Our Last Class

This was the final class in our eight week journey together. :'( It was definitely bittersweet. It has been so fun to see these ladies twice a week, even though we moaned and sweated more that we would've liked. This was such a great bonding experience that encouraged us to grow and challenge ourselves and each other.

Our Body Back group. Pre-workout.

I had my final weigh-in tonight and I met my goal of 10 pounds! Exactly. That's just over a seven percent loss! Pretty wild in eight weeks. (Especially considering it took me a few weeks to kick some of my poor eating choices.) We also did my measurements before class, and I lost four inches in my chest (11.11%). : / It's kind of hard to be excited about that. Of course I'm excited to be losing, and I understand that that particular area is basically comprised of fat. But still. It'd be nice if you could pick and choose how you lost the weight... I also lost four inches in my waist (12.12%), an inch and a half in my hips (3.9%), and an inch and a half off my thigh (6.82%). I do have my before and after pictures. I've been procrastinating posting them. A lot. But before we go there...

Our final workout consisted of "1000 Reps." You can see in our 'after' picture what we completed. Exercise after exercise in the evening heat. We did have a nice shady spot, but it was still hot. What a great way to end it all and really feel like we accomplished something big!

You know it's hot when the camera is nice and steamy. It's also a little hard to tell if we were working out or just trying not to die...

1000 Reps

On to the dreaded pictures... I've had a lot of anxiety about posting these. Yes, I'm proud of my progress. But to put it all out there is so scary.

Without further complaints, here are the before and after pictures.
 

Ugh! Deep breaths... If I can get through this without having a major panic attack all will be well. I purposely wore as little clothing as possible so I wouldn't be hiding under my clothes. I wanted to see the changes! I've gotten pretty good at camouflaging my middle, which is undoubtedly, my trouble spot. My regret is my shorts in the 'after' pictures. I guess I wasn't aware how snug they were. I thought they were a good option, but I definitely think they are creating an extra roll or two. I'm also not sure why I felt I needed to stand with my legs and arms so far apart in the 'before' pictures. Wow, that really makes for an attractive photo. 

So if I can just block out my midsection (which I definitely see a change in the side picture), I'm pretty happy. I think that will always be my insecurity. No bikinis in my future. But I'm okay with that! 

Since I never see my backside (obviously), it's really neat to see the changes in my back, shoulders, and arms. In the 'before' picture, I can't see any definition. It's just blah. But in the 'after,' I was surprised to see things. What is that?! Muscles?! REALLY?? Or maybe it's just all this stress I've accumulated over posting this.

Another thing I noticed right away was my face. I was surprised at the changes in my face, more specifically my neck and jawline. And collar bones? I didn't even realize those were missing before!

I feel like I need to take after-after pictures now. I've lost another five pounds or so since Body Back ended, and I think the physical part is finally catching up with the numbers on the scale. I am so happy with this healthier lifestyle that I'm leading.

Here's to a whole new life of eating better, exercising, and being happy!!

Celebration Dinner

Finally, a picture of us not dripping in sweat! We got together for dinner and drinks this week  to celebrate our accomplishments.

Final Assessment

Well, that was that! We had our final assessment two weeks ago and repeated all of our exercises from day one. And I have all of my numbers to share with you! Here's a quick rundown of my progress during this eight week session. The goal was to do as many, or hold for as long as you could for one minute (except for the run, of course). Maybe I should have taken it easy the first time so there would be this HUGE improvement? ; )

Exercise   ---   Week 1   ---   Week 8

Situps                 20                28

Squats                40                62

Pushups              21                32

Bicep Curls         34                40

Run, seconds     111              105 

(apprx. 1/4 mile)

Plank, seconds   180(3min)     241(4min, 1sec)

Side Plank, sec    30                60

I'm pretty happy with my improvement in just eight weeks. I'm most proud of that plank time! When I first tried a plank I could barely hold it for 30 seconds, so to have a time of 4 minutes is just crazy to me. And the run time...I really wasn't expecting an improvement, as I said before. But I guess luck was on our side tonight. The field where we ran the last two times hadn't been mowed - in, like weeks. The grass and weeds were up past my knees, and for once I wasn't the only one complaining. : ) The moans and groans were enough for Bethany to allow us to run on the street, right next to the field.

Regardless of these numbers, I KNOW I have gotten stronger and am in better shape. I cannot wait to see the final numbers for my weight and measurements. I'm not quite as excited about the before and after pictures, but I've never been one to like pictures of myself. I'll post the rest very soon!

RUN OR DYE!

We ran a 5K on Saturday. We were missing two of our Body Back ladies, but we had a blast!
Here is our group's picture before the run.

And here is after.

Oh, didn't I tell you? It was a color run, very similar to the other one that I ran a while back. I got a little messier this time. It may have had something to do with who I ran with. : ) These chicks were out for blood! But we did have a great time. 

In case you're counting, this makes my third 5K in three months. Okay, it's my third 5K ever. Like, in my whole life. I doubt I'll keep up this pace, but I do plan to run more races in the future. Who'd have thought - me, running for fun? Pretty wild. 

Tabata 2

I'm not entirely sure how this happened, but apparently we asked for this. Another night of Tabata Training. It was awesome, but I can't remember a thing! The hour always goes by so quickly when we do this. 

Sponge Balls!

Another Monday weigh-in, and I lost over a pound this last week! Woohoo! There's just one week left in our class and I'm exactly 1 pound away from making my 10 pound goal. I'm feeling pretty confident that I can keep up the weight loss and get to where I really want to be. I'm still not sure where that is, but I know I'm getting closer and it feels so good. I've got an awesome exercise routine, and I think I've finally figured out how to eat. I know...it's about time.

In tonight's class we used those deceptive little sponge balls again to do core and lower body. We had a small group, and it got smaller as class went on. At the end, it was almost a personal training session - just me and one other. Man, was I glad she was there! The thought of being one-on-one with Bethany frightens me! I am such a slacker. With no one else for her to focus on, I wouldn't be able to take my mini-breaks. Yes, I realize I'm only cheating myself. But it's hard work! And sometimes I just need a second to rest and breathe. 

So after a great class (and giving it my all), we'll see if I can use my legs tomorrow. 

Crossfit Style

Wednesday's class was Crossfit-esque, so I'm told. I'm not familiar with Crossfit workouts so it was all new to me! We were outside in the heat, I think it was in the upper 90's last night. I was sweating just standing there. Bethany had stations set up throughout the field we were on, maybe 9 or 10 of them. We rotated through, doing each exercise for one minute. Let's see how many I can remember...

V sit with resistance band.

Jump rope. You don't need a picture of this, but know that it was in a field. So I may have just jumped in place after tripping over the rope a half-dozen times. 

Walking lunges with kettle bells. This added more resistance than I realized with an extra five pounds in each hand. 

Box jumps.

Haha! Just kidding. Ours was more like the box you would see at a step class.

Crunches on stability ball.

Squats with kettle bell.

Our kettle bells were not that tiny! I've never seen such a small kettle bell.

Rear fly on stability ball.

Stability ball ab pass.

I really don't have a clue what this one was called. But we passed the ball between our hands and feet, coming up to meet, then touching down on the ground.

Forward raises with kettle bell.

Again, with the teensy kettle bells..

Wall ball. This was fun. Chunk a 10 pound ball 10 feet in the air at the wall, and when it bounces off and flies back down at you, try to catch it.

I think that's all of them, though I would not be surprised if I missed one or two. I think the heat really got to me. And please forgive me if I butchered the name of some or all of them. (By the way, those were not our pictures. I always forget to take some!)  We did two rounds of each exercise, and on the third set we did a short sprint between each station. 

By the end, we were all soaked in sweat. Then, we had to look at ourselves in the mirror (because that's what everyone wants to do after a workout). It was actually not as scary as I thought it would be. : ) We talked about what words came to mind...our inner voice. And GREMLINS!

 
That nasty little gremlin who tells us such negative things, and cute one who who is supportive and positive. I choose the cuddly one to be my inner voice. What about you?