Day 10: I am a Hufflepuff

If we wanted to get technical, according to Pottermore,  I am actually a Ravenclaw, but in today’s fitness journey, I am definitely a Hufflepuff… or better yet a huff-n-puff.

I was up so late last night. I was on a writing roll and ended up going down a blog rabbit hole (similar to a Wikipedia rabbit hole… you know when one minute you are reading about the history of kettlebells and somehow end up learning the in depth components of the human digestive system… yeah that). Needless to say, I didn’t make it to bed until 3am. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop me from waking up at 7am.  

I love this man of mine. Ryan is the best. He was working from home today, so I woke up to him standing over me staring sweetly looking at me, offering to cook me breakfast… well Of COURSE I am going to let him cook for me!... but only after giving him a list of certain demands. 2 eggs, No butter, PAM only, no bread, turkey bacon only, and PLEASE cut up an orange. Once I smelled the bacon, I finally got up to wobble down stairs. It was perfect and delicious.  He even PEELED the orange for me. It was so delicious that as soon as I finished eating I went right back upstairs and crawled back into bed. Then my bed proceeded to eat my soul and did not want to let me go.

As I laid there and thought about all the reasons I could call and give Q to get me out of the training session, I got a text from my bestie Abby that told me to "conquer the world today". I love her so much. This is why she is my favorite. So ultimately I groaned, peeled myself back out of bed, put on workout clothes, and headed out the door to meet Q at 12.

Man, am I glad I did. I can’t believe I am about to say this, but I actually had a good time doing this particular workout. Q had me do something she developed 15 years ago called “Cryin’ Ryan’s”. This was a modified version with less weight and reps than the original, but it still about killed me. I am probably going to miss a sequence or two, but from what I can remember it consisted of 2 front squats, 2 back squats, 2 side squats, shoulder press, drop into pushup, hold plank, right arm row, left arm row, right arm lift to ceiling, left arm lift to ceiling, pop up and start again. This is all happening while holding 12 pound weights. I went through each set 5 times then walked over to the treadmill, jacked the incline up to 12 and walked it out for 3 to 5 minutes, then headed back to the turf and did it all over again. This went on for 3 rounds. It was hard, but I honestly enjoyed it. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, it may even be possible that I was slipped a hallucinogen and all this is just a really vivid trip, but I ( the girl who hates exercise), actually enjoyed something really physically challenging. Praise be! Progress is being made.

I enjoyed it so much, I decided to go back tonight for round 2. Kettlebell with Caesare. Check it out:

Tonight’s class consisted of 2 rounds in “1 minute” increments of the following: jumping rope, leg lifts, flutter kicks, Russian twists, double squats with shoulder press, around the world, in and outs (not sure if that’s the right name), kettlebell swings, and burpees. Caes says these are all “1 minute” blocks, but those are the longest damn minutes of my life. I swear he just says it's "1 minute" to trick us into keeping the momentum going. 

Other than his time manipulation, Caes is a king. He knows everyone’s name in class and as we are all grunting, huffing, puffing, and screaming out in pain, he walks around offering individual encouragement and forces you to be better. Making you get your legs down, correcting your form, making sure you’re not about to pass out. He does all of the things that make you strive to be better and stronger than you were the day before. He makes you “Go T.U.F.F.”. Apparently I went so tuff tonight that I actually did a real pushup... like back strait, arms parallel and everything. He swears to it! This is the king in his natural habitat, reminding us we are team no excuses:

After class, Joey and I walked over to chat with Q and Caesare about food. Earlier in the evening we decided that we needed a steak tonight, so we were going to outback after we left the gym. Now, considering that I am clearly trying to go hard at this challenge, I am not about to put anything in my mouth that I don’t run by Q first. (I bring this woman labels if it is something that is not already on my approved list of foods for her to make sure I can eat it, I am being kind of intense right now.) She gave me the approved items and off we went to enjoy our dinner.

I have to tell you, I was nervous at first to give our waiter all of my “demands”, but it turned out to be a really good experience. I ordered the Ahi with no sauce for the app, the filet grilled, no added butter - cooking spray only, a sweet potato with cinnamon only, and a salad with fat free tomato vinaigrette on the side. Our waiter was so understanding. I forgot to say no cheese, but he stopped to ask before he put it in just in case. He was so sweet and wasn’t irritated (like I thought he would be) at all. This was my first official attempt at eating healthy out and it went really well. He told me he even watched them make my sweet potato to make sure they didn’t put any butter on it. It turned out to be one of the better dinners out I have had in a while. Who knew that when you ask them not to load it down with so much shit, it actually tastes like real food?!

Today I may have started out feeling like a Hufflepuff, but as I sit here this evening with all my small victories, I feel like I really earned my right to be a Ravenclaw. On that note friends, I am taking my behind to sleep. 9am with my favorite trainer comes early! Talk with you tomorrow.