Match Day!

Match day is here!!! We matched at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA!!!

More details to follow...

Working on my Physique

A while back I decided to try a new workout DVD set called Physique 57 based on the recommendation of Mormon in Manhattan. She's a gal that's been on Broadway (and currently is right now) and has also made a living as a personal trainer. Needless to say, she's pretty fit. So when she said it kicked her tushy, I knew it had to be worth a try.

Physique 57 is a workout system based on the Lotte Berk method and is also very similar to the bar method. Basically, it's kind of like a combination of ballet and Pilate's. It started out as a studio in New York and has since branched out to DVDs and a studio in LA. When it first came out, it got a lot of press, especially since Kelly Ripa apparently does it to keep in shape (and if her shape is any indication of what these workouts can do for a person, it's worth a try). You use your own body weight to strengthen, lengthen, and tone your muscles. You also use hand weights, a bar (or chair), and a playground ball to make the movements more intense. A lot of the movements are small, so it seems easy, but trust me--it's not.
 
There are 3 DVDs in the set: the full 57 minute workout, a 30 minute express workout, and a 30 minute arms and abs booster. They also have a second set of 3 DVDs that I haven't tried yet, but have coming in the mail. These DVDs are supposed to be harder, but I can't really speak to that since I don't have them yet. The DVDs I do have are a little corny, but they flow well and are easy to follow. I don't have to stare at the TV to figure out what's going on so I can just concentrate on getting the move right and feeling the burn. And boy are they hard! My muscles start shaking almost immediately and I have a hard time getting through all the sets. It's not so hard though to be discouraging, and they do offer encouragement and modifications to help beginners get started and keep going. They also say that you can do them while pregnant or recovering from rehab, but I think you'd need a pretty good exercise knowledge base to be able to modify them enough to make it work.

I first tried the full DVD back in December, but with exams and travel I didn't get too into them. This week, I decided to try them as recommended. The recommendation is that you do the full workout 2-3 times per week, and the two 30 minute workouts once a week. Combined with my running program, that's rounding out to be a lot of exercise (I'm doing the couch to 10k program). So far, I've mostly been able to stick to the schedule. I've done the two 30 minute workouts this week, but will only get 1 full workout done (tomorrow). I've also been walking/running about 3 times per week for about an hour at a time for the past 4 weeks, and I'm happy to say I'm starting to see some nice results. My arms are more defined, my posture's improving, and my legs feel stronger. I'll update a few weeks from now with my progress, but if I can keep it up I'm thinking it will be pretty good. Spencer even commented tonight that I was looking pretty good. Needless to say, if you're looking for a good workout to add to the mix or if you're like me and don't really like tradition weight lifting, give Physique 57 a try. I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.  

1 Week!

And then there was 1....week!

By this time next week I will know where we are going. I still can't decide where I want us to end up. I have an idea of where I don't want to go, but coming up with a definitive wish for where we do want to go is proving to be much harder. As long as we go somewhere, I'll be happy. :)

Until next week,

Megan

PS: Anyone else worried about the gas prices? All I can say is yikes!

2 Weeks

Just in case you forgot....2 weeks to match day!!

I'm thinking of putting a poll up about where we'll go, what do you think?

And the Year Goes "March"ing On

Since it's March, I thought it would be nice to take a peak back on my New Year's goals and see how they were going. For the most part, I think I'm doing OK, but I'm sure I'm not quite doing everything I had hoped to do. So without further adieu,

Goal #1: Knit more. I am definitely doing this. I've even finished a few things and taught someone to knit. Unfortunately, since I'm also hanging out with more knitters, it means I'm near more yarn. That means that I'm buying more...which means my stash is growing. Also, I didn't finish any projects in February, but I did get closer so I'm going to count that as a win with room for improvement.

Goal #2: Read for fun. I am totally rocking this goal. I've read 3 books since the beginning of the year and have at least 3 more in progress, with more cued up to read. Of course, I'm not really sure if very many people would find The Jungle a "fun" read, but since it wasn't an assignment, it counts.

Goal #3: Bring my lunch to work. This pretty much never happens. I do, however, try to make healthier lunch choices and find ways to eat for free. For instance, we have lots of leftovers from other meetings. I call it the "student meal plan" (as in I plan on mooching off free food whenever possible). When things settle down at work, I will try to re-instate this goal.

Goal #4: Make better use of my YMCA membership. I'm totally rocking this one as well. Since starting my 10k training a few weeks back, I've been going at least 3x per week. Sure, I didn't really get going until February, but I did finally get going and hopefully it will stay that way.

Goal #5: Be more consistent with my scripture study. I'm still trying to be better about this. I was doing better for a little bit, then things got crazy again and I regressed. Oops. I guess it really is a constant struggle to stay on top of it.

Goal #6: Actually clean the house. So I had a job chart going in January and for a while, it worked. When I say it worked I mean that I did pretty much everything by myself. So now we're just back to cleaning when we can and my new mantra is "it's OK if it's messy." Life's a lot more enjoyable that way.

To recap, I'm doing pretty well at keeping up with my goals so far. A few are lacking, but that's to be expected. I think goals are great because they give us things to work towards, but one of the things I've learned by setting goals is that we have to be a little easy on ourselves when we don't quite do everything perfectly. It also helps to evaluate them and see if they are reasonable. For me, a couple are not really reasonable right now if I want to have any semblance of a life outside of work so a few of them are getting neglected. I'm OK with that, but still want to improve. The great news is that I can.