Week 5: Feeling Stronger

The theme this week is feeling stronger!

Yes, we have a long way to go. Yes, we are nowhere near our goal. But…yes, we are getting there!

Both of us are getting through workouts, doing certain workout moves and lifting weights we couldn’t even try just five weeks ago.

In fact, believe it or not, I don’t even hate burpees the way I did five weeks ago…I mean I still hate them obviously as any sane person would, but not the same deep seeded loathing hate I had for them before.

This week Mike has had another successful week down another 1.4 pounds! I am unfortunately up a little on the scale, but I know I worked out a lot in the last week, ate better and I am on the right path … so I am going to take it with a grain of salt and keep on moving! (I won't of course actually add salt to anything FYI ;) )

With that in mind… we have to say the growing feeling of strength, stamina and ability is empowering!

We’ve done spin, yoga, zumba, boot camps, hikes and a whole lot of moves with our trainer we had never done before, and it feels dang good!

Now, when trainer Stephanie shows us some insane 180-degree Burpee move or bouncing-plank-mountain climber-twist thing, we don’t assume we can’t, we assume we can!  And, no we can’t always do them for that long, but we can do them and we are getting better and that is a good thing.

Another noticeable change five weeks later is that a good, tough workout no longer debilitates us the next day!

The workouts, although increasing in intensity, are no longer causing our muscles to freeze-up or make us look like the tin-man. I can now confidently get up from my desk without cringing or bend over to grab something without talking myself throughout it!!

Mike and my hikes are also getting longer and more challenging. Perfect timing as our puppy is getting bigger and her insane energy reserves are, we are learning, endless. Seriously her battery is always full, my battery on the other hand is often dead and needing a charge!

Saturday afternoon, we did a chunk of the Apex hike on Knox and then did Paul’s Tomb!

The Knox part is tough, all uphill and really gets the heart rate going!

The Paul’s Tomb part is technically easier and listed as an easy walk. The way down from Knox, the first half, is easy and quite leisurely in fact, because it is all down hill. It appears however, that whoever calls it an easy walk, may have forgot you have to walk back up the hill you just spent such an easy time going all the way down!

Alas it was a great hike! In total it was over 10 kilometers and 15,000 steps with a nice beach at the end of the path and an amazing view of the lake looking north up the valley (pic below).

Monday, Mike and I, along with five other members of the amazing Team Purple and our trainer Stephanie took on Burpees for Boobies! The amazing workout was meant to raise money in the fight against breast cancer, and was a fun and challenging experience!

Although the title was ominous, and implied 60-minutes of straight burpees, it was fun and challenging and wasn’t all burpees… don’t worry there were lots of those of though!

Our little purple group did so well our trainer will hear no-more burpee groans as she says we are all clearly capable, so go us!

Every week will include our trainer Stephanie’s inspiring quote and health tip of the week as added help over the inevitable hurdles:

The more you find good in another, the more you'll find good in yourself. No matter whom that "other" is.  (The Universe)

 

Weekly Health Tip: The Why List: Thirteen Reasons to Exercise (pick at least one)

1. You're worried about getting a debilitating and even deadly disease.
2. You want to not just lose weight but also avoid regaining it.
3. You want to look better.
4. You feel grumpy, constantly annoyed, and sapped of energy.
5. You're depressed.
6. You take too many sick days.
7. You have muscle and joint pain.
8. You have a bad back.
9. You don't sleep well.
10. You want to slow the effects of aging.
11. You're concerned about staying mentally sharp.
12. You have asthma.
13. You care about you're kids.

Burpees for Boobies!!

 

A photo posted by Carmen Weld (@carmenweld) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:42pm PDT

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.