Round 2: Week One, I'm BACK

Well hello my lovelies. Long time no chat. I know, I know, I should do better. Well, I am going to do better... at least for the next 12 weeks anyway. Why 12 weeks you wonder? Because the challenge is back and blogging is yet again the best way to keep myself accountable. This time however, I am going to be doing it a little bit differently and only blog once or twice a week. I am making a lot of life changes at this current juncture, committing to once or twice a week is doable, so we will start with that.

The challenge is also set up a little bit differently this go round. We were all put into teams and have accountability through our captains who will handle our nutrition and such. I am signed up for training again, but now we are focusing on strength training instead of cardio based weight loss since Q did such good job last time of teaching me how to do that on my own.  So now I have two people to keep me in line! My team is owned by my favorite Q of course, and my new trainer is Stephanie.  Meet Stephanie, she is kind of a Crossfit goddess:

 

I was a little bit nervous at first to switch to a new system, given I was used to Q being my rock and I didn't know how being trained by someone I'd never met would work out for me... As it turns out, it works really well. Stephanie is a total badass and I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship (thanks for picking a good one Q). So far I have trained with her 3 times and she doesn't take it easy on me at all. She is kicking my ass in the nicest possible way. As you all know, I am a total goofball, and she puts up with me. I think she got jokes of her own though. The other day she told me to make sure when I got home not to just lay around OR I would be sore... well, I went home and stood up for a couple hours while I studied and still couldn't move over the next 3 days... What she should have said was "haha, just kidding, there is no hope for you. I just kicked your ass and your body is going to be jelly no matter what you do". But she didn't say that, she just smiled sweetly and I am still sore almost a week later. This is exactly what she inflicted on me to make me so sore:

 

I look amazing right? Ha, I'm just kidding, I look crazy... 55 pounds doesn't seem like a lot until you are made to pick it up 57 times. It was taking everything in me just to get the damn thing where it needed to go. I did it though. My burpee form severely suffered during the WOD, but I rallied and pushed through.

 

Since finishing the last challenge, the majority of my lifestyle changes and new habits have stuck around. I drink minimally, I try my best not to eat crap food and if I do, I eat in moderation. I split dishes with friends when we go out; and most importantly, I listen to my body. When it says it is full, I stop eating. That is something I was never able to do in the previous 28 years of living. When I weighed in last Thursday, I was lighter than I was when it ended. I have been sitting around 233 for months now.

 

I'm not going to lie though, the fact the scale is not moving is getting on my nerves... but it is my own fault. I did a lot of gallivanting this summer. I spent 2 weeks eating my way through Europe, 4 days in Canada shoveling Poutine in my face, and spent a lot of time down south where fried everything is life. The difference this time is I wasn't only sitting on my ass eating all the artery clogging deliciousness.  I was eating AND hiking, biking, climbing, running, and walking all over Gods creation. It still didn't help me loose any more weight, but it did prevent those Bojangles biscuits from sticking to my ass, so I will consider it a win. But play time is over and it is time to get back to business.

 

This time, the goal is to get below 200, drop my bodyfat by 5% and be able to do an unassisted pull-up. I think it is possible. Getting back on the healthy food only wagon is going to be the biggest hurdle, but with the help and support of my lovelies, I can do anything. Thanks in advance for being here for me ya'll, God knows I'll need it. Here is to a new leg of the journey. Talk to you soon.

 

Day 78-90: Winding Down

12 days until the end of the challenge. It almost feels surreal. I stopped posting daily because I would just run out of time by the end of the day, but I did keep notes.

Day 78, Tuesday, 3/31:

Ugh, I feel terrible, but the show must go on. I have Q @ 6 and tanning to follow. Have I mentioned how much I love my tanning salon? I don't think I am going to let myself go this long without tanning again. I feel like me again.

Day 79, Wednesday, 4/1:

I have Q @ 12 today, I cant believe I only have 5 training sessions left.... am I going to be able to keep going without her? Damn... 11 days left, I am so nervous! Thankfully I have work to keep me busy. Off to pack for tomorrows staging.

Day 80, Thursday, 4/2:

I do love that my job is not sedentary. Today I staged a home and was on my feet 6 hours strait. I am not complaining. I love what I do. It feels good to work with your hands. There is something strangely calming about it. Also, the immediate gratification is certainly addictive. 

After the staging I went to see Amy, my tattoo artist, to finish up the piece on my arm. I love it so much.

 

Day 81, Friday, 4/3:

It is becoming increasingly hard not to drink. I think I will go shoot guns. I have Q this morning, need food, must go to Costco... then Pew Pew Pew. Joey and I will have to hit up Elite Shooting Sports this evening. I am in need of some Guntry Club time.

 

Day 82, Saturday, 4/4:

Well I had Q this morning, so I didn't exactly feel bad about that Bloody Mary I had with brunch, damn it was good. Today is the International Pillow Fight Day and we are going to the National Mall to whack strangers with pillows, don't worry, it's organized. We met up with some friends for brunch prior to heading over to the fight. It would seem I am incapable of brunching without booze. Worth it, my Bloody Mary paired perfectly with my smoked salmon and fruit. Nom nom nom. The pillow fight was epic. Such a good time.

After the fight, we wandered over to dinner. I had a salad... and a vodka soda. Am I sabotaging myself at this point?! I mean, I have 8 days left. Fuck Nicole, what is up? After dinner, we headed to Federal Triangle to catch a Capital Steps show. I think we were the youngest in there by 30 years, but whatever, it was hilarious. You can't go wrong with musical political satire in this beautiful city of ours.

Day 83, Sunday, 4/5, Hoppy Easter:

I hit up the sauna this morning to sweat out the alcohol, I guess in my head that would keep me from drinking again today as we are converging on Top Golf this afternoon to celebrate Easter and basically just being awesome. Again, apparently I am incapable of not drinking during certain events... driving ranges seem to be one of them. Joey and I split a bucket of delicious Heinekens. NO REGRETS! But now I am certain I am trying to sabotage myself. Get it together Canole. 7 days left.

Day 84-90, 4/5 - 4/12:

7 days. No more notes. Only zoned in on the finish line. This time I am a competitor before I am a wife or friend. Thank God those who love me understand that. I have worked too damn hard to give up now. I am running twice a day, sitting in the sauna every night, wrapping my stomach and arms with "those crazy wrap things" and weight training in-between. Every calorie is counted, every movement is tracked, every drop of water is measured. I had 7 days and tomorrow is the day. Monday I weigh in.

Day 60: Bruised Not Broken, Damn Pole

Well, I took pole fit again and I look like I have been beaten half to death, for real. My feet, legs, and right side are all bruised and sore from the many attempts at climbing and inverting. I went and bought pole climbing gloves and ankle braces so I guess that made me feel like wonder woman, because I finally climbed the pole! Not very far, I got half way up, but shit I will take a win any where I can.

Apparently I have some weird PTSD situation happening from the last time I went to class and ripped a hole in my hand. I kept getting nervous I was scared to fully grip the pole, so I need to work on that. Until next time. Talk to you tomorrow.

Day 57: Surround Yourself with Greatness

I don't think my brain was properly functioning this morning, our training session was at 9am. I wish I could tell you what we did, but I don't remember. I do remember that we did super sets of arms and I remember doing Abs because I'm still sore, but everything else feels like a blur. Stupid time change. When are we going to stop this nonsense?

I came home and my mind started to become clear around noon. I cleaned my house, prepped for this weeks work things, then headed off for a staging consult at 5pm with a new realtor. It went fabulous. I love my job, truly. I left about 6:15 and headed to the house to get ready to go back to the gym.

Rush hour in this area is a bitch, but I made it back to the house in time to get ready and head back to the gym. Joey had a training session and I always try to go back when he goes. 1. For solidarity. 2. Because it keeps me accountable for doing two a days. What can I say, I am a social creature. I don't like going anywhere on my own if I don't have to. That may be why this go round is working out so well for me. I have Q, trainer and nutritionist extraordinaire and Joey, friend and motivator extraordinaire. They both keep me going and accountable. If I didn't have them, I don't think I would be doing so well. It is working out quite nicely. So, this evening I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill doing interval training. The incline was set to a low of 3 and high of 18.5. I sweat like a beast on that bad boy. That's how you know its working right?

I will leave you with a quote I saw that really spoke to me. I am blessed to have incredible people in my life and I wish the same for you. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 52: I Might Be a Unicorn

Successful two-a-day, check. I am freaking exhausted right now. I really want to go to bed, but I feel compelled to write... and also Ryan, Joey, and I are watching Star Wars, so I can't very well go to bed yet. There is supposed to be a massive snow storm tomorrow, so the boys are staying up late with the HOPE good ole OPM shuts down. Fingers crossed.

I am tired because I went back to Caesare's  Kettlebell class for the first time in several weeks and after this mornings training session with Q, my arms were the last thing that wanted to get worked out. Our KB class consisted of 2 rounds of 7 one minute intervals. We did soccer kicks, squats, twists, partner plank rows, partner pass's with mountain climbers in between, and two versions of abs... you are on your back and in one version you have your knees up and reach from above your head and lift the KB and your shoulders off the floor. The second your legs and arms are strait up and you bring your shoulders up. (I don't know what they are called, so I thought I'd explain.)  I used the 27 pound kettle bell this time and it felt a little on the light side for some of the exercises, so I am going to have to bump up again.

Now, for the reason I am a unicorn.  Every girl with big boobs knows how awful it is to bounce up and down for ANY reason. That shit hurts. Well, during the KB soccer kicks, you are basically just jogging in place, which means a lot of jiggle, so I keep my arms up and my hands prepared to grab the girls when the jiggle gets too much. Really, I look like a prancing pony, but unicorns are waaayyyyy more sparkly, so duh. I dubbed myself a unicorn. Caes agrees, I am definitely a unicorn. Thank God that man did not have his camera.

 

Note: I realize this could be construed as I am a mythical creature who can't be found in a gym, but we all know that's not true... and rats are ugly... so I am redefining Gym Unicorn as the sparkly creature who prances around the local gym getting in real work. I am a PROUD Gym Unicorn.

 

My unicorn self was killing it this morning. Q had me doing rounds of the following: walking lunges, leg press, curls with resistance on the way down, weighted rows, and a machine that you pull the weight down with one arm while your elbow is tucked into your side. I don't know how many rounds we did, but it was a lot. The most exciting thing for me is we were waiting on the leg press, I looked over and saw the bench press, so I asked Q if I could try it. I did and it was AWESOME! Apparently I did 90 pounds. Two 25 pound plates and a 40 pound bar. I was so jazzed that I was able to do it, I went for a second round of 6 and made her take a picture.

 

 

I REAALLLYYY love lifting weights, like a lot... and the fact I am slowly building this upper body strength that I never thought I would is like the highlight of my life.

 

One of the highlights of my day started out first thing this morning. Yesterday I mentioned that Q was convinced my weight has been stagnate because I do not drank enough water and was retaining fluid. Yesterday was the first time I had actually drank the recommended gallon... so this morning I hopped on the scale and SURE ENOUGH Q was right... I finally saw the scale move. I was down one pound from the previous 3 days. So again today, I have drank well over a gallon and hope for more movement tomorrow. So off to bed for me, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 



 

Day 50: All I Want in Life is a Cheesburger

Seriously, what I would give for a freaking cheeseburger right now. Joey and I just did Yoga then stopped  by the mall and there were Red Robin signs EVERYWHERE. I was about to trade my entire life for a 1500 calorie cheeseburger. Thank God for Joey, I was like "Seriously, lets go to Red Robin". He says "Okay, we are going to go right by it."... we literally drove right by it and I did not get my amazing cheeseburger.

This whole eating the same thing every day SUCKS ASS today. I mean, I am getting creative as all hell, but you can only season Cod and Salmon so many ways before it all starts to taste the same. It has only been 5 days, but it feels like 50. Only 25 more days of this to go. My God, Why?!

The other day, I actually had a dream about bread. One of my favorite local chains, Great American Restaurants, has this little roll that is like heaven in your mouth. It is this round, donut like, little piece of magic in your mouth. They also give you this honey spread to make it that much more delicious. Needless to say, I actually had a dream about this roll. All the dream was, was me looking at my hands that contained a roll, I cut it in 2 and spread the honey butter on it and just stared at it. I never actually ate it, not even in my dream. Bastard. I cant even enjoy it in my dream!

I mean, I am clearly doing this for a reason. I wore a shirt today that I haven't worn in a while and I had Q Take a picture. I am pretty happy, the back fat is starting to go away and I am starting to get a butt. All these squats are paying off. Love it!

 

The rest of the workout we did Tabata training. 5 rounds, 1 minute intervals, 2 minutes rest period between rounds. I did air squats, box step-ups, 300 meter row, crossfit style sit-ups, walkout push-ups, and wall balls. It was a good session.

 

 

I am back to two-a-days when possible. Now that it has gotten to be the busy season with Staging and Design, I am going to be less likely to get back in the evenings, but I am definitely going to make myself go when I can. Tonight, we went back for Yoga and it was fabulous.

 

On that note, I am going to take my fabulous self to the couch and watch my DVR'd Once Upon a Time. I am so happy it's back! I'll talk to you tomorrow.



 

Day 42: My Day Job... Which I LOVE!

I can honestly tell you I truly, truly, truly love what I do. I love every not to pretty, sweaty, physically exhausting detail of it. For those of you who don't know, I am a Lead Stager for The Staging Fashionista, one of the DC area's premier full service staging companies. We do a lot of properties ranging from super tiny condo to enormous McLean Mansion's. The smallest I have been in was a one bed DC condo and the largest a 5 story multi-million dollar monster outside of Tysons. 

Today was a pretty standard staging in Fairfax, VA. I did this baby by myself because my assistant couldn't make it due to it being rescheduled from the snow. One of the greatest things about my job is the fact it is extremely physical. We don't have a large team like some of the other companies. Most of the time we have one mover and one stager, so guess who is moving the furniture. We are.

This one we had 2 couches, 4 accent chairs, 2 tables, 6 dining chairs, 1 coffee table, 2 ottomans, 4 side tables, book shelf, countless pieces of art, accessories, lamps, rugs, kitchen and bath accessories. With no one else but us, Anthony and I hauled everything right up to the second and third floor where it all belonged. After everything was said and done, it took me a good 7 hours to do the house, we had the foyer, living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, den, master bed and bath, and office. I must have gone up 45 flights of stairs by the end of it. All this working out is really paying off. I wasn't huffing and puffing at all. It was the craziest thing!

Here is a couple of shots from the staging. In order to see the before and after's of the entire home, click here

 

 

Day 41: Snow Can't Keep Me Down!

Ugh, is it spring yet? This snowy crap is for the birds! This morning I woke up all excited for my staging in Fairfax. We knew the snow was coming, but we didn't expect it to hit so early. I got to the warehouse around 10 to grab my assistant and head to the property. We got about half-way there before it started to snow. A few minutes later, I got a message from Mannie, the owner of The Staging Fashionista telling us to call it off because the snow was getting too bad and she didn't want us to get hurt. So, we turned around and I headed off to take Kiana home.

Whew buddy, that was an experience. I ended up turning off a main road and going through some windy back roads that had not been salted (thanks GPS). Needless to say, some people need to stay the hell off the road if they don't know how to drive in snow. A guy in an audi slowed down quickly right in front of me, when I went to pass him my back wheels kicked out and we started sliding sideways. You want to talk about a tight butt. Holy moly. Jesus take the wheel. Thank the good Lord for Erica teaching me how to control a front wheel drive car in snow my first year in DC. Thanks to her lesson, I was able to get us out of it safely. I safely got Kiana home and I safely got myself home... after a lot of nervous joking and cussing at shitty northern VA drivers.

Once I got home, I went into turbo cleaning mode to relieve the stress from the drive. I am pleased to say my house looks awesome right now. About 3:00 Ryan comes upstairs and tells me and Joey that he is going to our neighborhood clubhouse gym to run 6 miles, so we decided to tag along for a family gym outing.

Joey and I thought we were going to swim, but the life guard bailed on his position given the current blizzard, so we modified and went to the weight and cardio room. I did 30 minutes on an elliptical, followed by a 3 set circuit of 25 lap pulls (55 pounds), seated rows, leg press (150 pounds), and two other leg machines that work the hammies and glutes. This is about the time Joey came over to see if I wanted to do abs. Ryan still had about 25 minutes left, so I said sure, why not. I went and grabbed a 10 pound medicine ball and 2 yoga mats and we did 3 sets of 25 sit-up ball tosses, and 2 sets of 25 medicine ball partner throws. I. Wanted. To. Die. But instead, I walked over to the rowing machine and did a 500 meter row on 10 resistance. That rower was right next to the inclined sit-up bench that Joey was on. When he got off, I decided I should try it... mostly because he was goading me into it. Damn. That was WAY harder than it looked. Once I completed my measly 25 inclined sit-ups, Ryan had finished.

This was the first time I have ever worked out with Joey as my partner. I think he may have missed his calling as a trainer. He is excellent at motivating others. During the last round of sit-ups I was getting SUPER tired and he never let me quit. Trust me, I tried.

We got home about 5:30 and spent the rest of the evening around the fireplace watching movies. It was a nice night after a really good workout. We rescheduled the staging we missed today for tomorrow, so I must go and get my beauty rest. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 38: I Surrender All

Well, I guess yesterday was a good day to get back on the wagon, because Q informed me today that we are about to go hard. Apparently I actually showed up to our workout today and did better than I have in weeks. During our last set of medicine ball throws I put more force behind the throw than ever before and Q had to brace herself so I didn't knock her over. It confirmed in her mind that I am ready to do what is necessary to fight and win to change my body. I am not going to lie, I am terrified.

One of my biggest challenges during these last 38 days has been my alcohol intake, even with the significant changes. For instance.... instead of drinking an entire bottle of wine 5 days a week, I only drink 1 glass, 2 days a week and maybe 2 fingers of bourbon on Saturday. With eating clean, I live for these days. Alcohol is so far ingrained into my life, it is more than just a means to get a buzz. I can honestly tell you I don't drink to get drunk. A true craft cocktail is respected and savored just like the finest caviar. Not only is it delicious, it is symbolic. Alcohol celebrates a job well done, thank you's, and romantic gestures. It is a reason to get together with friends and family.  Taking this away from me feels like taking away part of my identity and I don't like it... but I have given up things that were part of my identity before and didn't die, so I suppose this won't be any different. I am only required to give up my precious for 6 weeks starting Monday, and I can do anything for 6 weeks (thanks basic training). Shit, I haven't eaten chocolate in 6 weeks (other than the drizzle on the junk when I was off the wagon).

Q told me tonight to live by 2 words and if I can do that, I can do anything. Those words are Surrender and Believe. I didn't really get it at first, since I am hard wired to think "never surrender", in fact the first words out of my mouth was "Surrender to what?!"... but now I get it. I have to surrender to my future and let go of the things holding me back. I have to keep the faith of who I will be, even though I can't see her yet. So this is going to be an interesting 6 weeks. Club soda and limes here I come. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 37: Back On the Wagon

Today we got a whopping 4 inches of snow here in Northern VA and the entire world shutdown. I was planning on laying in bed the entire day feeling sorry for myself, but I got a text from my bestie Abby that said "I love you, don't forget that". She has a knack for texting me right when I need her to and as such gave me the push I needed to get my ass out of bed and back to it. So, I got up, took a shower, put on my snow boots, and ran outside to shovel my driveway.

If you have never had to shovel a driveway before, let me assure you it is a hell of a workout. I got about halfway done before Joey wondered outside with a bottle of water and asked if I needed help. Again, timing with my people can't be any better. I was just about to walk over to my patio to take a break, so I handed him the shovel and then my phone rang. Q was calling to see if I was still acting like a big baby and if I wanted to come and get a workout in since we had to cancel yesterday because of the storm. I did, so we scheduled a 3 o'clock and I went back to de-snowing our cars.

Of course, this turned into a snowball fight and all out war. I ended up getting tossed in the snow a couple times, Joey got snow shoved down his shirt and in his ears, while Ryan stared out the window shaking his head. It was pretty fun. It was like we were 5 years old. Maybe next time I will get Joey and Ryan to build a snowman with me.

At 3pm we were off to the gym. Q had me do a treadmill workout that included 5 minutes on the machine at a 10% incline, 10 walk-out pushups, 15 air squats with a shoulder press, and planks till failure. We did this four rounds, then I went off for 30 minutes in the sauna. It was pretty magical.

Between brutally honest pep talks and a good workout, it was the final push I needed for me to say fuck the people that make me sad. I am not going to give anyone power over me (other than Q), because I am mother f'ing rock star and I am in this to win it and don't have time for bullshit.

So yay for being back on the wagon, we are only going up from here! BTW, thank you guys for all of your kind messages, texts, and phone calls. You make me strong and I will be forever grateful. I love you and I mean that. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 32: That Music Though

Today was quite the productive day. I got an absurd amount of work done. Juggling 3 positions, in 3 companies and a daily blog could prove to be a handful, but a side effect of working out seems to be improved focus and additional energy. This makes keeping things in order a lot more manageable than it was a few months ago. I am digging it.

Part of my focus has to do with the music I listen to when I am working.  I love a lot of different music. Jazz, EDM, Electronica, Rock, Some Pop, Folk, Blues, R&B, even Country when I am in the mood..... but It's no secret my favorite music is Hip-Hop. I love it. Good Hip Hop is pure poetry and good beats have the ability to transport you into a different dimension. Example: today I was listening to Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and Nas - Illmatic on repeat. Both, excellent. Never get tired of them. I put on the music, I get my focus on, and I do work. It's great.

Let's talk about what is NOT great. //begin rant// Country or Justin freaking Bieber or some other terrible pop shit in a super intense spin class. I love MOI (Mind of Intensity) Cycle and I love Krank, but I do NOT love the heinous music that comes along with it. I need to be able to zone out and fall into the music in order for me to get the most out of this class. If one minute we are listening to some killer Dubstep, going 100 RPM's, then all of a sudden some woman or man child who sounds like a woman comes on crying about their lost love, I AM NOT INTO IT! The mood is now wrecked, I am irritated that I am being forced into listening to some shitastic music, and my legs or arms stop doing what they are supposed to be doing.

 

This has nothing to do with our instructors. Steven Shaw you are a God among men and may the Lord bless you for having to listen to these terrible songs on repeat leading up to the class and still manage to push us into amazing results. I have to BELIVE that our instructors are not the ones responsible for the music in MOI. I suspect these play lists come from the designers of MOI and they go with a predetermined workout. I get it. Not all of the music is bad. Just 60% of it. All I'm saying is I really wish that whoever is designing these playlists would take into consideration the club demographics in urban areas when choosing the songs. I am sure a lot of MOI's playlists are great for somewhere like Aspen or wherever MOI was developed. Not so much for us over here on the east coast. Would it kill you to add a little hip-hop and more EDM or DubStep? Maybe even a class with all electronic music.... SOMETHING?! 

If I have to hear another country song in a spin class, I may get up and walk out. I just can't with this music. Country has a time and place... mostly drinking beer around a tailgate... NOT when I am trying to sweat my ass off with 30 of my closest friends... who, mind you, are ALL bitching about the same terrible music. Please hear my cry MOI. We need better music! //end rant//

Ugh, I am going to cleanse my earholes. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 31: Keep Calm... Or Not.

Today was "leg" day (and by leg day I mean ass day).... LUCKY FOR ME there is no more "taking it easy on Nicole because she is sick" business. I still have a nasty cough, but the color is back in my face and apparently I sound better... So yay for that.

Today we started out on the leg press and did 4 or 5 sets of 25 with God only knows how much weight. The next thing seriously about killed me. I don't even know what it is called, but Q had me bend backwards, balance my shoulders on the weight bench, and grabbed a 40 pound weight bar and placed it on my hips. From this position she had me dip my ass down, then bridge up squeezing everything at the top. I did this movement for 20 reps. Then we went over and did reverse lunges, 20 per side, then back to the dip it low thing. This went on three rounds.  It was exhausting to say the least.

After that was done, we went over to the turf and did more lunges, kettle bell swings, squats, and planks till failure... I feel like I am forgetting something... we ended a little early because I got super lightheaded, I just don't remember what I did to make me dizzy. Probably got up to fast... Oh well. Today sucked, but my ass thanked me in the end. I rewarded myself by hanging out in the sauna for 30 minutes, then headed to the smoothie bar to talk to Shep and Matt. It was a good day.

This evening I went back for some Kettlebell with Caes. I finally used a heavier weight for the majority of the workout! I can't even begin to remember everything we did. I was the test dummy tonight and started out with 5 Turkish get-ups (kill me, those things suck) while everyone else did swings. They were supposed to be progressive, but Caes realized this was going to take too long, so we went strait into the workout. We did a couple rounds of one minute swings, in and outs, squats, 3 partner exercises (plank rows, presses, and something else), lunge pass through's, leg lifts, Russian twists, flutter kicks and some other stuff.

The weight I used ranged between 26 and 35 pounds depending on the exercise. During the lunge pass through's Caes made me switch to the 17 pound because my balance was off and he didn't want me to fall over (which was a distinct possibility). I am pleased with my overall performance. A few more weeks at the 35 pounds then maybe I can move up to the big boys. Yeaahhhhh.

After KB, I jumped on the treadmill and walked it out at a varying incline while Joey finished up with Josh. Their session was particularly hilarious this evening. At one point, I look over and see Josh sitting on top of the sled that Joey was pulling through the gym.  I swear to God Josh looked like Santa and Joey was a reindeer. I wish I had taken a picture. It was awesome.

On that note, I think I am going to start my letter to Santa early. Let me get on that. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 29: Stretch All the Things

Well, I'm still sick, I'm just not going to let it keep me in bed anymore. My muscles are starting to atrophy. 

This morning I had my PT appointment with Q where we only did upper body. I was glad to get back to weight training, but I'll tell you what I wasn't glad about was the embarrassing amount of weight I was struggling with. I was doing the lat press machine and I was struggling, hard. The first round I did no weight, 20 reps; second set, 10 pounds per arm, 20 reps; third set 7.5 pounds per arm and I was for real hurting. Q looked at me and was like "Really Nicole? 10 pounds and your struggling?!" I mean, I didn't give up or anything... but I had to take a break. I was all sorts of winded and my arms were killing me. It was RIDICULOUS!

I guess it's because I'm still sick, I don't know, but it sucked. I don't even remember what all we did. I know there was some plank holding, more weight machines, crunches and lots of breaks.  But I did manage to do everything she through at me, so Nicole 1, Sickness 0.

As I was leaving, Q told me to take it easy the rest of the night and do some stretching. I took this as the perfect opportunity to go back to the gym tonight for Yoga Chill. I love yoga so much. I don't know why I tend to forget this. The last time I did a traditional organized Yoga class was at the ETC grand opening (like 3 or 4 months ago). Surprisingly, I did awesome. The Pilates I have been doing on Fridays has done amazing things for my flexibility, so I was able to get in and out of the poses with ease. I felt amazingly strong during the class as well. Yoga used to wear me out, but this time I wasn't tired. I was invigorated. At the end, Heidi, our instructor, put essential oils on a cloth and placed it on our heads during final pose. It was magical and just what the doctor ordered.

I think I am going to have to make this a weekly thing. One day of Pilates just isn't enough. I need to keep stretching all the things! Now that I am nice and relaxed, I am off to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

 

Day 23: #WeAreAllAthletes

Greetings and salutations from your newest Thick 2 Thin apparel rep my darlings!

Do you remember last weekend when I told you about the epic day I had shooting the video for Thick 2 Thin's new Kickstarter campaign to revolutionize female fitness clothing as we know it? If not, well, that happened, it was amazing. 

During the day, all of my suspicions about Andrea (the totally rad chick that started the company) were confirmed. She is, in fact, a magical unicorn who has been sent from heaven to change the world. When we weren't singing #throwbackthursday music at the top of our lungs, we were talking about business and her vision for the future. This is when I knew I had found a company who's message and purpose I could really get behind. This isn't about making money, it's about community and support. As such, I am now the newest proud member of the Thick 2 Thin family. 

This evening was my first trunk show at Gold's Gym ETC's open house and it went smashingly. This entire morning was a whirlwind. I met Andrea at 11 to pick up the inventory, headed to IKEA to buy racks and displays, and got to Gold's by 4:30 to set up for the 6:30 beginning. I really couldn't have done it without my ETC family, Caes, Q, Morgan, Vicki, Sabrina, Brittany all helped me with something. We drug in boxes, put together clothing racks, set up tables, folded shirts for display, and made sure everything was presentable. (Q is a beast. She had an entire rack put together and was pulling out the shirt displays before I ever had the first bar correctly put together. I am not worthy!) 

I am so blessed to have all of these people in my life. Thanks to all their hard work, we set up a legit pop up boutique equipped with a long mirror in the back for the necessary modeling to ensue. This was the result:
 

The next show will be at the inaugural ETC Combine on February 21, 2015. If you're local, we would love to see you. This is a great opportunity to support up and coming athletes and local business.

 

 

If you are having an event and looking for vendors, give me a shout at nicole@thick-to-thin.com. Also, if you check out the website and find something you love, let me know. I'd love to talk to you!

We had a great night. Sales were good and most importantly I made new friends. When I got home, I celebrated with two fingers of my favorite bourbon and cheers'd to a night well spent. Shhh, don't tell Q ;-)

On that note, later tater, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 

Day 22: Ain't No Half-Steppin'

When I walked into the gym this morning, Q tells me we are going to be straight cardio training today. My first thought was "Shit, she is going to put me back on my arch enemy, the stair climber. I am going to have to make a run for it".... thankfully, she did not. She stuck me on the treadmill for an hour and jacked up the incline to one billion. My head was basically touching the ceiling. It didn't suck like I thought it would though. She does a really good job of keeping my mind off of what I am actually doing.  I ended up burning over 750 calories, I tried to take a picture of the incline, but it turned out all wonky and you can't read it. So Q took this one:

 

 

I am a bit surprised with this picture. Wendy mentioned the other day that she could tell a difference in the side pictures. I could not.... but when I look at this photo, I can. Maybe it is because my arms are up. I don't know. I mean, the numbers don't lie... I know there are major changes going down. I checked my weight again this morning... Since first seeing Q for nutrition in September last year, I have lost 17.1 pounds. 10 of those pounds were lost in the last 21 days. The weight is melting off with this whole insane training schedule I have going.

 

Speaking of melting. Q has me in the sauna for 20 minutes after our workouts now. Apparently its good for your muscles. I had never been in a sauna before. They honestly just looked like a really hot box and not very much fun.... but I was wrong. Saunas are awesome. It reminded me of my once beloved tanning bed. (I used to be an obsessive tanner, but stopped a few years ago because I became absurdly paranoid about skin cancer.) I went to sleep and ended up in there for longer than I meant to be, but not before taking a selfie... 

 

 

After I left the gym I went on about my business. I ran up to Alexandria and had lunch with my friend Desi. I love her. She is the best. She is kind of a social media genius, so she gave me a crash course on all things social. I have my work cut out for me. I left around 5:30 and headed back to the gym for round two.

 

I told you once before I am a bit of a voyeur when it comes to the trainers. I love watching other peoples sessions. When I went back to the gym, I was 20 minutes early for my Kettlebell class with Steven; so, I posted up on one of the stationary bikes. I am fairly convinced those things don't do a damn thing for you body, but I can easily sit in the corner, play on my phone and take unsuspecting pictures of Joey with no one any the wiser. I sat there with my hood up for about 15 minutes before my peoples noticed I was there. See:

 

Hi Joey. I miss your hair (Seahawks lost so he had to shave it all off this morning. Boys an their bets, I will never understand it.) The dude in the yellow is that Josh guy I talk about sometimes. He is one of the Crossfit coaches and personal trainers. He is cool.... kind of... ;)

 

After I got my kicks from watching Joey, I waddled over to the KB class. Sabrina had just finished up with Q so she made her go to the class with me. Poor Sabrina. This is why you have to run out the gym as soon as your time is up, otherwise you end up getting thrown into something else. KB was "fun". I used the 17 pound weight again and realized that I really was tossing that thing around like it ain't nothing. So, Wednesday I really am going use the 26 pounder (I know I said I was last Wednesday, but I was scared). After all, ain't no half-steppin' when it comes to fighting this battle.

 

On that note, I am out. I will talk to you tomorrow.

 

 

Day 17: Work That Pole Girl

Today was SUPER fun! Q surprised me earlier this week with a playlist she was putting together for a private S Factor Pole class for one of our training sessions. This afternoon we got to put that bad boy on and she taught me how to perfect some integral moves. We threw on the red light, cranked up the bass, and I have never had more fun in my life in a personal training session.

Let’s get one thing strait, pole is incredibly difficult. It requires a shitload of upper body strength and trust in yourself that you aren’t going to completely bust your ass. I am a big girl, there is no way around that. I have taken this group class several times, and while I loved it, I wasn’t able to do a lot of the things the others girls could do. LO AND BEHOLD, today I did awesome. Like, really awesome. Like, I don’t even know who this girl was or how she developed enough upper body strength to spin her big ass around the pole as many times as she did.

Q taught me how to perfect a couple of spins which are the firefly, firefly with extended leg, and firefly with leg tucked behind me. She also got me to pole climb with the prance down MULTIPLE TIMES! I have NEVER been able to do this, no matter how many times I’ve tried. So needless to say, I am pretty damn proud of myself. Check me out, this is the pole hold, prior to prance:

 

I am so sore I can barely lift my arms. I’ve got bruises coming up on my feet and legs, my back is throbbing, and I STILL feel like a rock star.  Pole class will beat the hell out of you (if you couldn’t tell), but what it does for your inner goddess is just indescribable. You will just have to take a class yourself and find out. It is amazing and only yours. You don’t have to share it with anyone if you don’t want to.

Even with all this upper body work during pole, I wasn’t about to give up my two-a- days or the opportunity to work with Caesare in Kettlebell. I really do love his class... So, I went back at 6 and rocked it out. We did 2 rounds of double squats with arm press, swings, plank rows, curls, soccer kicks, lunge pass throughs, butterfly kicks and leg lifts.  I am going to have to switch it up next week though. Currently I am only using the 17.5 pound kettle bell, but next Wednesday I think I am going to step up my game to the 26 pound. After all, Caes says: “Train the same, remain the same. Do different things, get different results… TurnUp!!!”

So I am going to TurnUp again tomorrow. Crossfit with my Lena comes early. We have Josh again, so this should be “fun” and by fun I mean awful...or awesome, I don't know... the Crossfit Kool-Aid has a way with distorting your emotions. I look forward to letting you know how it goes. Talk to you tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Day 15: You want me to do WHAT with that tire?

Ugh writers block is not fun. I would love nothing more than to sit here and write a hilarious diatribe about today’s fitness adventure, but I’m not feeling it. I need a creative reset. So, here are the highlights:

1. I managed to pull out 15 real pushups (and 30 “girly” pushups)

2. My legs are shaping back up into what they once were nicely. Pretty excited. I need a tan.
3. I have lost 7.2 pounds in 14 days… WOO RESULTS!
4. 2-A-Days continue, 1pm training session, 7pm Barre Fit class
5. Barre Fit is Hard, Barre Fit is Awesome, Barre Fit fixes jacked up backs.
6. Q made me flip a freaking tire so I wrote this Haiku about it:

Rubber touches my fingers

Arms hurt uncontrollably

The pain welcomes me

 

 

 

Now I am going to go to sleep…. or continue watching Fight Club, or start working on a canvas, or clean my kitchen. Who knows, it’s snowing. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 12: Welcome Back Flexibility, I’ve Missed You

I don’t have much to say about today other than I LOVE Pilates and holy crap I almost did a split. Last week when I did Pilates for the first time in many years, I left a little disheartened because I could no longer fold my body in the ways I once could. (Note: Many moons ago, I did Yoga/Pilates 5 days a week and was super flexible; I had since lost all flexibility and could barely touch my toes.)  

I am not sure what happened between last Friday and today, but I was killing it. During one set, Vicki had me keep moving my foot further away as I was going down, to the point I was almost in a complete split. I felt the stretch, but I was still in disbelief, so I asked her after class. Sure enough, she said she was so excited because I was in fact, almost in a full split. Next time, she is taking a photo for proof.

Now I am off to enjoy my weekend. We have friends coming over for game night. Yay! Here is to celebrating life and a week well done.

Day 11: Those Burpees are Fun… Said No One Ever.

Well, today started out great. I was all excited for my workout... I just knew it was going to be awesome, just like yesterday, right? But the dream died as soon as I walked through the door and saw Q standing in the Crossfit pit. Next words out of her mouth were “I got bad news, today you’re doing Crossfit again”. I, for the LIFE of me cannot figure out why this has caught on the way it has. I get going hard, but this is just ridiculous. Regular burpees suck, but Crossfit burpees are just plain hell. Why would anyone want to throw themselves on the floor and jump up and clap repeatedly? Ugh. I HATE Crossfit.

I may hate Crossfit, but there are certainly some aspects of it that I enjoy. Like doing front squats with the barbell. I had a 25 pound bar with a total of 55 pounds. I know that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but when doing 50 of these bitches during the skills lab, that little bit of weight starts to feel like 500 pounds. I felt like a beast. 

The other thing I enjoyed was how hard Q pushed me. If she wouldn’t have been screaming at me to give her at least three rounds, I wouldn’t have. I would have quit. No doubt about it. But I didn’t and as such, I can feel my arms gaining strength, I notice it with every movement and every shirt I put on. This feeling is addicting... So does that mean I just contradicted my declaration of deep hatred for Crossfit? I think it does.

Apparently I didn't hate my life too bad because I did go right back there tonight for Krank and Moi Class. I think Krank may be creeping up to be my favorite class. The craziest part is that it is HARD. You sweat like a pig and the music kind of sucks, but the high you get when you are Kranking is immense. I somehow transport myself into another dimension and just role with it. It was over and I didn’t even know it. I just kept going until I realized I was the only one moving. If I was to sit back and diagnose why I love this class, I think it is because it reminds me a lot of basic training with Steven instructing. This dude missed his calling as a drill instructor, no joke. At some point during the first leg of the class, someone said they were bored. This was the WRONG thing to say. Next thing you know everyone is out of their saddle doing lunges and squats. I was like damn, yo, this kind of behavior could cause a mutiny, girlfriend need to stay quiet... BUT AGAIN, that is still part of its sick and twisted charm. I still love it. Can’t you tell by the smile on our faces?

On that note, I must be on my way. I have to get my beauty rest for the best day of the week, Pilate’s Rehabilitation Friday! So cheers to pushing boundaries friends, I’ll talk with you tomorrow.

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.