Insanity - Week 1, Day 5 & 6 - CP & PCC

Pure Cardio and Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  Jesus H.

Somehow, I managed to skip a day somewhere and my schedule got weirded, so I had to do these two workouts today.

Needless to say, I'm tired, I'm sore, and I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for 10 hours. Except 10 hours of sleep is wishful thinking on my part. 

Today has been crap since I was rudely awakened by Yarly the cat.  I won't go into details, but that cat has hit the high point on my shit list.  Adding to the fact I somehow missed a hard workout, and had to make it up today, plus do Friday's workout before we leave for the weekend, and I'm just not a happy camper. 

Going to shower and make myself a shake, and then hopefully sleep for a few hours before I drive us out to the campground this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Diablo 3 - Darling, Come Home: A Quieter Criticism

My WoW guild master linked this Diablo 3 post on her Facebook page.  I read it and agreed 100% with the poster.  It so accurately describes our ... unrest ... that I felt the absolute need to post it here.

A very teeny tiny amount of background: Diablo 3 has been broken for reasons we just can't understand.  It's almost like the designers forgot why we've all loved the Diablo franchise for so many years.  I can't really go into more issues without possibly nerd-raging about lag, deaths, no power, less loot, less gold, and real money auction houses.

So, I'm just going to point you to this very well written post on the Blizzard Diablo 3 forums.  If you have an account there, and you agree with what he says, please, "like" the post and request a sticky.  Maybe, just maybe, if enough of us do it, the developers will see it and make some real changes, or at the very least, respond.

Darling, Come Home: a quieter criticism by FluffyMuffin

I will share a few of his words here:

Fun is a subjective thing. I've never cared about competing. And I know many people who live for it. I'm fine with that. But this was my sanctuary. The sports-lovers played Starcraft. The gear-mongers played WoW. Diablo was never a sport, it wasn't about "progression" in a rigid structured sense. Diablo existed for 1 reason... to beat monsters until they exploded like blood-filled loot pinatas. That's all. And if you should so happen to set foot outside town, and look at someone the wrong way... maybe you'd be the blood-filled pinata. But in the time I played D2, it never happened unprovoked.

Another:

And yes, I realize test monsters with 1 HP explode no matter what attack you use. But again, this is what we saw, and this is what we fell in love with. If my barbarian charged across a bridge, blew apart 50 monsters, and all the resulting carnage and gore being rendered crashed my computer, I'd laugh maniacally and reboot just to do it all again. Why? Because it's fun.

And one more:

Treasure Goblins are, in my eyes, the last glimmering hope. In the middle of all this, there's a nasty little psychological gimmick. How great is my greed? And with child-like glee, and mindless recklessness, I plunge headlong into a group of monsters to chase down a goblin with a bag of goodies, so I can beat him mercilessly to death. The most innocent and innocuous of monsters. He counts his gold, and runs away, because he doesn't want to fight. Yet we slaughter them amid laughter and cheers. This, my friends, is Diablo.

 We don't want balance. We don't want to be held by the hand and shown how to play. We don't want safe secure new ways to burn real money. We want to be unleashed on a world full of evil, demonic, hellish-looking sacks of blood, guts, and gold... and we want to be encouraged to play it exactly as we want and find fun for ourselves. We want to feel this intangible, non-existing "too much power." We want the Blizzard and the Diablo we know and love back.

Please - read the thread.  It has to be one of the best written posts I've ever seen on a gaming forum.

Darling, Come Home: a quieter criticism by FluffyMuffin

Insanity - Week 1, Day 3 & 4 - CPR & CR

Hello my wonderful readers!

As you may have noticed, I'm doing this round of Insanity on a two workouts to one blog post ratio.  This is because you've already heard me rant and rave about them, and really...who wants to hear me repeat myself nine hundred times over the next 60 days on Insanity?

I'm doing it for you!  LOL!

Anyways, here's what been happening:  Cardio Power & Resistance (CPR - Wednesday) and Cardio Recovery (CR - Thursday).  As you may have also noticed, I'm getting somewhat lazy and am shortening all the names of long things so I don't have to type them out, realize I spelled them wrong, and have to fix it.  Yes, I'm that lazy. Or that bad at typing.  Either way, I may shorten names.  I'm sure you're all smart enough to figure out what they are by now.

Cardio Power & Resistance was ... different.  I really don't remember half of what I did in that video.  I mean, I've done it before, but maybe it was because I was so drained and "blah" the last time I did them that they just didn't register.  Or I didn't have enough oxygen in my brain to retain the exercises.  It could happen. 

Anyways, it felt completely new, but I was still struggling to get through it.  The warm-ups are really kicking my ass more than I thought they would.  I don't know if this is because I took such a long break, or if I'm just working harder than the first time I did Insanity.  Either way, I'm totally feeling it.

Then we come up with Thursday's Cardio Recovery.  I wept with delight, then I remembered the pulses, the slow squats and oblique plank things that I can't remember the name of right now...and I wanted to cry.  My legs feel rubbery, in a good way.  My core feels sore, which in the last round of Insanity, I didn't start feeling that until Month 2.  So, that is awesome! 

I just love Cardio Recovery because of and in spite of those damn pulses, because it just stretches and makes you feel all loose.  Drinking a Chocolate Shakeology afterwards is like heaven.

I'm kinda of looking forward to Pure Cardio tomorrow - probably with the same enthusiasm a dog feels when you tell him you're taking him to the park, but you're really taking him to the vet.  Yeah, it's kinda like that.  :)

Also, I'm doing a research poll for Shakeology drinkers, and will be working an article series for a very in depth review of Shakeology from the perspective of others besides myself.  If you would like to participate, please contact me and I'll send you the questions.

Have a great day!

Insanity - Week 1, Days 1 & 2 - Fit Test & PCC

Hello my friends!  Yes, you read that title correctly.  I missed so many days last week, and I didn't even do the Fit Test, that I decided to start Insanity all over completely.  I chose to start on Sunday, so that my rest days fall on Saturdays - which is normally when we're at the campground.  :)

Yesterday I did the Fit Test.  I was mildly surprised that my numbers hadn't dropped terribly considering I haven't really worked out since I finished Insanity.  You can see for yourself below.  The first number represents my Day 63 results from my last round of Insanity.  The second number is Sunday's numbers.  The third number represents my Day 1 numbers from the first round of Insanity back in April.

Switch Kicks: 84 - 54 - 43
Power Jacks: 33 - 20 - 16
Power Knees: 73 - 72 - 53
Globe Jumps: 8 - 4 - 4
Suicide Jumps: 7 - 6 - 5
Push-Up Jacks: 15 - 12 - 3
Low Plank Oblique: 52 - 45 - 23

I seriously thought they would be way lower than they are, so I'm quite pleased with myself.  It's nice to know I didn't lose as much stamina as I thought I did.  :)  I'll be completely honest and say that I pushed myself incredibly hard to get those numbers, otherwise they'd be a crapload lower.  At one point I had to actually pause the Fit Test for a minute because I felt light-headed.  But, that's what I get for not turning the air on before I started the video up. 

As for today, Plyometric Cardio Circuit (PCC) welcomed me with open arms.  I didn't want a hug.  In fact, by the end, I was pretty much out of everything - breathe, stamina, and the will to make my muscles hold me up.  As much as I missed Insanity, I was laying on the floor wondering what kind of crazy I must be to want to put myself through this again.

Then I thought of the 10 pounds and close to 20" I lost with the first round of Insanity, and I know it will be totally worth every single minute of aching muscles, gallons of sweat, and swearing I'll be doing for the next 60 days.  About the actual workout - I love all the jabs and punches at the end of the video, and I think that the Cross Jacks are my second favorite exercise move.  The first one would be the Over The River thing.  :)

I feel drained, but happy to know that for the next 60 days, I have a definite workout that I know won't annoy me or make me frustrated because of my inability to execute it enough to feel like I'm actually working out. 

I'm also happy that I got today's workout out of the way early since we're going to my dad and stepmom's later this evening to make my dad a Father's Day dinner since TH had to work last night.  I won't have to worry about coming home to do my workout, because it's already done.  Yay me!  :)

Hello Insanity, I missed you!  See you tomorrow!  :)

Turbo Insanity Jam

So, I know I told you I'd write on Monday.  It's quite obvious that I didn't.  :)

I apologize, but I've been sucked into reading the "Shades of Grey" trilogy.  I finished it it - all three books - about 10 minutes ago.  I've decided to write my thoughts on each book, because after all the hype they've gotten, I feel it's something I just have to write about.  So, look for those in the upcoming days.

I've also decided to add Insanity back to my life.  I missed it too much.  If you recall back to my last post about Turbo Jam, I'm just not feeling the whole dancing and kicking thing.  Chalene's great, the music is great, the workouts are great, but they just aren't my cup of tea.  I will continue to do them during Month 1 of Insanity, just to make sure that I'm not jumping the gun on it, but the more I try to get motivated to do Turbo jam, the less I want to work out.

Today, which is still my Tuesday, I will be doing Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  I'm going to skip the Fit Test because technically I should have done it on Monday, though I didn't officially decide to go back to it earlier today.

Why, you might ask?

I've noticed loss of muscle definition in both my arms and legs, I've lost that drive to workout, and I just generally feel like crap.  Doing Turbo Jam left me feeling frustrated and annoyed, not like I actually accomplished something.  For those of you out there who like to dance, you'll love Turbo Jam.  I just can't do it.  I like the whole "do this as fast as you can" type workouts.  Maybe once I've gotten the muscle tone and coordination, I'll revisit Turbo Jam and Chalene, but for now, I'm going back to Shaun T.

So, that's all for tonight.  I've got to get sweaty now.  Expect a full report tomorrow!  :)

Turbo Jam - Week 1, Days 3 & 4

So, 20 Minute Workout.  Sounds easy enough.

Not really.

My Wednesday and Thursday workouts were both 20 Minute Workout.  I was pro-active and did my Thursday one just a little while ago so I could write about both of them at once since I'll be really super busy when I wake up later.  We're going out to the campground again, and I swear, the kitchen WILL BE CLEAN before we leave.  I made a huge dent in it by doing the dishes already, but it needs more work.

On to the workout video.

In all honesty, it's not the workout that's hard.  It's me being uncoordinated.  I actually did 20 Minute workout three times during MY "day", once earlier around midnight and twice after 3:30 a.m.  Those of you who have read my blog, know that my "day" is when normal people are sleeping, so for you new readers, that's why some of this may sound strange.

So the moves are simple, the music is good, and Chalene Johnson really is fun to watch.  I just can't get my body to do what she's doing.  Now, by the third time around, I was a bit better at timing the punches and such, but when it came time to add in kicks is where I was getting all clumsy and lopsided.  I feel like I have four left feet and they are all going in opposite directions.

Now, for the effect it's having on my body and muscles, well, even Chalene says during the 20 minute workout "Bet it doesn't even feel like a workout, does it?".  And it doesn't.  I went from "do as many of these things in 30 seconds (or a minute) as you can" to dancing/kick-boxing/sculpting.  It just feels like...I don't know, I can't really describe it.  All I know is I'm about to say the one thing I never thought would come out of my mouth (or fingers in this case):

I really, really, really wish I was doing Insanity. 

There, I said it.  I miss Shaun T, and I miss feeling like I actually worked out.  With 20 minute workout, even after doing it twice in a row, I didn't feel like I got a workout - at least, not what I'm used too.  I'm hoping that as my muscles learn these moves and I am able to stay in sync with Chalene, I will start to feel like I'm doing something besides feel ridiculous.

I'm done with the schedule for this week, but I'm probably going to pop in Learn & Burn tomorrow just to practice the moves some more to help with that muscle memory and coordination that I am seriously lacking.

On a completely different topic, our cat Yarly scared the crap out of me earlier.  I was outside having a smoke and he's waiting for me by the back door.  Well, he goes to walk into the kitchen and his back leg goes out on him and he lets out this absolutely awful sound.  Remember, it's like 4 in the morning when this happens, TH is at work, and I panic a little bit.  I kind of just held him up around his belly for a bit because he was stuck in a half step pose (kinda looked like a Hip Flexor Stretch cat-style actually), and then I made him lay down for a bit. 

I sat on the floor and pet him, then he gets up like nothing happened.  So, I felt bad and gave him and Leela some treats just to make him feel better.  Not that Yarly needs them - he's like 22 pounds of huge furriness.  I do believe a trip to the vet may be in order though.

I probably won't write anything until after Monday's workout (camping and all), so we'll talk to you then!

Turbo Jam - Week 1, Days 1 & 2

Okay, so I know you were breathlessly awaiting my post yesterday on how my first Turbo Jam, Learn & Burn, went.

Weren't you?

Huh?

Bueller?

You didn't get one because as excited as I was to start it, I didn't actually do Turbo Jam yesterday.  I did Diablo III Jam.  TH and I had a marathon.  We got both our main characters into Hell mode, got our first set of alts into Nightmare mode, and finished making TH's Staff of Herding.  We then had to go check out the area Staff of Herding unlocks, which is called Whimseyshire, and it was quite hilarious by the way.  I definitely recommend checking it out if you have the chance.  Tell me you don't laugh hilariously.  Just don't pee in your pants because I'm totally not responsible for that.

So, I did two sets of Learn & Burn today.  I was going to add in a Cardio Abs from Insanity, simply as a "Haha, you didn't do your workout yesterday, so now you have to do another one" type thing, but I was so frustrated that I just turned the DVD player off.

Not because it was hard or ineffective.  Quite opposite actually.  Learn & Burn takes the moves that you'll be using for the next two months, and teaches you how to combine them to effectively work your body. 

The problem lies with me.  I'm not coordinated.  AT ALL.  If I learned anything from doing Learn & Burn today, it's that the cats have to go away because I don't want to fall on them when I trip over my own feet and that I mostly likely will have a black eye at least once during the next two months because I will end up punching myself in the face.

Yeah, that's how uncoordinated I am.

Now, I will tell you that during doing Learn & Burn twice in a row, things got a bit easier, but not a whole hell of a lot.  And I will tell you that the exercises I did where I didn't manage to maim myself or a feline actually felt good to do.  Those muscles are a little achy now, which I've totally missed since I ended Insanity a few weeks back.

I have a feeling Turbo Jam will actually be the workout to get rid of most of my flab if I can actually get my body parts to follow what the people on the screen are doing.  :)  Oh, and if I do happen to punch myself in the face, or trip over my own two feet, I'll post pictures to prove it. I'm going to go make myself a kick ass glass of Chocolate Shakeology to reward myself for a good day's work.

See ya tomorrow!

Turbo Jam on Monday!

So I know I haven't written anything since I posted up my Insanity results, and for that I am sorry.  Been super busy with summertime fun activities - like camping.  I've also been sucked into Diablo III and have been playing it like it's going out of style.  :)

Monday June 4th I'm starting Turbo Jam with a few people from our team's super awesome Facebook page.  I absolutely can't wait to get back on to a workout schedule.  I just don't workout without a schedule to follow.  I wanted to test myself and I failed miserably at it. 

"Today, I'm going to do push-ups, some arm work, and some good old fashioned crunches."

Yeah, that hasn't happened.  Though yesterday, I did do a couple sets of arm curls with my trusty ol' five pound weights.  Yeah, I'm a weakling, shoot me.  :)

I do things if I know I have to follow a schedule, so next week is going to be awesome.

My Uncle is flying up from Mississippi for a work conference, so I'll get to hang out with him tonight.  I haven't seen him since Thanksgiving last year, so it should be fun.  Last I heard, we're going to Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger in Paradise.  Too bad I won't get a cheeseburger, but I'll report to you how good their salads are.  :)

I have continued to eat mostly right.  With the Memorial Day weekend, I kinda let myself slide a little a bit (beer, food, horseshoes and bags!), but I've still managed to lose 2.2 pounds even without being super strict on myself.  I'm doing a modified Shakeology Cleanse to jump start my Turbo Jam program, and so far so good!  :)

With that 2.2 pounds of weight loss, I now officially weigh less than I did when TH and I got married two years ago.  This makes me super happy! 

My goals for Turbo Jam are to be under 200 pounds by the time I finish the program.  I'm going to shoot for 199, but secretly hope I'll get down to 190.  Since it's not as intense as Insanity was, I'm not exactly sure how that will work, or if it will work, but I've got two months to lose 15 pounds.  But, as I learned from Insanity, it's not about the weight I lose, it's about the inches.  So, a parallel goal is to fit into the size 14 shorts I've had for like 10 years.  They are almost brand new since I think I only wore them like three times before I stopped being able to button them.  They are the "Closet Jeans" of summertime.  :) 

Again, like Insanity, I'll post up measurements and weight loss, as well as pics, when I'm finished with the Turbo Jam program.  I plan on staying to the "every two weeks" schedule of measuring and weighing like I did with Insanity on Fit Test days.  

Lots of stuff going on these next few months!  I can't wait to be able to write to you about them!  Don't forget to "Like" NFBL on Facebook to get more frequent updates and tidbits that I don't post up on the blog!  See you Monday!