Week 8 is over! We are two thirds through the program! Team Castanet is pushing through with the help of our fearless and totally dedicated leader, Stephanie. She has definitely pushed us this week which is exactly what a good trainer does.
Monday came quickly. We had to weigh in and take measurements so that Stephanie could report on our progress. Weighing in on Monday threw me off a little since we always weigh in on Thursday's. My logical mind knew that I shouldn't expect much on the scale since we had just weighed in 3 days before but my emotions didn't believe that so it was difficult to see only a .6 drop. The measurements were better and I can proudly say that I've lost another 4 inches making it a total of 14. Since we only measure chest, waist and hips, I'm pretty pleased with that. I wouldn't have expected that when I started two months ago. The workout went well as I was finally feeling like I was stronger than my cold. We did plenty of cardio along with strength training like most of our other workouts, just pushed to a new limit.
On Tuesday I started to work on the challenges that Stephanie gave us. My regular Tuesday routine worked perfectly with 25 minutes on the treadmill and the power sculpt class. An hour of weight training knocked off the list, (It was only 50 minutes but I can't make it to the hour class).
On Wednesday I decided to tackle the interval training that was on the list so I hit the treadmill. Stephanie's challenge was 30 seconds uphill, 30 seconds recovery, 45 seconds uphill, 45 seconds recovery and 1 minute hill, 1 minute recovery, repeat 4 times. After my warm up I cautiously put the elevation to 6 and did the first set. I wasn't dying so the next set I pushed the elevation to 6.5. The third set I went to an elevation of 7 and on the fourth set I took it to 7.5. When that set was finished I decided to do one more set at 8. I was pretty proud of that workout. I did discover that the muscles in my behind are the ones that worked in order to get me up those hills. Somehow I have learned to enjoy being a little sore. I like knowing that I've pushed my muscles hard.
Thursday was a rough day and when I arrived for our team work out I soon found out that most of us were feeling the same.....tired and a little discouraged. It was a very subdued group but we were there and we were working. Half way through Stephanie stopped our workout and we took time to just chat. Looking back, I think we needed that chat more than we needed the workout. I so appreciate the way Stephanie sensed what we were all feeling and took the time to address it rather than hoping it would go away. After our little pep talk, the energy of our workout improved and we all gave it everything we had. The last set of stairs, burpees and push-ups had us all exhausted. I'm not sure we could have given it as much as we did in the end if we hadn't stopped to chat. Certainly a sign of an excellent trainer.
On Friday I packed both my swimming gear and my gym gear. I wasn't sure what work out I was going to do, follow Stephanie's challenge or hit the treadmill. After work, I went to Parkinson, and I actually looked in through the window to see how busy it was. It wasn't until I saw that it was fairly quiet in the pool that I decided to give it a try. After I got changed into my swim suit, I stopped by the mirror. I have to admit that seeing myself in that suit brought tears to my eyes. I looked so much better in it than the last time I remember having it on. That alone was worth the effort it took to get me to try swimming. I swam lengths for 30 minutes and remembered that I actually enjoy being in the pool. Thanks again, Stephanie.
Saturday I completed another challenge on the list which was to ride a bike for 30 minutes and then do a yoga class. I'm not a big fan of the stationary bikes but I did enjoy the yoga class. Since I've done the class before it was one of the easier challenges on the list.
Today is Sunday and I tried on a pair of jeans that I haven't been able to wear for a few years. Not only could I get them on, they fit properly. It gave me the desire to clean out the rest of my dresser. I now have a pile of clothes that I have no intention of ever being able to wear again. I'll take them to the Salvation Army tomorrow. In addition to having smaller clothes to wear, I have noticed how much easier it is for me to do everyday things. Climbing stairs is quicker, carrying groceries is a breeze and squatting down at work to stock the bottom shelves has never been easier. It comes from all the repetitions of stairs, weights and squats that I've done over the last 8 weeks, and I am certain that everyone on my team that has been doing this with me has noticed the same things. When we first started this process, Stephanie talked to us about being functionally fit. She wanted us to be able to go about doing our everyday things like carrying groceries into the house with ease. I know that my level of fitness has grown faster than the scale has gone down and that is an accomplishment I could never have made without this opportunity. As discouraging as things can get throughout this process, there is no denying the progress that has been made. 4 weeks left and I can't wait to find out where I will be at the end. Come on, Team Castanet, let's finish strong!
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