Finally Back to it

Okay so my goals up there on the side have not been going so swimmingly.  I haven't really been working on them nor monitoring my progress on them as I had intended. But today I got back to the Jacob's ladder.  I managed 17 minutes on it again and with 8 of the minutes as intervals.  And I can tell you that last minute on there I just did not want to do it.  I would much rather have gotten off of it - but I pushed through and that is great.

I have committed myself to 2 more times before next Thursday.  Then 3 more times the following week.  So that should be a bit of a challenge as I have some out of town time and then also some time I will miss the chance because they are painting the fitness centre.  So hopefully I can figure out how to fit those 5 jaunts in there around all of that!

As for the pushups and the plank they are both definitely still needing a lot of work.  Although the wall pushups we did in pilates class the other day was definitely helpful - works those muscles in ways I never could with an actual push up on the floor.

Protesting as Activity

I am off to an election fraud protest today.  I hope to move lots and walk lots during it.  And hopefully it isn't the type of thing that means I have to dodge tear gas or something like that. It is kind of hard to believe that I actually feel any concern in that way in our society - but sadly it seems like that is increasingly the case in these situations of peaceful protest.  So wish me luck that this protest is one of note only for the peaceful nature of it and the raising awareness aspect of it.

Narcissism

Oh goodness me oh my.  I am just recognizing how deeply narcissistic I can be sometimes.  Look at the blog address of this blog and my other blog that is meant to be a beginners guide to this whole process of change.  Both of them are based on the czing thing which comes from crystalizing which in turn comes from my name.  Well I guess that is just a little bit narcissistic - it doesn't make this about anyone else at all - really about me. I can kind of understand that in this context - a blog is most often really just about the person writing it.  But my other one that is meant to be useful for other people who are starting on this path of getting fit and healthy - it shouldn't be named after me. If I saw someone else's thing that was like that and it was named after them I would probably mock it and think what a blowhard that person was naming it after themselves.  How did I not see this when I was coming up with this idea?  How did I not immediately recognize the narcissism of it?  Well I guess the answer to that is that we all are sometimes farsighted (yes I wrote that correctly) - we can't see what is right in front of our face only the more distant picture.  Because I think it takes some corrective lenses sometimes to get that near vision back - the vision to see inside ourselves and see our own foibles.  So glasses on.  I think I had best pop over and change the label on my other blog.  And here I thought it was so clever this abbreviation that is like seizing but not.  It is clever actually (I still think so) but it is also something else that overwhelms the clever I think :(.  Oh well, off I go to change the name (although I am not going to change the link for it yet).

Goals - Need some work!

Just taking a look at those pushup, plank, and ladder goals I set for myself a little while back.  They are kind of just hanging around there. I started off well - giving an effort to them and then I kind of let it slide.  I would sure like to blame it completely on the bit of stomach trouble I have been having. But sadly I cannot put all the blame there. Because there have been a few days where I simply chose to do virtually no activity when I could have been making an effort to do some activity at least.

So with that said and with me with my really unreasonably yucky gut today I am still going to go and do at least some wall push ups. They aren't terribly taxing that I will feel worse than I do and the type of thing that I can do and put really good work into not too many minutes worth of it if I work really well on concentrating my effort in the muscles that I really want to work.

Off I go!

Struck by something

Well the last days for me have featured some serious nausea, a lot of sleep followed by no sleep, followed by reduced nausea and increased abdominal disturbances (pain that reminded me of my gall bladder attacks and had me actually sobbing).  But thankfully despite the lack of sleep last night I think I might actually be feeling quite a bit better.

The thing is that as much as I rant and rave against the scale there are some milestones that still mean something to me despite my efforts to minimize them.  That 75 pounds lost was one I was looking forward to.  But now I just shot right past it on the result of being so sick and it just kind of spoiled it for me.  Kinda glad on one hand, kinda disappointed on the other.  I don't like the big losses - they are not to be desired and I especially don't like one brought on by being sick and taking away my milestone LOL.  Never satisfied.

But on another scale related note. I realized I had under accounted my height (probably hadn't measured my height since high school when I got my learners license LOL, and put on an extra 3/4 of an inch after that).  So here I am never having known that I am taller than I ever thought LOL.  But the great thing about that is that it means that getting my "goal" weight for WW is that much closer.  And I don't really care about that number per se but I do care about not having to pay anymore! And that will be awesome!

Fun but famishing

Well yesterday my presence at the pool was commanded by my 2 young nephews.  They were off to the pool and it is a rare occasion when I can resist the call of my nephews asking me to play with them.  That is something I will always thank my drama classes for (I am no actress it is sure but they did force me to remember what it is like to play and to let go of some of those ridiculous worries about what others might think if I show a bit of playful enthusiasm) opening my eyes back up to the fun of play.

I think that everyone should just go out and play and have fun and I don't mean play like an adult (cards or something like that) I mean play. Run around wildly with no intent in mind or go to the park and swing until you feel like you are going to throw up, or whatever.  Just free yourself from all those constraints and ties we put on ourselves and just go for it.  I would wish that everyone would be able to experience the fun and freedom of doing that!

Now with that said I had lots of fun at the pool with my nephews. I am very proud that I encouraged my one nephew to be brave and let go of me and float around without hanging onto one of us.  Kids need that encouragement to try the "safe risks" sometimes.  It is fundamental to their development of problem solving skills.

But after the pool time was over I arrived home absolutely famished and tired tired tired. What is it about the pool that does that to me? But was it worth it - absolutely and unquestionably. I would take that kind of tired and hungry any day over tired and hungry following a day chained to my desk!

Anaerobic Workouts are the BEST

Perhaps I am crazy, and perhaps anyone reading this will think that I am but I can feel that anaerobic burn going on at the core of me right this minute.  An anaerobic workout from my understanding is one that not only burns calories while you are doing it but turns up your internal engines to a higher level and keeps burning the calories for quite a while (up to 8 hours) after the workout.  And I am entirely convinced that if you try you can feel it.

Today I braved the cold, bundled up and walked to they gym.  Once I got there I hopped on the Jacob's ladder (after taking off the extra layers of clothes and jackets of course - since I think it would have been pretty hilarious to see me on there with winter jacket, toque, scarf and gloves - and I think I would have fallen off of it in about 1 minute under those conditions LOL).  I did 17 minutes on it.  The first minute (0 to 1)was a warm up at a reasonable but not super fast rate.  Then minutes 1 to 6 were 6 20/40 intervals. Then minute 7 I needed to stay at the slower pace.  Then I did two more interval based minutes.  So 8 minutes of intervals in total.  The rest of the time on there I was going at a little faster pace than I have been doing. I would say I probably averaged in at 40 or maybe even 41.

Followed up the ladder with a little bit of stretching, then a little bit of ab work (not much just a little bit), then some pushups (30, 10 of each of 3 types - regular, tricep, serratus) and I did a short plank as well.  So all in all it felt like a really good workout.

I do think that intervals really are the way to go if you want that anaerobic burn to be going all day! Because I know I have felt that burn doing a running in place tabata (10 sec at as hard as you can go/20 second very slow pace) for just around 2 or 2 and half minutes and have been able to feel the burn afterwards for hours.  So I absolutely believe that the best bang for your buck in terms of calorie burning is intervals!  At least that is my 2 cents on the subject!