Finally...

I finally had time to work out again! Last week, I had almost no time to work out. I had four night shifts, two exams, two quizzes, two lab reports...basically a lot of things going on in my life. Since school is number 1 on my list of priorities, I had to stop working out last week. But after finishing my third exam, I worked out! I didn't have time to go to the gym and lift so I did the workout video that I posted here. I did that workout twice the last time I talked about it and I died. I did it this one time since my one week hiatus and I was exhausted. Thankfully, looking at my numbers, I didn't lose too much of my progress.

If you're interested:
This week's progress after my little vacation:
Crab toe touch: R1 [round 1]: 21, R2: 20
Dive bomber: R1: 6, R2: 7
One leg squat and one leg pike: R1: 6, R2:6
Thigh shrinker exercise: R1: 12, R2:14

Originally:
Crab toe touch: R1 [round 1]: 26, R2: 24
Dive bomber: R1: 6, R2: 5
One leg squat and one leg pike: R1: 6, R2:6
Thigh shrinker exercise: R1: 16, R2: 14

Also due to the fact that I took a week vacation, I'll be extending challenge 2 until October 11th. I'll also be deciding what my next challenge will be!

Deadly

I wish you had been poison. Poison in which could be easy to cure, like a snake bite in which its venom could be sucked out. A type of sickness that can be cured with antibiotics or even the suffering of nasal congestion, coughs, and restless sleep. I wish you had been another, anything but what you are. It's run rampant in my life and as I chase after it, trying to sink myself onto it, it shakes me off and continues to run at breakneck speeds I can't physically do. I wish you had been Anger, like a metal rod put in fire. Red and hot and virtually unchangeable but easily thrown away if I chose to. Or placed back into the fire, manipulated time and time again, and although it may burn me or scar me, at least there's the chance that I can throw it away. I wish you had been Envy, like the green algae that fester the waters of once beautiful ponds. Virtually unable to sweep away or scrape away, or even prevent but still, I could brush it aside to see the waters. Even if it's still there, I can brush it aside wider and wider, wider and wider, until it's at the edges in which they can cling to the water walls attempting to survive. I wish you had been Sloth, like a lazy dangerous beast. At least I could chase you away. Beasts must be afraid of something right? Fire? Noise? I could ask a witch to brew Sloth something special, something that could chase you aside out of your cave. Something in which a caveman or even I could corner and kill, like the once giant sloths that have existed in evolution in which humans have terminated. I wish you had been Gluttony, like those hungry mythical monsters that live in the sea who demand virginal sacrifices from whichever poor country you've ransacked. At least then, I could be the mythical hero from a far away land who have come a long journey to kill you in order to continue my quest for something better. I wish you had been Greed, like the pink pigs run on a farm. At least I could've fattened you up before slaughtering you and it wouldn't have been in a FDA approved manner either. I'd slaughter you in the methods depicted in The Jungle because Greed isn't clean and it doesn't feed anything good but it'd still been better than who you are. I wish you had been Pride. At least I could've smashed mirrors apart and even though I would have seven supposed years of bad luck in an attempt to kill off Pride, at least the years wouldn't be full of you. Even Venus fell down with a mortal lover and at least if I fell down with Pride, I could've started another chain of events that would be better than the mess you're dragging along. But you? You're something that I can't withdraw from. Even when I find myself as far away from it as possible, it'll come chasing after me like a ghost missing the warmth of life. A drop of you, a small sample of you, and your aftertaste can't be washed away. It expands and I try to pull my skin apart to let you out because you're making my skin too tight. You're making me exhale too often when I should be trying to inhale because you're sneaking your fingers to my lungs and squeezing. You're a weapon growing inside of me and yet I can't launch you away. You're not killing me softly either, there is no softness in death, and when I figure out how to exterminate you, you shouldn't smile at me because I won't be killing you softly either.

Top 5 Tips for Working Out

I realized I haven’t posted much about my second challenge other than quick links. Here are some top tips that I’ve heard and followed that have made this second challenge so much fun!

1. Train like a guy. What this means is don’t be afraid of free weights. Don’t be afraid to lift weights, in general. Write down how many sets you did and how much weights you lifted. As you progress, you can keep track of how much stronger you’re getting. You won’t get big either. You’ll get all the results you wanted.

2. Interval training is the best. Seriously, I go out of my way to avoid running. I’ll do it because it is necessary.  However why run for 20, 30, or 45 minutes when you can get the same results in less than 20 minutes? Try this the next time you think you have to run for 30 minutes nonstop to get the results you want: sprint or run as fast as you can for 1 minute, jog for 3 minutes. Repeat. You can apply this type of logic to other exercises [I haven’t tried this with weight lifting yet so I don’t recommend it]. Also interval training for me has been intense. I get burned out in 12 minute workouts and the best part? It’s all I need.

3. Do NOT do isolation exercises. You know you’ve done it, the times you’ve hit the gym and ONLY worked on legs or arms or abs. Think about all those guys you’ve seen with monstrous arms but the rest of their body looks normal. Yes, that’s what can happen to you too. Do exercises that work multiple body parts.

4. Doing cardio everyday gives you results. My friend told me that I didn’t have to spend any time doing sit ups or anything so long as I do cardio. He told me by doing cardio and remembering to tighten up your abs, you’ll get your ab workout right there!

5. Experiment! Don’t always do the same thing over and over again. Confuse your body. This means don’t do the same lifting exercises every week, don’t do yoga everyday either. By doing different things, you’re making your body stronger and who knows, maybe you’ll find something new that you like!

Thrifted Outfit!!

My dressed up outfit for a depressing Monday [depressing because it means a start of another week!].
 
Shoes: Thrifted
Tank top: Thrifted
Skirt: Thrifted
Leggings and cardigan: Forever 21
Scarf: bought from a local store at the beach two summers ago

I feel proud of my thrifted outfit. I hope that someday, I will have accumulated enough clothing from thrifting to always have some of it in my daily outfit. That would mean by then, I would NOT be contributing to mainstream shopping and landfills of perfectly good clothes.

Hot Attack

This work out was designed to be only 12 minutes wrong. I did it once and I was exhausted. I did it again just to push myself. What I got as a result was muscles shaking and being incapable of moving [after I finished it twice over]. I laid down for a good twenty minutes before I could function again. This was awesome but I hope I can move well tomorrow because I have ballroom dance practice!

Sadness: Not Working Out

I haven’t been able to work out for the past two days. Finding time between classes and work is really difficult. Also, I live in an apartment where I have to cook my own food and clean. So even doing that along with the rest of the things I need to do make it really difficult to not work out. Honestly, it felt so strange NOT working out. I was disappointed I didn’t get to. My roommate tells me it’s ok, it’s good to rest up, but still it felt strange. Honestly, I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to work out. I can work out today but probably not tomorrow. Next week will be extra difficult because I have two exams to study for and about three back to back shifts at work. *insert melodramatic sigh here*.

Also: I’m thinking of starting to drink protein. This is really a challenge against my own thinking and many others that by drinking protein and working out, girls will get big and muscular like a female bodybuilder. More on that later!

Untitled

Totally random writing that plagued me today. Here it is:

I bought a big sketchbook today. I said I have big ideas and big dreams I need to put on paper. Yet I stretched every line and made every curve wide. Fill the wide yawning white. There is no looking at what’s being scarred on. Only focus on getting it done. The entire white is marred with lines and curves and shades and brights and yet there is no picture. There is no picture. It’s just a piece. I rip another and try to color in the next part, the next part that was supposed to be on the first. Trying to make it fit, trying to make it fit the first. Yet I draw it too small, the lines thin like toothpicks and the curves too tight. It doesn’t match and I draw a third to look like the first to match the second. Then it goes on until I’m drawing the tenth to match the eighth because the seventh didn’t fill the page. It doesn’t occur to me to draw something new. Something entirely new, something different. Clinging onto this big idea and this big dream that fades away like smoke further and further as I try to grasp it. The constant coloring, the constant attempt to match and I’ve lost the reading in the obscure cards that once told me a secret to my future in which I could break glass ceilings and snap old dusty books with my stiletto, the secret to making one kiss slip into the next kiss and the next endlessly yawning like the ocean among a horizon, and the dashes to the fears that I would fade like the shadows who run from the sun. Moving canvases to the walls, the floor, the ceiling, sketching and stretching, breaking my arms and my legs trying to reach up and over to draw this ragged line from one end to the other, trying to make it all connect. And when I can’t take it anymore, I draw tiny. I fill in the cracks between each mistake and each imperfection, squeezing all the details of my big idea into the small space between gaps that the ink blots and bleed and the tiny just hurts my eyes. The tiny just hurts. And I curl small, smaller, trying to smash my fingers down and fold in my legs so I can be small like Thumbelina and this tiny image can seem big to me. It doesn’t even register that I could’ve left the room despite the knockings of a door I’ve locked and won’t open or the break in of the window that seems to shrink. Even when bleeding hands and arms, broken skin from the wood they’ve broken down or the glass they’ve tried to brush away like dust, grasp me I’m incapable of moving because I’m trying to listen to the whispers of the reminders of my smoky dream. Fallen into the siren song and drowned by the mermaid of a Dead Sea where witches pull out cards they tell me to cut.

Workout Links

I know my schedule is to lift three times a week and pilates/swim twice a week, however I find myself doing a lot of pilates. I've also been doing a lot of research on the internet for workouts that don't require me to go to the gym! Like I said, finding time to hit the gym between 19 credits worth of classes and a demanding job is rather difficult. So often times, hitting the gym is a lot of trouble. I still go, of course, to stick with my schedule. I wanted to write this post to show you two awesome sites I use as references to work out.

POP Pilates! - My favorite pilates instructor! I can always take this to go! I love Cassey's 10 minute intense work out videos coupled with music. These videos range from total body to spot exercises such as abs or butt. This site also comes with printables on her workouts and diet tips!

Bodyrock - I just found this website a few days ago. I love this site because it primarily uses bodyweight excerises. This means no need for equipment! Even if Zuzana does use equipment, she later tells beginners how to do the exercises down to their fitness level. Most of her videos are meant for 10 minute intervals. The titles of the exercises are funny though. Can you believe that she got to her fitness level through bodyweight excerises?!
P.S. Her website might seem intimidating but the best way to start using this website is to click on the latest video and doing it!

Are there are any other sites YOU use to work out?

DUK...Textbooks?

DUK...Textbooks?!
As a college student, I've had to hand over a hefty amount of money over the most dreaded thing known to college other than fees: textbooks. Have you ever been in those classes where the professor spends about 20 minutes lecturing you on how important it is that you get the textbook? They tell you all types of things: if you don't get it, you won't do well, you invested your money in an education and the book is part of that education.
Then you buy the book and you find out you haven't opened the cover. Yes, I've been there. Frustrating right? Absolutely maddening! Why did I just spend $50, $80, $100, $200?!!! This was me as a freshman. Since then, I've definitely learned a lot of skills and tips when it comes to textbooks.
Here is a rundown of some quick information:

1. For the most part, the information between editions are the same!
2. Custom editions for your school is no different than the regular textbook!
3. International editions are the same.
4. Professors don't always know the difference between one edition of the textbook to the new one. They got sold by some advertiser.
5. Your school's bookstore raises the prices of those books to get a cut from it.
6. Textbooks that come with CDs or access codes cost more. If you're not going to use them, don't buy the book that comes with it.

Here are some tips to cut down your costs:

1. AVOID BUYING AT YOUR SCHOOL'S STORE!!
2. Always buy used.
3. Buy international!
4. Comparison shop!
5. Wait until the first day of classes to get the syllabus. Gauge from the calender and use your instincts to determine whether you really need it.
6. Check out your school's library. Often, they'll have a copy of your textbook or book lying around somewhere.
7. Share a textbook with a classmate. BEWARE: This might be difficult come exam time.
8. Access codes that are required for you to do online homework often come with the e-book already included.

Good luck!

I'm Feeling ADDICTED!

It's been a week and I've been keeping true to my challenge! Working out everyday! When I go to the gym and lift, I love the "fuzzy" feeling I get! I also love the soreness. When I do pilates, I love feeling sore too. When I swim, I'm in love with the movements.

I'll admit, the only thing I'm NOT addicted to is running. I dread running. I'll do it because I have to, but I despise it. Sprinting is something I enjoy but it's not something I can do often. Running gives me bad shin splints so I started to opt out of running and do other cardio workouts instead. I also started to do interval cardio workouts where you intensify your workout for a minute and spend three minutes slowing it down. For instance in running, I'll sprint 100 meters but spend the rest of the lap jogging. I cut the time I'm spending on cardio but am getting the same type of goal.

My school has a gym that offers fitness classes. I'm hoping to get into some of them because I think it'll be fun to change my routine a little once in a while. The only thing I find difficult with this challenge is finding time to work out. Some days, I wake two hours before classes start to go to the gym. However, when I'm working night shifts, it's hard to do this as often as I would like. Between classes are difficult too because I get hungry.

Is It Really JUST About Being Healthy?

Someone asked me what other goals I have for this challenge. They said that "being healthy and active" is too vague. So I thought of an answer for them! I'm a swimmer, always have been. However, it's so easy to lose the skills when you haven't done them in so long. I used to be able to have a lot more endurance when swimming but now swimming two laps makes me tired. I used to be able to hold my breath longer. So my goal for this challenge is to also build my endurance. I also started to do pilates, which I love! However many of the moves are challenging and I often have to do the easier moves. For instance, I'll have to do leg circles with a much smaller circumference rather than make them big. I know that I do the same workout but I hope to be able to make them bigger. Secondary goal for this challenge is to become more flexibile!