Philotic Web

I think Dips are on my list for week three. Never heard of skullcrushers, though, but you're right. They sound terrifying.

ETA: This morning's workout was rough. I had a really, really hard time pushing through it. Probably wimped out a bit during my cardio intervals, too. I actually barely even remember what I did today. I remember good mornings, and dumbell rows, and hammer curls, and bicep drags, and dead lifts, and those goddamn lunges with torso rotation. But there was another good 30 minutes of stuff in there and I have no idea what it was. Such a zombie today.

So, evidently there are other reasons why working out is "fun" to do. I had no idea.

So, evidently there are other reasons why working out is "fun" to do. I had no idea.

And you all thought gyms were packed with women wanting to lose weight. Pssh.



Seriously, though, I've never had that. I've had really fun pants that make walking exciting. I've had train rides that were just a tad too enjoyable. I've been able to lay back and think my way there. But not once has any real exercising I've done been more than adrenaline fun or downright painful.

I've been able to lay back and think my way there.

I'm impressed!

I've been able to lay back and think my way there.

I'm impressed!

When I first read this, I hadn't clicked on the link yet. So after the train comment, I thought Alea was talking about some marvelous form of teleportation. I was really impressed.

I thought Alea was talking about some marvelous form of teleportation.

I suspect there are people who would be perfectly willing to make that analogy.

I've been able to lay back and think my way there.

I'm impressed!

It takes forever. I wouldn't be too impressed.

Think I have my first exercise-related injury. Felt some piercing, intense pain (not the "good" kind) in my right lower abdominal while doing bicycle crunches. It doesn't flair up during any other core work, but OW during bicycles. I pushed through my first set, but skipped the second. The rest of my workout went just fine.

Today is the last day for these circuits, tomorrow is the last day of the same circuits for the other muscle groups. Next week bumps up the intensity with more weight, more reps, and more variety of moves. Every two weeks my routine will change. Gotta say I've just fallen in love with this one and am sad to see it go. Also a little scared of what comes next.

Slacked during this mornings workout. Blaming in on my lower back, which I seem to have tweaked in the night. But really, I only worked back a little bit today, and I definitely half-assed it during some of my other muscle groups. Will have to ramp up my cardio this afternoon to atone.

Today is Day 12, which means that as of this afternoon I will have worked out twice a day for the last 11 days (one rest day a week. Oh Sunday, sweet Sunday). I'm exhausted just thinking about it. And I need to get some new (heavier) dumbells. My 2lbs and 4lbs are really not sufficient.

Week 3. First day of the new routine. New meaning more difficult. Naturally.

Core and quads, core and quads. Other muscles too, but I'm pretty sure my abs and my quads will be screaming tomorrow.

Plank walk-outs. Go from a standing position, bend at the waist and place your palms on the floor, walk them out until you're in full plank position and hold. Then walk your hands back toward your feet and stand. Rinse, repeat. I like these.

I don't remember the official name of these: Start in plank position, lower down on to your forearms (elbow to wrist flat on the mat) one after the other, and then place your palms beneath your shoulders and push up into plank one at a time. Rinse, repeat. These suuuuuck. I barely make it through the first set. The second set it murderous.

Side crunches. I cannot do these. Seriously. I don't know why! There are other things that I'm doing that are arguably more difficult, but getting my lower body up off the mat while on my side is freaking impossible. Clearly I need to work on these.

Push-ups into plank into crescent pose. I feel like I would be much better at this sequence if I were barefoot. I'm so used to doing yoga barefoot, and trying to move fluidly into a pose like crescent while wearing sneakers is a nightmare. I lose my balance every time. Need to work on this.

Tricep extensions are now paired with sumo squats. ugh.

Backward lunges. Dare I say these are mildly (MILDLY) better than static lunges with a torso rotation. But they are still evil.

Lots of other things I can't remember now, either. But soooo many planks and push-ups. SO MANY.

Plank walk-outs. Go from a standing position, bend at the waist and place your palms on the floor, walk them out until you're in full plank position and hold.

See, there is the first of many problems. I can't even touch my toes, let alone place my palms on the floor! Silly workout.

Yeah, I need to cheat a bit and bend my knees slightly. Hoping to build up the flexibility to do it with straight legs, but yup, my knees were definitely bent this morning.

Ok. Overall, today's routine might be my favorite so far. Out of all the moves, there are only three I'm struggling with (but I'm REALLY struggling with them) as opposed to the average eight or so that give me trouble in other routines.

The three things that suck:

Standing position, arms held straight up above the head--holding weights, lower down on to right knee, then left, the stand up right leg, then left, rinse repeat, then switch sides. This doesn't sound that bad when I type it out, but it KILLS my knees. I'm actually a little bit afraid of this one.

Hollow Man. WHAT? Who invented this? Why is this a thing that was invented? Lie down on the ground, lift your upper body and lower body off the ground about six inches, and balance on your butt, holding everything in with your core. Then hold it for a bajillion years. Words cannot describe how agonizing this is.

And plank leg lifts. Just what it sounds like: get into plank, hold, and lift one leg in the air at a time. Maybe this one wouldn't be so bad if I could still hold plank for any length of time, BUT I CAN'T. I seriously need to start up my yoga classes again. I used to be able to hold plank for eeeeeeever. Gotta rework the budget and find the money for class.

The rest of today's workout was really hard, but manageable. Lat pull downs, which I love. Like chest flies, they make me feel like a badass. Dumbell rows again, but this time while in a deep squat. Double lunges this time, ugh. Forward lunges and side lunges with a bicep curl. My form on the side lunges is atrocious. Must fix.

Seven straight weeks of working out; 6 days a week, often 2 times a day.

I'm down 15.2 lbs so far, and at the lowest weight I've been at since I met David 4+ years ago. Still got about 45 to go. I'm hoping to be down 20 lbs total by May 25th, which is when I'm going back to Boston for a weekend. At the rate I'm going it seems more than reasonable.

I am having some clothing issues: mainly that they're all too big (some unwearably so. I can pull my jeans on and off without unbuttoning/unzipping them. Not really acceptable to wear out of the house). Most of my dresses will get me through another couple of weeks, but they're already looking sort of baggy and shapeless. I don't want to buy new clothes until I'm done, because it'd just be a waste of money. Last year I got fed up and threw out all of the clothes that were too small for me, thinking I'd never get it together to, well, do precisely what I'm doing now. So I don't have any old clothes to start wearing (With the exception of an old smaller bra I found, but even that is already getting a bit loose). For now I'll make do.

As far as my workouts, they're getting progressively harder (which is sort of the point, I suppose). My push-ups are still in pretty horrendous shape. I can do them military style now, for the most part, although I know I'm not getting quite as low as I should be. The varieties of push ups, though? One-legged, push up into side plank, push up with an oblique crunch by bringing the knee up to the elbow? And other, even more ridiculous variations? Yeah. Those are insane and if I can get through one rep without falling over it's a victory.

Triceps are no longer the bane of my existence. I've got a long way to go (and mostly, weight to lose) for those muscles to become visible, but the strength in them has improved tenfold. My biceps, on the other hand, ARE visible and are starting to look pretty hot, if I do say so myself.

Lunges still suck, and I don't think I'll ever feel otherwise. Chest presses and chest flies are still by far my favorite isolated move. I just kind of feel like a badass while doing them. In general I'd rather work upper body than lower body, but my workouts are designed in such a way that I don't get much choice. I also prefer static moves to dynamic ones, but again, don't get to choose.

That's just awesome, Kelly. Well, except the clothes part. I say you should just go naked--embrace the new body.

I am having some clothing issues: mainly that they're all too big (some unwearably so. I can pull my jeans on and off without unbuttoning/unzipping them. Not really acceptable to wear out of the house). Most of my dresses will get me through another couple of weeks, but they're already looking sort of baggy and shapeless. I don't want to buy new clothes until I'm done, because it'd just be a waste of money. Last year I got fed up and threw out all of the clothes that were too small for me, thinking I'd never get it together to, well, do precisely what I'm doing now. So I don't have any old clothes to start wearing (With the exception of an old smaller bra I found, but even that is already getting a bit loose). For now I'll make do.

When I had to deal with changing weight and lack of clothes that fit, I went to goodwill or other second-hand stores to get me through until the weight stabilized. It's a good way to get some cheap staples while you are waiting for your final size to be decided.

Week 9, Day 59 of working out 6 days a week (sometimes twice a day) and I am closing in on 20 pounds lost. Which is kind of ridiculous?

Way, way, way back on Day 3, I decided to take some "before" pictures, which made me cringe then, and definitely make me cringe now. I was looking at them this morning, because I've been feeling lately like almost-20 pounds (17 on the nose the last time I weighed in) should be more NOTICIBLE. I mean, granted, I started with 60+ to lose, so I'm only a third of the way there, but...it's been hard for me to see my accomplishments in my reflection lately.

Everyone else sees HUGE changes. And I have, too! I'm not blind. I've got my figure back (I was getting dangerously close to "round" when I'd always, always--even while chunky--been distinctly "hour glass" before), and my face and neck have thinned out considerably. My arms (well, my biceps anyway. Still working on the triceps) are rocking, and my back is starting to look pretty damn good as well.

I'm below (just, JUST below) the weight I was at when I met David (yup. Totally gained almost 20 pounds in the four and a half years we've been together. That's on top of all the weight I gained before I met him, after that awful, awful break up back in the day).

I look....familiar now. I recognize myself in the mirror. I'm starting (slowly, slowly) to become again the camera whore all old timers know that I once was.

But even while acknowledging these changes, and being proud of them (because I have worked so. damn. hard) I still felt like there should be....more? Even at this point?

So I looked at those "before" pictures to give myself a little reality check and holy s*** guys.

I don't think I ever allowed myself to realize how big I'd really gotten. I just started avoiding having my picture taken, and navigated around the only two mirrors we have in the apartment, and I just plunked myself right down in denial. This isn't self-hate or anything. While I'm glad I don't look like that anymore, and while I'm disappointed I ever got to that place, let alone stayed there for as long as I did, I don't despise myself. I'm just in shock. Because I really never understood, never comprehended or allowed myself to know what I had done to my body. (Kind of like how in high school when I was TINY I still felt absolutely mammoth and disgustingly huge. Except in reverse. This time I told myself I was smaller than I actually was, despite all evidence to the contrary). I just untagged what I deemed to be "unflattering" pictures of myself on Facebook and carried on.

I no longer feel like the changes in my body aren't equal to the amount of weight I've lost. In coming to terms with what I really looked like 59 days ago, I can say that the changes are HUGE. Comparatively, hell, just in GENERAL I look pretty great right now. And will continue to improve. So, there's that.


An aside: I've had people asking me (not here, yet, but elsewhere in life) what (sometimes IF!) I'm eating in addition to working out so much. I am not on any crazy fad diet or taking any pills or supplements or giving up bread or anything like that. I count calories and aim to hit a certain goal each day (between 1300 and 1500 at the moment) and eat three meals and one snack per day. Sometimes more than one snack, to be perfectly honest. Other than that, I try to get a good balance of proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. And I write down everything I eat every day.

Here's an example of a typical day's food. (Although it varies widely day to day, this is a general idea).

Breakfast: a poached or fried egg with one roma tomato, 1/4 of an avocado, and a slice of turkey bacon.



Lunch: Chili lime shrimp it pineapple salsa and rosted cauliflower with almonds, red quinoa, and shallots.



Snack: Usually trail mix, carrots (and hummus) or some fruit. Or sometimes...all three! Another regular snack is greek yogurt with nuts and honey.



Dinner: 5 oz of steak with spinach and tomatoes. (I also do a lot of grilled chicken and fish).



Sometimes I'll have an after-dinner snack, too. Like these dark chocolate covered dried cherries.



For the most part I drink only water, black coffee, and tea. I do still have alcohol occasionally, but usually not more than two glasses a week (this wasn't hard, since I'm not a big drinker anyway). Rarely I'll have some juice as a treat.

So I promise, promise, promise that I am eating food, and plenty of it.

Hey, hey. Hey guys. You should join Fitocracy: http://ftcy.co/AlLcRk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And then, you should totally join this Pweb group I just made: http://www.fitocracy.com/group/9243/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I need more workout incentive.

I joined, but now I'm very very overwhelmed.

I'm down roughly ten lbs from January. I haven't been very good on food feb-now exercise has been sporadic. I'm in the last week of a six week 100 etc challenge, so I've got two of those workouts to finish, then it's into a heavy lifting rotation, I think.

Congrats on all your success, Kelly. Very Impressive!

I've got 190 pushups (total) to look forward to in tonight's circuits. Blech. I don't want to do this workout.

I joined, but now I'm very very overwhelmed.

They redesigned the site recently. Annoyingly, the new design is significantly more bulky and less intuitive than the old design...

Virtually every redesign on the web makes things worse.

One of my main quibbles with Fitocracy is the inability to save a workout. I did all of the same things today that I did last time. Can't I just load that by default? Let me mix up the numbers if I want?

Oh, yay, duels. This is what I wanted.

Anyway, if I decide to pick it back up again, I'll definitely join the group! But it just got annoying.

Summer time is here! Which means... no access to a gym.
Currently, I'm just doing pushups, situps, and other basic routines around the house, as well as using elastic bands, in order to simply maintain my muscle mass. And I'll make a point of walking to my local store just for the exercise.

Weighing in at 160. Last summer I stopped working out and went from 150 to 130 after like 3 weeks of not working out. Lets see if I can't prevent that this summer.

One of my main quibbles with Fitocracy is the inability to save a workout. I did all of the same things today that I did last time. Can't I just load that by default? Let me mix up the numbers if I want?

But... You can save a workout. At least, that's what I assume the Routines tab is for.

Virtually every redesign on the web makes things worse.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm...

But... You can save a workout. At least, that's what I assume the Routines tab is for.

Huh. Well, I'll be.

Also, apparently it has been forever since I've been there. They've completely redesigned everything. Do like how much easier it is to find individual exercises than it was last time I was there, whenever that was. Maybe 6 months ago.

I went to my first zumba class tonight (and first exercise class ever)! It was fun and the hardest, most tiring thing I have ever done. One problem is that I don't sweat much (side effect of topamax). So, I get really, really hot. I need to bring a spray bottle or something next time. I am really going to hurt tomorrow!

I miss Zumba! I was doing it three times a week to supplement all my strength training, but that was in the gym at my old job. I plan to join a gym soon (my new job will subsidize my membership!) and if there's a Zumba class offered there I'd definitely do it again.

Meanwhile, I've been shadowboxing (no bag) to get in some good cardio. I LOVE it. So much so that I'd actually love to take a formal boxing class, with gloves and a bag and the whole nine yards. I have a great playlist that I throw on and then go to town with a few different drills that I know, and others I've picked up online. My current favorite form of exercise.

Otherwise, I'm still going strong with my 5:30 AM workouts. The things in my current circuits are RIDICULOUS. Divebombers are impossible and I cannot do the properly to save my life. Likewise, scorpion push ups are evil. I can't even work up the energy to really vehemently hate any of these moves though, because I know that I'm going to master them, the way I mastered all the other things that have sucked over the last 80+ days.

I am a total sucker for quick, measurable successes and I have to say, consistent exercise has been super rewarding in this regard. I can do things now that I couldn't DREAM of doing 80 days ago. And it's freaking awesome. I am going to get ripped, guys.

I just signed up for The Color Run and I'm soooooo excited! Heard of it? 3 miles of colormania!
I'm not much of a runner, but I definitely should start running a little bit before the big day.
I signed up for the San Fran one so I only have a few weeks to warm up

That looks pretty but I'm wondering how it feels to run and have it thrown into the air you have to breath. Be sure to tell us and take pictures!

It also reminds me of Holi celebrations, which I've always thought were gorgeous from what I have seen of them.

Officially 20lbs down as of this morning!

The last few weeks have been slow weight loss-wise because I've had two bridal showers, two vacations, and a new job. All, even the job, come with mind-blowingly tasty junk food! Definitely ate more than I meant to, but now I'm back on track! And haven't missed a workout in 90 DAYS!!!

Kelly, where did you get your workout plan from?

I've been doing Body Revolution, which is Jillian Michaels's version of P90X, basically. A 90 day program that bumps up the intensity every two weeks and focuses a lot on strength training and plyometrics. I knew I wanted to get serious about strength training, using both body resistance and weight lifting, but I didn't know anything about it. I couldn't afford a personal trainer, so a DVD was the way to go. Each workout is between 26 to 36 minutes long, and I do them first thing in morning at 5:30AM.

Every afternoon/evening I do some cardio, which varies in intensity. Sometimes I just walk for a few miles, sometimes David and I go to a park and play catch or soccer, I've gone hiking, jogging, taken Zumba classes, gone square dancing, and lately am super, super in love with boxing. I find that "fun" cardio works better for me. I HATE running. I love strength training because my progress is visible. I know clearly when I can lift more or do more reps. Because I hate to run and refuse to time my miles, it's harder for me to find that satisfaction or dedication to cardio, but I know it's important for weight loss and for general health. So dancing or participating in a sport I enjoy is much easier for me than busting out several miles on a treadmill.

I have one rest day a week, but usually wind up doing some light cardio on that day, anyway, like walking to the store.

Right now the weights I own are 3lbs, 5 lbs, and 8lbs, but I want to get some heavier, definitely 10lbs and maybe even 15s.

I just finished up the 90 day program yesterday (hooray!) and am starting it back over again from the beginning, mostly because I don't have the time to work out a new routine or program right now. After the wedding, I'm going to look into finding the money for a personal trainer and/or a legitimate boxing or martial arts class. I also confess that I just super love workout DVDs because they're cheap, quick, I can do them from home, and they've worked for me.

Thank you!

I'm looking to add some strength training to my life and I've been having trouble deciding what to do. There isn't a gym close to me (and I don't know what to do on any of the machines anyway) and I don't have the money/commitment yet for a personal trainer. Reading strength training exercises off the internet hasn't worked for me, really. I don't find a still picture very informative for the forms and such. And there are so many workout DVD options!

Nate and I have been doing couch-to-5k together, which has been great motivation for cardio. I agree that cardio has to be fun to get me motivated, and running alone definitely isn't fun. I may look into a Zumba class if I can find one! I used to do that in WAco, but I haven't really looked here.