Trying to Get the Feeling Again...

Do you remember that song from Barry Manilow? In the song, he sings about his girlfriend coming back and he doesn't feel the same as he used to. However, it seems kinda appropriate for what I've been trying to do with trying to get that feeling of exercising again and getting back into the rhythm and routine of it all...

I've been up (up), I've been down (down), and tryin' to get the feelin'
I've been up (up), I've been down (down), I've been tryin' to get
I've tried and I've tried and I've tried to get (up) the feelin' (down)
I've been trying to get the feelin' again
I wanna get that feelin'
I want to get that feelin'
I've got to get that feelin'
I've gotta get that feelin' again (up)
And again (down) and again (tryin' to get that feelin')
Tryin' to get (up) the feelin' (down)
I've been tryin' to get the feelin' again

After taking the last two days off due to tight muscles, it didn't seem like today was going to be any different. However, yesterday a Gator Patrol was posted and I had yet to post. I was going to post this a.m. when I woke up and explain about how I upped the ante and added some cardio to my routine BUT that my muscles were rebelling and I had to take a few days off. Then I started to count the days I was "resting" and figured out that today would've been Day 3. There was no way I was going on that BB and admitting to that... so I hauled my sorry a$ off the couch and did Essential Abs and even bumped it up to the Intermediate level. After that I was able to go on and post to the Gator Patrol.

After I posted however I looked at the clock and realized I still had time... enough time... before I really needed to get ready for work. Seriously, my legs were still hurting a bit so I was a tad intimidated about doing legs but I needed to do something. I pulled out my Walk Away the Pounds DVD and did the 1-Mile Morning Wake-up walk. It was always one of the easiest to do... nice, short, simple and sweet. So tell me why I had sweat pouring into my eyes by the end and my arms were burning using the ball weights. Well, regardless, I made it thru... my legs did fine and I think it even helped them loosen up a bit. I no longer walked like I just got off the horse. And, even better, it felt good! I was sweating again... I was energized... charged up and ready to go. So much so, that I even took my tennies with me to work and went down to the fitness room and rode the stationary bike for 15 min.

It felt good today! And I have the Gator Patrol posts to thank for it. I love hearing from others... those who are struggling and need encouragement (Hello? Been there, done that, am there). ... those who are having great success (gives me hope that someday I too will get there)... I love hearing what works for others (gives me ideas to try)... and most of all, I love seeing the support that everyone offers up to each other.

I am feeling good and just a tad proud of myself... I have renewed hope that I can do this again. So I am doing what I can... bending down low and reaching up high... trying to get that feeling again.

Exercise is Fun...

Exercise is my friend.

This is my new mantra... and it's worked for two days. Yesterday and today, this is the attitude that I have tried to wake up with. Normally, I would stay in my pj's for a bit, hit the computer and be around for whatever cries of help came from the kids as they got ready for school. Yesterday, I started to make some changes.

First thing I did when I woke up was get dressed... off came the pj's and on went the exercise clothes. I tried to figure out at which points I would have enough time to get some exercise in with the least amount of interruptions and then planned my exercises accordingly. BodyRev abs at only 15 min is easy to fit in first... this is when K2 has showered and is getting ready and K1 has just woken up (Beware of Grizzly signs should be posted in my house during this time.) By picking the right time, I can work out and still be done with enough time to help K2 with any last minute aid. Then right after K2 leaves the house, I wake K3 up, grab my mp3 player and hit the basement stairs. Yesterday I told myself just do 15 minutes but once I had the music going, I couldn't help but keep on going. I made it 30 minutes before K1 was asking for help because he had only 5 minutes left before he had to catch the bus.

I still need to work on adding more Revving to the mix. My intentions were to do some at night but that didn't work last night. My kids used to have an 8:00 bedtime (at least, be in bed at 8:00 and they could read for awhile). Now however, no one is in bed before 9:00 mostly because of homework and practicing their instruments. Two nights this week we spent at the library. K2 had a paper due and finds that she gets so much more done using the study rooms at the library. No TV interuptions... no sibling interruptions. And to be quite honest I am pooped by that time of night. Since my alarm goes off at 5:30, I have been trying to be in bed by 10:30 so I can read for a bit. Lights out by 11:30 and time for 6 hours of sleep.

So I need to figure out how to fit more time in... maybe I will try for after work. I am home by 3:30 and should easily be able to fit 15 or 30 minutes in then. Maybe I should... No. What I need to do is sit down and write out a schedule and then just stick to it. Right now I am still being too wishy-washy with what I want to do and when I am going to do it.

But as for Alden's words...

make sure you remember and appreciate how you feel after completing a REV workout whether it be ABS, Legs, Arms or Cardio

This has been so true. I have always LOVED abs... even when I am straining to keep my legs up in the air and pull my hips off the floor while counting one alligator, two alligator... I am loving the feeling of calm and relaxation that completely overtakes my body. I sometimes even find myself yawning... not from boredom but relaxation.

And yesterday when I was walking up to the house after work, my calves were tight... not cramping or in pain but just nice and tight... as if to say, "Hello? Remember us? We are finally waking up again." At that point, I just needed to "put a smile on my face."

So here's to two days of changing my attitude... to waking up my brain and body... to remembering the good stuff.

Alden's Words of Inspiration...

Earlier this week, Janet started a Gator Patrol thread on the BB. It actually got a lot of responses. I guess there were more than just a few of us who missed them. In the past, Alden usually tried to post at the top of the thread after everyone had posted only this time THE MAN posted to quite a few individually. What a guy!

He is always right on the money with the right amount of praise, encouragement, advice and butt-kicking. And his one-liners aren't bad either... maybe not up to par with his swim buddy T but close. :)

For me this week, his advice was perfect...

CARRIE - love your honestly and your motivation! You know the drill now - it's all about routine and ENJOYING the routine - so as you start to get back into the REV swing of things, make sure you remember and appreciate how you feel after completing a REV workout whether it be ABS, Legs, Arms or Cardio...by remembering the positive you'll create an anchor that will only help you turn your single workout into a daily FIRED UP routine that you'll never want to miss...remember anyone, anytime can form a new habit - it just takes a little time and a whole lot of persistence.

Also - the one of the best things you mentioned is that you and your hubby are enjoying exercise TOGETHER - HOOYAH!

CHARLIE MIKE - ALDEN

And he was exactly right, too. It used to be FUN! I got such a high from exercising. I remember doing the stairs for my cardio and I would tell myself that I would start cooling down... only another great song would come on and I would have to do just one more. And revving... doing two or three (abs, arms, legs) was like nothing... the time passed so fast. And when DVD Alden would say, "Put a smile on your face" I couldn't help grinning like a damned Cheshire cat.

I need to get back to that point again. Right now it is still like work... where I have to PUSH myself to do it. And we all know that work is never any fun... time to change my attitude and start fresh.

Ostrich Be Gone...

Okay, after reading the BB today I got a little "fired up" and became a little embarrassed if truth be told.... Either a little "birdie" is feeding info to the Fleet's Admiral or he has actually dropped in and taken a gander at my little blog. If that was the case, my last post is so "woe is me" that I came back and was going to delete it. But before I could hit that little button that would've sent that post into the black hole of the cyber world, I changed my mind. I think I need that little reminder for the next time I want to be an ostrich. So it's staying... It doesn't mean that I won't do it again... Hey, I've been this way for nearly 40 years and I can't change overnight.

BUT what I can change is my attitude about it.... it's kind of like the weight issue. In the last couple of years, when I started to step on the scale and was shocked at HOW much it said I weighed... I had to have a talk with myself. I wasn't doing anything to change that number even after my shock wore off and I became accustomed to seeing the amount. So I decided that if I wasn't actually going to do any work to change it then I had no right to sit and complain about clothes that didn't fit or pictures that I hated of myself (they are ALL in the photo albums... good and bad). So as for my attitude about pulling an ostrich... same story... I am NOT allowed to whine and cry about the consequences that arise from it. I need to figure out a way to solve the problem and deal with it. Easier said than done... but I will try.

So that post stays.. embarrassment or not.