What Happens When The New Wears Off?

I've had the pleasure for the past two days of having my friend L in town to workout with.  She travels for work and sometimes is gone eighty percent of the time, so her being in town and in the office has been a real treat for me.

Yesterday we did an arm workout I created that included bench presses, hitting the heavy bag, curl presses, and a routine with the heavy ropes.  I was quite proud when, after we'd moved on from the ropes, to see a group of guys (who are in the gym every day pumping iron) copying the exact same circuit we had just done. 

Today was beautiful and sunny so L and I decided to do our warm up outside on the riverwalk.  As we trucked along she started shivering and when I asked if she was cold, she said "Yes!  I used to have a layer of fat to warm me up and I don't anymore."  That cracked me up and then I realized that I definitely have become cold-natured since I changed my lifestyle.  It's interesting to see what happens with your body besides what happens on the scale.

As we walked back to the gym to continue our workout inside, our discussion, as usual, turned deep about our weight loss journey. We've trained together in our Transformation program and that created a strong bond between all of us.

"You know L," I said to her. "We've been at this a while; we're on the next leg of our journey and we're not newbies anymore. In some ways that's harder."

You think when you first get started that that is the hardest your struggle is ever going to be; don't get me wrong, it's tough, but the next leg is somewhat harder.  Your body gets used to the initial shock of your lifestyle change and you have to constantly switch up your workout and your food.  You have a tendency to plateau more often.  Your initial strictness slips a little and you have to constantly reign yourself back from slipping into old behaviors.   The new wears off and you have to find the resolve in yourself in order to keep fighting the fight.  You have to find the gumption to keep going because this race is about endurance more than anything.

So what happens when the new wears off?  For me, I draw strength from my support system, like L, take a deep breathe, and keep fighting. Bring on the next leg of the journey.

Twas The First Step Class After Christmas

Twas the first Step class after Christmas,
When this afternoon at my desk
Calves were throbbing and hurting
I felt a hot mess.
My cube neighbors were busy,
Unaware of my state.
As I rubbed on my muscles,
Hoping the pain would abate.
When all of a sudden
The pain increased by two-thirds.
I bit my lip sharply
And said some bad words.
The tiger balm in my bag
Seemed just the thing.
An ancient Chinese remedy
To take out the sting.
I slathered it on
With a generous swipe
And sat back in my chair
To try not to gripe.
Thank goodness for my neighbors
It was the end of the day
Because tiger balm smells
A lot like Ben-gay.
So smelling like the elderly
And walking like a mummy,
I hobbled along
Feeling quite crummy.
But sore muscles they come
And sore muscles they go
And the benefits of exercise
Are less con and more pro.
Come tomorrow I know
My legs will be alright.
So happy workouts to all
And to all a goodnight!

The Tool Box

Last Christmas two of my favorite gifts were my pink Ipod from my husband and my cute black, white and pink gym bag from my Momma.   At the time I had reached ninety days into my new lifestyle change and I guess I had proved to those around me that I was legit so to speak, that the changes in me were here to stay.   These gifts weren't just some nice things to have...to me they signaled a change in myself in that I wanted things for the gym more than I wanted any other gift.

When I proudly showed my new gym bag to one of my trainers last year, she called it my "tool box".  I thought that was a great analogy because (for a high maintenance girl like me) it takes a lot of tools: sprays, lotions, make up, hairspray (to make me presentable after all that sweat at lunch); the Ipod; tiger balm, band aids, and a an ace bandage (because sometimes hurts happen); workout clothes and various pairs of socks that may or may not match; the fourth pair of tennis shoes that I've burned through; and a P90X Kenpo DVD that I keep meaning to return to my brother.

Well, last year's "tool box" has seen better days. It's been thrown in and out of the trunk of my car five to six days a week, it's bounced around on my shoulder over countless miles to and from work and the gym, it's been pawed through and zipped and unzipped, its been skidded across the locker room floor as I've arrived to the gym either late or just in the nick of time, and its been flung on the floor of my desk and living room hundreds of times.  

Today while shopping for a new "tool box" I told the salesman at a local sports goods store that I needed a new gym bag because my old one was worn out.  "That's exactly as it should be!" he said with a genuine smile. "Congrats!  Keep it up."  Being that he was decked out as the obvious triathlete that he was, I took this as a compliment and left with a cute new flamingo pink gym bag (even tool boxes can be cute).

After being off for Christmas and the parade of food temptations of the holidays, I'm looking forward to getting back into my gym routine tomorrow.  My new "tool box" is already packed and ready to go.

Award

Every year my company picks six employees out of thousands to receive the Corporate Health and Wellness Excellence Award and I am shocked, surprised and humbled to say that the Global Wellness Council chose me to be one of the recipients this year. 

Never in a million years did I think I would win any kind of award for health or wellness.  Just over a year ago I was the exact opposite of either of these words.  I never worked out, I didn't watch what I ate, my body was weak and my mobility and balance were horrible.  I sweated, not in the gym, but just trying to move through the daily tasks of my life. My situation was quickly becoming critical.  I was a person who struggled walking one block, who would have said you were out of your mind if you told her that in a year's time she would complete a 5K. A person who could never conceive that she would be associated with anything to do with health or wellness, much less win an award for it.

I tell you about this award not to pat myself on the back, but to point out that anything is possible.   No matter how dark your situation seems, no matter your injuries, no matter your access to a gym, no matter your age or time constraints or budget, you can make something amazing happen for yourself.  It is totally and absolutely possible.

I still have a ways to go on this journey and sometimes it can seem overwhelming, but I am going to steal a line from Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones who sneered in the face of defeat saying, "I have not yet begun to fight."

Plunging Headfirst

There's this thing in my gym, I'm not sure what it's called, but it's basically a piece of equipment that you get on and press your calves against a pad, your feet on a platform, rest your lower abdomen against another pad, and bend at the waist, head first toward the ground and come back up. Over my time working out I've watched people do this on a routine basis. It's a popular piece of equipment and most every time I go to the gym I see people routinely getting on this "thing."  Some folks put their arms across their chests as they bring their upper body up and down, and some folks even hold weighted plates as they do their reps.   Either way looked scary to me,

There's not many things in that gym that I haven't touched, but this piece of equipment is one that I have avoided.  In my former state of being my balance was pretty much zilch.   I avoided stairs, platforms, ladders...pretty much anything that involved pitting my abilities against gravity, because gravity would always win, painfully.

One of the many things that the gym has cured me of is the fear of pain because at any given moment I have something that's sore from one thing or another and my husband has gotten used to seeing me walking strangely around the house at night when all my muscles decide to stiffen up on me from that day's workout.   Just comes with the territory.   Plunging headfirst onto the gym floor however is one thing that I'm not too keen on, so therefore I've avoided this "thing" that everyone seems so fond of.

In the spirit of trying something new and pushing myself past not only my physical barriers, but my psychological ones as well, I decided to try this new thing.  Making sure no one was watching me, I positioned myself on the equipment and after a few false attempts gripped my muscles in and lowered my head to the floor, thinking the entire time that I was certain to go flipping over my head, onto the floor and break my neck.  Fear tied itself into tight knot in my stomach as I saw the floor coming closer to my face. Then a funny thing happened: my core and leg muscles engaged themselves to bring me back up parallel, over and over until I'd done twenty reps.  

As I've said before, it's the little accomplishments that spur me forward and keep me going. That and the inner curiosity that says, "I wonder if I can do that?" I get so caught up with the numbers on the scale that I forget that I'm not just shedding pounds, I'm creating something really strong. I've been training these muscles hard for over a year and it's cool now to see what they can actually do.

Elf on The Shelf

What a brilliant invention is the Elf on the Shelf! It's such a great way to get kids to behave (i.e., the Elf goes back every night to the North Pole to tell Santa how good or bad the child has been that day) while making it a fun game for them. I know the youngest members of our family have been enjoying their elves this Christmas.

With all the many culinary challenges of Christmas for a dieter, wouldn't it be affective to have an Elf on the Shelf who would observe how you eat during the day and at holiday events and would then report your progress back to your trainer?   I know it would make me think twice before overeating.

Today the elves of my youngest family members, my cousins Maggie and Andi, will be able to give Santa a great report! I was lucky enough to have a chance to be a kid again and build a gingerbread house with them.  In the process though I found myself covered in icing and candy.

With Andi and Maggie decorating our house.

Andi decorated the icing on my hands with a gumdrop.

Icing and gumdrops....where was my Elf when I needed him?  My report wouldn't have been too bad however.  I managed to keep myself mostly reigned in around tables heaped with wonderful Southern food and desserts. Sometimes you have to give yourself a little bit of a treat as long as you keep it in perspective and work that much harder the next day. Learning to have that balance of allowing myself to have a taste of something "naughty" along with filling my plate with mostly "nice" every once in a while, as opposed to throwing the towel in and eating anything and everything I want, is something that with time, I've learned.

Power and Balance

One of my favorite things about working out is the achievement you get from it.   It is something that you are totally in control over.  If you want to make something happen, you can make it happen.  It's not like winning the lottery or waiting for a promotion...if you set a goal with exercise and you stay to your routine, you will meet, and a lot of times exceed, that goal.  How many other times in life do we have that power?

For instance, I don't have it within my power to give myself a raise, but I do have it within my power to complete a 5K.   My brother doesn't have the power to dictate how much taxes he pays per year, but I watched him bench press 185 today (his greatest weight yet) and could see the pride of how good that felt.   I don't have the power to will my husband into taking out the trash every time without me asking him to, but today I set a goal of bench pressing 75 pounds, and I did it!

When the world gets crazy and the stress gets high and it seems like life is all about playing the hand I'm dealt, the gym is somewhere that I can feel grounded.   I may have no control over whatever rate the power company decides my electricity is worth, or however much gas is going for that day, or the hours set forth that I have to be at work, but I know if I want to have control over something, I can do that with my workout.

Not only that, along the way to achieving a goal are awesome little surprises.  Like for someone like me who had such a poor sense of balance that she was terrified of a tiny step to the point that her trainer had to hold her hand (yep that was me in September of 2010) to go to the present me who looked at the balance board in the corner of her gym (as she'd done a hundred times before) and thought, wonder if I can do that?  And I did!   And I didn't plummet to a bone wrenching, neck snapping death as I once suspected I would.   I got on that balance board and held it steady with the strong core and lower body muscles I have been training for over a year.  Then I did some squats and kettle bell swings on it.  I really thought it would be a long time before I could do the balance board, but I guess I never realize how strong my muscles are getting.  I just like to go and workout.  :)

We all have days when we feel like we just can't win.   In those times, hit the gym and it will sure make you feel better.  Hit the gym often enough and amazing things start to happen.

"We're still struggling, just not that bad."

Whew!  It has been a busy kind of week.  Between a hectic week at work, the usual Christmas madness, the gym and being completely addicted to the Hunger Games series, I haven't been online as much.  So therefore I give you some high lights and observances of this week so far:

• An impending deadline caused me to miss my workout on Monday and I felt like crud because of it.
• Marisa doesn't take it easy on the Step class, even though its getting near to the holidays.  In fact I think that puts her even more in the "giving mood." I really might not be able to walk tomorrow.
• I said to Millie, while we did our bike-interval cardio on Tuesday, "This seems easier now than when we did it a few months ago.  I don't think we're struggling as bad."  As our intervals grew longer though, wise Florence said, "We're still struggling, just not that bad."
• Being super busy at work helps you keep out of all this food that is all over place.  Reminds me of the line from How the Grinch Stole Christmas where the Who's "feast and they feast and they feast, feast, feast, feast!"
• A couple of workout buddies have been sidelined with injuries. Sometimes your body insists on a rest.
• Looking at comparison pics is motivational!

Last Christmas

Saturday Night.

Games of Hunger

I'm currently reading The Hunger Games and cannot seem to put it down. Not giving away any of the story, but it involves a heroine who is taken from a desolate life where there is very little to eat to a gleaming capitol city to compete in a fight to the death. When she gets to the Capitol, she's given abundant amounts of rich, wonderful food and she definitely indulges in it, sometimes to the point of making herself sick, because she's used to a life of near starvation.

In Kickboxing today I started thinking about The Hunger Games and how it kind of translated to real life.   How many times have I indulged myself because I was at my favorite restaurant?  Or at a social get together where there were treats that I don't usually allow myself?  Or better yet, because it was Thanksgiving or Christmas?  As illogical as it is, a lot of times don't we approach food like it's the last time we're ever going to have an opportunity to have it? Or worse, ramp our calories back with some crazy fad diet that can't be sustained for the long run, until we finally break and over indulge like we're at our first feast at the capitol city.

Today I wasn't in an arena in a televised struggle to the death like in The Hunger Games, but this is still the fight of my life and I need to treat it as such.  That being said, I highly recommend the book.  I made sure I didn't bring it with me to work because I would have been tempted to skip the gym at lunch and use my hour reading.  Be warned if you decide to read it: it's highly addictive.

What Do You Do When You're Not Feeling It?

For one reason or another, today I just wasn't feeling it.  We all have those days.   Days when our bodies are tired and minds are busy and it seems like all our motivation went down the drain with the dregs of our morning coffee.  We all wish that we could wake up every day feeling like a rock star, but what do you do when instead you feel like an old lounge singer wearing the worst leisure suit in town? What do you do when you just don't feel it?

That was me today as I headed off to Step class. I was sore, tired and dragging. My problematic right quad, that seems to have a permanent strain, had me getting up from a seated position in a walk that started out like Frankenstein and ended up with a slightly less than normal half limp.  The Step routine today was new and challenging (which was awesome) but my legs started cramping halfway through and my workout pants were too long (turns out that happens when you lose weight, who knew?) so I kept tripping over them as I went up and down my step.  I just wasn't feeling it. But I kept going because:

• Quitting one time makes it all the more easy to quit the next time. 
• Any workout, even one where I'm not your best, is beneficial.
• Giving myself an out when I know I can keep going can create a snowball affect.
• If I'm moving, no matter what modification I have to make, I'm doing something. 
• Sometimes success means plugging away at something every day, so that on those days when I don't feel like working out, I just do it because that's my routine.
• Sweat always makes me feel better.
• Not even Mick Jagger is a rock star every day. Some days even he "can't get no satisfaction."

No Rest For The Weary

I would like to say thank you so very much to all of you for your kind comments, reading my blog, and celebrating the milestone of my first 5K with me.  All of these things motivate me and push me along the miles of this journey! I have had such overwhelming support and it is something I regard as a humbling blessing every single day.

A mood of celebration from the race was still in the air today as my Transformation girls and I met up in the gym for our workout.   We all still had a happy glow about us from our success on Saturday that probably won't wear off for a while.  We have faced many firsts together on this quest, and the 5K was an important milestone for sure. 

Changing out in our locker room, the race was the number one topic whether it was shared observances, how sore we were afterward, the level of laziness we achieved on Sunday, or wondering when the next 5K was, because we've all caught the fever.  There's no rest for the weary though, and soon we had to get to our workout.

Because we're junkies, we'd picked a tough one for today, starting out with ten push-ups followed immediately by a ten second plank, repeated five times without rest.  Yeah, our legs were trashed from Saturday so we'd decided to even it all out and take out our arms.  We followed this with ten squats followed by a ten second static squat, repeated five times without rest.  Ever want to see something funny?  Stand across from your friend,do this set, and look at the expression on their face. Hilarious!

Next up were several different exercises with weights, then a row-off on the rowing machine (where I actually beat Millie's 250 meter time for the first time ever, yes I said it!) because after months of doing this exercise, I've finally figured out how to engage my arms and legs at the same time efficiently.  Personally, I think Millie was off her game today, but I'll take a victory however I can get it!

Our workout wasn't over yet and we went on to do more weights, the elliptical, the rower again, and some other things that left us all a sweaty mess.  It felt so good, and even though we are gym veterans by now, I think having completed the 5K has made us all feel fully legit...like athletes. It just goes to show that you don't have to be the fastest one of the pack. Rocky Balboa didn't win his fight in the first Rocky movie.  He went the distance and that was his victory. I was the last person across the finish line Saturday...but I went the distance and that was as good as any Olympic gold medal to me.

First 5K!

Friends when I tell you that a year and a half ago I struggled to walk very short distances, I am not exaggerating in the least.  Just contemplating walking a mile seemed like something way way out of my hemisphere.  Then I changed my life and began slowly increasing my distance in quarter mile increments.  By my side was one of my trainers, Marisa, who would trick me into going a little further each time by making me think we were just going for a stroll and a little girl chat.

Last December I made a goal to do my work's annual 5K this year. I dreamed of having some numbers on my chest and crossing a finish line, as I'd cheered on runners at other races over this past year of getting healthy.  Still, it didn't quite seem real when I picked up my race packet yesterday and pulled out my very first race bib with the number 81 on it. 

Well, it was a day of miracles, the first being that I actually hopped out of the bed at 5:30 am on a freezing morning (or any Saturday morning really being the night owl that I am).  I thought I would be dragging, but I was pumped and ready.  Still, as I was getting ready to go, the old fears crept over me and I remembered all too sharply the way I used to feel walking: out of breathe and lower back cramping making me feel like I was involuntarily curling into the C position. I haven't felt like that in a long time but would that happen today?

I sucked in my fears and headed out to the race with my cousin Devon (who was doing it with me), my husband and my Momma who had made me a sign that said, "Go Mint!" (one of my numerous nicknames in the gym).  Immediately I ran into Marisa and my wonderful Transformation team mates and the excitement started to grow!

Ready for the race: Krysta, Emma, me, Flo and Millie

Flo, me, Devon, Mary, Millie, Krysta and Emma

Who would have thought we'd be doing this a year ago? Almost time to race!

The air was frigid, but our spirits were up as we pinned on our numbers. My nerves started to grow again though as we lined up, Devon and I at the very back.

Almost time!

 Then the countdown began and we were off!  I waved goodbye to my husband and mother and felt fear clench in my stomach, why the heck am I doing this, I can't possibly finish. I was scared friends.  Even though I've been working out for a year, have flipped a 365 pound tire 18 times in 100 degree weather, and completed a two hour Zumba marathon, the distance factor was wigging me out.  That and the police car that followed behind Devon and I as we were the last ones in the pack.

But, as Devon and I always do, we started talking and laughing and the first blocks went by.  Along the way awesome volunteers cheered us on through the streets of historic downtown Wilmington.  We went up and down some big hills that in the past I have avoided like the plague and refused to set foot on.  We walked all the way down and past a restaurant that a group of co-workers walked to once at lunch and when I heard that they did it, I thought never in a million years could I do it myself.  We navigated cobblestones, waved to people and dogs, played a little Tupac and danced a little bit, and commented on the beautiful gingerbread houses of the historic district - all the while escorted by our own police officer who was very encouraging. And I didn't have to stop once.   My breathing was fine and I didn't feel tired at all.  

Soon we'd passed the half-way point, then the two-mile point, and then were on the home stretch.  We turned the corner to begin the straight shot back to the finish line and off in the distance I saw Millie (who had already finished) and Marisa heading towards us.   My heart swelled and I started waving my arms at them and picked up my pace. Then Lakshmi joined us and Marisa told us to jog.   As we always do what our trainer says, we picked up the pace. 

I started to get winded and Millie said, "Come on girl!  Your husband and your mother are waiting for you!" I picked it up, then slowed back down.  Marisa said, "Come on jog! You can do it! I've seen you do some amazing stuff in that gym!"  I picked up my pace.  We got closer and I could see the crowd.  Then I saw my husband and mother and started grinning.   Next Mary and Flo joined us and I was surrounded by my trainer and my Transformation girls.  With them I know I can do anything!   The crowd cheered and my husband stepped out and joined my side and we all jogged in together.  My cousin Devon even said, "This is like something out of a Lifetime movie!"  It was all just as I had pictured in my head that it would be and when I started lagging, Millie hooked my arm in hers and Eric got the other.  When we got close to the finish line though, I dropped their arms and picked up my pace to finish on my own steam.

Coming in.

A little blurry, but check out the looks on their faces; love this team!

YES! First 5K, done!

There were a lot of tears of joy and hugs all around, and an amazing sense of accomplishment. My Transformation group looked around at each other as if to say, can you believe we did that?

With our trainers: Flo, Mary, Marisa, Jeff, me, Millie, Lakshmi and Devon. Look at how far we've come!

Today was a major milestone, and Devon was right.  It was like something out of a movie.  I seriously doubt anyone will ever make The Jennifer Minter Story, but if they ever do, today's scene will definitely be in it!