Hammer & Chisel: Day 8

Muscles! Those are actual muscles on my arms, shoulders and back. 

At one point in life I could do a whole bunch of clap push-ups at once. I was a base when I was a cheerleader, lifting other girls over my head. Even then, I didn't have the shoulder and back muscle definition that I am getting now. I know it's barely a week in, but I am seriously loving the changes in my body, both the muscles and the 4 lbs lost.

Ok, but back to today... Chisel Cardio. I have done this workout before starting the program officially. Today, however I bumped up my weights. Tonight, I lay in bed resting my very sore muscles. I took a bath tonight trying in hopes of helping. I don't think it is any one workout that got me, but the combination. Right now I am dealing with post workout sore from today, second day "even more sore" from yesterday and "still? Really?" Sore from Friday and Saturday. It is the combination that has gotten my body all work down. So, here's to "Sore today, stronger tomorrow!"        

P.S. I love top. As both a budding fitness buff and a long time superhero fan, I saw this shirt and had to get it!

Hammer and Chisel: Day 4

REST! Today was a day of rest. It was so needed. Both for my body and for my spirit. It is so tempting to feel like we are losing control when we rest or getting behind, but it is essential. Our bodies, minds and spirits need rest. It is how they process what has happened and grow. We know kids need their rest in order to learn and to be able to grow. But, we start thinking as adults (especially us moms) that sleep is a luxury. Depending on our phase of life, rest may seem unattainable, but we need to make time for it. This may not mean that I can get a solid 8 hours of sleep or a solid hour of Bible study and prayer time, but it does mean that I need to carve out time for those things. I need to prioritize them over other things. That's exactly why I am going to end this post here, lol. I need to get some sleep! We all know how important rest is, so I challenge you: FIND A WAY TO REST OR REJUVENATE THIS WEEKEND!

I wrote a post about the spiritual journey of this day that you can check out here on my other blog page. Grace and peace to you all.

Hammer & Chisel - Days 1-2

HEY ALL!!

Ok, so this new year, one of my resolutions is to be in the best shape of my life by the time I turn 30. That means I have just over three months. AHHH!!! SO my path to health has pushed me in ways I never expected, but I think this new adventure will push me even farther.

In order to achieve my goals, I have chosen to use the brand new Master's Hammer and Chisel program. These first two days have been a whirlwind, but I want to track this journey. I mostly want to document this for myself, but you are welcome to come on the ride with me. Here we go...

Day 1 - Chisel Balance

So, I got this program a couple weeks ago and started trying a few of the workouts. This was one of them. It killed me the first time. I barely made it through and realized that my coordination had severely declined. This time, the workout went better and I even made it through the last exercise without a break... no small feat!

But, starting off this journey right was more than just doing the workout, it was also setting up my day to make sure I got it in. That meant the alarm going off at 5:45, which is early for this tired mama with a little man that likes to get up at least twice a night still. But I did it! Bleary eyed, I mixed my Energize. I thought that since my little man had been sleeping until about 7 am most days that it would be no problem to get my workout in before he got up. I was wrong. As soon as I finished my Energize and got dressed he woke up and wanted to hang out with me. I got him set up with some breakfast in his high chair and some nursery rhymes playing. He clapped for me while I felt like I was dying and it kept me going! Such a sweet boy.

Beyond the workout, I had let my eating go some over the holidays. I didn't get all of my veggies and had treats here and there. I still watched my eating compared to previous holiday seasons and I maintained all of my weight loss to this point, but hadn't made any forward progress. Monday, that changed. I struck to my portion containers strictly until the evening. I had to add in an extra red (protein) container. I skipped on the recover because I wanted to save it for today after my plyo workout and for tomorrow's ISO strength workout as I am waiting for my next order to come in. If I had ever doubted the impact that Recover has on my ability to stick to my eating plan, yesterday erased them all. I had breakfast right after my workout, but because of the intense workout without the optimal nutrition post-workout, I needed an extra dose of protein later on in the day.

Day 2 - Hammer Plyometrics
Ouch! that about sums up this workout better than anything else. It made me push myself farther than I have in a while. Sagi Kalev was not joking when he said grab a bucket if you need it and get back to it. While I didn't need the bucket, I was doubled over quite often between reps. The high point, however, was when my daughter commented, "Mom, I didn't know you could jump so high!" This former hurdler and cheerleader used to be able to jump pretty well. I had gotten so out of the habit of taking care of myself physically that my daughter hasn't really ever seen me jump. My kids seeing me be an example of making the effort to be active and eat healthy is one of the biggest reasons I started this journey in the first place. While making the requested mashed potatoes for my family and not partaking was tough, it reminded me that through Christ I have to power to follow through on my commitments and make healthy changes in my life. When I am stressed, I don't need to turn to food for comfort, but the loving, all-powerful arms of the One True King. As I drove to pick up my daughter today, this song came on. I belted it out with the radio and wanted to share it with you too.

Thanks for following this journey!