Benefits of Interval Training

When I was young and impressionable, I saw commercials and ads selling weight-loss pills. They were AMAZING! All you had to do was take this pill every day. It would curb your appetite, increase your metabolism, and the excess pounds would magically disappear leaving you looking like a model. Being a lazy fat kid, I begged my mom to let me get some. She told me something I would never forget –

you’ll probably lose weight but as soon as you stop taking the pill, because your habits haven’t changed, you’ll gain the weight back; probably even more than you originally lost.

And what happened to those old miracle weight-loss pills? A lot of them have lawsuits now for causing life-altering issues.

There is no such thing as a magic pill when it comes to weight loss and getting in shape. There is, however, a way of exercising that can get you results fast.

Interval Training – exercising in intervals of varying intensity

There are many benefits to this form of exercising. A few are listed here:

• Greater and faster muscle development
• Speed gets faster sooner
• Greater calorie burn

In other words, you get more bang for your buck in a shorter amount of time. Isn’t that what everyone wants – a way to get results as fast as possible? Their magic pill?

Except with this pill you have to work your butt off in order to make work. Hey, if it makes my butt smaller, I’m all for it! Actually, it’s not so much my butt that I’d like to shrink as the cellulite in my butt.

Like with all good things, there are a few side effects that I feel it my duty to mention.

• Potential exhaustion during and after
• Soreness varying from mild to I-Have-To-Use-The-Handicap-Bar-In-Order-Help-Me-Sit-On-The-Toilet
• Temporary puffiness as muscles grow
• Potential desire to puke during exercise
• Admiration from others
• A badass body

You have limitless potential. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Whenever anyone tells me I’m not capable of something, I work harder so that I can prove them wrong. It’s a great feeling – proving someone wrong. My pride in myself skyrockets and it’s the one time I let myself indulge guilt-free in smugness.

The routine here is from backonpointe.tumblr.com (but I found it on Pinterest). It’s called Interval Running but can be used as interval training for any kind of cardio. If you don’t like running, climb on the elliptical or maybe the stationary bike. I love the rowing machine myself.

I think this particular intervals routine is totally doable. Lots of jogging in there, not so many sprints. I’ve seen harder but even in this case you get out of it what you put into it. If you think it’s too easy, sprint and jog faster. It won’t be too easy then.

“Remember, when your wings are weak, your spirits done and you’ve flown as far as you can, you’re halfway there!” – Echidna from Legend of the Guardians

Do you ever incorporate intervals into your training? What’s your go-to form of cardio?

*DISCLAIMER: I’m not responsible for any injuries people receive by trying the exercises on my blog. Always consult your doctor before trying a new exercise and always always always listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop. Injuries are too horrible.*

 

Zumba Rocks My World!

I had a post all ready to post here about interval training but I decided to postpone it because I had Zumba this morning and it was so purely awesome I just had to blab to the world about it. I think I was even blinded by its sheer awesomeness.

The instructor didn’t incorporate any new dances into the class so I wasn’t all…

There was, however, new-ish choreography that she introduced a few weeks ago. I only take the class once a week but, after 3 or so classes even I start to get this stuff down so I didn’t look like a total goofball in class. In fact, I was able to grab a spot in front of the mirror today. I wanted to see how much progress I had made since restarting back in January.

WOW! I had no idea I was able to get my groove on so well! I didn’t bother watching myself during the song I’m still having difficulty with (it’s super fast but I’ve almost got it) because I was too busy watching every tiny movement the instructor was doing, but I’m sure I wasn’t THAT bad…

I wore my HR monitor and checked out the results of my ultra-fun “work”out.

• Class Length – 45min
• AVG HR – 164bmp
• Peak HR – 180bmp
• Calories Burned – 701

701 calories burned. Who cares what you look like, right?? Am I right?? Yeah, I’m totally right.

Here are some reasons to try Zumba:

Who wouldn’t want all of that?? And you can look super sexy. Well, in your head you can anyway. But after some (or a lot) of practice, you can look sexy for real doing it. You know the saying, “Dance like nobody’s watching?” That’s how it is with Zumba. Just pretend nobody’s watching you and DANCE!

Now I’ll leave you with a video as a parting shot to get you to join me in my Zumba love.

Ballerina Arms Routine

I think most women have dreamed of becoming ballerinas at some point in their lives. I was no exception. There was one short period of my childhood when I dreamed of twirling around, so beautiful and elegant, of being graceful and slim and, well, perfect.

I probably had that feeling every winter when I’d see The Nutcracker. There’s an animated version that had me skipping and bouncing around the living room and I swore every time that I would make a great ballerina because I could dance like Clara in the cartoon. Now I’m pretty sure she was not up to ballet standards but that’s hardly the point.

Every winter I dreamed of being a ballerina until I realized one year that my genetics (I was not constructed from a slim mold and dancing comes anything but naturally to me) and my very habits were against me. Between the two of them there was no way I was ever going to be a ballerina.

Like many little girls I grew up and, while I still dream of dancing, I no longer dream of being a ballerina. But thanks to ballet-inspired exercises we can still endeavor to have bits and pieces of a ballerina’s body. I’ll never want the whole thing – they’re too skinny and limber for my tastes – but to have bits and pieces of a ballerina-like body, that’d be pretty cool.

In the March, 2014 issue of Fitness Magazine they endeavor to give just that to people – ballerina arms. Andrea Rogers, founder of the Xtend Barre studio in Brooklyn, has created a barre routine that works your arms without adding in extra bulk (much like Tracy Anderson does).

Equipment Needed: pair of 1lb dumbbells

After doing this routine myself, I can say with a certain amount of surety, “OUCH!”

Looking at the moves I thought they’d be easy! I mean, come on, 1lb dumbbells?? But I reminded myself this was Fitness; they’re not going to give easy peasy workouts in a magazine like Fitness. Yeah, I was right to doubt my initial impression. It’s not easy. At all.

I don’t know what this routine would be like for really fit people. My shoulders have always tended toward the weaker side, especially after tearing my left shoulder’s rotator cuff some while ago. For the average person, this routine will make the muscles all around their shoulders BUUUUUUURN.

It may sound like I don’t like it or couldn’t do it. Quite the contrary. I very much enjoyed it and found it very beneficial considering I did have that injury. I watched myself in the mirror while I did the moves and saw the tendons in my arms – tendons and muscle definition I don’t normally see while doing other moves.

You’re working your shoulders and pretty much only your shoulders for a long time but the moves go by quickly. By the end I had to stop a few times for a couple seconds to shake out my arms but the burn was never bad enough to be pain. With this routine I’ll be able to develop my shoulders in a way that I’ve been wanting for years now. And they’re moves I’m not killing myself to perform so I still feel good (though sore) afterward.

This is definitely a routine that is going in my book to do on a regular basis. Watch out, World! I’m going to have killer shoulders by the time tank top season hits!

Do you enjoy ballet or ballet-ish workouts? What other kinds of exercises do you do for your arms/shoulders?

*DISCLAIMER: I’m not responsible for any injuries people get while trying the exercises found on my blog. Always consult your doctor before trying new forms of exercise and always listen to your body. If it hurts, stop.*

Using the Wall in a Workout

So the other day my husband, son, and I had fun standing on the wall. Yep! We were standing on the wall!

I told my husband about the Trainer To Go routine in my February issue of Self magazine and he expressed hesitation when I said I wanted to try it. After assuring him that the wooden walls of apartment wouldn’t bend or break, I demonstrated move #5 in the routine.

Sure enough, the walls remained firm and he got a good laugh from this strange new sight.

I was so excited to find that I could do it and that it was practically effortless (had it always been so? I don’t know; I was always too afraid to try given my lack of muscle) that I called in my son. He’s 4 ½ years old so the moment I mentioned climbing on the wall with Mama he came running in and threw himself into it when I showed him how.

We were laughing so much that my husband came back in to see what was going on. I suppose he thought if I could do it so could he and maybe he was curious about why we were having such a good time because instead of poo-pooing the idea when I suggested he try, he went ahead and did it!

We were a very happy family of wall walkers.

Back to the routine! It was created by trainer Joshua Lipsey and uses the wall, the wall, and only the wall. Do 2 sets of each move (he says to go slowly) 3x/week on alternate days.

Some of the moves are easy like #5 while others, like #4, are super duper hard. Still others are only as hard as you make them.

Remember to have fun but maybe don’t laugh like we were doing when you’re in some of those positions because you’ll need your core engaged or you might go tumbling down.

Do you ever use the wall when you exercise? What kinds of exercises are fun for you?

*DISCLAIMER: I will not be held responsible for any injuries that occur while trying the exercises found on my blog. We’re all responsible for our own bodies. Always consult your doctor before trying a new kind of exercise. Always always always listen to your body and stop if you feel pain. Injuries are no fun.*

Gluten and Dairy-free Pizza!

If someone had asked me a couple years ago what food I couldn’t live without I would’ve said meat pizza and chocolate. I grew up on pizza (among other junk); it was my absolute favorite of anything I could eat and I would’ve chosen it for any meal on any day. In fact, I lived off mac & cheese, pizza, and diet soda for an entire semester in college. Another semester it was ramen.

Yeah, I was really healthy.

And then last winter I found out I had a gluten sensitivity and was lactose-intolerant. No more pizza.

WHAT???!!!

What kind of cruel god allows us to create pizza and then makes me unable to eat it?? It was the end of the world as I knew it. But I still ate it.

And suffered the consequences every time. My parents and husband can attest to that.

Eventually I stopped eating it altogether because it got to be too much for me but I missed it so much. I indulged once this winter for the first time in half a year and boy did it taste like heaven. I waited till the end of the birthday party so only my son and the car would deal with the side effects but I was spared the worst making it a regret-free indulgence.

WOO!

But the past couple days I’ve been sighing over the lack of pizza in my life. I’m sure if I had ignored it like I usually do the craving would’ve gone away in a day or two but I REALLY wanted pizza. So I went to the store and dug around in what I call the “special” section of the store. What did I find? Allergen-free pizza crust mix and crumbly goat’s cheese.

Holy Mackerel! THERE IS A GOD!!!

Gluten/Dairy-free Pizza:

• Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix (2 tbsp olive oil, 2 eggs, 1.5c warm water, mix)
• Crumbled Goat’s Cheese
• Tomato paste
• Black Olives (sliced)
• Spinach
• Mushrooms (sliced)
• Garlic Powder

I spent an hour making this pizza. It’s not pretty, it could’ve used less tomato paste, and the goat cheese took some getting used to but it was worth it. By the end of my first piece I was accustomed to the sharp taste of the cheese. It’s no meat pizza but I love these particular veggies and it was gluten/dairy-free so I have no complaints whatsoever. I could definitely get used to this pizza.

Best part is that I didn’t burn it or undercook it! Go me! Woo!

My normal time limit for cooking ranges from 10-15 minutes. 30 minutes is pushing it and I should be baking a dessert in that case. To spend an hour making a special pizza (one that my husband decided he really liked as well and he’s not a pizza lover) means that I REALLY WANTED THIS PIZZA!

Is this something healthy to eat? Perhaps not but it’s an innocent enough indulgence considering the things we can indulge in these days. And come on! It’s pizza that gluten/dairy-sensitive people can eat! What’s not to love about that??

Do you have difficulty finding foods specific to your dietary needs? How do you get around these obstacles?

Circuits and Warm-ups

Some of the feedback I got from my last demo class was that the warm-up shouldn’t be awkward or abrupt. The movements should easily flow into each other so you’re not fighting against your body by switching between moves that are completely unrelated.

For example: doing high knees (running marching) then quickly stopping to change to windmills (circling arms at your sides)

I’ve seen this done plenty of times in my current bout of DVDs so I figured it was okay but it doesn’t seem to work so well in a real class setting. Honestly, I don’t like it all that much when they do that in DVDs either; it’s too abrupt for me.

Taking that into consideration, I made a new w/u.

• Bouncing foot-to-foot
• Butt Kicks
• High Knees
• Toe Taps
• Pull Down/Knee Raise
• Squats – 20r

I’m still deciding if I demo the first 5 squats and then order the remaining 15r while I explain the circuits, or if I do the full 20 with everyone.

The other bit of feedback that I wanted to focus on right now was how to make a workout harder in the amount of time given.

I was hitting all the necessary muscles groups but failed to work them enough for real muscles exhaustion. Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to be exhausted or super sore but, if we want to see results, we have to push ourselves. I saw bigger results after killing myself with 2 levels of Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred than I have in half a year of consistent moderate training.

Did I believe my previous training was moderate? No, I thought it was strenuous…until I did 30DS and found out I wasn’t working to the best of my abilities. Now I know I can push myself harder and longer and still survive.

Do I want to kill myself all the time? No, but half the time sounds good for me. So I’m probably going to stick with circuits from now on. It still gives me a lot to memorize but it’ll be easier to memorize it and here’s why – I’ll do 3-4 similar moves a certain number of repetitions then repeat them once or twice more.

For example, here’s what I practiced the other day:

Circuit 1: 12,10,8 reps – HEAVY DUMBBELLS

• Static Lunge w/Row
• Pendulum Lunges
• Sumo Squat w/Hammer Curl & Press

Circuit 2: 12,10,8 reps – LIGHT DUMBBELLS

• Front/Lat Raises
• Bent Over Tricep Kicksbacks
• Knee Raise/Ext w/Twist

Circuit 3: 12,10,8 reps – HEAVY DUMBBELLS

• Push-ups w/Side Plank
• Chest Fly w/Bridge
• Chest Press w/Bridge

Core (Circuit 4): 12,10,8 reps

• 3-Legged Plank w/Hip Abduction
• Mermaid (one side)
• Frog Crunch
• Mermaid (opp side)
• Superman

I would do each circuit separately, do the moves once for 12reps then go back and do them all again for 8r then again for 4.

This was a test to see how long it would take to do it all and to see how hard it would be. Naturally, I forgot to time myself so I’ll have to do it again later. I’m thinking of changing the reps to 15, 10, 8 though. What I didn’t test out was the added cardio in between each circuit.

I also wasn’t completely happy with the core section. I want more transverse abs in there. But I suppose there’s nothing wrong with keeping it the way it is. I mean, it’s not like there won’t be more than one class to prepare for. Although technically I have no classes at all yet. And it’s not like this is a bad core workout.

Circuits and Warm-ups

Some of the feedback I got from my last demo class was that the warm-up shouldn’t be awkward or abrupt. The movements should easily flow into each other so you’re not fighting against your body by switching between moves that are completely unrelated.

For example: doing high knees (running marching) then quickly stopping to change to windmills (circling arms at your sides)

I’ve seen this done plenty of times in DVDs so I figured it was okay but it doesn’t seem to work so well in a real class setting. Honestly, I don’t like it all that much when they do that in DVDs either; it’s too abrupt for me.

Taking that into consideration, I made a new w/u.

• Bouncing foot-to-foot
• Butt Kicks
• High Knees
• Toe Taps
• Pull Down/Knee Raise
• Squats – 20r

I’m still deciding if I demo the first 5 and then order the remaining 15reps while I explain the circuits, or if I do the full 20 with everyone.

The other bit of feedback that I wanted to focus on right now was how to make a workout harder in the amount of time given.

I was hitting all the necessary muscle groups but failed to work them enough for real muscle exhaustion. Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to be exhausted or super sore but, if we want to see results, we have to push ourselves. I saw bigger results after killing myself with 2 levels of Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred than I have in half a year of consistent moderate training.

Did I believe my previous training was moderate? No, I thought it was strenuous…until I did 30DS and found out I wasn’t working to the best of my abilities. Now I know I can push myself harder and longer and still survive.

Do I want to kill myself all the time? No, but half the time sounds good for me. So I’m probably going to stick with circuits from now on. It still gives me a lot to memorize but it’ll be easier to memorize it and here’s why – I’ll do 3-4 similar moves a certain number of repetitions then repeat them once or twice more.

For example, here’s what I practiced today:

Circuit 1: 12, 8, 4 reps – HEAVY DUMBBELLS

• Static Lunge w/Row
• Pendulum Lunges
• Sumo Squat w/Hammer Curl & Press

Circuit 2: 12, 8, 4 reps – LIGHT DUMBBELLS

• Front/Lat Raises
• Bent Over Tricep Kickbacks
• Knee Raise/extention w/Twist

Circuit 3: 12, 8, 4 reps – HEAVY DUMBBELLS

• Push-ups w/Side Plank
• Chest Fly w/Bridge
• Chest Press w/Bridge

Core (Circuit 4): 12, 8, 4 reps

• 3-Legged Plank w/Hip Abduction
• Mermaid (one side)
• Frog Crunch
• Mermaid (opp side)
• Superman

I would do each circuit separately, do the moves once for 12 reps then go back and do them all again for 8 reps then again for 4.

This was a test to see how long it would take to do it all and to see how hard it would be. I’m thinking of changing the reps to 15, 10, 8 though. What I didn’t test out was the added in cardio in between each circuit.

I also wasn’t completely happy with the core section. I want more transverse abs in there. But I suppose there’s nothing wrong with keeping it the way it is. I mean, it’s not like there won’t be more than one class to prepare for. Although technically I have no classes at all yet. And it’s not like this is a bad core workout.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

2nd Demo Results

Equipment Needed: Light & Heavy Pair of Dumbbells, Stability Ball, Mat

Warm-Up: Bouncing foot-to-foot, Butt Kicks, Windmills, Straight Leg Raise/Toe Touch, Jumping Jacks

ST:

• Walking Lunge w/Twist (B) – travel around room
• Sumo Squat w/Ball Raise (B) – 15r
• Chest Flys (D,B) – 15r
• Chest Press (D,B) – 15r
• Tricep Ext (D,B) – 15r

Cardio: Quick Feet and Squats

ST:

• Wall Sit w/Punch (D,B) – 12r
• Squat w/Hammer Curl & Shoulder Press (D) – 15r
• Bent Over Rows (D) – 15r
• Single-Leg Deadlift (D) – 15r
• Front/Lat Raises (D) – 12r

Cardio: Quick Feet and Squats

ST:

• Side Lunge w/Knee Raise (D opt) – 12r
• Walking Squats (D opt) – 12r
• Push-Ups – 12r

Core:

• Plank w/Knee Raise – 20r
• Kneeling Side Slimmer – 12r
• In & Outs – 20r
• Flutter Kicks – 30sec
• Bicycle – 25r

Stretching – 3min

This was the final copy of what I performed in my demo class on Friday. Some of the changes were made literally last minute because I couldn’t get the previous planned activity to work.

The warm-up was awkward and abrupt – I have a really difficult time with that considering I’m working mostly with DVDs at home right now and w/u there is abrupt as well. The transition from cardio to ST was abrupt. I could’ve sworn I was doing it just like in the actual CF class that D teaches but it definitely felt more abrupt when I tried it.

It’s proven now that my voice is pitched at just the wrong level so that unless I’m shouting at the top of my lungs, people can’t hear me well so I’ll have to use the microphone. Not a big deal now that I know I can adjust the microphone so people can’t hear me panting.

Although my transitions overrall are faster and smoother, they could still be better. My cueing as well. And counting.

A big thing I need to work on now is my cheerleading skills. I’ll have to channel my inner grade school cheerleader and start cheering people on during the class. I’m not used to the instructors encouraging people because either I eventually tune them out or they don’t do it. Even D’s cheerleading skills need some help sometimes I think. Most instructors I hear don’t sound sincere or they sound at least mechanical when they try. I feel like an idiot because I’m worried I’m the only one burning. HA HA!

Sad. The instructor’s the only one getting a good workout.

That wasn’t the case in the demo though. I could see I was working them. D was panting a bit and creating a lake of sweat. H was quiet but I think she was working hard.

Now, I made a big mistake in the class but it wasn’t noticeable by anyone until afterward when we were talking about it. H said I didn’t do any bicep moves. “No, we had hammer curls.” What? “Yeah, hammer curls with a shoulder press and with squats. Remember?” We did?

Yeah, actually no, we didn’t. I realized at that moment as I thought back over the class that I had completely spaced it. This makes me curious though. I skipped bicep work…so why do my biceps hurt so much yesterday and today?? Weird.

Anyway, either H is tired of doing demos with me or she thinks I’m ready to move forward. My next step is to work something out with D to teach part of his class. We don’t know how many times this will happen. H wants me to have student feedback and real experience. Then when everyone (including me) deems me ready, I can start subbing!

Slowly but surely I’m moving forward! My brain is very tired. It was a lot to take in and I had a massive sinus headache for it as well. My sinus infection was better for the class and cleared up rather nicely during the class but the pressure built very quickly after the cooldown. Ugh. I am so done with this infection.

I’m also so done with that demo routine. So I made a couple new ones with the feedback and info I’ve accumulated since D took over the CF class. I want to practice them right away but my sinus infection is kind of getting in my way. I want to be healthy already!! ARGH!

2nd Demo Results

Equipment Needed: Light & Heavy Pair of Dumbbells, Stability Ball, Mat

Warm-Up: Bouncing foot-to-foot, Butt Kicks, Windmills, Straight Leg Raise/Toe Touch, Jumping Jacks

ST:

• Walking Lunge w/Twist (B) – travel around room
• Sumo Squat w/Ball Raise (B) – 15r
• Chest Flys (D,B) – 15r
• Chest Press (D,B) – 15r
• Tricep Ext (D,B) – 15r

Cardio: Quick Feet and Squats

ST:

• Wall Sit w/Punch (D,B) – 12r
• Squat w/Hammer Curl & Shoulder Press (D) – 15r
• Bent Over Rows (D) – 15r
• Single-Leg Deadlift (D) – 15r
• Front/Lat Raises (D) – 12r

Cardio: Quick Feet and Squats

ST:

• Side Lunge w/Knee Raise (D opt) – 12r
• Walking Squats (D opt) – 12r
• Push-Ups – 12r

Core:

• Plank w/Knee Raise – 20r
• Kneeling Side Slimmer – 12r
• In & Outs – 20r
• Flutter Kicks – 30sec
• Bicycle – 25r

Stretching – 3min

This was the final copy of what I performed in my demo class on Friday. Some of the changes were made literally last minute because I couldn’t get the previous planned activity to work.

The warm-up was awkward and abrupt – I have a really difficult time with that considering I’m working mostly with DVDs at home right now and w/u there is abrupt as well. The transition from cardio to ST was abrupt. I could’ve sworn I was doing it just like in the actual CF class that D teaches but it definitely felt more abrupt when I tried it.

It’s proven now that my voice is pitched at just the wrong level so that unless I’m shouting at the top of my lungs, people can’t hear me well so I’ll have to use the microphone. Not a big deal now that I know I can adjust the microphone so people can’t hear me panting.

Although my transitions overrall are faster and smoother, they could still be better. My cueing as well. And counting.

A big thing I need to work on now is my cheerleading skills. I’ll have to channel my inner grade school cheerleader and start cheering people on during the class. I’m not used to the instructors encouraging people because either I eventually tune them out or they don’t do it. Even D’s cheerleading skills need some help sometimes I think. Most instructors I hear don’t sound sincere or they sound at least mechanical when they try. I feel like an idiot because I’m worried I’m the only one burning. HA HA!

Sad. The instructor’s the only one getting a good workout.

That wasn’t the case in the demo though. I could see I was working them. D was panting a bit and creating a lake of sweat. H was quiet but I think she was working hard.

Now, I made a big mistake in the class but it wasn’t noticeable by anyone until afterward when we were talking about it. H said I didn’t do any bicep moves. “No, we had hammer curls.” What? “Yeah, hammer curls with a shoulder press and with squats. Remember?” We did?

Yeah, actually no, we didn’t. I realized at that moment as I thought back over the class that I had completely spaced it. This makes me curious though. I skipped bicep work…so why do my biceps hurt so much yesterday and today?? Weird.

Anyway, either H is tired of doing demos with me or she thinks I’m ready to move forward. My next step is to work something out with D to teach part of his class. We don’t know how many times this will happen. H wants me to have student feedback and real experience. Then when everyone (including me) deems me ready, I can start subbing!

Slowly but surely I’m moving forward! My brain is very tired. It was a lot to take in and I had a massive sinus headache for it as well. My sinus infection was better for the class and cleared up rather nicely during the class but the pressure built very quickly after the cooldown. Ugh. I am so done with this infection.

I’m also so done with that demo routine. So I made a couple new ones with the feedback and info I’ve accumulated since D took over the CF class. I want to practice them right away but my sinus infection is kind of getting in my way. I want to be healthy already!! ARGH!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Demo Attempt #2

I didn’t intend to post today but my 2nd try at a demo class is tomorrow morning and I have a sinus infection. It feels like there’s a vice around my head, especially when I bend over. I’ve postponed starting Level 3 on the 30-Day Shred program until Saturday. I’ll only have lost 2 days and I desperately need this rest.

I’m hoping rest, hot baths, cough drops, Airborne, and sheer willpower will make me healthy by tomorrow but I know that won’t be the case. So instead I hope it’ll make the pain manageable so I can make it through my routine without falling over, showing pain, or taking an unscheduled break to blow green ooze from my nose.

It’s like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but the green ooze from TGRI’s canister is sitting in my sinuses instead of broken in the sewers. Why am I not mutating into some kind of super muscular ninja?? Totally not fair. I don’t think I’d mind being a She-Hulk. The Hulk, no, he’s ugly. But She-Hulk looks like a bada**.

I should go talk to my husband’s friend who works with gamma radiation. Work out some kind of deal.

Yeah, I know someone who works with gamma radiation. Sweet huh. Not as cool as it is in the comics or in The Big Bang Theory tv show though. Too bad.

My demo class has changed a bit but the basic set-up is still the same. The warm-up was unforgivably boring so I ditched it (after all that work trying to learn it too!) and the cardio was too varied and dull so I ditched that too. Instead the warm-up is less like the start of an aerobics class and more like, well, jumping jacks and butt kicks etc. The cardio is now variations of quick feet that I learned from D since he’s taken over the Circuit Fusion class. It’s fun.

I just made these changes yesterday though so I still need time for my body/brain to get used to cueing them. I guess I’ll do a slow version of them at home as I “rest” today? ugh.