Great to feel Shagged!

Here I am again, singing the praises of Kristin's training programs. If you don't know, Kristin is the programs co-ordinator for Ideal Bodies Online, and I just lervvve the programs she writes for me!

My first two programs were mainly focused on weight loss and rehabilitation (amongst other things). My third program, and more particularly, my fourth program has been about preparing for basic military training in Kapooka. It's still probably another couple of months away at least, but I like to be prepared. And this program is by far my favourite. It's completely different from my previous three, because it's much more specific and really leans toward the type of training that I want to continue doing.

Hence, my decision to do begin Crossfit training when I complete this program, and improve on the fitness gains I've made through Ideal Bodies Online. I'm rather excited by the strength and fitness possibilities, and more importantly, I get to learn alot more about 'why' I will do things in a particular way. Everything I've learnt through Ideal Bodies Online has put me in good stead to maintain and improve upon my results of the past 10 months. I'm still blown away by the progress I've made in such a short space of time, and I am so thankful that chance delivered me to Ideal Bodies Online. I really hate to think where I would be now...probably in the same place I was 10 months ago...perish the thought!

Anyway...I did my first Power Circuit on Friday night, and in all honesty, I was packing death all the way to the gym! I'd only got in a few Tabata sessions in my last program before I aggravated some...eh-hem...muscles, and so I had to say goodbye to those for the time being. I was so disappointed, but had to listen to my body and get back to where I was. So it's taken me about six weeks to feel confident enough to tackle anything as taxing as Tabata.

Introduce Power Circuit - 2 x 2 exercises x One minute stints, followed by 1 minute rest...repeat. Except, there's alot more than Tabata. Some examples of the exercises...skipping, jump squats, box squats, jumping lunges, push-up to plank, hurdles, etc, etc...get my drift? I was doing okay, until I hit the end of the second round, and when I got to the last sets of exercises, my heart was pounding so violently, I thought it was about to explode! I looked at my HR monitor...169BPM!...which for me is probably at 90-95% of my max. HR. It was that feeling of my heart about to burst AND feeling like I was about to puke, when the warning bells came on in my head. So I stopped and took a minutes rest, instead of continuing straight on to the next exercise (good thinking 99), then finished it off.

It was a really weird feeling. I don't think I've pushed myself that hard for a long time. But you know, apart from the sigh of relief of just getting through the program (I suck at jumping lunges BTW), I was just over the moon! Damn it felt good, when all was said and done. It's so addictive...even though you feel like shit when you're right in the middle of it - when you come out the other side, it's like...YEAH! GIMME MORE! (as she beats her chest and let's out an almighty roar...lol...).

And the best part was...I had nothing to fear. My body held up brilliantly. No niggles, no strains and I could actually do the exercises. My favourite is definitely box (jump) squats. When I first looked at the aerobics stage (which is what I did them on), I felt a little fearful that I wouldn't be able to jump that high, but I did a couple of test ones, and no problems! That's been another wonderful thing about this journey so far...the surprises that keep happening when I can do something that I've previously had difficulty with. It's so empowering.

Admittedly, I was shagged after and felt heavy and tired this morning, but I followed up this morning with a Superset session. My legs were a little fatigued, but again, my body had more surprises in store. Not only did I have a great workout, but again, no niggles, no strains...in fact...I felt stronger and better in body and mind. This week I have felt so fantastic and I am grateful for what I can do physically, because 10 months ago, I was only dreaming about the possibility of doing what I did this week!

Sorry to go on and on and on...but I'm so excited...can you tell?

*Sunday morning...serious case of DOMS! Worst ever...he...he..