New Challenge! And it's not fitness related. Who's in?

Sloth Sunday!

Day 15 - No workout (13 in 15)

I know I play it tough, but sparring class yesterday kicked my ass! Thankfully, no injuries, though, just a whole lotta sore muscles...which is all kinds of awesome. It helps that I didn't do any heavy leg work late in the week so I was pretty fresh and ready to go. THAT's what Saturday mornings are supposed to feel like!

And can I just say that it's downright hilarious watching Shannon hopping gingerly around the house, whimpering with every step and every movement that requires ab stability? Call me an awful person, but I'm thoroughly enjoying her soreness...but also very proud that she worked hard enough to get sore. Yeah girl!
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Day 16 - 2 workouts (15 workouts in 16 days)
Days until MRI: 2!!
Days until tournament: 5
Days until first Spartan Race of the season: 151

Front-loading the week this week because I want fresh legs for the tournament on Saturday! Gonna have to pay close attention to nutrition and recovery this week too...

Workout 1 - Strength

Deadlift High Pulls
2 sets of 10 reps at light weight (65lbs)
2 sets of 10 reps at warm up weight (75lbs)
5 sets of 5 reps at working weight (95lbs)

Bent Barbell Rows
2 sets of 12 reps 55lbs
2 sets of 12 reps 65lbs
2 sets of 12 reps 75lbs
5 sets of 8 reps 85lbs

Workout 2 - Cardio Circuit Training

1 min work : 30sec rest, 2 min between circuits, 5x through
Jump Rope
Speed kicking L
Speed kicking R
Box Jump Burpees
Lateral Shuffle-overs
Stability Ball Crunches

Going to sleep well tonight methinks!

So Shannon is getting braces on Feb. 11th, which means that a sizeable chunk of our household's disposable income is disappearing as of next month. I choose to view this as an opportunity to stretch the limits of my own willpower and discipline ('cause THAT never happens, ha ha!) but this time with finances. I hereby declare February BUY NOTHING MONTH, just to see if I can do it. Sure, I'll still have to buy groceries and gas and all that kind of everyday life stuff. But NOTHING extra. The thought scares me a little bit; I have to confess that I like shopping and I know I do it more than I need to. Eep.

28 days. I can do this.


That said, yesterday I decided that it was high time I ordered two kitchen toys I have been coveting for months now, so they are on their way. I'm not going to tell you what they are until they get here, but for the record they were purchased in January! And I'm super excited - stick around; there's gonna be some good food porn around here over the next month.

Here's a hint...

Looking Up - Days 13 and 14

Day 13 - Barbell complexes with cardio intervals (12 in 13)

I love barbell complexes; they're demanding on every part of the body, they're efficient, and done right, they are downright brutal. So, with only 35 minutes to get a good workout in, the following seemed like a good idea:

1min jump rope

Barbell Complex:

1 leg deadlifts x 5

Bent rows off 1 leg x 5

Repeat on other leg

Clean/front squat/overhead press x 5

Repeat ALL of the above 5 times, and if your lower body isn't screaming at you by then, I guarantee you did it wrong! This workout is for one of my favorite athletes, coaches, and mentors: Martin Rooney. One day I'll get to his Training for Warriors workshop, mark my words. In the meantime, I'll continue to read all his work that I can get my hands on, and cheer wildly when I catch a glimpse of him in the corners of the ring at UFC.

Day 14 - Sparring Class
13 workouts in 14 days (still running a deficit here but hopefully now that the week of multiple injuries appears to be over I will pull ahead.)
Days until Tournament: 7
Days until MRI: 4!!!

Wanna hear something really stupid? I've been waiting for this MRI for oh, almost 4 months. Pain in my left arm has been pretty consistent, it's had the same degree of immobility, and it has woken me up at night a few times a week like clockwork, for four months. I've seen 5 doctors and had 2 sets of  x-rays. Now finally it's time to get it checked out for real, and in the last two or so days, it's suddenly started to feel way better. Seriously, what gives? Is this my body trying to make me look stupid? 'Cause I certainly will feel sheepish if I get the MRI and they call me up and say, "yeah, there was some ligament damage but you're healing up just fine - if it's still bothering you in a year give us a call and we'll wait another six months before we book an appointment." I almost feel like cancelling it but will go out of spite...and from the niggling worry that it has healed wrong, and they'll have to cut it open and make it way worse before it gets better. So, 4 days of trying not to think about going into that little tube again. Yikes.

Who misses cheesecake posts? The cheesecake biz has slowed considerably since Christmas, but I was privy to some loud protests recently pertaining to the lack of cheesecake production, so I declare that it's time to get experimenting and come up with some new recipes! Any suggestions? Making a good cheesecake is a two-day process so there isn't time for this weekend but I hereby promise some cheesy porn by next weekend. And as always, proceeds from cheesecakes are split between KidSport Canada and the Spartan Race endeavour....

I feel I must end this post on a more serious note, with a public service announcement. This is for all of you out there who live with multiple family members, work with the public, or are in a relationship where maintaining some sense of mystery is a priority.

DO NOT EAT WHITE BEAN SOUP FROM COSTCO!

Our entire house smelled like the litterbox for two days afterward. True story.

Tough Decisions - Days 11 and 12

Day 11 - Bailed again! Stupid sore hip. Sheesh.

Day 12 - TKD Class (11 workouts in 12 days)

 Let's talk food, shall we?

I mentioned a few posts ago that I am working with the indomitable Georgie Fear on fixing up my nutrition, one habit at a time. Right now my challenge is to stop eating when I'm SATISFIED instead of when my plate is empty, or when the munchies go away, or when I've run out of time, or when I'm full. It's surprisingly difficult! Especially if eating is happening because of something other than physical hunger...which happens to me a lot. There, I said it.

But here's the cool thing: I am done with ridiculous crazy nutrition experiments that are designed to make you drop lots of weight really fast. Those programs, even if they do work over the short term, invite lots of messed up food behaviour later on when the experiment is done, and I am living proof that they are a recipe for disaster in the fat loss department. So this time I am out to conquer all the baggage surrounding food that has piled up in my brain over the years, and do it RIGHT so that it (the baggage AND the fat) doesn't come back.

Anyway, it's coming, but actually listening and responding to hunger cues is like trying to re-learn a language I haven't used since I was five years old. I'll keep you posted! But we're goin' back to working on getting some weight off 'cause there's stuff to train for!

Yesterday I had a tough decision to make: I had enough spinach left for EITHER a smoothie OR an egg white omelet. Since both of those are meals I consume daily, clearly one of them was going to have to go without greens: a catastrophic turn of events! Oh well, I thought - I am putting powdered greens and matcha in the smoothie so it'll be green anyway...

I started the omelet, which was to be lunch for at work. As it was cooking, I started throwing stuff into the magic bullet for the breakfast smoothie: raspberries, greens powder, matcha, chia seeds, almond butter, whey protein, almond milk, then it hit me.

I did have veggies for the omelet - I had broccoli and green beans in the freezer! Whoohoo, score! (I am easily pleased in the morning.) But the spinach was already cooked with garlic so I couldn't see scooping it into the smoothie. What if...no, that's gross.

Wait a second. Most people would already say this smoothie looks gross. I mean, it's GREY. I dumped the green beans and broccoli in with the raspberry/almond/banana concoction and buzzed it all together. And you know what? It was kind of okay.

Give me Advil or give me death! Days 8-11

Day 8 - Sunday: 7 workouts, 8 days
I had totally planned to work out Sunday morning...but remember that soreness problem that I had yesterday?
Yeah, it was Advil for breakfast day today. Lurched through the day today with all my weight on my right leg and couldn't ever quite nail down which muscle it was that was that was making me walk like someone hacked off my leg and stapled a baseball bat into its place. So much for working out; there'll be none of that action until I see my chiropractor.

Day 9 - Blue Monday: 8 workouts, 9 days

Bah. Blue Monday indeed! But not 'cause it's January or 'cause of credit card bills, and anyone who's bummed about that stuff today can bloody well sack up and accept that winter is cold and Christmas is expensive. Or I could give them a punch in the face...'cause then I'd feel better and they'd actually have something to cry about! Ha ha.

Couldn't get in to see Dr. Rod Beauchesne, my amazing magician/chiropractor until after the window of opportunity to work out was closed...and since missing another workout is totally unacceptable, I spent a little over an hour on the spin bike. And you know what? It was actually pretty enjoyable. That workout goes out to Dr. Rod, because he plays a big part in keeping me doing the things I love doing. When he's not trying to kill me.

The verdict today was that I've strained my psoas and iliacus, a couple of really deep core/hip flexor muscles. It's gonna take digging underneath my hip crest and massaging it daily to work the kinks out...which is going to test my pain tolerance. And I'm always up for some pain!

Day 10 - Tuesday: 10 workouts, 10 days! Back on par.
Light upper body workout, soft tissue work
Tkd class

Oh hell,who am I kidding? There was no light upper body workout. There was, however, an ego-based, impatience-driven, poorly-thought-through test to see if I can still bench press what I could before I got injured. Definitely wasn't very smart and it hurt lots, but guess what? I still can! Yesss!
Also notable is the large bruise I'm growing on my abdomen from pushing a stick handle through my abs to reach the injured muscles. Might get a picture later this week...but it's helping. Regaining some control over my left leg, now just have to keep at it and deal with the secondary problems that are cropping up because apparently I've joined the Ministry for Silly Walks.

It bears mentioning here that this aging thing is a load of shit.

Whoa, there! Before you all get all uppity on me, I know that thirty-five isn't that old. I never said it was. But, from an athletic performance standpoint, the cold hard reality is that at thirty-five you really do have to start spending more time focussing on injury prevention. Or, if your ego can't handle that (ooh! Ooh! Me!) and you end up injured (and let's face it, most of us do anyway), then good injury management becomes even more essential to life. Because, if I can quote a friend of mine who has been teaching karate for many years, in adulthood you can choose the pain of development, or the pain of degeneration.

Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says different is selling something.

'E' for effort...

Day 7
Workout: Sparring class

Okay, so remember where I said yesterday that the sore quads problem was going to be ten times worse today? I was kidding, of course, but some jerk in the lower levels of fate management thought it would be a funny joke to make that actually happen. I had to drag my carcass in to the first sparring class of the year on legs that were radiating heat and would hardly move.

 Ever have a workout where you feel like a wuss? Actually, I feel like a weak pansy at some point during every workout, and it pisses me off and spurs me on to work harder. Silly as it may sound, that's part of what I love about training and what keeps me coming back to challenge myself further...but every once in a while, a workout happens where there are no endorphins. Where you start out feeling good and as you go you realize that today's an off day and it's just not going to get better, and all you can do is...not quit. 'Cause you know that at the end of the day, or maybe tomorrow, you will be happy you gritted your teeth and finished it!

 As you may have guessed by now, today was one of those days. I felt like a big, uncoordinated oaf for two solid hours. My left leg seemed to have one of those timed delay mechanisms on it where there was a lag between when I wanted it to move and it would actually go: clearly a sign that I should probably see my chiropractor. My left arm was aching. And while I'm bitching here, you want to know what the biggest ripoff is? That Saturday morning workout is just about my favorite part of the whole week. Stupid sore quads. Stupid unresponsive hip flexors! Now I'm getting angry - that feels better! Grr. Rrrr. RRGH! RAWR!!!

 Right then. Gonna train up that left hip flexor this week, and seriously, no heavy squats after Wednesday. And hmm...who gets the workout I feel really crappy about? I know! How about Georges St.-Pierre? There's someone who inspires me and spurs me on, and he just fought his way back through a giant steaming pile of adversity. I feel better about this already.

7 workouts down in 7 days! 93 to go.

Day 5 and 6...and TGIF

Day 5 Workouts

Workout 1: this one's for Dana Linn Bailey, my fitness idol and all-around superhero.
Squat 'til you die then keep going!
Back Squats
10 reps @ warm-up weight
10 reps @ halfway between warm-up and working weight
8 x 5 reps @ working weight
2 min rest between sets of 5

1-leg back extensions, 10 reps each side
Full range of motion Reverse Ab Curls, 15 reps
3x through

Workout 2
Thursday evening taekwondo class

Day 6 - Rest

Sore quads today! Kinda knew that was gonna happen, which is why I didn't do squats today; it would suck if I was super sore for the first sparring class of the year tomorrow. Ha, now that I've said that it's going to be ten times worse tomorrow!

Pop culture doesn't make much of an inroad into the Gray house as a general rule, but it appears that daughter # 1 has taken a shine to Nicki Minaj. If I have to listen to Starship much more, in any form whether it's through Shannon's ear buds at home, she's singing it as we wander through the grocery store, or I hear it at the gym, I may just have to stab somebody. Now, as a general rule I think I'm a fairly patient person but whenever I see Nicki Minaj's overly-make upped, vacant, duck face smile on the Internet or on tv, my first inclination is to give her a time out. And that obnoxious little kid on Ellen who looooooves her? She needs a time out too. I'll admit, she sings pretty well and I did have to smile the first time I saw her on YouTube. But she gets less endearing every time I see her and - if I were her mom - we'd have put a lid on the YouTube videos and interviews and makeup and superficial bullshit a long time ago. This is not something to aspire to, kids! Go read a book!

I don't want to be a troll or a hate monger though...so I'll shut it now and do my best to make sure my own kids don't end up that way. Actually, I don't think I have much to worry about since toilet jokes are more pervasive in my house than any single aspect of pop culture, and shouts of "PENIS BUTT BOOBS!" garner much more entertainment than just about anything else. 'Cause that's WAY better than listening to pop music. Heh heh heh.

Who wants to know what horrific sludge is coming out of my magic bullet these days? Here's a recipe for my favorite variety of Awesome Greenness:

2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 scoop banana whey protein powder
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 serving Greens+ Daily Detox
2 tsp matcha green tea powder
Water to cover it all

Blend it up and slam it down! Wheaties ain't got nothing on this breakfast of champions!

Rest, Regression, and a Rant

Guess what? Today is Wednesday, which means that by last year's standards (and the few years before that) I should be a sleepy, weepy, grumpy, dopey basket case. Not this year though! The Dwarves of Misery have been evicted from my psyche, and all it took was a New Year's resolution. I only made one this year, and it goes like this:

My health and fitness comes first.

I still get a twinge of discomfort from typing that out or saying it out loud because it feels very weird to not put everyone's needs ahead of my own...but really, what good am I to anyone if I haven't looked after myself? If I'm not practicing what I preach? So this year, I've resolved to be better, and what that means is I must learn to sleep. So far, it's going pretty well - I love being able to think clearly! Who'd have thought that having a fixed bedtime would make such a difference? The trick I haven't been able to nail down yet is actually getting to sleep when I go to bed...but that's coming.

Day 3, Workout 3 - Tuesday night taekwondo class

This one's for my daughter #1, Shannon. I get unlimited inspiration from both of my kids (Sarah will get a workout later on too), but this one's for Shannon because she is a mini-me: we share the same kind of temperament, the same worries and insecurities, and...the same body type. We are in taekwondo class together largely because I want her to love her body, to enjoy being strong and fit, and to get good at a sport she's physically suited to. I love working out with her, and I am so, so proud of her. Oh no, tears! Tee hee! Moving on to today....

Day 4, Workout 4

Light arm work/cardio
45sec work/15sec rest
1. Jump Rope
2. Dumbell Bicep Curls
3. Overhead Tricep Extensions
4. Kettlebell Swings
5. Dumbell Lateral Raises
6. Stability Ball Mountain Climbers

Argh. Okay, this one was not a huge challenge, which is both good and bad. It's good because really, I probably shouldn't be working my arms at all, and I didn't feel like I did any further damage to my left arm today. Also, today is Wednesday which is typically a rest day so it was good to do something that made me kinda sweaty without leaving my old booty too worn out.

Sounds like there's a 'but' coming...and here it is:

Ha, just kidding. All booty jokes aside though...
 Dealing with a long-term-ish injury has been frustrating at best. Watching my upper body atrophy has been driving me bonkers, but has also provided me with the opportunity to test my tolerance (mentally and physically) of regression. I'll talk about this more as I get into building back up again, but for now I have to say a huge thank-you to Georgie Fear, my nutrition coach! She has really been the voice of reason throughout all this. She has helped me let go of the aggravation of not being able to train at the level I'd like, and re-focus my energy on more constructive efforts...so this one's for her. Check out her website here for some great recipes and awesome articles on nutrition. Georgie's the bomb!

And now it's time to sling some shit. Seriously. I am so, so disappointed in Lance Armstrong! Part of me wants to just let him disappear because he doesn't deserve any more media attention...but before he does, he must withstand a tantrum from me. Cause I believed in him! Even when people started to suggest that he might be doping, I was just starting to figure out this getting-fit business, he was one of my greatest inspirations, and I defended him to the last. So to all the people that I argued with, I'm sorry. You were right. And Lance? You suck. That is all.

 

Let's get this party started!

Day 2, Workouts: 2

Well, this project started out with a rest day thanks to insanely sore shoulders from Saturday's training. I hadn't so much as touched my upper body for four months before so perhaps timed push-up intervals were not the best way to go on the first day back. But, I'm not one for doing anything halfway so it's balls to the walls, baby! Yarr.

So workout one today is dedicated to all the New Year's Resolutionaries! I will never laugh at those people; making a change is hard to do and if it sticks for even 10% of them, that's a lot more people taking care of themselves this year than there were last year. And for the other 90% who don't, you can bet they will be farther along in the decision-making process, and all the more likely to stick with it next year. So here's to all of you! Keep up the good work.

Leg Day
Deadlifts, 6x5 reps
Band-assisted chin-ups, 6x5 reps (for the record, I know this was stupid. I know. It won't happen again.)

X-over step-ups, 10 each leg
1-leg glute bridges from a med ball, 15 each leg

Quad Blast:
24 squats
24 alternating forward lunges
24 jump squats
24 split jumps
Time: 2:17

Workout 2 today is for everyone at K. H. Min Taekwondo who competed at nationals this past weekend! Very proud of you guys and I am glad for the opportunity to train with all of you.

Cardio! This is my favorite cardio workout right now; it's short, intense, and kicks my ass in all the right ways. It's 5 rounds, 1 minute of work followed by 30 seconds' rest. 2 minutes' rest between circuits, so the whole thing takes 46 minutes.
1. Jump rope
2. Left leg speed kicking
3. Right leg speed kicking
4. Over-the-top box shuffles
5. Box jump burpees

Whammo! 2 workouts in the bag on Day 2.

100 in 100!!

 Happy New Year!

Man, did I ever miss blogging. It's been what, three months since I last posted? Well, lots has happened since then...and the saga of my injured paws is too long and tired to get into, but to make a long story short, I will say this: the right hand is almost better. Functional, anyway, and at the risk of being crude I will never again take for granted the ability to wipe my ass. You snicker? I DARE all of you to wipe your butts with your non-dominant hand! It's really hard.

And since when did I ever worry about being crude? Sheesh, I've lost my touch.

Which brings me to the left hand...argh: it still looks like surgery is in my future and it is still really messed up. Typing is still awkward and time consuming, it still aches at the end of every day, and it still looks freaking gross. MRI is scheduled for January 30th and I will keep you posted. For now, every day is still leg day and I am going to be QUADZILLA when this is over!

And honestly? I have learned to love leg training.

So, it's a new year which means new goals, resolutions, plans, and pipe dreams! I love this time of year because it seems like anything is possible. I'm going to leave my resolutions to share in another post, because I am celebrating getting back online by kicking off a new fitness challenge:

100 workouts in 100 days!

I did this a couple of years ago but then it was specifically triathlon training, and this year although doing a triathlon or two is not off the menu, it's not the primary goal. What I'd like to do this year though, is dedicate each workout to someone, or a group of people, that inspires me and I'll post a little bit about them here, along with whatever the workout was. I'm stoked for this project; it's gonna be fun!

So far my 2013 Calendar looks like this:

February 2 - Chuns Memorial Taekwondo Tournament

June 29 - Spartan Sprint (5km) (Edmonton)

August 17th - Spartan Sprint (Calgary)

September 7th - Spartan Super (14km) (Red Deer)

September 28th - Spartan Beast (21km) (Kamloops/Sun Peaks Resort)

End of November - Black Belt Test!!

There will be more dates that I will add to that list; I'd like to add a triathlon or two and there are some other taekwondo tournaments coming up as well. What a ride 2013 is going to be! Hold on tight 'cause tomorrow's Day 1 of 100 in 100!