Day 1: TurboFire: Fire 45 EZ

Mood: Not bad, actually pretty good all things considered.

I feel somewhat like a failure for having gone so long without working out, really. It's shameful to me... and it's shameful to me that I took yesterday off, too, even though I had scheduled stuff for it. So, I guess it's fine, and I'll work around it, but I just wish I had taken initiative before.


I have been meaning to do the Upper 20 of TurboFire all day, but I just haven't. I've been busy- I have a presentation for school on Thursday- so I guess getting a 45 minutes workout is good enough anyway. As long as I do something, I'll be making my goal. With my 45 minute workout, I burned around 520 extra calories according to my HRM. However, that's been overestimating, so I don't trust it... Using this heart-rate based calories burned calculator, I burned around 480, which is around what SparkTeens (what I use to keep track of my calories in) says (they estimate that at 460). So, I'm going with 470 extra calories burned via exercise today. I've had less than 1400 Calories so far today for my intake, but I'm going to eat more maybe right before bed.

Day 0: Uh-Oh.

It's hard to admit that you lost track, but I did. I didn't mean to. After Fire 45, I really wanted to continue, but with having so many people at the house, I couldn't. My body was begging me to do something! It felt really great, honestly. I still live with parents- going off to college this August, remember- and thus don't have total control of my life, which makes running things like this very difficult.

But that doesn't matter, because I'm restarting, ish. I'm making a new daily program, one maybe a bit less rigorous so I can do it even with all of the other responsibilities I have, such as my last school presentation this Thursday or my CNA training in June (9-5, M-F).

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16 TurboFire: Fire 45 EZ Upper 20	17 TurboFire: Fire 60	18 TurboFire: Lower 20 HIIT 20	19 TurboFire: HIIT 25	20 TurboFire: Abs 10 Stretch 40	21 TurboFire: Fire 55 EZ Stretch 10
22 Shimmy Season 1	23 TurboFire: Sculpt 30	24 TurboFire: HIIT 30	25 TurboFire: Tone 30	26 Kristy's Cardio Combat	27 Dolphina Belly Dance KS: Stomach and Thighs	28 KS: Upper Body March to Fitness
29 Shimmy, Season 1	30 Slim in 6: Start it Up!	31 Slim in 6: Ramp It Up!

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 KS: Weight Loss	2 KS: Lower Body	3 KS: Ultimate Video	4 KS: Fat Burn The FIRM: Hips, Thighs, and Abs
5 Slim in 6: Burn It Up! Slim and Limber	6 Slim in 6: Slim and 6 Pack	7 ENVY: Legs Slim in 6: Slim and Limber	8 P90: Sweat 1-2 Ab Ripper 100	9 P90: Sculpt 1-2	10 P90: Sweat 3-4 Ab Ripper 200	11 P90: Sculpt 3-4 Fat Burning Express
12 The FIRM: Cardio	13 ENVY: Arms and Abs	14 Shimmy	15 Step Up!	16 Shelly McDonald New You: Sculpt, Ballet Workout	17 Shelly McDonald: New You: Hi-Lo, Chi Ball, Pilates	18 KS: Aerobox and Tai Chi
19 KS: Kick Boxing	20 Rest	21 Rest	22 P90X: Cardio X	23 P90X: Ab Ripper X	24 P90X: Plyometrics	25 P90X: Kenpo X
26 P90X: Chest and Back	27 P90X: Stretch X	28 P90X: Core Synergistics	29 P90X: Back and Biceps	30 Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds 1 and 2 Miles

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1 Walk Away the Pounds (3 Miles)	2 P90X: Yoga X
3 Rest	4 P90X: Shoulders And Arms	5 Yoga Fitness Fusion W/Belly Dance	6 P90X: Legs and Back	7 P90X: Chest Shoulders and Triceps	8 Rest	9 Billy Blanks: Cardio Tae Bo
10 Walk Away the Pounds (5 Miles)	11 Beyond Basics: Belly Dance	12 Insanity: Fit Test	13 Insanity: Plyometric Cardio	14 Amira's Belly Dance	15 Insanity: Pure Cardio	16 Insanity: Cardio Abs
17 Insanity: Cardio Recovery	18 Rest	19 Insanity: Cardio Power and Resistance	20 Biggest Loser: 30 Day Jump Start Cardio	21 Insanity: Core Cardio and Balance	22 Spark Cardio Pack	23 Zumba Cardio Party
24 I <3 my yoga	25 Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones	26 Rest	27 INSANITY: Max Cardio Conitioning	28 Biggest Loser: 30 Day JS Strengths	29 Rest	30 INSANITY: Max Interval Circuit
31 INSANITY: Max Interval Plyometric

Day 6: Fire 45.

How my body is doing: Only very mild soreness in the traps. Moderate soreness in the external obliques.

Feeling fabulous! I woke up at around noon, made a cake, and then went straight for Fire 45! Review can be found here. I'm still a bit behind, and hopefully I will get around to doing Upper 20 tonight sometime. Family arrived about an hour or so ago, which is definitely going to usurp the rest of my workout plans for the next few days. I'm hoping tomorrow I will have enough in me to do Fire 60 so that I can do Fire 45 EZ on Sunday before the big graduation party (family thing). I might just push everything a day forward. I do have the days to do that! Thank goodness for big plans

I am definitely not hungry today. It might've been the binge or the fact that I slept for most of the day, but I've had around 700 calories max. I reach 1800 yesterday almost, and didn't burn too much. I felt only a bit below equilibrium. Today, I definitely feel under. It feels so good.

Calories burned today: around 500 extra, including time spent cleaning. Hoping to raise that to 550 with Upper 20 tonight!

Overall mood: Happy. Yay, endorphins!

Day 5: Core 20

How my body's doing: A little sore in the hamstrings, quite sore at the base of the neck/traps and shoulders. Hungrier today.

I had planned to do Fire 45, too. I really was going to. But, I didn't get to bed until 2 in the morning. I woke up at 5:30 to go to a church class (3:30 of sleep), and when I got home, I had to get my little sister ready for school and long story short, I finally went back to bed at 8:10 and I slept until 11:30 (total sleep: 6:50, aka, not enough). I had to wake up because I had to go take my sis to the dentist and thus didn't have time to do anything. When I got home, my mom was home too. We have family coming tomorrow, so guess what I had to do? Yep, clean. My dancer friend came over again, and that's when I did Core 20. When she left, it was instantly dinner time, and after that- yep. More cleaning.

Plus side: cleaning burns calories.

Minus side: cleaning isn't in my plan.

Yesterday I got to my 1800. Today I'm at like 1500 or so- I couldn't actually tell because my grandma made stirfry and, as usual, doens't pay attention to what she uses or how much. I've burned maybe an extra 300 calories today, so I am a bit below (200 calories probably) where I would've thought I'd be if I did Fire 45.
Also, I had a bit of a mini-binge. While cleaning, I had to put my candy away, and I saw my Mike N Ikes and my delicious Reese's egg. I ate a full serving of Mike N Ikes AND the egg... I never do that. Oh well.

Day 4: Fire 30 and HIIT 15

How my body is doing: feeling kind of great. No injuries or complaints currently.

I did two workout videos today, both from Chalene Johnson's TurboFire. The first video i did around noon. That was the HIIT 15. I am just going to put this out there: bad choice. Actually, it was probably the opposite. They say the best workout is the one that challenges you, yeah? Anyway, I had thought, "oh, its 15 minutes. I can do that eassyyy peasy." Yep, peasy. Well, I guess I didn't think enough. For anybody unaware, HIIT is "high intensity interval training." Basically that means you get your heart rate into anaerobic status- for me, I peaked at 190 bpm which isnt quite too my max but still super high- and then stop long enough for the heart rate to drop to aerobic levels. THEN you do it all again.

I had to stop about every 5 minutes because i felt like death. SHARP stabbing pains in my lower left abdomen forced me to stop ): I did the full workout though...just broken up. I also had some shoulder issue during the first minute or so, but i took care of it by stretching.

At around 3, my friend Sarah came over to do Fire 30 with me. I made it through without too much pain- nothing unusual to exercise- but i had trouble with the routine. Sarah, who is a dancer, felt like death 10 minutes in and also was constantly like, "I DON'T GET WHAT SHES DOING!"

Total Extra Cals burned today: around 550.

Overall good day. Yesterday I got to 1800 cals, and today I'm on target for today too (: At just around 930 calories at 5:41, before dinner. Keep in mind that I stay up way late and like to eat candy at night... a habit I must reverse.

Day 3: Pops, Locks and Shimmies

How My Body's Doing: Craving something more intense, plz.

I will admit I didn't actually do the full video today. I left my HRM running at a HR of 117 as I watched the rest of the video. I did an hour and a half, and I was just sooo bored I couldn't do it anymore. My body was like, "I'LL GO RUNNING JUST DO SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T BORE ME!" I'm not even kidding. I'm sticking to this plan though, and not doing anything more interesting until tomorrow when I intend to start TurboFire. I think, even though it's not actually on the plan, that I will go on the bike tonight or something. It's just I can't imagine myself doing a full two and a half hours of Belly Dance. I thought the workout time was only two hours and it would be more intriguing, but I was wrong... and I thought, because it was so un-intense, I would be able to do it. I didn't think being bored would effect my ability to do a vid. Review will be up tomorrow! Check the link on the side or here.

Yesterday went alright. I didn't quite get to 1,800 Calories, but I also didn't really do any activity. I haven't had much to eat today, despite waking up earlier, so I don't know how today will be. Apparently I'm going out to eat, so we'll see how that goes, too, yeah? Really anxious to workout tomorrow at a higher intensity.

Day 2: Yoga Practice for Flexibility

How My Body's Doing: Sore in the hips, only a tiny bit in the glutes. Everything else is fine, save for some dizziness.

After the 12k walk, I felt alright. I sustained one blister on the ball of my right foot. It was a deep blister too- my feet are pretty calloused. I know what they say, don't pop blisters, right? Nah. I pop them. Not all the way, it's just that I prefer the pain over the pressure of the fullness. So, I pop them a little bit, enough to leak a bit of the shock fluid, put some neosporin over it (and on the needle I use to pop it), and I can't even tell there's a blister.

The only real problem I have is that my - hips - are sore. Not my legs. It feels like it's in the joints and maybe a bit in the glutes. I'm not injured in any other way (and I shouldn't be- 11 min/km, though faster than the perceived "norm," is not intense enough for injury). It's just off that my hips of all things are sore. I'm still technically in my teenagehood (is that even a word? My little sister used it), so having joint pain is...odd to say the least. I ended up with around 1,830 Calories yesterday, but it was mostly in M&Ms and Peanut Butter Cups from Easter and my Grandma's dinner. Normally I avoid sauces (I just don't like them much), but she mixed the pasta, broccoli, chicken, and alfredo sauce all together

Needless to say, with sore hips and glutes, I was more than happy to have a small yoga session. It was actually two- one was a backbend flexibility practice, which I failed at, and the other was a front-bend. I got a bit dizzy during it, but oh well. I always do during yoga. Writing a review of it now, which can be found here.
When I'm done with it, of course. My HRM doesn't do yoga cals burned, because I never get my heart rate into a zone it recognizes as activity (my RHR is in the low 50s- It read 54 today sitting watching TV- so it takes real cardio to get it up enough to be registered). A calculator said I burned around 115-120 calories, so I'm going with that.

Day 1: Bloomsday

It's an annual thing that my family and I do. It's always on the first Sunday of May, and it seems very fitting that I'm also starting out my three month experiment with it. For anybody unfamiliar, Bloomsday is a 12k race held in my hometown of Spokane, Washington. Many people actually race- we always get some super fast Kenyans and then all of the track and xcountry kids from my old high school run it- and many people go in "packs" with some theme. People dress up; people scream for various causes. Local (mostly terrible) bands play. The residential areas are packed with people sitting in lawn chairs watching the Bloomies go by, cheering us on. Kids set up lemonade and otter pop stands.

The city comes alive.

Most years I just walk. I've done it every year since I was like 2 or something. Like I said, it's a family thing. And when I was little, I was.... very chubby? When I finally started thinning out and caring about being not fat, we had a little surprise addition to the family, and now we've got a wonderful little shining star, Livi, who walked the whole thing almost entirely by herself, making 11 minute kilometers.

Anyway, I'm feel really well today. Am I on target? Sort of, sort of not. I'm struggling to eat enough, even though I walked well over 8 miles (12k+walking to and from car). I've had one mini Reese's PB cup, because I have them right by my laptop (A+ for me!), 40 grams of raisins, and one medium mandarin orange. Hopefully I'll get in enough food tonight, but I'm not totally worried. My next two days are light- flexibility yoga (not strength) and then some belly dance.

According to my HRM, I burned 1200 calories in two hours and 12 minutes, which would mean I burned  1,050 calories extra. Which is just not accurate. Sure we walked up some steepish hills ("Doomsday" hill has a grade of 6.5% I believe), but you don't burn more than 100 Calories per mile WALKING at my weight. I'm going with a surplus of around 500 Calories.

Highest Heart Rate: 149
Lowest Heart Rate (after warming up): 124
Average Heart Rate: 140ish

Which reminds me.
Quick Stat Time?

Thanks to the XX chromosome curse, I don't have legit weight and measurement stats for the start. I'm taking these from one week ago. The other stuff is pretty legit though, except for the mile time which I didn't do because I hate running, I didn't want to run before Bloomsday... and yeah. Time is from last December.

Height: 5'4" (just under)
Weight: 129.0 lbs
Waist: 27.75"
Waist, low: 30"
Hips: 36.5"
Thighs (l/r): 21"/21.5"
Calves (l/r): 13"/13"
Rib (under bust): 30.25"
Bust: 38"
Biceps (l/r): 10.5"/10.5"

Pushups (in a row before crashing): 7.
Crunches (in 1 minute): 42
Mile time: 10:37, plus feeling like puking

The Commitment and Plan

Two days before the start of my experiment. I made a (very tentative) schedule/plan for the next three months. I am completely terrified. In July I will probably start working as a CNA, and I'll be doing P90X and Insanity... which means I am likely to need more rest. I also have a week left open for unplanned rest days for injuries.

My commitment:
I will do the workouts as planned. I will not let excuses get in my way. I will push past DOMS and other muscle soreness. I will not stop halfway through a video just because I am tired. If I do not do a video one day because of time issues, I will do the video the next day with the other planned activity. However, I will not let myself do more than two hours of exercise a day. I will keep up adequate nutrition (at least 1,800 Calories per day, getting enough of all vitamins and minerals) and a healthy sleep schedule (8-9 hours a night) to avoid burning my body out. If at any point discomfort and normal exercise pain becomes alarming and sharp, I will stop the workout until the pain subsides and then pick up where I left that same day. If at any point I become overwhelmingly dizzy, I will up my calories for the day. If I sustain any injuries, I will avoid aggravating the injured area first by adjusting my schedule so I do not put strain on the injury and second, if strain can not be avoided by any DVD, by taking rest days until healed.

Each day I will post a new blog, time allowing (family activities, working/CNA training, and workouts are the only things with priority over the blog), in which I will say exactly what I did that day, how I feel, and the changes I'm noticing.


May:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1 Bloomsday (12K)	2 Yoga for Flexibility	3 Pops, Locks, Shimmies Vol 1	4 TurboFire: Fire 30 HIIT 15	5 TurboFire: Fire 45 Core 20	6 TurboFire: Fire 60 Upper 20	7 TurboFire: Fire 45 EZ Stretch 40
8 TurboFire: Fire 55 EZ Stretch 10	9 TurboFire: HIIT 20 Lower 20	10 TurboFire: HIIT 25 Abs 10	11 Rest	12 TurboFire: HIIT 30 Tone 30	13 Kathy Smith: March to Fitness	14 TurboFire: Sculpt 30
15 Shimmy Season 1	16 Yoga Fitness Fusion w/ Belly Dance	17 EnvyGirls: Abs and Legs	18 Rest	19 Rest (school thing to do)	20 Kathy Smith: Aerobox, Tai Chi	21 Billy Blanks: Cardio Tae Bo
22 Shimmy Season 1	23 Envy Girls: Arms and Buns	24 Kathy Smith Kick boxing	25 Beyond Basics Belly Dance	26 Kristy's Cardio Combat	27 Cardio Belly Dance W/ Dolphina	28 Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump Start Cardio (both)
29 Shimmy, Season 1	30 Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump Start Strengths	31 Zumba Cardio Party

June:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Slim in 6: Start it Up! Slim and 6-Pack	2 Slim in 6: Ramp it Up!	3 Core Secrets: Give me 20	4 Slim in 6: Slim and Limber
5 I <3 Yoga	6 Slim in 6: Burn it Up!	7 Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones	8 Amira's Belly Dance	9 Spark Cardio Pack	10 The Firm: Cardio	11 The Firm: Hips, Thighs, Abs
12 KS: Weight Loss	13 KS: Ultimate Video	14 KS: Stomach and Thighs	15 P90: Fat Burner Expres	16 KS: Fat Burn Workout	17 P90: Sweat 1-2 and Ab Ripper 100	18 Rest
19 KS: Upper Body and Lower Body	20 P90: Sweat 3-4	21 P90: Ab Ripper 200	22 P90X: Cardio X	23 P90: Sculpt 1-2	24 Biggest Loser: Cardio Max	25 P90X: Stretch X
26 P90X: Yoga X	27 Biggest Loser: Power Sculpt	28 Walk Away the Pounds (1 and 2 Miles)	29 P90X: Ab Ripper X & Chest and Back	30 P90X: Plyometrics

July:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1 Walk Away the Pounds (3 Miles)	2 P90X: Shoulders and Arms
3 Rest	4 P90X: Kenpo X	5 P90X: Core Syner- gistics	6 P90X: Legs and Back	7 P90X: Chest Shoulders and Triceps	8 Rest	9 P90X: Back and Biceps
10 Walk Away the Pounds (5 Miles)	11 Rest	12 Insanity: Fit Test	13 Insanity: Plyometric Cardio	14 Insanity: Cardio Pow/Resist	15 Insanity: Pure Cardio	16 Insanity: Cardio Abs
17 Insanity: Cardio Recovery	18 Insanity: Max Interval Circuit	19 Rest	20 Insanity: Max Cardio Conditioning	21 Rest	22 Insanity: Max Interval Plyometrics	23 Rest
24 Insanity: Core Cardio and Balance	25	26	27	28	29	30
31