Skipping a day...sort of... - Carla

I am skipping a day with respect to the sit ups/push ups/dips challenge, but I definitely didn't skip exercise today! After work I went to the gym and did Zumba (with Ellen) then I did 4.5 miles on the treadmill. I had to stop to get gas on the way home which took FOREVER because EVERYONE NEEDED GAS TONIGHT! By the time I got home and ate dinner it was after 8:00. I rested with the boys for a bit, then decided that the challenge would have to wait another day. I don't feel too bad taking a day off because I know I'll get myself back on track tomorrow - and I'll have all weekend battened down at home with the hurricane to keep myself on it! Also, with the changes to the way I'm doing things (sit ups and dips one day and push ups the next day) I think my days are going to be off anyway, so missing one day isn't that big of a deal!

Maria - Where are you??? I thought you were going to get started again this week???

Exhaustion test for Dips and Sit ups - Carla

I went to the gym this evening for a late-night run on the treadmill. Tonight I did speed intervals – 5 minute warm up, then 10 sets of 2 minutes hard running and 1 minute easy running, then 5 minute cool down. I would have liked the mileage to be more than it was but I feel like I’m running slower and slower every day!!!

Tonight was time for the exhaustion test for sit ups and dips. Here’s how it went:

Sit ups	100	Week 6, Column 2
Dips	60	Week 6, Column 1

Not really impressed, particularly with the dips. I may have to modify my overall goal for the end of this!

Tomorrow night is the exhaustion test for push ups - can't wait to see how that goes! ;P

Dips/Sit ups Week 5, Day 2 - Carla

Good night tonight!!! I made it to Zumba (with Ellen, not Bev) then I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and came home to do my dips/sit ups challenge. The boys wanted to do them with me which was very cute, but their counting threw off my counts – I may have actually done more than I needed to do!!! But I feel great and am ready for the rest of the weekend to be as active as it started!

Here’s what happened with the sets:

Dips (23, 23, 26, 26, 18, 18, 20, Max) and Sit ups (30, 30, 36, 36, 27, 27, 33, Max)

Max sets: Dips – 78 and Sit ups – 55.

Dips/Sit ups Week 5, Day 1 - Carla

I didn’t want to do my challenge tonight. After work I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill – 30 VERY HOT AND SWEATY MINUTES…I was red and pretty drenched by the end of it! And yet I persevered and stayed for BodyFlow as I am such a glutton for punishment. It was completely worth it though – by the end of class I was feeling great! Once I got home (after picking up Salsarita’s for dinner) I snuggled on the couch with both boys and all three of us promptly fell asleep! I woke up just before 10:00 and contemplated skipping today and starting the circuits tomorrow, but since I told Maria today that I was going to do it tonight I decided to get off my tushy! Everything felt pretty good especially considering the length of time I took off! I’m back and ready to keep going but I may need some prompting/reminders/nagging to help me along! J

Here's how it went down tonight:

Sets - Dips (36, 45, 32, 28, Max) and Sit ups (54, 60, 45, 36, Max)

Max sets: Dips – 48 and Sit ups – 65.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself! :)

Week 5, Day 1 - Carla

I actually did the circuit last night but snuggling with the boys beat out posting it when we got home from VBS so I'm posting it today instead!

Okay, so I am a little bit behind again as I forgot to do my circuit the other day. But I’m back to it and ready to go! I went to the gym tonight to do BodyFlow, however classes were cancelled due to the weather. After doing 10 illegal flip-flop minutes of walking on the treadmill with one of my classmates I headed back over to church where the boys were doing VBS and did my circuit with my brother in the hallway. My brother hung in there and was able to complete most of the sets (minus one) even though this is the first time he’s done my circuit – nice job, bro!

My sets were as follows: Push ups (17, 19, 15, 15, Max), Sit ups (54, 60, 35, 36, Max), Dips (36, 45, 32, 28, Max). My max sets were as follows: Push ups – 21, Sit ups – 90 (because I had to keep up with my brother!), and Dips – 50. The circuit went well (it was nice having someone else work with me) and I felt great at the end of it!

My Weekly Goal

I am feeling guilty and very lethargic lately.  It's crazy what happens to your body if you treat it like crap for 3 days.  So I decided to make an exercise/diet goal for this week.  This is probably the best place to write it down.  Plus, Carla can yell at me if I don't live up to it.

Workout Schedule for this Week:
Monday: 9:15 BodyStep AND 10:15 BodyPump AND circuit
Tuesday: 10:30am Zumba, Adductor and Abductor machines
Wednesday: 5:30 BodyStep and possibly 6:30 BodyFlow AND circuit
Thursday: Run on treadmill and 6:30 BodyPump
Friday: 9:15 BodyStep and circuit and depending on how the day goes, 6:00 Zumba

Eating plans for the week:
-Eat at least one serving of fruit or vegetable with every meal
-Eat only my fruit/spinach shakes for breakfast
-Do not drink any alcohol whatsoever

Let's see if I can actually do it.  I don't know, but I have a feeling that if I put my mind to it, I can do it.  Also, Carla, you should try BodyStep with me this week.  It's the best cardio workout I have found other than KickBoxing and Zumba!

Week 4, Day 1 - Carla

I split my circuit up today. I headed over to the gym around 5:30 with the boys so I could get a run in on the treadmill before I did my circuit and went to BodyFlow. By the time we got out of the house and I got the boys settled into the Kid Zone at the gym I knew I wasn’t going to have time to do everything I wanted. I knew I NEEDED to run on the treadmill as I have been VERY bad about getting my runs in so that was my first stop. I barely made it through my half hour…I need to get working if I’m going to keep up with my friend at camp in a few weeks! I had time to do my push ups and sit ups before BodyFlow, so I went ahead and did them. After BodyFlow I went home for dinner and some snuggles with the boys before finishing up with my dips. Long story short, it all got done eventually!

Here are my sets for Week 4, Day 1: Push ups (12, 14, 11, 10, Max), Sit ups (32, 38, 32, 32, Max), Dips (23, 28, 20, 20, Max). My max sets were as follows: Push ups – 17, Sit ups – 50, and Dips – 34.

Week 3, Day 2--Maria

Yesterday I went to the beach.  Bad choice.  The heat index was about 110.  Seriously.  I had little energy, though I had plans to go on a run later that day.  Well, it was too hot so I went to the gym and hit the treadmill.  I did 3.1 miles, but form mile 2.5 to 3.1 I decided to power walk on an incline increasing from 5 to 10.  This isn't something I typically do, but I really enjoyed it, so I will probably try it again!  Then I did the crotch-master (aka abductor and adductor) machines.  Today is my circuit and I plan to try BodyStep again tonight!

Push Ups: 14, 19, 14, 14, max
Sit Ups: 30, 38, 23, 23, max
Dips: 18, 24, 18, 18, max

Push Ups Max: 21
Sit Ups Max: 43
Dips Max: 24

I feel GREAT about the push ups.  I never thought I would be able to do that many, but I am going to keep working hard.  The dips are where I seem to have the most trouble.  My poor arms are so weak, no matter what I do!!!

Exhaustion Test--Maria

Here are the results of my End-of-Week-Two-Exhaustion-Test.  AND I am impressed and really proud myself!!!  I never thought I could do it, but I can actually do a lot of push ups now!

Push Ups: 22!!!
Sit Ups: 46
Dips: 27

I am really excited to get on with Week 3, even though I see a scary number of push ups ahead!

Then tonight I went to the gym with Josh.  I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and speed walked on incline 10 on the treadmill for one mile.  Then I did the adductor and abductor machines for the first time!  You know, the ones that work the inner and outer thighs.  It was kind of fun!  I think I am going to make a habit of it :-)

Week 1, Day 1 - Carla

Sets: Push ups (6, 6, 4, 4, Max), Sit ups (15, 18, 10, 10, Max), Dips (13, 15, 9, 9, Max), Squats (13, 16, 9, 9, Max)

Okay, so today was my first day! I did circuits of the four activities in the order listed above basically moving from one set to the next with little to no break in between. Today it took me 15 minutes to complete. By the end of it all I was hurting a bit! This is going to be an interesting six weeks!

My max sets were as follows: Push ups – 5, Sit ups – 20, Dips – 15, and Squats – 25.

Also, headed to the gym and did 40 minutes easy on the treadmill and went to BodyFlow. Felt great!!!

My Push up (and sit up and squat and dip) challenge - Carla

So, Maria said we should blog our attempt at the 100 push up program to hold us accountable for completing it. Even if no one reads this, I feel like it will make me more accountable for my actions as I know it will be out there on the net forever and ever and ever....

Here is the beginning of my journey...


Okay, so in one of my searches of fitness related things I found a website for the "200 Sit Up Challenge" which is supposed to get you to be able to do 200 consecutive sit ups after 6 weeks of training. In addition to the sit up challenge there are several other challenges - push ups (100), dips (150), and squats (200). I furiously cut and pasted from the website so I could have easy access to the programs wherever I had my computer and my thumb drive. Then I completely forgot about them...until now! I have decided today that I am going to start the programs this week. The programs call for doing the workouts three times a week - since I did the initial test today I am going to use Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday as my days to complete my circuits.

Here are the (embarrassing) results of my initial tests on 06/21/11:
Push ups - 7
Sit ups - 35
Dips - 19
Squats - 30

I have a lot of work to do!!! I probably could have done a few more of each, but I didn't want to push it too hard considering my recent lack of workouts. In addition to starting this program I am also planning on getting into a more regular running schedule and a more regular gym schedule.


UPDATE: Went to the gym to do the treadmill tonight for 30 minutes (5 min warm up, 5 intervals of 3 min hard/1 min easy, 6 min cool down). Baby steps after a break, right?