D.S.A. Fitness

Bikram 20 - Just breathe!

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:09:16 -0500

I spent the last 19 days trying to stretch harder and longer and balance better and the answer was in front of me the entire time. At one time or another all the instructors have said it but it’s like Robyn said on my 3rs sessions. ”When you are ready you will hear the words for your body.”

Of all times to be ready it was today with Doug! (whenever I say Doug you should automatically hear some kind of sinister music like du du duuuuuN). Yesterday morning I had Doug (here the music yet?) and it was a tough class because I was not in the hydration shape to do it and I was still worn out from teaching the day before and non stop days of bikram. Imagine my shock today when I get to class and there is Doug (here the music now?)

Class starts and he says, “Breathe, in the nose and out the nose, like you’re sitting on the couch. Just breathe and focus.”

That phrase tripped a memory from when I was doing martial arts all the time and my sifu had me running Katas to quote “quite my blood and center my soul” I was ready to collapse when he stopped me and told me to slow down, breathe and focus, Kata is about breath and motion one can’t be good without the other.

Zoom back into yoga today and suddenly it hit me! This is nothing but one big long 90 minute Kata in 110 degree heat, with no punches and kicks but stretching and movement….Just Breathe!

And there it was 20 days from the start of this madness and I found my moment of calm. The postures may not have been much better but I didn’t feel rushed or panicked to jump into them. I breathed and performed the motion to get into the posture and where my body stopped, I just hung out and breathed there.

Just breathe. DUH! Why did it take me so long to make this connection? Suddenly Doug’s teaching style makes sense, sure he has you hold to posture a little longer and deeper but if you are breathing and just being in the moment, it won’t bother you. Just breathe…it’s all breath control!

WOW!

Anyway, day 20 done and I think I had a breakthrough! lets see if this can continue!

Namaste!

Bikram 17

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:40:01 -0500

Day 17 completed.

My body is not my biggest fan right now as after every session I feel like i’ve just run a 1/2 marathon. Hopefully all this will translate nicely to running as it is not 10 weeks until the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon. 2 weeks until the Zombie run and a month until the Warrior Dash.

I’m getting involved in running a little later this year than i did the last two years but I feel it’s a good thing as I have been focusing solely on the benefits of yoga.

So now it’s Friday night and i’m ready to go to bed at 8 pm because I have such an exciting life and no energy. I’ve been drinking grape juice and pineapple juice like water. I’ve been drinking water like crazy and i’m still thirsty. Something is happening, something is about to break free. 13 more days, lets see what I can accomplish!

namaste

Ah, my daily routine doesn’t look so hard when it’s...

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:53:11 -0500

Ah, my daily routine doesn’t look so hard when it’s just pictures. 90 minutes later you’re dripping with DNA

Morning Bikram 16

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:27:38 -0500

You know my rule about not doing an evening yoga session and then doing one first thing in the morning?

I broke that today and it was a good thing! I either got the right amount of fluid and sleep last night, or I built up enough endurance I can do sessions with less than 12 hours in between

Solid session with Abbie. Next to Robyn, Abbie is my favorite instructor. Some would say it’s because she’s cute…and she is, but that’s not why. Abbie seems to be one of those people that even when she’s not in a good mood (and you can kind of tell whens she’s annoyed), you can tell she’s in a good mood. That’s a rare quality to find. So this session was going smooth until the sudden urge to go to the bathroom at the beginning of the first 2 minute rest. I don’t know what came over my system but it had to go and it was going NOW!

Fortunately I only missed the Wind removing pose (no worries, I think I handled that one just fine).

The rest of the session was pretty smooth. I still can’t do a tree or toe stand to save my life. My hip and groin muscles are just to damn tight right now.

Yoga brain moment: I got everything ready and left the house without my matt. I ended up getting one from the studio but they wash there’s in a ton of bleach and it burns my eyes.

I’m glad I got this done in the morning, I have to teach turbo this afternoon and then I can kick back the rest of the night….unless I get ambitious and want to do a double….mmm

namaste

Bikram 15

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:20:54 -0500

I’m at the 1/2 way point, no reason to look back as it would take me just as long to quit as it would to finish. 15 days of Bikram and I think I’ve lost my mind.

I’ve talked about the heat and the sweat, the focus and the determination. I don’t think I can hit on the exhaustion enough. The level of mental focus it takes to continue to do this daily is draining. Imagine pouring your body into a cup daily and putting it back together just in time to do it again. That is how this is beginning to feel.

Where’s the enlightenment? where’s the inner peace, where is the….oh, that random pain in my lower hip just vanished! Wow, I was able to do that spine twist the proper way. Most excellent, my Triangle is no longer hurting my hips as much. I compress more with compression poses, I’m feeling different parts of my body open up as stretching progresses. I’m slowing getting better at this!

Slowly is the key word, I’m doing a 30 day focus challenge to improve my flexibility and undo about 10 years worth of bad habits. Right now I can tell you I’ve undone about 5 of those years. The is all about patience and persistence, only both don’t always happen at the same time.

As Joslyn would say “The 90 minutes is the same from day to day, YOU change.”

The amount of control and focus it takes to do the positions will wear on you mentally because the more you do it, you know what’s coming and you know what you’re good and at not. Something gave way today and my left leg/hip opened up a little at the base of my spine…ahh! I’m hoping to continue to build on that over the next 15 days.

The only bad class is the one you don’t show up for. Progress is being made, form is being improved and i’m feeling ~~enlightened~~ I mean light headed :P

15 done/ 15 to go

Namaste

Bikram 14

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:55:19 -0500

New day, different instructor, different experince

The hot box was in full effect today

80 degrees outside, 110 inside and I came ready to work.

I’m beginning to find weaknesses in my body. My left mid to lower back seems to be in knots. I figured out that in camel pose, if i don’t do the full position but stop with my hands on my hips, I can feel the muscle sliding around and I can get a better stretch than if i go full camel.

Does this mean I have yoga injuries?

I get home and downed a bottle of Gatorade and all the heat instantly left my body. I”m talking, it’s 75 in the house and i’m breaking out in goose bumps. last time I felt this way was when I finished the Chicago Marathon and was freezing. I curled up on the couch under a blanket for 20 minutes to get warm again.

I’m not a fan of dropping all my heat but I’m assuming it’s part of the process and I was just exhausted.

I need to rest up and hydrate, tomorrow is the 1/2 way point in this 30 days challenge. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

namaste!

Bikram...the turning point

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:48:00 -0500

I was not the most enthused about this 13th day of Bikram yoga. I managed to get enough water in me during the day and turbo didn’t happen so I had a little extra time to rest.

I followed Robyn’s montra of “Have no expectations.”

The session started hot and sweaty. Breathing exercises, 1/2 moon, back bend and hands to feet…blah blah blah. Then something happened. I GAVE UP.

Not in the i give up i’m not doing this but in the I give up and i’m just going to stop fighting the process. Let it go, be in the moment and just flow. By the end of the session I had done 2 positions that I normally have the most trouble with…rabbit and spine twist.

More importantly I didn’t feel totally wiped at the end. I took little steps to improve positions that are difficult (1/2 locust) and things I didn’t have to focus or concentration to do, I let go and didn’t beat myself up over it.

13 days in and I think I hit a turning point. Of course tomorrow is another day and it could all be back to square one, but that is the nature of Bikram yoga. Everyday is different, change yourself, mentally strengthen yourself and watch the world change around you.

Even more added goodness, I had the best of both worlds. A perfectly cook medium rare steak and Vegan Shakeology! I’m all kinds of balanced out right now

Namaste

Bikram Challenge....UGH!

Sun, 12 May 2013 19:45:08 -0500

Day 12

My body hurts, I’m drained, exhausted, just the thought of going to yoga after teaching turbo tomorrow is giving me chills. Why am I doing this to myself?

Because my body is changing!

12 days and my body is changing. I started to actively feel it a few days ago but i’s a painful reality as of today. I’m tired…Internally tired. Like reset level tired. I ended up skipped 5 of the positions because I just didn’t have the energy to continue on. (This could be a nutrition issue or a hydration issue but right now its a fatigue issue)

I know I know, bikram is one of the forms that ultimately gives you more energy than you use…but not today. I was mentally tired and it is a mental workout as well. Focus, mental toughness, concentration.

As much as I “enjoy” this practice, nothing in me wanted to do it this morning but I think that’s actually kind of a good thing. Progression of doing any activity that is changing your body should make you tired.

I’ve also discovered the Yoga black out.

Apparently yesterday afternoon, after coming home from another exhausting session, I ate, carried on a conversation and agreed to run a mother’s day 5k, all of which I HAD NO MEMORY OF DOING! Is that crazy or what?

I then start over analyzing everything and I had the most random of thoughts…

What happens if you put a steak in an oven for 90 minutes at 105 degrees? Chances are it won’t be fully cooked but it will start the process. Now if you took that same steak and put in in an over every day for 30 days, you probably wouldn’t want to eat it but it would be cooked. THIS IS WHAT I’M DOING TO MY BODY!!!!!!

The fat on my insides must be melting and just draining out of my body as sweat!

Anyway, all that being said, this 30 days challenge is supposed to be a CHALLENGE and it’s becoming one and that’s good. It’s about the journey, it’s about the commitment, it’s about watching and helping my body change so that I’m healthier and ready to take on other life challenges.

I’m learning that my left hip is miserably tight, I can get down in a good triangle position but it hurts and I know this is the stretch I need. My lower back has been getting sore and tired lately and I have no idea why….something new to figure out over the next few weeks. This is a journey for me to get to know my body and be ready for the next phase. It’s not a contest, enjoy the ride

Day 12 in the books, tomorrow is going to be hard but I’m ready for it.

Namaste!

Bikram challenge day 9

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:12:12 -0500

Today is honestly the first day that this workout have felt GOOD in a week!!!

I’m a day behind schedule because I missed Wed due to work out of town but I plan on making that day up soon with a double session on a Tuesday or a Thursday

The instructor today was Josylin and her voice during instruction is like listening to smooth jazz. She gives interesting back story to bikram while in the middle of poses and resting. It was a solid session.

I left feeling worked out, stretched but not dead. I think I may have turned that corner. The heat didn’t bother me today and I had a bit more energy towards the 2nd half than usual.

Let’s see how this translates tomorrow after my P90X class.

Namaste

P90X2 /Bikram 6

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:46:10 -0500

This morning was P90X2 X2 core, I felt so tired and worn out I’m barely counting it as a workout. I was tired and lazy feeling…you know, pretty much par for the 2nd week of an awesome P90X workout. My left back and IT band are exceptionally sore and inflexible today.

Tonight I finished Day 6 of the 30 day Bikram challenge. Instructor tonight was Doug! (As in, I avoid his classes like the plague Doug!). Funny thing is, it’s not a BAD avoid his classes move, it’s more of a HE IS HARDCORE and i’m feeling lazy avoid his classes kind of thing. No way around it today so I marched into class, found my spot and let the heat begin.

I don’t know why but Doug’s classes always seem hotter and longer and harder than everyone else’s but I realized something today, they are also better. He actively walks around and watches the class and adjust people positions and calls you out if you’re dogging it

“Bruce, get up, you’re doing a 30 day challenge, no breaks! You’ll thank me later”

DAMN IT, I KNEW I HATED HIS CLASSES FOR A RESON

But that was a defining moment, I pushed that much harder and that much longer and breathed that much harder and now…I feel Fantastic! The inflexibility I was feeling earlier this morning is gone. I seem to have gotten all the energy back I used up in yoga. I was all set to be a tad gentler with myself in class today but sometimes, you need your ass kicked to improve.

Day 6 in the books. I am trying to decide if i’m going to do a double class tomorrow or at a later date as I will have to miss class on Wed. Nothing I can do about it, i’ll be completely out of town…unless I can find a studio in bloomington while i’m there that night….mmmmm

Time to hydrate,rest and study

Namaste!

Bikram day 5

Sun, 05 May 2013 10:37:20 -0500

I feel drained!

I don’t think I have ever done 5 days in a row before and it is an exhausting experience. I have so much more respect for Bikram instructors who do a 9 week session to get certified.

I got to class this morning and Abiee is teaching. I put my mat down in the room come back out and all i could says was
“Wow, it’s already hot in there.”

There is a point in class where the heat doesn’t really bother you anymore. Sometimes when the blowers kick in to add more heat to the room, the sudden movement of air is almost like a welcome breeze. yeah, it gets that hot….but we don’t talk about the heat :)

Today, along with still needing more hydration, I had having muscle fatigue and crams in my back during certain exercises. When I ‘m lifting weights, this usually means i’m about to get stronger, let’s hope itls the same with yoga.

90 minutes of cardio and moving meditation in a 105+ degree room. How did you spend your Sunday morning?

Now I have a thirst that I can’t seem to get enough liquid to take care of. but I feel good. Today’s session felt like Tomorrow’s session will turn things around and it will start to get easier again. (I know I know, no expectations)

Yoga break-through today: Abiee explained what the triangle in triangle poser comes from. I shocked I never realized that.

That’s all I got, 5 days done, 25 to go

Namaste!

Bikram day 3/ P90X2 yoga

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:23:53 -0500

Today was a two birds with one stone day!

I made a concerted effort to squeeze this class in at 9:30 am today!

Got to work about 6am so I took a break at 9:30 for class.

Bikram day 3 - Hydration is becoming a factor so I need massive water intake over the next few hours. Instructor for the day was Agata, she’s also the owner. I remember the first time I met her, I kind of went out of my way to NOT take her classes because she’s like 5/1 but comes off as really intense for some reason. Now that I’ve gotten to know her a tad better, I like taking her classes BUT I don’t like being in class when she’s taking a class because I spend time watching her form and being awestruck at my caveman form yoga.

That’s her! CRAZY flexible!!!

I need to work on my hips flexibility a lot more, And my back flexibility, and my core strength and generally tear all my tendons and stretch them out a few feet.

I’ve discovered the stages of sweat:
1- I’m active, let’s cool down a little
2- It’s hot in here, sweat more
3 - Intense exhausing sweat from activity
4- OMG if I sweat any deeper or more I’m going to see blood

I think I was at a level 4 this morning. Thick, salty, detoxing sweat leaving every pore in my body. I had to sit out a few of the stretches because my body just didn’t want to move and I was a little light headed. Again, this is because I didn’t hydrate enough. I need to workout this balance of water and yoga.

Fortunately for me, Today’s P90X2 workout was Yoga X2 so I think 90 minutes of Bikram is equal to 60 minutes of Tony Horton. win win for me.

Tomorrow should be even more interesting as I have to run, teach class and then either do Yoga right after my class or do a 4 pm yoga class.

Random yoga thought of the day:
9:30 yoga classes are full of hot soccer moms.

Exercise is a fickle thing. I do strength and running to get stronger and faster, which completely decreases my flexibility. So I do flexibility training, which burns out my muscles. You kind of have to beat your body into the shape you want it to be in….gentely of course. Yoga is about being gentle with your body.

Namaste! (what does that mean anyway?)

How is your fitness journey coming? if you need support look me up and join my team. I”m always looking for other peoples stories.

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea

Bikram challenge day 2

Thu, 02 May 2013 19:00:00 -0500

30 days looks like a long time when you’re in the beginning. I was excited to get to class today, more so because I know if i didn’t GO, life would find a reason for me not to go.

I got a new breathe yoga mat today. It’s basically a towel mat to get up all the sweat, much better than my normal mat covered with a yoga towel.

The second day curse is still in effect with this session being much harder than yesterday’s. I reminded myself to back down a bit and just go with the flow and take breaks when it gets to be to much

I tried something different today and wore my HR monitor.

90 minutes of bikrim
AVG/MAX/MIN HR 106/126/72
738 calories burned.

Random Yoga thought of the day:

As a fitness instructor, I know how you see everything from the front of the room. This popped into my head today as Robyn instructed everyone to clear their thought and relax and I decided to reach down my pants and untangle Russell the love muscle.

Anyway, solid class even if it was HOT and I didn’t hydrate enough before hand.

Tomorrow will be better.

Namaste

P90X2 total body

Thu, 02 May 2013 05:46:12 -0500

Because of all the cardio based workout’s that I’ve been doing since Jan, Today I noticed a weakness in strength training.

Total Body is an odd workout as the muscles that are working the hardest are not the ones you are actively working. Its almost like a detraction workout. ”Here, we are going to to tricep kick backs with 10lbs weights…WHILE in a warrior 3”

10lbs - easy
triceps kick backs - cake
Warrior 3 - easy-ish if I wasn’t doing tricep kickbacks with 10lbs weights shifting my balance.

The entire workout is kind of like this. one arm chest press while balancing on a stability ball. The muscles that are working the hardest are the ones to keep you stable on the ball, not the chest press.

I don’t think I fully understood this concept the first time I did P90X2 so all my studying for my certifications is paying off :)

I’m already sore from this weeks workouts and yoga but I then did the scheduled X2 ab ripper with the lovely Collette. I still don’t think the new ab ripper is as hard as the original but it works deeper and different muscles in your core

Tonight is back to yoga and i’m trying to decide if i’m going to do my 3 miles before or after yoga

As always, look me up and join me on my beachbody team

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea

Have a great one!

30 days of Bikram

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:12:00 -0500

As if teaching turbo, marathon training and doing P90X2 isn’t enough, I decided to try to do a 30 days bikram challenge

I’m going to do this differently. I’m sore from running and other activities and i’m doing yoga for the flexibility,detox and control it provides while strengths weakness in the body. I won’t be a level 10 yogi over night and I don’t want to be. What I can do is yoga daily, go easy on my body and get better at it more naturally.

I keep seeing all these post about loving your body and being gentle with your body. I workout hard so yoga should be a time where I can be gentle with me.

Day 1 of this goal is complete. My two favorite instructors were not there so I was with someone new and I just relaxed listened and gently pushed into the stretches.

As Robyn would say: “Have no expectations.”
(Robyn also says “Let my words move your body”…which I think is the sexiest phrase I have ever heard!”

I had no expectations beyond staying in the room and I did better than I was thinking I would do after a few weeks away..

I need your help…YES YOU…the reader! If you see me getting to down on myself because I don’t think i’m doing yoga good enough or i’m trying to push yoga harder than I should, PLEASE drop me a message and remind me to be gentle with my body and just enjoy the 30 day journey.

Thanks.

Now to hydrate and be ready for the AM workouts!

Have a great night and consider joining my beach body team. The motivation and support is excellent and I’d love to get to know you better and help you achieve your goals as I continue to work towards mine. If’s free to join.

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea

P90X2 - Mobility and recovery

Wed, 01 May 2013 05:35:26 -0500

I did plyocide yesterday afternoon and it was harder than I remembered. Mobility and recovery this morning is the perfect workout.

The rumble roller is the greatest thing to come out of the P90X2 workouts. This device has removed pains from my body that I had originally thought were just symptoms of getting older but were just deep knots in my muscles.

Get one! This thing will get knots out of your calves that make your feet hurt. It will find cramps in your arms that make your wrists hurt. It is a miracle machine!

Morning Run

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:36:00 -0500

I”m starting later in the season than I would have liked but my 1/2 marathon and marathon training began this morning. How do I know it began this morning and this wasn’t just A RUN?

I didn’t want to do it, I got up, got adjusted and started running and fell into the grove I fall into when i’m preparing for something. This is the start. Not the fastest or longest run but it was damn steady and I didn’t pause or stop one time during it.

I couldn’t find my running socks this morning so I ended up running in my vibrams, which was kind of a blessing because I re-adjusted my running and it felt great!

First 3 mile run done…many many many more miles to go

My first run is the Zombie run on June 1st followed by the warrior Dash and who knows what i’ll start to sneak in before or after that.

Tonight is P90X2 Plyocide

Keep runnin

P90X2 - Phase 1 Day 1

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:21:02 -0500

The best laid plans often go awry…

I was intending to focus more on Cardio this year with turbo-fire and insanity being my primary workouts but having done so much yoga, I’m finding my weak spots in strength and want to work those out.

I decided to do the P90X2 workout starting with Phase one today

X2 core - I forgot how good this routine is. The first time I did it, I was barely able to make it through. My core is stronger so I can do the exercises better and slow down and down and do them correctly. I’ve also had enough of a break from Tony that he doesn’t annoy me anymore.

P90X2 is a 5 day a week program with two rest days, one of which i’ll be doing recovery and mobility. I’m also adding Running, Yoga and my weekly Turbo-fire classes into the mix so i’m going to take it easy and not necessarily push as hard as I can.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of P90X2 when I did it last year but I have a different set of goals this time and I am looking at the workout as it is

instead bring the sequel to P90X

Day 1 in the books. Keep pressing play, summer is in 60 days!

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea

why is taking me so long to get a flat stomach ? :( i'm eating clean and doing exercise but i'm losing my patience

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:26:38 -0500

I’m still fighting with this one myself. It does take time and a lot of fine tuning on the diet. I’ve discovered i’m semi-lactose intolerant and if i eat to much cheese or god forbid, icecream, i get bloated.

If you are working out consistently and monitoring your diet, begin looking for food allergies and cut those item out of your diet.

and give it time

Reset/Fittest loser results

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:18:28 -0500

So, it’s a day early as i’m not technically done with the Reset until tonight, but I had to get my Fittest Loser check in taken care of and I don’t think 24 hours is going to make that big of a difference.

I was initially upset when I did the weigh in. I only lost 16lbs!!!! Last time I did the reset I lost 25. BUT THEN I got the REST of the results:

I dropped 40 pts off my Cholesterol which was already in the healthy range.
I increased bone density to perfect
Dropped 5% point in body fat
Gained 11lbs of muscle!!!!
Lowered my physical age by 10 years

The only negative was my blood pressure which is normally spot on or low, was High this time. We figured out that it’s because of the salt I put in my distilled water for the reset.

Now I think I understand why this reset was harder on me…EVERYTHING was an internal healthy change where last time I lost more weight.

I am happy-ish