Total Body Tone [Blogilates]

Yesterday was miserable so I didn't get a workout done, which means I need to fit one in today. We have brunch plans, luckily the people we're going with today don't get up much before noon so I have time to slip one in this morning. Boyfriend is going to the actual gym, but I've done that a fair bit this week (for all that they've been shortie workouts) so I think I'm going to stay home. Plus, I had a hard time getting out of bed and would rather work out than spend useless time in transit. It's early and my brain isn't functioning at its optimal level yet so I'm going for something easy - the blogilates 100 workout.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 2

Sore Areas:  None

Yesterday: Nothing.

Environment: None.

Workout
Equipment: None
Work Time: 30:00

'100 Workout': 100 reps each of: jumping jacks, squats, situps, bridges, bicycle crunches, pray pulses
Time: about 20:00? (I failed to note my end time)


Blogilates - Whoa Whoa Workout

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 45:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments
I guess working out first thing in the morning isn't really my bag. I kind of wandered through these exercises, definitely not giving it my all. It took me like a hundred years to get through the squats alone, not to mention the fact I wandered into the kitchen at some point for water. I did get all the way through the tacked on blogilates workout, so... there's that. It's a 'something better than nothing' kind of day...

Blogilates - Cardio

Happy Veterans Day! I have the day off (yaaaaay), unfortunately boyfriend does not (booo). I'm actually not that torn up about it though - I'm weirdly excited to actually clean our house after 6 weekends in a row of being out of town; I know if he was around we'd get distracted by brunch or some such and nothing would get clean. Do you have any idea how many loads of laundry I have to fold? Like.. 9. No joke. Plus I'm still mid-wardrobe-cutover, so I've got to get them sweaters out of boxes and put away the mini dresses until April (let's be honest - May).

As I usually do when I'm left to my own devices, today's workout came in pieces, like 10-15 minutes each. I prefer this method because it helps break up the monotony of the boring things I should be doing (working, folding laundry, vacuuming...). And the bright side is I usually end up working out extra long without even noticing! That wasn't the case today, sadly, but I still got in some decent sweating.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]:

Sore Areas:

Yesterday:

Environment: Indoors, in pieces

Workout
Equipment: None
Work Time: ~30:00

Blogilates - Fat Burning Cardio Warmup
Blogilates - Legs for Days Cardio Ballet Challenge
Blogilates - PSY Gangham Style Cardio
Blogilates - POP Cardio Dance New Year
Blogilates - PSY Gentleman Challenge

Post
Energy Level [1-5]:
Stretch Time: 
Total in-Gym Time: 

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]:
Sore Areas: 

Comments

Total Body Tone [Blogilates/TIU]

A ridiculous mishmash of a workout today -- the Blogilates calendar has me doing the '100 workout', but I don't think that's going to be enough so I'm tacking on a pair of ToneItUp's full body routines. These workouts were originally sent out as a playlist, with the instructions to do each routine one time through. Except... each 'routine' has each exercise being done three times, so is one routine each exercise once, or the entire workout? I don't know! It said 'do each workout once through', so I'm going to assume that means one set of each exercise? Great. Also I'm just going to do the total body ones, because I don't have THAT much time on my hands!


Pre

Energy Level [1-5]:

Sore Areas:  

Yesterday: 

Environment:

Workout
Equipment: Dumbbells [10lbs]
Work Time: 44:00

'100 Workout': 100 reps each of: jumping jacks, situps, squats, bicycle crunches, pray pulses, bridges
** Done as 4x25 super sets -- jumping jacks/situps, squats/bicycle crunches, pulses/bridges
Time: 20:00

Exercise Name	Reps - Weight
Squat + Side Kick	20
Plank + Pushup + Row + Fly	20/side - 10lbs
Bridge Chest Flys	15 - 10lbs
Bridge Triceps Curls	15 - 10lbs
V-Sit Bicep Curl + Shoulder Press	15 - 10lbs
Russian Twists	20 - 10lb
Time	7:00

Exercise Name	Reps - Weight
Reverse Lunge + Overhead Press	10/side - 10lbs
Squat Circles + Triceps Press	10/side - 10lbs
Curtsy Lunge + Row	10/side - 10lbs
Cobra-Dog Pushups	10
Time	8:00

Exercise Name	Reps - Weight
Lunge + Standing Twist	10/side - 10lbs
Triceps Dip + Kick	8/side
Side Plank Dips	10/side
Plank Cross Tucks	20
V-Ups	20
Russian Twists	20
Crunches	20
Bicycle Crunches	20
Tornado Leg Lifts	2
Reverse Crunches	10
Supermans	15
Time	9:00

Post
Energy Level [1-5]:
Stretch Time: 
Total Time:

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments

39:00 Row + Abs

New month, new blogging dedication. Why do I feel like I do this every month? I'm really good about writing my workouts down in my journal, but throwing them up here never seems to happen. Hmm... maybe I need a new tracking method. But it is convenient to go through on days when I'm like 'I need a full body routine that will kick my ass... what shall I do? oh, this was painful. go to!'. But that only works if I actually write down how I feel afterwards. Bleh. Time to think about this some more... maybe it'd help if I wrote down how I feel in the journal? But that's not searchable. And runkeeper doesn't do anything about weightlifting, although it's nice to know how many miles I run a month. Sigh. Trying to track healthiness is hard!

I modelled this cardio routine from ToneItUp's Rise and Run workout, but did it on the rowing machine instead of the treadmill. Then I did a couple of the video's from today's Blogilates workout (ab day!) for a complete 60 minute sweat-fest.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Hamstrings

Yesterday: Punkin Chunkin weekend! More about that later when I'm not stressing out...

Environment: indoors

Workout
Equipment: Rowing Machine
Work Time: 39:00

Row
Level: 8

Minutes	Intensity: min/500m	Total Distance (m)
0:00 - 3:00	2:20
3:01 - 4:00	1:50-	930
4:01 - 6:00	2:25
6:01 - 11:00	2:05	+ 1500 = 2530
<BREAK>	20 Jumping Jacks 10 Side Lunges [each side] 15 Pile Squat Jumps	✔
11:01 - 26:00	Repeat 6:00 - 11:00 + <BREAK> x3	+ 1175 = 3705 ✔ + 1175 = 4880 ✔ + 1180 = 6060 ✔
26:01 - 26:30	2:30
26:31 - 27:00	1:50
27:01 - 31:00	Repeat 26:01 - 27:01 x4	+ 1165 = 7225
31:01 - 31:30	2:30
31:31 - 32:30	1:50
32:31 - 37:00	Repeat 31:01 - 32:30 x3	+ 1375 = 8600
37:01 - 39:00	2:30	+ 400 = 9000
Total: 39:00	2:16 min/500m [avg]	9000

Bonus Abs:
Blogilates - POP Pilates: Intense Ab Workout
Blogilates - Victoria Secret Model Ab Workout

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 75:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: 

Comments
My grip-y muscles were DYING after this -- I think it's because I used one of the new rowing machines that showed up in my gym two weeks ago. They were definitely way more tightly wound that the old ones I'm used to. I'm a little annoyed that everything came out to 39 minutes (like, seriously?) but no biggie. I would have probably just added another minute of cool-down time anyway.

Not super sore anywhere the day after this workout -- I'm trying to change things around and work a little harder, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Guess I need to push even harder!

Also I'm fairly certain the people in my gym thought I was totally nuts for following pilates videos on my phone and doing them in a corner. I just have to keep telling myself they're not really paying attention. Except for that one guy. He totally thinks I'm a weirdo. But he's not wearing shoes, so his opinion doesn't count.

Aside: who doesn't wear shoes in a gym? And wanders around?? PUT YOUR NASTY FEET AWAY. I hope you get athletes foot and ringworm and whatever that really bad one that's almost strep is. [Edit: staph. staph infections. not strep infections]. And I hope someone drops a weight on your foot. Serves you right.

25:00 Incline Treadmill + Butt Tone

Still having weird outside-the-shin issues that I blame on that drunken Satuday hike. So, obviously, to test my theory, I'm going to do a incline treadmill workout. If I can feel those muscles hurt, that's what I'm going to blame. If not, well, blame the gremlins?

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: pseduo-shin splints

Yesterday: Biking. Cardio!

Environment: indoors

Workout
Equipment: Incline Treadmill

Minutes	Intensity: MPH	Incline: ° [time]	Total Distance (mi.)*
0:00 - 3:00	3.5	6.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00] 18.0 [1:00]	~.18
3:01 - 5:30	3.0	24.0 [1:00] 30.0 [1:00] 6.0 [:30]	~.3
5:31 - 8:00	3.5	6.0 [:30] 12.0 [1:00] 18.0 [1:00]	~.44
8:01 - 23:00	3.0 [2:30] 3.5 [2:30] x3	24.0 [1:00] 30.0 [1:00] 6.0 [1:00] 12.0 [1:00] 18.0 [1:00] x3	~1.26
3201 - 25:00	3.0	24.0 [1:00] 30.0 [1:00]	~1.36
Total: 15:00	3.26 [avg]	18.8 [avg]	1.36 mi [1200 vert. m]

Toning Bonus:

Exercise	Reps
Bridge	30
Side Leg Lift	20/side
Side 'Clam' Lift	20/side
Bridge + Sway	30
Table Position Hamstring Curl	20/side
Table Position Leg Raise	20/side

Blogilates - Perky Butt + Long Lean Legs
Blogilates - What Makes You Bootyful

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: none

Comments
Well, either it wasn't the hike or the walk worked out the last of the soreness, because my legs don't hurt at all. A little bummed though - I would have thought my hamstrings would have hurt at least a little bit. Especially since the two mini butt workouts I did were killer - I could barely bridge by the end! Better luck next time, I guess.

Blogilates - Abs/Cardio

Yesterday was a rainy, disgusting fail. Didn't get up early to do my abs like I promised myself, didn't work out after work since I was full of sore and crabbiness. But, some days you just need a rest, right? Right.

But today was infinitely better - I worked from home! I love working from home - it lets me get so much more done over the course of my day. Since a lot of my job involves solving other people's immediate problems, if there's a period where there aren't any problems I don't have much to do. When this happens in the office, I stare out the window or try to stealthily check Facebook (or update this blog...). When it happens while I'm at home, I Get Shit Done. Laundry, dishes, dog-walking, post-office-ing, and working out! Today I decided that whenever I got bored, I would do one Blogilates video. By the end of the day, I had managed to do like 6 of them. Saved me the time/effort of actually going to the gym and meant I made it to the bar before the Bears game started. Horray!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Upper back.

Yesterday: Does flipcup count? It's kind of like wall-sitting...

Environment: Indoors. Dog gets really excited every time I get up because he thinks we're going outside. Sorry dog! It's monsooning!

Workout
Warmup: none
Equipment: none
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates - Spring Fling 2: Fat Loss! [10:00]
Blogilates - Abs All Night [5:00]
Blogilates - Corset Workout [10:00]
Blogilates - Intense Ab Workout [10:00]

Blogilates - 100 Burpee Burnout [10:00]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]:4
Sore Areas: Traps/neck, lower back

Comments
Ok, so 5, not 6, but still a good workout! Although I meant to do more - I was aiming for one an hour. Stupid work got in the way. Those burpees were especially hard - I have a blister on my hand from  my hardwood floors! And today I'm super sore, maybe the intense cardio death workout I had planned for today will have to change...

Blogilates - Upper Body

I spent a solid two hours explaining to my sister about how surprisingly effective Pilates is as a workout while we were drinking last week, so I've got to continue putting my muscles where my mouth is. I've decided that if I manage to work out 5 times a week, I can do upper body one day, lower another, cardio twice (maybe with toning!), and maaaaaaybe a plyometrics workout. Abs I'm going to try and fit in whenever I have cardio days, because those need the most work. Well, abs and triceps. And whatever the areas around the bra band are. And... probably some other stuff. More cardio!

Originally I had planned to do some lower body lifting today, but I'm sorer that I thought from yesterday's extravaganza so I'm switching lower and upper body days.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 2

Sore Areas: Hamstrings/Quads

Yesterday: Bike + Tone

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot! Need to vacuum again. Gross.

Workout
Warmup: 
Equipment: Dumbbells [10 lb]
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates - Bikini Blaster 7: Back & Shoulders
Blogilates - Arms on Fire
Blogilates - Never Ever Getting Back Together
Blogilates - Primadonna Pushup Challenge

Blogilates - Backless Dress Workout

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Upper back

Comments
This was my attempt at getting through the workout regime for Oct 10, but I got to the primadonna challenge and it was like NOPE, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. So I subbed in the backless dress w.o. instead, which is super easy and one of my favorites. Still makes you burn though!

Again, I didn't get in an ab work today. Fail whale! I need to fit that in since I haven't done it in for-ev-er. Tomorrow it shall be done! Even if I have to do it in the morning. Ick.

Blogilates - Cardio

Happy National Back to Work day! Is that really a thing? Probably not. Otherwise every Monday would be national back to work day, and that would be depressing. Or maybe it would make it more exciting? I don't know. At least I'm not back yet! BF and I took advantage of the long weekend to put in some face-time with his parental units in Nashville. We did some cool things - had a nice dinner at Opryland Hotel (fun fact: they make the staff use underground tunnels to get around because apparently seeing people working ruins vacations) and saw a show at the Grand Ol' (Old? Ole?) Oprey. The show was entertaining, for all that I didn't recoginze a single one of the performers. It's an interesting gig they have going there - apparently there's a show every Saturday (along with some Tuesdays and Fridays) with different acts every week. As a performer you have to be invited to perform there once, which gets you into 'the club' so to speak (I bet they have jackets...), and after that if you're in town you can just kind of show up and do your thing. It's also broadcast on the radio, complete with old-timey radio commercials and the radio guy doin' his thing on the side of the stage.

Sunday we took the time to wander downtown Nashville and do a little shopping (I was very tempted by a buy-one-get-two-free deal at one of the boot stores. Not because I actually want cowboy boots, but because that seems like a steal!) before bar-hopping around the 'honky tonks'. I quite enjoyed the live music coming from EVERYWHERE - almost every bar had a live act of some type. I'm typically not a live music fan because I have an issue with absurdly high volume levels, but I had a good time regardless. We managed to end our bar crawl at an English pub (no idea how we found this place) which had AMAZING fries (chips!) covered in Parmesan cheese and deliciousness. It was a perfect drunk-oclock snack.

Sadly, Labor Day weekend is now over, but I'm immensely grateful that I took an extra day off. After driving for 11 straight hours yesterday I"m in no mood to go sit at my desk and deal with emails. Something I can do today? Get back into a semblance of a workout routine! Going to start slow with some light(ish) cardio and get back into it hard tomorrow. BF was supposed to go to the gym with me today but he's napping instead so a home workout it is! This is the 9/3/2013 Blogilates workout.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Lower back - too much driving

Yesterday: 11 hours in the car... gross...

Environment: Indoors

Workout
Warmup: 
Equipment: Dumbbells [10 lb]
Work Time: ~35:00

Blogilates - 100 Workout
Blogilates - Pick-Me-Up Quickie Workout
Blogilates - 20/20 Workout [printable]
Blogilates - Till the World Ends Workout
Blogilates - Legs for Days Cardio Ballet Challenge

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: 

Comments
That was harder than I expected it to be! Good job Cassie. The 20/20 was especially hard - I could.not.do the tuck jumps, so I substituted squat jumps instead. Something about my quads just was not having anything to do with tucking in mid-air. Also, full confession: I split the 20 burpees into two sets of 10, the first done in the burpee place in the workout and the second at the end. At least they got done! I didn't much care for the ballet challenge though - I didn't feel like I was doing much of anything until I started lunge jumping. Next time I think I'll sub in a different video.

Blogilates - Upper Body/Abs

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: LEGS! Lower back. Weird direction changing muscles. 

Yesterday: Tabatta/Indoor soccer.

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot! Need to vacuum...

Workout
Warmup: 
Equipment: Dumbbells [10 lb]
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates -Plank Workout for Arms & Abs
Blogilates - Bikini Blaster 7: Back & Shoulders
Blogilates - Playa Del Plank
Blogilates - Muffin Top Meltdown

Post
Energy Level [1-5]:3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Legs, lower back

Comments
Sadly, nothing upper-back or ab-like hurt from this workout, so I'll have to change it up again next time. Legs are still killing me from that game though!

Also I really need to invest in multiple dumbbells - even some of the simpliest moves, when done for 3 minutes nonstop, are impossible with as little as 10 pounds. I'd really like some 7.5 and some 12.5, with 15s for 'heavy' stuff. Any heavier and I should be at the gym.

Total Body Tone + HIIT

Going for a little-bit-of-everything style workout, not too heavy on the lower body effort since I ran yesterday, but hard enough to hold me through since tomorrow I won't have time to hit the gym. I've combined the total-body Surfer's Paradise workout from the girls at ToneItUp with the Hall of Fame HIIT-style workout from Blogilates.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Knees

Yesterday: Distance Run

Environment: Indoors, not too hot!

Workout
Equipment: Dumbbells [10 lbs], Barbell [40 lbs]
Work Time: 60:00
Program:
Level:


Surfer's Paradise

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
'Surfer' Burpees	6/side	6/side	6/side
Plie Squat + Bicep Curl	24 - 10lbs	24 - 10lbs	24 - 10lbs
1-Leg Standing Tricep Extension	15/side - 10lbs	15/side - 10lbs	15/side - 10lbs
Kneeling Lean-Backs	15	15	5
Plank	1:00	1:00	1:00
Supermans	30	30	30
Back Extension + Hamstring Curl	20	20	20

Hall of Fame

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Underhand Row	15 - 40lbs	15 - 40lbs	15 - 40lbs
'Hopscotch' 1-Leg Burpees	8/side	8/side	8/side
Rainbow Presses	15 - 40lbs	15 - 40lbs	15 - 40lbs
In-n-Out Floor Touches	1:00	1:00	1:00
1-Leg Bridge	20/side	20/side	20/side
V-Ups	15	15	15
Burpee + Tuck Jump	15	15	15
Calf Raises	20	20	20

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 
Stretch Time:
Total Time:

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments
My knees do NOT like surfer burpees - I think I'll be replacing them with 180 deg. jump burpees from now on...

Blogilates - Arms/Abs/Inner Thighs

I was going to do this at the gym, but then boyfriend fell asleep on the couch and I didn't want to wake him. Since I had Places To Be later, I just did this at home.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]:

Sore Areas:

Yesterday:

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot.

Workout
Warmup: 
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates - Spring Fling 1: Toning
Blogilates - Tricep Toner
Blogilates - Abs on Fire
Blogilates - Inner Thigh Insanity

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments

Blogilates - Upper Body

Uggggh so it begins.... baseball season that is. Boyfriend has season tickets, which means we spend a lot of time at the park. And while I love a day at the ballpark as much as the next beer fan, according to last year the season tends to spell disaster for my workout schedule and my eating habits (and my wallet, but that's a whole other story). Which is a terrible one-two anti-health knockout. Especially on those days where we buy tickets 3 minutes before the game starts. So this year I'm trying to do things differently! By getting up early and working out and making sure to be extra-super healthy throughout the day.

Anyone that knows me even slightly will tell you that I am not really a morning person. Yes, I'm awake the second I get out of bed and ready to be productive about 8 seconds after that, but actually removing covers and putting feet on the floor is So Hard. It's always too cold out there, or I'm tired, or I've already overslept a little and now there clearly isn't enough time to do ANYTHING but sleep for another half hour, or one of a zillion other probably really good excuses. However, I also have to be in a wedding next week and actually look good in pictures, and that's motivation enough for the next dozen days or so. I'm hoping after that it'll just be no big thing.

Since this is pretty much my first (maybe third) time getting up and immediately attempting to sweat, I kept it on the easy side and did an upper body Blogilates routine. No jumping up and down, no fear of pulling a hamstring because I've been lying prone the 8 (ok like 6, so sure me) hours immediately previous, no gym shoes. Just some lying on the floor, a whole hell of a lot of pushups, and hopefully some calories burned.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3 - it's really far too early for this.

Sore Areas: Enh...my obliques I think.

Yesterday: Cardio!

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot.

Workout
Warmup: Some pike-down walking pushups, some squats and some lunges. Feel that blood flow!
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates - Bikini Body 2 for Arms/Back
Blogilates - Primadonna Pushup Challenge
Blogilates - Back Attack!
Blogilates - BEBE SPORT Bridal Bootcamp for Sexy Shoulders
Blogilates - Backless Dress Workout

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments
OK! That wasn't actually super horrible! I'm awake! Done with my workout for the day! Bring on the BEER! Wait, I have to go to work first? Lame.

Upper back is already tired and it's not even tomorrow yet. Maybe I DID actually do something!

ZCUT #10 + Blogilates - Abs

As expected, a ridiculously over-the-top weekend with the pops. Happy hour (on a boat!), pizza, boozy brunch, ginormous pasta platters, slightly less boozy but infinitely more buttery buffet brunch, and then Easter ham and biscuits to top everything off. My body is literally pissed at me -- sleeping last night was a chore due to the intense stomachache. I think it was the pounds of butter I likely secretly consumed. Or salt poisoning. Probably both.

Funny story: dog is right there with me on the stomachache train. This weekend he managed to both steal and consume most of a costco-sized bag of turkey jerky AND the half-ham that was sitting on the counter waiting to be turned into leftovers. After the jerky he drank about 3 gallons of water because his tiny doggie brain was overwhelmed with salt. And then demanded to go outside at inconvenient hours. Naturally. And the ham? Neatly removed from the 2-inch deep roasting pan sitting on the counter WITHOUT KNOCKING OVER THE PAN. I swear that dog is part ninja. Or mountain goat. Probably both.

Regardless, it's all veggies and whole grains and workouts for me. Especially in these last two weeks before the wedding (first-time bridesmaid... I have no idea what's going on ever. But I WILL look good in this dress damnit. After I remember to pick it up. Which I WILL NOT FORGET to do!).

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Stomach. Uggggggh butter death.

Yesterday: Easter. Family weekend. Death by salt and buffet.

Environment: Indoors. It's cold outside! Still...

Workout
Warmup: dynamic 5:00 [squats, lunges, pushups, etc]
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

ZCUT #10 : Time challenge: 180 Burpees, Low Jacks, Bicycles, Forward Lunge + Back Lunge + Jump Lunge, Side-to-Side Plank hops, Jump Lunges + Squat Jump [2 rounds] -- 12:34

Blogilates - Uh Oh Obliques
Blogilates - Good Time Abs Challenge

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total in-Gym Time: 45:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Obliques

Comments
Well. That was lame. My original plan was to do this entire Blogilates workout after my jumping around, but I failed. After jumping around I just didn't have the heart to keep going. ZCUT is getting progressively more difficult (I'm on to you, Zuzanna...) and it's taking more and more time and more and more effort to get through it. When I then tried to immediately go into the spring fling workout there was rampant failure. So I said fine, I'll move that to the end, I'll do the rest of the videos and come back to it! I did get through the obliques vid, then the ab challenge mostly killed my already aching quads (I have a real bad tendency to over-use my hip flexors and under-use my lower abs. I'm trying to work on it) and I mostly ended up flopping around. The final straw was the the total-body video didn't load to my phone properly (wrong video format or something). To add insult to injury, the inner thigh challenge involved panty flashing the gym for a solid 5 minutes. So I told myself I'd finish those two, plus the spring fling vid, at home with the computer. Clearly that didn't happen -- after stopping at the grocery store and remembering/tackling a literal mountain of Easter cooking dishes (our dishwasher is broken, kill me now) I just didn't have the energy. Yes, I'm full of excuses. Yes, I hate myself for it. But... tomorrow is another day!

ZCUT #5 + Blogilates - Abs

Considering it was St. Patrick's day weekend, I didn't feel as terrible as I thought I would this morning! Shamrockfest was a monster of a drinking day, as per usual. We started at our friends' house with 'Star Wars Brunch' - basically a normal brunch except the pancakes look like Yoda. And X wings. And TIE fighters. And the Millennium Falcon. And this weekend they were green! I contributed Black and Tan Brownies and Scotch Eggs to the festivities (yes I realize Scotland and Ireland aren't the same place, but I was also using Italian sausage so cut me some slack, yah? Plus I found them on a website named 'Edible Ireland', so I can't take all the blame). After we stuffed ourselves we headed to the drinking festival and proceeded to consume many giant cups of beer. And it even managed to say mostly dry! A win of a day. Boyfriend and I ended up leaving a bit early to see to the dog, and we were so tired by the time we got home that we immediately fell asleep upon returning to our house (after walking and feeding the dog, obviously). No dinner, no nothing. Dead to the world by 8:30. Does this make us old? Probably.

But on the bright side it means we were ready and rarin' to go Sunday morning. More brunch! Green mimosas! Which, by the by, were a fail because I only had gel cake coloring and not liquid food coloring, so it just kind of ended up looking like a curl of green... goo... at the bottom of an otherwise normal drink. It was really unappetizing. But at least we tried...

But due to the weekend-long debauchery, my house is a disaster, I have no clean clothes and nothing normal in the house to eat. So I'm going to take my workout home with me and fit it between loads of laundry and simmering a Beef and Guinness Stew that I lazed out of making Sunday night...

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Upper back?

Yesterday:St. Patrick's Day weekend. Nuff' said.

Environment: Indoors, at home!

Workout
Warmup: dynamic 7:00 [squats, lunges, pushups, etc]
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

ZCUT #5 : Time challenge: Long Jump Burpees, High High-Knees, Tricep Dips [4 rounds] -- 9:30

Blogilates - MarchMakeover 3/20 - Core [42:47]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00 [whoops]
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00!

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Abs -- mostly obliques, but kind of everything

Comments
I'm worried that I'm doing these ZCUT workouts incorrectly because I keep beating Zuzana's times. This one I completely destroyed by more than a minute -- mostly because my 'high high-knees' were a '1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2' pace and she was more a '1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2' pace. I doubt I'm as fit as she is, so I must be doing something wrong. It's probably my burpees. I suck at burpees.

ZCUT #1 + Blogilates - Total Body

Hello, my name is Britt, and I have a problem. [chorus: hiiiiii Britt!] Not a Problem kind of a problem, more of a "problem", really. And my problem is this: I have the complete and utter inability to trust that a given workout program is going to help me become a better me. There are TONS of them out there -- I can point to nearly a dozen online just off the top of my head. But to me, they all seem so... one-dimensional? Because here's the thing: I like the fact I can lift heavier things than most people. I also like the fact I could wander outside and run 10 miles right now if I felt like it (although my boss would likely not appreciate the effort). And while I'm well aware my flexibility could use some work, I'm completely at ease with the fact I will absolutely never make it into a full wheel pose. And knowing that, I have a hard time trusting that these abilities won't disappear the second I change up my usual workout routine.

Yes, I understand that jumping up and down is good for me. While the universe would like me to think that 4 weeks of jumping up and down, killing myself, 9 minutes at a time will give me enviable abs, will it improve my 10k pace? Will lifting 10 pound weights for a solid 7 minutes straight help put more weight on the bicep bar, or will it just make me better at lifting almost nothing for absurd periods of time? I don't know. The cynical part of me thinks that as fit as all these people building the workout programs are, they must be doing SOMETHING beyond what they're telling me to do, right? They didn't REALLY get that fit just from doing what they're telling me to do. There have to be secret 10-milers on the side or some such...

But, I'll also never know what works unless I try it, right? And I probably can't completely destroy my current fitness abilities by switching up my routine for just one short month. Probably. That's what I'm going to keep telling myself as I tackle a month of my two new favorite workouts -- for the next 4 weeks (or however long I stick with it), I'm going to try and follow the ZCUT workouts and the MarchMakeover Blogilates calendar. Now, pretty much I already know this is doomed to failure since both programs advocate working out like 6 times a week, which I just don't do. I'm a 3- or 4-workouts a week kind of girl. 5 is a fantastic effort. 2 is pathetic. So I'm hoping by combining these two programs and maybe throwing in some extra cardio along the way I'll make up for my lack of every day dedication. And, if I'm really lucky, all this will be enough to tone me up for a stint as a bridesman in t-minus 5 weeks. Strapless dress, here I come...

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Enh.

Yesterday: Fancy dinner out, haven't exercised in days and days...

Environment: Indoors, at home!

Workout
Warmup: dynamic 7:00 [squats, lunges, pushups, etc]
Equipment: None!
Work Time: 25:00

ZCUT #1 - total time: 9:30 [includes extra 10 burpees]

Blogilates - POP Sculpt: Total Body Sculpt

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00!

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Arms

Comments
So this workout was a leeeeettle bit of a cop-out, but boyfriend came home while I was in the middle of pop sculpt and as soon as that happens I always lose the motivation to do any more exercise. There's dinner to make! Pup to play with! And I always feel weird jumping up and down when there are other people in the house. Hopefully I'll get better at that, otherwise I'm never going to accomplish anything...

Blogilates - Abs + 20:00 Bike

Catching up on posts, so not a lot to say today!

Today I was feeling a little 'meh' and overwhelmed by the task of having to come up with workouts for the week. So I had a mini ephiphany -- why not actually follow one of these calendars all these fabulous fitness-minded people put out? Crazy, right? The only effort I'd have to put in was the effort to do the workouts. Genius!

But which calendar to follow? Well, considering I gave myself a massive bruise at kickball yesterday which hurts every time the skin of my thigh moves, something low-impact. Blogilates it is. According to the calendar for 2/25, it's ab day.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Bruised thigh.

Yesterday: Sunday funday!

Environment: Indoors

Workout
Equipment: none!
Work Time: 50:00?

Blogilates - FeelFabFeb 2/25
** Didn't get through everything - gave up after the 'Love Handles Exterminator'

Stationary Bike
Level: 15

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Total Distance (mi)
0:00 - 5:00	~75	1.3
5:01 - 10:00	100+ [:20] 40- [:10] x10	[+ 1.55 =] 2.85
10:01 - 15:00	~75	[+ 1.32 = ] 4.18
15:01 - 20:00	100+ [:20] 40- [:10] x10	[+ 1.57 =] 5.75
Total: 20:00		5.75

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 5:00
Total Time: Way too long.

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 0
Sore Areas: n/a

Comments
Straight-up, this workout sucked. I was unmotivated, didn't want to be there, everything was just 'meh'. I gave up on the blogilates workout halfway through because I just didn't want to do it any more. It was especially frustrating because the reception at the gym sucks so each video took like 10 minutes to load and would randomly freeze in the middle. There was no 'flow' to the workout, just a lot of lying around. Wasted time. I *hate* wasting time. But since I hadn't really done anything in the nearly 60 minutes it took me to watch 30 minutes of video, I got on the bike. Had to do SOMETHING to salvage the day. But I had nothing to read. Ugh. At least I kept up a good pace? Hopefully my next workout will be better.

Blogilates - Arms/Back + 30:00 Incline Treadmill

Two days later and my quads are STILL complaining about the workout I gave them on Tuesday. Whiners. So today I'm going to try to hit my hamstrings to make up for it, which pretty much leaves me with the incline treadmill. I'll have to keep the pace down to keep quad effort minimal, which always makes me feel like a failure, but such is life. Since I have no obligations today, no cooking to do, and lingering I-haven't-worked-out-enough-but-eaten-like-a-fat-kid-anyway guilt, I'm also going to do an upper body workout.

The upper body workout is from Blogilate's 'FeelFabFeb' calendar (Feb 13th's workout, specifically). Unlike January, which flip-flopped between full body workouts and cardio workouts, February's calendar only has one day a week dedicated into cardio. The rest of the days work one or two muscle groups specifically with a little cardio tacked on to the end. Since I was planning on doing the treadmill anyway, I skipped the final cardio track.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Quads. Still.

Yesterday: Quick abs, beer drinking.

Environment: Indoors.

Workout
Warmup: Walking to the gym.
Equipment: Incline treadmill.
Work Time: ??? + 30:00

FeelFabFeb Arms/Back - 2/13

Minutes	Intensity: MPH	Incline: ° [time]	Total Distance (mi.)*
0:00 - 3:00	3.5	6.0 - 12.0 [+ 3.0 every 1:00]	~.17
3:01 - 6:00	3.0	15.0 - 21.0 [+ 3.0 every 1:00]	~.32
6:01 - 9:00	2.5	24.0 - 30.0 [+ 3.0 every 1:00]	~.45
9:01 - 27.00	Repeat 0:00 - 9:00 x2		~.9 ~1.35
27:01 - 28:00	2.5	6.0	~1.31
28:01 - 29:00	3.0	3.0	~1.44
29:01 - 30:00	3.5	0.0	~1.5
Total: 15:00	3.0 [avg]	16.4 [avg]	~1.5 mi [1000+ vert. m]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total in-Gym Time: 90:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Hamstrings, mid-back

Comments
Hamstring usage success! Not painfully sore this morning, but they definitely got used yesterday. I shall call it a win.

Also, again I get my ass kicked by freaking knee pushups. KNEE. PUSHUPS.

Blogilates - Full Body Focus

Uuggghh. Today is not a good day. I was supposed to have plans today, but now I don't, and so I feel kind of adrift. I have all the time in the world, and zero desire to do anything productive. Weird how that works -- when my days are packed full I manage to find the energy to do all zillion things that need doing, but when they're empty all I want to do is sit on the couch. Today I'm feeling extra mopey for no reason. Bah humbug. I blame the fact everyone else I know has super-fun plans today and I do not.

Since walking all the way to the gym is clearly out of the question, I'm going to do a workout at home. Blogilates is super home-friendly. being equipment free and all, and honestly I don't want to work up the energy to even put on shoes so this should work out perfectly. Gods forbid I actually put together a new playlist, so I'm going back to the first workout I tried nearly a month ago because it's already saved. Hey, at least I'm doing SOMETHING.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 1

Sore Areas: Enh.

Yesterday: No exercise. There was some wine.

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot. Dog getting in the way.

Workout
Warmup: Overrated.
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ???

JaNEWary Full Body Focus - 1/15

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: ??

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Obliques, Quads

Comments
Well, as per usual I felt better and less mopey after working out. I even showered! A big deal for me on the weekend.

I'm not nearly as sore this time around as I was last time I did this workout - I'm going to pretend it's because I'm getting in better shape.

15:00 Jump Rope

Very little time to workout today -- it's 'Prom' night! No, not actual Prom -- it's my company's annual Winter Gala. Every January they rent out a museum for us to frolic about in; we get dressed up super fancy and drink their booze whilst trying not to ruin the priceless dinosaurs or diamonds or canoes or whatever. There aren't a ton of opportunities in my life to actually wear a shiny dress, so I always enjoy the excuse. This year I ordered a new dress, which is currently sitting at the FedEx store, conveniently located on my route home from the office. Inconveniently, my wallet is sitting on the table at home and the FedEx guy needs my ID to release my package. So I have to go home, come back, AND get prettified before 8 PM, which isn't going to leave a lot of time for exercise. If I manage to squeeze in 15 minutes, it's going to be this 15 minute jump rope workout from the Women's Health Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Legs hurt, but I think they're bruised and not actually sore

Yesterday: No exercise, four-more-years champagne

Environment: indoors - FREEZING. Coldest day of winter thus far.

Workout
Equipment: Jump Rope, 5 lb dumbbell
Work Time: 21:00

Jump Rope

Minutes	Jump Type	Speed
0:00 - 1:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
1:01 - 2:00	single-foot jump [:30 R / :30 L]	Moderate
2:01 - 3:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
3:01 - 4:00	single-foot jump [:30 R / :30 L]	Moderate
4:01 - 6:00 4:01 - 5:00 5:01 - 5:30 5:31 - 6:00	two-foot jump two-foot jump butt-kicks high knees	Fast Fast-ish Fast-ish Fast-ish
6:01 - 7:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
7:01 - 8:30 7:01 - 8:00	double-under jumps	Fast
8:31 - 9:30 8:00 - 9:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
9:31 - 11:30 9:00 - 10:00	Jumping Jacks	Moderate
11:31 - 12:30 10:00 - 11:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
12:31 - 14:30 11:00 - 12:00	'Jogging'	Fast
14:30 - 15:00 12:01 - 14:00	butt-kicks [:30] high knees [:30] x2	Fast
14:00 - 15:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
15:00 - 16:00	single-foot jump [:30 R / :30 L]	Moderate
Total: 15:00 16:00

Ab bonus!
Blogilates 'Plank Workout for Flat Abs and Toned Arms'

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 15:00
Total Time: 40:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 0
Sore Areas: None! Surprisingly.

Comments
Couple things ended up happened -- first and most importantly, I decided to stop by FedEx before I went home just to see if I could get my package without my license, and the guy at the counter totally accepted my work badge as a valid ID! Win! So since I didn't have to trudge all the way home and back, I got to spend a little extra time at the gym -- I threw in the ab workout I skipped on Thursday to the end and took the opportunity to do some extra stretching.

Turns out I suck at jump roping. Or, rather, I suck at jump roping fast. I can keep my little moderate pace forever, but the second I speed up I start whipping myself with the rope. Not fun. So instead of speeding through 2 minutes, I added some butt kicks and high knees. Then the double-under jumps were a disaster, so instead of struggling through them for 2 minutes and spending most of that time tripping over the rope, I gave up after 1 minute and moved on. I added in more single-foot jumps later to make up for it. I also got bored 'running' so I went back to the butt kicks/high knees, which I figure are pretty much the same but harder.

Also, I somehow ended up doing 16 minutes instead of the 15 it was supposed to take. Don't really know how that happened, honestly...

{EDIT} -- the first two rounds of single foot jumping were supposed to be :30 each, not a minute. So I feel less bad about having to cut that minute in half and do :30/leg twice because after :30 my calves were ready to fall off

Blogilates - Full Body Focus

Am I the only person who thinks making decisions is taxing? I spent a solid (read: embarrassingly long) chuck of time today trying to figure out what to wear to a formal work event tomorrow and now I want nothing more than a nap. Sheesh.

As a result, I don't have the mental energy to pull together a workout for today. I'm going to be lucky if I manage to drag myself to the gym. My original plan was to make some modifications to a workout I did awhile back that involved interspersing lifting exercises with jumping rope. I wanted to modify it because I feel almost like I've gotten into somewhat of a lifting-moves rut. Like, seriously, I can't come up with anything better than squats with an shoulder press, maybe a lunge or two and some dumbbell rows? Apparently not. Not today anyway (although I did see a girl at the gym this week doing some squat while front/side dumbbell lifting thing that looked mad hard, so I'm going to have to work that in at some point in the future). Throw in my constant fear that I'm working all the same muscles in all the same ways all the time (re: squats and lunges) and the result is that I've changed my mind and am going to go in my new favorite not-quite-convinced-it's-a-real-thing-yet workout: Blogilates! I'll jump around tomorrow...

However, in the (granted, short amount of) time I've been working with the program Cassey Ho puts together, I've noticed one thing: girl loves her some lower body workouts. If you browse her channels, it seems like 4 out of every 5 videos is dedicated to having a perky butt or long lean legs. While I can't deny wanting both of those things, I do also have arms that could use some work and a back that is punished by sitting in a desk 9 hours a day. So I'm switching out some of the extra booty work suggested for today's workout and subbing in back and arm videos chosen completely at random. Because that's always a good idea.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas:Nothing beyond the usual.

Yesterday: No exercise. A couple beers.

Environment: Indoors. Super cold. Forgot sweatpants. Eff...

Workout
Warmup: 
Equipment: None!
Work Time: 1:00:00

JaNEWary Full Body Focus - 1/24 [Modified]

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0
Total in-Gym Time: 0 -- done at home

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Back, a little

Comments
Lost my gym motivation at some point in the middle of the afternoon when I also decided I didn't want to cook dinner. I blame work. Luckily, boyfriend offered to bring home salads so I didn't have to make anything. So while he did that, I decided to go home to take care of the pup, and then do this workout at home. It was immediately difficult, as usual, but I'm not feeling a lot of post-workout soreness. I might have been slacking -- it's been known to happen when I try to work out at home. Didn't help that boyfriend came home about halfway though with my dinner; it kind of killed my momentum, and I definitely cut the last ab workout short out. There was salad to eat!

Lesson learned: even if I'm working out at home, pretend there are people judging me. No slacking!