“If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.” -Jillian Michaels

I have been a huge slacker in the blogging over the last week, but to be honest I just haven't had much to say. The workouts are extremely difficult with the Asylum and other than successfully completely the Strength part of it, I've been struggling.... I guess I'm in a rut again and I have got to start switching things up to prevent the boredom. A kick-boxing class is sounding more and more like something I might be interested in... Think I'll check that out! :) Anywho- I'm leaving you with this amazing recipe from Women's Health Magazine. It is one of their Six Bikini Friendly Burgers and who doesn't want to enjoy their food and watch their waistline in bikini season.... Dig deep and enjoy!!!!

Turkey Gorgonzola Burgers

1 lb lean ground turkey
3 oz Gorgonzola cheese, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp vegetable oil
6 100% whole-grain buns
6 Tbsp barbecue sauce
Shredded cabbage (optional)

1. Preheat grill to medium. Combine first five ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Lightly mix together and form into 6 patties. Brush them with oil.

2. Grill burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until internal temp is 165°F. Toast buns for 2 minutes. Serve burgers on buns; garnish with barbecue sauce and cabbage, if desired.

Makes 6 servings . Per serving: 293 cal, 11 g fat (4 g sat), 27 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 545 mg sodium, 26 g protein

"It’s kind of like the 'Hell Week' we’d go through prior to the football season, except this time it’s Hell Month," -Steve Edwards on Insanity Asylum

Just when I was ready to throw in the towel and say to hell with the Asylum along comes the strength workout!!!!! Finally, a workout with this program that I completed without stopping or wanting to die! Unbelievable... :) There is something to be said for cardio weight lifting. With P90X I don't typically get the crazy sweat I'm looking for, but the Strength workout gave me an amazing sweat and the burn from weight lifting! Thanks Shaun T... This makes me really hope that Tony H has some moves like this when P90X:2 is released this year! Woo Hoo!!!!!!! Don't forget to keep pressing play this week!

Monday.... We Meet Again!

I had a really great weekend of working out. Well except for Friday when I took off to an Atlanta Braves baseball game.... And for whatever reason I decided that gave me permission to go buck wild on my diet! Three beers, a jumbo hotdog, and cotton candy later, I was beyond disgusted with myself.... I usually have pretty good self control when it comes to these things, but I guess my willpower to resist so many things at once was non-existent... I felt like absolute FLAB the next day... Calorie OVERLOAD and my body was not happy with me... Not to worry though, Shaun T and Tony H helped me burn off some of the guilt for remainder of the weekend and I am back on the healthy bandwagon today! Going into week 3 of the Hybrid my schedule will be as follows:

Monday - Strength/Ab Ripper X
Tuesday - Vertical Plyo/Relief
Wednesday - Shoulders and Arms/Ab Ripper X
Thursday - Speed & Agility
Friday - Strength
Saturday - Game Day/Overtime
Sunday - A much needed day of rest assuming I make it through!!!

It's time to get serious about losing the rest of my weight... I haven't touched a scale in a few weeks, but I don't feel like I've really lost anything! I do, however, feel like I have improved on a lot of areas in my fitness.... Strength, agility, speed, determination.... All very important things to improve on even if they scale isn't moving! Maybe I'll do a weigh in soon just to check my progress... Hope everyone is digging deep and bringing it this week!!!

I think it's time to start cooking out of The Asylum recipe book soon! There is some yummy looking stuff that I can't wait to try!!

Speed and Agility.... Hmmmm

First round of Asylum Speed and Agility was CRAZYYYYYYY! Never has a program made me feel so inferior or weak... LOL! Not even in the beginning of this journey when I was incredibly out of shape was anything this hard! That being said, I sweated like a maniac and I'm pretty sure i burned a bazillion calories (okay maybe not, but a girl can dream!)... I've also discovered these amazing things called PopChips! Ohhhh my goshhh! If you haven't tried them you should.... They are all natural popped potato chips and have 100 calories in a bag... Not to mention several different flavor options! As a girl who is always counting calories and carefully looking for way to get around bad foods with healthier replacements, this product is coming at you highly recommended! :) TGIF!!!!

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes....

Guess my heart is wishing to be a health freak because I certainly have been dreaming about P90X and Insanity a lot lately! LOL! Working out in my dreams and in real life is sure making me tired!!!!! No worries though, I'm in it to win it... On the agenda for today you ask? Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps... Woot Woot! This is one of my absolute favorite workouts from P90X! Then tomorrow is Speed and Agility from the Asylum... I must say I'm a bit nervous about that one! I missed it last week on Saturday so this will be the first time I've pressed play.... I'm looking forward to seeing what it's all about and break a sweat for sure though! :)

I had almost forgotten about the dreaded one handed push up.... Eeeeek!

Up and At 'Em!

I feel like whenever I get a good start on things something always happens to pause the progress. I haven't worked out since Wednesday and I feel like a major bum! Thursday I had to go in for a cervical biopsy and I decided to leave that afternoon for a weekend get-a-way. Last week was beyond stressful with a broken down car and medical procedures.... This week I am back on it though! And I don't for see any reason I will have to press a personal pause button... Eye on the prize ladies and gentleman.... BRING'N IT!!

Commit Me To The Asylum!!!

Holy Guacamole! The Insanity Asylum is BY FAR the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life!!! I knew it was going to be crazy, but I don't think I prepared myself for just how crazy it would actually be... I'm hurtin' ya'll.... My legs, abs, arms, okay my entire body, HURTS!! In a good, I know I worked my ass off kind of way... But still.... I'm super scared to see how the next Asylum workout goes, but atleast today I get a small breather with some P90X! BRING IT!!

Boo Yeah!

I didn't realize how much I really missed P90X until my workout yesterday! I was pumping iron, push up'ing and pull-up'ing right there along with the gang! If you had told me back in January that P90X was easy I would have laughed in your face, and not that it's easy now, but after Insanity it was definitely much easier! :) It feels good to be sore from a workout in areas that haven't been sore since the first round of P90X!!! Anywho- today is the first workout attempt from Insanity: The Asylum... I am feeling pretty anxious about the Vertical Plyo because it looks extremely difficult in the videos I've seen... Nevertheless, I am going to bring it with everything in me! Doing my best and forgetting the rest! We good y’all? Haha!




Hooray For New Beginnings!!

Tomorrow starts the P90X/Asylum hybrid! I am toooooo excited! The schedule for the week will go as follows:

Monday – Chest & Back

                Ab Ripper X

Tuesday – Vertical Plyo

                Relief

Wednesday – Shoulders & Arms

                Ab Ripper X

Thursday – Yoga X

Friday – Legs & Back

                Relief

Saturday – Speed & Agility

                Ab Ripper X

Sunday – Rest Day

Enjoying my rest day today and then BRING'N IT on a new level tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!  

Confidence Is A Stain They Can't Wipe Off

Okay- I mentioned in my last post that Monday I was starting fresh with P90X round two! Well, I thought about it overnight and I've decided to do a hybrid mix of P90X and The Asylum.... I'm terrified of The Asylum from videos I've seen people post online, but if I can conquer it, then surely I'll have incredible results.... The main point here is that I don't want to stop.... I want to keep going! Not to reach some sort of personal perfection, but to be the best me I can be.... Healthy, in shape, and confident! I've always had a pretty good confidence level, but when the scale topped a new highs for me last year, I knew things had to change.... I don't want to go back there.... To that place where I hate how anything looks on me or fits me.... I want to say heck yes take my picture because I look damn good! Not, oh pleaseeee don't take my picture I look awful.... :) I know that I am still a work in progress, but man oh man have I come a long way! Have a great weekend everyone and BRING IT!!!

 

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."-Oprah Winfrey

Running is a LOT more fun when it isn't 100 degrees outside! Ummm, hello it's June and we're already at 99 degree temperature highs?!? Yikes it's gonna be a hot summer! I am still very much looking forward to the sweat and Oprah's right that you get what you put into your workouts, running included... :) I have been in a serious debate with myself about new workout shoes since before I started Insanity 60 days ago. Do I need them, no.... Do I deserve them for dropping 18 pounds and working my butt off, heckkkk yes! I found myself doing most of the Insanity workouts barefoot because it was easier that way, so I've decided officially that the Vibrams are what I want to try... I need a good test run in them to make 100% sure, but I think they are something I would like despite their, eh, unique look.... LOL...

"Where There Is No Struggle, There Is No Strength."

Well tomorrow is supposed to be day 60 of Insanity! However, I've missed about a week and a half worth of workouts.... Between a wedding, work, classes, and two bum knees from a fall it just hasn't been in the cards for me to finish... On that note, I will take what I've learned from the program over the last 60 days and move on! I've decided that P90X is WAYYYYY more my style so I am very excited to start round 2 of it! I know I won't get burnt out, bored, or frustrated with it.... And that alone is promising enough for me! With that being said, I will likely do a hybrid mix of P90X weight workouts and Insanity cardio.... That's the plan anyway! :) This week I am going to stick to running.... I need the major stress relief it brings and then on Monday I will start fresh with the new routine.... MAN! It feels so good to be excited about working out again! I've been in such a rut these past few weeks! Look out Tony I'm coming back!!!! BRING IT!!!