Getting My "Bottoms Up!"

Instead of continuing the Shred, I decided to try a change.  A couple weeks ago, I found my "Bottoms Up!" book from when I was young, and have been meaning to start doing the weightlifting workouts after I finished the Shred.  I remember that each time I did this workout, I got results fast in regards to muscle definition and strength.  In the past, I didn't really combine this workout with cardio, but I am now.  A good balance.

The workout calls for a pyramid rep system.  For each exercise combination, you first do a certain amount of reps at a low weight.  The next set is a lower number of reps with slightly heavier weights.  The last set is the lowest number of reps with slightly heavier weights than the second set of reps...

... I don't have time for that ...

I did 2 sets of each exercise combination, 10 reps each with 8 lb weights.  I didn't have enough time to do three sets of reps, but my muscles were definitely feeling tired.  I honestly would rather be using 10 lbs to 15 lbs right now, but that's okay.  I'll do that later.  I want to be lifting 25 lbs for each arm, like I did in the past, but I want to work up to that (or should I say, I want to get used to the exercises again before I do that).  What can I say?  Strength is an awesome goal!

The cardio I did today was jump roping... without the jump rope.  I read that it's a good way to get accustomed to the movements, timing, and to get the endurance.  Plus, it was more convenient to do in my apartment in the small amount of time I had.  (Something is better than nothing, me thinks.)

Something I heard today is that toddlers need to eat approximately 1600 calories per day!  If they are active,  they need up to 2000!!!  I want to look into that a bit more, but holy cow!  Makes me feel better about my son eating so much at night, especially since I'm sure he doesn't get enough calories during the day.  I'll be researching this a bit more.

Day 27 and Some Parenting Links

First, here are some links for parenting that I really liked.

5 Tips to Fight Back Against Perfectionism

Parenting is Child’s Play: Responsibility

As for my health/fitness endeavors... I didn't get up as early as the last few mornings this morning, mainly because I went to be in my bed at around midnight.  My daughter was crying and I decided to stay in there after my husband got home.  Needless to say, I was awakened a number of time through the night/morning.  Regardless, I was out of bed earlier than usual, my daughter hanging onto me because she was awake anyways.

I did, however, get Day 27 (L3) of the shred done while "Alice in Wonderland" played in the background.  I made sure to drink a little coffee and eat a couple of my energy cubes before I started prepping for my workout.  My daughter went back and forth between working out with me and watching her movie.  My workout wasn't as amazing as it was the other day.  I was less motivated and more distracted.  I'm not sure if it's because I was doing it in the morning (as opposed to my usual time) or if it was because my daughter was there or if it was a number of issues (including those two).  Even though it wasn't perfect, it was still a workout, and I know my daughter enjoyed doing it with me (when she chose to).  In my opinion, that's what counts!  I plan to do some jump roping when I get home from work.  Even though I felt today's Shred wasn't as effective, this still might be a better way to go for my daily workout routine.  I also may fit in some other exercises (weights, etc) with my children, since it's a good thing for them to do and see Mommy doing.

Day 26 and No Go...

Day 26 of my Shred is done (L3), as of yesterday.  Once again, I think the time off was helpful.  It felt amazing this time... except... when I got so dizzy that the room began to spin, even while I was laying down.  I pushed myself a little to see if I could work myself out of that, but realized quickly that if I did, I might over push myself.  One thing I've learned over my life is to listen to my body and listen to my intuition.  Both said to rest for a moment.  That was fine though, because I was able to quickly start making dinner, which took little prep and could cook while I continued my workout.  I did have a little pain later in the evening, probably from the Sumo Jumps and Jump Lunges and such.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to workout tonight.  I got home late from work, which gave me just enough time to get dinner in the oven before picking up the kids.  Then it became the usual evening blend of craziness and routine.  My daughter was very clingy (probably teething) and my son was constantly hungry (likely a growth spurt coming on).

If I wake up early tomorrow morning, I'm going to do my workout then (or at least jump rope for a while).  I've been waking up early due to my own circadian rhythm, but then getting myself to go back to sleep.  For some reason, when it's early in the morning, my brain says, "Hey, more sleep would be good!" even though it rarely actually makes me feel more rested at that point.  I also know part of it is that I want to sleep in my bed, at least for a little while, but with my daughter that's also a no go.  She seems to sense that I'm in the room and starts demanding to be nursed... and I've never been able to sleep while nursing her (probably because I forced myself to stay awake, through severe exhaustion, to safely nurse her while she was a newborn).  So, tomorrow I will try a change, staying awake and working out, and see how that goes.

A Week Off, Jumping the Rope, and Nummies in Jars

 

Image from http://www.joojoo.me


I took another week off from working out.  It was Shark Week and there were other things that I felt were a priority at the time.

Yesterday, though, I tried jump roping, but didn't get a real work out in.  My son has a jump rope now and my daughter stole mine... we ended up running around with the ropes looped around their waists and them acting like ponies pulling my husband and I around.  It was cute and fun.  My daughter tried jumping roping, which was really her holding the handles, the rope laying stagnant behind her, and her jumping around like a squirrel on caffeine.

When I finally got to jump roping after the kids were dropped off, I only did it for a few minutes... The weather shifted and it started to rain.  Fine.  But then there were the maitenance guys within view where I was trying to jump.  Fine.  And my new jump rope is too long.  Fine.  And I realized I'm not sure exactly how I'm supposed to do the exercise.  The way we jump rope as kids is not really the way we are supposed to jump rope as adults, especially for exercising purposes.  So, I will be adjusting the length of my rope (good thing it was less than $3) and I will be trying again.  Here are links to assist in the actual form and exercises for jump ropes.

Learn How to Jump Rope Like a Pro: 7 Tips

10-Minute Workout: Jump Rope to Skip Yourself Slim

I'm watching my food intake again.  It's such a good thing that my kids like to eat healthy foods and will usually give the meals a chance.  I am still amazed (and a bit proud) that my kids love to eat veggies, fruit, and healthy dairy foods!  They ask for it, even!  We don't have to hide these foods in other foods (I really am not into "stealthy meals") and my kids do tend to trust that I'm not going to give them yucky stuff.  Sometimes, they LOVE the healthy stuff that I'm 'blah' about.  How cool is that?!?

This week, I will start working out again after yet another break.  I will be working on a budget for groceries, etc.  We switched even more of our dairy to organic dairy products.  Actually, I think all our dairy, our meat (just chicken thighs), and our meats purchases during our grocery trip were organic.  It was a jump in price, but I will be sitting down and figuring out how so and how to make it work out better next time.  We also bought mason jars, plastic lids, and two smaller plastic mason containers, and a few other things, that affected the price.  Still... I think it's worth of organics when it comes to peace of mind.  We would just eat smaller portions (like we are supposed to), buy more local, buy in season, be less wasteful, etc.  Obviously, pizza nights are going to be changing quite a bit too... like not getting cheap pizzas but start making them at home.  Still might not be whole grain for those and the dough would not be homemade if its not gluten free, but its still a step up.

I hope to post a few links that I've heard about which explain what items are best to purchase organic, which seafoods are best farmed or wild, and so on.  Even with the produce that doesn't need to be organic, it might be worth switching those simply because they would also not be GMOs.  I'm still figuring it out, because (sadly) there needs to be a balance between cost and health.

Now... for fun "In A Jar" recipes and ideas!  :-)

Found on Pinterest.  Don't know original source.

Salad in a Jar



Chili and Cornbread Jar

Let's be honest...

This came up a few times in the last week.  The last time was at the doctor's office today.  What it all boils down to, once again, is personal accountability.  People want to justify themselves by saying, "I don't have time."  To be fair, in some cases, that might be true.  But in most (maybe even in those "some cases"), the truth is that is we really wanted to do something, we would.  The reason for not being able to do that "something" wouldn't be lack of time.  At least, that's from what I have seen and experienced.

I haven't worked out for nearly a week.  I could say it's lack of time, and I have.  In fact, it just was not a priority.  If it was, I would have MADE time.  I could have worked out with my kids in the room or while they ate dinner.  I could have forced myself to stay awake after my son fell asleep and worked out then.  Heck, I could have tried getting up earlier and exercising before going to work.  My priorities were elsewhere; in mental and physical rest when I could get it, working on the apartment, and so on.  I will be starting up again tomorrow.  :-)

My nutritional intake has been... well... I've not been eating as healthy as I could be, but I could have been doing worse in many ways.  Happily, I still haven't had any soda!  I also have my family eating more organic foods.  Progress continues.

I saw this and thought of Mom, who has been looking for ways to mix up her routine. Reasons Boomers Should Try Crossfit

Also, here's a nice video about Jump Roping as your Cardio.  Happy me, I just found one of my jump ropes last weekend.  :-)