Clearing the hurdles

Thanks to the wonders of massive fluid consumption, Zicam and NielMed Sinus Rinse (don’t be grossed out – this stuff really works!) the nasty summer cold that hit me Tuesday seems to be receding. It receded enough that I felt like working out again Thursday night, after skipping Tuesday and Wednesday. I felt so nasty Tuesday and Wednesday that all I could do those nights was curl up on my couch with my knitting and sneeze. So, looks like Mistress Jillian will have to content herself with a 28 Day Shred on this girl. We’ll see what it comes to!

The workout was still pretty tough, especially after being away for two days and still not being able to breathe all that well. The bonus of taking two days off was that by Thursday afternoon I was finally able to walk down a flight of stairs normally, and after last night’s workout I spent another five minutes or so stretching out my quadriceps and this morning there’s nary a whimper from them. My calves are still sore, but that’s more manageable than the quad pain that made it impossible to use any stall in the ladies’ room except the handicap one.

Mistress Jillian of the Sculpted Arms recommends 10 days on Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred, 10 days on Level 2, and so on. But I’m feeling good enough about Level 1 that I may move up sooner. I still have to do girly push-ups from my knees, but I’m thinking tonight I might try at least starting on my toes and dropping down whenever I need to in order to finish the set. I feel like I’m getting a much better workout on my abs, as well, and they’re starting to tell me so today as I type.

I’m hoping to eventually get the workouts done in the mornings, since there are usually a thousand and one things I’d rather do after work than sweat in front of my DVD player, but so far all my workouts have been evening ones. I’d like to get in the morning routine this weekend and keep it up. The one bad thing I’ve noticed (and this happened at Farrell’s as well) is that if I don’t get enough water before a workout I get a screamin’ headache post-exercise. I mentioned this to my mom, who immediately freaked out about high blood pressure and all that. I’m not too concerned about it, but do need to pay more attention to my water consumption. All my reusable bottles, however, are currently in the dishwasher awaiting sterilization. :)

Is it just me, or is my face starting to look thinner already? And I think my jeans were a wee bit easier to zip up this morning too. Could be just wishful thinking, but I hope so. I’ll weigh in again Sunday, since my friend Sarah (hi, Sarah!) and I agreed not to buy any more knitting toys until we’d lost 5 pounds. KnitPicks.com is having a sale, kids – let’s get this in gear.

Whatever motivates you, right?