Workout #3 done!

I started this up again on Monday, it is Thursday, I have worked out 3 of the past 4 days.  Go me! :)  For whatever reason, Tuesday night was a night full of waking up and fitful sleeping.  That combined with just feeling really really blah, kept me sidelined from working out yesterday.  I thought and thought about it, I really wanted to work out, but I just couldn't get the body moving.  I felt heavy and exhausted and mentally just kind of down.  I wonder if perhaps it was just my body saying omg STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!! after working out 2 days in a row.

In any case, I had trouble sleeping again last night.  I didn't fall asleep till nearly 3 am (note to self, Cherry Coke at 8pm was not the best choice ever for any number of reasons, not the least of which being the caffeine content).  I was on autopilot though, and just kinda picked and drank the soda without even really thinking about it....oops!   But I rebounded! I got up, felt energized, but my energy felt very disorganized.  I wanted to do everything at once, and when I feel like that, I usually end up doing nothing at all.  I grabbed some breakfast full of nice nummy carbs, and after giving it some time to digest, I just sort of mentally smacked myself, got into my workout gear and went for it.

My go to workout for now is to do interval cardio on my treadmill at a high intensity for about 20-25 minutes.  My PE instructor from when I took the personal fitness class, told me that a cycle on the treadmill consisiting of 2 minutes at maximum incline at the fastest speed I could manage, followed by 2 minutes on a flat incline, again at the fastest speed I could manage, and finished up with 1 minute of slow walking to catch my breath, done for 4 cycles (or 20 minutes) is as beneficial as doing 45-60 minutes of steady state cardio.  She said that I could increase the speed I walk as my cardiovascular fitness increased. She also said I could do it pretty much daily, if need be.   In the month that I was in her class doing it 5 days out of 7 I started noticing results...increased endurance, flexibility, speeed and agility.  She also said that if I did this cardio, along with some sort of strength training, and that I could do both on the same day, that I would see results pretty quickly.  So I have been also doing the Biggest Loser Power Sculpt dvd. I do the treadmill first, then follow it with the dvd.  I am on the beginner level for now... gotta work on my form and such, but then I can move up as I get better and stronger.

I did this workout combination on Monday, and it was very hard.  I felt very heavy and clumsy and sweat like crazy.  It seemed to just drag on and on.  ugh! But I did it.  Tuesday, I wanted to go outside, so I took a walk on the Soos Creek Trail, near my house.  It ended up being a 2.4 mile walk, and there's lots of hills on this trail, so it's not just flat terrain.  It wasn't quite as arduous a workout, I popped a sweat, but then, let's face it...I'm a fat girl, so it doesn't take much to make me sweaty.  :p My heart rate was up a bit, and it was a 42 minute walk, so definitely better than nothing.  I was slow at the start, and a bit lumbering, but my speed increased some as the workout progressed.  I could feel that I had warmed up... I felt "oiled up" so to speak, it was easier to move and stuff.

Yesterday I kind of hit a wall.  I was tired from the moment I got up, hadn't slept well, and just could NOT get going.  I went back and forth about it with myself, and in the end, just decided to take a rest day.  I'm glad I did. I had a bit of tummy trouble in the evening.  Maybe moving some yuck out of my system, but I'm glad I took it easy.

Today it was back to business.  The treadmill and dvd workout again.  This time I had my mp3 player charged and ready (I did the first workout with no music! boo!) and I think having the tunes made a bit of a difference in my perception of the workout. It went by quicker, and yes, it was hard, and yes I was sweating like a pig... to the point of where I need to find my headband that I bought for the PE class but never used... I need it now, sweat was going into my eyes, down my nose, etc.  ick!  I was breathing hard, heart rate was in the 130s, but it wasn't as mentally difficult today.  The dvd was harder in some ways, and easier in others. I really struggle with form, especially when it comes to lunges and squats, because I have crappy balance.  I think my form was better this time (hence I could feel the burn more and I sweated more), but it's still far from perfect.  I always have a bit of knee pain when I do squats and lunges... I try REALLY hard to not let my knee travel over my ankle, but it still will twinge at times, and I can't bend down very far at all.  :( Is it because I'm so heavy?  Will it get easier as the weight comes off?  I really need help with the form piece though, I don't want to hurt myself.  In any case, I think that I did a better job with the weight training dvd, did the exercises a little closer to right, because it felt more strenuous today than it did the first time.

I think I am in the midst of that famous endorphin rush, because I almost feel like I could do some more stuff! lol I don't want to overdo it though.  Maybe I'll do some other activity later today or something.  I'm feeling pretty good today.  I hope I can ride this for a while.  Now I just have to make the right food choices so I don't mess up the exercise I did with my diet.