Day 22 and 23, Mommy Strength

Monday was Day 22 of the Shred, and my first day of doing it on Level 3.  I had to rush through some of the sets because I got home later than I had hoped, but at least I still did it.  AND... I definitely felt a slight tightness in my arm and upper back muscles afterwards.

Yesterday was Day 23, also at L3.  Didn't have to rush, per se (did it around 9:30pm or 10pm), but did have my son to contend with.  But done is done and Son seemed to have fun with making it harder for me.  He was watching a super hero show while I was doing my workout (my DVD was on mute), but he would look up occasionally to make sure I was still doing what I was supposed to (and see if he could jump on me)... Boy, did I feel a little bad about myself if he caught me catching my breath!  Who needs a personal trainer with that for motivation to keep going?!?

Today is a rest day and I definitely need it, mentally.  Left work late, which meant that I pretty much just grabbed a cheap pizza, picked up the kids, and got home.  Oddly, I keep thinking about new routines to incorporate into my work out days and my rest days.  Last weekend, when I was figuring out our grocery list, Hubby said I was being a little obsessive (he didn't use that word, but didn't disagree when I asked him if that's what he was saying).  Maybe I am, but I want to ride this train... Perhaps I will be able to make it into a normal daily thing for me by the time my "obsession" passes.

I was talking to J earlier this week about the different Jillian Michaels exercise videos, and she made an interesting observation.  I had just finished saying how I kept reading that people found Level 2 of the Shred very difficult, but that I didn't find that that hard.  I mean, I'm definitely not doing the "advanced" moves for all  of them, but I'm not killing myself on the "beginner" ones, even with mixing in some "advanced" moves.  J said that her friends who have kids have said the same thing, but that her friends without kids have a rough time doing plank moves.  We went on to talk about how it's possibly because mommies are constantly picking up their kids (and a number of other needed accoutrements), so we have a higher level of upper body strength than childless women.  It's an interesting idea.  Also would explain why I didn't think anything of using 5 to 8 pound weights for the Shred when J and others use 2 to 4 pounds.  Hm.