Dry Skin Brushing

Hi Everyone!

Do you dry skin brush?  If not, you may want to start making it part of your routine.  Not necessarily everyday but at least a 3-4 days a week.  It only takes about 8 min to do a full body dry skin brush. 

Why you ask?  I'm glad that you did.  Here are some benefits of Dry Skin Brushing.
1) Immunity - when we allow the lymph system to flow properly, this allows lymph fluid to bring foreign particles through our bodies to the lymph nodes to make antibodies, which clear away any foreign material.
2) Exfoliation - Dry skin brushing removes dead skin cells which helps improve appearance, clear clogged pores and allows your skin to breathe.
3) Increases Circulation - which aids in the elimination of metabolic waste.
4) Reduces Cellulite - May help to soften hard fat deposits below the skin while distributing fat deposits more evenly, which may help diminish the appearance of cellulite.
5) Invigorates - Dry skin brushing first thing in the morning helps wake you up.

There are many more benefits to dry skin brushing.  There is a pattern to follow when dry skin brushing.  You want to start on the left side of your body. The area that you dry skin brush on the left then do on the right.  You also want to brush in the direction of lymphatic drainage. 

I never used to dry skin brush, then when I learned the benefits of it, I started.  The main reason I started is because I had a cluster of 3 lymph nodes removed in my groin area.  I wanted to make sure my lymph nodes continued doing their job so I wanted to do what I could to help them function properly.  The other big thing that I noticed is when I do it first thing in the morning, it does help me wake up.  On those days where I have a hard time getting myself going in the morning, I get out my brush and start skin brushing.

If you do start dry skin brushing, please make sure you get the instructions to dry skin brush properly.  I do have the 12 easy steps to dry skin brushing which I'd be happy to share.   Please let me know if you're interested and I'd be happy to pass it along.  :-)

To health and happiness!
Brenda

Putting myself out there

Gosh, so much time has past and changed since my last blog.  I started #actionacademy by JillFit to hopefully help me out.  I started my personal training business over 2 1/2 years ago.  It's been slow. Two years ago on November 6th, I had a partial hip replacement done.  I was bone on bone in my left hip and it was affecting my daily living and I needed to do something about it. My thought was, what kind of trainer would I be if I couldn't do half of the stuff I wanted to teach, when I couldn't do it myself due to my osteoarthritis.  Overall, it was a good decision.  By May of the following year I was teaching two exercise class.  I worked very hard on my rehab to build my strength and range of motion back up.  Even two years later, I still am working on improving in my range of motion and strength. 

Trying to get a business going and working 10-11hrs a day at a full time job is pretty demanding.  My goal is someday that I can quit my full time job and work on my business full-time.  I want this so bad and I want my business to be successful.   There is so much out there in the health and wellness arena that it's pretty scary. I feel like what if I'm not good enough or I don't know enough.  What else is there for me to do because I feel like so many people covered it.  Then through #actionacademy my eyes were opened up and I can't worry about that because one person might resonate with me more than someone else on the same topic. 

As I'm learning from Action Academy I can't worry about what other people have done and stop comparing myself to others who have been doing this for years.  I'm finding this difficult to do and am working on this and will continue working on it.  I need to focus on me and not what they've done.  I do know that.

I also worry that people think I don't look like a personal trainer.  I'm still trying to get past that but I'm learning from others in the industry that you don't have to be ripped to be a personal trainer.  I feel I got good strength even though I have parts of me I wish were different.  Again, I need to be me and if I'm not, I'm selling myself short and doing everyone else a disservice.

When you grow up over weight and have gotten picked on from other kids in your school.. it's something you never forget, well at least I haven't.  I honestly think part of me still hangs onto that.  I know I need to let it go.  For years I had a unhealthy relationship with food.  I didn't binge and purge but I did binge and then I would feel so horrible for what I ate and I'd workout more to make up for what I ate.  Very unhealthy.  Thankfully I've gotten past that for the most part but times, feel like I could easily slip back there.  Too many times I used food to deal with my emotions. I am so much stronger now than I was way back then. 

I know I have so much to offer people and I need to let it out.  I'm continuing my education to be more beneficial to people.  I've gotten my books for my Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification. I'm in chapter 1 and trying not to freak out and feel like I got in over my head.  Studying anything has always been a struggle for me.  When I passed my ACE Personal Training certification, that was huge for me, I felt on top of the world.  This will be challenging for me and I will not give up.  I want this!

I feel me putting my feelings out there and sharing how I feel is a big step in the right direction.  I need to stop trying to be perfect.  If I wait until I think things are perfect, it'll never happen. 

Do I feel like if I had a mentor things wouldn't be so scary... heck yeh. I haven't been able to find a mentor locally so to me, my mentors are people in the industry and are successful and motivational in so many aspects.  I've been learning so much from them and they don't even realize it. 

I hope some day that I am that to others.

I need to keep an open mind and let go and not worry so much about what other people think or that I might make a fool of myself or embarrass myself. I need to stop thinking, what if I fail.   If I do, it is what it is and I'll learn and grow from it.

Thank you for letting me share this with you and until next time..... live each day like it's your last.  :-)

4DS - Shoulders, Core, Calves and what cardio did I do??????

Today I did Cathe's 4 Day Split Low Impact Step, Shoulder, Calves, and Core.  I like LIS but it's not a big calorie burner for me so I did the step portion from Body Max 2.  I love the step portion of that workout. I get a good calorie burn, it has fun combo's, and good music.   I followed that with the weight work.  Shoulders were feeling it this morning but I managed to stick with a good weight, it was just harder than normal, but hey.. you'll have those days.

Tomorrow I'll be doing all cardio.  Not sure which cardio workout I"m going to do. I have the night to sleep on it.  As long as I figure out by 3am. :-) 

Have you tried any new workouts?  I always like to get feedback from people on workouts that I've never done or heard of.  I'd love to hear from you about your workout experiences.

Keep on moving and keep on sweating!!

I got Cathe's new DVD's.... YEAH!!

I know it's been since September since I posted anything.  It was hard to stay on top of posting anything, feeling like no one was looking at my blog.  I decided to start it back up again.

Over the last few months, I have stayed on top of my workouts. I did STS for the 3rd time and still love it as much as the first time. 

Last week I got Cathe's new High Intensity Low Impact Series.  I haven't done any of the workouts yet. I have viewed one of them and it looks like it'll be a pretty good workout. 

This week I'm dong the 4 day split with my own twist.  Today I did Chest and Back and instead of doing the High Impact Step, I did HiiT 40/20 and then did the chest and back.  I have a love/hate relationship with 40/20.  I made it through the workout. 

For those of you who may have been following my blog, I'd love to hear from you and what you've been up to. What workouts you've been doing, have you been pushing yourself outside your comfort zone.

Keep on moving!!

Don't Worry I Haven't Been Slacking Off

It's been over a week since I posted anything.  I've been busy with my full time job and then taking care of stuff at home, which makes it difficult to post as often. 

Last week I finished my last week of STS Mesocycle 2 Hypertrophy.  I had a great week of workout.  I was making sure that I was pushing myself in my weight workouts.  I know I was pushing myself when I finish my workout and my muscles are totally spent and I feel it the next day or two after. 

I've been trying to do at least one or two high intensity workouts during the week. Usually my third cardio day I would do the elliptical and give my joints a break.  As happy as I was when I was done with Insanity, I still pull it out from time to time and do the warm-up portion to get a short quick calorie burn.  I've also pulled it out when I did one of Cathe's HiiT workouts which are 1/2 hr long, then I would pull out one of the Insanity workouts to finish the hour off.

This week is an my active recovery week. Yesterday I did Cardio Coach Press Play and got 10.5 miles in and a really good calorie burn.  Today I went with Amy Bento's Advanced Step Challenge 2. It's a fun step workout with good music and a good calorie burn. On that workout, to make it more difficult for me, I use an 8" step for the warm-up and the first 3 combo's and then I put my step back down to 6" and finish off the workout.  Tomorrow I think I'm going to do Cardio Fusion Max.  It's a premix on Cathe's Cardio Fusion DVD.   One thing I really like about Cardio Fusion is that she combines sections of 3 different workouts into one DVD. I love the variety.  It makes the time go by faster.

I have seen Supreme 90 in by Wal-mart and in the LTD catalog. Contemplating getting it but I haven't heard much about it. I'll have to do some checking online to see what the feedback is.   I anyone has any input on Supreme 90, I'd love to hear from you.

I hope you haven't been slacking off on your workouts.  What workouts have you been doing?  Have you been challenging yourself?   

Keep moving!!
Brenda

The workouts have been great!!

Would anyone like to hear how my workouts have been and what I've been doing?   If not, you're going to hear about them anyway. :-) 

Last Thursday I had legs and OMG... what a workout.  The leg exercises she did got the heart rate up there and worked my legs really good.  Talk about DOMS.  I had them for two days.

Friday, with my legs being quite sore, I decided to do Cathe's Kick, Punch, and Crunch.  Ran short on time so I wasn't able to do all the ab work.  Overall I had a great workout.  I know I have shared with you already how much I like this workout.

Saturday it was time for Chest, Shoulders, and triceps... another OMG..... I believe this week we were doing 70% of our 1 rep max.  I worked it hard and more DOMS.  My triceps were still a little sore today.

Sunday was my rest day.  More like an active recovery day. I did house work and then in the afternoon I was out in my garden. 

Monday I started with cardio.  I wanted to do something tough and intense.  I did one of the workouts I'm a little afraid of.  Cathe's HiiT 40/20.  Once I completed that, I did 3/4 of Insanity's Max Cardio Conditioning.  Wow, did I get an incredible cardio workout.  It was tough, but I did it.

Today I started week three of Mesocycle 2 and had back and biceps.   Amazing..... I love the feeling of having the power of lifting heavy weights.  You think, "I can't lift this" and then you surprise yourself and do it.  I have a feeling my back and biceps will be feeling it tomorrow.  I love good pain!

Tomorrow my plan is Cathe's Intensity.  Another cardio workout I love. Hopefully I'll stick to my plan once morning comes.  To see if I do or not... I guess you'll have to stay tuned.

Have you been working out with me.  What have you done.  Did you push yourself to a new level. 

Keep the sweat rolling!!

Update on the workouts

Hello any followers I might have.  Here is an update on my workouts.

Friday I had cardio and did Cardio Coach 7 - 10 miles on the elliptical. My legs didn't hurt as bad as I thought Friday morning from doing legs Thurs.  I definitely had DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) because they felt worse on Saturday then Friday. 

Saturday I had Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps.  I had a great workout.  Great strength but I new I was going to fell it the next day.  Oh boy was I right. I think my chest hurt the worst.  It was a good kind of pain.

Sunday was my rest day (from an actual workout that is). I did do yard work in the morning and in the afternoon we had a graduation party.

Monday I had cardio and went with the warm-up and cardio blast from Cathe's original Bootcamp and followed that with Cardio Core Circuit.  The workout felt a little hard but overall it felt good. There are times when I struggle with a workout it feels more worth while when it feels hard and I made it through. 

Tuesday I had back and biceps.  Had good strength. It's always on those days that I had good strength that  I feel it the next day.  Man did I.  I love the feeling of my muscles being worked.  When I got home from work, I wanted to give myself a little extra calorie burn so I did the warm-up from Insanity's Pure Cardio.  For a warm-up, it's a good calorie burn. 

This takes us to today, Weds... I had cardio today and went with Body Max 2 Cardio Blast. I love this workout.  I love the music, the step combos, its a good calorie burn.  I definitely feel like I had a good workout when I'm done. 

Tomorrow I have legs again so we'll see what exercises I have to look forward to.

How have your workouts been?  What have you been doing?  Have you tried anything new? 

I'd love to hear from you!

Keep moving and sweating!!
Brenda

Yeah, the end of the week is here!!

So on Tuesday I started back in with the weights and it felt awesome!!  Tuesday I did Mesocycle 2 Back and Biceps.  I wasn't sure if I should drop in weights since the last I did this or not but I went with what I had written down last and boy did I feel it.  Felt great while working out and oh yeh, the back and biceps were talking to me the next day. It was a good sore. 

Weds I had cardio and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.... now for those that have been following my blog, don't fall over when I tell you this, but I did Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning followed with part of Cardio Abs.  I'm pulling out Shaun T more often then I expected.  It was tough but I made it through. Had to take some breaks during the exercises and then backed up the DVD so I could start the exercise from the beginning.  I may have taken some breaks but I didn't short myself on the workout.  I was a sweaty ole mess by the time I was done.

Today was Legs.  In Mesocycle 2 for legs we do three different leg exercises back to back with a 1 minute rest between each grouping.  We have three different groups and we repeat each group 3 times.  We'll see how my legs feel tomorrow morning.  I can feel it in my quads already so we'll see what tomorrow brings. 

Friday I have cardio, so depending how my legs feel tomorrow will determine what I do for a workout.  Was thinking of doing cardio coach 7 on the ellliptical.  Not sure. 

How have your workouts been this week?  What have you been doing?  Don't leave me out here all by myself.  It would be nice if someone would let me know that they are reading my blog. :-) 

If you read my blogs, I hope I help motivate you and inspire you to push yourself to the next level or try something different. 

Until next time, keep on moving and sweating!!

Catching Up!!

It's been a week since I shared my workouts.  Last week was my cardio recovery week from STS.  Monday I did Cardio Kicks, which I haven't done in a really long time.  Not a good calorie burner anymore (there was a day that I thought this was hard).  I still love the workout.  I love the drills in the 2nd half of the workout.   Tuesday I did Imax 2.. another good Interval workout and good music.  Weds I did the cardio blast from Body Max 2... good calorie burner and awesome music.  Definitely a fun factor in that one.  Thursday I did the Insanity warm-up followed with Cathe's MMA Fusion.  (MMA is Mixed Martial Arts).  That workout is not a big calorie burner but is good combo cardio/firming workout. I like the combo's in here along with the ab workout at the end.  Friday I did Cathe's Intensity, which I love that workout and like the music in that one too.  Saturday I ended the week doing Cardio Coach Press Play on the elliptical and did 10.5 miles.  Was sweating like crazy.  That was my cardio week.

This week I start STS Mesocycle 2 Hypertropy.  I started the week out with cardio though.  This morning I went with Cathe's HiiT 30/30.  This is the one where we do a 30 second interval blast and 30 sec recovery.  I followed that with Insanity's Pure Cardio.  I was a sweaty mess by the time I was done.  Felt tough but felt good! 

Tomorrow I will start back in with the weights and I believe I have back and biceps.  Can't wait to get back to the weights.

Who's been working out with me.  I know there are people that workout out all the time.  Share you workouts with me, I'd love to hear about them. 

Keep moving!!

Last Week's Workouts

To catch up on last weeks workouts. Last week was my last week of STS Mesocycle 1 Muscle Endurance.  I already updated you with Monday's workout.  Tuesday was cardio and I went with the Insanity warm-up from Pure Cardio and then I followed that with Cathe's Athletic Step. I really like Athletic Step but it's not a full hour and I don't feel like my heart rate gets up there until we're into the 3rd combo so I thought I'd jump start it with an Insanity warm-up.  That made a world of a difference. 

Weds was back and triceps.  What a workout it was.  Worked the muscles really good.  Felt awesome!!

Thursday was cardio.  I went with the Insanity Pure Cardio warm-up.... gosh for someone that got really sick of the Insanity warm-ups, here I am doing it two times in the same week. :-)  After I did the warm-up, I put in Cathe's Cardio Core Circuit. Had a great workout.  It felt tough, mainly because I was really stuffed up.  I got through it and had a pretty good calorie burn.

Friday was legs.  I don't know what it was but this workout felt tough. I pushed through and new I was going to be feeling it on Saturday and that I did. Man did I feel it in my glutes and quads. I don't know if doing a more intense cardio the day before had an impact on Friday's workout or not. I'm sure it probably did to some point.  I did it!! 

Then there was Saturday..... legs were definitely feeling it.   I had a sinus headache and didn't feel like jumping around too much so I decided to do the elliptical and did Cardio Coach Press Play.  I got 10.5 miles in.  It was a little tough on the legs but not as bad as I thought.  It was a good way to end the week.

Sunday was my rest day and rest it really wasn't.  I didn't do a normal workout but I did workout the majority of the day.  I was out in my vegetable garden from 9:30 am until 3:15pm and it was really hot outside too.  I made sure I kept the water flowing.  By the end of the day, I was physically wiped out. 

This week is supposed to be my active recovery week.  Not really sure exactly what that means.  I do take the week off from lifting.  I didn't want to do a really intense cardio since it is supposed to active recovery week, so I did a workout that I haven't done in a really super long time, which is Cathe's Cardio Kicks.  I love this workout, especially the drills in the second half.  I did change up certain moves to make them a little more difficult to get my heart rate up there more.  I love the punching drills at the end.  Not sure what tomorrow is going to bring.  We'll see how I feel in the morning.  I've been waking up lately very congested. 

How was your last weeks workouts?  I'd love to hear about it.

Keep on moving and sweating!!
Brenda

Catching up on the workouts!

To catch up on my workouts since my last post, Thursday I had cardio and I put together a combination I wasn't sure about.  My cardio workout started with Cathe's HiiT Pyramid. I haven't done that one in a long time.  Then of course, I had to add onto that since it's only approx. 30 min. long.  You will never guess what I did next.... Insanity's Pure Cardio after the warm-up.  Then I followed that with some of the floor work from Cardio Abs, followed by Cathe's medicine ball abs (I skipped the last exercise). Over all it was a real good workout.  I was a sweaty mess by the time I was done.

Friday was Mesocycle 1 Legs.  Worked my legs she did.  I was sore for a couple of days after that.  It was all good pain.  :-) 

Saturday I decided to go with Cathe's Cardio Fusion.  I really enjoy this workout because she does the warm-up from Body Max2, the finished combo from BM2, a segment from Low Impact Circuit (which I didn't do it low impact), then the blasts from BM2, and then the cardio drills from Drill Max.  I'm down in my basement at 3:30am doing my thing, having a pretty good workout and here some rumbling outside (thunderstorms had rolled in), and about 3/4 of the way into my workout, I'm jumping around and boom, the power goes out.  We don't lose power often so I thought it was going to come back on right away... not so much..... darn it was dark down in that basement.  I managed to feel my way up the stairs to find the flashlight and what did I do.. I went back downstairs and finished my workout on my own.  I knew what I had to do yet so I went ahead and did it. My dear husband thought I was insane.  I had an awesome workout, a great calorie burn and sweat my butt off and it felt great!! 

Sunday was my day of rest and that I did. Granted it didn't help any that we were out very late Saturday night and I was very tired.  I don't do well when I stray from my sleeping routine that much.  I'm back on track today.

This morning I started my last week of Mesocycle 1 Muscle Endurance.  Today was chest, shoulders, and biceps.  I had a really good workout.  Love working the biceps.  She had a lot of push-ups in this one.  I never knew there were so many different ways to do push-ups until I did STS Meso #1. 

Tomorrow is cardio.  Not 100% sure what I'll do.  Was thinking of doing an Insanity warm up and then follow that with Cathe's Athletic Step.  That one is a fun step routine.  We'll see what I feel like doing tomorrow morning.  Not sure about the Insanity warm up though. :-) 

I see that I have a few followers but I often wonder if anyone really is following my blog.   I hope so and I hope somewhere along the lines that I might inspire someone to start working out or step outside of the box and push themselves a little harder then what they normally do.  If you are following my blog, I'd love to hear from you and what your workouts have been.

It's never to late to start working out and doing something  is better then doing nothing.  Doing nothing you will continue to get the same result.  Doing something is a step in the right direction to a better you.

Keep on moving!!
Brenda

Loving lifting weights!!

This week I have continued doing STS Mesocycle 1 (Muscle endurance).  Monday I had chest, shoulders, and biceps.  Had a pretty good workout.  I'm really loving getting back to lifting weights. 

Tuesday I had cardio and decided to go with Cathe's Kick, Punch, and Crunch.  I love the drills she does towards the middle and I love the kicking and punching combo's in the 2nd half.  It's funny though, doing Insanity obviously has improved me on the cardio side.  I did KPC and it didn't seem as hard as the last time I did it.  That's a pretty good feeling.

Today was weights again.  I had back and triceps.  Again, had  a pretty good workout.  Lower back has been a little sensitive so I was being careful with the barbell rows. 

Tomorrow I have cardio again.  I have an idea what I might do but we'll see how I feel in the morning and make sure I'm up for it.

Hope you've been surviving this heat and humidity.  I love warm weather but this is too much with that high humidity.

I hope this hot weather didn't stop you from working out.  Hopefully you worked out in the morning before it got too hot.

Keep moving!!
Brenda

Workouts so far this week have been....

This week started off with STS Meso #1 Chest, shoulders, and biceps.  Had a real good workout.   I do feel like I lost some strength in my shoulders and biceps while doing Insanity.  I'm still doing pretty good with the weights though.  Haven't dropped down in weight too much when lifting. 

Tuesday was one of my favorite cardio workouts, Cathe's Intensity.  Love it, love it, love it.  I like the combination of step, HiiT (hi & low impact).  Did pretty good since I haven't done that one in a couple of months. 

Weds was Meso #1 - back and triceps.   The bent over rows have been a challenge.  It doesn't help though that my lower back has been a little sensitive.  I'm trying to be careful.  Another weight workout that felt great.  

Today I had cardio and wasn't sure what I wanted to do but since I had a nasty headache when I woke up and my head felt all congested, I decided to do cardio coach 7.  Again, haven't done the elliptical since I started Insanity.  Felt nice to get a real good cardio without the impact.   Had a little hard time breathing since I my nose was stuffed up.  

Today my head felt all stuffy.  Had a sinus headache all day, eyes itch, was sneezing, runny nose.  I'm going to bed early tonight so if I'm working on something, hopefully I can head it off. I know there has been enough people that I work with that have been sick.  I don't want to get whatever it is.

Tomorrow I have Legs again from Meso #1.  Last Friday it took me at least two days to recover.   We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Who's been working out with me?   What workouts have you been doing?  I'd love to hear from you.

Keep moving & sweating!!
Brenda

Friday and Saturday's workouts

Friday I had STS Mesocycyle 1 Legs.  I was hoping that this workout would have firewalkers in them so I could use my new firewalker bands and it did.  Weird that a person would be happy about using firewalker bands.  For those of you that don't know what firewalkers bands are, you can click on the Cathe link on my blog, which will take you to her website.  If you don't feel like going to her website, the firewalker band is basically a resistance band without the ends.  It's about as wide as the resistance band but it's a lot short.  You step your feet through it and what you do is you step out as far as you can and take another 3 steps or so and then repeat the same number of side steps going back the other way.  It works the outer thighs like you wouldn't believe and you can also feel it in the upper gluteus muscle.  Cathe's firewalker bands come in three strengths (light, medium, heavy just like a normal resistance band).  I had a feeling my legs were going to be feeling this workout.  The day wasn't even over with and I could feel it in my quads. 

Saturday morning I get up to do my cardio and I try getting out of bed and OMG!!!  My quads were so sore along with my glutes (the butt musle).  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for cardio.  Was thinking about the elliptical but the way my legs felt that wasn't going to happen.  I went with Amy Bento's CIA Hi-Lo Knockout.  If you're a fan of aerobics, this is a fun one.  She has great music in her and fun moves.  I haven't done this one in a real long time.

Yesterday afternoon my hubby and I had a couples massage in the afternoon.  It was awesome.  It was my birthday present (which is first on Tuesday).  Today was my day off of working out and my body needed it.  My legs were still a little sore from Friday and my back was sore from my massage.  The gal I had really worked on the knots in my back. 

How were your last couple of days?  What workouts did you do? Did you challenge yourself?  Did you push yourself outside your comfort zone? 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!
Brenda

Mesocycle 1 Back and Triceps and Cario Core Circuit

Weds I had weights and had Back and triceps from STS Mesocycle 1.  Had a great workout.  The back and tri's were feeling it today.  There definitely is a different soreness with lifting weights as compared to with Insanity.  It's a good soreness though.

Today I had cardio and I decided to go with Cathe's Cardio Core Circuit.  With it being 51 minutes long, I added a little something to the beginning of it to make it a full hour.  You will never guess what I did first before CCC..... an Insanity warm-up and stretch from Pure Cardio.  Once I finished that then I obviously skipped the warm up in CCC because if you're familiar with Insanity, you're plenty warm after that warm-up.  Had a real good workout with CCC.  I love the blasts and then doing some ab work in between.

Tomorrow I have legs from Meso #1, which has a little cardio factor in since it is endurance based.  Hoping it's one of the workouts where she does firewalkers.  I bought the firewalker bands and I'd love to try them.  :-)  How silly to get excited over such a thing. 

Anyone have any good workouts to share with me.  What have you done the last couple of days.  Did you go outside your comfort zone. 

Time for me to hit the sack. 
Sleep tight!

Until next time... keep on moving!!

Started Cathe's STS 12 week rotation!!

After 60 days of Insanity, Monday I started Cathe's STS (Shock Training System).  Yesterday I started with Mesocycle 1, Disc 1 which was chest, shoulders, and biceps.   It felt wonderful to lift weights again. I wasn't sure how I was going to do with not lifting for quite a while but I did better then I expected.  Biceps felt a little weaker and so did the shoulders. I didn't have to lower my weights too much so that was good.  This morning I could definitely feel it. It is a good muscle soreness.  After doing Disc 1, I also did Cathe's STS Abs with the medicine ball.  I love that workout.  It's a nice short 9 minutes but you get a real good ab workout in that short amount of time. My abs feel it, especially my obliques. 

This morning I had cardio and I went with Amy Bento's Advanced Step Challenge 2.  I really wanted to get back into step because I enjoy it.  I like that workout too.  Had a good workout.  Felt great to do something fun again. :-) 

Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I did Insanity and stuck it out the 60 days.  I proved to myself that I could do it.  It's a hard workout.  Especially when you get into the second 60 days. Now I just need to get myself the Insanity t-shirt.

Have you done any workouts to really challenge yourself.  If so, I'd love to hear what it was.  If not, seriously think about it. I'm not saying do Insanity because not everyone is ready for something like that or even would enjoy Insanity.  Get outside of your comfort zone and try something different.  I dare you!! :-)

Keep on moving!!

I FINISHED INSANITY!!!!

July 2nd was my last day of Insanity.  YEAH!!!  I can't believe I stuck with it the entire 60 days.  I'm very proud of myself.  I had a neighbor friend who did challenge me to see if I stick to it and I did.  She said that a lot of people that she knew stopped Insanity once they got into the 2nd week of the second 30 days.  Not me... I stuck it out and did it!!  I don't know that I'll do Insanity again straight through like that but I will definitely incorporate the workouts in whatever rotation I'm doing.  This last week I was definitely getting the dread factor.  The repetitiveness was getting to me and it was lacking the fun factor.  When doing Cathe's workouts, I have fun with those. I'm very much looking forward to getting back to workout out to Cathe.  I like Shaun T, I think he's a great instructor but Cathe is still #1 for me. :-) 

I was thinking about starting Cathe's STS (Shock Training System) again.  It's a 12 week rotation. I'll toss in cardio on the other 3 days.  Unless I like her July rotation when she comes out with it.  Her June rotation looked pretty good too. I have today to decide.  

After not lifting weights for 60 days, I'm very much looking forward to getting back into it.  Can't wait.

Now I want to get myself an Insanity t-shirt since I finally completed it.

I know I haven't been blogging for a while because the workouts were the same thing over and over with Insanity.  I figured it would get a little boring talking about the same thing over and over.  I figured I'd wait until I was done before I blogged again. 

What have you're workouts been these past few weeks!!  I'd love to hear from you!! 

Keep on moving and sweating!!

Week 2 of the Second 30 Days of Insanity

For anyone that may be following my blog, I thought I'd give you an update on my journey of the second 30 Days of Insanity.  I'm 1/2 way in to week two of the 2nd 30 days of Insanity.  So far, I'm liking it.  I like the longer workouts most definitely.  I would have to say, I think my favorite one this go around is Max Interval Circuit and Max Interval Plyo is probably my least favorite.  Monday I have Max Cardio Conditioning and I did part of Cardio Abs, Tues I had Max Interval Circuit and today I had Max Interval Plyo. I really feel the plyo workout in my glutes.  Tomorrow I believe I have Max Recovery.  I do have to say I feel like the endurance in my shoulders has gotten a little better. It still burns like you wouldn't believe but I feel like I'm doing better then I was.  It blows my mind how fast some of these people can move.  Some of the guys, their feet move so fast, I feel like if would try to go that fast I'd probably trip over my own feet.  The fitness level of some of these people in the DVD blows my mind.  I do the best that I can and by the time I'm done, I definitely feel like I got an awesome workout. 

A neighbor friend that has done Insanity said that she heard most people stop doing Insanity (or at least take a break) after the second week of second 30 days.  She has challenged me to see if I will stick it out the entire 30 days.  I'm almost half way there and I'm really going to try to stick it out until the end.

So how have your workouts been. What have you been doing?  I hope you've been pushing yourself so you continue to improve. Let me know how you've been doing, I'd love to hear from you.

Keep on moving and sweatin!!

Day 4 of Round Two of Insanity

Well, I'm in day 4 of the second 30 days of Insanity and my body is feeling it.  Weds I had Max Cardio Conditioning.  This was non-stop kick butt cardio.  No breaks in this one.  Well, of course I took them where I needed to. Wow!!! Thankfully today I had Max Recovery.  Max Recovery may be a recovery from the cardio portion of it but definitely not a recovery from working our legs, pecks, shoulders, and abs. I don't feel like I have good endurance in my legs and he does exercise where we are in a plie squat for a long period of time.  Ouch.... I couldn't stay down the entire time.  My quads were burning really bad.  I gave them a break and went back at it the best I could.  This workout was 47 min. long.. hmmm and that gave me a remaining 13 minutes to do something.   Me, being the cardio junkie that I am, did the cardio blast from Cathe's original bootcamp followed by the stretch.  It was a short cardio blast but it still felt good.

Tomorrow I believe I have Max Interval Circuit.  The one that I had on Monday but was only able to do half of it.  We'll see how bad that one kicks my a$$. :-) 

Anyone out there... I haven't heard from anyone lately.  How are the workouts coming along.  I hope I'm not the only one that's killing myself.  Tell my about your workouts.. I love to hear about them.

Keep on moving and sweating!!

Day 2 of the Second 30 Days of Insanity

Today was Max Interval Plyo.  One way to sum it up...... WOW!!!  I do like it though that these workouts are around an hour.  The warm up in this round is different and I like it better except it has switch kicks in it and I really don't like those.  I don't like them though because I have a hard time with them.  It goes back to the lack of strength in the lower abs and hip flexors.  I know he says to lift from the bottom but lets face it, the hip flexors definitely come into play.  The workouts go by pretty fast.  So far I'm liking them.  I'm actually anxious to do Max Interval Circuit in it's entirety. I'm sure I'll be sweating like crazy by the time the warm up is complete. In Max Interval Plyo, he does some different exercises.  Man does he work the shoulders and chest.  Holy moly!!!

Tomorrow will be another adventure I'm sure. If your interested in hearing how it went... follow me in my journey of Insanity. 

Keep on sweating (which is not hard in 90+ degree weather) and keep on moving!!