I am loving the accountability of keeping a log of my exercises.
Day 5 of the Eat Drink and Be Skinny (eatdrinkandbeskinny.com) Planks and Push Ups challenge was back to Plank. I managed to do level 2 (knees) plank for 1 minute which matched my benchmark time. I got to 1 minute 30 seconds the last time, but I am happy that I was at least able to match my benchmark today.
Day 5 of the Blogilates (blogilates.com) Pointed Butt Lift Challenge was 9 Squats, 9 Pointed Butt Lifts, and 9 Fire Hydrants.
I have been noticing that I am getting lower with squats lately than when I started the Facebook Fitbit Friends 28 Day Squat Challenge and the Blogilates Butt Lift Challenge last month. I am even getting lower now with less pain than when I ended those challenges last month. I love feeling preogress!
Day 5 of the Blogilates (blogilates.com) Flat Abs Challenge was 9 Roll Ups, 9 Ankle Reaches, and 9 Double Leg Lifts. The leg lifts still burn in my lower abs, but it's an awesome feeling! They are getting easier though which is a good sign!!
Day 5 of the Blogilates (blogilates.com) Thigh Slimming Challenge was 9 Plie Squats, 9 Leg Swings each side, and 9 Side Lunges each side. I was able to do the Leg Swings without holding onto anything for stabilization this time. I wobbled and had to put my leg down for balance a couple times on each side, but regained my balance and started right back up again and finished all the full leg swings without holding onto anything this time, so I feel super accomplished about that! Also, I felt some tightness in one leg during the Side Lunges in the beginning, but it loosened up by the end. After the first couple days of this challenge my legs would hurt the next day (after the side lunges), but I haven't noticed that the last couple of days when I wake up and start moving around. That's another good sign.
Day 5 of the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans (shrinkingjeans.net) Lose the Love Handles Challenge was a Rest Day. I considered moving on to day 6 instead, but I decided to stick to the Rest for that one so I am on the same day on each calendar every day.
I also finished my 6,500 step goal and 3 mile distance goal using my Fitbit and walking in place and in circles in my home to achieve this. When I started focusing on my step goal towards the end of November, I decided to start with a 5,000 a day step goal. I set a goal to achieve this every day for 30 days and then to increase it by 500 steps. I planned to continue this pattern to keep striving for my step goal every day and increasing after meeting 30 days in a row each time. I have not missed a day yet, and I have now met my step goal for over 100 days in a row. I know 5,000 steps seems like a low place to start and it sounds like 6,500 isn't that high yet either. However, before I started this plan, I was only averaging between 1,000 and 3,000 steps a day. I needed something realistic and achievable and with small increments of improvement along the way to make it something that was attainable and sustainable for me. Thsi is really working out very well for me. Today I walked 6,753 steps and 3.23 miles.
I reverted back to the way in which I was exercising the past couple of weeks when I was doing multiple days of my challenge calendars at once at the end of Feburary when I was trying to make up for lost days. I have go walk for a either 10 or 20% of my step goal and then do a round of exercises off a challenge calendar and then possibly walk another 10 or 20% of steps and then rest for 30 to 60 minutes and then come back and do it again. I did this between 2 and 5 times a day at the end of February. I haven't been feeling well so these short bursts of exercise were wearing me out and making me feel ill. The rest was what was making it possible to keep going and doing more and more. I thought I was feeling better this month, so I have been trying to do my walking all at once and then resting for awhile and then doing my challenge exercises all at once. I have been getting ill again by doing this and have no energy to keep going. I keep breaking out in cold sweats and dizziness and nausea when I was doing it this way. That's why today, I did 3 rounds of walking mixed with some challenge exercises and hour breaks in between. This helped me get all of my walking and my challenge exercises done by midnight without feeling too badly.
I then rested for awhile again and starting having some inflammation in my ribs. I get inflammation in my ribs a lot in the winter time due to some damage I had to my chest in my car accident coupled with my Rheumatoid Arthritis. There are tissues between my ribs that get inflamed and it can often feel to me like giant hands squeezing the air out of my lungs. I have been to the Doctor dozens of times before with this issue. I have had lots of other issues with my chest in the past too and know the difference in the feelings, and I know this is the RA inflammation. I did the only think I can do when I have this type of issue. I took my RA medicine and ibuprofen (both prescribed by my Rheumatologist that I take every day) and I am calling it a night. I had been waitng and resting and hoping that I could finally get back into my Yoga practice tonight. However, at the risk of sounding like I am constantly making excuses to get out of it, I really am not. I am doing the only thing I can do for my body at this point. I wish for nothing more than to feel well enough to get back into my 30 to 60 minute nightly Yoga videos. Yoga is my favorite exercise, and even though some of the videos are tough, they make me feel very well. They make me phsyically and mentally and spiritually the most grounded and happy of all. However, I know I can't do it when I'm dizzy or nauseous like I have been lately, and I can't do it while I am having inflammation in my ribs making it difficult to take deep breaths.
To top it all off, I started my period today too. Earlier than last month too. This really sucks. I have awful periods, and they last 8 days at least, and I don't do Yoga much when I am on my periods either because I read some poses aren't good for you when you're on your period. I honestly never feel like it then anyway with the stomach discomfort. I had just made a break through the last week or two in a plateau that lasted almost all of February too. Now, this horrible monthly torture is here to make me bloat back up like a balloon and retain 5 pounds of fluid again. This is unbelievable. I was hoping to keep going down for more than a little over a week. I met two of my goals this month for 4 week games and was hoping to meet the goal for the next game soon too even though it doesn't end until the 18th. I just can't catch a break right now.