I have not fallen off the wagon!

So, I know it's been a few....but, something kept getting in the way of my blogging! It was irritating how it just kept coming up at the WORST moments!! What was it, you ask? LIFE.

It's interesting how sometimes I just think that life should stop or at least slow down when I'm trying to incorporate something new in my routine, like a workout or change in eating habits..... hmmmm, it seems as though no matter how old I get, I STILL want the world to revolve around me. :)

Alrighty, back on task.... Since the last time I wrote, I've done several workouts....let's see, Yoga and Shoulders and Arms....Then I just let last week fall where it was and started all over again this week.

Plyometrics...back to jumping and, as I was doing squat jumps, all I could think about was, "Man, I totally should NOT have had those margaritas last night!!". Vlad works at Horsehoe Casino as a bartender/barback/server/whatever and he can make just about any drink...but, he's been on this margarita kick lately and.....they are just so tasty!! I'm a lightweight, so just drinking one will make me feel it the next morning.

Chest and Back....I did this workout with Vlad and I did much better this time around! I completed everything and even increased some weights because they were too easy the first go around.....BUT...everything hurts today still...

Kenpo X....this is like Self Defense for fatties. I'm pretty sure that I can't outrun anyone at this point, so I'm glad that I have a way to fight off any attackers. Next time I go to Walmart, I'm going to park really far away and in the dark...then I can practice this for real!! But, I'll have to wait until I can actually raise my arms to be able to fight them off. I'm so sore right now that I'm pretty sure that not only will I give the thief my wallet, but I'll even drive him to the bank to take out money if he's willing to drive me home so that I don't have to walk any farther than absolutely necessary. So, until then, I'm parking in the handicap spot. :)

I have to say that I still love P90X.....it's normally around week three when I start to hate things, but it's been great getting all of the support!

Thanks for the motivation, everyone!

87 days to go!!

Yeah, I know the math doesn't add up......give me a break, I took a day off and I just don't feel bad about it!!!


Anyway, today I had to open my mind AND my hips because I did YOGA!! It's 1.5 hours long, so I did half this morning and I'm finishing it tonight after work. I haven't done yoga in years...also, I've NEVER been flexible...but there are a few things that I must say...

I love and hate yoga..... it's not impossible to do but I'm sweating like a pig the entire time!

BUT, I'm not sore anymore! Yippee!!

Soooo happy!!

2 Down, 88 to go!!

Today....Chest and Back. In P90X terms, that means Push ups and Pull Ups....lots of them. About an hour of them. Really, just too many of them.

I'm sure you, my internet friends, are scratching your head thinking, "Wait, Vivian, YOU can do PULL UPS???"....... No. BUT, I can do pull downs until the glorious day comes when I can confidently step up to the pull up bar and raise myself off the ground!!!

Until then, I will do pull downs with the resistance band- which still hurts and stinks.

There were 2 rounds....it basically had us going between pull ups and push ups....all different versions. Tony Horton tells us, "Set a goal! How many reps do you want to do of this push up? Say it out loud!".... eveyone on the video does a round robin of "20!", another "25!" and the token girl on the video says, "31!".... I say, "5!", "10!".....yup...

But, I surprised myself....a few times I hit 15 and 16... Good workout....


Let's see, my legs, butt and lower back are crazy sore from yesterday. Today, I am already feeling the pain in my shoulders, chest, biceps and triceps. At this rate, the only exercise I'm going to be able to do tomorrow will be finger pulls...maybe thumb war?

I know it's only day 2...but I still love it!

P90X Day One...

Alright, so, I got the DVDs for the workouts sometime last week.....and, until today, all I had done was watch a few and freak out a little bit at how much my fatness was going to hold me back from doing the workouts completely!

BUT....I paid for this, I committed and by-goley I'm gonna do it!!

So, today, I started out with Plyometrics instead of the Chest and Back DVD because I injured myself and hyper extended my left elbow by carrying GROCERIES incorrectly..... this is another reason that I have to do P90X.....I need to carry GROCERIES!! Embarassing...I know.

Plyometrics is an hour of non-stop jumping, squating, lunging, jumping and comination jumping/squating.....you get the idea. About 15 minutes into the damn DVD, I was ready to start cooling down....and then I realized that I had only finished the WARM UP!!

I stuck with it and with the help of my awesome workout partner, the man that I love like a friend, Dima, I completed the DVD. Now, don't get me wrong...I took a few "extra" breaks in the DVD because the movements were crazy hard, but I have to say that I'm impressed with what I kept up with....also, with how much I liked it. A lot of the moves reminded me of the things I had to do in middle/high school with volleyball and tennis and I always liked the sports drills because they weren't just static movements of one motion for one muscle.

All in all....enjoyed getting my ass kicked by Tony Horton today and will be coming back for another serving in the morning! Bring it!

I've been keeping a secret from you....

I know how I am. I start things and I don't complete them. I really struggle with commitment... ESPECIALLY when it comes to working out...

So, when Vlad came up with the idea about 5 weeks ago that his best friend, Dima, and I should work out together in the mornings before work, I decided that I wouldn't blog about it until I actually did it and kept doing it for a while......

It's been almost 6 weeks and my alarm clock rings every weekday morning at 530am...I promptly wake up long enough to hit the snooze button and, nine minutes later, when the alarm rings again, I stumble out of bed and head to the bathroom to pee and I just can't miss....



It's my new mantra....for some reason, the daily reminder keeps me going. AND....getting to be a coach does too!!

Dima and I split our workouts. I am the coach of our weight and plyometrics circuit and Dima is the coach of cardio. It's been great creating workouts for us to do that are fun as well as intense and challenging. I incorporate weights but most of the things that we do are body weight plyometrics that kick some serious ass and give real life strength.

Anyway, so, today we got together at 8am (it's Saturday, people) and I made us do a pretty intense ab and back circuit and we did 30 minutes of interval running (I wanted to die and I also thought my legs were going to fall off).

Ab circuit today was as follows :

1. Plank (we are working up to holding for a minute, but only have made it to 45 seconds so far)

2. I don't know the name of this, but it's stolen from P90X, you stand wider than hip width and keep knees straight. Hold weight and you start with weight below right knee (like you're picking up groceries off the floor), slowly (keep arms extended) you bring weight across the body and above the head and left shoulder (like you just put those groceries in the cupboard). 15 times each side. This works out abs and back pretty well..

3. Then on the ground for hip raises. 20 times.

4. Leg raises 20 times slowly and then holding the last rep with legs only 4 inches or so off the ground for 10 counts. it sucks.

Then we rinse and repeat three times!

After that, Dima gets to coach...since I hate cardio, he literally has to yell at me as we did 30 minutes of: walking two minutes, running 1 minute. I'm a pansy....we're working up to 1 minute walking, 1 minute running...but it's a work in progress people...

So, that was today. Now that I've been consistently working out AND my body has finally adjusted to waking up so early during the week, I have to say that I like this system and I'm confident that I can stick to it......especially with Dima kicking my ass out of bed with his snarky text messages at 530am.

Go me.

Intervals, Schmintervals....

When I work out to videos sometimes I can be a big....hmm, what's the word.....pansy.

Really, what happens is that I start the workout strong, but as it gets much more difficult I look around, see no one and start to pansy out. Thus, the purpose of the video then goes by the wayside because I'm not even committing to completing fully....

So, I made Vlad do the video with me yesterday and I loved it!!! Every time I got tired, I would look at Vlad over there panting and almost dying and I just kept pushing him and thus also pushing myself. WONDERFUL.

Today, I'm getting ready to head to Miami for my grandmother's funeral and I'm so sore! It's a good thing.

It's snowing like crazy outside, so as I wait for my car to warm up outside so that I can go and pick up the rental car that we're using, I'm probably going to work out again..... fun times!

Hello Workouts!

So, I have a secret..... I think I'm getting married next year!!!!! Alright, alright, so it may not be much of a secret but....

Yippee!!!


Now, there are several reasons for me to kick up the workouts:

1. Obviously, I would like to look relatively attractive in my wedding photos.
2. Vlad and I are talking about trying to have babies...and if I'm in relatively good shape, I'm most likely to be in better health as well.

I think all of this makes sense. Vlad calls this Operation Baby Ready, .....I just say that it's getting ready for a lot of new steps in my life.

So....here we go.