Pilates: Session 18, Duet

April 21, 2008 — lvaldes

April 8, 2008

Session: 18

I had another duet session, and it was NOTHING like my first.  While my mates were pretty advanced, they were all working the same exercises together, so it wasn’t at all confusing or frustrating.  I was able to keep up and get an amazing workout.  It was great! 

 

I have been having my Pilates sessions first thing in the morning at 7am.  Since I have begun a Traditional Diet and have been working out regularly, I have had much more energy throughout the day and have had no problem getting up early.  I’ve never been a morning person, and yet I find myself getting up before my alarm goes off so I end up playing with my kittens until it finally does.  And not only do I prefer to start my day earlier, my days are longer and I have more energy throughout the day.  This has been a change for the better.

 

My friends are starting to comment on my body.  My sister recently returned from being gone for a month for work.  The first thing she said when she saw me was, “tell me what you’re doing, because I need to start doing it too.”  She was a vegan doing the Body for Life challenge and had seen results, but not as quickly as I had.  Even my friends that I see weekly have been asking if I’ve lost weight, or said that I looked great.  I already felt amazing, but it was nice for others to notice a positive change as well.

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Day 37: Kettlebells work

April 4, 2008 — lvaldes

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Day 37: April 4, 2008

I took a Kettlebells class two days ago, and I’m feeling it. 

Immediately after taking the class, I ate 2 oz of beef jerky to facilitate an influx of protein into my torn muscles.  The reason for this is that I was told that the first 30 minutes after a strength training routine is the window to get as much protein in your body (up to 25g) because the floodgates are open and it will go into your muscle to help rebuild it.  This also decreases lactic acid which is what causes the stiffness and pain the next couple of days after a workout. 

The next morning I felt a little sore, but not too much.  I had even considered taking another Kettlebells class that day.  But as the day went on, my muscles grew more tight and sore.  Sitting and standing is when I felt it the most, but it wasn’t terrible.  I love feeling sore- as long as I can still function.

Today is day 2, and I’m really feeling it now!  I woke up and had breakfast (deviled eggs and a banana) and walked around a bit to try to loosen up the stiffness.  I know that had I not eaten that beef jerky, I would be in A LOT more pain.  This really isn’t that bad considering the workout I had.  However, I don’t think I should be working out again quite yet, so I cancelled my 17th Pilates session (gasp!)  I am going to go in to the studio tomorrow and take a Pilates Mat Class instead.  It will be my first one, so I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

What I ate today:
4 deviled eggs
Cod Liver Oil
Banana
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Lasagna
2 Miller High Lifes
Coconut Oil
Avovado and Tomato with Flaxseed Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Bass Ales

Fat - 47.7% (114 grams)
Protein - 10.4% (56 grams)
Carbohydrates - 26.4% (142 grams)
Alcohol - 10.4% (32 grams)
Other - 5.1%

Daily Sodium Intake - 1,430 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 44 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 613 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 47 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 23 grams

So, this was my bad day.  I am going to try to keep these at least one week apart from now on.  Every week I lose a pound or two, and gain one back over the weekend.  Ahh… beer and cookies… mmm… mmm.  At least my percentages look good.  VERY BAD: My carbs are DOUBLE what they should be and my sugar intake is too high.

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Day 35: Kettlebells

April 2, 2008 — lvaldes

kettlebells.jpg

Day 35: April 2, 2008

You have to have cardio in your workout regimen.  I know it and you know it.  Cardio has always been tough for me since I dislike so many cardio exercises.  I hate elipticals, stairmasters, stationary bikes (especially spinning classes), running and walking on treadmills, and any other indoor cardio machine.  I like being outside, so I’ve purchased jump-ropes, in-line skates, and running shoes for exercising at a nearby park.  Unfortunately, there are only so many hours of daylight, and being outside after dusk can be scary, especially in my neighorhood.  Also, it rains outside.  And it’s too cold many months out of the year.  My last gym had exercise classes that I enjoyed, like step, boot-camp, strip-tease, and hip-hop cardio, so I would attend those whenever I could.  I’m already at the studio 3x/week for Pilates, so I no longer want to pay for an additional gym membership.

I had promised myself that I would walk a couple of day a week in addition to my Pilates sessions, but that only lasted the first couple of weeks.  However, the studio offers Russian Kettlebell classes several times a week…

So, I tried it.  I had been warned that it was intense, and that I would have trouble walking the following day, and an invalid the next.  I pretty much knew that I’d love it since I enjoy intense work outs and desperately needed some cardio to burn off my spare tire.  There are gorgeous abs under that flab and I want to see them!

Kettlebells are cannonball looking weights that have a handle on them.  You pick them up, put them down, and swing them around.  It sounds easy enough, but it is a KILLER workout.  For most of the exercises, you are squatting down to get the momentum to swing your bell upwards, using your arms as a pendulum.  On the way back down, your arms bounce off your upper thighs, sending the kettlebell up again.  It’s bizarre.

Most of the exercises work out your inner thighs, quads, and gluts, with some ab work and, too a lesser degree, yours arms, shoulders, and back.  It felt great!  When I didn’t want to pass out that is…

The best thing about kettlebells is that it is interval training.  You’ll do a set, get your heartrate up, and just when you feel you are going to pass out, you take a rest.  Every 5-10 minutes you rest.  You get some water, breathe, and then, another set.  It’s wonderful.  You sweat, strength-train, and get your cardio in a 50 minute class. 

I know I got a great workout.  The goal is to do this twice a week, in addition to Pilates 3x week.

What I’ll eat tomorrow:
2 hard-boiled eggs (they are just so easy and portable)
cod liver oil
Huge carrot
1 oz mozzarella
2 slices bacon
Spinach, onion, cream cheese scrambler
Miller High Life (2)
2 deviled eggs (see recipe)
Lissette’s Lasagna (see recipe)
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  Fat - 40.9% (62 grams)
Protein - 22.1% (76 grams)
Carbohydrates - 18.9% (65 grams)
Alcohol - 16.4% (32 grams)
Other - 1.9%

Daily Sodium Intake - 1,878 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 14 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 1,190 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 27 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 5 grams

I was getting sick of hard-boiled eggs every morning, so I made a batch of deviled eggs to eat in the mornings.  They weren’t pretty but they sure tasted good!

Weight: 134.8 - still losing!

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Pilates Session 16: Being Connected

April 2, 2008 — lvaldes

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Day 35: April 2, 2008

Session: 16

Today I worked with a new instructor.  She wasn’t new, I just hadn’t worked with her before.  She was aware that I had taken on the 30-day Pilates Challange and that I had been coming 3x/week, but still she was surprised at how advanced I was.  I was stronger than I looked (a well-known benefit of Pilates) and had mastered transitioning pretty much without any assistance.  Another thing she said to me was that I was “connected”.  I had to ask around what that meant.

In Pilates, being connected means having a mind-body connection.  For example, the instructor verbally asks you to perform an exercise, then verbally asks you to adjust yourself to perform the exercise correctly.  While performing an exercise, she may say all of the following:

  • scoop your naval
  • now exhale
  • lift with your hips
  • create separation between your ribs
  • grow taller through the crown of your head

This sounds like a lot to keep in your head, especially while doing the exercise, but as you take more sessions, these things become more like reminders than instructions.  Being “connected” helps because when an instructor says to engage your core, you know where it is and what to do with it.  Same goes for your feet, hands, fingers, toes, inner thigh, glutes, etc.  Knowing where your body parts are seems like a give-in, but it really isn’t. 

Before I starting Pilates apparatus sessions, I was a clumsy person.  I was forever stubbing my toes, jamming my fingers, knocking my knees into things, and so forth.  I had always assumed that this was due to a high-center of gravity, my long limbs, or some other physiological scapegoat.  But I’ve been living in this body for 24×7 for 28 years and I still haven’t gotten used to it!  How long is the learning curve to compensate for whatever body-weirdnesses I have? 

As it turns out, I just wasn’t connected.  Getting connected doesn’t happen right away either.  For example, during my first few sessions, the instructors would ask me to do something, perhaps scoop my navel (this was the toughest concept for me to grasp), and I would toughen my abs like I was about to take a punch.  They would have to physically put their hands on me to get me to do what they were asking.  Same with other exercises.  If I were asked to create separation between my ribs, I’d try, and I’d think I was doing it, but I wasn’t.  I needed tactile direction.  It was like, “Okay Lissette, here are your ribs.  I’m touching them.  Separate them like this.  Good.  Now hold that and continue the exercise.”  All along I’m thinking, “I know where my ribs are!”, while I clearly did not. 

Some clients need a lot of tactile instruction, which is why private instruction is so important with Pilates.  Going to Pilates mat classes are beneficial, but you can’t get all that you can out of them unless you know how to perform the exercises properly.  Connection is needed for that.  And I have it!  And less bruises to prove it!

What I ate today:
1 tsp cod liver oil
2 hard-boiled eggs
Boston Market Meatloaf, creamed spinach, and green beans
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 oz Buffalo Jerky Sweet and Spicy
Miller High Life
Total Calories: 1,404

  Fat - 57.8% (90 grams)
Protein - 21.5% (76 grams)
Carbohydrates - 19.4% (68 grams)
Alcohol - 0.0%
Other - 1.3%Daily Sodium Intake - 2,421 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 19 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 668 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 46 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 9 grams

Except for the sugar intake, this is a pretty good day.  My boyfriend has been out of town, and since I hate cooking for one, I have been eating Boston Market.  The portions are large, so I eat half for lunch and half for dinner. 

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