Popping in again.
(My July was a WASH, with a grand total of TWO WOs! I'm hoping August will be better.
ETA: It was FOUR WOs I managed in July, not two. That's not really much of a difference, I know, but in the spirit of truthfulness and transparency...
It was also just a really weird month, overall. Not BAD, just unusual.
As usual, I have missed you all.
1. I have my first POLE class tonight!
It is so far out of my comfort zone I cannot even see myself from the pole LOL, but I feel like I need that. The opportunity arose, and I felt like I just had to seize it. I am nervous for a dozen reasons, one of which is that I haven't exercised in a month! PLUS, you have to wear as little clothing as possible to have as much bare skin exposed to grip the pole. It is NOT a good look for me.
Adding to the mix is my rhythmless existence and feeling like a nun could better work the pole than me.
I have NO idea what to expect so I am trying not to think too much about it, but it's all I've been thinking about.
Unfortunately, I did NOT sleep well last night so that is making me more apprehensive.
Oh. And this is my first ever live exercise class! So many firsts for me tonight.
I will, of course, keep JTW updated.
Update: So, pole was super fun. Cathe and Caroline have definitely served me well as I was reaping all of the benefits from WingO with them over the years during this class. It was VERY athletic and acrobatic.
Not challenging cardiovascularly, but it was VERY strength oriented as it requires MASSIVE amounts of core and UB strength, esp. the shoulders.
(My lats were sore for almost an entire WEEK afterwards. Though I don't think that I can chalk it up 100% to pole class as the following day I got back on the horse with regular WOs again, I think a VERY LARGE majority of it was from that.)
I have since taken 2 more classes, both considerably LESS acrobatic and demanding than the first one, which suited me fine.
One I had my period (and felt like I weighed 330lbs), and the other, I hurt my hand during.
I was CRUSHED at the thought of my career on the pole ending before it even got started, but don't fret! LOL My hand seemed to have calmed down and was at 100% for almost a week when it started to get finnicky again. Right now, I am at 98% with it, but I haven't been to another class to really test it out, yet. I am slated for some pole action on the 22nd, so I'll see how things go then.
In true vidiot fashion, I bought myself a pole 2 weeks ago to install in the house.
(It is a tension pole, so easily disassembled and no need to drill into the floor! That was, unfortunately, put on hold when I injured my hand, but, now I am thinking, I can put it back on the docket. Ironically, the hand injury happened the day AFTER I ordered the pole!)
I wish I could tell you all just how monumental going to this class was for me. I mean, I could, but I don't want to bore you all to tears. LOL It was just a really big deal for me. Thanks for letting me share it with all of you!
2.
FUEL Series, Day 13 Glute & Hamstring Complex. Wed U with CL 405, Standing Legs, including the first portion of it where she does unweighted moves, 11 mins in total.
Cue the angels singing.
It was a miracle that I got this in today, and I am so glad I did! It was a heavenly WO!, absolutely worth pushing myself. It was SO AMAZING to get back at it. Despite ho long it had been since my last formal WO, it felt like I never stopped. It was like meeting up with an old friend, and it was SO good to be WingO with C again! FANTASTIC WO.
Lats/upper back sore in the morning. By the evening, abs stinging, too! Even my legs were feeling tired and fatigued!! I was sore in my pecs, too. Then, EVERYTHING was tight after my WO. Glutes tight, legs tired, knees sore after WO, upper back sore and tight, calves and hips tight, too. Basically, just feeling tight everywhere!
3.
FUEL Series Day 14, FULL BODY TEMPO + 60 min walk. WedU with CL Upper Lower Combos, perfect for this WO.
Holy cr*p. If it is possible, my back is even MORE sore than yesterday! It feels like someone used it as a punching bag.
Freakin' love Caroline.
I was smiling like a goofball during narrow squats. I have missed the music in FUEL, and hearing it again made me SO happy, like everything was put right in my world.
My WO got split in two, broken up by the most BORING walk with my neighbor. I thought I would have enough time to finish my WO before our walk, but that is not how things played out as I was trying to "do just one more thing" before I got my sweat on. It all worked out in the end, but it wasn't the ideal way I wanted to go about things.
(I can elaborate on the boring part if anyone is interested, but it really isn't relevant to my WO.)
4.
Total Body Compound Core (403), 45 mins.
I have ZERO notes for this. I know I went in to it "blind" without having made a weight sheet beforehand, which is NOT how I like to go in to my WOs. I ended up picking the right weights, but I much prefer to go in to things knowing what to expect so I KNOW I am choosing the right weights and not just guessing.
Everything still SO sore!! Like, it hurts to sit on the toilet or for DH to touch me ANYWHERE. Delts, pecs, lats, glutes, quads. Left back of leg, just to the side of my Achilles, started hurting me today. I'm the walking wounded!
5.
6.
FUEL Day 15, DYNAMITE Dumbbells & Burpees HIIT Workout (20 mins of 30) then
Pole class then rest of FUEL. Wed U with CL Core-tensive strength and conditioning 406.
Used 20s for everything. Had NO time or patience for microplates. Didn't have the opportunity to count ANYTHING but kept pace with Caroline for almost all moves. She was going at LIGHTENING speed on some things, though, like the plank ladders -- very reminiscent of Cathe's fast paced WOs -- and those I did NOT keep pace with her. This was a ROUGH WO. So. Many. Sprawls!!
This is the day I hurt my hand! The best I can tell, I had it locked, when I should have been rotating it, almost like when you twist your knee -- your knee goes in one direction but your foot stays put? I think it was something like that. I'm pretty sure it was a strain in a tendon or ligament that, thank goodness, happened at almost the VERY end of class.
7.
CL PHA with Stability Ball (399).
Same deal as above -- no notes and went in to it without a weight sheet.
I DID do slightly less reps than C for about half the moves, wanting to make this slightly more strength-based than endurance.
8.
FUEL Series, Day 16, SUPERSET QUADS Workout. Wed U with CL 394 Strong Glutes & Thighs.
Did NOT like the music in this WO. And, holy smokes. This WO. OMG. I don’t think I have ever been SO happy to get to a stretch than in this WO. Don't know if it was because I had my period, didn't eat a lot today, the late hour, my hand, how "kinked" I was or WHAT, but my stamina and endurance and even my strength and power were just NON-EXISTENT today.
9.
Blood donation!
This was my very first blood donation. I am not sure if anyone will believe this, but years ago, when I first tried to donate, I didn't weigh enough! I most definitely no longer have that problem. LOL
I was nervous, it being my first time and all. I just had NO idea what was in store for me. The guy who was doing my intake mentioned that he generally advises women against donating if they are currently menstruating, which I currently was. I told him that I wanted to donate, anyway, and he was okay with that after checking my iron levels.
Everything was fine, and I was actually feeling well enough to do a WO, but, I didn't want to push things since it was my first time and my hand was still acting up a bit. In addition, my body was still (re)acclimating to formal WOs again, and, by the time we got home, it was kind of late. I suppose it all worked out for the best, but I hate missing my WOs, esp. when I just so recently got back on the horse.
10.
FUEL Series, Day 17 GIANT Upper Body Dumbbell Workout. WedU with CL 400.
I am choosing to believe that my blood donation yesterday and intermittent eating today was the reason for feeling so wasted by this. I had decent weights and decent reps, but I was feeling more spent by this than I felt I should have been.
I was GOING to stretch, but, by the time I did my weight sheet for tomorrow's WO and finished my notes for TODAY'S WO, I was DONE. I just wanted to go to sleep! LOL Sorry, body, maybe tomorrow.
But, oh! My hand. 99%! Didn't even feel it during my bicep curls!!! High five!! Felt it achy AFTER the WO while typing LOL but A OK during WO. Huzzah!
11.
12.
Build It, Burn It Bootcamp (407), 57 mins.
This was a FANTASTIC WO. (When I saw you mention it, AMD, in your post commenting on Cathe's leggings, I wanted to chime in and say, "Yes! It was a GREAT WO." So, I am doing it now! LOL)
This was just as it appeared -- UB focused. The Tris got hammered!
13.
DH's Work BBQ.
Another big moment for me! If you all are wanting something to read, you know I'll be happy to elaborate. I aim to please!
14.
Upper Lower Combos (404), 43 mins.
Had DELUSIONS of tacking something on to this, but I was DONE afterwards.
This was, IMHO, a true TB WO. Maybe not if using C's weights but very comprehensive and metabolic!!
Shoulders wonky and kinked up tonight. Hips tight, too.
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16.
FUEL Series, Day 18 Glutes & Hammies + Core-tensive Strength & Conditioning (406), 50 mins. (3 hours later). Wed U with CL 24 Butts & Gutts.
I had no notes on CG's WO other than my weight selection and various, colorful phrases I used throughout the actual WO. LOL I know that my glutes were BURNING during this. Looking at the exercises beforehand, I actually lightened up a bit than what I would normally use (dropped even lighter for the hamstring work), and thank goodness for that!
I hadn't done a glute WO in well over 4 weeks, and this WO shoved my face in that fact, over and over.
This was TOUGH, and, for the next two days, my glutes were STINGING.
(VF does NOT like my thoughts on 406 as it keeps generating a 500 error whenever I put it in, so I would try again later with it.)
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FUEL Series, Day 19 Cardio Full Body + Kick Butt Boot Camp (211), 39 mins.
I just stuck with ALL the same weights as C, and that was PLENTY for me! Do NOT know how I made it through CL after CG. I was SPENT.
I am one stubborn chick.
This WO combo was what I had planned for YESTERDAY, which, obviously, did not happen so I just figured I'd do it the following day.
Come today, again, before I knew it, it was late at night, and I was TIRED. I thought to myself, "No way. You are just going to be doing Caroline's WO because you're lucky to be getting THAT in! NOTHING else!"
During Caroline's WO, I was being amply challenged and seemingly losing speed, strength AND stamina towards the end of it. (Unless Caroline snorted Sweet Tarts before this one, which I feel is the only conclusion I can draw. She was going so FAST; I felt like either *I* was moving in slow motion or I was watching her in fast forward.)
So, I said to myself, "That's it. You're DONE."
As soon as Caroline's cool down started, I JUMPED up, dragged my step out and got going with CL before I my brain realized what was happening and tell my body NO.
I was just running on steam at that point. NO gas left in the tank. I was POOPED by the end of this. It was all I could do to drag myself upstairs and shove some food in my face.
(Then I went and tried to update my JTW log for about 90 MINUTES and got the dreaded 500 error. Proceeding that, I managed to only log about 4 hours of sleep. Oy!)
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