You Can't Always Get What You Want . . .

. . . but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. I had a fabulous workout with Seann today. We did lots of push-ups, tricep extensions, dead lift squats, lunges, and fun ab work. It was the first time since I broke my leg that I could do actual lunges without some kind of support.

Here's the crazy thing.  I've been feeling like my workouts with Seann weren't hard enough. First, I dismissed it thinking that he's starting easy and will make it more difficult as he gets a sense of what I'm capable of. Then I've been justifying it by focusing on the parts of the workout that were harder. But I really knew I wasn't working out like I wanted to be, and I wasn't saying anything. I was more worried about Seann feeling bad by me telling him I wasn't working out hard enough than I was on getting what I wanted. I realized yesterday that I'm half way through my two month training, and if I really wanted to accomplish my goals, I needed to say something.

So I told Seann today. He was fine about it and immediately gave me the kind of workout I wanted. It was hard to do and know I'm going to be sore tomorrow, which is what I want. Afterwards I realized that I was somehow expecting Seann to read my mind--to know what kind of workout I wanted. That's really crazy, and I wasn't being fair to either Seann or myself.

Do you want to hear something even crazier? When I use the Wii balance board to weigh myself, it always asks me if I want a fitness tip. Usually I say yes, but lately, I haven't had much time in the morning, so I've just been weighing myself, and saying no to the fitness tip. And I know part of me is worried about hurting the Wii's feelings because I don't want its tips. The WEii's feelings--and I think that even though I know the Wii doesn't have feelings. Hmmmm--I think I was too well socialized as a female and as a Minnesotan. It's a bad combination. Because most of the time, in order to get what you want and need, you need to be able to ask for it.

Hitting the Bars

Today was my last workout at FT before heading on vacation. In addition it's Christmas eve and Alexandra's 14th birthday. We're going out to lunch to celebrate Alexandra's birthday and I'm making prime rib for a group for dinner tonight, so it was a good day for a tough workout.

Brandon had me workout with barbells today. I started with 60 squats, with weights ranging from 15 to 65 pounds. I'm pretty sure I alternated squats with some other exercise, but I sure can't remember what (perhaps osteoporosis isn't my only aging-related problem).

Then I alternated the bench press with the standing row.  Weights for the bench press went from 45 to 65 pounds. I really worked up a sweat with 65 pounds. I did 50 presses in total, but only 5 at 65 pounds. I am going to be sore tomorrow!

I did 60 standing rows, with weights ranging from 15 to 45 pounds. That's a tough exercise to keep good form with. I want to lift the weight with my shoulders instead of my back.

I am feeling great. I've lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks, and can feel the difference in how my clothes fit. I think I see a difference in the pictures of me  lifting weights. Be the first person to comment on my noticeable weight loss, and win my undying gratitude (or if you're a Pokela, a frozen Snickers bar at the lake--I know what appeals to my family).

So now my challenge is continuing my progress while we are in Los Cabos for a week. It's hard to know how many calories I'm consuming when restaurants are preparing my meals three times a day. Brandon recommends sticking to proteins, fruits, and vegetables and staying away from dishes with sauces or a lot of cheese. I'm hoping there is a scale there to help me stay in touch with reality. I know from pictures on the website that the hotel has a great health club. It'll help to be in beautiful weather--we'll be spending a lot of time be physically active outside.

Happy holidays!!!

Lord of the Rings

Yesterday was Day 2 of my training. My quads and glutes were still sore from Wednesday, but I figured after 160 lunges Wednesday, we would be doing other exercises. I would be wrong. I did lunges, along with squats and rows, but this time it was all done with rings.

First, I started with 20 lunges. The secret to this exercise is that I'm pulling myself up with my arms.It's effective--my forearms, triceps, and back muscles are all sore this morning, along with my quads and glutes.

     Then I did 20 squats, again pulling up with my arms.

 Then I did 20 rows. For this one, I balanced on my heels with my arms fully extended, leaning backwards, and pulled myself forward to the position on the right. After doing 20 of those, I started over and did another set of each--who would only want to do those exercises once--not the Lord of the Rings!












Then, the most fun exercise of the day--I forget it's real name, but I'll call it the flying lunge on the rings. I don't remember how many sets of 10 I did--was it a hundred? No, maybe 2.

Looking at that movie, I know I'm going to be in incredible shape in 2 months! We rounded it off with a bunch of planks--can't ignore the abs--and cobras, so I'll have a nice, erect posture. I've only done this ring workout once before, but I have to say, it's really fun and one of my favorites.