Thursday, January 5, 2012

Insanity.... and the downfalls of at home workouts


Anyone who has stuck with an 'at home workout' regime deserves a medal.  I will name this medal - The Determination and Internal Motivation medal.  Bravo!

Back in August I purchased Shawn T's newest fad workout called "Insanity".  I respect Shawn T's eagerness to help people get fit at home with the hip hop ab routine and completely insane/intense  Insanity workouts.  Insanity came with a workout plan (1st ingredient for success), multiple dvd's (2nd ingredient - variety), and challenge (3rd ingredient - sense of accomplishment).  As I opened the packaging I envisioned myself doing this workout every other day.  I could smell increased cardiovascular endurance and sweat.  I would tell Mike my goals for these DVD's and attempt to convince him that it was a worthy cross training routine.

Day 1 of the Insanity program was a fit test. This test was absolutely impossible - after the 1st 3 exercises the lactic acid in my legs was unbearable, lungs burning and sweat trickling off my brow.  I could see Shawn T's strategy - kill people on Day 1 (humble them) and then build them back up with progressional exercises.  I get it.

For the next 3 days I went through the first 3 DVD's and quickly ran into the 'at home workout' obstacles:

- Space:  Although I have what appears to be an adequate space in my rec room to workout, Shawn proved me wrong.  Jumping in a square was difficult, walking plank was more of a crawl, squat jumping back and forth was a stutter.  I had no other places to put things - my furniture was against the wall.

- Equipment:  Although Shawn or his back up crew do not use mats- I decided that I would spare myself the floor contact and use my yoga mat.  I found out quickly that jumping, planking, lunging, mountain climbing was not practical on a mat with sneakers on.  Bunching, sliding, stretching - the mat soon went by the wayside.

Insanity also provides the fitness enthusiast with 'elevator music' as it's background music.  There's an option to choose the workout with or without the 'tunes' and it's hard to determine which is better.  In an attempt to pump up the workout - I pulled out my IPOD.  I was doing much better with my own tunes until my ear buds wouldn't stay in with all the abrupt movements I was doing.   Back to the drawing board.
Note:  At this time I did not have an IPOD dock...

- Safety Concerns:  As I was giving my all in the Insanity workout and "pushing it!", as Shawn T would yell, I was working up quite an "at home workout" sweat.  A real first for me.  I was down on the floor doing pushups when my hands started slipping and sliding.  Laminate flooring/sweat do not mix folks.  I then cautiously did the other moves and I'm sure did more harm then good.  The next day my calves were seized up tighter than I've ever experienced.

Despite the above - I was still dedicated to my newest cross-training routine.  By the end of Day 3 I was experiencing 'at home workout' distractions.  Ringing phone, text messages, Mike coming home/leaving, mind wandering, clock watching.... I couldn't stay focused.  Shawn would be yelling "10 more" and I would do 5 and rest for 5. He would do something double time and I would do single - not because I couldn't do it double rather I wasn't 'feeling it'.   I then asked Mike to watch me do the workout  to encourage me and give me a boost.  He soon grew bored and I soon grew tired of his encouragement.

This is when I really realized that no matter how much I try there is no substitute to working out in a group setting.  I love the energy that others bring and the motivation I get from being in a group.  Priceless.  I love CrossFit and the community and is the reason why I've been able to stay enrolled for a little over a year.   I will remember this blog post the next time I get the notion to invest into another dvd set.  I give mad props to the people that can stay committed with all the obstacles that working out at home presents.  Good for you!

For now - I'll stick with what's been working and file "Insanity" with the rest of my workout DVD's....

Monday, January 2, 2012

Puppy Love

WARNING: This blog post may get you thinking about getting a puppy. Puppies are great but take it from me - DO NOT get 2 puppies at once unless you have nerves of steel and all the time in the world. :)

On October 11th, Mike and I adopted 2 - 6 week old Shih tzu puppies - Oscar and Nova.  I've always been a dog lover and couldn't wait until I purchased a home to expand our family.  Me, in my traditional 'over the top/got to do it now' thinking decided that if 1 puppy was a good thing, then 2 would be even better!! 
Note to self:  More doesn't mean better.

Our first few weeks were challenging.  A LOT of trial and error. Mike and I were like new parents - clueless as to what to do but having the best intentions at heart.  We'd spend many minutes just staring at the puppies.  I'd be thinking "what the hell did we get ourselves into", Mike would be thinking "please don't pee on the floor"....  We'd read our Puppies for Dummies book and change our techniques daily.  By the end of the third week we were sleep deprived, emotionally exhausted and at our breaking point.  One day Mike blurted out "I've never been this stressed in my life!".  That's pretty bad for a guy who has a very stressful job.  I knew that something needed to change.  We then called in the professionals - Unleashed Potential, K9 academy. 

We arrived at our private session at the K9 academy with nothing left in our tanks.  I wanted a counselling session more than dog training tips and Mike was so overwhelmed with life he couldn't take anything in.  The trainer gave us some  mild to extreme training techniques and we left feeling as if there was some hope for us. 

We now consider ourselves in parenting boot camp.  We've made room in our lives for little ones.  We've cleaned up bodily fluids, gone through sleepless nights, listened to barking (and not known what was wrong), celebrated milestones (climbing stairs, jumping on a chair, going potty outside, learning down, sit, come) and rearranged our schedules to accommodate our puppies needs.  We show everyone pictures of our puppies (regardless if they want to see them or not), tell puppy stories (whether they want to hear them or not) and take our pups for visits (uninvited). Our lives now revolve around the next bathroom break, training time or feeding. 

After one of our many trips to the vet we received devastating news.  Nova was diagnosed with kidney disease which means he could live for days-years. Oscar is also showing some signs of having the same disease (milder symptoms) so you can imagine the emotional rollarcoaster we've been on since the diagnosis.  Treatment is not an option (dialysis) and so we are left anticipating the inevitable. Mike and I have done lots of soul searching, discussing our options and spending quality time together and with our puppies. We've had good days and lots of bad days. If Nova is having a bad day - we have a hard time being away from home.

It's amazing what dimension a fatal illness (yes, dramatic...) can bring to your situation.  We suddenly had to 'relax' (we're still working on this) and not sweat the small stuff (also working on this).  We've had some "Marley and Me" moments from chasing around both puppies with the forbidden in their mouths, to "Hachi" times where the puppies follow us around like they'd be lost without us.
We're enjoying each day with them as though it's their last and "keep on keepin' on".  We have daily play times where the four of us spend time together and are attempting to teach them what quiet time/settling means (work in progress).  We document their every move - "get the camera!!" is a common phrase in the house. What a special gift these puppies have been for us.   They have taught us more than we could have imagined.  Selflessness, patience, appreciation for what we have, communication, the art of 'slowing down', living in the moment, to name a few.  Mike and I are now stronger than ever because of these little guys and my heart skips a beat everytime I see them.  It must be puppy love.