Goal met: 200 sit ups challenge

So... had a couple cups of coffee, did some back stretches, and then sat down and did 200 sit ups.
I have met my goal. ("Hello Goal." "Hello Merry.")

Seems to me this calls for a gold star on the post and a 200 sit ups icon on the sidebar.





To review: when I did the initial 200 sit up test, I did 30 sit ups before my back started to hurt. Started this in April, stopped in July when I hurt my arm/shoulders, started back up a couple weeks ago and finished October 18. Not sure these dates are especially relevant except that they show that I kept exercising, apart from the injury/rest.

Survived the 5th week of the push up challenge

Ha! He's a swinger! I always suspected...

Whine du jour: Push ups are no fun. Don't look forward to doing them, don't feel better after I've done them. About the only pleasure I get from push ups is the pleasure of totaling up the number of them that I've done and then bragging to people about it.

So why do I do it?
I think my attitude toward this push up challenge is like some other people's feeling about doing a marathon: because it's there. It's not something I'm going to do after the challenge is finished.

Once I've completed the 100 push ups (and I will finish, eventually, come hell high water or injuries I'll get there eventually) then I will explore other weight lifting exercises, and target other muscle groups. Maybe I should do the 1 pull up challenge. (The challenge there would be to actually do one single friggin' pull up. I doubt I could do a single one right now.)

The sit ups are definitely helping my back. When I did the first test, I stopped when my back muscles started to hurt. I've noticed that now it takes a whole lot more sit ups to get to that point, so there's a positive change.


Exercise du jour:
Week 5 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 3
(45 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 13
Set 2 - 13
Set 3 - 15
Set 4 - 15
Set 5 - 12
Set 6 - 12
Set 7 - 10
Set 8 - 30



Week 6 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(45 seconds rest in between)
Day 3
Set 1 - 20
Set 2 - 20
Set 3 - 26
Set 4 - 26
Set 5 - 24
Set 6 - 24
Set 7 - 21
Set 8 - 21
Set 9 - 75

Done! At 11:57 p.m., 3 minutes before midnight, but it still counts as exercise for the day. (Took 26 minutes.)

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacey/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

My reputation is toast: I blame the 2 fit chicks and their microphone

Saturday, I spent the night at a hotel in Astoria (because the 10k preliminaries started early in the a.m. and it takes over 2 hours to get there from Portland). I have trouble getting to sleep, so I thought I'd listen to a podcast in bed while I was trying to unwind. Specifically, 2 Fit Chicks and a Microphone. Their latest podcast deals with running, which seemed an appropriate and safe topic.

Argh. It is totally Carla and Shauna's fault if my roommate thinks I'm a nut. I don't want to imagine what the poor woman thought I was doing, giggling in the dark in the next bed. But I couldn't help it. Those two are dangerous together -- funny and informative and then funny again. They should put a warning on their podcast so people know what they're getting in for. And so people can warn their roommates. That's only civil.

Exercise du jour:
Week 5 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 2
(45 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 10
Set 2 - 10
Set 3 - 13
Set 4 - 13
Set 5 - 10
Set 6 - 10
Set 7 - 9
Set 8 - 25



Week 6 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(45 seconds rest in between)
Day 2
Set 1 - 21
Set 2 - 21
Set 3 - 23
Set 4 - 23
Set 5 - 21
Set 6 - 21
Set 7 - 15
Set 8 - 15
Set 9 - 66

Done. Finally. It's after 10 pm, but by gosh I did my exercise for the day and within about 20 minutes. So why don't I feel proud?

Monday? Already?

Quote du jour: Whenever I feel like exercising I lie down until the feeling passes. - Robert Hutchins

Race report du week: Yesterday's 10k was fun. And painful. I have to work on learning how to pace myself: went too fast at the beginning and ended up with shin pain so bad I limped over the finish line. But I finished with time to spare, so I'm happy. And tired.

I could've gone for the 2nd column of push ups, but I'm worn out from the 10k yesterday, so I want to take it easy.

Exercise du jour:
Week 5 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(60 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 17
Set 2 - 19
Set 3 - 15
Set 4 - 15
Set 5 - 20



Week 6 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 38
Set 2 - 34
Set 3 - 30
Set 4 - 22
Set 5 - 60
Done. For what good it does. Hmph.
It's not that I'm feeling sore in mind and muscle and soul.


Okay, so it is exactly just that. But I'm going to blame the mood and the mental attitude and most of the physical pain on cramps. Which, sadly, is a quite applicable villain to use in this situation. Really, I don't know how men get by without this excuse perfectly reasonable reason for lack of good performance or appreciation of the performance.

Surviving the challenges... so far...

By the end of the day I'll -- please God -- have survived 5th week of the sit ups and managed to get through the repeat 4th week of the push ups without my arms chest falling off.

Definitely deserve a treat.

Yeah, that'll make you sit up...

Exercise du jour:
Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 3
(120 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 29
Set 2 - 33
Set 3 - 29
Set 4 - 29
Set 5 - 40

Week 5 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(45 seconds rest in between)
Day 3
Set 1 - 30
Set 2 - 30
Set 3 - 36
Set 4 - 36
Set 5 - 30
Set 6 - 30
Set 7 - 40
Set 8 - 75!!

Update du Saturday:Note to self: look, moron, don't wait until last thing at night to start these things. And don't try it after a carb fest. Got 8 -- count 'em, 8 -- push ups done last night before giving up. It's now 11:22 in the morning, and I've got one last set of push ups and sit ups before I get my star. I just thought I'd take a break to let you all know the status. Really, that's the reason I'm taking a break and typing instead of doing push ups. I knew you'd be concerned. Yes, I'm that thoughtful.

p.s. Any prayers, positive thoughts, or good vibes that you're not using could always be sent to the powers that control the weather, so that Sunday will be bright and sunny. Just a thought. Can't hurt to ask.

Done! Bloody hell. That last set of push ups didn't rely on muscle strength so much as on pure gritted-teeth will power.
307 sit ups, 160 push ups, 1 Merry.



No, don't thank me for that photo. Thank http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacey/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

I don't care what the calendar says, I'm not ready for fall yet

Sigh... the leaves are definitely starting to go. I'm feeling a strong urge to climb the trees and apply some superglue. I'm not ready for fall to befall me.

One good thing about combining the sit up and push up challenges: I'm not thinking about how boring it is doing all these sit ups. The sit up intervals are a chance to rest my aching arms, so my body thinks "Hey! It's just fine to do sit ups! Sure, how many do you want?"

Of course, as of today I'm doubling the amount of sit ups, so maybe that attitude will change back to boredom.

Exercise du jour:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 2
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 25
Set 2 - 29
Set 3 - 25
Set 4 - 25
Set 5 - 36



Week 5 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(45 seconds rest in between)
Day 2
Set 1 - 27
Set 2 - 27
Set 3 - 30
Set 4 - 30
Set 5 - 21
Set 6 - 21
Set 7 - 24
Set 8 - 60

Done! Got the push ups done in three hours. Finished up the last 2 sets of sit ups after work. That's one thing about repeating the 4th week; I'm able to cut down on the rest time between push up sets.
Plus, 2 hours walking.

Do cheetahs ever prosper?

I feel like a cheater.

The 100 push up challenge wants you to do 90 seconds rest between sets. With me, it's more like a couple minutes or even a couple hours.

Generally the pattern runs thusly:

Get up, stumble towards the caffeine, take in enough to pry the eyelids open.
Do the first two push up and sit up sets, cursing.
Go to work.
At lunch, do a couple more push up and sit up sets (the easier ones)
More work.
Come home, greet the dog, do the remaining set of push ups and sit ups.

That's a bit more than 90 seconds.

My only defense is that I do the hardest ones first. The first set is always a struggle "I can't do this!" My arms have to get used to the idea of push ups afresh each time. And the second set is usually more reps, so that even though my arms are warmed up, it still feels like I'm pushing the limit of what I can do.

Even if I'm not doing this challenge the "right" way, it's still making my arms stronger. But I feel guilty, all the same.

Exercise du jour: Re-doing week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge. This time, because I feel guilty about repeating, I'm going to do the sets in the third column, the hardest one.

Day 1
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 21
Set 2 - 25
Set 3 - 21
Set 4 - 21
Set 5 - 32

Week 5 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 42
Set 2 - 52
Set 3 - 38
Set 4 - 33
Set 5 - 52

Done! Actually got `em done before noon for once. Plus 75 minutes walking.





Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesheriff/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Okay, so technically that's a photo of a jaguar, but I liked his style.

Struggles with statistics

Hey, it's Friday. That requires a Hugh Jackman photo, right?


Just a note to self here (because everyone else is still looking at Hugh). According to the Sparkpeople statistics I'm managing to eat enough protein and fat every day, but I'm invariably short of the number of carbs I should be consuming.

I'm caught between trying to please both a computerized nutritional program and my stomach. I don't want to eat pasta, or rice, or bread. Need to start eating potatoes. They're starchy enough.

Exercise du jour:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 3
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 23
Set 2 - 28
Set 3 - 23
Set 4 - 23
Set 5 - 33

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 3
Set 1 - 35
Set 2 - 42
Set 3 - 35
Set 4 - 35
Set 5 - 50

Done! Damn, but that was close to a DNF. It's 8:30 pm, and I just finished the last set. I did sets 3 and 4 at work, and I thought I'd injured a couple of muscles. A different muscle in each arm, to make it more confusing. I almost didn't finish that last set. I'm off to do some serious ibuprofren. I'm not even going to take the end-of-4th-week test. I figure it's better to rest the arms completely for a couple days and then repeat this week.
Know what's weird? I feel like a loser for repeating. Keep telling myself that it's not like repeating kindergarten or something -- it's allowed to take it easy if something's hurting. I don't want to end up with arms so sore that it's painful to comb my hair. Last time I did that, I couldn't do any arm exercises for months. Caution, Grasshopper.
Plus, 1 hour forty minutes walking.

Don't thank me for that photo. Thank

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbaradoduk/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Another reason to love Hugh Jackman: he isn't afraid to ask someone to turn their cell phone off.

Drag Queens in Auschwitz, and other tales

Sometimes when you ride the Max, you meet someone who wants to talk.

Yesterday morning, a young man came and sat next to me as the train pulled out of the station. He complimented me on my outfit (I was wearing a fluorescent yellow bicycling jacket, as I was planning to bike part way to work). Apparently, it's exactly the same color as one of the outfits he uses in his drag queen act.

He was wearing women's jeans. Along the side they had a dainty little floral pattern in sequins, and they did not fit him around the hips. Despite this, he was clearly very proud of them.

He might have been pulling my leg, but he was certainly entertaining. Over the course of a ten-minute ride, he told me:

- he was Jewish
- he was gay
- he was the eldest of 8 children
- he'd been engaged twice (to "biological women")
- he was 24
- he was a drag queen
- he had 40 pairs of women's shoes. (Apparently, it's not that hard to find size 11 heels.)
- his mother asked him what she'd done wrong (i.e. for him to not find women attractive)
- he was planning a trip to England, Amsterdam, and Germany. He was going to meet up with friends in Europe and they were going to do a tour of concentrations camps. "Auschwitz and places like that."

I decided not to mention that Auschwitz was actually in Poland, not Germany. And the trip to Amsterdam was relevant based on the fact that Anne Frank had been his hero since he read her diary when he was 13. But England?

I felt that I had to point out that he might have a problem there. "Um... they don't actually have any Nazi concentration camps in England."
He opened his arms wide, as if to embrace everyone on the train. "But that's where everyone escaped to!"
"Ah. Right."
"I've got a blond wig and some blue contacts. When I get to Germany, I'm going to wear them so I'll look more Aryan."

****************************

I had to work later than I'd hoped, so I ended up only cycling partway home (at a sprint, to feel virtuous) and then took the Max the rest of the way. This time my companions were teenage drug users. The young guy was missing several of his front teeth and had long bedraggled hair; the young girl was thinner than a supermodel.

That sounds an unappealing description, but somehow, I found them rather sweet. They were traveling the whole length of the Max line, over an hour into clearly unfamiliar territory, to welcome a friend who was going to get out of jail. They were clearly out of their comfort zone ("This stop is called Hawthorn Farm? I don't see any farm here!") but there was a light-heartedness -- a strange kind of innocence -- about them that I liked.

This being Oregon, the female drug user politely moved her feet to give me a bit more room as I maneuvered the bike, and the male drug user helped me put my bicycle up onto a bicycle hook. Their conversation meandered from the different prisons they'd been in to the colors of the clothes they had to wear (apparently juvenile offenders wear different outfits from adults) to the jumpsuit that their friend had had to wear during his imprisonment. "He must be cold now," the girl said. "He was only wearing wife beaters and shorts when he was arrested."

Sadly, the train was just pulling into the second-to-last stop when the young guy's cell phone rang. Their friend had gotten out earlier in the day and was at their house, clear at the other end of the line, waiting for them to come unlock the door.

The male drug user was torn between amusement and annoyance. "Dude, you're so gay! Yeah, you can crawl in the kitchen window, that's unlocked. But don't you touch my stash! Don't smoke a bowl. I wanna see that waiting for me when I get there." And with that they dashed out of the doors.

Commuting by car was never this interesting.

Exercise du jour:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 2
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 20
Set 2 - 25
Set 3 - 20
Set 4 - 20
Set 5 - 28

Over 100 push ups!

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 2
Set 1 - 30
Set 2 - 38
Set 3 - 30
Set 4 - 30
Set 5 - 42
Done! Mostly at work during lunch, but had to finish up after work.

My kind of gardening!

Yesterday, I went out to the garden and picked an ear of corn for dinner. I could've picked some ripe cherry tomatoes too.

Gosh, Merry, what earth-shattering news. Why should I care?

I did not plant corn. I did not even plant tomatoes on that side of the house. They just showed up.

I had planted cherry tomatoes there last year -- maybe the sneaky plant dropped some seeds which took root and grew? The tomatoes are extreeeeemely tiny but also extremely plentiful. Haven't gotten up the nerve to try them yet.

I did munch the ear of corn, and it was very nice. I can only assume my neighbor planted corn on his side of the fence and somehow the squirrels dropped one of the seeds on my side?

What I loved is that all summer long I did not water or weed or do anything at all on that side of the yard and still these plants managed to grow and flourish. My kind of gardening.

Exercise du jour:
I stopped doing the push up challenge because my arm/shoulder hurt and went on hurting for too long. But I've now rested it for even longer than it hurt, so I figure it's time to get back to the challenge.

I tested myself with the push ups, and managed to do 22. Which isn't bad considering I haven't done a single push up in over two months. So I figure I'm back on the 4th week of the push up challenge:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 18
Set 2 - 22
Set 3 - 16
Set 4 - 16
Set 5 - 25

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 27
Set 2 - 33
Set 3 - 24
Set 4 - 24
Set 5 - 38

What was I thinking. What the hell was I thinking. Who was the idiot who thought that I could just leap back into these push up and sit up challenges and remain unscathed? I feel plenty scathed right now. Plus, I wanna get whoever thought up this idea. Please don't point toward the fool I see in the mirror each morning. I'm looking for an outside target. The Shadows. The Vorlons. The Borg. Somebody.*

Anyway, she said grumpily, I did the friggin' challenges. So there. Also, 70 minutes walking.

*Gratuitous Science Fiction references. Sorry.

Tough Hair

I guess it's because I did a grand total of almost 200 push ups over 3 days, but even so. Enough already, body. It's been three days now without one single measly push up, and the arm/shoulder muscles are still not happy campers. I've been hitting the vitamin I bottle, and the muscles are better so long as I don't do anything extreme... like comb my hair. Then they complain. (Honest, it wasn't that tangled!)

So I've been restricting the exercise to below the waist -- whoa, that's a nasty cough you got there. Did you want some water? And you're turning bright red too. Sit down for a sec, catch your breath.

Anyway, exercise du jour:
40 minutes armless aerobics and 110 minutes walking (morning, noon, and night)

Gotta love a man in uniform

Did I mention I'm an idiot? I would have thought the matter would have come up at some point, but in case it hasn't, I'll mention it now.

To celebrate the 4th, I invited a friend to do a 5k with me. A 5k walk, alas. I stopped doing runs when my foot started to hurt, and it's not quite over the pain stuff yet. Luckily, my friend was more than happy about the 'walk' part.

At the starting line, they had safety pins so that real runners could wear their bib-things. Since the strap on my purse had just broken, I used one to connect the strap with the purse. (Pay attention now, that was a plot point you just passed.)

The walk was fun, by the way. Lots of people were lined up waiting for the parade that came after the 5k, but we waved regally as we passed, and they smiled back.

These people sat in the shade and watched us walk by. I liked their hats.

After the walk, we watched the small town parade for awhile.

The Get a Life marching band. Their motto, "We have a shape: round."

Then we headed back to my house to get folding chairs so we could watch in comfort. Once we got to the house, I discovered that somewhere along the line the safety pin hadn't lived up to its name, and my purse had fallen by the wayside. We did some backtracking to try to find it (nothing like an extra mile or so of walking on a hot day) but to no avail. My house keys, my wallet, credit cards, ID, and sundry were all gone.

I was sitting on my deck glumly reflecting that this was going to put a major cramp in the day, if not longer, when a lovely policeman drove up to ask if I'd lost a purse. I danced for joy, and said I would go get it, but he said he would pick it up for me. While he was gone, a motorcycle cop came by to ask if I'd lost a purse and would I like him to go get it.

I tell you, I love men in uniform. And the Hillsboro PD most of all.


Exercise du jour:
Walking & light rail to work. Cycle home.

Week 5 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 2

Update du 9 am: Oh hell no. I'm not even going to try the push ups today. During the 30 minute of aerobics this morning, it hurt to even raise my arms above the shoulders. Every part of my body is sore and complaining. (Except for my left pinkie, but I'm expecting something to go wrong there shortly.) The ab muscles complain if I try to use them, but it's easy enough not to use them, so long as I don't try to do something foolish, like sit ups.

Note to body: I get it already. You can stop complaining. Really. Thanks.

30 minutes slow-impact aerobics, 105 minutes walking. I'm giving up on the push ups for this week; I'll do other arm exercises until my arms stop hurting. There's always next week.

Recovering from the holiday

The cause: A four day weekend, full of hot weather, fun, hot weather, cleaning house, hot weather, low appetite, hot weather, high amount of exercise, hot weather, loss of a couple pounds, and of course, hot weather.

The result: A Merry who is limp as a shrimp. Going to cycle slowly today and pray for a breeze.

Went to a baseball game for the 4th. Earlier in the day, the park had had a celebrity baseball game composed of "vampire" baseball players from the Twilight movies. A lot of fans were still around for the evening game. You could tell who they were because they were all wearing special "Twilight" baseball outfits. Scary.


see more Lol Celebs

Exercise du jour:
Cycling halfway to work in the morning, light rail the rest of the way. Then cycle home.

I only did 30 push ups on the week 4 test, but I could've done another if I had to, so I'm doing column 1 of week 5.

Week 5 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(60 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 17
Set 2 - 19
Set 3 - 15
Set 4 - 15
Set 5 - 20

Week 5 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 42
Set 2 - 52
Set 3 - 38
Set 4 - 33
Set 5 - 52

Done! Well, did 45 minutes of aerobics, the push ups and sit ups, 10 minutes of bike riding and 20 minutes of walking. My arms are sore, my body is tired, my mind is so sleepy I didn't dare ride home (hence the walking). I swear, I spent yesterday doing NOTHING exercise-wise, apart from 30 push ups and 60 sit ups. That was it. I was RESTING yesterday. Somehow, my body is not rested enough. Getting familiar with the concept of 'hitting the wall.' Walls are hard. Ouch.

Me & Marie Antoinette

Maybe it's just because I've been looking at my body lately, maybe it's because my waistband has been getting looser, but I am becoming obsessed with how friggin' huge my hips are. If I put on a low-cut dress and poofed my hair up to an insane height, then the resemblance would be absolutely uncanny.


It's not as if I've eaten any cake. Went to see a nutritionist, who said she couldn't see why I wasn't "wasting away" based on the amount of exercise vs. amount & quality of food eaten. Sadly, I'm going back to tracking my calories intake on Sparkpeople. The nutritionist and the doctor both suggested I needed to eat more protein.

[whine]
Sigh. Counting my calories is really boring.
[end whine]

I'm going to start tracking calories in/out.

I'm fairly sure I have a good idea of roughly how many calories per day I've been eating, and I'm going to bet that I've been keeping within the 1200-1500 calorie range for the most part. (Which for my height/weight/metabolism is not starvation level.)

Of course, it's that "for the most part" that's probably screwing me up. Or else the whacked-out thyroid really is screwing up my metabolism.

On Thursday, I started entering every nitpicking calorie eaten and exercised. Granted, Thursday was not a typical day, but by 8 p.m. I'd consumed 948 calories and exercised 841. I may have the occasional fall off the wagon, but even with an occasional (I'm talking not even once a week) meal of 'bad' food, I should be shifting the weight faster than I am. (For the past 8 weeks, I've been averaging a weight loss of 1/2 pound a week. That's pretty damn slow.)

Exercise update: After finishing the 4th week of the push up and sit up challenges, did 30 full push ups and 60 sit ups. (Okay, probably could have done more sit ups, but I got bored. Doing this sit up challenge is not endearing me to this form of exercise.)

Taking the 5th on the 4th

see more dog and puppy pictures

Exercise du jour: Managed to squeeze in the push ups and sit ups after all. Plus 7 miles walking.





Calories in: 1952
Cardio out: 1043
Throw in the base metabolism and that's close to a thousand calorie deficit for the day.

Sick, but I laughed

see more Fail Blog

Exercise du jour:

Yes, cycling, and an hour's walk at lunch, but also...

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 2
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 14
Set 2 - 16
Set 3 - 12
Set 4 - 12
Set 5 - 18

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 2
Set 1 - 21
Set 2 - 24
Set 3 - 18
Set 4 - 18
Set 5 - 27

Happy the woman

Who has to buy a belt because her pants are too loose.


see more Fail Blog

The stomach isn't going anywhere, but those aerobic DVDs seem to be working on the rest of my torso quite nicely. The clothes seem to be fitting a bit looser around the waist, despite the fact that my weight has been pretty steady for a whole week. (That in itself is a cause to marvel – usually I go up and down like a seasick rollercoaster, up to six pounds gained and lost per week.)

Not sure if I should get a measuring tape and start checking the inches or not. What if the pants suddenly stretched when I wasn’t looking? It might be an illusion, but it’s an awfully comforting one.


Exercise du jour:Cycling halfway in the morning (take the lightrail halfway) and cycling home.

Also,

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 12
Set 2 - 14
Set 3 - 11
Set 4 - 10
Set 5 - 16

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 18
Set 2 - 21
Set 3 - 17
Set 4 - 15
Set 5 - 24

Done!

Me and Nancy Reagan

Does that look like several hours' worth of gardening to you?
Look, just say 'yes,' okay?

Exercise du jour:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 18
Set 2 - 22
Set 3 - 16
Set 4 - 16
Set 5 - 25

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 27
Set 2 - 33
Set 3 - 24
Set 4 - 24
Set 5 - 38

Done! Day 1 of week 4, revisited

Weak 4 of the push up challenge (no, not a typo)

Week four of the push up challenge... the week that separates the women from the girls, the wheat from the chaff, the fit from the flab (or so I hope).

In other words, the push ups are starting to take a bit longer to do than previously. Since Monday was a wash, I pushed the p/s challenges to a day all week.

Exercise du jour:

90 minutes bicycling



- and -

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge --not done
Day 2
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 20
Set 2 - 25
Set 3 - 20
Set 4 - 20
Set 5 - 28

Over 100 push ups!

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 2
Set 1 - 30
Set 2 - 38
Set 3 - 30
Set 4 - 30
Set 5 - 42

Note to self: combining the cycling and the challenges = bad idea. There's not enough time in the day for both and all the things I have to get done. I'm okay with repeating this week. It's a challenge, not a race. I'll get through it eventually.

Ice cubes and Eskimos

It's too early to be thinking of how hot it is outside. I want heat waves to occur only when one of the following conditions apply:

1. I'm at the beach
2. I've installed air conditioning in the house
3. I've hooked up a hammock in my lovely shady back yard and have inveigled several lithe, nubile pool boys into fanning me with palm leaves and feeding me hand-peeled grapes and... sorry, where was I? Oh yes. I'm supposed to exercise. Right. Need to drag my mind back to the matter at hand.


Exercise du jour:

Week 4 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(90 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 18
Set 2 - 22
Set 3 - 16
Set 4 - 16
Set 5 - 25

Week 4 of the 200 sit ups challenge
(60 seconds rest in between)
Day 1
Set 1 - 27
Set 2 - 33
Set 3 - 24
Set 4 - 24
Set 5 - 38

Done! A day late, but done.