Day 5 of 30 Day Shred

5 Days in. My endurance is definitely improved and my muscles have that good soreness of change taking place. My legs feel so heavy when doing those jacks during the first cycle. I'm not always able to do that whole portion of jacks. I don't just stop though. I do the modified jack where you still make big concentrated arm movements and you kind of lunge from one leg to the other in a side lunge. Believe me I can still feel it and I am breathing HEAVY.
I'm having a bit of a problem with what I believe must be orthostatic hypotension. I just about black out if I try to just hop up from the lying exercises to the standing. I just sit up pause, get on my knees pause, and then come to standing sort of slowly. I am able to do all this quickly enough so that I manage to be in position in time for the exercise to start. (I do it while Jillian is talking). I'm not missing out on any of the exercise so that's awesome. It's just a little troubling because sometimes I forget and go to hop up and the world goes black.
I'm already seeing body changes but I'm at that stage that always comes first with me when I jump back on the fitness wagon. My muscles feel tight. I can tell that my arms are tighter. My sweater this morning feels so good in the upper arm area where I've become quite flabby. But I have a little problem. Maybe it's just a mental thing. I feel tighter. My clothes feel good. BUT when I look in the mirror, I see flab oh lots and lots of flab that seems to be just hanging. It like the muscles tightened up but the fat cannot be tightened so it's hanging out. Hope Jillian helps me blast off this fat.
I know. I know. I need to look at what I'm eating too. A whole body needs a whole approach for change. Give me time. I'm getting there.

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Day 4 of the Shred

Red faced. Felt like I was going to pass out. Had to move slowly from floor exercises to standing exercises because the world went black when I tried to hop up. This was a TOUGH day but I hung in there. I made it through it and I feel fine now. :)

Day 3 of the Shred

I typed up a post yesterday but then deleted it. Joy! I was really surprised to find yesterday that my endurance has already increased! I looked forward to the workout all day. But, honestly, when I finally had the time, I was not sure that I wanted to do more than "phone it in". I went ahead and got started. I started to modify those jacks again and heard Jillian telling me that I could do it. So...I tried and I really did. I did all of them. I felt exhilirated immediately after working out. My energy really petered out over the evening though. I was tired last night. Man, was I tired!
I'll let you know how today goes!

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Day 2 of the 30 Day Shred

I managed to get another work out in today. Again, Jillian would be mad at me for "phoning it in" but I could not keep up with the cardio work. I did not stop. I modified the exercises and I was still breathing heavily. Trying to keep up with their pace of jumping jacks and butt kicks was making me feel like I was going to pass out quite literally. I must have taken up smoking in my sleep or something because my cardio conditioning is kaput. This, from a person who is constantly running after a busy little guy on the go. Anyway, Day 2 and I'm feeling good. I am sore but it's a good my body is making some good changes sore.

1st Day of 30 Day Shred

Other bloggers raved about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred so I jumped on the band wagon. Today was my 1st workout. I try to watch any workout video before I do to make sure that I understand the instructions and mostly so I get the "this is how not to injure yourself" tips. Jack loved watching the work out and kept hollering "Work out" but then he wanted me to "bounce high!" That means he wants me to sit on the exercise ball and bounce him. After we had several discussions (ahem, so we each had our individual breakdowns sort of), we agreed that I would just spend those 20 minutes doing the workout video then I'd be back to playing with him. He ran around while I worked out and tried to grab me a time or two. Oh my goodness, I did not realize that my cardio endurance was so poor. I know Jillian says not to modify the jumping jacks but I had to slow down the jacks and the butt kicks. I have a ways to go but I'm feeling good. And I sweated a lot. Who knew you could get such a good workout in 20 minutes?

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Do Not Give Way to Fear

1 Peter 3:1-6. I have never liked this bible passage. The NIV puts it this way: " 1Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
The Message Bible puts it like this: " 1-4The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.
4-6Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated."
I did not like this passage of scripture because it intimidated me. I read it to say that a non-believing husband could become a believer if he had a pure and holy wife because he would see her purity. So to the man that knows you better than anyone but the Lord you are suddenly supposed to appear pure? Does anyone else see how terribly convicted I felt everytime I got upset or ill in the presence of (not even necessarily upset or ill with) my husband? Surely, God knows that I am not pure and holy?!!? How on earth could I live up to this standard? Then I saw it. There it was at the end of verse 6. "do not give way to fear" Hmmmm.....number 1 reason that I find it hard to be submissive? BINGO! It's fear. Fear that my sweetie really has not thought through everything...Fear that my sweetie is just being selfish...Fear that my sweetie does not truly love me....Fear that my sweetie just isn't very bright.....Fear, fear, fear....God is telling me not to fear. So it's a choice. I can trust in God and submit to his plan for marriage or I can continue on my stubborn path of trying to figure it all out myself...
Lord, forgive me for my fear. It is often difficult for me to understand your ways especially when you use us flawed human beings to orchestrate your divine plan. I want to take each step in faith but I fall again and again as I take my eyes off you and peer into the dark, murky waters beneath my feet. Help my unbelief, Lord. I thank you for your tender mercies as you remember me on a daily even second by second basis. Thank you for being there for me even as I turn my back from you and say that I am too busy, too tired, too frazzled, too something/anything for the one that loves me best. Amen

Taking Care

Question for the day:
Do men want to feel taken care of?

My husband and I are both independent people who have difficulty working together as partners. We each have our own way of doing things and, frankly, having to check in with someone else sometimes just flat out bugs me. It's the truth.
Anyway, I'v recently been feeling overwhelmed by responsibilty and feeling decidedly un-"taken care of". I work. I plan. I think think think I'm always thinking about how I can do more more more. There's so much to be done and only so much time to do it all. When I get overwhelmed (and I do often), all this thinking denigrates to if only I could count on my husband.....you get the picture and it ain't a pretty one. So this morning I was whining to a friend.....
After we got off the phone, I got to thinking about something....my friend is VERY busy too and she makes her husband breakfast every morning--sometimes she just toasts and butters a bagel but still, she also buys his clothes....I don't do these things .....

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