Day 3 is the hardest, so they say...

I am on Day 3 of the Ultimate Reset (UR).  This clean eating and detox journey is ALWAYS extremely productive for me.  Though I have to take a break from intense exercise, I find ways to move, get outside, and feel like I am really cleaning out my body.  The past two days have been very challenging as I get in to the habit of not eating between meals, not eating the kids' leftovers, not eating their snacks, and avoiding decaf coffee.  You may be asking, "what is this reset thing and how does it work?"  It's pretty simple.

The general rules:
1) Sleep as much as you can
2) Avoid alcohol and caffeine
3) Drink AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces of water
4) Strictly follow the program guidelines
5) Moderate exercise like walking and yoga are allowed; intense exercise like P90X3, T25, and TurboFire are not allowed (it's too much work for the body to eliminate toxins AND try to help muscles break down and then recover).
6) Caffeine free herbal tea is allowed.  I actually drink a lot of that IN ADDITION TO my required amount of water.

How do the 3 weeks break down?

Week 1: No alcohol or caffeine but TONS of water.  Fruits, veggies, grains (legumes), dairy, and other animal proteins are allowed (chicken and salmon to name just two). + the supplements.

Week 2: No alcohol or caffeine but TONS of water.  Animal proteins and dairy are removed.  Fruits, veggies, and grains remain + the supplements.

Week 3: No alcohol or caffeine but TONS of water.  Animal proteins, dairy, and grains are removed. Fruits and veggies remain + the supplements.

If you're like me and you LOVE your Shakeology, you are allowed ONLY vegan kinds.  Right now, I am out of my vegan chocolate, so I am totally off of Shakeology (sniff, sniff).

Below is an example of one of my lunches for week 1.  Grilled chicken, broccoli, peppers, & cauliflower.  See!?? Eating clean DOES NOT mean STARVING yourself.  This detox/reset is truly about resetting your body in a natural way.  I'm already feeling SO MUCH BETTER: less bloated, less fatigued, and in a way better mood because I know that I am eating well and healthfully.

If 21 days is too much for you, let me know. I have other, shorter solutions for you.  Comment below or message me on FB.

Onward and upward.

There will be a brief, 21 day pause on P90X3

My 40th birthday is 22 days away.  I have decided to take a brief pause from P90X3 in order to do the Beachbody Ultimate Reset (UR), the 21 day cleaning eating program that I have done several times and LOVE.  I have been feeling like I need to reconnect with my nutrition, and the UR is the way that I am able to do that.

I first did the UR in March 2013 before I became a coach and lost 14 pounds and 9.5 inches.  I learned about healthy, clean eating.  I learned about the amount of water I need to drink, and I learned that, no matter how tired I am, I LOVE to cook.  Cutting veggies is actually therapy for me: the kids color or watch TV, I listen to music and cut veggies.  I think this lesson is the biggest one I learned through doing the UR.  I actually LOVE to cut veggies.  And, thank goodness, because there are LOTS of veggies to cut in 21 days!  After March 2013, I put about 5 pounds back on and felt kind of gross, so I did the UR again in September of 2013 and was able to take those 5 pounds back off.  The late fall and early winter were REALLY rough on me, and I started to feel unwell again and decided to do the UR in February 2014.  Despite the fact that our dog died very suddenly 3 days in to the UR, my husband and I managed to stay on track, and we both had TONS of success.  As the winter rolled on, though, and the sudden loss of our dog set in, I became less consistent with my eating and the weight began to creep on again.  Now, my journey not always about weight.  It's more often about how I feel, how my clothes fit (I don't weigh myself much anymore), and how I am doing moment-to-moment, from choice to choice.  Between March and now, even though I have been consistent with my workouts, my eating has slacked which pretty much nullifies any progress from fitness.  I want to see HUGE results from P90X3, so I need to detox, get clean again, and reconnect with my nutrition.

So, it's time for another round of the UR.  I am hoping that by keeping this blog I will remain consistent AFTER the UR is done.  I am always rock solid when doing this program. I love it, I feel great, I love the energy.  Keeping at it DURING the 21 days is not the problem.  Keeping consistent and putting in to play what I learn during the UR AFTER the UR is over is the trick.  Here's to KNOWING (not hoping) that the printed word and my log of these 21 days as well as your support will keep me solid AFTER the 21 days are over.

It will be challenging to do the UR during the summer: I have a Brewer's game and tailgate on Sunday and July 4 BBQs to get through. I just have to keep my eyes on the prize: Feeling AMAZING and PROUD on my 40th birthday, July 15 (or Day 22).

Onward and upward!

Almost two weeks in...

To those of you who are reading this blog, I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  I really appreciate the time you take to read and to comment either here in the comments section or on FB.

Going forward, I would like to know what you, my audience, would like to read more of on here.  Is there anything in particular you want to know or learn? I'm not a fitness professional, but I have been fitness focused for a few years now, so I have learned some stuff.  I have struggled over the years to get myself consistent, but I'm FINALLY there and the point of this blog is to share my ups and downs.

I would LOVE to hear from you!

Day 12 P90X3: CVX

After I finished my previous post about my other two workouts, I got up, headed to the basement, and got my SUPER intense cardio on.  I thought that my shoes would force me to stop, but they managed to hang in there (and, just after I finished, my new shoes showed up, of course).

CVX (cardio vascular X) is AWESOME.  As I've mentioned before, when I used to run marathons, I only ever ran to train.  I never combined any other type of fitness training.  With CVX, I can tell that, were I to go back to running marathons (still not sure about that), P90X3 will be a GREAT companion training system.

I know that I've described CVX before*, so I will just mention how I have improved over the course of the week (the last time I did this particular session):

1) I was able to keep my 5 pound weight the WHOLE time instead of switching to a basketball.
2) I was able to dip a little deeper with each exercise.  There is one exercise which is like swinging a golf club with a 5 pound weight in your hands.  The idea is to bend across your body as low as you can (say, below your knee) and high as you can (to the ceiling).  I was able to dip below my knee, but not quite to the floor, so there is room for me to get stronger.
3) I only had to hit "pause" once as opposed to twice last week ;-)

I was a bit lazy over the weekend and didn't get my Warrior workout in on Sunday, so I will be doing that one today along with Total Synergistics. Doing a double will be challenging, but I'll get it done!  My kids are kind of nuts right now, so this double may have to wait until tonight.  Neither is napping as they should.

Onward and upward!


*It's high intensity cardio combined with VERY light weights.

Days 10 & 11 P90X3: X3 Yoga and the Challenge

In between Agility X and X3 yoga, I took a day off.  I pushed REALLY hard during Agility X and needed a day of rest.  My body was wiped out.  I walked and ran after my kids but decided that X3 Yoga would have to wait.

The additional reason for the day off after Agility X is that I need new shoes.  It is important to replace shoes every 6 months, even if you haven't worn them a ton.  The shoe itself changes composition over time, so even if you are not wearing it a lot, you still need to get new shoes.  As the pain radiated up my ankles to my knees and hips a few hours after Agility X, I realized, "Hmmm, that feels like a shoe problem." Because I've run a few marathons, I can tell the difference between pain from muscle soreness (i.e., using a muscle I haven't used in a while) and shoe pain.  This was definitely shoe pain. Shoe pain is the pain that requires Ibuprofen (which I don't take anymore, but that's a different story) not just stretching.  It feels like heat in your muscles, kind of like growing pains if you remember those. After a few hours of that type of pain, I hopped online and got another pair of the shoes I currently wear.  My current shoes are cross trainers, and they are the best cross trainers I have ever worn.  Even better than how they fit and wear is that they are ON SALE for $40!!  Anyone who knows me knows how frugal I am, so $40 is a HUGE score.  The shoes should be here Monday. Until then, I just have to deal with the shoes I have.  Yoga was no problem since I go barefoot.  The Challenge yesterday was not a problem since it consists of pushups and pull ups and no jumping and leaping.  Today is CVX for me which is a total cardio workout.  This will be a challenge in my shoes, but I am going to push through. If I start to feel pain, I will stop, of course.  Never keep going when you feel pain.  NEVER. Especially if you feel it in your joints.  Stop immediately. Fix your form if that is where the pain is stemming from and keep going.  If you feel joint pain again, STOP.

Yoga went REALLY well this week. I did more and better than last week.  I am already feeling more flexible than the past few weeks.

The Challenge was a HUGE triumph for me.  For the FIRST time IN MY LIFE, I did 20 pushups on my TOES!  After the first set, I then had to alternate between knees and toes but was able to continue the alternation and not go totally to my knees.  This is HUGE for me.  Never in my life have I done 20 on my TOES!

My pull up bar arrived yesterday and now comes the task of putting it together ;-)  I need the pull up bar.  Using the resistance bands just isn't enough of  a challenge for me.  My numbers for yesterday were 20-20 (20 pull ups with the resistance bands and 20 pushups), and I accomplished both! YEAH!!

I will post again later after completing CVX.

Onward and upward.

Days 7, 8, & 9 P90X3: Dynamix, Total Synergistics, and Agility X

It's been a few days since my last entry.  Things have been very busy but good.

On Sunday, I had the option to do either the "Dynamix" workout or Rest.  I didn't want to rest, because I didn't want to lose momentum.  So, I opted for an hour long walk with my husband and kids.  From there, it was playing with the kids until they went to bed.  It was definitely not rest, but I didn't do anything as intense as a P90X3 workout.

Yesterday was Total Synergistics, and, though it was difficult and challenging, it went better than last week.  I was able to do more reps and more weight than last week.  Additionally, I was able to do 6 "boat and plow" moves.  It was SO HARD, but I stuck with it, and I felt so proud.

Today was Agility X, and it is quickly shaping up to be my favorite workout.  I LOVE the moves, I find Tony Horton to be extra funny and incredibly motivating.  There are moments when I can't keep track of which direction I'm supposed to be running, or grapevining, or high knee-ing, but I just do what I can and know that ANY movement is better than NO movement.  I could do WAY MORE this week than last week.  That is not hyperbole. I honestly could.  I pushed myself harder than I normally do because I want to see how far I can go with each of the individual exercises.  I wound up in a puddle of sweat, and it felt absolutely WONDERFUL.

I wish that I had done cross training when I was training for marathons, but I didn't. I thought that the only thing I needed to do was run.  And run more.  However, since starting with Beachbody and learning more about fitness and nutrition, I realize that only running while training for a marathon was a HUGE mistake.

So, what does cross training give you that only running (or only walking or "only" any other activity? It works muscles that won't get worked if you "only" run.  It gets your blood pumping faster than simply running at a steady pace.  It helps you lose weight if that's a goal.  There should be core work involved in any cross training, because a strong core means a strong back which means that a person can run for miles and miles without a sore back, sore knees, ankles.  Now, I'm not a personal trainer, but I know what I feel.  My back and core are stronger, my knees and ankles hurt less, and I can run farther and faster than ever before.

Today's workout was punctuated by my kids and their toys (below).  The tape delineates my workout space, as well as my agility targets.

Onward and upward

Day 6 P90X3: Warrior

This workout can be summed up by what I said to myself when it was over: "That is some crazy s&^t!" This session was insanely intense but feels GREAT.  The Warrior workout is based on military drills. Each round has a focus on upper body, lower body, cardio, and core.  Upper body is mostly pushups, lower body is a lot of squats and lunges, cardio is jump squats, skaters (like speed skaters), and some football drills, and core is all kinds of sit ups.

I actually did this workout back in January at a coach meeting in Orlando.  I remember thinking, "How the hell would I get through the entire 90 days of this?"  Here I am on Day 6, and I am really looking forward to the next few months.

What I learned about myself today:

1) I am stronger physically and mentally than I give myself credit for.

2) I am ALWAYS in a better mood when and after I workout.  I am more balanced, happier, more goal-driven, and I ALWAYS focus on healthy eating.  Why would I want to negate all this work with crap food?

3) I can jump higher than I had thought I could.

4) I can squat more than I thought I could.

5) The past 18 months with Beachbody programs have gotten me VERY strong.  I may fall off the wagon from time to time, but I ALWAYS stay strong (the longest I have ever gone without working out in the past 18 months is 3 weeks which usually happens when I am doing the Ultimate Reset and am not *allowed* to do high intensity work).

6) My goals are closer than I thought.

7) Even though I woke up VERY sore today from yesterday's workout (and lingering soreness from The Challenge), I still got my fitness on. I could have bagged it, but I have learned about active recovery (exercise when you are sore to help your muscles recover) and decided that I need to get my workout done. I have also come to trust immensely the trainers at Beachbody.  They know what they are doing.  They know how they are arranging and scheduling the workouts. I know that Tony Horton has a plan with the sequencing of X3, and I will do it faithfully.  I warm up, I do my work, and I cool down and stretch. Every. Single. Day.

I am VERY excited to be doing this program. I LOVE it, and I am grateful to be connected with it and with Beachbody.

Onward and upward! Have a great Saturday.  Below: Me, post Warrior.

Days 4 & 5 P90X3: The Challenge and CVX

To say that the Challenge was a, well, challenge is an understatement. I learned something about myself and about this particular routine.  I completed it yesterday, according to my workout calendar, and today I can barely lift my arms.

What is The Challenge? It is a workout of different kinds of pull ups (yes, there are different kinds which I did not know) and pushups (I did indeed know that there were different kinds of pushups).  At the beginning of the workout, Tony Horton asks everyone to "pick their numbers," which means "how many pushups and pull ups will you do during this workout?"  He warns everyone to "pick carefully," so I did.  My numbers were 10 & 10.

1) I am A LOT stronger than I thought.  I need a pull up bar.  I know where to buy one. I just have to find the time to 'er done.  Using the resistance bands like the modifier does does not work for during this workout.

2) Said pull up bar is on sale, so I need to get ordering like right now.

3) Tony Horton has a few really motivational lines to keep people going.
--"X3 (and X and X2) is not about doing this perfectly."
--"There is no need to be pretty."

I'm neither perfect nor pretty when I workout, so I appreciate what he had to say.  It made me feel a lot better about the workout itself. It also allowed me to let go of the annoyance I was feeling about myself for not having the pull up bar and having fallen off the wagon.  In that moment, when he said the first line, I let it all go, and I had a good time.

What I accomplished during The Challenge:

1) See #1 above.

2) I did MORE pushups during every cycle of the workout than I had thought I could.  I averaged 15 on my toes for the first 3/4 of the workout.  With about 7 minutes remaining, I had to shift to my knees to finish.  However, I got to 15 every time.

3) I was intimidated by this workout at first, but I soon realized that, by being realistic, I could do and COMPLETE the workout with gusto and with a great attitude.

4) It's not my favorite workout, but it will be a great gauge for my progress.  Those are really *basic* exercises, and I will be able to count my progress.

5) I finished with a GREAT attitude and went on to have a FABULOUS day.

Day 5: CVX (cardiovascular X)

I LOVE THIS WORKOUT.  I've never been a workout junkie, but at my fittest I did LOTS of cardio. I LOVE cardio, but I have learned that weight training is just as important, if not more.  This workout combines both cardio and light weights.  I used 5 pounds, and that choice proved to be perfect for me.

There are 3 exercises in each round and 5 rounds (I think; I didn't count).  Every exercise combines cardio and weights.  If you can't do weights, you can do nothing OR you can choose a ball of some sort.  As I progressed in the workout, my arms got REALLY tired, so I switched to my son's 4 square ball!  It worked REALLY well.  I did what I could and, because I didn't want to sacrifice form, I simply dropped the weight and used the ball.  I finished strong and sweaty, and I LOVE THIS WORKOUT.

Day 3 (repeat) P90X3: X3 Yoga

I have always been a HUGE fan of yoga and pilates.  About 10 years ago, I took a class at our Y that was called 'Body Flow.' It was a combination of yoga, pilates, and tai chi.  I LOVED it.  I remember bringing my husband with me one time.  He thought it would be a piece of cake.  Within 1 or 2 minutes, he was dripping sweat and panting heavily.  I will never forget the look on his face.

Yoga looks easy, but, rest assured, it is not.  Today's workout was X3 Yoga, and it delivered.  I have become less flexible over time, but I can sense already that X3 Yoga will help me tremendously.  As I said yesterday in my post, the goal now is to age well, and I know how important flexibility is to aging.
In each of his workouts, Tony Horton has 3 'helpers,' if you will ,in addition to himself.  One is the modifier, one is the mid-range person, and the third person (usually at the back) is the REALLY advanced person.  I had to do every move according to the modifier, Stephanie, who is a dancer. Tony Horton had to remind her: "You're the modifier, you may want to back off on this move a bit."  I LOVED that comment because I was like, "Seriously, Stephanie? I CANNOT stretch that far."  As soon as TH told her to dial it back, I felt better, as though he understands what some of us are capable of (which is not much at this point).

What I enjoyed most about this workout, other than the calming music and dialogue, is watching the advanced people.  Ted is THE dude when it comes to yoga. That guy is FUN to watch.  I would LOVE to be where he is in 90 days, but my goal is to get to where Traci, the middle person, is.  She is a mother of 6 (yes, SIX) kids and can clearly do some yoga.  Her yoga level is my goal. I'm putting out there in to the universe, and I will make it happen in 90 days!

Finally, I took my brother-in-law's advice (from a previous comment) and taped my workout schedule to our refrigerator.  Not only does it remind me to DO my workout, it makes me THINK about what I EAT.  There will be ZERO results without proper nutrition.  THAT is key.

Onward and upward!

Day 2 (repeat) P90X3: Agility X

OMG! How much do I LOVE P90X3 and Agility X!!!???  Though I feel like a totally uncoordinated dork, I can already tell that this workout is going to do wonders for my overall health and fitness.  This may sound crazy since I'm not even 40 yet, but I do really worry about being unprepared for aging. No, I'm not worried about wrinkles and that sort of thing.  I want to make sure that I age well and that I am strong and healthy enough to avoid doing long term damage to myself.  Again, what I am about to say may sound NUTS, but I remember when my grandma broke her hip when she was about 82.  That was the end of her good health.  From then on, EVERYTHING she did was a challenge.  She had to start using a walker, then a wheelchair, and the rest is history. She lived until she was 88, but I dare say that those last 6 or so years were not fun for her.  Her body and her bones just couldn't take the stress anymore.

Of course, I'm not 82, but as I was doing Agility X this morning I began to realize that P90X3 is preparing me to AGE WELL.  Sure, I would love to wear a bikini and strut my stuff around a beach, but that is a secondary goal.  My main goal (and it has changed in just a few short weeks) is to age well and be strong going forward.  Maybe these reflections and thoughts are part of the midlife crisis thing that people always talk about (though if wanting to age well and be super fit for the second half of my life is a midlife crisis, I'll take it, and I'm fairly certain my husband will too).  I don't want to be weak or be unable to do things with my kids. If they want to go rock climbing some day, I want to go.  If they want to run a marathon some day, I want to do it with them (they can run ahead of me, of course).  I don't want to be limited by my fitness level and my health.  I want to be able to do whatever I want whenever I want, especially if it involves my family. If I get sick at some point, I want the doctor to be able to look at me and say, "You know what? You're in GREAT shape. You can totally tackle this (whatever it might be)."

So, how to get there? P90X3 is one GREAT way, and Agility X is shaping up to be one of my favorite parts of it.

Agility X, if you haven't done it, is all about balance, short bursts of speed, and jumping while also being very precise.  You are supposed to hit your marks.  To do this, you put masking tape on your floor (imagine the two vertical lines of the letter H) and at both ends and in the middle you have black marks (Sharpie markers are perfect for this).  You then have Tony Horton calling out different moves and different directions as you run, jump, and high kick (if you can; if you're like me you do more of a low-medium kick) your way through the 30 minutes.  It changes constantly, and I am NEVER bored. Within about 2 minutes, I was dripping sweat (as in the carpet below me was drenched).

I feel really invigorated. I love working out in the morning. It makes my day MUCH better as well as my mood.

I am going to take my brother-in-law's advice (see the comments from yesterday's post) and put my workout schedule on the refrigerator.  Currently, it's in the basement near the TV.  I am going to move it.  Great tip, Jer! Thank you.

Onward and upward!

Day 1 (repeat) P90X3: Total Synergistics

My plan to get back to P90X3 last week was foiled by my lingering back and neck issues.  As soon as I started to feel better, I did last week's Total Synergistics workout, and my back and neck got tweaked again.  I laid low for the rest of the week, spent my time walking and doing some gardening (not great for the back, FYI), stretching, and sleeping in.  As of yesterday, everything felt really good, so I just got done with my first workout.  I now have Total Synergistics memorized and am getting better at the moves.  I will post a video to my FB page about doing the boat and plow move, which still blows my mind (and my abs), and which Ford has no problem doing as shown in the video.

I am VERY happy to be back at it. Barring any other physical ailments, I am committed to P90X3 and to Tony Horton whom I adore.  He is SO FUNNY!  Rumor has it that he used to be a stand up comic. I totally see it, and I connect well to his humor.  In fact, during my senior year of college when I had no post-college plan, I had considered trying out stand up comedy with my best friend.  We thought better of it (we tried writing a routine, and it was awful!), so here I am: coach, teacher, mother, wife, etc. ;-)  All that to say, I get Tony Horton's humor, and it makes me want to get to my workouts more and more.  I appreciate that he is so real and that P90X3 was created for EVERYONE. I know that lots of people have heard of P90X and are intimidated by it.  This is NOT P90X.  This system is great and totally do-able.

Onward and upward!

Kat