Day 8...Repeat Day 1

Today's day 8, which for us means a repeat of Day 1. (You know...the boat and plow nonsense.) We worked harder, yes. We did more reps, yes. We saw results after only one week....surprisingly, yes.

So, one thing I've noticed is that I can squat way more. (My legs have always been stronger.) Brian was able to keep up more, and even accomplished more on the pull-ups than he did last time. (I continue to sub weight work for my arms, and did 10 more reps than last time!) I've also posted two pics of my face. The first one is right over to the left...that was from Day 1. The other is lower down the page, and that is now. Do YOU see a difference because I do!

We took our one week pictures tonight, and honestly I wasn't expecting to see a difference. Well, we saw a difference! Both of our side profile pictures showed that the roundness in our bellies were significantly less. (Brian's was a BIG difference, but they say that guys will firm up and lose much faster than us of the fairer sex.) I'm really proud of Brian, in case you can't tell. He's doing soooo well.

Last night, we both felt a little defeated. (Last night was Warrior, which neither of us could do but maybe 10% of the moves, so we felt like failures.) We determined that we were going to get the best out of this workout, even if we don't follow the 90 days EXACTLY as Sir Tony demands it. I don't care to be "skinny". I want to be stronger, and I want to feel better and look better in my clothes, but I really don't care if I fit in my size 9's again. After just one week, we can see and feel a difference, and I'm so proud of us.

Today on Facebook, I posted about how much I actually HATE working out and how I HATE being sore. This is no lie. My brain cannot fathom how people "crave" this or "like" this. I value my laziness and sleep far too much for this. Of course, keep in mind this is only week 1, 7 days, only 3 total hours of work out. (Well shit. Saying it that way makes me feel like a big fat lazy slob...only 3 HOURS! UUUUUUUGH!)

What I do like about it is the way my legs and butt look after only one week. (Brian agrees, and I'm looking BOOTYLICIOUS!) I like that I have this tiny baby bump thing popping up on my arms that I haven't had in eons. I like that Brian's arms are looking solid, and he is less winded when he walks.

Brian just walked in and said, "Well, it was easier this time than the first time, right?" I don't know if he's seeking validation or hoping I agree with him. In honesty, it WAS easier this time. (I'll have to eat crow because I think I told someone today that it's not going to get easier. DAMN IT!) We are stronger, and it showed.

Tomorrow is Agility X....which neither of us liked, so even with all of my optimism in this post...tomorrow may not be so nice. We shall see!

Only 82 more days to go! GOSH that feels like forever!

Day 7...The Warrior....Bang! Bang!

Today was Day 7, AKA - The Warrior, AKA - I'm not cut out for this crap. This workout is akin to something military in style. It's a full body mix of Hell. (You know, burpees....or in this case "super burpees", squats, lunges, the freaking "boat"...etc.)
 

Today we are both REALLY sore. Like REALLY sore. We did a warm up to loosen up, but I can honestly say that while we gave it our all, it was pretty half-assed. Am I disappointed? I thought I would be, but I'm not. We still worked our asses off and tried our damndest. Did I sub weights for push-ups? Sometimes, yes. Did I sub Squats and jumps for burpees, hell yes I did. Did we try our hardest and complete a full 30 minute workout? Yes sirree Bob!

I'm pretty proud of us. We have decided, however, that The Warrior is not for us. So, we will sub one of the other workouts in it's place. Not that we don't believe that Tony knows what he's doing, but we know what is best for our bodies and our stamina. I am going to be honest, too, my tummy hurt way too much doing these things today. Part of it could be tied to my myriad of illnesses, and part could be that I didn't wait an hour before exercising.

Are we going to stop? ABSOLUTELY not, but we will modify where necessary. (It's okay if not all of the workouts are for us!)

Tomorrow is another day....only 83 days to go.

Brian just said this to me, "Just think, Babe, in two days, we'll be 1/10th of the way through."  I may just have to murder him in his sleep. :D

P.S....are you humming the Warrior, because I totally am!

Day 5...Cardio on Crack

Today we finished day 5, CVX. CVX is basically cardio with squats and lunges while your arms are steadily going up and down. Oh, and you do this with a weight. (I stuck with a 3 pound weight and Brian did 10.)

Before you say anything, no, we aren't wusses. In fact, about half way through, I felt the weight was simply too much for me (remember, I'm a noob) so, I ditched the weight and just went with it.

I have to admit, while this was probably the most demanding of our routines so far, I felt that some of it was really fun. The "March and Reach" is reminiscent of my Drill Team days of high kicks. I loved the Froggy Squats, too. I will say this, it's only been technically 4 days of work out, but my thighs, butt, and calves feel much stronger.

Brian did a wonderful job, and kept up with the 10 pound weight the entire time. (Show off.) He has great form, and when all was said and done, his legs were really red, which means he did a great work out! GO BABY!

I did my week 1 weigh in. When all this madness started, I weighed 222.2 pounds. Today, I weigh 216.4 pounds! (The first week is generally water retention weight, and your weight generally fluctuates 3-5 pounds a day, but I'm taking this as a scale victory!)

So, four workouts in, and how do we feel? Sore. Very, very sore. Do we like working out. Yeah, I'm going to have to go with a big fat, "No." Do we feel better? We feel like we can walk further without being so winded, our bodies feel stronger, and we feel accomplished. So, we'll go with that for now. I have noticed that my heart rate doesn't sky-rocket, and my heart seems to be more in control instead of spazzing out all over the place.

Oh, check out my snazzy workout pants. :)

All in all, not too shabby. We did a good job, worked really hard, and we did it....day 5. Only 84 more days to go!

Day 4...Spaghetti Arms

I don't mean the cute "Spaghetti Arms" like from Dirty Dancing, I mean that I can barely move my arms and I've already hit the backspace key fifty times in this blog.

We were supposed to do Day 4 yesterday but Brian was sick, and I was acting like a raging bitch from Hell. Yeah...so...we did it today.

Today we did pull-ups and push-ups. That's it. Just put that on repeat.

I did all of 10 "fake" pull-ups, meaning I used a chair to help offset the weight of my body so I could pull myself up. This equates to half a pull-up and half a squat. Brian did his best with the pull-ups, but kicked my little girl ass with the push-ups. I ended up foregoing the pull-ups to do weight work because clearly I have ZERO upper body strength. So, I did a series of different types of arm work out moves with two 5 pound weights. Brian kept on, keeping on with that evil Tony Horton and his little entourage of lemmings.

It took both of us to get my sports bra off (normally a "fun" feat) except it hurt. Neither of us have figured out how we are going to wash our hair. I was going to shave my legs, but I don't even think I can pick up the razor. Maybe I'll start No-Shave-November a couple of months early...hmmm.

By the way, it took me 30 minutes to type this, and the backspace key fell off the keyboard. I'm pretty certain that my hands and arms will never work again. As for Brian, he's showing off by feeding the cats, rolling up the yoga mats, and proving once again that he's better at this than I am. (Way to go babe, wanna wash my hair?)

Tomorrow is CVX, which is like some deranged cardio with weights and Tony torturing you. (I'm starting to see a trend...)

Only 85 more days to go. PS. I'd post pictures, but I can't pick up the camera. Just pretend that I posted something fascinating. PPS. I know how to count, "rest day" counts as a day of the 90. :)

Day 3...Yo-My-God-I'm-Not-Flexible-Ga!

Today was day 3, folks. Day 3...still in the freaking single digits. Not just ANY single digit...the one that means we only started this chaos 3 days ago.

Anyway, today is day 3, and it was Yoga. Sounds nice and relaxing, right? Well, why the Hell did we sweat more than we did yesterday, and why are our extremities trembling every time we move? Yoga is NO joke. It's a lot of balancing and turning yourself into a pretzel. Once upon a time I could do the splits, do Y-stands, etc. Y'all, I can't even touch my TOES now! (Brian has me beat here, he folds in half like a sheet of paper. Ass.)

So, Yoga. I kind of liked some of the moves, and I may or may not have used Brian as my balance beam. (Yeah, I totally did.) What's funny is Tony is all happy. (Fucking Tony.) He's all, "walk it up, and kick your right leg way up in the sky! That's right! Relaxing, huh? Deeeeeep breath! Great job, now I want you to stay like this and take your left hand and put it up to the sky and hold your right hand out like you're an airplane, and put your left elbow on the green dot..." Okay, I made up the green dot part. Relaxing? Not today, buddy. Today we were lucky to be able do Dog and Cat, Child Pose, and Crescent Pose. (Did I mention that rat bastard Tony made us do that DAMN Plow again? If you don't know what torture device this is, see Day 1.)

So, there is an upside of this. I fell IN LOVE with this one pose. I totally forgot what it's called, but you're kind of in a one legged squat, and your other leg is crossed on top of your squat leg, and your back is straight with your arms in a 'prayer' pose. LOVED. This pose. I've posted the pictures in this blog for you! (Oh, that's our little Chi-weenie, Lily in the picture to the left. Isn't she cute? Say, "awwwwwww!")

All bitching aside, Yoga, while probably not my favorite workout, was kind of fun. I'm sure we will gain better balance and range in motion over time. Brian is a real trooper, too, he never gave up, and he did each move (most of them better than me.)

Just 87 more days to go!

Day 2 - Agility...Oh My God My Legs Are Falling Off!

Day 2 of our 90 Day Challenge. Only 88 more days to go.

Today was Agility X....which loosely translates to Cardio/Balance/Sadistic Tony Horton. The gist of this is that you jump a lot, run a lot, go in circles a lot, throw in some random push-ups, and then lunge and squat until your legs fall off. Did I mention this was AFTER Brian and I went to Dance Class and danced the Argentine Tango?

The easiest thing to say is that right now, my legs are spaghetti. My lungs may explode. My heart may beat out of my chest, and I may need 40 gallons of water to replenish all that leaked out of me.

I'm so proud of Brian. He did almost all of the Plyo/Push-ups. His entire shirt was sopping wet. (GROSS)

Note to self...invest in some REALLY GOOD Sports Bras. Like...the kind with whale bone ribbing to hold these girls solidly in place. Jumping, running, lunging, and then jumping some more....I think they're sagging to my knee-caps now.

We did it. We did the entire 30 minutes. Tomorrow, I'm taking the elevator at every opportunity, and I may just sit in my little rolley chair and have people push me around all day.

Eff you, Tony Horton....and your Agility Nightmare, too!

Day One...What. The. Fuck?

Everybody is on this health kick. Every where you look, there's a person with a Fitbit strapped to his/her arm, drinking alkaline water, and eating lettuce. Well, we're no different, apparently. A little background, first. Brian and I have been together for 14 wonderful (and not so wonderful) years. Two kids and a mortgage later and we have definitely gotten comfortable in our lifestyle. Including eating out several times a week, making poor choices, and being lazy.

Skipping ahead a little. In 2014 I suffered a Pulmonary Embolism, and was "lucky to be alive." My life flipped and suddenly I could barely walk without having to stop and rest. My lungs turned against me. My body followed suit and I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogren's Disorder, and Lupus. Promptly following that, my Gallbladder hit the skids, and it had to be removed. I promise, I'm getting to my point! After all of this, Brian and I started Ballroom dancing. WE LOVE IT! Then my job got hectic and I started traveling a lot. Travel = Food out, and see paragraph #2 above...bad choices. As if this wasn't enough, my beautiful sister got engaged and her wedding is in November.

 Now you're up to date, and I'm about 70 pounds OVERWEIGHT! So, Brian decides, "Hey, let's do P90X...but wait...it's P90X3...it's only 30 minutes." So, I buy into this. Then I get sick. (I SWEAR it was not on purpose!) We finally took the "Fitness Test." For those of you unfamiliar with this...it's a series of fitness moves and such to see how "in shape" you're in. (I'm a shape! ROUND is a SHAPE!) Anyway, we failed that test...miserably.

 Today, we started with the actual work out. Day 1 - Total Synergistics, AKA HELL! What the FUCK did I get myself into!? Divorce papers are on their way! Only kidding, sort of, mostly. We made it through our first 30 minute work out. We did not die. We did not actually keep up, and half of the moves were only 30% correct, but we completed all of it. I did pretend push-up, but my wimpy arms picked my fat ass up. I did Girly Pull-ups, but my arms pulled my fat ass up! I did this torture move called, "Boat and Plow." You know what Tony Horton...fuck you and your boat and plow. My stomach, back, arms, legs, hair, toenails...everything HURTS! WE made it through. We did it. Day one. Dear God there are 89 more days to go!

 Maybe I will get those divorce papers! All in all, I'm proud of us. WE got through it. Every time we do this, we will get stronger, better, and more agile. I may hobble my way to my desk tomorrow, but guess what? I get to do it again tomorrow night along with our Ballroom Dance lesson. Right now I'm going to hit the shower and contemplate drowning Brian. (Seriously, Big Brother, I'm not going to kill my husband. We're in this together.) I accept all forms of prayers...but hey, I signed up for this shit.