Shockley's Ceiling

Had bootcamp last night. Sergeant ordered 50 of the sadistic squats that seared my thighs. To her credit she'd rather us do the exercise with the proper form even if that means some of us would only do half. She wants a quality squat leading to quality burn. She even threatened us with extra if just one of use performed it incorrectly. Then we did push-ups. 20 sets of 20 second intervals with 10 seconds of rest. I like to do man push-ups just to prove that I can, but in this case my man form carried me for...um...10 seconds. I switched to femine style. Which lead me to the title of this entry. The why of my quest for toned arms and strong thighs: Rock Climbing.

I am majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love with Rock Climbing. I jumped out of a plane twice. I rafted Class 4 rapids. I hiked with the Jaguars. But nothing is more interesting and fun than Rock Climbing. The sport combines style, strength, and science while forcing one to conquer their fears like falling and spiders. However, it's an expensive proposition for a city-girl: two hour drive, rental car, guide. I went up to the The Gunks about two weeks ago. We did a chimney route, Shockley's Ceiling. Hoisting myself over the overhang proved to be a problem. I tried three times, only making it halfway. With my biceps quivering like jello, I conceded to the rock and asked for an assist. My only thought as I piloted the Zipcar onto the New York State Thruway, "I will be back. And I will climb that without aid."

So that's why I pay this woman to order me around like the inferior weakling I am.

Never thought I'd ever say...Can I do a lap instead.

Boot Camp Report Day 2

We did a military run in which the leader sets the pace, then the last person sprints to the front and becomes the leader. Rotate through so that everyone gets to lead and we make it around the great lawn with "No Man left behind." My group ran a 4:45, 15 seconds shy of our goal. Sergeant Stacy asked if we wanted to go around again or do 25 squat thrusts. Someone said squat thrusts.

I will describe the Squat Thrust, a new form of torment thrust upon me by Sergeant Stacy. I bend over, into a squat, place my hand on either side of my feet then shoot them behind me into a plank position. I then jump them forward, returning to the squat and standing up. Bend, Thrust, Repeat, and hope to contain the gaseous remnants of my pre-workout beans. Then some people showed up late. 25 more squat thrusts for all of us. Arggh! I think I understand how hazing happens.

Throughout our hour of squatting, and all it's forms, I questioned my dedication to the task. After my pickled arms could not support my legs, I rested. But, I thought, is this really the limit or can I squeeze out one more squat. I'd only rest for seconds then move forward. As I write this, I wonder, have I always pushed myself to my limits?

I know I have in skiing and snowboarding. What about rock climbing, or even Physical Therapy. I should have good abs after PT, but today I fought for every Jackhammer. Two weeks ago, I gave up on an overhang move on a the rock, knowing there was no way. My arms had not yet reached the jelly stage, but somehow I knew it was futile to keep trying. That's not my normal m.o. Hmmm things for me to ponder.

I ended the hour doing monkey crawls, another hideous exercise for the arms and legs. I was the last one to finish. I asked the assistant if I could do a lap instead. He said no?

Today's Positives:
I can lunge without tipping over? The aforementioned assistant told me to imagine pushing myself into the ground. And it worked. I did 45 push ups, 10 standard, 35 girl. And still took the dog out for a minor jog when I got home.

Thanks for all the support, Everyone. Have a wonderful evening.

I thought I was in Shape....

But then I took a Boot Camp Class, which as I sort of expected proved to me how little strength I have. My arms are jelly right now, and I want to hit my bed, but am determined to blog. On the upside I was one of the top 10 runners.

Some backstory, then a picture.
Sorry about my two month absence. Once I figured out that I really was a food addict and discovered my trigger foods I was actually afraid to blog about my progress. I worried I might have gone in a spiral again. On April 1 I chose to become, for the last time,a vegan. I was always a vegetarian but would weave in and out of dairy consumption as my desires did. I would loose weight when I omitted the cheese and chocolate, but then once I got to a nice place I'd consume again. Once I realized my pattern and embraced the emotional reasons for my yo-yo behavior, I made that choice to never eat an animal based food. I see now, that, for me, dairy consumption coats me in a layer of fat. I cannot control myself.

So I have made progress. In January I weighed 182 at the doctor. This morning I weighed 165. I am about one week of sit-ups, crunches, and squats from my size 10 Ann Taylor Jeans. The poverty diet gave me a good jump start. On April 1st it hit me that I was one month away from my best friend's wedding. And I too was going to walk down the aisle and stand with her. My dress(she let us choose our own, black being the only requirement, she rocks) I wore one year ago at 165 pounds. I started jogging every day and, I admit, cut back on my portions for some rapid weight loss-about 10 pounds in that month. Now I am a bit more relaxed about it.

I eat about six times per day. No big meals, all vegan, mostly raw, and only fruit in the morning. This is what works for me. I can still have fake cheese and fake meat, which I love, and carob or dark cocoa to satisfy my inner chocoholic. I swear I am only a B cup. This dress lovingly lifts and shapes the boobs.

Now I have my fitness goals which led me to Stacy's Bootcamp. Today was the first day. We start with a 10 minute jog. Then the mega-fit Stacy orders us to get down and do sit-up, for a minute--OH MY-then push-ups, then crunches, then laps, sprints. You get the idea. I needed to shake up my routine. And the best part, it's all in Central Park, my favorite place in the world.

On another happy note-I had injections in my back for my Herniated Disk, did my Physiotherapy, lost weight and now I have no pain. And likely I will not need surgery if I get back down to 140.

So that's all for now. Here I am with "Weird Al" at 180. My face holds a lot of Weight.