Sunday, September 13, 2009

Day 44: Cardio X

Week 7! I did Chest, Shoulders and Triceps yesterday. My arms are pretty sore today, which is fine with me. It's still working! Today I was having some knee pain so I decided to do Cardio X instead of plyo. Cardio X is a great workout. It's a little shorter than the others, but I definitely worked up a sweat.

I did measurements today. I lost another half an inch from my waist and hips. My pictures look about the same as they did two weeks ago, but the measurements show that I'm still making progress. I wish it was more, but I guess it's better than nothing. I'm thinking that maybe I should add some more cardio to my workouts so that I can burn more calories and lose some more weight. Maybe I'll try to do a doubles-type workout where I add Cardio X a few times a week. I'll see how that goes.

I made dinner for a friend yesterday. I made a zucchini tart and a portabello spinach pasta casserole. It was really good, and now I have enough pasta to last me the rest of the week. I also made these ridiculously good chocolate cupcakes. They're so moist and gooey. The recipe made over two dozen, so my coworkers are going to have a lot of cupcakes tomorrow! I love to bake, and this way I can bake and still not stray too far from my nutrition plan (I only had a couple of cupcakes between yesterday and today, and I won't eat any tomorrow when I take them to work).

Anyway, I'm still on the lookout for a good book to read. Maybe I'll search online for one now. I was tired today and took a nap, so hopefully I'll still get to bed at a reasonable time. Good night!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Day 38: Back and Biceps

I'm glad I have this blog to help me keep track of which day I'm on. Otherwise, I'd probably forget what week it was. Week 6! Again! Well, okay, not really again. But anyway, I'm back on track. Today was day 38, and I did Back and Biceps. I do like that workout, even though I'm still using the bands rather than doing pullups. But I think I'm getting stronger--I can use heavier weights for some of the exercises. Yesterday I did plyo, which was crazy, as usual. My knees still hurt, but the pain doesn't seem to be getting worse, so I guess that's good. My legs are sore today, and they're more sore now than they were this morning. I'll probably be in pain tomorrow.

This weekend was very nice. I was very happy to have an extra day off from work. Not to mention that this weekend was entirely free of tumor board!! It was so nice not having that hanging over my head. On Saturday I did pretty much nothing, which was awesome. Yesterday I went shopping and bought some makeup and clothes, as well as some scented candles and body lotion from Bath and Body Works. That made me happy. :-)

Today I spent most of the afternoon baking. I made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and then I made chocolate cherry bars. The cupcakes came out really well. I'm taking them to work tomorrow. The chocolate cherry bars are sort of a fudgy consistency with a pink cherry-flavored icing. I'm pretty sure they came out the way they were supposed to, but they are SO sweet! I cut them into really tiny pieces, and they're still too much for me. I'm going to take some of them to work tomorrow, and if people like them then I'll take the rest on Wednesday. Otherwise I might have to throw them out, unfortunately. I can't handle that much sugar all at once. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't been eating too many sweets lately (thanks to the P90X nutrition guide) or if the bars are just that sweet. But either way, I hope my coworkers eat them because I don't think I can.

I really enjoy baking and cooking, but I don't like doing it for myself. So my coworkers get baked goods every once in a while, and my friends get the occasional dinner. I'm planning a dinner for a couple of friends this Saturday. I'm trying to plan my menu right now. I'm still trying to come up with an appetizer or salad. We'll see how that goes.

You would think I would be ready to go back to work after the long weekend, but no. I really want to take some time off, but considering what my schedule looks like, I don't think I'll be able to do that until November. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm going to watch some TV and then go to bed. I finished Fahrenheit 451, so I'm trying to find another book to read. I'll do that this week. That makes me happy too :-).

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Time for a break...

This week was supposed to be week 6, and I started with Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps a few days ago. But I wasn't feeling very well for much of the week, and I didn't have much energy to work out. So I decided to take a break. I'm feeling better now and will pick up with Plyometrics tomorrow. I think this works out anyway since I like having my rest day on Friday, and so I'm sort of resetting my schedule. So the next week will be week 6, and I'll continue from there. I felt guilty about taking time off from the workout routine, but I think my body needed the break. I had been having some pain in my knees and elbow in addition to my perpetual soreness. Now the soreness and elbow pain is gone, and the knee pain has decreased. I'd like to wait until it goes away completely, but that may take a while, so I think I'll just do the plyo tomorrow and try to modify the moves so that there isn't too much impact.

I didn't do official measurements today since I'm starting the week over again, but I was curious to see if there had been any change since week 4, so I did some quick measurements this morning. I think I may have lost another inch from my waist, which surprised me. I'll see if it's still that way next weekend. I'll take my week 6 pictures next weekend too.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Day 31: Back and Biceps

I did plyometrics yesterday. I am SO SORE today, and it will probably be worse tomorrow. I think I'm as sore this week as I was the first week. I'm not sure why, but I don't really mind :-)

Back and Biceps today. I like this one. It was a combination of pullups (or resistance bands for me) and dumbbells to work the biceps. A lot of the exercises were the same as those in Chest and Back and Arms and Shoulders. I used the heaviest weights I could and still do 12-15 reps, and my arms were definitely exhausted by the end. And now I've officially done all 12 of the workouts, which is pretty cool. I really like this one, Arms and Shoulders, Yoga, Kenpo, and Plyometrics (as crazy as it is). I really do NOT like Ab Ripper X, and I'm not a huge fan of Core Synergistics. Everything else is somewhere in the middle, but I mostly like them.

I hope I see the same kind of results in the next 60 days as I did in the first 30. I'm happy so far, but I still have a very long way to go. It's a little frustrating sometimes that I've already had significant results, but I'm not nearly where I want to be. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully I'll get there. I think that once I've finished these 90 days I'll do the lean version, which is more cardio. Should be good.

I slept earlier than usual last night, probably because I was so exhausted by the plyo. Today I'm not quite so tired, but hopefully I'll get to sleep at a reasonable time. Only one more tumor board on Friday, and then one more on Monday, which is my last day. I'm looking forward to September and being back with the rest of my fellow residents.

I'm thinking of baking cupcakes this weekend. Either lemon or red velvet. I've been on a quest for the perfect red velvet cupcake recipe for the past few months. I think the new one I've found looks promising. We'll see.

Time to do some reading and then go to bed. Exciting, I know ;-)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Day 29: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, so I went to visit my family for the day. I was expecting to get back home early enough to work out, but there was a crazy thunderstorm on my way home, and I got back late. I've never driven in rain that bad--I could hardly see where I was going. So I pushed everything back one day again. I don't like doing that, but I figure it's better than skipping a workout completely. I may have to rearrange things a little bit, or maybe double up one day, since I'd rather have my rest day be Friday rather than Saturday. But we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, today is the first day of week 5 and phase 2! The workout today was Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. It was a combination of pushups and dumbbell exercises. I liked it, but pushups--especially that many pushups--are still really hard for me. I did my best, though, and I'm definitely expecting to be sore in the next day or two.

I took my pictures and measurements today. Not a huge change in the pictures, but there's still some visible progress (I think). I lost another inch from my waist since week 2, as well as half an inch from each arm and thigh. So not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I've still got a long way to go, but if I'm only a third of the way through and I've already done this well, I'm definitely looking forward to the end results!

I'm done preparing my tumor board for tomorrow. After that, only 2 more to go!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Day 27: Cardio X

So I cheated a little today. I was supposed to do Yoga X, but I didn't have an hour and a half to work out, so I decided to try Cardio X instead. I'm glad I did! Cardio X is a combination of yoga, plyometrics, kenpo, and core synergistics. It was great because I've done all of those workouts before, so I knew how to do everything. It was definitely a good workout--and it was only 43 minutes long. So now I know what to do next time I want a good cardio workout and don't have a lot of time. I can see myself doing this a few times a week when I've finished my 90 days.

Speaking of which, I'm almost done with week 4 and phase 1! I can't believe it! I haven't noticed as much of a dramatic change in the way I look these past two weeks as I did in the first two weeks. But I know I'm still making progress, and I'll do my measurements and pictures this weekend, so I'll have a more objective comparison.

As exhausted as I am when I get home from work, I always feel better and more energized after I work out. I like that feeling, but the problem is that I can't get to sleep as early as I'd like to. I have to figure out some way to get more sleep--I've been really tired lately. Maybe it will be better next month when I'll be back to working 10 min from where I live. That 45 minute commute really takes it out of me, especially after a long day of work.

Another thing I'm looking forward to next month: no more tumor boards! Hopefully tomorrow's will go well. And I don't think I even got the cases for Monday's tumor board today--not that I would have had time to look at them anyway. Blah. 4 more tumor boards to go.

I'm going to read and hopefully go to bed soon. I've started (re)reading Fahrenheit 451. I love that book, but I haven't read it in years. I have to start thinking about other books to read after I'm done with it too. Next month when I don't have tumor boards hanging over my head on the weekends, I'm going to find a little coffee shop and sit and read there. I can't wait. It's the little things that make me happy :-)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Day 23: Core Synergistics

So I'm on Week 4, which is recovery week. Yesterday I was supposed to do yoga, but I wasn't feeling up to it, so I doubled up today. I did Yoga X this morning, and then I did the workout I was supposed to do today, Core Synergistics, a couple hours ago. Yoga was fine...not much to report with that, except that I've been having some pain in my right elbow when I put weight on it. I'm not sure what to do about that, and the pain goes away after I'm done working out, so I guess I'll just try to work around it next time I do yoga.

Core synergistics was interesting. It was my first time doing it, so I had to learn all the new exercises. It was pretty good, and I'm sure I'll do better on Wednesday, which is the next time I have to do it. At least then I'll have some more idea of what I'm doing! I don't think it's ever going to be my favorite workout, but it's not bad. Also, I realize that I only do it twice this week and then twice during week 8, and then that's it. So if I don't like it as much as the others, it's really not a big deal.

Kenpo X tomorrow! I like it.

I have to fold my laundry before I go to bed since there's a big pile of it on the bed right now. Folding laundry might be my least favorite chore to do. Oh well. I'd rather fold laundry than do another tumor board, which I have to do tomorrow. Hopefully it won't take too much time out of my day, but I'm not feeling too optimistic about that. I don't like Monday tumor board because I feel like it's hanging over my head all weekend, even if I already have the presentation prepared. Not cool. Blah. Two more weeks, and 5 more tumor boards, and then I'm done for a while. I'm looking forward to that.