Crazy Busy and Loving It!

I'm still here. Really I am! But in the last six months I've gone from too much time on my hands to not enough hours in the day. Believe me when I say that not enough hours is WAY BETTER (especially for those who deal with depression) than too much time!

Gymnastics and how we got here
Ok, so Tucker was THRILLED with your comments about his video. Actually he was mad that I posted the video because it included his floor routine at the end, and he usually does so much better at floor. But he was completely blessed by what you had to say -- THANK YOU! Oh, Greg asked how my kids got into gymnastics. It was really by accident. When the kids were small, we purposely kept their activities minimal, figuring that playing in the backyard is just as important as developmental classes. We didn't even really have the kids in preschool, which in our area is a mighty risky choice. Anyway, we did put them in a little preschool gymnastics class when each of them turned 3 and they both really liked it. Both tried soccer and baseball, but neither sport really thrilled them. When he was 7, Austin was invited to be on the competitive team, which really took us by surprise. And Tucker started competing a little before he turned 7. And it's kind of evolved from there, to now Tucker practicing 15 hours a week, and Austin at 19 hours. I really do think both will stop at the end of this season, and while it makes me sad because they're both so good (I'll post video of Austin in a few weeks -- he's recovered enough to compete in San Francisco and Oakland), I really do look forward to the ease -- emotional, physical (no driving every night!), and financial -- that will come along with their decisions.

Fun, Fun, Fun
Ok, so Katie came and worked out last night. I was worried about it all day, which was why I couldn't write. Thoughts like, "What if I'm just a complete load of crap, and now I'm about to be found out?!" and "Why oh why don't they make "Younger/Thinner" spray or cream or something?" consumed me for much of the day. Turns out, though, that Katie's just as delightful in person as you'd expect from reading her weblog. Very down to earth. Very articulate. And so easy to spend time with. We talked and laughed and sweated and really had a great time. Then after she left, I had a million questions I wanted to ask, but never got around to asking, darn it! Maybe next time...

Busiest day yet
So yesterday I had clients at 8:30, 12:30, 5:15, and 7:15!!! All different. All fun! But where to fit workout in? I know the morning break would have worked well, but house needed straightening and laundry needed doing. So at 6:30, Tim and I did a Crossfit-ish workout from the Pentranek Fitness website. Here it is:

400 m run (about 1/4 mile)
50 box jumps
400 m run
50 burpees
400 m run
50 jumping pullups

I did it but it was NOT pretty! But I can tell I'm getting stronger, cuz the burpees, while still really really hard, don't wipe me out like they used to. Progress is what we're after, right?

Measuring progress
There has been lots of talk about measuring progress on the weblogs I read (which, someday, I'll post a list of -- if it weren't for Bloglines, I would never leave the computer!). And there are so many ways to use -- scale weight, measurements, body fat - caliper, body fat - Omoron, and the list goes on. Here's how I measure progress:

weight -- occasionally, although if it's down, I want to celebrate with treats, and if it's up, I want to eat cuz I'm bummed. So maybe not the best choice for me.

clothes -- how do they fit? This is a really good one for me. Although now I'm wearing fitness clothes most of the time, and elasticized clothing doesn't give a true picture of girth, you know? Note to self -- put on some real clothes every once in a while!

measurements -- about once a month or so I check waist and hips, and sometimes thighs, although I don't know if you're supposed to measure biggest part or somewhere else. (Anyone?) I have my own idea of what my waist and hips should not go over, so this is a good occasional reality check.

how I look -- if I can see a leg dent, and some definition in my upper body, and if there's a bit of a waist present, it's probably ok.

Actually these days I've been more active than ever before, what with training clients, doing my own workouts, and Cardio Coach. And I'm noticing more definition in my upper body -- somewhat like when I did Women's Tri-Fitness. So I guess I'm moving in the right direction, even though (true confession here -- don't read if you don't want to know...) last night's dinner was as follows:

2 slices of Alvarado Street bread with sunflower seed butter and honey
1 perfect Hostess cupcake
fresh mango slices and blackberries

Ok, anything else inside my brain? Ummmm, nope!
Leslie out.