DVD - Max Cardio Conditioning
DVD - Cardio Abs
Well, I didn't get to test my "leave work right at 5:00" resolve today, because I woke up with one of my lovely combination migraine-sinus headaches and decided to stay home, medicate, and sleep it off. My always testy sinuses have been funky for a couple of weeks and I've suffered almost monthly migraines since I was a teenager. Every so often both hit me at once and my head feels like a big, painful balloon. Painkillers, allergy meds and sleep while avoiding as much light, sound and smell as possible are usually the best remedies, as long as the pain and pressure are no so intense as to make me nauseous and unable to hold down any medication. I was lucky this time because the pain was bad, but not so bad it made me sick to my stomach. So I medicated and slept.
When I woke up in the late afternoon the pressure in my head had subsided, but I was feeling a little sniffly (still am). I ate a little something, waited an hour or so, and got my ass in gear to do the workouts, determined to give them both my all in keeping with the new resolve I discussed in my Days 50 & 51 post.
I think I was right when I said yesterday that I have more physical and mental energy to push myself through the workouts on days when I am able to start earlier. The fact that I was able to start tonight at 5:30 pm instead of close to 7:00 pm as with previous nights this week, combined with my new resolve meant I was able to do more of this workout than I have on any of my previous attempts even though I'd woken up earlier today feeling like crap.
If not for the flagging energy and its effect on my mental and emotional state, I can't explain why I respond better to the challenge of working out when I didn't feel well earlier in the day vs. when I've had a long day at the office. Unless! Maybe it's that my body understands that getting my heart rate up and the blood pumping through veins full throttle helps with circulation which in turn helps with an overall feeling of well-being? Or maybe my body craves the adrenaline rush from the exertion and that somehow masks any sense that I don't feel well?
At any rate, tonight I made it all the way through the warm-up on Max Cardio Conditioning without a break for the first time this week. I didn't feel the need to watch the workout clock and pray for the minutes to tick away faster. I pushed myself through more of the workout than I had in the past. I still took breaks, but I tried to keep them to a minimum and see if sometimes just slowing down and being more deliberate in my moves rather than stopping completely was something I could manage. In many cases, I was able to keep myself moving in this manner even if I wasn't going balls out in terms of speed. Sometimes though, an all-out stop for a few seconds is the only thing that will do to reset my ability to finish out a particular exercise or interval. As Shaun says in one of the workouts "A break can fix you!" He's right.
After Cardio Conditioning I did the Cardio Abs DVD again and like the last time I skipped the cool down stretch at the end of Cardio Conditioning. I still don't feel bad about this adjustment given it's only 4 minutes, is not cardio, and I'm just going to warm-up again at the start of the Ab workout.
Before the end of the 63-day program, I will do this workout combination 2 more times and I'm pretty certain my performance will only improve.
Showing posts with label sinus allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sinus allergies. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Day 43
DVD - Max Cardio Conditioning
I went to a potluck last night with an aprhodisiac food theme inspired by Valentine's Day and probably ate more than I should. My contribution was empanadas. The savory entree version was stuffed with black beans, roasted vegetables (asparagus, zucchini, poblano pepper, red bell pepper & jalapeno) & goat cheese. The smaller, "sweet" empanadas were filled with roasted butternut squash, bake plantain & goat cheese. Both used frozen puff pastry as the dough. Both were fabulous. I'm sure I drank a little too much.
If I were more of a calorie counter (as in needing to count every last calorie that goes into my stomach), I would probably be horrified - but I'd accounted for the splurge earlier in the day. Besides, when I do a diet that involves a caloric limit, I just follow a plan for a week or two until I have a good handle on the portion sizes and preparation methods, including how to make substitutions for variety that don't blow the diet away. (so long as I don't start adding lots of extras to whatever I learned to make).
In the past, I've tried using things like Fitday.com but found all of the data-entry tedious and eventually I always defaulted to the less strict monitoring I mentioned above, and would find myself recreating my meals on Fitday days later. I have overall a pretty good sense what I can and should eat, so am able to stick to this less stringent method generally - it's when I start eating out a lot or stop being even moderately vigilant that I get myself into trouble.
The potluck was the first time I've seen most of the people in attendance since New Year's or the last potluck (they are monthly on the 2nd Sunday of the month), some of whom have been following my Insanity progress via this blog. What that meant is that I got felt up a lot. Everyone wanted to feel my arms and many wanted to check my thighs.
Afterward, I spent the night at some friends' place, and as usual when I sleep over there had a wicked allergy attack come on in the middle of the night. I'd forgotten to bring my allergy meds, and had to wait until many hours later to take anything. Mixing red wines as I did last night is sometimes enough to set my sinuses to wonky. Today I found out they have a moldy wall in their rental unit - most likely the reason I *always* have an allergy attack when I sleep there. Waiting so long to take allergy meds when I have an attack of this magnitude makes me feel like I've got a cold or mild sinus infection, with all the requisite body fatigue and general malaise.
On my way home, I stopped and bought some over-the-counter allergy meds (these have always worked best for me) and popped a dose before beginning the 30 minute BART + walking journey home. By the time I arrived, I was able to breathe through my nose but was feeling a little wheezy.
I confess I was worried about my ability to do the workout this afternoon, especially because there are fewer sanctioned rest breaks in the non-interval workouts. I did it anyway. But I felt like I hit a wall at the end of the stretch section. I seriously considered turning the workout off rather than pushing myself through 30 minutes of intense cardio and then another brief stretch to cool down. 30 more minutes? Really?
I made myself do the first couple of exercises after a delayed start of a few seconds. I found myself looking at the clock to find out how long I had left after what seemed like forever. It had been about 3 minutes. 27 more minutes? Really?
I did this every few minutes until there were about 15 minutes left. At that point I'd given myself over to the idea of completing the workout and I noticed I wasn't struggling physically or feeling as tired as I had when I still had 27 minutes to go. I don't think this was all willpower, mind you. I'm pretty sure there was some adrenaline/endorphin effect in the mix, especially because when it was all over, I felt much better than I had when I'd started. Tired, sore and sweaty, yes, but no longer sickly and run-down.
I'm pretty sure what I did tonight is what Shaun is talking about when he beseeches us to "dig deeper".
I went to a potluck last night with an aprhodisiac food theme inspired by Valentine's Day and probably ate more than I should. My contribution was empanadas. The savory entree version was stuffed with black beans, roasted vegetables (asparagus, zucchini, poblano pepper, red bell pepper & jalapeno) & goat cheese. The smaller, "sweet" empanadas were filled with roasted butternut squash, bake plantain & goat cheese. Both used frozen puff pastry as the dough. Both were fabulous. I'm sure I drank a little too much.
If I were more of a calorie counter (as in needing to count every last calorie that goes into my stomach), I would probably be horrified - but I'd accounted for the splurge earlier in the day. Besides, when I do a diet that involves a caloric limit, I just follow a plan for a week or two until I have a good handle on the portion sizes and preparation methods, including how to make substitutions for variety that don't blow the diet away. (so long as I don't start adding lots of extras to whatever I learned to make).
In the past, I've tried using things like Fitday.com but found all of the data-entry tedious and eventually I always defaulted to the less strict monitoring I mentioned above, and would find myself recreating my meals on Fitday days later. I have overall a pretty good sense what I can and should eat, so am able to stick to this less stringent method generally - it's when I start eating out a lot or stop being even moderately vigilant that I get myself into trouble.
The potluck was the first time I've seen most of the people in attendance since New Year's or the last potluck (they are monthly on the 2nd Sunday of the month), some of whom have been following my Insanity progress via this blog. What that meant is that I got felt up a lot. Everyone wanted to feel my arms and many wanted to check my thighs.
Afterward, I spent the night at some friends' place, and as usual when I sleep over there had a wicked allergy attack come on in the middle of the night. I'd forgotten to bring my allergy meds, and had to wait until many hours later to take anything. Mixing red wines as I did last night is sometimes enough to set my sinuses to wonky. Today I found out they have a moldy wall in their rental unit - most likely the reason I *always* have an allergy attack when I sleep there. Waiting so long to take allergy meds when I have an attack of this magnitude makes me feel like I've got a cold or mild sinus infection, with all the requisite body fatigue and general malaise.
On my way home, I stopped and bought some over-the-counter allergy meds (these have always worked best for me) and popped a dose before beginning the 30 minute BART + walking journey home. By the time I arrived, I was able to breathe through my nose but was feeling a little wheezy.
I confess I was worried about my ability to do the workout this afternoon, especially because there are fewer sanctioned rest breaks in the non-interval workouts. I did it anyway. But I felt like I hit a wall at the end of the stretch section. I seriously considered turning the workout off rather than pushing myself through 30 minutes of intense cardio and then another brief stretch to cool down. 30 more minutes? Really?
I made myself do the first couple of exercises after a delayed start of a few seconds. I found myself looking at the clock to find out how long I had left after what seemed like forever. It had been about 3 minutes. 27 more minutes? Really?
I did this every few minutes until there were about 15 minutes left. At that point I'd given myself over to the idea of completing the workout and I noticed I wasn't struggling physically or feeling as tired as I had when I still had 27 minutes to go. I don't think this was all willpower, mind you. I'm pretty sure there was some adrenaline/endorphin effect in the mix, especially because when it was all over, I felt much better than I had when I'd started. Tired, sore and sweaty, yes, but no longer sickly and run-down.
I'm pretty sure what I did tonight is what Shaun is talking about when he beseeches us to "dig deeper".
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day 23
DVD - Cardio Power & Resistance
I woke up feeling like ass today. Sinus headache with nausea from the intensity of the pain that led to revisiting my breakfast and calling in sick to the office. A few hours more of sleep and the nausea subsided enough for me to keep down the allergy meds to make the sinus congestion and pain go away as well as eat a little something. Another lengthy nap and I woke up starving with only the merest tinge of sinus discomfort and a whole lot of sneezing. After sneezing my way through a meal, I took another dose of allergy medication, and waited.
By 5:00 pm, I was feeling relatively normal physically, if not mentally. I mean, I'd have to be crazy to even *think* about wanting to workout given my earlier day, right?
Well, is is Insanity after all.
By 6:00 pm I'd talked myself into it. The conversation went something like this:
So I got suited up and went at it. Saner Me kept (crazy)Me from giving the "warm up" my all. Concentrating on how I felt physically as a whole gave me something to focus on other than my ankle. The ankle started to nag at me eventually about half way through the "pure cardio" section of Pure Cardio - that 18 minute strech of 1 minute drills - but not like it had been hurting. I only had to modify the moves slightly. The other modification I made was to monitor my pace rather than try to push through as hard and fast as I could until I hit cardio walls. Shaun stresses "form" over "speed", so that if you can't keep up the cardio pace he demands of you and maintain proper form, you are expected to either slow your pace or take a break. In other words, I tried to stay at aerobic or anaerobic levels rather than in the Red Line Zone .
Thanks to my modifications I made it through without feeling the need to quit, and afterward I felt even better than I had when I'd started - just a little more body-tired and sweaty.
Tomorrow I'm adding a Green Tea extract supplement to my routine. I never know whether to trust these fad herbal things or not, but there seem to be some reputable studies backing up at least some of the claims used to market green tea products, ie: increased energy and a slightly elevated body fat loss rate when combined with diet and exercise (up to 17% more, primarily fat around your core). Some of the other, non-scientifically studied claims include: increased cognitive function, increased metabolism and reduced levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol. ) Even if none of it is scientifically true, perhaps the psychological desire for it to be so will have a positive effect. If I think it's giving me more energy, maybe my brain will fool my body into thinking that is true. There's a lot to be said for thinking "Yes I can!"
I woke up feeling like ass today. Sinus headache with nausea from the intensity of the pain that led to revisiting my breakfast and calling in sick to the office. A few hours more of sleep and the nausea subsided enough for me to keep down the allergy meds to make the sinus congestion and pain go away as well as eat a little something. Another lengthy nap and I woke up starving with only the merest tinge of sinus discomfort and a whole lot of sneezing. After sneezing my way through a meal, I took another dose of allergy medication, and waited.
By 5:00 pm, I was feeling relatively normal physically, if not mentally. I mean, I'd have to be crazy to even *think* about wanting to workout given my earlier day, right?
Well, is is Insanity after all.
By 6:00 pm I'd talked myself into it. The conversation went something like this:
Me: I can do it!
Saner Me: Give it a rest, you didn't feel good today.
Me: But I don't want to throw off my schedule!
Saner Me: You're crazy!
Me: I know!
Marginally Saner Me: Well, I suppose you can try it and if it feels like you can't get through it, stop.
Me: Perfect!
So I got suited up and went at it. Saner Me kept (crazy)Me from giving the "warm up" my all. Concentrating on how I felt physically as a whole gave me something to focus on other than my ankle. The ankle started to nag at me eventually about half way through the "pure cardio" section of Pure Cardio - that 18 minute strech of 1 minute drills - but not like it had been hurting. I only had to modify the moves slightly. The other modification I made was to monitor my pace rather than try to push through as hard and fast as I could until I hit cardio walls. Shaun stresses "form" over "speed", so that if you can't keep up the cardio pace he demands of you and maintain proper form, you are expected to either slow your pace or take a break. In other words, I tried to stay at aerobic or anaerobic levels rather than in the Red Line Zone .
Thanks to my modifications I made it through without feeling the need to quit, and afterward I felt even better than I had when I'd started - just a little more body-tired and sweaty.
Tomorrow I'm adding a Green Tea extract supplement to my routine. I never know whether to trust these fad herbal things or not, but there seem to be some reputable studies backing up at least some of the claims used to market green tea products, ie: increased energy and a slightly elevated body fat loss rate when combined with diet and exercise (up to 17% more, primarily fat around your core). Some of the other, non-scientifically studied claims include: increased cognitive function, increased metabolism and reduced levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol. ) Even if none of it is scientifically true, perhaps the psychological desire for it to be so will have a positive effect. If I think it's giving me more energy, maybe my brain will fool my body into thinking that is true. There's a lot to be said for thinking "Yes I can!"
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