pretty aggressive...

This week KC taught us how to do a Turkish Get Up with a kettlebell. Turkasaykettlewhat? It is a kettlebell exercise I've always seen people do but now I can do it too! I am so proud of me and the baby 8kg kettlebell, haha.

Check it out:

I would have given KC some blog fame here but her video is only on FB and I can't figure out how to put it on here. However, she will support my disclaimer that you shouldn't try this without proper instruction first. Or at least she instilled enough fear of Turkish Kettleball Gods in me during her instructions to think so.

So from what I remember (more on 'learning' later), the exercise has several benefits for mind and body.  It's mentally exhausting to concentrate and ensure that this weight doesn't come crashing down on you.  You have to keep your core engaged pretty much the entire time and it is certainly an act of stability.  It will also get your heart rate up as you start to do them continuously.  The one other thing KC reiterated was about teaching your arms how to move around your body properly.  Turkish Get Up - voila!

The other exercise we did last night has left what feel like welts on my hip bones. I had a resistance band around my hips and had to sprint against it with someone holding me back. Harder than it looks. Ouch.  

I got to thinking last night... Training adults in a gym must be a little like teaching children in a preschool. However, it is not an official classroom and for this I think adults struggle to understand that personal training requires as much listening as it does doing. I couldn't count on my hands the amount of times that KC had to tell me "your other left" last night.

You've got all your typical children in a gym that you would see in a preschool. The know-it-alls (who don't), the adhd, the panic stricken, the complainers/whiners, those who need constant reassurance and pats on the back and the aggressive bullys.... But worst of all, it is in adult form.

I probably represent a little of all those qualities.  I sometimes fight the urge to raise my hand to speak... but that's only after I've completely cut someone else off from speaking.  HAHA. I am a piece of work, but I don't think I'm the worst out there.

It just further proves the point that no one's job is easy and it takes a certain kind of person to be able to do different jobs.  I would probably end up throwing a kettlebell at someone if they weren't paying attention to what I was saying.  And that's why I can't be a trainer... amongst several hundred thousand other reasons. 

Here we go Broad Street Run a mere 5 days away! Ahh!

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UL Week 7

The second to last week of this competition did not disappoint. Down another 3lbs and super satisfied about it! I worked out hard last week and it definitely paid off! :)

Last week's lunch was a good one. I would be lost without Trader Joes. I don't have a name for this salad but it would probably be something like, "Balsamic Chicken over Greens":

Ingredients:

• 8-10 leaves of Red Oak Lettuce (found at TJs but be forewarned, it's not prewashed)
• 4 oz TJs Grilled Balsamic & Rosemary Chicken Breast
• 1/2 cup Cucumber
• 4-5 Kalamata Olives
• 1-2 Tbspn TJs Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette

It all adds up roughly to 200 calories, 4.5g fat, 3g fiber, 22 g protein

You can also add a little cheese if you want. I like TJ's Fat Free Feta or part-skim mozzarella.  I usually combine it with some kind of whole grain carb that is ~ 100 calories for a complete meal.

Anyway, I highly recommend it – healthy lunch full of flavor!

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UL Week 5 - back on the island

Thank god I actually lost weight this week.  Lost 3.0 lbs this week without working out this morning before weigh-in so life is good.  Usually I try to do a little cardio before weigh-in to optimize my experience on the scale, haha.  Unfortunately, this week I couldn’t get myself out of bed on time to make it to the gym before work.  So a great loss is an even better loss with no morning workout.  Very happy!

This week was all about the running and the double sessions.  I ended up having to take Wednesday off from working out because FedEx didn’t want to reroute my passport so I had to go to Needham directly after work.  Grr.  Gotta love Zipcar.  Anyway, I think the day of rest actually helped a little.  Not sure. 

Eating was way better this week.  Same calorie intake as most weeks but just ate less processed foods – more veggies and fruits.  

LCW last night was high intensity but the mood was really positive and I think everyone just push their limits a little.  Either that or it was the fact that Kelly pumped dance/house music the entire time and I was oblivious to everyone else in my bass beat glory!  Stupid box jumps, though.  Some of these women make it look so easy as if they have wings that lift them up ever-so gracefully.  I was half beating myself with a jump rope staring in awe.

This weekend is due to bring in an onslaught of rain.  I’m going to either have to suck it up and run in the rain or hit the treadmill.  I wanted to do a 5k in Southie before the St. Paddy’s parade but a 5k in torrential rain is just not appealing.  We shall see.

Pup sitting the Mav man on Saturday, though.  So excited.  :D  Have a great weekend everyone!

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UL Week 4 - kicked off the island

This week was ridiculously intense yet pathetic all at once for me. I definitely fell below the yellow line at a gain of 2.8 lbs. WTF. I worked out like a maniac... crazy woman... lunatic... all week. Went to the gym 2x a day in some instances. So pissed.

Not a clue what went wrong there. And if one more person says "oh I'm sure you're just building muscle" I'm going to throw a kettleball at them. Of course I'm building muscle but I'm not exactly hitting up the protein powder.

Thursday's LCW brought on the dreaded "Stairs" routine - aka climb 20 floors of our building.  Here is my building:

FitCorp is on the second floor.  We had to 'run' to the 22nd floor (the last tippy top flippin floor).  I've done this before as part of a class for marine corps or something (OK really it's called BG Sports but seriously).  I couldn't walk for 4 days afterwards so needless to say I was a little scared.  My calves were literally twitching for an hour after LCW. I still have knots in my calves 4 days later - not exactly pleasant!

So after having a mini meltdown after Friday weigh in, I let it go for the most part. I took the day off on Saturday to play with Maverick on his first birthday, more on that later. Got back on the horse yesterday (Sunday) with a five mile run.

Run was an interesting one. Weather was ungodly gorgeous and after a mile I felt great except that I had to pee like a racehorse and apparently I had over dressed and was sweating profusely. God bless fast food restaurants. Where else can you realistically guarantee that you can use a public restroom requiring no human interaction? Don't have to say anything, buy anything just head right in. Thank you BK for saving my bladder and allowing me to continue my run. :)

Anyway, the SPECTACULAR weather this weekend was a huge mood elevator. Spent all day outside yesterday, it was glorious.  Met up with Gail and her bum knee after my run and we got some lunch and walked back to her neck of the woods for some BerryLine, YUM.  Perfect little day :)

Now if I could just be a literal loser this week rather than a figurative loser that would be great!

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UL Week 3

Here is the obligatory update.  Sorry so boring! ;)

I feel as though I worked out really hard this week.  But I probably was just trying to make up for the weekend prior all along.  I didn't take one day off which doesn't seem like much but it was good for me, I think.  I dropped 1.6lbs from last week.  Nothing huge but something just the same.

Need to get my running back on track - that is my goal for this week.  Got a good 'distance' run in this morning.  Tired leggos tonight, but it's a sense of accomplishment! :D

Does anyone want to run Broad Street Run with me??  It's 10 miles - all flat, practically downhill.  Mike ran it with me last year and he hadn't run more than 5 miles... he survived.  It's in Philly but the more the merrier!  Let me know :)

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