No, this isn't an early Valentine's Day post. It's something much more pathetic.
For years (really, wow...it has been 4 years), I have been watching the Biggest Loser and knew Jillian Michaels was my kind of trainer. I bought one of her books and I have been poking around with some of her workouts for months. I already thought she was pretty much tops.
Tonight though, I finally got around to my first day of "The Shred." My first video workout led by Jillian. And it was fantastic. I've got a whole new respect for her.
I know it's really weird to wax poetic about a DVD workout, but I'd dabbled in many over the years and this one is the first that I'm really wild over. Most of the leaders in these videos encourage you "not to push it," "take a break anytime you need it," and "follow Jessica if you're not quite ready for the full workout." (Jessica being the girl in the back of the video who is just kinda scooting around with 1 pound weights.)
With most of these DVDs, I either get bored about 5 minutes in or just kinda wimp out on the hard parts (read: lunges, push-ups, etc) and bounce through the cardio. Jillian kept me going through the whole workout though. Every time my arms started feeling wimpy and I thought about putting down the weights, Jillian would start going on about "change hurts" or "don't wimp out now...the pain means it's working."
So, I'm really excited about keeping it up through the 3 levels! Oh, and I guess it's about time to run again...
Showing posts with label Jillian Michaels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jillian Michaels. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Monday, August 3, 2009
Week 6 of Marathon Training
I've been slightly off my Runner's World marathon training schedule for the past two weeks, but I'm still really pleased with my progress. Without even planning to, I accomplished a past goal I had almost forgotten: to run from the pool (where I used to lifeguard) home.
My mom and I wanted to get in a long run and didn't want to go out and back. (Sometimes I get wimpy on out and back runs and just want to turn around early.) We had this great plan that my sisters would drive us to town and dump us out of the van. Then we'd run home. So we got on g-map pedometer and mapped out our course and it just happened to start on the road of the pool. So, there we were dumped, and we ran. It was hot and hilly, but through some really beautiful backroads. It's so flat where I live now that I was enchanted with the little valleys, hills, and creeks we encountered.
So, we're officially up to half the distance of a marathon! The real excitement though, is that I'm not (that) sore today! My quads are a little tight, but didn't bother me at all on my run. When the two of us ran a half marathon (for which I didn't train) in February, I was crippled for days. It was pathetic.
Anyway...here's the plan for this week. (Yes, I am starting over again with Making the Cut.)
Monday
1 mile, ran this morning
Tuesday
2 miles, evening
JM Making the Cut Day 1
Wednesday
4-5 miles, evening
JM Day 2
Thursday
1 mile, evening
JM Day 4
Friday
3-4 miles, morning
JM Day 5
Saturday
1 mile, morning
Sunday
4-5 miles, evening (My Runner's World said no long run this week and I'm not going to argue with the experts!)
My mom and I wanted to get in a long run and didn't want to go out and back. (Sometimes I get wimpy on out and back runs and just want to turn around early.) We had this great plan that my sisters would drive us to town and dump us out of the van. Then we'd run home. So we got on g-map pedometer and mapped out our course and it just happened to start on the road of the pool. So, there we were dumped, and we ran. It was hot and hilly, but through some really beautiful backroads. It's so flat where I live now that I was enchanted with the little valleys, hills, and creeks we encountered.
So, we're officially up to half the distance of a marathon! The real excitement though, is that I'm not (that) sore today! My quads are a little tight, but didn't bother me at all on my run. When the two of us ran a half marathon (for which I didn't train) in February, I was crippled for days. It was pathetic.
Anyway...here's the plan for this week. (Yes, I am starting over again with Making the Cut.)
Monday
1 mile, ran this morning
Tuesday
2 miles, evening
JM Making the Cut Day 1
Wednesday
4-5 miles, evening
JM Day 2
Thursday
1 mile, evening
JM Day 4
Friday
3-4 miles, morning
JM Day 5
Saturday
1 mile, morning
Sunday
4-5 miles, evening (My Runner's World said no long run this week and I'm not going to argue with the experts!)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Man in the Mirror
Okay, let me premise by saying I'm appalled my the amount of coverage that legit news channels (cough, cough, CNN) give to celebrity deaths. I was pretty much ready to throw any TV within arms reach out the window in the weeks following Anna Nicole Smith's death. It's sad, we should remember them kindly, pray for their families, etc. and just MOVE ON.
However, Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" came up on my running playlist today and I feel compelled to share just one tiny memory triggered by that song. In my life, I've done plenty of things that are strange, unpractical, and sometimes a little stupid, but there are a few events I'd label as just plain irresponsible and dangerous. This is one of them.
When I was student teaching in Costa Rica, we used our weekends for little side excursions and adventures to the surrounding towns and beaches. On our last weekend, my friend, Erika, and I decided to travel to tiny little beach town, Montezuma on the very southern tip of the peninsula. To get from Nicoya (the town where we were living and teaching) to Montezuma required 3 different bus trips and 2 ferry trips. The Spanish communication skills between the two of us were pretty much only at survival level. It was quite the logistic challenge.
By the end of our second ferry ride, we were exhausted and absolutely not looking forward to figuring out the next round of bus tickets and schedules. We walked through the cars parked on the bottom level of the boat and envied those who could just hit the road to their destination. A couple in a rented SUV must has sensed this because the man in the driver's side motioned us over and asked, in heavily accented English, if we wanted a ride to Montezuma.
Erika and I exchanged looks that said, "Stranger Danger versus Bus Drama...which is potentially worse?" and with just slight hesitation, climbed into the back seat. The driver was a kind of dark, handsome, older man and his companion was a skinny, much younger, wide-eyed woman who seemed to not understand a word of anything said. Even when I tried to talk to her in Spanish, she didn't really respond. (My Spanish speaking skills leave a lot of people kind of unresponsive, so I didn't really think much of it.) The man asked where we were from and after we had told him our rosy little student-teachers-from-the-US stories, we asked about him. (By this time, we had driven through the little port town and are much more rapidly rolling through the Costa Rican countryside.) It went a little like this:
Stranger: I'm from Baghdad, here in this country for business.
Erika and I: Oh, how interesting! What type of business?
Stranger: Oh, business, you know.
Awkward silence while Erika and I contemplate what kind of secret businesses Iraqi men conduct in Costa Rica.
Erika and I: Is she (referring to the spaced out woman sitting up front with him who has not responded to our greetings in English or Spanish) from Iraq too?
Stranger: No.
Awkward silence while Erika and I observe him feeling up woman's thigh while she flinches and remember that we were warned us to stay clear of the prostitutes who worked in the coastal cities for rich tourists.
While my friend and I are soaking all of this in, the green landscape around is blurring because we are tearing faster and faster through the winding dirt roads. We thought that was making us nervous, until the driver started making motions for his companion to open the bag at her feet. She pulls out...wait for it...a packet of burnt CDs and a fifth of vodka. (Or should I say 1/3 of a fifth of vodka, because most of it was already consumed).
At this point, Erika and I are starting to question our decision. Maybe, just a little.
Our driver (yes, our driver) throws back his first shot straight from the bottle and motions for the hired girlfriend to flip through the CDs. He, very kindly, asks about our musical preference, but we just shook our heads politely and said, "We like anything." (By which we meant, "As long as we get out of this car alive, listen to whatever you want!")
Suddenly, a CD has caught his eye. I see "Greatest Hits of..." as he's sliding the CD in and he turns around (yes, while driving) to emphasize the point as he says, "Michael Jackson is the greatest performer of all time. He is a legend." We nod emphatically as he turns his attention again to the bumpy road (and his second and third shots).
I am gripping onto the seat and frantically looking back and forth between Erika and the blurred view outside the window as this strange, fanciful song I'd never heard filled the SUV. I listened carefully to the lyrics to distract me and suddenly I was completely caught up in this beautiful song. I had no idea Michael Jackson had so much heart and compassion until that moment I heard him sing about the man in the mirror. (My tongue is slightly in cheek, if you don't know me well enough to know.) I was so moved that I loosened my grip and maybe even smiled at Erika across the backseat. If we were going to die, at least we would perish in a beautiful, serendipitous adventure.
Just as I was beginning to make peace with our driver's swerving pace, we turned the corner into Montezuma and he braked into the middle of the village. We awkwardly thanked him and offered a few bills (which he pushed away in a fatherly, caring way) as we quickly exited the vehicle.
Watching the couple drive off, Erika and I finally exhaled, but I will never forget our special moment with a Michael Jackson soundtrack. Thanks, MJ.
P.S. After completing Day 1 at least 8 times, I finally did Jillian Michael "Making the Cut" Day 2!
However, Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" came up on my running playlist today and I feel compelled to share just one tiny memory triggered by that song. In my life, I've done plenty of things that are strange, unpractical, and sometimes a little stupid, but there are a few events I'd label as just plain irresponsible and dangerous. This is one of them.
When I was student teaching in Costa Rica, we used our weekends for little side excursions and adventures to the surrounding towns and beaches. On our last weekend, my friend, Erika, and I decided to travel to tiny little beach town, Montezuma on the very southern tip of the peninsula. To get from Nicoya (the town where we were living and teaching) to Montezuma required 3 different bus trips and 2 ferry trips. The Spanish communication skills between the two of us were pretty much only at survival level. It was quite the logistic challenge.
By the end of our second ferry ride, we were exhausted and absolutely not looking forward to figuring out the next round of bus tickets and schedules. We walked through the cars parked on the bottom level of the boat and envied those who could just hit the road to their destination. A couple in a rented SUV must has sensed this because the man in the driver's side motioned us over and asked, in heavily accented English, if we wanted a ride to Montezuma.
Erika and I exchanged looks that said, "Stranger Danger versus Bus Drama...which is potentially worse?" and with just slight hesitation, climbed into the back seat. The driver was a kind of dark, handsome, older man and his companion was a skinny, much younger, wide-eyed woman who seemed to not understand a word of anything said. Even when I tried to talk to her in Spanish, she didn't really respond. (My Spanish speaking skills leave a lot of people kind of unresponsive, so I didn't really think much of it.) The man asked where we were from and after we had told him our rosy little student-teachers-from-the-US stories, we asked about him. (By this time, we had driven through the little port town and are much more rapidly rolling through the Costa Rican countryside.) It went a little like this:
Stranger: I'm from Baghdad, here in this country for business.
Erika and I: Oh, how interesting! What type of business?
Stranger: Oh, business, you know.
Awkward silence while Erika and I contemplate what kind of secret businesses Iraqi men conduct in Costa Rica.
Erika and I: Is she (referring to the spaced out woman sitting up front with him who has not responded to our greetings in English or Spanish) from Iraq too?
Stranger: No.
Awkward silence while Erika and I observe him feeling up woman's thigh while she flinches and remember that we were warned us to stay clear of the prostitutes who worked in the coastal cities for rich tourists.
While my friend and I are soaking all of this in, the green landscape around is blurring because we are tearing faster and faster through the winding dirt roads. We thought that was making us nervous, until the driver started making motions for his companion to open the bag at her feet. She pulls out...wait for it...a packet of burnt CDs and a fifth of vodka. (Or should I say 1/3 of a fifth of vodka, because most of it was already consumed).
At this point, Erika and I are starting to question our decision. Maybe, just a little.
Our driver (yes, our driver) throws back his first shot straight from the bottle and motions for the hired girlfriend to flip through the CDs. He, very kindly, asks about our musical preference, but we just shook our heads politely and said, "We like anything." (By which we meant, "As long as we get out of this car alive, listen to whatever you want!")
Suddenly, a CD has caught his eye. I see "Greatest Hits of..." as he's sliding the CD in and he turns around (yes, while driving) to emphasize the point as he says, "Michael Jackson is the greatest performer of all time. He is a legend." We nod emphatically as he turns his attention again to the bumpy road (and his second and third shots).
I am gripping onto the seat and frantically looking back and forth between Erika and the blurred view outside the window as this strange, fanciful song I'd never heard filled the SUV. I listened carefully to the lyrics to distract me and suddenly I was completely caught up in this beautiful song. I had no idea Michael Jackson had so much heart and compassion until that moment I heard him sing about the man in the mirror. (My tongue is slightly in cheek, if you don't know me well enough to know.) I was so moved that I loosened my grip and maybe even smiled at Erika across the backseat. If we were going to die, at least we would perish in a beautiful, serendipitous adventure.
Just as I was beginning to make peace with our driver's swerving pace, we turned the corner into Montezuma and he braked into the middle of the village. We awkwardly thanked him and offered a few bills (which he pushed away in a fatherly, caring way) as we quickly exited the vehicle.
Watching the couple drive off, Erika and I finally exhaled, but I will never forget our special moment with a Michael Jackson soundtrack. Thanks, MJ.
P.S. After completing Day 1 at least 8 times, I finally did Jillian Michael "Making the Cut" Day 2!
Monday, July 6, 2009
This Week I Will....
Planning ahead last week was a big success for me. Even though I'm finally getting enough in shape well enough to love most of my runs, it is still a struggle to just get out the door some days. It's HOT and there are so many other things I SHOULD be doing. Having a plan (and knowing that it's already out there in cyberspace) makes it less stressful and more automatic.
I should note that although I stuck to my running plan (besides switching around a couple days), I have not been as good about my strength training. That's my focus for this week.
Monday
1 easy mile in the evening
Day 2 of JM
Tuesday
4 miles, morning
Wednesday
3-4 miles, morning
Day 4 of JM
Thursday
1 mile, evening
Day 5 of JM
Friday
5 easy miles, first thing
Saturday
2-3 miles with Mom and Becca (I'm very excited about my family coming down this weekend!)
Sunday
7 miles with Mom
The mileage is going up!
I should note that although I stuck to my running plan (besides switching around a couple days), I have not been as good about my strength training. That's my focus for this week.
Monday
1 easy mile in the evening
Day 2 of JM
Tuesday
4 miles, morning
Wednesday
3-4 miles, morning
Day 4 of JM
Thursday
1 mile, evening
Day 5 of JM
Friday
5 easy miles, first thing
Saturday
2-3 miles with Mom and Becca (I'm very excited about my family coming down this weekend!)
Sunday
7 miles with Mom
The mileage is going up!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Marathon Training Plan
So last post, I answered the what and why questions. There is a very important question yet to answered, how am I going to get ready for this marathon?
Runner's World ran a 16 week training plan in their July issue called the "The RW Marathon Challenge" with modifications for busy runners, injury-prone runners, those looking for PRs, and first timers. I'm following the first timer plan with a few tweaks here and there. The first long run starts at 5 miles (which is completely attainable for me right now) and builds to a 20 mile long run before tapering. On the scheduled "rest" days I'll be just doing a short easy 1 mile.
The other component that I tend to neglect is strength training. Remember how I'm one of those people who have to learn the same lesson over and over again? When I look back, those times that I was running AND strengthen training AND cross-training where the times that I was the fastest, fittest, and happiest.
So, I'm dusting off my Jillian Michael's (did I ever mention how I'm obsessed with Biggest Loser?) "Making the Cut" and following her circuits for strength/cross training. I bought this book several months ago and have never made it past Day 4 of the workouts. I had busy as an excuse before, but no excuse now! I'll let you know how it goes.
Runner's World ran a 16 week training plan in their July issue called the "The RW Marathon Challenge" with modifications for busy runners, injury-prone runners, those looking for PRs, and first timers. I'm following the first timer plan with a few tweaks here and there. The first long run starts at 5 miles (which is completely attainable for me right now) and builds to a 20 mile long run before tapering. On the scheduled "rest" days I'll be just doing a short easy 1 mile.
The other component that I tend to neglect is strength training. Remember how I'm one of those people who have to learn the same lesson over and over again? When I look back, those times that I was running AND strengthen training AND cross-training where the times that I was the fastest, fittest, and happiest.
So, I'm dusting off my Jillian Michael's (did I ever mention how I'm obsessed with Biggest Loser?) "Making the Cut" and following her circuits for strength/cross training. I bought this book several months ago and have never made it past Day 4 of the workouts. I had busy as an excuse before, but no excuse now! I'll let you know how it goes.
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