High (time for) Resolution

Oh yes. It’s just days until Christmas, and I feel I’ve sort of skipped the wind-up this year. I didn’t bake any cookies (aside from helping Mom) or hang any decorations. I bought the minimum for gifts and got someone else to do the wrapping for me! I only sent out cards if they were sent to me first. Like I said…minimal. I’m more excited for the New Year. And so, I’ve written some guidelines for my future self…they can be guidelines for you, too if they happen to lend a little inspiration.

  1. Be nicer. People are a gift. Respect them and find wonder in their amazing potential. Remember they’re just people trying to live their lives as best they can. Try not to take their behavior personally. They’ve likely got other concerns that impact what they do. Get over it. Don’t waste time or energy pouting. And for heaven’s sake, don’t drag your feet in some passive-aggressive vindictive response. Just do what you can to make your life and theirs easier. It will produce better results, in the end. I promise.
  2. Create. Be creative in your personal time. Draw, paint, take photos, write.  Remember how much you loved that? Do it again, it’s good for you and it makes you happy. (It would be good for you to post it to your blog, too. Remember how you aspire to keep your blog up to date? Nothing like killing 2 birds with one stone.)
  3. Be healthy. Eat healthy foods that you enjoy and delight in how good they make you feel. Take pleasure in an active lifestyle and revel in the emotional boost you get from the endorphins. You bought those nordic skis…get out and use them this year.
  4. Be organized. “Organization” is a colorful spectrum… Try to keep yourself out of the absolute-fire-hazard-pest-control-strange-smell rang of the continuum. Expect that there will be an ebb and flow as the forces of entropy and enthropy wage war in your physical and virtual space and time, but do what you can to actively reduce clutter. Purge the old and unused. Decide how you will use things and where you will put them before you take possession of them.
  5. Think. Play mind-building games and puzzles. Engage in philosophical conversations with friends. Think critically to try to help solve problems…both your own and in society. Be a part of the solution.

We each have an obligation to drive our own success. This includes setting up optimal conditions for favorable outcomes. These are the things on which I think I can improve in the coming year to really help make 2012 a success.

2011 – Summer of fitness

I launched a fitness initiative this summer, resulting in inches and pounds lost, but not without hard work and dedication. And so, to acknowledge and document that strife, I’m telling you, kind reader, about it in a blog post.

At the outset, my fitness goals were to:

  • Reduce percentage body fat
  • Lose 1.9lbs/week, totaling 20.2lbs (goal weight 150)
  • Lose 2” from my waist & hips
  • Improve general fitness/endurance/recovery

I tracked my nutrition as RolyPolyPanda on www.myfitnesspal.com and hired a personal trainer at the UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center, Lexie Weber, for 11 weeks this summer, meeting every three weeks (2 weeks between sessions 4 and 5).

I’m still working on the weight loss goal, but I achieved what I hoped in all other areas including:

  • a decrease of 2.5  in percentage body fat
  • 10.5lbs of weightloss
  • BMI Decreased 1.8 (out of obesity range)
  • Lost inches: hips -4″, waist -1″, arm -1.3″
  • Improved flexibility, can now reach 5cm further
Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5
5/25 6/13 7/6 7/27 8/11
% Body Fat 38.0% 37.9% 36.0% 36.8% 35.5%
Weight (lbs) 176 169.5 165.5
BMI: (in) 31.4 30.3 29.7 29.6 29.6
Hips: (in) 45 42 41 41 41
Waist: (in) 34.25 32.25 32 32 33.25
Arm: (in) 13.25 12.25 12 12 12
Flexibility: (cm) 28 28.5 31.5 32.75 33

I’d like to thank my friends, especially Bridget Bishop, for providing support and inspiration. The encouragement from friends meant so much to my success, lending motivation and strength when belief in myself and what I was hoping to achieve wavered. Thank you!

Workout 5

Workout developed by UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center personal trainer, Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Rae Weber.

Warm Up Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Walking Lunges
  • Squat Jacks — jumping jack but lower into squat position, touch hands to knees
  • Plank Walks
  • Mountain Climbers — hands on floor and in plank position, run

Ab Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Hip raises — lie on bench or on floor, legs straight and up in the air, lift hips off floor toward ceiling
  • V-ups — bring knee into chest and arms straight out in front of you, extend legs straight out in front and extend arms straight out to sides, repeat
  • Russian twist — can use dumbbell or medicine ball, knees bent, feet off floor makes it more difficult, touch ball or weight side to side
  • Side bend — holding dumbbell in one hand, bend to side and stand straight

Circuit Strength Training (12 reps each, repeat circuit 3x)

  • Chest press — lie on bench, pressing dumbbells straight up
  • Single arm bent over row — place one hand on bench, holding dumbbell in other, knees bent and flat back pull dumbbell straight up keeping elbow tight to side
  • Squats — hold dumbbells at sides or can rest on shoulders
  • Bicep curl/shoulder press — start with bicep curl and go into shoulder press
  • Decline pushups — feet on bench, hands on floor, do pushups
  • Walking squats with dumbbell — hold dumbbells at shoulders, can stay low whole time or squat each step
  • Single leg lunges — foot on bench, make sure knees stay behind toes
  • Incline pushup — hands on bench, try to get chest to bench as you do pushup
  • Dead lift — legs slightly bent, hold dumbbells at floor with back straight, keeping dumbbells close to legs stand up with weight, repeat
  • Tricep dips — hands on bench directly under shoulders, walk feet out and dip

Workout 4

Workout developed by UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center personal trainer, Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Rae Weber.

Warm Up Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Walking lunges
  • Squat Jacks — like a jumping jack but come down into a squat
  • Push ups
  • Up and Downs — like a burpee but step back into plank instead of hopping
  • Side to side squat

Time exercises (1 min. each)

  • Jump rope
  • Squats on an inverted bosu ball (remember to keep knees behind toes)
  • Step Ups (keep foot on top up bench for full 30 sec, when stepping up, bring other knee up, contracting your core)
  • Push Ups on upside down bosu ball
  • Bridge (feet on exercise ball and hold hips high)
  • high knees on bench (don’t need to put a lot of weight on bench, just there to make sure you’re bringing your knees up high enough)

Abs exercises (1 min. each)

  • Roll out (with wheel- kneel on mat and roll out as far as you can)
  • Toe touches (lying on your back with your legs straight up in the air reach up for your toes)
  • Jack knife (feet on exercise ball while in plank position, pull knees into your chest)
  • Plank (forearms on the ground with your elbows under your shoulders, keep body straight like a board)

Circuit 1 – what you’ve been doing (strength)

Circuit 2 (dual cable FreeMotion) – each exercise 1 minute

  • Lat pull down- 10 lb , arm high (stand in squat position and pull down handle and twist, 30 sec each side)
  • Supinated chest press from down low- 3 lb each side, arms low (bring handles from your sides straight out in front of you with your palms facing up)
  • Squat on bosu ball with row- 7 lb each side, arms low (stand on bosu ball in squat and row the weight to your sides)
  • Step out shoulder press- 3 lb each side, arms low (step out and press the handles straight up, alternating feet each time)
  • Reversed wood chopper, arm low (hold handle from low position by your hip and bring up across your body)
  • Cable Push/pull- 10 lb each side, arms wide and shoulder height (stand facing straight out, turn upper body so that one arm is pulling while the other is pushing, switch sides after 30 seconds)
  • Bicyle- 20 lbs (30 sec each side)
  • Jumping squats- 1 minute
  • Hanging leg raise on bosu ball stand- 12 reps (legs straight if you can, otherwise can bend knees)

Workout 3

Workout developed by UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center personal trainer, Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Rae Weber.

Warm Up Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Walking lunges
  • Leg extension touching toes
  • Level 1 drill (4 push ups, 8 mountain climbers then stand and repeat)
  • Jump switches (start in squat position touching floor, jump 180 degrees and touch floor on other side)
  • Step ups (alternate feet each time you step up)

Time exercises (1 min. each)

  • Jump rope
  • Squats on bosu ball with medicine ball (remember to keep knees behind toes)
  • Jump rope
  • Single leg lunge (foot on bench- make sure front foot is out far enough that your knee doesn’t come over your toes)
  • Bridge (turn bosu ball upside down and place feet flat on it, hold the bridge)
  • Push ups

Abs exercises (1 min. each)

  • Roll out (with wheel- kneel on mat and roll out as far as you can)
  • Toe touches (lying on your back with your legs straight up in the air reach up for your toes)
  • Jack knife (feet on exercise ball while in plank position, pull knees into your chest)
  • Plank (forearms on the ground with your elbows under your shoulders, keep body straight like a board)

Circuit 1 – Strength

  • Lat pull down
  • Chest press
  • Seated row
  • Shoulder press
  • Hamstring curl, glute blaster, abductor, adductor (do all exercises 10x on each leg)
  • Knee up leg extension
  • Squats
  • Wall squat with ball, bicep curl (squat with hands by sides, curl weight as you stand up out of squat)

Circuit 2 (dual cable FreeMotion) – each exercise 1 minute

  • Lat pull down- 13 lb each side, arms high (stand in squat position and pull down handles)
  • Supinated chest press from down low- 3 lb each side, arms low (bring handles from your sides straight out in front of you with your palms facing up)
  • Squat on bosu ball with row- 7 lb each side, arms low (stand on bosu ball in squat and row the weight to your sides)
  • Step out shoulder press- 3 lb each side, arms low (step out and press the handles straight up, alternating feet each time)
  • Cable Push/pull- 7 lb each side, arms wide and shoulder height (stand facing straight out, turn upper body so that one arm is pulling while the other is pushing, switch sides after 30 seconds)
  • Glute blaster- 13 lb, arm low (can use other arm to help keep your balance, place band around your ankle)
  • Straight leg extension- 7 lb, arm low (keeping leg straight, extend foot straight up in front of you)
  • Squat pulses/holds (stand in plie squat, turn toes out, pulse squat for 30 sec then hold squat for 30 sec while bringing arms from the side to front for 15 sec and from your sides to above your head for 15 sec)

Workout 2

Workout developed by UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center personal trainer, Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Rae Weber.

Warm Up Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Jumping Jacks
  • Walking lunges
  • Side to side squats
  • Plank walks (plank position, walking 4 steps to each side; keep your butt down, core tight)
  • Mountain climbers (plank position and run; keep your butt down)

Circuit 1 – Strength

  • Lat pull down
  • Chest press
  • Seated row
  • Shoulder press
  • Hamstring curl, glute blaster, abductor, adductor (do all exercises 10x on each leg)
  • Knee up leg extension
  • Squats
  • Wall squat with ball, bicep curl (squat with hands by sides, curl weight as you stand up out of squat)

Circuit 2 (one minute each)

  • Single arm lat pull down with twist (sit on seat, pull weight down and twist; 30 sec each side)
  • Standing chest press (one leg on floor; 30 sec each side)
  • Standing single arm, single leg row with twist (right foot up when rowing with right arm, twist as you pull weight to your side)
  • Standing shoulder press (come down in squatting position and press weight straight up)
  • Hamstring curl, glute blaster, abductor, adductor (do all exercises 10x on each leg)
  • Bicycle backwards
  • Jumping squats (do as many as you can; if you need to take a break, do regular squats)
  • Wall squat with ball, bicep curl

Timed Exercises (1 minute each)

  • Step ups (tall bench- reach up with opposite arm and bring knee as high up as you can, really feel it in your core)
  • Jump rope
  • Lunge with twist (using medicine ball- ball at shoulder height, arms straight; twist in direction your lunging i.e. right leg forward= twist to right side)
  • Bridge
  • Up and downs
  • Push ups

Abs (30 seconds each)

  • Crunches on ball
  • Jack knife (plank position with legs on ball, pull knees to chest)
  • Ball hand offs (lie on back and hand the ball off from your hands to your feet)
  • Russian twist (sit on floor and hold medicine ball; feet on the floor makes it easier, lifted off the floor is more difficult; touch ball side to side)

ID-ing Inhibiting Beliefs

So, I’ve been listening to a podcast called Inside Out Weightloss (IOWL) by Renee Stephens again.  The intention of IOWL is to address the emotional blocks that keep people from loosing weight and keeping it off. It looks for the source of the emotional reasons that people overeat, eat the wrong foods, and shy away from an active lifestyle, etc. And now is a perfect time to begin because Stephens has archived her series and is restarting from the beginning of the healing process.

I must include a warning that the podcast is extraordinarily fluffy and emotional. Renee speaks with intentional slowness. A less patient person might set the playback speed to 2x and still be annoyed at the slow pace. I find myself listening to it while doing menial chores. It’s whimsical and we’re asked to imagine a lot of things. A practical person, deeply seated in reality, might not be amused. I think it’s meditative and soothing.

Essentially, we’re finding our emotional hang-ups and reconciling them so we can move on to a fulfilling life. We’re identifying inhibiting beliefs and re-evaluating them. According to Renee, beliefs are like magnets…they draw supporting evidence to them, and repel dissenting evidence away, making them ever-stronger in our minds. These beliefs become self-fulfilling prophesies. The trick is to develop beliefs that help us to achieve our goals.

And so…the assignment from the podcast is to take a look at any inhibiting beliefs and systematically debunk them though a process of meditation. Inihibiting beliefs can be identified because they tend to include absolutes like “never,” “always,” “can’t,” etc. They can also be identified by thinking back on times when you feel a wave of negative emotion wash over you and in turn you act out in a binge, a depressive bout of lethargy, or even procrastination.

So here, I will document my inhibiting beliefs:

  1. I’m a bad decision maker.
    I am not an authority on what is likable, so anything I like or dislike doesn’t matter. Ouch.
  2. I am not capable of seeing complex projects through to completion.
    Of course this isn’t true…I’ve done a good job completing a number of complex projects. But I still think it. I was always the kid who turned in partially completed assignments. Now I find complex projects to be particularly daunting.
  3. I’m not all that smart.
    My reading comprehension sort of sucks. I can’t read a tome and absorb the knowledge in it. Glib remarks and fast retorts are beyond me. I would rather agree with someone else than develop my own opinion. Don’t even ask me to do math, or you’ll be waiting for a while.
  4. I am lazy.
    By evening, I have no energy for chores, bettering myself, or even finding something enjoyable to do. I’m not driven to push myself past my threshold unless an exterior force drives me to do it. I don’t make fast decisions. I daydream and lollygag. When I am productive, I’m slower than average.
  5. Food is guaranteed to make me happy.
    This is usually the one that sets off my food binges. It usually happens when I’m tired and am looking to be immediately entertained.
  6. I am not capable of organization.
    My life is a struggle against entropy and so often I lose. For every step forward, there’s two steps back and it’s so difficult to get ahead. I am a pack-rat. Purging is difficult for me. I’d prefer to keep it all, but have no system for keeping it and don’t really need it to begin with.
  7. I don’t deserve what I have.
    Anything I have and have done is bad because it’s mine. Any fortune I have is luck and there is someone else out there who is more deserving of it than me.
  8. I will only get in the way.
    I shouldn’t try to help because I don’t have anything to offer and I will probably only make it worse. This is one that prevents me from volunteering. Also makes it hard to host parties and be around other people in general. Especially large groups. Yeah, this one stings. Not sure what to do about this one, but I guess acknowledging it is the first step.

Holy crap, batman. With self-thoughts like that, who needs enemies? I would certainly never say that to anyone else…why is it okay for me to say it to myself? And logically, I can come up with examples of why these things aren’t true, but logic doesn’t seem to help in these emotional struggles. If a friend said these things to me about themselves, I would be supportive and find ways to guide him or her through it. I guess it’s time for me to try to do that for myself.

Workout 1

Workout developed by UW-Green Bay Kress Events Center personal trainer, Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Rae Weber.

Warm Up Exercises (45 sec. each)

  • Jog in Place (keep your core tight by pulling your belly button into your spine)
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Walking Lunges (make sure to keep your knee behind your front toes)
  • Side to Side Squats (“sit back on a chair” keeping your knees behind your toes, get as low as you can and move side to side)
  • Push Ups

1st Circuit (do each exercise 12 times)

  • Lat Pull Down (sitting on bench, pull handles to your shoulders and squeeze your shoulder blades together) – 40 pounds
  • Chest Press (you can leave your back on the pad or you can sit forward to engage your core) – 20 pounds
  • Seated Row (sit on bench, pull handles to sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together) – 35 pounds
  • Shoulder Press – 15 pounds
  • Hamstring Curl – 20 pounds
  • Leg Extension (bring your knee up to hip-height and extend your leg straight) – 20 pounds
  • Squats (in machine) – 50 pounds
  • Wall Squats with bicep curl (place exercise ball at the low of your back, hold the handles at your sides and as you stand out of squat do a bicep curl) – 15 pounds

2nd Circuit (1 min. each or 30 sec. each side)

  • Lat Pull Down with twist (sit on bench, pull handle to your shoulders and twist to that side i.e. right arm, twist to right side) – 20 pounds
  • Chest Press Standing (stand behind bench on one foot, push weight straight out- 30 sec on each foot) – 10 pounds
  • Standing Row (stand on one foot, pull handle to side; right foot up when rowing with right arm) – 20 pounds
  • Shoulder Press Standing (stand behind bench and in squatting position, press weight straight up) – 10 pounds
  • Glute Blaster (bend over slightly, bring your knee to your chest and push leg straight back) – 15 pounds
  • Bicycle (bring knee up to hip height each time, “pedal” like on a bicycle) – 15 pounds
  • Squats (in machine) – 20 pounds
  • Wall Squats with bicep curl (place exercise ball at the low of your back, hold the handles at your sides and as you stand out of squat do a bicep curl) – 10 pounds

Other Exercises (do each exercise for 1 minute)

  • Step ups (on small bench; lead with right foot for 30 seconds and then the left)
  • Jump rope (keep your elbows tight to your sides, jump a few inches off the floor)
  • Squat with medicine ball (hold ball straight out at shoulder-height in front of you when down in squat and raise ball above head as you stand up)
  • Russian twist with ball (using medicine ball, sit on floor and touch the ball side to side– easier when feet are on the floor, more difficult if you lift them off the floor)
  • Up and downs (stand with arms straight up, bring hands to floor and step your feet back into a plank position, then step feet back to hands and stand up with arms straight up, repeat)
  • Push Ups (do them regular, on your knees, and you can take a break when you need to but push yourself!) :)

Abs (45 seconds each)

  • Crunches on ball (lie on ball and sit up)
  • Crunches with twist on ball (sit up reaching up to your left side with your right arm for 30 sec and switch sides for 30 seconds- do this exercise for a total of a minute)
  • Bridge (lay on your back keeping your feet flat on the floor and lift your hips off the floor) – work up to holding for 1 minute

Chelsea’s Mom…

I went to the Zombie Zumba-thon at the Kress Events Center tonight. The flier they handed me two weeks ago promised fun for all and encouraged people to show up in costume. It even promised they’d do the Thriller dance. How could I miss out on that? And so I marked my calendar and waited for the fated day to come.

I decided I wouldn’t wear a costume…how could I possibly zumba in that hot room wearing a costume and be comfortable?! Maybe I’d wear a costume… No, I didn’t feel like figuring out a costume… I could wear kitty ears? But then would I have to deal with whiskers? And I don’t have a tail. Nah, no costume, I wouldn’t be comfortable.

By the time this morning rolled around, I was beginning to have my doubts about even going. The latin-beat exorcise—I mean, exercise—festivities wouldn’t begin until 7:30…I’d have to dawdle for 3hrs after work… Whatever, I’ll pack a gym bag just in case. Screw the costume…

And so it was that I dawdled. I’m good at that, you know. I can entertain myself for hours doing nothing. It’s so weird. If I ever get put into solitary confinement, I’ll do just fine. Just don’t ask me to sit still, or be quiet—I’m not stealthy. So if I ever really were surrounded by zombies, they’d find me right away—but that’s neither here nor there. Time got away from me, as it often does. I looked at the clock and low and behold, the zumba hour was upon me.

I readied myself for a rigorous flailing by securing my hair in two bun-like puff balls perched on either hemisphere of my cranium. I still wore my specs, and I donned some mid-calf gray sweats and an Allouez Girls Softball t-shirt (my prize for designing their logo). As I waited in the aerobics room, I observed the young bodies that surrounded me…wearing their smart little costumes and I realized I looked like hell compared to them. But whatever, this wasn’t about me…it was about ZUMBA! And…fulfilling my lifelong dream of doing the Thriller dance with a large willing group of people! :D

And so, I enjoyed the costumes around me. And I danced to Thriller…and it was all very fun and amazing. I felt a little weird being there alone, but oh well. And the Thriller dance was fun. I sorta botched it a little bit. If I ever have an opportunity to do it again, I will put some effort into studying the Thriller choreography before hand. Zumba feels very random to people who are unfamiliar with it (i.e. me). They don’t call out the next move like they would in your standard group exercise class. It’s pretty unpredictable. So my inaugural Thriller dance was not executed with the precision I had hoped for. Although, I was so sweaty, red and stumbling by that point, I probably looked like a real zombie.

When we stopped for a break, I stood awkwardly sipping my water and clearly heard one of the college guys in the class say “Are you Chelsea’s mom?” I ignored it…clearly he was re-telling a story to the people around him. But no, he persisted, “Are you Chelsea’s mom?” Obviously directed at me. I was aghast and could only sputter, “I’m not ANYONE’S mom!” He realized his mistake and said, “Oh, I thought you were Chelsea’s mom.”

This is what I get for trying to zumba with a crowd that’s a decade my junior…each probably no less than 50lbs lighter than me. I found it difficult to thrash about with quite the same enthusiasm after that. At the next break, I asked him, “Do I really look like somebody’s mom?” The young man apologized for his mistake explaining that sometimes Chelsea’s mom would come to the Kress. That didn’t make me feel any better. He said he didn’t intend to hurt my feelings. Okay, maybe a little better. But what I didn’t ask the was burning question—is Chelsea’s mom hot?

And so…my costume for the evening was Chelsea’s mom. Seriously. Do I really look old enough to have a college-aged daughter? :( I’ll need to re-consider my appearance before I do zumba at the Kress again.