUT HOW?!

 I'd already become more conscious of portions and eating only till I was full. My doctor also thought I drank a little too much so I started using a paper calendar to keep track of the number of drinks I was consuming (and try to stay under ~10-14 every week). Apparently, the average woman should have no more than ~7 drinks per week. It was a little unrealistic for me since I was having closer to 20 per week, but I realized how many extra calories I was consuming. It was more than a day's worth every week! Just making these small changes have really had an impact over the long term. I wanted to make sure I was making sustainable choices, since I don't condone diet plans that limit foods I love (ie Atkins, vegan/juice cleanses etc).
Then in June, I counted the days till Labor Day (when school would start again) and noted that I had about ~67 days. And here we are today. I haven't really lost any additional weight but I can actually feel muscle definition and a toned stomach these days. There isn't really a more gratifying experience than that. And I'm SO excited for Zapp B's pool party this weekend now! (Zapp has lost almost 11 pounds since October as well!!) Bikini season is in full swing and I'm LOVIN' it!

Here's the Gym-sanity summary:

Day 21: It's nice playing volleyball with the boyfriend again. Our new team is awesome and we kicked butt for our first game.
Day 22: I was getting a little tired of the videos I've been doing so I tried a new one. HOLY COW: Cardio: 15 Minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Melissa Bender Fitness If you can actually do this whole 15 minute video without wanting to pass out, Congrats. I respect you. Really try to execute every move with the correct form to get the best out of it!
Day 23: I did the 8 Minute Abs and 8 Minute Arms videos again. It's funny how working out everyday now, I feel lazy when I just do these videos. That makes me feel a little accomplished looking back on these work outs.
Day 24: I was so impressed with the HIIT video, I decided to try it again. I really tried hard to make sure I was doing the form correctly so each rep was solid.
Day 25: Ryan and I went on a weekend trip to Ithaca, NY. We spent about three hours canoeing on Lake Cayuga and then did a short hike down to Buttermilk Falls. I'll post more details about our trip later!
Day 26: The next day, we visited the Robert H Treman Park swimming grounds. The "deep end" by the waterfalls was over 18 feet deep and had a diving board you could launch off of! The water was mountain crisp but it was a welcome reprieve from the high 80s heat of the day.

 

Day 27: I played volleyball with the new team this evening. We lost all three games but it was such a tough match. Despite the losses, it was such a high energy/high skill game that I enjoyed every minute of it.
Day 28: Another volleyball night for me! My old girl's team, the Volley Vixens, are in need a middle. I subbed in as the shortest middle in the history of volleyball haha. Hard game as well and I got a nice stuff. I felt like an Olympic champion!!
Day 29: Meghan and I went to a 90 minute traditional hot yoga class at  Yoga to the People in midtown. It was grueling work and I had to lay down a few times. I also woke up the next day with a tweaked trap muscle. This has become a recurring injury and it's driving me nuts. I hope it goes away soon. It's putting a damper in my workout routine!

::A Rest Day occurred here::

Day 30: I went to the gym finally. Did some biking and ab work before my weekend started!


Zapp B sent me a great exercise idea to think about. hehehe.

20 Days in: Gym-sanity!

I'm really enjoying the ease of falling into exercise everyday. It's amazing to me how much I struggled getting just ONE workout in every week a couple months ago. Obviously it has to do with the full-time job coupled with my part-time masters program, but I still should have/make time to do something good for my body. I honestly do feel more in shape than a few weeks ago, but every so often, when I'm eight minutes into a workout, I still feel like quitting. Being human really does suck. With my new found love of cardio and high intensity workout videos, I don't think I'll have too much of a problem going forward though... I hope.

Here's what I did for the past ten days:

Day 11: Two miles on the treadmill at Boom Fitness. It was quite boring but at least I got to watch Bones on tv!
Day 12: I went back to Yoga to the People for their noon vinyasa session. As always, it was kick butt. I wonder what the average donation amount is. I always give $5... I'm going to try to go to my own gym's classes. It's free. For some reason I feel threatened by them. I really shouldn't. I'm going to DO IT!
Day 13: I did the 1 Minute video twice. It was really hard but I needed some cardio in my life and had no time to do anything else. Honestly though, I'm dripping sweat like NBA basketball players at the free throw line. I need one of those sweat boys mopping my yoga mat up!
Day 14: I biked at the gym. I wasn't feeling well, so this was the easiest thing I could do before running out of the over-crowded gym.
Day 15: I decided to join a volleyball league for the remainder of the summer since I'm bored to death of the gym AND I have 1.5 months left of summer before classes start again. New York Urban has been one of my favorite leagues so far. I went to the open gym to meet a new team and get my work out in! woohoo! Go team BXm10!
Day 16: I went on another two mile run. I go up First Ave from East 36th street and turn back toward Second Ave on East 55th Street. 20 blocks equal one mile! Second Ave is a little crowded compared to First, but it's still a nice slightly hilly challenge every so often.

::A Rest Day happened here::

Day 17: I did the same two mile run as day 16. I'm thinking about upping it to 2.5 miles soon! 5k training has commenced!
Day 18: I'm in love with the 8 Minute series! I just did the Abs and then the Buns one with Ryan and we're both drenched. It makes me happy to see him sweat. It makes me feel like it's not just me and that I have some physical endurance building up.
Day 19: I went on a run with Russell's dog this weekend. It was almost two miles. It was a bit rough. That sucker can go! He's a little Boston terrier with SO much energy!
My friends and I also partook in a Living Social Adventure! We did the River tubing event down the Delaware River in PA. It sounds like a lazy adventure but there was a lot of paddling to do and we got caught in a thunderstorm for a few minutes. But the BBQ and beer after really sealed the deal. Good times. I count that as an arm workout too ;)
Day 20: I checked out some different 8 Minute videos. I did the 8 Minute Legs video and the 8 Minute Arms video. The arms one requires some weights though (light ones are fine since you do a lot of reps).


In case you're interested, here's the First Ten Days and the Introduction to the Challenge!

10 days in: Gym-sanity

Has anyone seen the movie, Running the Sahara? It was one of the motivations for me to start this 60-Day challenge and I keep thinking back and wonder HOW the heck did they do it?! Three men endeavor to cross the Sahara Desert on foot. It took 111 days of running multiple marathons a day (no days off) to accomplish, but they succeeded! It was a great movie, and it's on Instant Watch, so check it out!

So here I am, day 10, and I am sore, head to toe! I feel like such an amateur. The breakdown of my last ten days is as follows:
Day 1: 20 minutes bike, abs, legs
Day 2: 15 minute run: ~1.5 miles
Day 3: I decided to check out my girl, Amina Zena's workout videos. She's a personal trainer with a hilarious attitude for life. These are the ones I chose:  Core Workout for Beginners and  1 Minute Workout: Ass and Abs
Day 4: I was feeling lazy and couldn't bring myself to go outside in the 90+ degree weather so I did the Core Workout again plus another video, 1 Minute Workout!!

::My first Rest Day Happened here::

Day 5: Ryan and I decided to go to an 11am Saturday Spinning class at our gym, Boom Fitness. I don't usually like these types of classes, but the woman in charge made us do a lot of push ups on the handle bars and a lot of standing work. Plus she had a ton of great pop music blaring the whole time (Ryan probably hated this). This made the hour fly by. I'll definitely do it again!
Day 6: Russ, Meg and I went to a power Vinyasa flow class at Yoga to the People on St. Marks. It's a suggested donation ($1-10) yoga studio and there are quite a few locations throughout the city and the country! They even have hot yoga classes. I'll definitely go to one of those before the challenge ends.
Day 7: I needed a light day from all the classes over the weekend so I did 20 minutes on the elliptical at the gym. It's the only time I get to watch tv.
Day 8: I did the day 3 video workout again. Coming up with things to do is hard! I couldn't be a personal trainer haha
Day 9: Ryan and I went on a run in Central Park. We ran to the reservoir and around. It was about 1.75 miles. What a trek in that heat!! I'm signing up for a race on August 11th in Central Park so I better get my butt into gear! It's only a 5k but I actually want to do well. I have NO endurance and it makes me feel like I'm not in good shape. Here's my chance to shine!
Day 10: Video day again! I did the 8 Minute Abs and 8 Minute Buns workouts that were made in the 90s. I love how the guy uses the word "gang" to rally spirits. My abs and buns feel great today!

Come Day 60, Zapp and I will (not) look like Dana Linn Bailey!

"I don't find the time to exercise, I make the time to exercise."