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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Legs and Back and My Workout Plan for This Week

Good morning! This morning I did Legs and Back, did not do Ab Ripper X because of time again - I really need to work on that. I am going to be watching the Preacher marathon today though, and I will do some ab exercises during the commercials - not as good as doing the actual Ab Ripper X workout, but it's better than nothing.

This coming week is going to be a recovery week, so my workout plan is going to change slightly. This is my workout plan for this coming week:

Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - Core Synergistics
Wednesday - X Stretch
Thursday - Kenpo Cardio
Friday - Abs/Core Plus
Saturday - Kenpo Cardio
Sunday - Core Synergistics

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and My First Conference with Nicola Bolt

Good morning! This morning's workout was Kenpo Cardio Plus, which went well as usual.

As I mentioned last week, I had a Skype conference call this morning with Nicola Bolt, owner of the website Achieve Your Best Life. It was more of a session for us to get to know one another, and for her to get to know me and me to get to know her - I did find out that she follows my other blogs, which made me feel great. She also told me how the course is going to unfold - it will last approximately six to twelve weeks, depending on how much work she thinks needs to be done. We've scheduled another session tentatively for next Saturday. I'll have a little homework to do in between, which she'll send me sometime today or tomorrow. I'm looking forward to working with her and posting updates on my progress.

Friday, July 29, 2016

X Stretch, Lost 2 Pounds and My Plans for the Weekend

Good morning! This morning I got on the scale and was pleased to see I was down to 120.5, so I lost 2 pounds this week. This morning's workout was X Stretch, which felt great as usual - it's always nice to have that stretch after working your muscles hard a few days in a row. This weekend I plan to work on some stuff - I'm going to be taking part in a short writing challenge next week, so I want to use this weekend to start brainstorming and fleshing out some blog post ideas for the blog I created on my business website for Martin Writing and VA Services. Other than that I'll probably just relax a bit. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Shoulders and Arms

Good morning! This morning I did Shoulders and Arms, but was unable to do Ab Ripper X because of lack of time. Had a good workout today, but I need to work on getting started earlier so I have time to do all the workouts I want to do, or finding shorter ab workouts to do in case I run out of time.

Hope everyone has a great day today!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Plyo X and Controlling Food Cravings

Good morning! This morning's workout was Plyo X - it went well, except that I had a hard time getting through the hot foot exercise at the end - had to keep switching feet.

Also lately I've been craving food a lot more - luckily there's not much junk food around here so that helps. Going to do some research on what I can do to control the food craavings - I may have to drink more water. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X

Good morning! This morning I did Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X - decided to try something different this time and used my weights as push-up bars for the push-up exercises. That made the push-ups a little more challenging while also taking the stress off my wrists. I'm looking forward to continuing to do my push-ups like that, and also maybe eventually getting some push-up bars. Ab Ripper X was slightly challenging, but I got through it. Hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Legs and Back and My Workout Plan for the Week

Good morning! This morning I did Legs and Back, but didn't do Ab Ripper X because I wanted to sleep in a little bit. I enjoy that workout, but I need to work on keeping my feet from drifting when I do the calf raises where my toes point inward.

This week's workout plan is going to be the same as last week's:

Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - Chest and Back/Ab Ripper X
Wednesday - Plyo X
Thursday - Shoulders and Arms/Ab Ripper X
Friday - X Stretch
Saturday- Legs and Back/Ab Ripper X
Sunday - Kenpo Cardio Plus

Also, next Saturday I am going to start working with a life coach, Nicola Bolt. You can find her website at http://achieveyourbestlife.com/welcome-to-achieve-your-best-life/.  I plan to start blogging a little about that, so be sure to keep your eyes on the blog for more updates on that.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and My Plans for the Day

Good morning! This morning's workout was Kenpo Cardio, which went well as  usual. Today I have a few things to do, and I'm also looking forward to spending some time with Kevin.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Friday, July 22, 2016

X Stretch, Lost a Pound and My Plans for the Weekend

Good morning! I'm glad to say that when I got on the scale this morning I'd lost another pound - so I'm slowly getting back down to where I should be. This morning's workout was X Stretch. That workout felt great, especially since my calves are still sore from the plyometric workout I did on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I plan to spend some time with Kevin - we have a few things to do, but I think we might also go see a movie. On Sunday I plan to spend some time working on some other things, because Kevin is going to have to get ready to go back to Maryland. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X, and the Importance of Focus

Good morning! This morning's workout was Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X - for some reason I struggled a bit with Ab Ripper X, but I got through it.

I've also been thinking a bit lately about the importance of focus - in this day and age, there's way too much emphasis put on multi-tasking - everyone wants everything else to be able to do everything, when the fact is that the human brain can only handle so many things at one time and still be effective. I've found the key to accomplishing any goal is to block everything else out and just focus on what you're doing at the present moment, whether it's working out, reading, or whatever. There are different ways you can do that - if you're on your computer, there's a program called FocusMe that you can download a set a timer for the specific length of time you want to focus on whatever you're focusing on. You can choose to block certain sites and applications, or only be able to access certain sites and applications during your focus session. If you're not doing something on your computer, such as if you're reading a physical book, you can set a timer on your phone, or another physical timer for a specific length of time you want to focus on something. Or you can set a goal to read so many chapters a day.

That's it for today, I hope everyone has a great Thursday! If you have any ideas to share on how you focus, I'd love to hear them!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Plyo X

Good morning! This morning's workout was Plyo X - it's been a while since I did that workout, so it felt good to do it. I need to remember to not go so low on some of the exercises though, because it makes it difficult for me to get through them, and I end up having to stop early. Tomorrow's workout will be Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X. That's it for now, hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X

Good morning! This morning's workout was Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X - did pretty well at the workout, even though I haven't done it in a while.  Tomorrow's workout is Plyometrics - looking forward to that one, haven't done it in a while either.

That's about it from here - hoping that today goes well for me and that everyone has a great day!

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Legs and Back and Abs/Core Plus and my Plans for Today

Good morning! This morning I got up and did Legs and Back and Abs/Core Plus - both workouts went well, I actually was able to do 4 reps of almost all the pull-up exercises today. I did fairly well at Abs/Core Plus - I love that workout because of the diversity, but I still have kind of a hard time with some of the hanging ab moves, so I decided to look for more information on how to do them online, and found the following review:

https://hmanfitness.wordpress.com/workout-programs/p90x-plus-review/p90x-plus-abs-core-plus/

It actually provided some pretty decent descriptions (I thought) of how to do the exercises, so I'll try using the descriptions here and see if I can figure out how to do the exercises. I also may ask for help on the Beachbody message boards.

Today I plan to work on some stuff - I have some freelance writing due tomorrow, so I need to get that done, plus I have a few other things  I need to do. Hope everyone has a good Sunday!

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and My Saturday

Good evening! This morning's workout was Kenpo Cardio, which went well as usual. After I did my workout I got ready for my day - went through my normal morning routine. After Kevin got back from physical therapy we went out to visit some friends in Thomasville, North Carolina for a few hours - it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours after being in here for two weeks. After we got back I worked on a few things - looking forward to relaxing with Kevin tonight. Tomorrow I'll be working on some stuff while Kevin gets ready to head back to Maryland for the week. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Saturday!

Friday, July 15, 2016

X Stretch and Lost 2 Pounds

Good morning! I'm pleased to say that when I got on the scale this morning I'd lost 2 of the 5 pounds I gained the previous week - hopefully I can lose some more of it the coming week. This morning's workout was X Stretch as usual.

Today Kevin is heading home for the weekend - he only has to work in  Maryland another week though, and then he'll be back to working in North Carolina. Looking forward to spending some time with him this weekend.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Upper Plus

Good morning! This morning's workout was Upper Plus - I love that workout because it uses more muscle than the regular P90x upper body workouts, but I still need to work on improving at some of the exercises.

Yesterday I worked a slightly different schedule at work - I worked 10-7:30 instead of 9-6:30 so I could help out a co-worker - she took my hour from 9-10 yesterday.  I'm glad I could help her out, but I don't know if I'll be doing that again - I ended up being there 15 minutes later than I was supposed to because I got stuck on a long call. Hoping that today is a little less busy. Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

High Intensity Interval Training workout

Good morning! This morning's workout was supposed to be Interval X Plus, but I decided to change things up a bit and do a high intensity interval training workout that I found on YouTube - it was only 30 minutes, but it really gave me a good workout. If you want to check it out you can find it here:

I also found an old book of mine from when I was in college "The College Dorm Workout" by Joyce and Marthe Vedral - some of the exercises in it are outdated, but it might be a good workout for me to do when we're traveling. If you want to check it out, you can do so here: http://amzn.to/29E9Jbj

Today's work schedule is going to be a little bit different for me - I'm starting work at 10:00 and working until 7:30 to help out someone who needed to go do something tonight - going to use the extra time this morning to get some stuff done. Other than that, that's it. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Total Body Plus

Good morning! I've had a good day so far today, I did Total Body Plus this morning, which I got a good workout from. I should have done Abs/Core Plus along with it, but I ended up not having enough time. It's okay though, I got enough ab work in the Total Body Plus Workout.

Yesterday before work I did a few things - one thing I did was I called a few places about donating some of the items I have - I think I'm going to end up donating everything to the Salvation Army, it will make things easier because I'll only have to make one trip.

That's it for now, hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Legs and Back and Abs/Core Plus, my Workout Plan for the Week and My Plans for the Day

Good morning! This morning's workout was Legs and Back and Abs/Core Plus - it went well except that I forgot to use my 10 pound weight on the alternating side lunge like I had made a note to last week. I enjoyed Abs/Core Plus, but I need to work on using my abs more on the hanging ab exercises.

This week's workout plan is a little more intense:

Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - Total Body Plus/Abs/Core Plus
Wednesday - Interval X Plus
Thursday - Upper Plus/ARX
Friday - X Stretch
Saturday - Legs & Back/Abs/Core Plus
Sunday - Kenpo Cardio Plus

Yesterday I got quite a bit accomplished - I cleaned out a bunch of files that I no longer needed - here are some before and after pictures of my file cabinet:


This is my file cabinet before I cleaned it out


And this is my file cabinet after I cleaned it out.


Don't know about you, but I see a pretty big difference there. Today I plan to work on cleaning out the drawers in my bathroom, as well as working on a few other things. Hope everyone has a great day! 


Saturday, July 9, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and What I've Done so Far Today

Good morning! I have had a good day so far today - I got up and did Kenpo Cardio, then showered, got dressed and ate breakfast. After that I started doing some cleaning - I cleaned the things I normally clean, plus I also did a little more cleaning - cleaned the tile area in front of the door, and I also cleaned the scuff marks off the wall in that area. Getting ready to go through the files in my file cabinet, and then do some other things.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Pilates, Weight Gain and my Weekend Plans

Good morning! This morning I got on the scale and found that I'd gained 5 pounds. I'm not surprised considering how much I ate last weekend. I'm not worried though, I'll get it off this coming week. This morning's workout was supposed to be X Stretch, but I decided to do Pilates instead - I actually found it kind of hard to do, which surprised me.

This weekend since I'm going to be on my own, I plan on working on a few projects around my apartment, as well as doing a few other things - I want to do some cleaning and organize my files a little bit - maybe get rid of some of the files I no longer need. I also want to take the test to do QA (quality assurance) work on one of the transcription websites I work on occasionally. Hope everyone has a great day and a great weekend!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

Good morning! This morning's workout was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. The workout went well - I tried to use 10 pound weights on the Slow Mo Throws exercise, but I think for now I need to stick with 8 pound weights. I also should have done Ab Ripper X. but I ran out of time, unfortunately.

Not sure what kind of day today will be at work - yesterday was a bit busier than Tuesday, so we'll see. Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Interval X Plus

Good morning! This morning's workout was another Interval X Plus workout - tried to slow down a little on the exercises that require more range of motion, like I said I was going to last week, and that seemed to help some. I'll continue to do that on this workout.

Yesterday was a slow day at work - I'm hoping today is a little busier, but we'll see. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Back and Biceps and Abs/Core Plus, and My Independence Day

Good  morning! This morning I did Back and Biceps and Abs/Core Plus - it was a great workout, but I need to figure out where exactly my pelvis is so I can do some of these hanging ab exercises, like hanging pelvic tilts. I'll do that this week, and hopefully by next week I'll be able to do those exercises more effectively.

Yesterday I had a great day - as I mentioned in my post on Sunday, Kevin and I went back to the Cinebistro to see Independence Day: Resurgence, and everything was great - the food and the movie. We got there early and had a few drinks in the bar while we waited for our movie start seating people - of course mine were non-alcoholic drinks. Once we were able to get into the movie theater, we ordered our meals - I ended up ordering a steak sandwich with sweet potato fries, but they brought out the sandwich with the wrong type of fries, so I had to remind them again what I had ordered. They brought out the correct fries, and I ended up getting both types with my sandwich - so I ate way more food than I should have. It's time for me to get back to eating right and exercising the way I should, though. My workouts for the rest of the week will be as follows:

Wednesday - Interval X Plus
Thursday -  Chest, Shoulders, Triceps/ARX
Friday - X Stretch
Saturday - Legs and Back/Abs/Core Plus
Sunday - Kenpo Cardio Plus

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Good morning! The last few days have been busy for me - yesterday's workout was Kenpo Cardio Plus, which went well as usual. Yesterday afternoon was interesting, Kevin and I went to this place in Cary called the Cinebistro to see The Legend of Tarzan - as you might have guessed, it's a combination restaurant and movie theater. Ended up only getting a few sodas though, because we weren't prepared for how expensive the food was going to be, or for the fact that there was going to be an 18.5% gratuity added to the bill! Tomorrow though, we're going back to see "Independence Day - Resurgence," and this time we are going prepared to eat! For those who are interested in finding out more about the Cinebistro you can  check them out at this link: http://cinebistro.com/

This morning I did a Legs and Back workout - didn't do Ab Ripper X or Abs/Core Plus though, because I was feeling lazy (I know, I know, bad excuse).

That's about it for today, hope everyone has a great day, and if I don't get to post tomorrow, I hope everyone has a great Independence day!

Friday, July 1, 2016

X Stretch and Lost 1 1/2 pounds

Good morning! I'm pleased to say that when I got on the scale this morning I was down to 120.5, which means I lost 1 1/2 pounds this week. I did X Stretch this morning, which felt great.

Not sure what we'll do this weekend for 4th of July weekend - we may go see a movie, there are a few out we'd like to go see. I also hope to get a little more work done on organizing my office. I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!