Yoga Challenge on Hold

Well, so much for my 108-day yoga challenge. I got two days into it and I already need to halt. Not sure what I was thinking when I decided to take on this challenge as my first post-surgery exercise, but I certainly wasn't thinking very clearly. I got a little too wrapped up in all the excitement surrounding stepping foot back onto a yoga mat.

The first day of the challenge called for the DVD named "Cross - Train" and I was able to do as many modifications as needed to get through it. I woke up the next morning sore, but it was a good sore - a muscle soreness that reminded me I worked out the day before. I love that sore. The second day, however, called for the DVD entitled "Cardio" and I wondered how they would pull off cardio in a yoga program. I was very much looking forward to getting my cardio back, but in my mind that involved rigorous hiking, running, or even some biking (if the New England weather cooperated). What I entered into with this video was not at all what I had in mind.

Looking back to the torture known as P90X Yoga, it seemed not-so-bad after seeing this program. I managed to muddle my way through about half of it before I had to call it quits. There was simply no way of modifying 20 high speed repetitious vinyasas and I just don't have the upper body strength for that right now. I thought I was being smart and I thought I stopped early enough to avoid any risk of doing stupid things, but after a sleepless night of shooting pains in the back of my neck and more bad (bone) pains this morning I decide that enough was enough. My head was filled visions of the possibility of wrecking my fragile vertebrae and ruining whatever bone fusion has already started. That fear is what kept me awake all night and I couldn't believe that I took that risk so soon.

So I'm sorry to say that I'll need a little more time before getting back to this Ultimate Yogi Challenge. I am so far from being an Ulimate Yogi right now that I had no right thinking I could do it.

Make a Fresh New Start for the New Year

New Years is really a great time to take advantage of the fresh clean start. It's your chance to reinvent yourself, make some new healthy habits, and/or start a new routine. It's the perfect time to forget about all the things that have held you back in the past or all the reasons why you've been putting off doing the things you want to do. There's no better time like the present to take action and there's no better time than now to start something new.

This year I am taking full advantage of this new start. It just so happens that it coincides nicely with my recovery. I haven't blogged about the details of my recent neck surgery, but at the end of October I had a couple of vertebrae in my neck fused and a metal plate inserted. Oh yes, that was a fun experience! But it was worth all the pain and discomfort because the terrible chronic neck, shoulder, and back pains that have been plaguing me and preventing me from practicing yoga and working out are now gone. I have rid myself of that torture, hopefully for good, and I'm so ready to get back on the yoga mat.

The bad news is that this whole surgery and recovery process has completely erased the great shape that I was in - that I have always been in. Now I'm in a foreign place. I'm weak and fragile and I don't know what to do with that. Where do I even begin to get back to my normal strong and healthy self? This will be a challenge to say the least, but I'm excited to take this journey. I am going to experience an unusual perspective of just how hard it is to "get into shape." Every winter I started my training program with P90X and I fell into it quite easily. I guess it's easy to get into better shape when you're already in good shape, but what is it going to be like to get back into good shape when I've been reduced to weak and fragile? This should be interesting.

I am going to share my journey via this blog. I will document my work-out program and all the steps I'm going to take to gain my strength and endurance back. I would imagine that this won't be overly easy at 44 years old, but I hope that my experience will inspire somebody out there.

Please stay tuned. With any luck I will be slipping off the neck brace and into some workout clothes next week for my maiden voyage. Wish me luck!

First Race of the Season

Not that this was really a big accomplishment, but it got me started . . . and now I'm trying to determine how far I want to go. I've been having fleeting thoughts of training for the Hartford Half Marathon that will take place in October. I'm not really sure what is possessing me to want to run a half marathon. I've never been a runner and I'm not even sure I really like it. There's no doubt that if I had my choice between biking and running I would always choose biking. But I seem to have this persistent itch to set a goal for myself – a challenging goal.

I remember the first time I decided that I wanted to "ride a century." This is a right of passage of every biker - to pedal 100 miles in one day. The first time I did it, it seemed like such a big deal. I trained all season for this big accomplishment and completing that ride was one of the sweetest feelings of my life. Of course, since then I biked several Centuries and none of them ever gave me that same thrill. It's also funny how all Centuries that followed never felt like a big deal and after doing it once you have a new-found confidence that you could "just do it." I'm hoping for this same experience with running.

The biggest reason for wanting to run a half marathon is simply to give myself a goal to which I can work toward. Nothing thrills me more than increasing my weights or reps in the gym or my mileage on the road. Maybe I'm just a statistic junkie, but I live for this. And then, of course, there's that bittersweet feeling of crossing the finish line and accomplishing the goal that I set for myself.

I have yet to commit to registering for the half marathon, but I'm setting an intermediate goal of running a race every month. If I do decide to go for the big run I will log and post my training efforts.

Consistency is Key

I'm now in the second month of my training with the goal of getting back into the shape I was in before my neck injury, and eventual fitness demise. I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the progress that I've already made. As I mentioned in a previous post, I never actually started off in such rough shape. I don't ever remember being as weak as I was before starting this program. I remember standing in my chiropractor's office as he was showing me how to do 'push-ups against the wall.' I remembering giving his this look like, "Really? THAT'S what you want me to do?" I was legitimately insulted. And then I tried my silly pathetic little standing, push-ups and realized that it was a challenge. I swear I wanted to put a gun to my head right then and there. What happened to me? Where did my strength go? I was never so disgusted in my life. That was last Fall.

After the holidays ended I decided that my neck had gotten to a point where I was ready to risk starting a training program. Nothing was worse than dragging myself to the gym for that slap of reality to see just how weak I had become. I used to start every morning with one continuous set of pushups. I did my age in pushups and my goal was to continue this routine, at least until I was 50. Well, here I was at 43 unable to do 2. I went from 43 pushups in July to 2 in January. Boy, was that a morale crusher.

I was determined to get out of this mess, no matter how long it was going to take. I did my measly 2 pushups the first few days. Then I started to increase my set by just one pushup a day. I quickly got up to 10 pushups and then I held myself back and increased my set by two pushups per week. Even though I had more in me, I stopped at my set goal every morning.

I tried the Brazilian Butt Lift for the first 3 weeks. In addition to this I supplemented with Zumba dancing, hiking, weight lifting, and a little bit of running. I didn't miss a day and most days I worked out twice. I just couldn't believe how quickly my body started to respond. It remembered what it was supposed to do and it gladly performed. My spirits were started to soar. Even in mid-life I was bouncing back quickly. Every week I added more pushups and more weights.

Two and half months into this I've made some modifications. I'm now doing yoga daily in place of the Brazilian Butt Lift. I have to say, the new 30 Day Yoga Sculpt is, hands down, the best yoga DVD I have ever owned. I simply love it. I love the fact that every day is different and I don't know what to expect. I love that it's always challenging. And I especially love that it's only 20 minutes a day. It will be available at the beginning of April on the Acacia website.

I find the yoga, weight lifting, hiking/running to be a perfectly balanced program and I'm achieving great results. The bottom line is consistency. Pick anything and do it consistently for one month and guaranteed you will improve greatly. No matter what it is, cooking, a musical interest, learning a language, just practice it every day and see what happens in one month's time. You won't be disappointed.

Graphic borrowed from http://claxonmarketing.com.

A Lesson From My Dog

I think there's a wonderful lesson to be learned from my dog. And it's funny too that I can suggest that I can learn something from a notoriously "not-so-smart" dog. But today, the lesson was so clear to me that I had to stop and marvel at it. You see, one of our dogs is getting up in age. She's a 11.5 year old greyhound and as far as greyhounds go, that's pretty old. I'm just now starting to worry about her level of activity and I'm doing this despite her showing any real signs of slowing down. I can't help but to worry that maybe we shouldn't be taking her for 7 mile hikes/runs anymore. I mean there has got to come a time when she just shouldn't be doing it anymore. I always think there will come a day when she's smart enough to know (by what we are wearing) what is in store for her should she choose to get up and show signs of excitement to come along. I expect this day to come because our first greyhound did exactly that. We would take him for a big hike one day and then the next day he would just look at us and say, "Yah right, I'm not falling for that again. You humans go and knock yourselves out while I lay here on my comfy bed. See ya." But then again, he was always our 'smart' dog.

Given the fact that this dog is not as smart and will continue to want to come no matter what torture we put her through, it will be up to me to make the decision that she is no longer fit to play. But that decision will be a tough one. I already think that she shouldn't be able to do what she does. It's amazing to watch her bouncing happily along some seriously rugged terrain, tail wagging the entire time. Today is when the lesson hit me. You see, nothing has ever been introduced into my little dog's belief system that suggested to her that she shouldn't be able to handle this long trail run. She doesn't know that she's getting too old for it. There is no reason in the world that she would, or should, think that she can't do it . . . and therefore she happily trucks on. I'm sure she looks at our other, younger dog and thinks, "If he can do it I can do it." It's all about your intention and your belief. You can do anything if you truly believe you can do it. The moment doubt enters your mind you are compromising your ability, so perhaps we need to train our brains as hard as we train our bodies.

Training Status

I'm struggling to decide if I should report that I'm experiencing some tough road blocks or smashing success. I guess it's a little bit of both. I've been extremely diligent (as I always am) about my workout schedule this Winter. Although I'm not following any one specific and rigid program, I am mixing it up and doing some great cross training. I find that this flexibility in my schedule and the freedom to make my own choices about what I will do each day really helps with the boredom and monotony associated with sticking to just one strict program. I have decided to commit to posing for photos on my birthday in July for no other reason but to compare them to the photos I had taken after my first completion of P90X. That will be four years ago so it will be tough to compare. Not only was I four years younger then, but that was the year that I followed P90X the most strictly. I guess I'm lightening up in my old age!

Some of my road blocks have included me overdoing it and getting hurt. It never fails. I can't seem to accept the fact that

1. I'm no spring chicken anymore, and 
2. I'm still somewhat injured with a neck problem. 

I may have gotten just a little too bit excited with just the fact that I was back in a gym and as a result I've hurt myself no less than 3 times. Two times I re-hurt my neck and once I hurt my notoriously bad knee. As if getting back into shape isn't challenging enough without having to deal with injuries. It may have slowed me down a bit, but it hasn't stopped me. I am continually getting stronger and having the doctor tell me that I have the "efficient heart of an athlete" just makes my day.

My normal weekly routine has been consisting of a minimum of 3 Brazilian Butt lift videos. Bum Bum, High & Tight, and Sculpt are absolute neccessities. I also try to squeeze in one session of the Ab routine. The Cardio Axe has already gotten a little boring and unchallenging so I've been substituting with my new favorite indoor work-out – Wii Zumba 2. What a hoot that is and I love that you can just "take a class" which automatically plays the songs continuously so you don't have to fiddle with the control after every dance. I'm also lifting 3 times a week (upper body only) and I'm doing a combination of hiking and/or running 2 - 3 times a week. During the week I keep the runs to 30 minutes and the hikes to 1 hour and on the weekends I extend the runs to one hour and the hikes to 2+ hours. I have to say, the hiking is making the running seem too easy so now I'm starting to do some trail running. I think that will be the best possible training for my dream of doing a half marathon this year. If I can just keep myself from getting injured over and over I think I'll be well on my way. Less than 5 months till my birthday photos . . . and counting.

A Tough Week

I started off this week with my first trip to the gym in months. I can really only bare to be working out indoors when the weather is too cold be outside and I haven't lifted since completing P90X. For some reason I assumed completing the P90X program would keep me in tip top shape for a year. Boy was I wrong. I lifted on Monday and Tuesday with my insane husband trainer. It was hard and I felt weak. I hated it.

On Monday we concentrated on chest and I didn't find it too bad. I was sore the next day, but it was a good sore. I like it when I know that I did something the day before. I went back to the gym on Tuesday for more punishment. This time we did nothing but biceps. On Wednesday I was very sore, or at least I thought I was very sore. I had no idea how much the soreness would intensify as the days went on. I thought Wednesday was bad, but Thursday was much worse. I had a hard time just getting through the normal course of the day. Lifting my arms past shoulder level was simply impossible and there wasn’t a square inch of my back that didn’t kill if touched in any way.

I actually starting to have feelings of, “I’m getting to old for this nonsense? Why do I do this to myself? I think I should retire from torturing my body.” I was getting comfortable with giving up on the idea of killing myself to stay in great shape. Life would be so much easier if I just let go of this impossible ideal. And this blissful thought lasted for at least 14 hours.

Then last night I went to line dancing class. I talked to a new friend and got the report on how she did in her very first triathlon. She really inspired me and I made a comment like, “You go girl. I wish I could do it.” That led to her saying, “Hey, maybe next year we can do it together as a team.” My eyes immediately widened and twinkled. I jumped up and shook her hand, “You’re on. Let’s start training in the Spring.” I went home so excited I couldn’t sleep.

I Hate Superman

Not the superhero, but the P90X move. My core is plenty strong to support the move, I just can't get my shoulders to comfortably go in the proper position. I can't figure out why this is so hard for me. I have to keep my arms bent out to the side like a skydiver would, rather than straight out ahead like Superman would. I also find many yoga moves hard on my shoulders. It must have something to do with the rotator cuff (is that what it's called?) Probably from too many years of hard-core volleyball.

Aside from Superman, I enjoyed the rest of this morning's Core segment. This is a fun one. Not as much fun as Kenpo, but still fun. I feel as though I'm transported back to being a kid at soccer practice. I think my husband has those same feelings, but he's at wrestling camp. There is something to be said for the adrenaline rush you get when you're with a group and the coach is yelling words of encouragement to you. Granted, our group is only the two of us, plus the four folks on the TV, but the experience is similar.

One side note, I can't believe how much better my Down Dog has gotten in 2 weeks. Not only is it easier to hold the position, but my heels are comfortably sitting on the floor and I feel incredibly strong in the pose. This really has me wondering how I'll feel 10 weeks from now. It's exciting to think about. It seems to me that there are really only going to be 3 painful weeks to the entire program. The program is broken up into 3 phases where you do the same routine for 3 weeks and then have a recovery week (with no lifting). The next phase starts up with a whole new set of routines and that first week is hard. But the second and third each get easier. Just when you got it down, you go into recovery week and then start the new phase.

Today starts the first day of our third week . . so here are some pics of me at the end of the second week.

Day Two of P90X

Just as I suspected . . . I'm sore. I woke up in the middle of the night and when I tried to roll over I got the first shooting pain. It was a quick reminder of our first work out. Uh oh, I haven't even gotten out of bed yet and already I'm hurting. Not a good sign.

But it wasn't as bad as I expected. Our first workout was called "Core" and strangely, none of my core muscles hurt. I was expecting my abs and obliques to hurt, but instead all my soreness was in my rear end. My entire butt and upper back of my legs felt like they have been torn apart. This made me very happy, as this is the one part of my body that I feel really needs help. I don't think I'm alone within the female population with this one.

We got right up out of bed and slowly shuffled to our work-out room. I had no idea what today's target zone would be and I was pleased to find out that it would be cardio. At least cardio doesn't rip muscles. So we started it up and the first 10 minutes were the warm up. Most of the is warm up entailed yoga and I both me and my husband were pleased because we feel at home with yoga. Only this was hard yoga. Good grief, I barely got through it and the whole while I'm thinking . . . "this is the WARM UP?" We had to go through several positions of plank, down to push-up pose, to upward dog, back to plank, another push up, up to downward dog, one leg in the air . . . Over and over. I'm lucky I didn't break my nose trying to do all those push-ups. They threw in a few warrior poses, which despite the fact that they were deep and difficult, they still felt like a relief. By the time the warm up was done, I was exhausted.

Or at least I thought I was. The minute the rest of the real cardio kicked in, I came back to life. The video is so much fun and always changing. It's exciting right now because we have no idea what to expect. I assumed it would be 30 minutes of non-stop jumping around, but all the exercises were greatly varied. There was lots of kickboxing and that thrilled me. I used to do kickboxing for years and loved every minute of it. I felt right at home with all the old moves. I really had a ball and was very proud of myself with my performance. I thought, of all the videos, cardio would be the most challenging. Now this is not to say that tomorrow I won't be twice as sore. I'm already feeling more muscles tightening and rebelling. But I'm not complaining. I do love that feeling and I'm very accustomed to it .