Eating and Moving

Yesterday I decided to go for a smaller calorie deficit. Lobo is right -- a 2000 calorie difference between calories in and calories out is really tough, and I'm concerned that I'm setting myself up for a complete and total binge. So I ended yesterday with a 1200 calorie deficit, which is way more doable, although I have to say that even though I ate almost 2000 calories total, I was hungry virtually every second of the day. Here's what was on the menu:

Breakfast:
Protein & water
Fish oil capsule/Viactiv

Snack:
Smoothie at home of 1/2 banana, 1 cup blackberries, protein, water
1 ounce raw almonds

Lunch:
Yummy burrito
Fresh salsa
Apple

Snack:
Protein & water
Baby carrots
1 ounce raisins

Dinner:
3 oz chicken breast
Mixed greens salad (a LOT) with Newman's Own Light Balsamic Dressing

Snack:
Fiber One cereal & Vanilla Soy Milk
1 slice 7-Grain bread w/1 Tablespoon sunflower seed butter (YUM!) and 1 Tablespoon honey (double YUM!)

Macros:
Protein 28%
Carbs: 54%
Fat: 18%

On the workout side of things, I went to the gym in the morning. Did 100 pound leg press, doubles, singles, and played with tempo. Then did handstands and forward rolls. And then Cardio Coach on the ARC trainer. And last night while Tim and I watched Criminal Minds, I played around with crunches and plank variations for abs.

That's my accountability for yesterday. As much as writing all this down makes me feel bad for anyone who reads my blog (just look away if you're bored, ok?!) and doesn't want this level of detail, I will say that I did not impulsively buy a candy bar the other day because 1) I didn't want to enter it on the Apex website, and 2) I didn't want to have to include it in my stats.

One final thing -- I can tell I'm losing weight and getting into new territory that I haven't been in since the WTF competition in 2005! Waist, hips, and thighs are tighter, arm definition is more apparent, and I can see my abs more than ever. So even when I'm feeling a little deprived (like when rest of family had cinnamon rolls the other night and I had Fiber One and soy milk), I'm convinced that what I'm doing is working. Next weigh-in is Saturday...

Ridiculously happy things

It goes without saying that my husband and my kids are the best thing in my life, and they make me happy. And I really do believe that the most important things are NOT things. But you know how everyone has little things that make them a ridiculously happy? Well, here are a few of mine...

• Freshly sharpened pencils. Because I press so hard when I write, pencils get dull really quickly. So I love freshly sharpened ones (even though I always break off the very tip with the first word I write).

• My new pens. These are called Profile by Papermate, and they have nice fat tips (works well with the insane amount of pressure I put on writing instruments of all kinds!) and the ink colors are the colors of the pens. Aren't they cute?
  

• My trailer hitch cover. I drive a small SUV and it has a trailer hitch, and for the longest time I've wanted to get a hitch cover. But I don't want one that says the make of the car, or a boat propeller (because if you don't own a boat, it doesn't work, you know?). It was a happy day when I found this flower hitch cover. It goes great with my "Whatever you are, be a good one!" license plate frame!
  

• Marcia Brady on Celebrity Fit Club. I wanted to be Marcia in the worst way when I was growing up. I had long straight hair (as did nearly every other in the early 70s), and that's where the resemblance ended, but it didn't stop me from thinking she was the grooviest around. So I loved when I saw she would be on Celebrity Fit Club. But the little bit of it I watched with her in it had me a little nauseated, cuz she just a little too "Pollyana" for me. But I'll keep watching!

• Work Out. Again with the TV here, I LOVE to watch Work Out. The people are fascinating and the trainer/client interactions give me plenty of food for thought, as well as more ideas for future workouts.

• My front porch. Here's the picture:

Now let me tell you what I love about it. Let's start with the flowers. I have never had flowers like these because I've never known what to plant, and I'm way too cheap to buy more than a few 6-packs at $2.49, because annuals don't last. Well, we had someone come in and plant these and I can't tell you the pleasure I get from them.

Next up is the blue front door and the blue bench. I smile every time I see them. Again, ridiculous happiness.

Also, I love our house numbers. They're quirky and fun. And the windchimes make the most beautiful sound.

Finally, what you can't see in the big picture is Walter (Tucker named him), the front porch flying pig. Here's Walter in all his glory:

P.S.

I finished my training form and I'm so happy with it! If anyone knows how to post a word document in Blogger, let me know and I'll put it on the weblog. Otherwise, give me your email address and I'll send you a copy!

Checking in

Tracy's question regarding not logging fish oil or Viactiv ("What's the resistance about?") was a good one. And after doing some thinking (the resistance has to do with wanting to live in a fantasy world of food, where calories you don't want to eat, but eat for health, don't count, and where you get credited negative calories for all tempting foods you resist), I decided to enter both.

So I ended yesterday with a 2012 calorie deficit, taking in 1416, and burning 3428. Not surprisingly, I woke up in the middle of the night absolutely starving. Protein powder and water to the rescue, and I was back to sleep.

I really don't know if I want to write daily. Up till now, my weblog strategy has been this: I write if I have something to say and I have the time to say it. Which accounts for why some days I write 3 times, and then it's 3 days till my next update (which averages once a day, really!). But for today, yeah I'm writing.

Here's today's food log thusfar:

Breakfast:
2 servings protein powder (one in the middle of the night!)
fish oil capsule
Viactiv

Snack:
1 cup broccoli
1 cup carrots

Lunch:
my yummy burrito
fresh salsa

Snack:
PowerBar Protein Plus
2 oz wheatgrass juice
1 oz raisins

For dinner it's Baked Ziti. We're eating late (9:00 pm) tonight because Tim's golfing, and Austin has gymnastics till 8:30. The dinner strategy will be all about portion control, cuz I can tell that even though this is a new recipe, it's gonna be yummy!

Today's exercise was fun -- it was an hour-long hill walk with Colette! Great company, great weather, and a killer walk -- lots to love about that.

Accountability

So I'm back to logging what I eat in the bodybugg program. Turns out that just tracking activity, while keeping me on track for the exercise part of things, doesn't do much in terms of keeping calories in check.

But speaking of staying active and eating clean and stuff, what's up with how strange the scale is? The other day, I weighed 136.5 in the late afternoon. The next morning I was 138.5. (Maybe I'm weighing too often???) I think I'm going to weigh once a week, on Friday mornings.

Back to accountability (my mind is really scattered right now, I have some itchy insect bites that are not helping matters, AND my son is playing his favorite music [alternative rock] right next to me) I'm CONSIDERING committing to writing every day, and including what I ate, and my activity level. (Ok, got some Benadryl itch stuff, which should help.) What I will NEVER include in my food logs, though, are my one fish oil capsule per day (20 calories) and my one Viactiv calcium (also 20 calories). So any calorie counts are 40 calories low, and I DON'T CARE!

Calories burned: 3149 (will probably be 3300 by day's end)
Calories consumed: 1263 (this is way lower than normal -- I'm usually right around 2000 per day)

What I ate:
Breakfast: Protein & water
Snack: 2 oz wheatgrass
Protein & water
1 orange
Lunch: My yummy burrito (from Costco -- perfect in every way!)
fresh salsa
1 cup blackberries
Snack: 1 tablespoon Better n Peanut Butter
Dinner: 1/2 of a twice-baked potato (made w/broccoli, cheddar cheese, & milk)
fresh carrots
fresh tomatoes
Snack: 1 cup Fiber One cereal
1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk

As per the bodybugg website, my macro ratios (are you asleep yet?) are as follows:

Protein: 25%
Carbs: 58%
Fats: 17%

Hmmmm ... I don't know if I want to enter what I eat on the Apex website (although that's really easy to do) and THEN type it here. But if it helps to keep me on track.

Oh, other than the fish oil and the Viactiv, there's one more thing I ate today that I'm not posting. I found 4 Sweet Tarts in my car (they were still in the wrapper) and I ate them all. And Apex doesn't seem to have Sweet Tarts listed in their foods. What a rebel I am -- they were delicious!

The pictures I promised!

The camera made it home from Tim's trip safe and sound, and here are some pictures from our trip. I must confess that we're way better at taking pictures of our kids or whole family pictures than we are at taking shots of the two of us. And I still long for a "younger/thinner" button -- but maybe everyone's super critical of what they look like in pictures, right?

This one was taken in Playa del Carmen. It was 90 degrees with what felt like 90% humidity. Thank goodness for Secret Clinical!!














Here's my handsome husband playing pool boy, with Pepsi Light and snacks. Does it get any better than this?














Another shot of Tim, who was an all-league water polo goalie in high school. He really saved the day for his team in Mexico too!














This picture was taken today, many hours after a workout, on a day when it seemed right to just stay in workout clothes to garden, do laundry, and putter around the house. And yep, that's the bodybugg on my right arm. I'm hoping today's calories burned is higher than yesterday's sitting on my butt number!

Observations and opinions

• Working at my desk on my husband's expenses, the never-ending papers from kids classrooms, and various piles of stuff does NOT burn many calories at all, as confirmed by my bodybugg yesterday.

• I love the idea of organic, vegetarian, chemical-free everything. But I also love Diet Mountain Dew, lots of caffeine, and artificial citrus scents, a la AirWick Sparkling Citrus plug-ins.
  

• Staying at home and getting a little bored, but not falling into the "my life is boring and I'm depressed" mindset is an awesome way to get lots and lots of the little stuff done.

• Sometimes (like right now) living in boyland is tough. Sometimes (like most of the time) it's delightful. What am I going to do about it? In a few minutes, Tim and I are heading to Costco, like everyone else in Placer County does on a Sunday afternoon.

• I'm really really happy the school lockdowns are over now that the man making the threats was apprehended. Turns out that the worst of it was Thursday, when coincidentally, I was at the elementary school from 11:00 till 2:20. I feel relieved to have been with one of my kids that day, even though I didn't know what was going on at the time.

• Lots of my on-line friends are using Tony of DreamBodies for on-line training, and are getting wonderful results. He has most of them drink an apple cider vinegar and lemon juice shot several times a day. I think (just my opinion) that the benefit of the acv/lj concoction is that it reminds you that you are on a program and helps you to stay on track. I'd be surprised if it actually has fat-burning properties. But (true confession) I occasionally mix myself the acv/lj concoction, just in case it really does do something magical!

• Next time I write, pictures!

The quickest update ever

1. Not accepting new clients because I need to get my "infrastructure" in place. Currently working on a training form (I'm having so much perfectionistic fun lining up the columns and centering the headings and deciding how it's going to look). Next project is tri-fold brochure. My business name is "Lift Personal Fitness Training" and the tag-line underneath the name is "A FRESH approach to fitness." FRESH is an acronym, but I can't decide on all the words. Here are the current candidates:

F = fun (no other candidates here, it HAS to be fun!)
R = rejuvinating? realistic?
E = energy-producing? encouraging?
S = supportive?
H = honest? holistic? HELP!!!

If you have any ideas, I'd LOVE to hear them!!!

Brochure will also include cancellation policy, rates, workout overview, and who knows what else.

2. (Ok, so maybe I lied about this being the quickest update every, as it's already getting long...) Here's last night's workout:

Run 1 mile (warmup)
5 rounds of:
20 ball crunches
20 pushups
10 pull-up negatives
10 lat pull downs
20 step ups (to a 16" step, using 15 pound weights)
20 kettlebell swings (20 lb kettlebell)

What I like about workouts like these is that I can do what I like (ball crunches, kb swings, step ups) in bigger sets, e.g. 60 kb swings cuz they're fun, and do what I don't like as much (pushups!) at the end. Or however I want to work it.

3. I have a problem that I need to work on, which is going to get its own post out of respect and seriousness. The problem is FAMILY DINNERS and I need to figure out a new way to do them (as opposed to pretending dinnertime doesn't exist!).

4. Bodybugg update -- I'm wearing it again, but trying something different. I want to see how it works if I don't enter my food, but just let the Apex program estimate how much I'm consuming, based on my activity, and my weight changes week-to-week.

Kristin asked for more info about the bodybugg. It's not bulky to wear (it's like wearing an iPod mini on your upper arm), and I actually like the feeling of it, because knowing I have it on reminds me to keep moving and to make good food choices. It doesn't buzz or make noise unless you set it to have reminders, in which case it does sound a chime or something -- not loud, not annoying. You can't get it wet, so you can't use it to track swimming calories, and you have to take it off when you shower. Overall, I'm impressed with it. I could see wearing it all the time while trying to lose weight, then wearing it one week out of every month just to stay on track.

5. School lockdowns -- Colette and I live within 10 minutes of each other, and I'm sad about what's happening here. We've opted to not tell our kids about the threats, because there is nothing they can do about it, and I don't want to make school frightening for them. With all that goes on in the world, the only things that make sense to me are to pray continually, love your family, and (yes, we're back to my favorite quote) "Whatever you are, be a good one!" Or as Ghandi said (another favorite quote) "Be the change that you want to see in the world."

Too much!

Don't ever take too many days off from writing in your blog, cuz then you have WAY TOO MANY THINGS swirling around in your head, and it gets overwhelming to even consider writing.

But I'm here. And I'm writing. I'm listening to "Father Figure" by George Michael -- guess I needed a late 80s fix. I also had 1/2 of a movie-sized box of Dots candy for dinner. I don't even really LIKE Dots, but there they were at the Circuit City cash register (electronics stores should NOT sell candy!) and I was hungry.... Guess I'll use the sugar to fuel tomorrow's workout.

Ok so yeah, MATT, I did go somewhere, and that somewhere is Mexico! We stayed at Adventure Spa Palace in Playa del Carmen. The resort was huge and everything was included, from the bottled water and Pepsi Light (hooray!) to the upside-down bottles of tequila, rum, and whiskey in your room (wasted on us, as we are non drinkers!). It was a work trip, so Tim had some meetings to attend, and one day rather than working out, I laid in a hammock for about 3 hours and read a book -- sheer heaven! (The book, "Eat, Pray, Love" is wonderful, and I finished it on the trip. Lots to think about and re-read from the author's year-long trip to Italy, India, and Indonesia.)

We only took a few pictures, but Tim took the camera to Palm Springs where he's golfing this week, so I can't post them yet. But I have to tell you about a nice compliment I received. We went to the fitness center. Tim was on the treadmill, and I was in the group exercise room. I'd found a jump rope, and I was doing circuits of jumping rope, jumps onto the stage (at about 20" tall, this was the hardest thing), pushups, and dips. One of the instructors approached me, and said in heavily accented English, "You like the fitness, right?" I said, "Yes, I do like fitness." He said, "I hope you do not mind if I say this, but you have a beautiful body." Note to any 20-something guy who wants to say anything nice to a 40-something : bring it on, baby! Then he repeated the compliment, and left, and I attacked my workout with a vengeance.

It was easy to eat well on the trip, if eating well includes chocolate with every dinner (and to my way of thinking, it does!). Fresh fruit and eggs for breakfast. Salad and salmon for lunch. But traveling 12 hours one day, to stay 2 days, then repeating the travel route the next day was a little too much for me. So on the return trip, I ate anything I wanted to, in a deliberate conscious effort to numb my feelings. And it worked.

But now I'm back on the wagon, so to speak (minus the Dots of tonight's dinner). And I'm putting on the bodybugg again tomorrow, hoping to get into the low 130s by summer.

In non-fitness stuff, I'm attacking a couple of organizing projects that have things strewn around everywhere. Actually, it's just one project that I'm tackling, and it's called "my books." I LOVE books. My husband thinks I have an Amazon addiction, but I think addiction is a very negative word. I just like presents. And when UPS comes to the door with a present, well it's really a happy thing.

Ok, so seriously, I do have lots of books. Virtually all of them are non-fiction. I read at least 1/2 of each of them, and because they're non-fiction, I re-read them. But I've never taken the time to categorize them and make them available in a non-secretive sort of way. So that's what I'm working on, and doing it while Tim's gone is perfect, because I've got them scattered all around our bedroom in piles (fitness, parenting, organization, cookbooks, vegetarian/raw eating, and spirit are the names of the biggest piles). Tim's a little (LOT) more organized than I am, so having piles of books around the perimeter of the bedroom probably wouldn't make him a happy guy, so this is a good project to tackle while he's gone.

When I write next I'll explain why I'm not accepting any new clients at this time (no, I'm not training like 100 people or anything -- and it's really a good thing too!), and start to put down my thoughts on how I'm going to train for the Nike half-marathon (I'm SO excited!!!).

I'm back!

Just a quick note to say I'm back. Will write in the next day or so.

Hasta la Vista!

I'm off to Mexico in the (very early -- 4:30 am!) morning, heading to Playa del Carmen with my main man! So today is feeling crazy as I prepare to be gone for (are you ready?) FOUR WHOLE DAYS AWAY FROM MY KIDS! Gosh, with the internal turmoil I feel, you'd think we were leaving for four months. Breathe in. Breathe out. Sip Diet Mountain Dew. Repeat. :)

Yesterday's workout was FUN! It was the kids last day of spring break, so again I took them to the skate park. But this time I brought 4 of my weight bags (10 pounds each) and my backpack. And I did every variation of lunges, squats, deadlifts, pushups, and dips that you can think of. I've been taking Glutamine before each and every workout for the past week and a half, and today I'm not very sore, which is shocking because the workout was HARD! So maybe Glutamine helps with recovery??? Two things are noteworthy from yesterday: 1) I did 2 LONG sets of squats using all 4 weight bags. 2) I did 10 pushups (hands on a bench, so elevated, but still) with 20 pounds of weight in my backpack. That made me feel STRONG!

On the bodybugg front, I don't know if it's the accountability, or the twice a day workouts most days, or what, but I've dropped three pounds and all my clothes are loose, which is a great way to feel when you're heading out of town. Am I taking the bugg on vacation? Heck no!

Anything else? Guess not. Be good and enjoy spring!

I'm IN!

Just found out tonight that I got chosen for the Nike Women's Half Marathon!!! My excitement is only slightly diminished by the bodyslug saying I only burn 4.9 calories per minute when dancing wildly through the house and jumping on the couches. It feels like TONS more!

October 21st, I'm running 13.1 miles in San Francisco, and I am SO wearing the Tiffany finishers necklace with pride!

Good things

1. After a completely discouraging Wednesday where my kids couldn't find a single thing they liked about each other, which made me want to turn in my mom badge and run away, yesterday was a good day.

2. I've found an amazing deodorant. Much as I wish I was one of those s who "glows" when she exercises, that's just not me. When I saw the ads for Secret Clinical Strength I decided to give it a try, and it works!

3. My 11-year-old client is doing great. In fact, her mom told me that her friends and family are noticing that she's losing weight. I am SO proud of her! And I've found a great way to train her -- we work out together. No, this isn't a way for me to sneak in some more activity, I promise! But the "you do pushups, then I do pushups" strategy really seems to work. Lots of laughter, lots of fun.

4. The class at Whole Foods was really good. (Greg -- I can't believe you almost went to that class and live there. That's where I grew up, and my parents are still over by Rio!) The instructor was vegan and eats almost 100% raw, but was NOT a freak about it, which was so very nice! She talked about enzymes in our food and why it's important to eat as much raw food as you can. Based on her recommendation, I tried soaking my raw almonds (to remove the bitter brown coating that denatures their natural enzymes) and plan to keep doing that. And I'm becoming more aware of eating fruits and veggies. If only I didn't have a nagging suspicion that Diet Mountain Dew is probably not full of enzymes and recommended in a whole-foods diet!

5. Bodybugg is still going well. After a week of averaging an 800 calorie deficit per day (eating around 2000, burning 2800 - 3000), my waist is more defined, thighs are leaner, and I'm feeling a little tighter all over. But my weight had not changed a bit. So I decided (after reading several blogs where people are doing this) to try a fiberous carb day yesterday. It was hard, but doable. Calories were right around 1300 and carbs were under 100 g. I didn't die of hunger. And the scale was 3 pounds lighter this morning. Which proves that so much of our weight is based on the water we hold. It was nice to see a dramatic scale change, but since I just had 1/3 of a cup of oatmeal, and plan to drink lots of water (as always) today, I'm sure the low weight won't last. Maybe I should have taken a picture...

6. Speaking of pictures, I WILL take pictures in Mexico and post them.

7. Matt, your comment just cracked me up! I plan to tell each and every client that my workouts come with the "Brit-man seal of approval!"

8. I got to talk to Eileen! We email back and forth when blog posts and commenting aren't enough, and last night we got to talk. I called during the worst possible time for a mom -- late afternoon when the kids are usually hungry and tired -- so shame on me, because I knew it might not be ideal. But we got a few minutes on the phone, and it was just so nice to hear her voice -- hooray!

More Bugg

To finish the story of Saturday, after spending about an hour together, Rex asked if I was interested in kayaking. I told him I like it (we've done it in Hawaii), but the setup time -- loading boats, getting to the river, etc. -- is hard for me to justify. He said he'd asked because he's putting together a summer program called Tru Adventures, and wants a woman trainer to join the group. He said I'd be paid for my time and asked if I was interested. I told him to keep me posted.

It felt great is that he would even mention the possibility of us working together. And it made me feel like a REAL FITNESS TRAINER!!!

Speaking of being a real trainer, I have two new clients starting in the next two weeks, and one of them has trained at two different places before, both of them with good reputations, both in the area. So I'm nervous, because I really want her to like what I do, but at the same time, I know WHY I do things the way I do them and I just keep thinking, "If I build it, they will come!" or something along those lines.

In other training news, I bought a digital bodyfat caliper system, so I'll be able to track progress. And I'm working on a goal setting form to help clients get where they want to be.

(Sorry if this sounds distracted -- I just broke up a neat fight between my kids and am listening for any low rumblings in the background. When I started typing, there were 6 kids playing together outside, and I thought I was going to have a few minutes to get thoughts down.)

In Bodybugg news, I am finding that I'm very aware of how much I move, and how much I eat, because of wearing the bugg. I think I'm averaging about a 650 calorie per day deficit, which equals a little more than a pound a week. One thing that's hard is logging foods you don't know. At the class last night, we sampled everything, and I couldn't really say how much of one thing or another I had. So I just estimated the best I could. I am getting a pretty clear idea of what it feels like to eat less than you're burning, and with Mexico just a week away, that's a good thing.

Well, gotta run. My stomach's rumbling, and there's a burrito with my name on it calling me...

We interrupt this regularly scheduled life...

...so the kids can be on Easter vacation.

Still using the bodybugg and still loving it. The awareness it creates is probably the best thing. It's like you can no longer go "I don't eat hardly anything, and I exercise all the time, but I can't seem to lose weight." Nope. It doesn't work that way.

Tonight I'm going to a cooking class called "Raw, Healthy, Fit and Fabulous!" at the Whole Foods Market in Sacramento. I'll be sure to share any epiphanies regarding food. And if I ever find more than 5 uninterrupted minutes in my day, I'll continue with the story of Mr. BodyBugg and how I kinda got offered a weekend job this summer!

Lovin' the Bugg

So wearing a BodyBugg feels a little like being in a giant pinball game. While microwaving water for tea today, I did some "skin the cats" on the rings (our microwave is in the garage since our kitchen remodel -- no I do NOT have rings in the kitchen!) because I knew it would increase my calories burned total. And I'm tempted to do just random stuff like jump up and down (which I did while I waited for my flat iron to heat up) just to maximize my number.

I've been wearing the bb since lunchtime Thursday. Thursday night as I wrote, Tim and I did the Crossfit workout. Friday morning I did CardioCoach on the ARC trainer. Then Friday night Tim wanted to go to the gym, so I went with him and did some handstands (fun, and didn't seem to hurt today!), then walk/ran the hill by the gym for 30 minutes. And THEN (yes, it's been an active few days, to be sure) this morning I took a Les Mills BodyPump class at Tru Fitness, the gym where Mr. bb (aka Rex) works. Although it's not the main subject here, I was VERY impressed with the BodyPump class, and if you live in Placer County and want to join a seriously upscale NIIIIICE gym, Tru Fitness is great!

After the class (which Rex took as well), I had my second bb appointment, the one where I actually get to see how many calories I burn. I was nervous, mainly because I was afraid I'd get all weird about seeing my actual expenditures (e.g. "If CrossFit doesn't burn a million calories, then I'm not doin it!"). Turns out I'm a very active . The bugg says I burned 3248 calories on Friday. That's a ton of calories, and it may explain my little departure into the brownie batter last night. I'd eaten well all day, but I felt HUNGRY -- I had breakfast, I had protein and water, I had almonds, I had fruit (all this before lunchtime) and I COULDN'T BE SATISFIED! But the choices stayed clean, albeit with huge quantities, until last night. We were watching "The Pursuit of Happyness" and I could not get my mind off the brownie mix in the pantry. After resisting for an hour, I made the batter, complete with oil and eggs, then filled a ramekin, grabbed a spoon, and dug in. So the long and the short of it is that I'm sure I made up for any potential calorie deficit with my brownie-fest. But the good thing is that I actually understand why I was so hungry, and maybe next time I can plan for it better. Didn't someone smart and famous say that knowledge is power?

(Gosh I wish I had some pictures to break up all these words!)

Then we were on to the bodyfat testing. Apex (makers of bb) use a Skyndex caliper, and before he tested me, Rex and I had a discussion on how inaccurate bodyfat testing is. He said virtually any measurement is "plus or minus 5%". My question was, "So why do it at all? What good does knowing your number do?" He had a good answer. He said that knowing your percentage doesn't mean anything, unless you're using it as a reference point to see where you're going (like comparing measurements). He also said that it lets you evaluate absolute bodyfat, so if your tricep measurement was a 5 and now it's a 4, you're dropping bodyfat. Ok, I'll buy that.

For the actual test, there were settings based on your age for women. Rex said he would use not a #9 for me (which correlates to my actual age) but a #7, which would be used for younger women. I have no idea why he did this, but it made me feel happy, so I was good with it. After telling me that the Skyndex tends to measure athletic people like me (!) 4 - 6% higher than our true bodyfat, he told me I am at 20% bodyfat. I can say that his skin pinches didn't hurt, whereas Darla's left a couple of small bruises, which may account for the higher reading. You know what, though? I'm happy with my number. It gives me a point of reference, and now I can see where my nutrition and exercise take me.

I've run out of computer time, so the rest will have to wait till tomorrow. If you actually took the time to read this way-too-long diatribe, thank you. But if you're up to HERE with BodyBugg info, be warned that there will probably be a few more posts about it in the near future, cuz I'm really digging my new toy!

Hi and answers

Matt, as always, your words encourage -- thank you!
Colette, I miss you! Do you want to borrow a book anytime soon?
Eileen, I value your friendship so much.
Katie, thanks for being you!
Stacy, hanging knees to elbows is where you hang from a pull-up bar and try to bring your knees up to your elbows, using your abs.
Laurie, Pamela, and Evelyne -- keep up the great work. I love following your progress!
Tracy, there was as little rest as possible in the CrossFit workout -- just enough to barely catch my breath. Mine sets were all broken, so like the burpees were done in five sets of 10, the wall ball was in 2 sets of 25, and so on. I don't do workouts that intense very much -- maybe once a week? Oh, and it took me about 35 minutes to complete it.

Hell

Instead of doing 5 CardioCoach workouts or something easy like that, Tim (who is back from Pebble Beach -- hooray!) convinced me to do today's CrossFit workout. I don't know what CF calls it, but my nickname for it is "hell!" Here it is:

50 burpees
50 wall ball shots (using 16 pound med ball)
50 push press (I used 18 pound Body Bar)
50 walking lunges
50 double unders (yeah, right -- I did 200 regular jump rope jumps)
50 box jumps (20" box)
50 kettlebell swings (I used 20 pound kettlebell)
50 hanging knees to elbows
50 back extensions
50 jumping pullups (my arms were so fried that I didn't even attempt these -- felt it would be unsafe)

I think the BodyBugg will show a million calories burned for sure!

Oh, and I started my day with the Cathe DrillMax DVD. I mostly liked it. I'm not that into step though, so the few step intervals were kinda "meh" for me, but I really liked the intensity of the workout, how she changed the tempo of the exercises (like doing plie squats where you go up-down-up-hold, then down-up-down-hold) and the variety. But maybe I'm just stuck in the 80s, cuz I'm truly a FIRM Believer at heart!

Bugg-ed!

Got it! Met with Mr. BodyBugg today and I'm now wearing a BodyBugg on my right arm. Wearing it makes me want to go and do CardioCoach, like five times, or run hills or something!

hi

I have a few free minutes and thought I'd just start typing and see what comes out. So what's going on here? Well, I trained a client this morning, then did CardioCoach CL at the gym, then trained a second client, and now it's almost time to pick the kids up.

Last night I was folding laundry and I was cold. So rather than put on a sweatshirt, I grabbed a kettlebell and did swings until I got warm.

I'm waiting on a Cathe Friedrich DVD -- Drill Max -- that I'm looking forward to trying.

I haven't done handstands in a couple of weeks because my shoulders and elbows have been aching. So I'm following my rule ("Don't be stupid. Do SOMETHING!") and trying to give my joints some recovery time. I miss being upside down, though.

Still don't have a BodyBugg because Mr. BodyBugg hasn't called me back. I need to try him again and make this happen.

Hugs to everyone who's taken the time and energy to write comments.

Tired legs, happy heart

Today's workout was an hour-long run, broken into two parts. The first part was 30 minutes listening to an interview with Jim MacLaren about his first accident, his second accident, and how he continue to choose living. The interview was part of the CardioCoach CL workout. I don't have the words to describe the respect and admiration I have for Jim, or the impact listening to the interview had on my entire being.

The second part was the first 30 minutes of the CardioCoach CL workout. Quite a butt-kicker. One of the challenges is this, repeated 5 times:

1 minute hill
30 seconds rest
1 minute sprint
30 seconds rest

I know it sounds strange to do "hills" while running on the street, but it does work. The music's tempo slows down and you just try to push harder with each step.

The intensity of CardioCoach, combined with mostly clean eating, is causing some visible results, according to Tim. I should check the scale at some point, but I can feel my clothes fitting with ease and I can tell that my trouble spots (we all have them!) are less troublesome. I think it's the intensity of the workouts. They're HIIT, but they go on for anywhere from 30 minutes to almost an hour. And what's interesting about sprinting is that it works your arms and your abs, which is not surprising when you consider the mechanics of sprinting, but is not what I expected. Happy surprise, right?

Weekend update

In no particular order, here's what's on my mind this weekend:

1. Both kids have decided to continue with gymnastics. How do I feel about that? Mixed. I stayed and watched almost 2 hours of practice last night, and my heart just swells with pride for how hard they work and what they can do. But truly, gymnastics at these levels changes a family. Any sport where you practice 15 - 20 hours a week year round would change a family. So I was looking forward to an easier schedule and more family time. But if this is what my kids love to do, and they can balance homework and practice and still be happy kids, then I'll support it all the way.

One win-win from their decision? They're both attending gymnastics camp at Stanford for a week this summer. It's a great opportunity for both of them and their coach is supportive of it. And me and Tim? Guess we'll be enjoying AN ENTIRE WEEK of just the two of us here!

2. I really need to post more pictures to break up my text-heavy blog entries. If only I could find the "younger/thinner" button my my camera for shots of me!

3. I went shopping for the first time since meeting with Stephanie, the image lady, and it was so much easier! Before I was a drive-by shopper -- in desperation I'd just grab anything that looked like it might kinda work, buy it, try it on and home, then return most of what I'd gotten. (Yeah, I'm sure salesclerks loved me!) What I really wanted was a uniform, cuz I hated to shop and hated to figure out what I was going to wear. That's changed now. What I learned from Stephanie was to really LOOK at what you are considering -- the color, the fabric, the cut, the details -- not to just go "ok, so it's a white shirt and I need a white shirt so GOOD!" I came home with two dresses, two pairs of capris, three tops, and two pairs of shoes. And I had a 20% off card for for Macy's, so that was even better. And the best part? I am confident that there will be NO RETURNS and NO REGRETS because it's all going to work!

4. My hamstrings definitely felt the love from Thursday's workout. On today's agenda is running with Sean (CardioCoach). Temps will be in the mid to high 70s here -- perfect!

5. Tim's golfing Pebble Beach and staying at the Lodge Monday and Tuesday. I'm sending positive swing thoughts your way, Tim!

Keeping my mouth shut

Today's workout was a quick lower body circuit. I did 100 reps of:

Stiff-leg deadlift w/40 pound bar
Front squats w/12 pound bar (thighs breaking parallel)
Box jumps to a 16" box, straightening legs at the top

I did sets of 20, 20, 20, 25, and 15.

Finished with some decline abs and pushups on the Bosu. That's when I saw the woman on the inner-thigh machine. She looked like she had at least 30 pounds to lose. And I desperately wanted to go over to her and say, "Let me show you how to do squats!" I realize I only saw her for a few minutes. And the rest of her workout could have been lunges and squats and all sorts of valuable exercises. I also know that I have prejudice against the inner thigh machine, because I think it's such a waste of time.

It was hard, but I said nothing. But I'm still thinking about her.

Planning client workouts

I honestly love what I do, and one of the most intriguing parts is planning workouts. To me it feels like a giant Sudoku puzzle. Here's the thought process (using me as an example client):

Ok, so she's wanting to lean out for a vacation in a few weeks. So we need plyometrics to really get her heart rate up and burn calories. And she wants to tighten lower body and abs. But she said her left knee has been sore and twingey, so can't do huge knee flexion. We need to talk about emphasizing high fiber carbs, as in VEGETABLES, as the trip gets closer. And I want to check how her water intake is going. So what did we do Monday...?

Those are the things that swirl around in my mind as I'm considering what to incorporate in a workout. And then, of course, I want to do new exercises for interest, but enough "old" things so there's a sense of mastery and "I know how to do this one!"

So what do I use as resources? Anything and EVERYTHING! I watch what other trainers do at the gym. I watch exercise DVD previews and do exercise DVDs. I read books and magazines and articles. And I try to find the very best of the best.

One resource that I'm so excited about I could squeal is the show "Work Out" on Bravo. Season 2 started last night and it's taking every bit of my willpower to NOT be watching it right now. I don't always agree with what they do, or even like the training styles, but it's an insider look at the training industry and it's FASCINATING!

So far, so good

Both Monday and today I was at the gym before 6:00 am. I have a great deal of respect for the people who do the early morning workout thing, cuz it's not easy, but I sure liked cruising in the door this morning at 6:50, with a hard workout DONE! Last night I used my Val Slide (a paper plate on carpet, or towel on slidey flooring would work too) to do some squats and lunges, so the sprints of CardioCoach this morning were tough and had my legs feeling like lead. All I can say to that is GOOD!

Eating has been very clean and it feels great. The big question becomes this: why do I reach a tipping point where all of a sudden the temporary pleasure of simple sugars "win" over the longer term satisfaction of balanced eating? (That's a rhetorical question, cuz I know the answer: because I'm human!) But honestly, because simple sugars and refined carbs do such a number on my emotions, I've thought that a way to handle it would be to plan my diet as though I am allergic to candy bars/jellybeans/whatever the treat of the moment happens to be. Or pretend in my mind that I have diabetes, and eat accordingly. But the thing is that I know I'm not REALLY allergic or diabetic.

On another topic, Tucker wants to quit gymnastics because his coach has told him how hard he would have to work to get to the next level, and Tucker doesn't want to work that hard. And I wouldn't have a problem with it, but Tucker seems sad, and I don't know if it's because he thinks we're disappointed or if he's sad for what he's leaving behind or what. I wish kids came with instruction manuals.

Starting Over

So I'm starting over again. What went wrong? I let my emotions over a situation with the kids get the best of me and chose to cope by eating everything! Guess what? Eating everything doesn't help anything. Guess I had to find that out once again, right?

The weekend was spent at the gymnastics state championship meet. Yes, both of my sons qualified, which, yes, makes me a crazy proud mom. Tucker (younger son) competed on Saturday and took 13th place overall, out of the top 28 kids in Northern California. He took 2nd in vault, 5th in pommel, and 9th in floor. The high point of the meet was seeing him NAIL his floor routine, after a warmup where he was flat on his back or on his butt after every single tumbling run.

Austin competed on Sunday. With 2 months off of gym, a wrist that still is not 100%, and an ankle-twisting tumbling pass right before the competition started, he still managed to do all six events, and on pommel, he's almost back to his old self -- an amazing mixture of power and grace. We did get video, and when we get it on the computer, I'll be sure to share it!

Fitness-wise, it's tough to workout when you're sitting on your rear for hours and hours in a gym, but last night I did Cardio Coach #3 running outside, and this morning I did Cardio Coach #5 at the gym. Why 2 within such a short period of time? Well, I'm re-reading a book I love titled "The Power of Full Engagement." The basic premise is that we all need positive rituals that provide renewal and structure to our days. And my "I just work as hard as I can for as long as I can" approach has no rhyme or reason to it. So I'm going to try doing 3 early morning days at the gym per week as a way to start the day with intention.

Well, I have 3 clients workouts to plan, and it's only 30 minutes till I get to eat lunch -- hooray!

Quivering goo

Yep, I'm sitting here, a quivering mess of goo. Why? Well SST, of course! When Tim suggested we go while the kids were at gymnastics, I reluctantly agreed. But I was scared. Why? Cuz it's always really really hard!

Tonight's workout was as follows:
50 pushups, 50 air squats, 50 situps, 100 jump rope jumps
40 pushups, 40 air squats, 40 situps, 100 jump rope jumps
30 pushups, 30 squats, 30 situps, 100 jumps
20 pushups, 20 squats, 20 situps, 100 jumps
10 pushups, 10 squats, 10 situps, 100 jumps

I should mention that the workout comes after the 30 minute warmup, which has you sweating profusely and already feeling exerted.

Tim's time was 19:30 and mine was 20:50. I did the first 40 pushups "man style" but dropped to my knees for every single pushup after that. And I'm REALLY ok with it, cuz there's no way I could have done 150 boy pushups! But maybe someday? ... hmmmmm...

Countdown to Mexico

In 33 days, Tim and I will be flying to Mexico, just the two of us! I want to feel confident in a bikini, and feel like it's ok to indulge a bit. So it's time to create an actual plan, as opposed to the "I try to workout nearly every day and do whatever crosses my mind" non-plan that I've been following. Here are the elements I've come up with so far:

1. No eating after 9:00 pm. My usual m.o. is to eat cereal with rice milk within about 30 minutes of bedtime. As per Bob Greene's new best life book, it will not kill me to go to bed a little hungry. In fact, he's a proponent of a 7:30 cutoff time, but that's just a little too drastic for me to get my mind around.
2. 5 days a week of Cardio Coach. I did CC number 5 on the ARC trainer last night (HARD!), and did number 1 just running on the street today. Both were excellent workouts. There's a part in #5 where he's talking about a lion and a gazelle, both of whom are fighting for survival, and at the end of a challenge, he inquires, "Chase or be chased?" My immediate answer was "I run my own race!" It felt empowering.
3. 3 days a week of strength training. This will include pushups, pullups, kettlebell swings, thrusters, step ups, and anything else that will help to build muscle.
4. Weekly progress checks. I will weigh myself once a week, and based on results, may adjust program as needed.
5. 5 vegetables a day. I'm getting a lot better about eating fresh stuff, but upping the non-starchy carbs has NEVER moved one in the wrong direction in terms of weight, at least not that I'm aware of.
   
6. (This is the most exciting one!) I'm getting a Bodybugg! There's a trainer at a super nice club in Roseville who is the Bodybugg guy. I've already talked to him once about using the Bodybugg for my clients so they can get an accurate picture of how many calories they're burning. So I'm calling him tomorrow, and hoping to have one by the end of the week. He claims I won't want to give mine up, and that he wears his all the time. We'll just have to see about that, but I am confident that it will help to know what I'm burning. (Stacy, you'll get your turn right after Mexico!)
   

Snowboarding support

We headed to Northstar today, along with approximately 9000 other people (that's capacity, and I heard they did close the park!). I did NOT want to go. Why?

• I didn't even bring my board, because a whole bunch of little aches and pains would only be exacerbated by snowboarding.
• My confidence on the board is shot after taking a whole season off.
• I had a million better things to do than sit in the lodge and do nothing while my family was having fun.
• I didn't want to be the support crew!!!
  

Somehow I managed to get past my ty mood and decided to make a contribution and try to make the best of the trip (a la The Secret -- what you focus on really can happen). And the day turned into an awesome day in so many ways.

• I parked the car a mile and a half from the resort and had a beautiful walk back, listening to Windham Hill music and loving the snow, the trees, and the sunshine.
• Sitting in the lodge I took the time to read two wonderful books about how to eat -- books that I've owned for quite some time, but never taken the time to really investigate.
• I got to be a part of all the fun Tim and the kids had, by hearing about their accomplishments and just by being there.
• I shared my table with a man who was interested in what I do for a living.

So, let's talk about that last one for a minute. This man -- maybe in his 60s -- was standing against the wall, reading a huge boring work-like document. I offered him a seat, and he gratefully accepted. After a few minutes, he asked me if I was studying for something, and I told him I was a newly certified personal trainer and so yeah, I guess you could say I was studying. He asked me a few questions, then we went back to our reading. Then a few minutes later, more questions -- what does it take to be certified? what kind of clients do you have? What ensued was a really nice conversation about fitness and health and kids and grandkids (he was there with his wife, daughter, and grandson), and so on.

The reason I bring this up is that when I was "just a housewife", people didn't know how to talk to me. I attended parties on more than one occasion, and felt invisible and mute. Much of this may have been my own doing -- I'm somewhat shy in groups of people I don't know. But the point is that something very cool happened today, and it would not have happened if it wasn't for my new profession. And that, friends, felt great!

My final "good thing" of the day was my slow jog (1-1/2 miles at 7000 feet altitude is HARD) back to the car, which I drove right to the snowbooted feet of my family at the bottom of Home Run. On and at In N Out for dinner, I ate exactly 1/2 of my cheeseburger, and 7 french fries -- victory!

Handstand envy

I am really happy with my handstand progress. When I first tried doing one in December, I couldn't even muster up the courage to kick up by a wall. I was not sure if my historically unstable shoulder would even support my bodyweight. So I've come a long way since then. But I've found two videos that are giving me total handstand envy. If you want to check them out, click here, then scroll down till you find the entry titled "press handstand videos." I can just TASTE how much I want that to be ME pressing up to handstand.

Comments, field trips, and websites

It is so encouraging when anyone reads what I write, but to have someone take the time to comment -- that's like the icing on the yummy cake that is Blogger! So big thank you's to everyone who took the time to write words of encouragement or advice -- it is much appreciated!

Greg directed me to a wonderful video on the Crossfit website about handstand/forward rolls. Thanks so much Greg! Over the weekend I got some one-on-one coaching from the owner of my kids' gym. As was shown in the video, he recommended doing candlesticks to train the body to go from handstand into forward roll, instead of from handstand into back splat, which is what I was doing!

Oh, one more note for Greg -- I'm planning to take some fitness field trips this spring, and BodyTribe is on my list of places to check out.

Fran stopped by which was very cool! Fran's workouts are a lot like mine, but harder -- check out her weblog here. Wish she lived closer!

Back on the subject of field trips, I also want to go to Palo Alto to visit Girya Kettlebell Training. As I mentioned a while back, I'm fascinated with kettlebells. I'm also fascinated by Tracy, who with her husband, owns Girya. Tracy has lost over 100 pounds in the last year or so and has managed to keep it off (!). The story of her weight loss is here, and her weblog is here.

Another website to check out is Simplefitness. This was created by a CrossFitter who wanted to simplify the CrossFit workouts for his friends and family. It truly is simple and he's done a great job of articulating not only what will work for fitness, but also some great (simple!) guidelines for nutrition.

Hello to Matt, Evelyne, Eileen, Katie, Erica, Jen, Laurie, Miss Petite America, Pamela, Colette, and anyone who I forgot to mention, cuz my head, although less pillow-ey today, is still not 100%. It is so fun to be a part of this virtual community of great people!

ThinkTQ.com

I found this website as I find all things interesting -- by poking around and following links on the internet. And while I'm not ready to wholeheartedly endorse the website, I thought I'd pass on something I've been reading every morning and every evening that I found through Think TQ:

Here are the 10 choices you must make each day, each hour, even each minute, to GUARANTEE that you are on the road to GREATNESS... rather than heading down the road to MEDIOCRITY:

1. Choose to be ENERGETIC—instead of permitting yourself to become run-down and burned-out.

2. Choose to be PASSIONATE—instead of permitting yourself to become aimless, apathetic and indifferent.

3. Choose to be ENTHUSIASTIC—instead of permitting yourself to become half-hearted and discouraged.

4. Choose to be SELF-DIRECTED—instead of permitting yourself to become directionless and uncertain.

5. Choose to be PREPARED—instead of permitting yourself to become shortsighted and reactive.

6. Choose to be FOCUSED—instead of permitting yourself to become scattered and impulsive.

7. Choose to be SUPPORTIVE—instead of permitting yourself to become critical and judgmental.

8. Choose to be SYSTEMATIC—instead of permitting yourself to become haphazard and disorganized.

9. Choose to be TIMELY—instead of permitting yourself to become distracted and preoccupied.

10. Choose to be PROACTIVE—instead of permitting yourself to become procrastinating and hesitant.

With the right tools, you can learn to make these clear choices consistently and automatically. No question, it comes down to identifying exactly what's holding you back from being Energetic, Passionate, Focused, etc.—and ELIMINATING the root-cause—by choosing to take smarter ACTIONS.

Ok, me here again. I think what I like the most out of what they write is the word "choose." It truly is my choice as to how I engage life, and how we all engage our lives. And that's a very very good thing, isn't it?

Back to the land of the living

My 10 hours of sleep did me good, and I'm back to the land of the living. Hooray! It feels so great to have energy and enthusiasm again!

Over the weekend my health and my healthy eating went down the drain, though. So I headed back to the gym today feeling fluffy and self-conscious, even though I know logically that two days of indulgent eating haven't made that much of a difference. I'm staying away from the scale till next week, though!

As usual, today's workout was a mishmash of all sorts of things I think are fun.

Handstands: about 5 minutes of handstand practice, including some attempts at handstand pushups.
T-pushups: where you do a full pushup, then shift your bodyweight to one arm and rotate so you're supporting yourself on one arm and both legs, with the other arm facing the ceiling (3 sets of 10)
Endless rope: 3 - 1 minute sprints -- HARD!!!
Front squats: 3 sets of 10 with a 24 pound body bar
Overhead squats: 3 sets of 10 with a 24 pound body bar
Lunge walks: 1 song's worth by the pool
Plank play: spent about 3 minutes in plank, playing with lifting a foot, bringing a knee in, etc. At end, abs were shakey, and that's all that matters, right?
Weight swings: 25 pound weight, 100 swings

I can tell that my energy isn't at 100% but just the fact that I wanted to workout is huge progress!

My head is a big pillow...

...but otherwise everything's ok. I'm battling a nasty head cold, using the time-tested formula of lots of vitamins, lots of Diet Mountain Dew, and lots of kleenex. I'd write more, but at the moment all I can think about is going to sleep. Yeah, I know it's only 8:10. Nighty night!

And the half marathon is...

...sold out. :(

Guess I'll have to find a different challenge. :)

Rock bags and Nike Marathon

The rock bags were a big hit yesterday. I put all nine of them at the base of the stairs. Initially I thought I'd have her bring all nine to the top of the stairs, but after just one trip up the stairs, it was evident I'd have to break it into sets. So I had her bring 3 bags up, then had her pull 3 bags (one at a time, sitting on BOSU), and then had her do a set of 10 counter pushups (using the counter in my laundry room, which is right next to the training room.) We did that sequence 3 times. She enjoyed it, and we'll be doing that whole sequence again!

So the Nike Women's Marathon and Half-Marathon is accepting registrations tomorrow (March 2) starting at 10:16 am. It's in San Francisco on October 21st (October is the best time to visit SF!). The course is supposed to be great. And you get a Tiffany-designed necklace and a special Nike technical t-shirt as your swag! Does anyone want to run with me? Irene is signed up (people who have run it before can sign up today -- lucky Irene!). My neighbor is signed up (lucky Jan!). I'm signing up for the half marathon -- I just don't have the desire to train for 26.2 miles. Well that and I just got back from running 7 miles and it was HARD!!! So yeah, 13.1 sounds about right. :)

Kickstands, handstands, and the Sacramento Kings

Kickstand lunges

Because you only use your back foot for balance, they feel a lot like pistols (single-leg squats) -- at least the top part of a pistol. The next day my entire lower body felt exerted, but it's hard to say which exercise hit which part. I love variations on lunges and squats, because especially for women, they seem to work the entire lower body in perfect proportion, as opposed to doing isolation exercises. Just my opinion though, and everyone has an opinion!

Handstands

So I got brave and tried handstands out in the great wide open (translation: not against a wall). Didn't go so well. I couldn't get my body to go into a forward roll, so I landed nearly flat on my back five times in a row. Yeah, it hurt a little -- thank goodness for the spongy flooring by the rock wall at my gym! Austin gave me a tip last night -- try to look at your toes as you come out of handstand. I'll let you know how that goes.

Also, I've found a few online bloggers who are working on handstands!!! I'm NOT the only one! One of these days I'm going to post links of what I read, and you'd better believe my fellow handstand people will be listed!

Sacramento Kings

Tim and I got to go out on the town last night. We headed to Bistro Midtown (Susan, if you're reading -- you'd LOVE IT! The design concept is strong and extends to every single aspect of the restaurant!) for dinner. Tried the Kobe mini-burgers as an appetizer, had salads and then split an order of salmon for dinner. Kings were on FIRE, and we had really good seats which made the game even better. And Mike Bibby was unstoppable on his three-point shots!

Bad news -- weighed myself this morning, and I'm over my own personal threshhold weight (possibly due to last night's eats), so it's time to tighten up the diet.

Getting Intentional

I think it's actually time to get intentional about life in general. Having a plan would be a good thing, rather than "Ummmm, I want to exercise, so what do I want to do?" every single time I workout. Having a food plan would be a good thing too. That's what I'm going to be working on in the next few days, and I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Kickstand lunges

I forgot there was one more exercise in my evening 20 minute circuit: kickstand lunges. Check them out here. I did them with a 20 pound kettlebell. Ouch!

Workout in two parts

This morning I spent about 20 minutes at the gym. Here's what was on the fitness menu:

Handstand practice
Forward roll practice -- I can now kind of do a dive roll, which simulates what it will be like to go from handstand into forward roll, and I can come up on my feet every time -- progress!
Endless rope -- 6 - 1 minute "sprints" where I tried to get the rope around 7 times in under a minute (there's a black piece of tape on it so you can tell when you've pulled the whole rope through)
Box jumps -- 5 sets of 20 jumps
Negative pullups -- 7 of them REALLY slow

Tonight I worked out with Tim for 20 minutes. He did a Crossfit workout -- 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats. I did my own kind of workout with these elements:

Kettlebell swings -- 2 hands, 20 pounds
Kettlebell swings -- 1 hand, 20 pounds
Sumo deadlifts -- 20 pounds
The move which has no name -- Holding the 20 pound kettlebell, squat on a BOSU, then lean back into a situp, then come forward into a really low squat, then stand up.

Oh, and I have something new to try with my 11-year-old client tomorrow. Over the weekend I made rock bags. Each bag is a gallon Ziploc filled with pea gravel and weighs 10 pounds. After sealing them, I covered them completely with duct tape, and altogether I have 90 pounds (9 bags) of weights. I envision using them for park workouts in the future, but tomorrow they'll be used for lat rope pulls. I tried these tonight with Tucker and he loved them.

So Tucker sat on the BOSU (unstable, makes abs work harder) and held the ends of a rope that was tied to a backpack that had 2 bags (20 pounds) in it. The backpack was about 20 feet down a hallway. He pulled hand over hand, until the backpack was right by his feet. Then he got up, took the backpack to the end of the hall, and did it again. Being Mr. Intensity, Tucker also tried pulling his own body weight by putting 7 bags on an upside down step. He dragged it about halfway and decided he was done. I'll let you know how it goes over tomorrow.

Appreciation

Thank you to everyone who wrote words of encouragement and understanding. What usually takes several days to dig out of feels like it's nearly gone. The writing helped because it exposed my secret. Then I practiced what I think of as extreme self care. I took all of my vitamins and ate healthy (instead of eating crap). I took a nap (!) (instead of loading up on caffeine). I listened to good music as I cooked dinner (instead of listening to my own whirling thoughts). Basically I did the opposite of everything that I would normally do. (Felt a little like George Castanza on Seinfeld when he decides his life will work better if he just does the opposite of his instincts!) Well, George may have been onto something, cuz it worked!

Again, it is with a grateful heart that I say "thank you" and "good night!"

Depression

So I'm trying something new, and that new thing is writing when I feel like I'm slidin' down the toilet bowl. Doesn't matter what causes it -- too little sleep? too much sugar? -- what matters is what I do when I'm there. I notice that my thoughts are extremely negative and very victim-ey, a la "my life is so hard" "nobody listens to me" etc. And my behavior changes to reinforce those thoughts e.g. taking out garbage in the pouring rain, thinking, "there are 3 guys in this house and yet here I am with the garbage." Did I ask for help? NO! Did I get to feel that my victim thinking was right? Oh yeah!

So normally when I feel like this I tell nobody, isolate, and grit my teeth as I make it through. This time, I'm staying aware of my thoughts, writing about it, and seeing if this makes a difference. It's 8:40 now, and I'm going to do a 30 minute kettlebell workout, prepare for my 9:30 client, and keep knowing this truth: Change your thoughts, and you can change the world!

Another weekend on the bleachers

Weekend went by quickly.

Saturday: Up at 4:45. Drove to Oakland for gymnastics meet (Austin) from 7:30 till 1:30. Drove home. Quick workout. Work around the house. Dinner. Bed.

Sunday: Up at 4:45. Drove to Oakland for gymnastics meet (Tucker) from 7:30 till 1:00. Drove home. Must have left willpower in Oakland, as am snacking on literally anything I want to eat. (Wheat toast with butter and LOTS of honey -- YUM!) That's ok -- metabolism will know it's not being starved (not that there's ever any danger of that!).

Tired. Laundry to fold. Nothin more to say. Tomorrow is a new day, and I am NOT getting up in the 4's!

Obsession

I am completely, hopelessly, and overwhelmingly obsessed with kettlebells and gymnastics (not the two together, but as two separate subjects). Let's talk kettlebells first.

Why I am obsessed with kettlebells

• They are cute
• They are not mainstream (I LOVE that!)
• You can do so much with them
• I know so little

So these days I spend lots of time on sites like artofstrength.com (EXCELLENT video newsletters), certain-kettlebell-fitness.com, and tacticalathlete.com. I read articles, watch video exercise demos, and take notes, all in the hopes of incorporating some of these great movements into client workouts.

Now, why I am obsessed with gymnastics

• My kids (as you well know) are gymnasts
• I believe there are ways to incorporate basic gymnastics movements into any quality training program
• But how???

That "but how?" is the kind of thing that will keep me up in the middle of the night.

Maybe this is all a sign that training is exactly what I should be doing, because even as I type this, and a part of me thinks I sound like an absolute nut job, the truth is that I really don't care. I am completely, hopelessly, absolutely fascinated with all things fitness. And that is A-ok with me!

Ha!

(If you write to tell me I'm crazy, say it nice, ok?)

(better post before I delete entire thing...)

Another Brain Dump

Many thoughts, but not much time. Here, in no particular order, is what's going on in my world:

Somersaults with Stacy

My friend Stacy works at a gymnastics and trampoline gym, and she helped me to do a somersault last week. I was nervous and fairly certain I didn't have the spinal flexibility to do it. But with her encouragement, it happened. So now that I can do a somersault, a no-wall handstand is closer than ever!

Gymnastics, Part 2

So it was back to San Francisco on Sunday for the Gandy's. Tucker did great, taking 5th all around, and medaling in 5 of 6 events. The bigger deal is that he's IN for the state championships. And in a turn of events that has us feeling a little whiplash-ey, both kids are considering staying with gymnastics. I'm just going to pray for wisdom for my kids and know that there are benefits either way.

The Tornado that is my Brain

I spend a LOT of time learning more about my oh-so-new profession. Sitting on the bleachers in San Francisco, I was reading about combining kettlebell training, anaerobic drills, and standard lower body exercises to help women lose fat. Last night I was watching kettlebell training videos. This morning I was reading from recent CrossFit journals about techniques for teaching deadlifts and Turkish get-ups.

Part of what's hard is there's SO MUCH I need to know, and knowing what to spend time, attention, and money on is tricky. Right now I'm researching getting a BodyBugg, and how that would work for my clients. I'm also looking at Apex certification (nutrition and fitness). I'm reading a book on motivation (fantastic book, by the way -- it's called "This Year I Will..." by M.J. Ryan, and it covers the science and the psychology of how we can work to make the changes we want to make). With Tim's help, I'm setting up a system to track expenses and income (thank you, Tim -- you excel at what stresses me out, and I'm so grateful!). And over the years I've torn pages out of magazines with exercises for virtually everything, and I'm trying to get those organized in a way that allows me to use them to help keep client workouts fresh and interesting.

(Hope that didn't sound like a complaint -- it's just that seeing it on paper helps me to understand why my brain feels so full sometimes!)

Yesterday's Workout

This was from CrossFit, and I think it should be titled "Pain Storm!" So here's the workout:

20 pullups
30 pushups
40 crunches
50 squats

And you did this progression 5 times, with 3 minutes of rest between each round. Oh. My. Tim and I did this late in the day and it was amazingly hard. I still can't do full pullups, so I did negatives for most of my reps. (Tim did all 100 -- !!!) Pushups got better, though, and I did all 150 of them on the bench (until now, when I've done high numbers, I've had to do them on my knees).

What I Want to Master

I'm really fascinated with kettlebells right now. I want to get to where I can do 10 continuous minutes of kettlebell swings. And I'm bothered by burpees, cuz I feel like they own me. I can do 10 with ok form, and probably 15 if I have to. But I want to be able to do 25 burpees with no rest. Hmmmm -- I may have just come up with a personal challenge. :)

Tucker's Turbulent Workout

So we did Tucker's workout today, rather than yesterday. And it got modified a little. Here's what we ended up with:

3 rounds for time
15 burpees
15 box jumps
15 kip/jump pull-ups
5 ring dips
10 supermans
15 ball slams
60 jump rope

This workout about killed me! On the 3^rd round I did 20 burpees, 20 box jumps, and 20 ball slams, rest as rXd. Didn’t track time, but it felt like 2 hours! Afterwards I played around with a 15 pound kettlebell. I'm working on hand-to-hand transfer swings and just plain stamina. Naively I thought I could do 5 minutes of basic swings. Doesn't sound like much, right? Well, after 2 minutes of continuous swinging, I was done, done, done! Maybe next time I'll find a 3 minute song and go to the end no matter what.

Gymnastics, Part 1

Last night we traveled to San Francisco for Austin's gymnastics meet today. It was his first time competing since his injury in November. He did GREAT! He completed all events, took 6th all around, and was smiling when he came off the floor. We came home this afternoon, and will go back to SF in the morning for Tucker's meet. (Big family bday party tonight, or else we would have stayed for sure!)

I had an interesting conversation with a coach from another gym. He said that when you reach level 6 or 7 in gymnastics (Tucker's level 6, Austin's level 7), it goes from being an activity to being a lifestyle. That's so true! And if my kids don't have the enthusiasm and passion for the sport, they're not going to want to continue the lifestyle and all it entails (lots of stress, very little free time, no family dinners, not enough sleep, etc. etc. etc.). There are a million positive things about gymnastics too, but the point is (and maybe it's just that I need to hear this, after 6 years of one or both kids competing) that there is a BIG upside to leaving a sport that changes your life in so many ways.

The S Factor

Remember my husband's Valentine's present? Well, I had help learning how to dance, and it was from The S Factor. Whether you get the book or the DVDs, or are lucky enough to attend a class, what comes across more than anything is that it's not only good, it's GREAT to be a woman. Curves? Marvelous! Soft spots? Oh yeah! So while us girls can be focusing on our flaws, in our quest for the perfection that does not exist, but that we see in every airbrushed magazine cover, Shelia Kelley of The S Factor is spreading the message that we need to celebrate every curve!

The Cosgroves

I think Alwyn Cosgrove is one of the most interesting trainers in the industry today. I have learned so much from his books and articles.

Well, his wife Rachel is a trainer too, and as well as training others, she's getting ready for a triathlon. Click here to read about how many calories she burns in training (I wanna burn that much, but I don't think I want to work that hard!), how she knows what she burns (I wanna Body Bugg!), and what she eats (ok, ok, enough whining, but I really do want to be able to eat that much!). Oh, and she's right -- John Berardi's information is very very good.

Just got back from a hard 4 mile run with my sweetie, and Tucker, great son that he is, put together a workout just for me! That son of mine has paid attention. Here's what he's come up with:

50 burpees
50 box jumps
50 kipping/jumping pull-ups
15 ring dips
25 supermans
25 ball slams

I honestly don't know if I have the energy to do this, but I think I'm going to have to try...wish me luck!

The Secret and Breakthrough

I'm almost finished watching the Oprah show about The Secret, and I just had an "a-ha" moment. Years ago I did the Breakthrough Training (www.accd.org for more information) and it literally changed my life. My kids were 2 and 4 at the time, and I was desperately unhappy. To make this short and sweet, Breakthrough was just about the hardest and best thing I've ever done, and it changed my life. It healed my marriage. It enabled me to continue to stay home with my children. And it helped me to see who God created me to be. What just occurred to me is that much of what Breakthrough teaches is what The Secret is about. Living with intention. Being grateful and seeing what you have. Knowing what's important. Understanding what you're sowing in your relationships and what that will reap.

I'm not saying that Breakthrough fixed everything (darn it!). But it opened my eyes to how I contribute to my own difficulties, and gave me new ways to live. If you ever want more info, just let me know.

Ok, still in PJs (they're pink giraffe print ones, and I love them!), drinking Diet Mountain Dew (yum!), gotta finish watching Oprah...

Brain Dump

In no particular order, here's what's on my mind today:

1. I found a website that makes me laugh every time I go there. It's called House Gymnastics, and it's a bunch of pseudo-gymnastics moves you can do in your house. I can't let me kids see it, unless I want them to start doing dangerous stuff and leaves footprints on the wall throughout the entire house. If you decide to check it out, click on the menu on the left that shows basic moves, or click on the You Tube HG link to watch some of what they do. I could not stop laughing when I watched the video of a twenty-something guy who goes from the first floor entrance of his house to his upstairs bedroom, never touching the floor. Highly ridiculous, and so much fun!

2. Eileen alerted me that Oprah is doing another show on The Secret today! I'm just now watching the first one, and it makes so much sense to me. I've got Tivo set to tape later today!

3. Austin is competing in San Francisco this weekend! He's 99% sure he's not going to continue with gymnastics, so this is one of my last opportunities to cheer my boy on. I'm praying that he'll come away feeling great about what he's accomplished.

4. I tell Tim that I am spoiled, but not rotten. He is so amazingly good to me, and I NEVER want to take that for granted or expect it. And by now I hope that anyone reading what I'm writing knows that I am exceedingly grateful for my life and all that it holds. And again, I am not rotten.

So let me tell you what I got to do yesterday. Tim got me a fabulous birthday present, way back in January. It was a session with an image consultant! I read about her in Sacramento Magazine, and kept thinking, "this would be the coolest thing ever!" Well, Tim arranged for me to work with her. And it WAS the coolest thing ever! We spent 4 hours in my closet. (Think Clinton and Stacey from What Not To Wear.) I tried on everything I own and she helped me to see and understand the WHYs of what works and what doesn't. We're meeting again in two weeks to cover accessories, putting outfits together, and to shop for a few things that would make my wardrobe work even better.

Stephanie is wonderful! She's a former model, and former personal shopper, she's encouraging as all get-out, and she knows her stuff. (I just re-read what I wrote, and it's like I don't have the right words to fully express how great the experience was.) You know what it really felt like? I felt like I got GIRL LESSONS, which is something I've always wanted!

5. Something else wonderful -- I gave my notice at Bingo last night. I've worked Bingo for more than a year, and the experience has been eye-opening and a great lesson for my kids about support and hard work. But now that I'm training, and with my kids pretty sure they're not continuing in gymnastics, it doesn't make sense to keep working. So I'll work through the end of March and then I'm done. So no more second-hand smoke every Thursday night, so more cruising in at 11:00, no more walking around for hours trying to get people to buy stuff. I WILL miss some of the people -- actually a lot of the people, but overall I'm just really happy to be FREE!

That's it from me. Kids are out of school today. I'm still in my PJs. And life is good.

The Best Valentine's Gift

In my humble opinion, and after nearly 20 years of marriage, the very best gift a woman can give her man for Valentine's Day is some enthusiastic, passionate loving that lets him know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is thrilled to be his valentine.

Tonight my husband's gift (which cannot be named, but rhymes with "tap pants") will be accompanied by the wonderful song "Strength of a Woman" by Shaggy. You should check the song out to just feel good about being alive!

Happy V-Day everyone!

6 Essential Keys to Fat Loss Success

I loved this article! Hope you like it too!

Short and sweet

Today I only had 30 minutes to get a workout in. After yesterday's run I wasn't feeling like I needed cardio work, so it was lower body time, with a little upper body thrown in. Here's what I did:

20 box jumps (14" box)
20 dumbbell swings (using a 20 pound dumbbell)
20 squats (using same dumbbell)
15 box jumps
15 dumbbell swings
15 squats
10 box jumps
10 dumbbell swings
10 squats
5 box jumps
5 dumbbell swings
5 squats

So it wasn't cardio, but it felt like cardio when I was done!

Then 5 minutes handstand practice.
Then 100 pound leg press, single leg, several sets.
Then reverse pushups on Smith machine, with bar at hip level.

Then done! Came home and showered, ate lunch, and worked with a client at 12:30. Note to self: allow more than 1 hour to pass after personal workout before training, or else you'll feel drenched by the end of the warmup!

Vegas/Running

Spent the better part of the weekend in Las Vegas for, what else, gymnastics? We did get to see Ka (it was good, but we liked Mystere a LOT better), had buffet at the Wynn (what does a REAL PERSONAL TRAINER eat at a great buffet? Anything she wants to!), went to the wax museum, and of course (because I have sons) the Underground Arcade. Gym meet didn't go so great for Tucker. I think of it like working out -- some days it goes really well and you're just on top of your game. Other days -- not so much!

One thing we learned from Vegas is that Leslie should not make the travel arrangements. We got to the airport on Saturday night at 6:45, in plenty of time for our 8:10 flight. But -- surprise! -- it turns out our flight was scheduled for THE NEXT DAY! Oops. If anyone was in the Vegas airport and saw a family of crazed people running to catch a plane -- yep, that was us. To their credit, the fam was way nice about it, and we've agreed that Dad will make travel arrangements from now on!

Today we had a break from the rain, and I had the time to go running. You know, the Crossfit/mixed training stuff works, cuz I was able to do 5-1/2 or 6 miles (I didn't check exact distance) with ease. Well, I guess tomorrow will be the true test of how it went. But honestly, it was hard but do-able. The halfway point was a very cool park where I played on the swings. I'm thinking of putting together an outdoor group workout, and I wanted to find out what muscles you use to swing. Answer, in case you want to know, is mostly back and abs if you take the legs out of the equation. I tried to start from a dead hang with no legs, and couldn't do it. But with just the littlest of leg assistance, I got swinging as high as I wanted to go. And it was fun! Finished park time with pushups (2 sets of 10) and dips (2 sets of 10), then ran home.

Wheelchair Skating

I watched this first thing this morning and it moved me in ways I can't put into words. Watch the whole thing -- you'll be blessed by what you see.

P.S.

The reason for more upper body definition is three-fold, I think. And the reasons are:

1. Daily handstands, with attempts at handstand pushups.
2. Daily ring work (did I tell you we got rings???). They're in the garage right next to my car, and I either swing on them (hard, but fun) or do "skin the cats" (remember those?) or do reverse pushups, or (drum roll, please) just jump to support and hold there. The first time I did it, my body shook like I was having a seizure. Now I can stay there for a good, oh say 5 or 6 seconds before I have to jump down. I already respected my gymnast sons, but when you actually try something they do -- oh boy!
3. Cardio Coach -- Sean O'Malley rocks!

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.

Tucker at Stanford Open

I am crazy proud of my boy, and now you can see just one of the reasons why!

Comment-worthy!

Comments, suggestions, and general atta-girls are so appreciated!

Tanya (who sent me an email): I already told you, but must say again, your thoughts from a therapist's point of view about how to help move clients towards what they want -- worth more than you can possibly know.

Matt: Feels like I have a cheering section with a charming British (English?) accent -- thank you!

Shelly: Excellent ideas! I'll be using much of what you came up with.

Katie: Cardio Coach is at www.cardiocoach.com. I'm still loving it!

Laurie: Good thoughts -- input appreciated.

Colette: Good thoughts -- input appreciated, and I always love seeing you. Hope Ashley's completely well!

Greg: I go to California Family Fitness in Rocklin. They do a great job there, but they prohibit camera phones. But here's a link, so check it out!

Back to SST

Tonight while the kids were at gymnastics, Tim and I hit SST for the 5:00 workout. I haven't been there since November when I couldn't get my bicep tendon issue (I HATE having issues!) to calm down. On our way, I told Tim I was scared, cuz I didn't want to do badly. He said, and I quote, "You are tenacious like an eff-ing pit bull. You'll be fine!" Those are words to melt a girl's heart, and they really helped to calm my nerves.

The workout was tough. We did Tabata squats. Tabata is an exercise protocol where you work for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. So for 4 minutes (8 rounds) we did bodyweight squats -- low ones -- for 20 seconds, rested for 10 seconds, and so on. Tim challenged me to a race to see who could do the most. I told him it was a bad idea, because I would smoke him. But he insisted. Well my friends, consistent lower body work seems to pay off, because I won the challenge.

It was a different story when we did 100 D-ball slams. Tim used a 20 pound ball and finished in 3:18. I used a 12 pound ball and came in at 3:41 -- still respectable, but not even close to Rambo's (aka Tim's) time!

Quick random thoughts

• Cirque du Soleil is performing at the Super Bowl! They're in the pregame show. Here's a link so you can read about what they're doing. We LOVE LOVE LOVE Cirque, and will be seeing Ka in Las Vegas next weekend, when we're there for a gymnastics competition.
• Note to self: when you do Cardio Coach, bring a towel! I promise I'm not selling Cardio Coach or getting kickbacks or anything, but I seriously dig the workouts. Today I did volume 1 and there's no way I would have pushed that hard on my own.
• My 10-year-old client did great. I'll see her grandmother tonight at Bingo and then I'll get the real scoop, but she seemed to really like what we did.
  
• My gym has a new machine -- an endless rope. It's very very cool. You "climb" it hand over hand and it's great for your back and biceps. (If you picture one of those endless loops of towels at a gas station bathroom, then substitute rope for towels, you'll know what it is.)
• I got my "Hard work pays off!" quote from Wall Words, and put it up in the training room last night.
• I made one of my clients crack the wall in the training room. Oops. Tim says if I pick up the plywood, he'll install it so I can safely have people hurl medicine balls at the wall.
• Feeling like an official business woman now -- I got a business license and a bank account! Well, my wonderful husband got the bank account -- thanks Tim! -- and I'm a real small business owner. Isn't that cool???