So "Active Recovery Week" has become "Get Stuff Done Week"

I worked out a bit but I mostly just used my non-STS time to get stuff done. I did laundry, washed motorcycles, dealt with Emily's multitude of teenage girl issues (life was so much simpler when she was 11, can we go back to that?), just spent good quality time getting stuff done. I did a bit of running on the treadmill and went for a few walks but I didn't do a serious workout all week. Sunday I get to start STS Mesocycle 2 and my workout cards are all printed out and ready to go. Of course, I'll be interrupted by vacation after the first week but I don't think I'll get too derailed since we'll be spending all of our vacation time hiking and being outside.

Here's my workout plan for next week:

Sunday: STS Disc 13 (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps)
Monday: STS Disk 14 (Legs)
Tuesday: STS Disk 15 (Back & Biceps)
Wednesday: Low Impact Circuit (Timesaver Cardio Premix)
Thursday: Vacation (driving)
Friday: Vacation (Lake Powell)
Saturday: Vacation (Timpanogos Cave)

Recovery Week

So I finished Mesocycle 1 of Cathe's STS system and I'm enjoying a much deserved "active recovery" week. Saturday I went running on the treadmill with Sean at the gym and it went really well. I think I've gotten faster from doing such tough workouts at home this past month. Then we went to Sabino Canyon with our friend Janet and walked about 3 miles. It was such a nice day, we just had to be outside. Sunday I rested and last night I ended up missing my workout due to life just getting in the way of stuff (I have to constantly repeat the mantra "Must not kill teenage daughter..."). I think tonight and Thursday I'll mess around with the Wii Fit and tomorrow and Friday I'll run. It's supposed to be 98 on Saturday (better than 103, which it's supposed to be tomorrow) but I think if we head out early enough, we'll be able to get a good hike in.

Finished STS Week 3!

My legs are fried and my arms are jello but I did it. One more week and I'll be done with Mesocycle 1. I'm debating whether or not I should take my "active recovery week" after that since I already took a week off due to being sick. I guess I'll see how I feel after next week.

Emily's birthday dinner last night was fun. We got a bunch of veggie sushi and a bunch of fish sushi there was plenty for everyone to eat what they wanted. My asparagus sushi was pretty popular with the kids. Asparagus + avocado = best sushi ever! We also got some veggie gyozas (little fried dumplings with sauce) and some veggie spring rolls. It was quite the feast. After dinner they brought out a desert for the birthday girl. It was this amazing chocolate cake, strawberries, blueberries and ice cream. Wow! Emily loved her presents. We got her a really nice mummy bag for camp (and future camping/backpacking trips we may go on), a sleeping pad and pillow to go with the sleeping bag, a Swiss army knife, a basketball and the book "What the Dickens" by Gregory Maguire (it's about a rogue tooth fairy). After dinner the kids went outside and played basketball using two garbage cans for baskets.

Tomorrow we're completing the garage-junk-purging-process by having a yard sale. Big time fun, I know. Hopefully we'll have gotten rid of everything before 10:00. We took all the cheesy stuff like old clothes and books to salvation army already so the only stuff we have to sell is the stuff that's actually good. Hopefully we'll make enough money from the yard sale to buy a new charcoal grill. We've decided that me and Sean aren't smart or handy enough to operate a gas grill (which is one of the things we're selling).

My baby girl is 13!

Today is Emily's birthday. It feels weird that my youngest is 13. Tonight we're going to go celebrate at Sushimatsu, a little sushi bar adjacent to Yoshimatsu Healthy Japanese Restaurant. They make the best veggie sushi ever. I love that when I ask my kids where they want to go for dinner on their birthday that they ask for Japanese food. No greasy pizza or burgers for us!

My workouts have been going well since my illness. I'm still coughing a little but I think my ear infection has finally cleared up. You know, I'd really like it if I could not be sick or injured for long enough to get to my goal weight. It seems like every time I get started, or right when I'm getting close, I get sick or I hurt myself and I get totally derailed. I was 9 pounds from goal two years ago when I sprained my ankle and then got that wacky infection in my other leg. I gained almost 20 pounds back after that and I'm still trying to get back to where I was.

On Tuesday I did cardio for the first time in two weeks and I thought I was going to die. It was pretty rough but I finished. Last night I did STS disc 9 (Legs) and it was lunge-and-deadlift-a-palooza. My lower back and butt and hamstrings are fried. Tonight after dinner I get to torture myself with disc 8 (back and triceps).

I don't usually do this, but I want to recommend a book. It's called Breaking the Food Seduction by Dr. Neal Bernard. It's a great book about how to eat properly so you don't cave into your food addictions all the time. This past week, I've been using the recipes for our lunches and dinners and the recipes are all fantastic. Every meal has been tasty and filling and super healthy and simple. Dr. Bernard rules!

My workout plan for the rest of this week and next week:

Thursday: STS Disk 8 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest (walk dog for 20 minutes before dinner)
Saturday: Some kind of outdoor cardio. We'll either hike, play disc golf or go to the pool, depending on the weather.
Sunday: STS Disk 10 (Shoulders, Chest & Biceps)
Monday: Step Jump Pump (Step & Hi-Lo Circuit)
Tuesday: STS Disk 12 (Legs)
Wednesday: Drill Max (Timesaver Cardio Blast)
Thursday: STS Disk 11 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest (walk dog for 20 minutes before dinner)
Saturday: Some kind of outdoor cardio. We'll either hike, play disc golf or go to the pool, depending on the weather.

Finally worked out after a week off

I did STS disk 4 (chest, shoulders & biceps) last night and I feel great. I wanted to work out on Monday but I started feeling sick again in the afternoon. So I spent the evening relaxing on the couch and yesterday I felt a million times better so I jumped back in where I left off. My target weights for a few exercises were too heavy but most of them were just right. I think I should have my weight selections perfect right about the time I finish the 3.5 month program. Tonight I'm doing disk 5 (Back & Triceps) and then Thursday I'll do disk 6 (Legs) and then take the weekend off. So no cardio this week while I'm still recovering. I should be up to some cardio again next week.

I lost a whole week

Right before our little trip to the Grand Canyon for Memorial Day Weekend, I started feeling a little sick. Just a little sore throat and cough, no big deal. The cough got worse and worse during the weekend and then on Sunday morning, we hiked 1.5 miles into the grand canyon. During the hike, the cough got really, really bad. On the way back up, I was coughing like crazy. It was still an amazing hike and totally worth it. Anyway, after the hike, my body decided that I'd had my fun for the weekend and it was done fighting. My nose started running and I was getting all stuffed up. My ears started hurting. I bought some Tylenol Cold at one of the gift shops and that helped for a while but Monday on the way home, I got really, really sick. My ears never popped coming down from Flagstaff so I felt like I was under water. I was coughing constantly and medicine wasn't helping. So, when we got home, Sean took me to Urgent Care. Turns out I had sinusitis, bronchitis and an ear infection. Yikes! He put me on antibiotics and this cough syrup with codeine. So I missed two days of work and a whole week of workouts. I'm still coughing and my ears still hurt a little but I think I feel up to working out today.