I suck at updating my blog, but I do not suck at working out. I’ve been hitting the gym almost every day. On the days I don’t go to the gym, I take a walk outside or do something else active (like yard work).
I’m 10 days into #30daysoffencing leading up to Serfo. Today I slept through practice but did drills. I’ve been having problems with timing, so taking a couple days to do drills is helpful.
I’ll try to post some set lists. I’ve been not posting because I haven’t had pictures of them on my phone. Silly, huh? Most of my weights (that I lift) have increased. My body weight went down when I was tracking my caloric intake and focusing on cardio. I put some weight back on when I started lifting more, so I think I’m doing some body recomposition.
I’m excited to teach self-defense at a ladies only event at the gym on campus tomorrow. I hope this opens some doors to teach more Krav in my area instead of driving the better part of an hour to do it.
I came home from CIC 2 and rested a little bit before getting back on the road for Bonnaroo.
That trip involved a lot of walking and dancing (my fitbit logged over 20K steps one day!). The multiple climates, elevations, and pollens were unkind to me, so I have a sinus infection (it started bothering me on Day 2). Other than that, I had a great time and saw a lot of amazing acts!
Fyi, when I left for CIC 2, I weighed 202.2 lbs. When I came back, I weighed in at 201.2 lbs (keep in mind that I was carrying some water weight). After Bonnaroo, the scale read 195.4 lbs. I think I may have been a little dehydrated from the road, and I know I was walking off more calories than I was eating because festival food is expensive, and most of the camp food was fruit. That being said, if I can stay below 200 lbs and make sustainable changes to my diet and exercise, I think I can make some permanent changes to my body and health.
Today I did my time on the elliptical with my mask on. Here are some numbers for you.
I have no idea what my weekend holds in store for me.
I weigh in tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!
Yesterday instead of going back to the gym, Nik and I took a walk outside. After that, I took the cat in the back yard on her harness so that she could pretend to be a big forest cat in the tall grass. We even got some yard work done.
Today Nik dutifully got up and went to the gym. He told me I deserved to sleep in, so I did.
When I did get up, I had my weekly weigh-in. I am down 3 lbs from last week (and down 5 lbs from my fitness assessment Tuesday, but I take that with a grain of salt because I was not weighing in under my usual controlled circumstances). I knew that being diligent in the kitchen and actually going to the gym would help, but I didn’t think I’d see such a change in a short period of time.
I intend to go to fencing practice tonight.
Krav on Monday night was productive. We all warmed up together. Then Eddie taught the class while the rest of us covered most of the material in P1. Then we did the closing actions together.
I finally made it to Body Fat Tuesday! My day percent is up to 37.5. I hit the elliptical after class (with the mask). I was hangry and didn’t like the particular elliptical I was on, but I did the thing.
Nik and I lifted weights yesterday morning. I got lightheaded at one point even though I’d eaten breakfast. It passed. I don’t know what was up with that. The only thing I can figure is I went too fast. Here’s the set list.
Last night was my turn to teach at Krav. We covered mounted chokes on the ground. Everyone was huffing and puffing at the end of class, and everyone was doing the technique, so I’ll call it a win.
Today I was starving after class, so Nik and I came home for lunch. I’ll get some cardio in later – our schedule is wide open today.
Since Monday, Nik and I have been making a more concerted effort in the kitchen. We’re eating lots of veggies and chicken. The meals are great. What really hurts is the moratorium on sweets. We’re cutting sweets and alcohol (entirely) until I get home from CIC.
I did not make it to the gym on Thursday or Friday. Nik and I have had trouble getting moving in the mornings, and I did homework on Thursday when I could have been working out. No regrets on the homework, but we need to go to bed earlier or something.
On Friday I helped a friend with an outdoor project that involved setting up a medieval tent, cleaning it, and putting it away. That involved walking, lifting, and scrubbing, and it was outdoors. I had a great time being productive and hanging out with my friends. My fitbit didn’t pick any of it up.
On Saturday and Sunday, I went to the beach. I took lots of walks on Saturday. When I went Sunday with friends, we took walks, we played with dussacks, and I actually went for a little swim.
Today I’m back to tracking calories. I keep getting off track because I keep eating things that don’t have clear labels (like home made food – not bad), or I eat away from home (often fast food – kinda bad). My barcode scanner is working again, so that will encourage me.
Since Nik and I didn’t get up in time to lift this morning, I tried working out at home instead. I took a photo of this themed workout at the PSC gym over a year ago. I did Level 1.
My purpose was twofold. I needed to work out, and I wanted to see if this could work as a Krav warm up (with some adjustments, yes).
Today is the first time I’ve felt fat since I’ve put on the weight. Even though my clothes got a little tight during winter break, I never felt like this. When I was jumping around, my clothes were shifting, and I saw a lot of belly. That happens, but I also felt like the extra weight was hindering me. I felt really slow, and I don’t have much flexibility. When I lift weights, I don’t feel like this. I don’t know if this means I’m being challenged and should do more exercises like this or what. I assume there will be more days that I don’t wake up in time for gym time before Nik has to work, so I’ll have time to try more workouts.
Tonight is Krav. If there’s an uneven or small number of people, I may join the class, and if all 4 instructors in training are there, we can split up: some teach and some train. We’ll see. I ate something that didn’t agree with me, but I’m feeling better since then and should be okay by tonight.
My bane mask came in!
First I wore it around the house for about half an hour trying it out. Then I wore it to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical (plus a cooldown, but I took it off for that part). I even bumped the setting up on one side (it has switches 1-5 on the right and left) for the last five minutes of my run. I felt pretty good. It took me a long time to get my heart rate up to 140 bpm, and my average heart rate was 136.
Since that was a success, I tried wearing it for warm-ups at fencing. I did my two laps but had to take it off and rest a second before doing the rest of the warm-up (high knees, etc.).
Fencing practice was okay. We warmed up and did a couple drills. Then I fenced with a new person, and a couple more people wanted to fence with me. My hands weren’t so tired that I couldn’t hold my sword, so that was nice.
In other news, I’ve lost 3lbs. I missed Body Fat Tuesday last week, so that stinks. I’d like to know how the body recomposition is going now that I’m primarily doing cardio. However, I’m seeing progress with my fitness in other ways, so I don’t mind not getting a fat percentage documented this month.
Today Nik took some of our students to an event. I had an online class meeting this morning and didn’t want to miss, so I didn’t go to War College.
I weighed in this morning. I’m still sitting at 202 lbs, but I feel stronger, and I think my clothes are fitting a little better, so I’m not letting the number on the scale get me down. We’ll see what my fat percentage looks like in a week or two.
Since I couldn’t fence at the event today, I’m doing 100 lunges to get my practice in for the day. I’m not aiming for a particular target. This is about body mechanics. I want to make sure I’m following the sword into the lunge, and once I’m there, I’m checking the placement of my knee in relation to my toe.
Tomorrow is a regularly scheduled practice day at the park. I’m a little apprehensive about going. I don’t want to see the people who saw me break down last week. I don’t want my mental condition to overshadow my other characteristics. I know I’m the only one who sees it. That’s the great thing about having an invisible illness. Logically, you know other people can’t see it. But when it weighs on you like this, it’s all you see in the mirror. We’ll see how I’m doing tomorrow. All I can do for now is take things one day at a time.
On Tuesday, I went to yoga after work and hit the pool after class. I ended up swimming only 15 minutes, though, because I was worried about bleeding hair color all over the pool. Few things are more embarrassing than making your workout space look like a scene from Jaws. Nik has begun his quest to fence every day, so that’s what he was up to while I was at class and at the pool.
Wednesday night was Krav night. We did more P1 review. During P3 class, I asked some questions I had about kicks. I’ll be meeting up with The Ladies to work on groundwork over the weekend.
Last night after work I met Nik and some of the UWF fencers at the gym, and I worked primarily on long sword. I’m picking it up fairly quickly – I’m far from the best, but I’m doing good things. After fencing, Nik and I took a quick run because I still needed some cardio. My mile is down to 9 minutes. Last night was Nik’s Day 5 of #fencingeverydamnday.
Today after work I’m going to use the elliptical to get my heart rate up, come home, rest (probably have a snack), and head to UWF fencing practice. Tonight will be my Day 3 of #fightingeverydamnday.
If it sounds like a lot of activity, it is. Nik is training for a big tournament, and I’m training for that tournament while simultaneously preparing myself for CIC 1.
In the midst of all of this, I lost a pound and a half last week. I’m down 5 lbs total since I started tracking. I also recommended that Nik start tracking to make sure he’s getting enough calories for his amount of activity.
Krav on Wednesday was awesome. We had a guest from out of town come practice with us. We had a small enough group that Michael and I got to jump in and participate instead of teaching. I had a great time and blew off some pent up steam from skipping working out on Tuesday.
Yesterday after work I used the punching bag at the gym again. I wore my gloves this time, but I should have taped underneath. The scabs on my knuckles from last week all rubbed off. Oops.
Today after work I plan to work in a run before I come home. Then Nik and I will have UWF fencing practice. I don’t count on fencing to give me much cardio, so as much as I dislike running, it’s best if I do it today. I’m staying in town this weekend, so there will be plenty of opportunities for local practice.
I had my second weigh-in this morning (my previous report was delayed – I weigh on Fridays only). I’m down 3 lbs total since I started tracking (that’s 1 lb this week). I’m not noticing much change in my endurance, but it’s only been two weeks. For once, I’m glad to have the scale to measure since strengthening my cardio will take longer to show in my day-to-day routine.
Marie's Fitness Blog 