Day 39-59 (oops!)

Day 39-59

First thing is first, sorry for not coming back to update. It has been a CRAZY time here in life. School, work, needing things fixed around the house, people graduating college, family events, etc. and I just have not found the time to blog. I guess if I had to cut something out, better that it was the blogging and not the workouts!!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of LMC, and it's crazy that I started this thing 60 days ago. In ways it feels like just yesterday, in others it feels like I've done this for a whole year! I'm excited that I'm going to finish the program, but definitely ready to move on to my next Beachbody workout!!

I guess now would be as good of a time as ever to actually discuss the program, what I did and did not like about it, and things I may have personally modified/changed to make sure I kept working out for the length of the program.

The biggest thing I will always tell anyone is DON'T GIVE UP! Things will be difficult because they are new, you're working out muscle groups you've not worked out before, you're doing something foreign to your body. Expecting things to be smooth sailing when you start a new workout program is like saying to a baby "the first time you walk, it will be perfect". So, don't give up!

If something is difficult, use the modifier during the program. If their modifications don't work, you can always just stop for a second and catch your breath and analyze to see if you can modify. During this program, I gave the HIIT and Power workout DVD's a good honest try, but they just weren't working well for me because of the burpee aspects of both of them. Burpees are a TERRIFIC move to engage the entire body, but my hips couldn't take it. So, I found similar workouts within my library (Les Mills Pump and Burn, and Sculpt A from P90) to give me the resistance training that I needed for the program.

In a program like this, pay attention to your form to get the best out of your workout. You can throw a punch only from your arm, but that only works the arm. If you throw the punch by rotating your body as a kind of "launcher", it engages the core and back muscles, which makes for a better workout. Likewise, if you punch and don't rotate your feet and hips, you put strain on them that leads to injury. Form over all, and you'll be great!

Have fun. Seriously, if you're not having some kind of fun, the workouts will feel stale. I do some of the goofy poses that Dan does during the exercises. I sing to some of the music. It's a great time, and you're enjoying getting healthier.

Do your absolute best to meal prep, ESPECIALLY in the beginning. That is a critical time to take in the correct foods to fuel your body. You wouldn't expect your car to run on sludge, that's why you put clean oil in it. Same goes for your body. No workout can beat a bad diet. WATER is crucial too. My best friend has been my Nalgene bottle. It has marks for how much water is in there, and I drink 1/2 my body weight in oz. daily. That number (thankfully) has gone down some since I've lost some weight.

If anyone has any questions about the program, please feel free to contact me. I do enjoy hearing from those who are needing an open ear during their fitness journey. Wish me luck, tomorrow is my last LMC workout, then results day!!!

Keep it real!
Dustin

Day 38

Combat 45

This is the day of NO EXCUSES!!

Just a bit of backstory, today I had probably the roughest day that one could have while trying to train.

My kitchen was overrun with ants, so much that they came out yesterday to spray for them. I cannot stand that we had to do this, but no remedies were working and I was getting tired of seeing them in my kitchen of all places. Due to the type of spray they had to use, we could not prepare any foods in the kitchen for 24 hours.

They sprayed at 3:30 pm yesterday.

Silly me didn't meal prep that far in advance. So I had to improvise today. My meals came in the form of cereal for breakfast, and I took two bananas for snacks at work and had to get a veggie submarine sandwich at Jersey Mikes and split it up between lunch and dinner.

Oh, did I mention that work had me there from open to close (11 hours) plus I have about an hour commute each way (13 hours).

Add in the fact that I was exhausted from yesterday and chose to sleep in a bit, that means I had to workout at home, after a 13 hour stint away from home working.

I got it done. Came home, changed into my gym clothes, and pushed play.

I was very tired. My body did not like that I had been going for so long and still needed to bring it for 45 minutes. However, I didn't listen. I brought it as best as I could, and might I say I got a pretty nice sweat going as well!

It wasn't ideal, but sometimes life throws non-ideal situations at us and we need to know how to respond.

Do we buckle under the pressure and break, or do we allow the pressure to transform us to something more?

I chose to transform and to keep true to what I needed to do today.

Thankfully tomorrow is rest day, I need it!!

Stay with the fight!
Dustin

Day 37

HIIT 1: Power

I hate burpees.

I suck at them, my hips do not like them, and because of my body weight, they are incredibly difficult. I would MUCH rather substitute this workout with Pump and Burn from Les Mills Pump, however I am doing my best to do these. If I had one glaring criticism for LMC, it's that the HIIT workouts have too many burpees. Granted, for those that are at a level of fitness that their bodies can take it, they are a KILLER full body movement that burns a SERIOUS amount of calories.

I don't quit...I try the burpees.

I still suck at them, but I do not give up.

They are probably the worse burpees on the planet, and I may only get 1/2 to even 1/3 of the burpees in that they do on the DVD, but I try.

Everything else is great. Weights, squats, really doing well.

Burpees...oy.

Kia Kaha!
Dustin

Day 34/35/36

Combat 30 / Rest Day (or was it?) / Combat 60

Ah, my last Combat 30. I remember it like it was just yesterday when this was the workout I started the program with, and now looking at the calendar this will be my last Combat 30 until the program is over. The workout was quick, intense, and successful. It's been quite busy this weekend as both Amanda and my birthday's were during those 3 days.

Rest day followed, however Amanda wasn't quite feeling doing her workout so I told her we could do it together! Since I didn't have a workout scheduled, we did the Pump and Burn from Les Mills Pump. Very nice to change it up, and I'm still sore today from that workout two days ago!

Yesterday was Combat 60, and let me tell you, I was NOT feeling working out. It was my birthday and I just wanted to do what I wanted to do, which was not workout. I got out of my head though and put in the disc and was actually feeling really strong after I got through the warm-up! All in all, it was one of my best Combat 60 workouts I've had!

Granted, because it was birthday weekend, my nutrition has not been as regimented as it usually has been, plus I've had some cake and pizza, so my weight hasn't tremendously gone down (hasn't gone up either, so I'm good with that!) but you have to live and enjoy special occasions!

Here's to later today, I'm supposed to have HIIT 1: Power on the docket for today!

Dustin

Day 32/33

Rest Day/Combat 60

Rest day was nice, however it was the first day I wanted to actually workout on my rest day. Strange what working out regularly will do for you! However, I'm glad I rested, I needed it apparently and it was nice to sleep in that morning!

Combat 60 was rough this time. I was tired. I did not want to get up. I wanted to sleep in and say "I'll just workout when I get home".

I pushed through, woke-up, and got my workout on.

I sweated a good bit, however I could feel being tired! I made it through, and now I feel happy with myself for getting up and pushing through!!

Here's to Combat 30 tomorrow, the last time I'll do Combat 30 till this is over!

Dustin!

Day 31

Combat 45

Won't lie, today was a bit...slow feeling. Muscles just weren't responding with the intensity I was bringing it with the past two days. However, the more I've read and learned, the more I'm understanding that when I work certain muscle fibers and they break down that you will get slower due to the rebuilding. Works fine for me, I still know I worked hard today, and even got some of the jump knees in which is ALWAYS nice seeing as how the first time I saw them I never thought I'd do them!

Tomorrow is "rest day"...but it's odd. I don't want to rest for some reason. I want to get up and workout. I do know that rest is needed, and so I will take it.

Kia Kaha
Dustin

Day 30

Combat 60

The HALFWAY mark was today!! Gonna be a quick post because I need to get ready for work. Brought it hard, felt good throughout the entire workout, and sweated a lot! Today is the last of the "short work" days, I've got longer ones for the next 3 which means more meal prep, and waking up early!

Keep it real!
Dustin

Earned my Results and Recovery Formula!