karita broke the cycle

YAY! I finally dragged myself back to the gym! It's been about 3 weeks since the rigor mortis arm debacle and I have to admit, I have been a little chicken girl! Something about not being able to MOVE YOUR ARMS for a week was probably the cause for my reluctance! After a few days of Bobby's conjoling and a few more days of his frustrated threats, I made sure to pack my gym bag and start back on my journey to the land of skinny, (again).
Here's my WOD: Row 1000m for time, (5:27 m) then 3 rounds of back extensions and these hanging situp things. I never thought I'd say this, but sit ups are actually not a dread for me anymore... I can bust through that pain and just get 'em done without feeling like I'm gonna die! And the added benefit of hanging upside down, well, really just at an incline, was kinda fun! Shhhhh, don't tell anybody that, though! Also never thought I'd see the day when I thought "just situps" was an easy workout. Man, has my world changed. Bobby informed me on the way to the gym last night that we need to start working on our "O lifts," which in layman's terms means Olympic style weight lifting... Now, that kinda scared me! However, if I can make it through 40 chin ups and then the resulting temporary arm lossage, I should be able to learn how to lift a daggone bar with weight on it!

PS... So far so good on sticking to the ZONE plan! Most days are right on track!

Home Gym Complete - Check!

So dad got the garage cleaned out on his vacation last week so I actually have a REAL gym! I came home on Thursday to that surprise. I worked out Friday morning before work and I'm getting ready to go work out now. I figure my best time to work out is going to be when I get home for work since I don't have to pick up Deagan from daycare for another 2 hours. So, I better get a move on...

I guess I better got weigh myself before I start so I know what my starting point is. Anyway, hope you're still doing good on the Zone Karita! I'm on my first official day of carb and calorie cutting and protien consuming.

I'll post some pics of my home gym when my camera battery recharges.

karita is in the ZONE!

Yesterday completed my very first fully Zoned day! Yay for sticking to a plan! :) From my cottage cheese and fruit in the a.m. to the turkey burger for lunch and the baked chicken and steamed green beans for dinner, everything that touched these lips was Zone approved! I even took all my vitamins, am and pm... that in itself can sometimes be a feat for me!

Now I'm working on day 2. So far, so good... Scrambled egg whites and turkey bacon for bfast and another turkey burger for lunch. Someone is heading in the right direction! Yippee! Go me!

I plan on working out tonight... video to follow, I promise!

Liz, girl... where ya at?

karita hates the fatness monster

Well, tonight was a night that really ticked me off! "Why?" you ask... I'll tell you why! Because the fatness monster got in the way of my workout and I couldn't do it. Not for serious lack of trying and serious yelling at my trainer, aka, my honey, but it just wasn't happening tonight!
My WOD consisted of400 m of walking lunges, mass pain, but I thought still possible. So, BL and I measured out the distance and set out to begin our trek around the apartment complex sidewalk. After about 6 attempts, I got mad... then, after a few more attempts while Bobby tried to instruct me on the "correct posture," I started crying. Ugh, I REALLY hate crying, especially when its over not being able to do something! Basic diagnosis, I can't do the stupid walking lunges because my core is not strong enough and my fat gets in the way... I HATE YOU, FATNESS MONSTER!
So after a couple of very brisk laps around the apartment complex, I came home and busted out 3 rounds of push ups and sit ups! Take that, you ugly-no good-trying to take joy from me-meanie of a fatness monster! I will fight you and I will win, you can count on it!

No excuses...

That's what I'll have after this weekend, because why you ask? MY B-DAY PRESENT CAME EARLY!!! The birthday fairy (aka my wonderful father, aka Karita's loving brother) had a certain Pilates Power Gym waiting in the study when I came home from work last night. I am SUPER excited! The birthday fairy also said that he was going to make a spot in the garage for it. My parents have a tv in their room that they don't use so that'll be in the garage. I'll have my own little personal gym. Carpet on the floor, power gym, rebounder, tv/dvd player... I'm going to invest in some more work out equipment like resistance bands, free weights, etc... I will literally have NO EXCUSES!!

karita says owie!

All I have to say is that the next time I am so proud of 40 chin ups... SHOOT ME! If you really love me, please, just shoot me! After the pride comes the pain, I can tell you that.

Thankfully, I saw my chiropractor, Dr. Debra Bell, yesterday and she worked on getting the lactic acid out of my muscles. I (heart) her and the arnica montana she gave me! She informed me that the peak soreness period is 36 hours after the "trauma" and that the best way to ease the soreness is to (gasp!) use the daggone muscle. Per her advice, I have been using a full water bottle to stretch my arm out and she's right, activity does help the muscle. Please forget my last blog that said " I like the pain..." I was lying. Or crazy, take your pick. :)

For more info on the wonderful Dr. Debra Bell, check out her website: www.wholefamilyofcary.com. I met her after a car accident 3 years ago and have loved her since then. She is caring, knowledgeable and just all around fabulous. FYI, arnica montana is also known as "wolf's bane," and is used as an anti-inflammatory. It's all natural and it works!

Maybe I'll go to the gym tonight and swim... the water and the arm motions should work even more of the soreness out! Yay for no more pain!

On another note, I talked my awesome and accommodating honey into taking me to the midnight showing of New Moon! No amount of workout pain will keep me from that! Woo-hoo! :) :) :)

Hmm, rethinking my workout plan.

Well, I did my 10 minute on the rebounder... it's not as low impact as I thought I was going to be. In fact my ankles feel like someone took a hammer to them. I think I might need to just start with walking in the neighborhood and doing basics (sit ups, push ups, squats, etc). Maybe I'll revisit the rebounder in a month. I can't wait to get my reformer for my birthday though! 60+ exercises I can do on it. It's more Pilate's based, focusing on breathing and flexibility while strengthening and toning. This morning I had an egg sandwich with light mayo on wheat bread. Need that protein!

My Birthday Present

karita meets crossfit hands

I have my first set of CrossFit hands, which in layman's terms means I have blisters... 3 of them to be exact! I earned them all by bustin' it out with chin ups in the WOD. Today's workout was 40 chin ups, sit ups, push ups, and squats. All I gotta say is that these workouts aren't for wimps, and I've always thought myself a gym wimp... I'm beginning to like the paaaaiiiinnnn! Yay!

I also started being more aware of what I eat today, with the exception of that homemade caramel apple from the specialty chocolate shop. (Ahem! It's a process, okay...) Anyway, I'm focusing on The Zone, which it what CrossFit promotes as a "zone" between an all carb diet and an all protein diet. The main goal is to regulate insulin and to reduce internal inflammation throughout the body. By doing those 2 things, my body will be able to work out any hormonal issues and be in optimal condition for pregnancy! YAY! That's one of those posted goals of this process... BABIES! Love me some babies! :)

Here's some info on The Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, Ph.D:
www. drsears.com and www.zonediet.com.

Oh! Glad to see Liz posted her first blog... How did that work out go tonight, girl?!?

Today's Report: 2 chicks fought the fatness monster and WON!




Kudos to my honey and Paramore for the video! :) Love ya, mean it!

Liz Jumps On Board (Literally)

Ok, so I'm back from Virginia, I have no more excuses to put my journey back to skinny off. I had a fabulous weekend with my friend from high school, I went to visit her at Law School and had a ball catching up. The drive wasn't much fun, but it was worth it.

For those of you reading our blog who don't know me, I am a new mom. So my post will probably come very late in the day when Baby Boy is down for the night. Which will also be when my workouts are. Tonight is my official first work out for Busty Babes Back to Bikini Bodies Blog. I'll be working out on the rebounder. While I was pregnant and on bedrest for 3 months I developed some bad circulation in my legs. So I need a low impact deal until I get some muscle built back up.

Wish my luck!

karita and michael... so not k-i-s-s-i-n-g!

Meet Michael: 3 rounds of running, back extensions and sit ups, for time. All I got to say is that I thought "Michael" was the name of one of the LORD's favorite angels... Let's get this straight, SO. NOT. TRUE. In fact, I believe he is the devil. Haha! Nah, just kidding! Maybe he's really my "Journey back to the Land of Skinny" angel. :)
After an Italian dinner of pure deliciousness, I really had to get to the gym... That heavenly butternut squash ravioli was not gonna find a home on my already overpopulated hips! This post's word of advice, or "WOA," is never eat pasta and do a CrossFit workout within hours of each other! If you do, make sure there's one of those airline barf bags handy! Praise God, I didn't have to use one, but after 3 rounds of sit ups, a girl starts to wish that puking wasn't so nasty!
I made it through my 3 round workout in 33.43 minutes, a nice accomplishment for someone who HATES running, mainly because I have to worry about knocking myself out! :) The back extensions were hard, but actually felt really great after I got used to the motion and the sit ups were just your regular garden variety sit up. That's one of the things I love about CrossFit ... The fact that with every new motion/exercise/concept they throw in, there is always a level of comfort in the familiar concepts that gives you the motivation to rock the workout! Death to the fatness monster!

Please see the video... thanks to my honey and to Paramore for their contributions! :)

karita meets grace

Okay, so I am alive. YAY! Our adventure started earlier today when we lost our heads and thought we'd actually be able to bust it out around the mass of humanity that decides to hit the gym on the way home from work. After sitting in a line 15 cars deep to get INTO the parking lot of the gym, we decided that maybe 5-o-clock was not the best time to attack the fatness monster. So, after a nanosecond of discussion that consisted of a look, a nod and an "uh-huh" between me and the man unit, we went back home. We arrived back at the gym around 9, armed with water and some Rhodiola, ready to take on the world and any stray 5-o-clock warriors that happened to be lurking in our space.

The workout of the day, or "WOD," marks the second CrossFit exercise I have ever done. Last week, I pushed through 3 rounds of the row machine, push ups, sit ups, and crunches and earned myself a trial membership to the hot tub club. This week, I knew what I was in for... In walks "Grace," a deceptively simple sounding work out that only requires 30 thrusters. Word of advice, NEVER put "CrossFit" and "only" in the same sentence... there are very good reasons why these one round exercises are named after women! After a warm up and a demonstration of technique from my in house CrossFit guru, I was ready to thrust away! After almost falling over a few times and having to make up a little shuffle dance to make sure my legs were still there, I made it through in 5 minutes! So proud of myself that I did an actual CF workout! I do believe that I will be a full fledged hot tub club member tomorrow, though!

Please see the video to witness my first Back to Bikinis workout!

(A little info about CrossFit for those of you who aren't in the know... Here's CrossFit in 100 words: Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
~Greg Glassman per www.crossfit.com. )

Pics of Karita and Liz

Here are some pics:

Liz & Deagan

Karita & HUGE Ice Cream Cone

Liz

Karita

Intro to the Babes of the Blog

Hi! We're Karita and Liz! We're just 2 cool chicks embarking on a journey back to the Land of Skinny. We're busty babes and we're ready for next summer's bikinis! We're also family, with the same blood, the same nose and husbands whose names are both "Bobby."

This blog was created as a way to help each other reach our goals to become unfat! It'll allow some virtual butt kicking since we live several states away from each other... we're both fairly short and our legs just won't reach from NC to GA and back!

A little about K: Okay, so in all honesty, I've never worn a bikini, unless you count that time in 9th grade when I went swimming in my underwear at the city pool... Anyway, I haven't worn one and despite the level of skinniness I plan to attain, I probably never will! However, since I am a sucker for alliteration and the fact that just the words "me" and "bikini" in the same sentence throw Bobby 1.2 into a tizzy, I couldn't resist this title. After 8 1/2 years of marital bliss, the fat has hit the fan! I'm planning to use this space as a place to chronicle the obliteration of cellulite and fat rolls!
Here are my reasons:
* I want to keep B's eyes on me... I don't really want to spend the next 20-to-life in clothes provided by the state. Orange is so not my color!
* Apparently, fatness and babies do not mix. Seems kinda unfair to me that you have to lose weight to be able to swell up like a cow, but I'll do it to hear the pitter patter of little feet.
* My dad's "Feel my funky arm thingie" routine is getting old! I don't wanna touch your dialysis needle, DAD... I promise, I'll lose weight... Just don't make me do it again! Seriously, I want to stop any weight related health issues before they start.
Here is my plan:
* Sweat it out 4 days/week at the meat market --- M, Th, Sat, & Sun will be spent draped over an elliptical...
* Rock some fiercely cool yoga pants and/or some seriously padded spin shorts at least one of those 4 days at the gym.
* Become a card carrying member of the "I'm only walking cuz I spent 10 minutes in the hot tub" club.
* Stick to a healthy eating plan that includes lots of greens and grains, but unfortunately, no gummy bears.
Here is my goal:
* To lose 33 lbs in 6 months. That's roughly 5 lbs/month... We'll talk about that again in May 2010!

A little about L: I've been married for 3 years to Bobby 2.1 and love it! Having a little wee boy this past April was a huge blessing... However, the leftover "Deagan cushioning" is not!
More about my plans/goals, reason for killing the fatness monster to follow in a later post...

We're still figuring out this dual authorship thing. Hope you enjoyed the intro and come back for more!

Sun & Belly Buttons,
The Babes of the Blog