Blood, Sweat, & Tears!!!!

On Saturday, I posted my weekend workout picture with the caption of "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" and there was a good reason for that.  When I did that workout, there were plenty of tears and sweat hidden under those sunglasses.  2011 has been an especially difficult time for my family. We have had 3 deaths so far this year; My Great Aunts' home in New York caught on fire and they were displaced; as well as a host of family in and out of the hospital or that had to go to the nursing home. I know my family is getting older, but it's hard dealing with everything that's going on and not having the power to do much to help those that you love.

Upon arriving home on Friday night, I learned that one of my aunts had been in Intensive Care since Tuesday due to Heart Failure as well as one of my Uncles had been rushed to the Emergency room on Friday.  Granted my Aunt had not been taking her medicine properly which caused her to have a heart attack. My Uncle had severe pain in his knees and swelling in his foot, which had caused him to be immobile for 2-3 days.  They also think that he may have kidney failure and may need to start having dialysis.  Both of them are my parent's youngest siblings, so that was a tough pill to swallow. However upon returning home from dinner with my Dad, I found out that my Aunt Catherine was being taken to the Emergency Room because her blood pressure was up and she was quite disoriented. She's a diabetic and has been on dialysis for almost 10 years due to kidney failure. She's been in and out the hospital since January yet it seems they can't seem to figure out why she suddenly stopped walking.  As I sat in the Emergency Room, it was a painful reminder that I need to do what I can to keep myself healthy.  I don't want to put my children through seeing me suffer through different health issues that could have been prevented by me making healthier lifestyle choices.  I want to prevent as much as I can for their sake and so I can be around for my grandchildren.  Therefore, I commit to this challenge, not just for myself but for my family!  Hopefully I can encourage them to take on healthier lifestyles by choice instead of being forced.  So with that being said, here is this week's B-L-O-G:

Body-This week I really attempted to give it my all at Boot Camp.  Even though I was physically drained due to my monthly friend, I strived to find ways to increase my energy level.  I pushed to try to get in at least one more push-up or arm curl before Maia could countdown to 1!  Every day after work, I took a nap to help get myself re-energized and to ensure my body had the proper rest before my workout.  On Wednesday night, my friend gave me an all natural packet to add to my drink for energy.  Needless to say, using only one third of the packet caused me to pull a muscle in my left lower calf.  In spite of that, I still proceeded to give my all this week.  I didn't let that stop me from staying focused on pushing it to the next limit, even if I had to do a modified version, but I kept moving in order to get my heart rate up. I survived the Kazaxe/Boot Camp Combo class, even though I never had a chance to catch my breath.

Learning-  This week I learned that resting is vital to this mission.  When I didn't get enough sleep then I felt sluggish through the day, so I am going to try to go back to my no later than 11pm bedtime. I also learned to focus on the wall. I know this sounds weird, but I used the  wall in front of me as a focal point which allowed me to tune other distractions around me.  It allowed me to reflect on what I was doing and why.  I would picture myself being healthier and doing more reps some day in the future. I learned that I need to plan my meals in order to ensure I eat enough food during the day.

Observations-I have noticed small changes in my body but nothing to get too excited about yet.  I have been improving my form more, instead of being overly concerned about the reps.  The form is important to ensuring that I don't hurt myself and that I'm working the correct muscle groups.  Since we get to wear the heart monitors for the Test Group, Thursday's combo class made me realize just how much more I could push myself.  Granted I may not have been able to do every portion with the change ups, but I definitely committed to giving it my all.  Each week, I feel myself growing more committed to making these changes, not just for these 60 days but for the rest of my life.

Goals-  This week, I aspire to try to get a few more workouts in during my week.  Initially I said I wanted to do Yoga in the am, but that has been difficult, but I'm not going to beat myself up over what I haven't done. Instead I'm going to push myself to go further in the future and continue to work towards my goals.  I also want continue to keep making my healthy food choices and focus on a lifestyle change.  As my College Chemistry teacher said "Food should only be use for fuel" and I'm trying to change my mindset to see it as this.  Over the past few years, I've realized how comforting food can seem to be at times.  I want to find positive ways to deal with stress instead of eating a carton of Hagen Daas Caramel Cone!  Granted with all that I have going on outside of my Boot Camp Test Group, I want to use things like walking, Kazaxe, or meditation as ways to deal with my stress.  I want to be a testimony to my family and friends so that we can all live healthy!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."-Mark Twain