P90X- Day (4) Yoga X+ TOTD= AVOCADOS!

So...I put the 4 in parentheses because I actually skipped a day or two of doing P90X ( I think 2?) 1. The day after I completed my 10K, my knees were KILLING me. I don't know. Ever since we moved out here...they hurt as soon as I wake up. Some nights they're so achy I have to take some Ibuprofen to get them to stop, regardless if I worked out that day or not. 2. Yesterday Josh and I wanted to go visit the Green Sand Beach. It's a 6 mile hike to go see it and come back. When we got home...my legs were a little exhausted lol so...again I wimped out .

No more wimping out. It's crazy..I was doing good...but.. I really want to do this program right...So..hopefully I will!

SO YOGA, wow. Everyone that has taught me (dance/winter guard wise) knows I have THE WORST flexibility = why yoga kills me!..but I know IF I keep up with..I may fix it. *crosses fingers* it's , I think, one of the longest video's of the P90X Program.

When I started the video and saw it was a hour and 30 minutes I was like YIKES!!!...The first 45 minutes is straight Vinyasa Flow. MEANING...You're doing one thing..then go to downward dog....warrior one...down to plank, chatteronga down( which is slowed down pushup..but you're going down.spelling?) to up dog/ Low cobra, pushup up to downward dog AND REPEAT adding on each time either warriors or twists...I almost stopped a few times. One..I can't remember the exact name...Warrior 3? You had one leg, straight, on the ground, the opposite up (in an arabesque  / 90 angle) one hand on the ground and one up in a triangle...lol. CRAZY BUT I only stopped to take a couple water breaks and go RIGHT back into it :) 

The 2nd  portion was to focus mainly on balance. It included tree pose, half moon, full moon... etc etc, that wasn't horrible..just.I could feel all my tense muscles.I tried to focus on relaxing my face, jaw and shoulders. For some reason those are ALL my trouble spots.

The last 25 minutes included real stretching. This is ONE area I REALLY need to work on . My hamstrings and hip flexors are extremely tight. With my legs both out in front of me I can only grab my shins. I really want to work on this and focus on being able wrap my hands around my feet in that stretch, all in good time  :)

SOO I give Yoga X two thumbs up. Obviously NOT my favorite but, I know it's the medicine my body needs to be as physically fit as possible.

Tip of the day? : Something I fell IN LOVE with out in LA = AVOCADO!! I'm not a huge sauce person when it comes to my sandwiches. I don't like stuff falling into my hands when I'm eating.. *put down sandwich, wipe my hands, pick up sandwich , take a bite, put it down, wipe my hands* DRIVES ME NUTS. So usually I only use 1 condiment (ketchup on hamburgers or Mayonnaise on chicken)  BUT I've recently found how amazing avocado can be on a grilled/baked piece of chicken.. At a glance of the nutrition count you may say "but the avocado is HIGH in calories and fat (an average sized avocado contains 30 grams of fat and). BUT with new/recent studies scientist have discovered the fat is monounsaturated fat= GOOD fat, that lower total cholesterol :) (hooray!) PLUS it adds more fiber and potassium into your diet.   Here is a match up of  their nutrient levels thanks of fitsugar.com

	2 tbsp mayo	1/4 avocado
Calories	115	80
Total Fat	9.8 g	7.4
Saturated Fat	1.4 g	1.1
Cholesterol	8 mg	0 mg
Sodium	209 mg	4 mg
Carbs	7 g	4.3 g
Fiber	0 g	3.4 g
Sugar	1.9 g	.3 g
Protein	.3 g	1 g
Calcium	4.1 g	6 mg
Potassium	2.6 g	243.7 mg

Also, From WebMD: "A recommended serving size is 2 tablespoons, or roughly one-sixth of a medium-sized avocado. Each serving provides 5 grams of fat and 55 calories. Still, compared with butter or mayonnaise -- which each pack 22 fat grams and 200 calories in a 2-tablespoon serving -- they don't seem so bad"

YIKES 200 calories !!! That's almost your entire sandwich!!! SO.. Avocado GOOD, Mayo? EECH.. ALSO.. My favorite? Add a bit of salsa with your avocado. Most salsas have about 15-30 calories in 1 tablespoon, in my opinion is more than enough. It's a great substitute for ketchup and you get AMAZING flavor with a little kick.. ANYWAY.. That's TOTD

As, Always, Thanks for reading, Stay Posted, STAY HEALTHY!!!

P90X-Day 3 Ab Ripper X + 10K

Ok, so the 10K Isn't part of P90X so..don't get scared..lol. I'm training for a half marathon and realized I haven't ran this week, so...why not.

I HATE running...well not hate, but ..it isn't one of my favorite activities to do...I have horrible knees and I get bored easily :) but, running IS something my husband is VERY good at and I wanted to prove to myself that my body is STRONG enough to run...like I tell everyone, When I first started, on a treadmill, my goal was to run the entire length of a song on my ipod and then walk the rest...now...I'm here :). I'm not a marathon runner..I'm not a track star..but when I'm doing my odd little jog down the road...I take a minute and say hey...you're runner :)

For P90x, today was supposed to be Shoulder/Arms and Ab ripper. I knew I couldn't run and do the other two but tomorrow is yoga. I figured I could do even half of the shoulder/ arms and full yoga, work my way up to a double day :)

SO Ab ripper. It's killer. You're not just sitting there doing crunches..it's an entire CORE (middle of the body) workout. There are 25 reps for every exercise...= a total of 335 crunches in 15 minutes...I took a few breathing breaks here and there (i'm still a little winded from the run) but I kept going..like he says "do your best, forget the rest" :)

I've done A LOT of versions of crunches through out my winter guard years..but some of these I've never seen! If you do them full out you will DEFINITELY get a killer stomach, thighs, and strong back..(which I PLAN on doing :) )

I feel good. (sweaty BUT good) and I'm proud of what I accomplished tonight...I just hope it won't bite me in the butt tomorrow. Josh has 2 nights off so I may have a P90X workout buddy tomorrow!!! Got to love motivation when it comes to working with friends

If you want to pick up a healthy habit for the summer...look at what you're drinking. Are you drinking something with sugar in it for every meal?? ..Please.. don't drink your health away. People don't realize HOW MANY calories are in their bottle of coke, or the big guzzle from the gas station down the street. It kills me when I think.."it takes me almost an hour to work off only HALF a bottle of coke?"...SO.. be more aware of what you're drinking. A little something sweet once a day..(juice, 1/2 cup of glass of coke, or tea) isn't horrible..but if you can...drink water! I picked out a really cute, pink (surprise, surprise) water bottle that is 24oz big . I keep it by my computer, by the tv, at the pool/beach, in my backpack whenever we go anywhere for the day. Just, conveniently in my reach. Some days it surprises me how much I just sit there and drink it. It fills me (keeps me from reaching for a snack every 10-15 minutes) and when I have it with me outside, I can stay out longer in the heat. Now, Powerade/recovery drinks are great for after a workout to feed your body those enzymes/lost nutrients.. but.. watch out. Some say 80 calories..but..that's per serving. Some bottles have 2.5 servings = 200 calories in 1 bottle!! ..so..all this to say, if you want to take a step forward this summer, really pay attention to what you're sugar intake is, too much sugar can REALLY affect your heart and lead to various heart diseases, as well as obesity and diabetes.

ANYWAY, thanks for reading...as always

Stay Posted, STAY HEALTHY

P90X- Day 2- Plyometrics "You can do anything for 30 seconds!"

O-M-G Plyometrics= Jump Training, constantly jumping/fast pace movement.

I know I just posted this morning, but I figured if I post as soon as I get done with my workout, I'd have a better track record with actually Posting (ugh my laptop mouse just went all the way back to the beginning and I started typing by Omg, anyone else's laptop mouse that touch sensitive??!) ANYWAY,

Plyometrics included a lot of SQUATS and jumping. My knees have been acting up HEAVILY since we moved out here, I don't know if it's the weather or the fact I'm not working out as much.. who knows... so..I was a little learly of starting this workout (plus there was a real good movie coming on the Oxygen channel BUT I told myself I AM GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS!)  It's definitely a cardio/calorie burner with lots of muscle toning for the legs and glutes

One of the problems I face is that I live on the 3rd floor apt. I'm not so sure my neighbors want to have their ceiling bouncing around.. so.. In a lot of the exercises I didn't focus so much on my height, but more so my squat...and then I would modify the jump to a foot switch up.. still concentrating on getting low into my squat.

The trainer (can't remember his name) mentions that plyometrics is great for those that need to focus on their lung capacity, those that need to work on their breathing as well getting you're heart tuned up. I really like he hits all the responsibilities that we are to be held accountable as trainers

1. He says what we're going to do
2. He says WHY we're going to do it (bad habit of teachers.."because I said so... because I need to waste time..because It builds character..bla bla bla" lol)
3. He said WHY it was APPLICABLE to our daily lives
4. He demonstrates the exercises 
5. He has his other demonstrators show progressions (ways to make it harder) and modifications (way to back off in case of injuries or just new to the process)
6. He encourages us and motivates

So many times I just want to hit pause but he keeps saying "you can do anything for 30 seconds" lol I try not to think..omg I have 20 minutes of this left?!! hahah

It's a good program...I'm sweaty and I feel like I got my butt kicked..haha So..STILL liking the program, still going strong...(I want that frozen yogurt..hehehe *see rewards*)

One of the things that KILLED me.. is called HOT FEET. You basically hop on one foot, for 30 seconds, and make the figure of a cross *up, back, side, side* ...you think oh that isn't bad, but after the first 10 seconds you're calves are screaming. Then you do it again, on the other foot! ...you think YAY RELIEF..then that foot starts burning...LOL...gotta love the burn.. when it burns you know you're doing something right!

I'm following a calendar that came with the P90X kit. It really helps not to do the same thing 2 days in a row (plus it's not recommended. Part of a HEALTHY weightlifting/work out regiment is ACTUALLY resting, * who would have thought?!) training different parts of the body help what is called "muscle confusion". It helps your body SURPASS the plateau effect, by constantly mixing up what muscles you train, and HOW you train. It always keeps your body guessing, as opposed to just walking up to the same machine every day and doing the exact same move. It's just like our brains (um..your brain is a muscle too!! :) ..if we sat on our butts in a factory doing the same thing every day our brain (and us) would slowly lose focus and start working on the littlest amount of energy needed. With this you are no longer alert and focus. Keeping your body guessing makes it stronger and builds more effectively!

I'm not the strongest person I know (there are a LOT of ladies that I know in LA that kick Arse :))  but I survived and I kept up really well. So..*pat on back* if I can do it...you can do it.

Thanks for reading, Stay Posted, STAY HEALTHY

P90X- lets do it to it!

I was sitting at home last night, on the couch, flipping through the tv and saw a workout infomercial. I've been complaining to my husband about how I was loosing my muscle tone QUICKLY and hated that we really have no access to machines/free weights (we don't want to apply to another gym and have no exercise room in our complex).

I remember Josh scanned all of our workout dvd's onto our external hard drive, we brought with us, and found the P90X series. I realized I spend a lot of nights, sitting on the couch watching or on the internet, so why not use my time usefully.

As of June 25 I'm starting/started the P90X series and hope to finish the program...
..keyword HOPE HAHA
I'm not in it to lose weight, I'm actually.."around" my ideal weight, I really want my muscle tone back, PLUS I need to strengthen my knees for the run.  I don't have a scale (couldn't fit it in the suitcases) but I do want to keep up with my measurements ...so I'm going out to purchase a cheap body measure tape ( I left mine in LA :P)

Hopefully I'll keep up with the workout as well as posting about it...just to keep me on track.. and on purpose..

Here are some before pics

I plan on adding measurements as soon as I get them.

Last Night I did The Chest and Back video= 59+ minutes of 2 circuits of 12 exercises working chest, lats, as well as biceps, triceps , deltoids, and abs.
  It really concentrated on my number one hate, pushups. I HATE pushups. I have this weird thing where my elbows pop every time if my arms are not out wide enough,? I dunno. I've worked with a few trainers on this and I just have to work up the muscle around that area. We did a lot of various pushups (diamond, Military, downward dog, and decline (legs up on a chair) ) I did all of the pushups on my knees. :( I know pathetic...but I got about 20 reps both circuits so..hopefully I can work it up to half of the reps on my knees and half on my toes, finishing with all on toes. We also did a lot of chin ups. Now I don't have a chin up bar (or weights)..but I do have resistance bands, so I wrapped the resistance band around the leg of my table and laid on the floor. This may not have been working my back as much as it should have but, I WAS getting the bicep burn , that is included in the chin ups. :)

What I REALLY like about P90X is the guy really know his stuff. He does everything correctly. He starts out with a little cardio (which a LOT of trainers do not) then does about 5-8 minutes of stretching and then gets right into the routine, with lots of water breaks. According to the athletic association ( i can't remember the exact abbreviation, even though I read it in my training book OVER and OVER) this is the correct form of training .  He always focus's on correct form and alignment and really believes in pushing yourself. I like it a lot. So..hopefully I'll keep up with that...and this...and bring you along on my little journey!

Stay Posted, Stay healthy!

Can I have another? I think so ! :)

After talking to my husband, We've decided we REALLY miss running and we're quickly getting out of shape!  We no longer have access to a fitness room and don't really want to shell out money for a fitness gym. Things are settling down from the move and we're itching to get back to our fitness regiment. After some looking around we found there is a run, in the city of Volcano (about 45 minutes from us) to help an Arts Center (how can I say no to that!) There is a 5K, a 10K, and a Half. I've thought about it and ..I REALLY, REALLY want to run the half. I was slightly disappointed in myself that I didn't participate in the marathon back in LA..but I had to be realistic. There is NO WAY I physically ready to run a marathon.

There are three factors that we DEFINITELY be a challenge..1... NO electronics are allowed = NO IPODS :( This is going to be VERY hard for me. The only way I get motivated is through my music. If i don't have it, I start thinking and get tired much faster mentally. 2. THE DIFFICULTY of the race. First of all, we are much higher in elevation than we were in LA = mucho fun for breathing . ALSO even though I had 4 killer hills in my 5K they were over quickly .The land here is very, very hilly. Just on our stretch of the road you have 4-5 inclines in less than a mile. 3. It's 13.1 miles. My legs always want to stop on mile 1!! lol.

OK now..since I've listed all the reasons why I should fail..and got that out of my system.....Part of me believes I can do it. Honestly, I'm not going for some record time. I just want to finish. Josh will be running it with me as well. Obviously he will pass me (he has a 8-9 minute mile while i'm at 9-10) but hopefully he'll stay at the finish line after finishing and come out and meet me as I finish :))) It's so funny, even though I'm the personal fitness trainer, he motivates me!...running is NOT my strongest suit. I'd rather do a ..dance-a-thon ( do they even have those??) than run...but..when we run he's the one pushing me, I'm striving to keep up with him. 

Completing and finishing something that is NOT your strongest, makes the journey..the pain...worth it.

SO..I'm officially in training. The race is in August. I want to run 2-3  times a week this month..and then continually work on my distance.. I need to get past the 5K LOL when 3.0 comes up on my Nike+ watch my brain is like YOU"RE ALMOST DONE..lol not quite this time :)

:)

That's the latest....so..stay posted STAY HEALTHY!

Aloha!

Aloha! For those that follow this blog, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.We've been in Hawaii for a week. It's been a little crazy! We've spent a lot of time getting accustomed to where we live and things to do.

I went to the Hilo Farmer's Market last Wed. and I am SOLD. With discovering farmers markets in LA and Hilo, it's definitely the way to go. This past wed. I purchased a pineapple (MMM), spinach, zucchini, a bag of strawberry papaya, and banana's all for $8. You can't get those prices at a store, especially home grown, no chemicals added, type of produce. :) :) I was very happy.

It's such a change of life here.We live on a highly traveled, dead end road. A lot of the shoreline accesses is off the road as well as a large bike lane (FINALLY, WE LIVE IN A CITY WITH A BIKE LANE!!!). In the morning, I see a lot of people running/riding their bikes. It's an amazing site. In LA you really had to push through people or ride in the road to do either. 

My husband and I ran for the first time since we moved here. Oh it was horrible lol. It's a shame how hard you can work on your body and how QUICKLY it gets out of shape. My knees/legs were NOT happy. I really need to make running an every day routine. We are debating on entering another 10K/5K they are hosting on the island. We're not sure if we can swing the entry fee but, we'll see :) It's just sad, if I was training this whole time (like i did for the 5K) I would perhaps been able to have participated in the half marathon :( Oh well, maybe another time.

I hope all is well and you all are enjoying your summer and are getting outside every day!

Stay Posted, Stay Healthy!