How Committed Am I to Working Out?

Yesterday I had hopes to run on a track while my bf went to school. However, by the time he had to leave, I had only gotten 5 1/2 hrs of sleep. I chose to sleep some more because I have come to the conclusion my work outs are terrible on lack of sleep. When I woke up, I did a round of Insanity to make it 3 days in a row. I have partially fallen off the Insanity wagon. I follow the order of the DVDs but not the schedule. I throw some running in there and have days off when I'm busy. Days off are important. My joints are starting to get sore.

But that's the thing. I will be busy soon. What if the days off get longer and longer? I went to Sports Chek the other day. I wanted to buy a pair of shorts or maybe another dri-fit tank top. But they were around 35-50$. I only have 2 pairs of shorts I work out in so I'm constantly doing laundry now. And then I asked myself, will I really stick to working out? Is it a worthy investment? In just under 2 weeks, I'm going to be starting my nursing preceptorship. I don't know what my schedule will be like. Is it 4 days on 5 days off? I sure as hell won't be working out in the early mornings. When I leave the hospital, the first thing I want to do is take a shower. I definitely could on days off but seems kind of counterproductive to have that many days off in a row.

Or maybe I should just stop making excuses and just do it. My baseline motivation right now is that there is no reason for me not to do it with all the free time i have. But I'd like for this to be a regular part of my life.

Too Much Cardio is Bad?

That is the question.

Recently I read how cardio can make you skinny fat and cardio is counterproductive to building muscle. My personal aim is cardio. When I only do it 3x/week, it feels like a cop out. I like Insanity (despite how hard it is) because it feels like both cardio and working my muscles. I do like running too. I think the amount of cardio I'm doing is fine. My bf thinks I should do less cardio and do more weights. I'm getting somewhat bony and some muscle padding would help alleviate that. Today, I saw I was to do Cardio Recovery on the Insanity schedule which is muscle strengthening and zero cardio. I was tempted to do a cardio dvd but figured some anaerobic exercise would do me good. My legs were sore. I sweated. I suppose it was a productive workout.

Anyway, I still don't think I'm doing too much cardio. To me, too much is doing cardio for long periods of time every day. At 45 mins-ish 3-5x/week, I think I'm good.

I'm going to run on a track on Wednesday. I'm pretty stoked. It's been years since I ran on one and I like it because it gives me a good gauge of my distance. I don't have anything fancy that measures my distance for me. I'm going to aim for 5km and see how my time is.

Too Busy to Workout

I filled out an entire month (well except those four days of not working out due to hurting my foot) of workouts. It's more than I expected of myself from when I first began in May. You know what the push for me to work out is? If I can spend 10 hrs a day on twitter, facebook, youtube etc, I can sacrifice at least 30 mins of that to get my heart pumping. 

However this week, I felt swamped. I had two finals and a project. My family went to Hawaii so I was in charge of making lunches and dinners for 6 people. I had to take care of my dog who's still hobbling on 3 legs. I was still on my go to bed at 3 am (it's 3am as I type this) and wake up at noon schedule which really screwed up my productivity. So I was too busy to workout. And it sounds so lame. It makes me worry about what it will really be like when I'm at the hospital 48 hrs/week plus paper writing in between. I was only able to squeeze 3 workouts this past week: P90X Cardio X, Running 5.2 km, and Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance. 

But I have 2 weeks of freedom so we all know what that means! Enjoying myself to the full max. I am hoping that within these two weeks, I will be able to run 5km without stopping. The thing I love about Insanity is that I feel like it really improves my stamina. 

Here's some pictures. A friend sent me this pic the other week. I was in Gr 11 or 12. Man how time flies. 

Like my amazing photoshop skills? Pretend I'm in a field with my dog. 

So Much of Running is Mental

An elementary school classmate of mine msg'd me the other day highlighting the above quote. While I was out for my run, I debated that. I initially mapped out a 5 km route but halfway, I had to run home for a bathroom break. I altered my running route and ran that half route twice. Too bad majority of it was in the sun. I started getting a bit wheezy from the heat and wondered if I mentally thought I couldn't run anymore or I physically couldn't. I ended up slowing to a walk for a few meters then picking back up again. My HR was strong at 160-184. A little bit on the high side but I think the heat had something to do with it. I'm really pleased that I can push myself a bit further with each run.

I am totally obsessed with Pinterest.  gillybean604 exercise inspiration is my pinterest board. I do find it motivating. Although right now, my own interest in working out is motivating enough. I actually enjoy exercising!

I need to find some new ab moves for my ab routine. I'm already doing 3 sets of 5 different exercises. I could add more reps or find something more challenging. Currently the best one is the basic plank. I think I will increase  to 1min 20 secs/plank. It's an improvement from when I first started at 30secs. I seriously googled how to get washboard abs. I liked this article because it discussed different type of plank exercises. Plus it didn't suggest crunches or situps which I hate. I don't think it's rocket science to get a six pack. Eat well and exercise seems to be the underlying tone of all the articles I read. There are no shortcuts! Currently, my abs are still hiding.

P90X Cardio X

My bf suggested I try the P90X Cardio X dvd today. I've never done it but I assumed it was a cardio dvd. I had an off day on Sunday so I was hoping to do some cardio today. Turns out Cardio X is a low impact workout. I personally thought it was low intensity (or maybe I'm slowly adapting to Insanity?). After the warm up, I didn't even break a sweat. Stretching involved yoga which was nice. The rest of the dvd involved kickboxing moves, various jumps, and some ab exercises. I altered some of the moves for preference. For example, instead of jump shots (pretend you're jumping up to shoot a basketball), I did squat jumps where you start in a squat then jump up.  My HR was around 146 which I wasn't too happy with. I'd like it to be at least over 150. Afterwards, I went out for a quick 1.5km run around my neighbourhood hoping to boost up my HR. But if anything, my HR dropped down to 130. Maybe I'm becoming more cardio efficient? Definitely won't do Cardio X as a cardio workout but it's good as a low impact activity and to develop some muscle strength.

Anywhos, gotta study for a final now. Here's my current favourite workout song.

Day 8 Insanity Workout Whoops

Day 8 Insanity involves Pure Cardio. The plus side for the 2nd week is that I know what to anticipate. Except I couldn't remember what this dvd entailed. All the squats and jumps blur together for me. But as soon as Shaun T mentioned that he's nervous for the workout, then I remembered. It's the dvd with no breaks. Cardio straight through. It went great. I didn't have to take as many breaks as the first time and I was able to go longer. My HR was at 160. I'm assuming my heart is adjusting to working out.

Well look at that, I did the wrong dvd. Apparently Day 8 is supposed to be Cardio Power and Resistance. Whoops.

Oh well, I got a workout out of it. Also afterwards, I had some left over energy so I went for a quick 10 min (1.5km) jog around my neighbourhood.

I'm kinda embarrassed to confess that my workout today was fueled by a small Wendy's Chilli. Was out running errands and bf want to stop there for lunch. But that combined with my usual fruit/veggie smooth breakfast gave me enough energy to sustain my workout. Now, post workout, I'm eating a concoction of mapo tofu dish, spinach, tomato, a bun and Laughing Cow cheese.

Insanity describes that you can burn up to 1000 calories doing these workouts. Not sure how much I'm burning. I'm not losing weight. But I'm suspecting I'm losing some fat and replacing it with muscle. Or so I'd like to think.

Yesterday was another off day because I was out. I tried doing the elliptical at night but got kicked off for being too noisy. I did my usual yoga by Sadie Nardini but still felt restless. Found this yoga video to complement it. I loove the stretch at the end but I don't know where the rest of the video is.

Running Groove

That picture of me was from 5 years ago. I was running then. I have this one memory of one run I did. I was at a track and it was packed. The usual runners and walkers. There was track & field practice. There were two different camps going on. I no longer had a running buddy so I was on my own. I started doing my laps. I like tracks because it's easy for me to measure the distance I've run and I don't have to carry my water bottle. I ran and ran. I ran more laps than I normally did and I didn't stop. As I finished another lap, the track and field coach started cheering me on. He encouraged me to keep going and I was doing a good job. After each lap, he'd stop coaching, turn to me, and gave me encouragement and I ran by. He didn't have to do that. He had his own team he was coaching. And yet he took the time to motivate me too. I really appreciated it and I think it helped to keep me going. I always thought of this as being in my running groove.  

Too bad I stopped running after that year and for 5 years following. 

Today, I went for a run. I haven't gone for one in 2 weeks since I started Insanity. I was a bit apprehensive as usual. Old habits die hard. Brings me back to my elementary and high school days where I was always one of the last ones to finish laps. It was also 25C and last time I tried running in the heat, I was hot and wheezy. I ate oatmeal again this morning as a pre-workout food. 

The run went.. amazing. 1 run around my block = 1.5km. The first lap, was a breeze (besides the sharp cramp in my upper right quadrant under my rib which forced me to stop and massage out). I stopped to stretch and drink water. I ran another 2 laps to finish off at 4.5km. I stopped only to drink water and a little to catch my breath. But I ran it without walking. My HR stayed elevated between 160-172. I'm thrilled. I'm finally feeling my running groove again. 

Day 6 Insanity Workout

Last night, instead of my usual ice cream or peanuts snack, I ate a bigger snack. It consisted of Greek yogurt, granola, raisins, blueberries, and banana. That was around midnight. My sleeping patterns are erratic where I go to sleep at 3am and wake up around 11 or 12.

When I woke up the next day (which was actually noon), I figured the snack from the night before would tide me over for the workout. A part of me was thinking, that was 12 hours ago, but I abandoned that thought. Day 6, is the same as Day 2 which was plyometric cardio circuit. This is the one that took me over an hr to do because I took so many breaks. I started the warm up which was all right. I got a cramp again. Not sure why they keeps happening. Afterwards, Shaun T. suggested checking the HR prior to stretching. When I count my pulse, I do it for 15 secs then multiply for 4. In the first 10 secs, I counted 30. In the next 5 secs, my pulse dropped... by a lot. I counted only 3 beats and wondered what was going on, and then 95% of my vision went black. Luckily my bed was close by so I sat down and dropped my head between my knees and managed to save myself from fainting. Then I stopped the dvd and went to eat breakfast. Lesson learned.

For breakfast, I ate plain oatmeal with milk, raisins, and a spoon of brown sugar.

Okay attempt 2. I started from the very beginning. Didn't come close to fainting this time hah. I definitely have to say this is the hardest workout out of the 5 DVDs. My HR stayed elevated around 168-172. I took less breaks than day 2. Towards the end, I was struggling and didn't think I was doing much. But my HR was at 168 so is that working hard or hardly working? I like to think working hard. I pushed through & finished hooray!

A Vancouver gym wants to ban skinny people to make it more plus size friendly. This is the first time I heard about it but I'm pretty sure that's illegal based on discrimination.

Off Day

Well it's kind of a cop out day. I was thinking of going for a run this evening (as opposed to my usual morning routine) but my bf convinced me to take an off day since I keep managing to strain a muscle here and there. Also insisted that doing my ab exercises (which I do every other day) and yoga does not count as an off day. If an off day is defined as doing absolutely nothing, then I haven't had one since July 7. Whoops. I know rest days are important, but my logic was that on days without cardio, I can still work on other muscles.

I look forward to working out. I think about it. I love the endorphins at the end of the workout. I like the way it makes me feel. I like feeling stronger and seeing improvement.

AskMen posted Top 10 pre-workout foods. My friend suggested oatmeal which is also on that list. So I'll try out yogurt, banana, or oatmeal and see how my body likes it.

Here are two youtube videos of people's experience with P90x and Insanity. I know I don't need to lose weight like they did. But I find their dedication really motivating. I also like this:

"When I was overweight, I would workout for 10 minutes a day for two weeks and worked my way up. In a lifestyle change towards healthy living there is no rush- just a better mind. That will take you further than any diet." - Shaun T.

Day 5 Insanity Workout

I did a bad thing yesterday and I know that I should know better. My dog's not doing so good. He's hobbling on 3 legs and can barely stand or walk. So he lays down when I take him outside to the bathroom. I let him rest for about 5 mins or so, then I have to lift him back to his feet so we can go back inside and he can rest. The thing is, my dog is 95lbs and he resists standing up so he's solid dead weight. My knee was also bothering me. So what did I do? I lifted with my knees 25% and my back 75%. My dog would get back up, then lay down. And I kept lifting him and strained my right hip/thigh in the process. I looked it up and looks like I strained my right vastus externus, the outer thigh muscle. I tried to stretch it out with yoga last night but it didn't work.

It twinged today while doing Day 5 Pure Cardio. It's all those squats and jumps. I took more breaks than I would've liked. But I got through it. I sweated like a beast as usual. Normally, I drink about 2 cups of water throughout my workout. Halfway through, I was out of water already and had to get more. While coming down the stairs, I started to see black stars. Had to take a few minutes break with my head between my knees before jumping back into it again. Stamina was pretty weak today. Now my right quad is really bothering me.

I've been thinking about a few things.

1. I need to eat more and better. For a few weeks now, I just haven't had much of an appetite and only eat when I'm hungry. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for my daily junk food, I wouldn't even meet my daily caloric requirements.  Lately I eat breakfast (fruit/veggie smoothie), a snack, dinner (home cooked meal with meat, veggies, and carbs), and a snack. And my snacks consists of ice cream or peanuts. Also I've been stressing about my dog. I did try to eat more today. My post workout meal was maple/cinnamon bread with peanut butter and banana. Then I made myself eat lunch today and that was 2 eggs, bitter melon, and rice pilaf.

My current favourite snack (although I found out 1/3 cup=300 calories. Good grief nuts pack a punch)

2. I probably need more protein since I keep hurting myself. I'm trying to incorporate that.

3. Considering how horrible my stamina is with Insanity, I'm thinking I'm going to have to start eating before a workout. I don't usually because I don't want to get nauseous or cramp. But I just don't have the energy for it. I'm sure my body would appreciate having something to work with rather than ice cream or peanuts from the night before.

I found another blog that covers his experience with Insanity: Squawk Asian Insanity Workout

I'm going to google what I can eat prior to a workout. I hear banana is good.

Day 5 Insanity Workout Fail

Yesterday was rough. I dealt with it in an emotionally healthy way (through friends and crying)  and possibly unhealthy way (I went out and bought peanut butter cup chocolate ice cream and ate it). I debated if I was going to regret it the next day when I do my workout. But two things on my side. One, it did pacify me. Two, I did not eat the whole tub (although it could have happened). I ate till I was satisfied and realized I ate a little over 1/2 cup which is perfect. Moderation was the key.

Twentyfourcarat blogged about 15 reasons to exercise and be healthy which I really liked.

***

Well, today was a fail. Really frustrating. Day 5 Pure Cardio started with a familiar warm up of sprinting/jogging, knee kicks, butt kicks, and jumps. But after the 10 mins, I did not feel good. My stomach was cramping. I was nauseous and lightheaded. At first I thought it was because my abs were sore from the oblique crunches yesterday. I tried to push through it during the stretch and I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I took a break and laid down. My colour came back and I felt a lot better. I jumped right into the workout. I liked it! Football sprints, jumping, lunges, punching, kicks, and of course squats. Halfway through the workout, I was coming down for a squat and I felt something pull in my inner thigh from my groin down to my knee :( I must've landed funny. After that, my knee was straining. I tried to stretch out that muscle but every squat and jump made it feel worse. It really sucks because I realized I was getting better at the power drills where you jump up, down for 8 pushups (I'm up to 5 hah), then alternate drawing your knees up 8x and repeat. I didn't want to screw up my knee like I did with my foot and not be able to workout 4 days so I stopped :( I only had 7 mins left! My knee is feeling all right now but it doesn't feel normal when I go up and down stairs.

I guess I'll take it easy and do Pure Cardio again on Monday.  Not too concerned about sticking to the schedule as long as I still do the workout.

Day 4 Insanity Workout

I woke up this morning to my dog needing to go to the vet. I wasn't in a mood to workout. But the vet appointment's later in the afternoon so I might as well do it to keep myself distracted.

I read that Cardio Recovery had no cardio. Sounds easy peasy lemon squeezy. But it isn't. It's all about slow controlled movements. There were squats (why wouldn't there be?) and lunges. A lot involved just holding the position or pulsing up and down slowly. My legs were burning once again. There were lots of standing yoga poses I recognized like downward facing dog, warrior pose and warrior pose III. I really liked the triangular pose but in the dvd, the leg closest to the arm was bent at a 90 degree angle. I think having my legs straight would've eased up the tension on my shoulders. With some of the movements, I realized my ab exercises were finally paying off. My core strength helped to keep me balanced.  I sweated. It was a good strengthening workout.

I found my tape measurer. My bf was using it as a bookmark. Now I can see my results of working out for 5 weeks! My arms and calves got slightly bigger (1/4-1/2inch). I lost an inch on my waist and hips. Everywhere else stayed the same.  Exciting to see results of working out.

Anywhos, off to make my smoothie now.

Day 3 Insanity workout

Well I guess it's technically day 4 but I'll just write it in the order that the workout's supposed to be in.

I found Cardio Power and Resistance was more doable. I don't know if it's because I took a day off yesterday and my muscles were ready for it. Warm up was similar and a workout in itself with variations of jogging and different jumps and kicks. Then it's bursts of exercises which consists of different squats, jumps, and pushups. I'll be honest. I haven't actually really seen the informercials but had I know there'd be this many squats and pushups, I probably wouldn't have started. But here I am doing them. My HR stayed around 160 whereas on Day 2, it was around 180. I had instances of being lightheaded. I think that's moreso having to switch back and forth from jumping to down on the floor for pushups. It was good. I felt better afterwards than Day 2.

In the beginning of Insanity, they mention you need running shoes. It's true. I didn't think it was necessary till I screwed up my right foot doing jumping jacks with bare feet.

I found HealthLinkBC has a Target Heart Rate Tool. I'm not sure what my workout routines are considered. If I'm moderately active, it should be 144-156 beats/min. If I'm very active, 156-167.

1 mango, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 handful of carrots, 6 strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 chopped frozen bananas, splash of milk (maybe 1/4 cup?), and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt = 3 servings of smoothies. I'm still horrible at trying to figure out how much fruit and veggies to put in. I usually make too much. 

Had my normal fruit/veggie smoothie and eggs with natto (Japanese fermented beans) for breakfast. 

I will do my usual ab routine tonight while watching Breaking Bad with le bf. 

Insanity Day 1 & 2

I've officially started the Insanity workout.

I lost my tape measure (still annoyed. MIA for 4 days) so I don't have a baseline to begin with to see any improvements.

But here's my Insanity Fit Test results.

Switch Kicks (I think I counted these wrong): ~62
Power Jacks: 50
Power knees: 76
Power Jumps: 24
Global Jumps: 6
Suicide Jumps: 10
Push Up Jacks: 12
Low plank obliques: 45

Day 1: The Fit Test was rough. Squats and push ups were killer. I never do those.

Day 2: My arms, chest, and thighs were sore. I pushed through with pylometric cardio circuit. Even though the workout's 42 mins, it took me over an hour. It's a series of high intensity exercises (basketball squats, ski jumps, burpees, oblique lunges etc). Prior to that, the warmup is is exercise itself with jogging/sprinting in place, high kicks, butt kicks, jumping jacks etc. I took so many breaks. I was sweating like a beast. I was struggling so much. They were like jack rabbits on crack. I was so behind and had to keep pausing it so I could catch up. It was a bit sad but I pushed through it. By the end, I could barely get off the floor. That evening, I did my ab exercises as usual.

I took one day off after the past two days. I woke up with my entire body sore and stiff. Very very sore and stiff. I went for a walk and did yoga instead to ease up my muscles.

Here are a few helpful blogs:
The Grouch Potato- a story about a couch potato's experience with Insanity
Laura Must Lose Weight- a girl's story of how she changed her life. She also raves about Insanity

How it Began & my workout

I started working out a month ago. Why? To get into shape. To elevate my heart rate as it hadn't been elevated in 4 years. And I eat like crap. Gotta balance it out. That works right?

I aim to do cardio 4-5x/week for at least 30 mins. I mix it up or else I know I'll get bored.

I sometimes run. I made it my goal to run 5km and to be able to go for a run in Hawaii. Running around the block = 1.5km. I can run 1/2 of it and do 3 laps. It takes about 30-35mins to do 4.5km. I tried running when summer kicked in and it's rough to run in the heat. I can't tell if I like running. Sometimes running sucks. But I always feel good afterwards.

I hop on the elliptical for a 10 min warm up before I do exercises videos. I like:

P90X Kenpo
Billy Banks Tae Bo Jump Start Cardio
Island Girl Workout Hula Abs and Buns

I love jumping. I love jumping jacks (Jumping Jacks Routine). I love jump rope (I do 1000 in total. 100/set).

I do an ab routine every other days.
planks: 3x 1 min each
leg raises, bicycle crunches, horizontal scissor kicks, scissor kicks
This flat abs routine (up to 4:20) is similar to what I do (minus the horizontal scissor kicks).

On off-cardio days, I try to do Sadie Nardini's Fat Burning Yoga Workout

I started Insanity. It is INTENSE. I will blog separately about that.

One day, I will run along the Waikiki Beach boardwalk