Week Two Review

Hi Everyone!

I hope your week has gone well thus far! It is almost Friday and the weather has been cooler here in Texas! I’ve been a little behind on keeping my blog updated and will try to do better moving forward. However, yesterday I started Week 3 or the current 5 Week Body Transformation I am doing, but I figured I would talk a little bit about Week 2.

Week 2 has me repeating the workout routines from Week 1. I can tell I am making some progress but it really is tough from week to week to truly see how far I’ve come. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is my left foot seems to be handling the pounding better than in the past. I still have to be very careful with it, but the only thing that seems to bother it is doing high knees after a certain amount of time. I have to remind myself that I need to have patience with this issue like I was with my back and hip injury. It is all a part of the journey and I am taking small steps daily. The long term goal is still for me to start getting outside and move towards running, but the important thing is for me to be consistent right now and listen to my body. It will tell me what it can and cannot do.

The other issue I’ve been dealing with is the eating right on a consistent bases. I will be at work and I’ll see a cookie, and I’ll tell myself one cookie won’t hurt me. Well, one cookie leads to 3. Overall, I would say I eat fairly healthy and drink a good amount of water, but I am not doing it enough to see better results. I hope that makes sense. They say the first thing you have to do to fix something is notice there is a problem. I worked my tail off yesterday evening, but more than likely only worked off the cookies I had. It is going to be a struggle, but I know I will defeat it.

In case you want to see the workouts I am doing below are the links for Workouts 1, 2, and 3 for the first two weeks of my current program.

Workout 1 – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-1.html
Workout 2 – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-2.html
Workout 3 – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-3.html

Alright, I am going to eat lunch and most importantly stay away from cookies.

Blessings!
Jared

Week 2 Workout #5

Hi everyone!

Week two of the program I am doing has you repeat exercises from week one. I redid workouts 2 and 3 and did each routine one time. I felt really strong after doing workout 3, but as I have said before I am not pushing myself too hard early on. I have old injuries that I don’t want to flair-up by going too hard too soon. It is all about me creating a strong foundation, and then I’ll start really pushing myself more and more. The thing I have noticed is I am starting to look forward to my next workout, which is a nice feeling. The other great thing is I am not waking up and being extra sore or having old injuries causing issues.

A quick recap incase you haven’t kept up with my blog for long or you just came acorss it. I had a running injury occur back in 2009, and I never addressed it. Last summer I started having major pain in my back, hips, and butt, which was casuing me to not sleep well. I was in pain 24/7. I started going to a chiropractor and slowly I have recovered. Also, I got a new mattress, which took some time for me to adjust to. I stopped working out but recently started up again.

Here is the workout I did yesterday.

Workout#2- http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-2.html
Repeat 1-3X

1. Lunge Curl (alternate legs)
2. Plank Lift
3. Side Plank Hip Drop (right)
4. Side Plank Hip Drop (left)
5. Heel Tap Abs or Leg Lift Abs
6. Hip Press
7. Leg Series (right)
8. Leg Series (left)
9. Sumo Pushups
10. Bicycle Abs

Workout# 3 -http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-3.html
Beginner: 10 reps, 30 seconds timed
Intermediate: 15 reps, 45 seconds timed
Advanced: 20 reps, 60 seconds timed

Repeat 1-3X

1. High Knees (timed)
2. Walk the Plank
3. Superman
4. Leg Lift Abs
5. Reverse Lunge
6. Jumping Jacks
7. Sumo Squat
8. Reverse Plank Side Step
9. Bicycle Abs
10. High Knees

I would love to hear from anyone who may have a question about my journey, or simply to say hello.

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!
Blessings!
Jared

Workout #2

 

Hi everyone!

I was tired by the end of the work day, and at first I thought about not working out. I remembered I already put it out on my blog that I would be working out, so I did what I said I would do. I only did the routine two times, and probably could have done it a third since it wasn’t that tough. However, I am taking it a little easy the first couple of weeks, so I stopped after the second round.

Here is Workout# 2
Repeat 1-3X

1. Lunge Curl (alternate legs)
2. Plank Lift
3. Side Plank Hip Drop (right)
4. Side Plank Hip Drop (left)
5. Heel Tap Abs or Leg Lift Abs
6. Hip Press
7. Leg Series (right)
8. Leg Series (left)
9. Sumo Pushups
10. Bicycle Abs
(Link – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-2.html)

Here are the links to the Fit Test and Workout #1 I did last week.
Fit Test – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fit-test-2013.html
Workout #1 – http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/01/fitness-transformation-workout-1.html

Also, I had my monthly chiropractor visit and it by far is the best one I’ve had. I have made a ton of progress over the last month, and even the Chiropractor bragged about how far I’ve come. He actually said he was having a hard time finding anything wrong with me!!!! My range of motion in my back and hips is as good as it has been in years. It took many more months than I thought it would, but the chiropractor was right that it would take about a year for me to start seeing true improvement. My first visit was back in late September or early October.

Have a great day!
Blessings!
Jared

Fit Test and Workout #1

Hi everyone!
I get off work early on Fridays, and decided it was time to finally start putting in the work to reach my goals.

The Fit Test confirmed that I am really out of shape, and since I haven’t worked out in months I wasn’t surprised. Still, you always want to do better than what you actually do. The nice thing is I have something to help motivate me and I can do the Fit Test again after week 3 of the program and I can see how far I’ve come. It is all about taking baby steps, and enjoying the journey.

Fit Test
All Levels: Max reps for each exercise in 60 seconds. Write down/keep track of your results. Repeat this workout in 2-4 weeks to see if you have progressed.

1. Bent Arm Hang (go for max time, keeping your chin above the bar. Try not to let your body swing)
2. High Knees
3. Pushups
4. Jumping Jacks
5. Situps
6. Mountain Climbers
7. Plank (hold for as long as you can and keep track of your time)

I followed the Fit Test with Workout #1 of the Body Transformation Series I am doing. I only did it once, since I did the Fit Test. I am really going to ease into the first couple of weeks. Yes, I need to push myself, but I need to get a good foundation first. I always give max effort, but I know my cardio and strength have a certain limit right now. I don’t want to push myself so hard that my form falls apart, because that leads to long lasting injuries. My #1 goal with this program is simply to finish it and make it through the 5 weeks. Everything is secondary after that…I hope that makes sense.

I did do a few modifications. My left foot started to get tight either at the end of last year or earlier this year. It’s been so long it is tough for me to remember exactly when, so I try to lay off the feet some. Plus, I need to get much stronger in my upper body. So for example, instead of doing High Knees I did Overhead Presses.

Here is Workout #1
Beginner: 10 reps, repeat 1-2X
Intermediate: 15 reps, Repeat 1-3X
Advanced: 20 reps, Repeat 1-3X

1. High Knees (60 seconds)
2. Side Plank (right) (60 seconds)
3. Side Plank (left) (60 seconds)
4. Jumping Jacks
5. Bicycle
6. Walking Pushups
7. Sumo Squat
8. Mountain Climber
9. Temple Tap Abs
10. Plank (60 seconds)

After the workout I stretch for a while. I always feel better after doing a good stretch, and with my back/hip/ITBS/Gluteus Maximus issues I have to spend time to make sure I continue to improve these areas. Best part of all this is Saturday I woke up and I was sore, but nothing more than that. To wake-up and have recent injuries not bothering me was very nice.

Alright, I am going to do Workout #2 after work. Have a wonderful day everyone!
Blessings!
Jared

It has been a LONG time!

Hi everyone, I hope you haven’t forgotten about me. It has been ages since I last posted a blog. To be honest I fell off the wagon. After Thanksgiving things started to go downhill fast: I got out of a good sleeping pattern, which led me to not feeling like working out. It is true when you miss one workout; it is easier to miss the next one. Also, my left foot started to get tight, and it got so bad that running in place and even jumping jacks caused it to tighten up. At work I no longer had access to my blog and when I get home I really don’t enjoy spending a ton of time on the computer. I do that enough at work.

Long story short I let all this get me down, and I simply stopped caring. It seemed like for every step forward I went two steps back. I take full responsibility for falling off the wagon. Just because I couldn’t get on my blog didn’t mean I still couldn’t workout. I have a lot of excuses and none of them are worth anything.

However, not all my news is bad. I have lost a little weight and am now hovering around the 165 mark, which is better than the low 170’s I was at towards the last quarter of last year. My back/hip/gluteus/ITBS pain has gotten a lot better, but I still have a ways to go. I have much more range of motion in those areas, and I am still seeing my Chiropractor. I have finally gotten my new mattress broken in, and I am sleeping better. I am eating a little better overall which helps explain the weight I lost. Still, I need to start working out again, but I think this time I need to slowly get into it. I think the last few times I have tried to hit the ground running, and that’s not a bad thing. However, when you haven’t worked out regularly for as long as I have, you have to be smart about how you start the program out.

I haven’t figured out my exact game plan, but I will be thinking over that the next few days. For some reason I can now access my blog from work again, but I think in the past I was a little too addicted to my blog…if that makes sense?

It would be great to hear how everyone is doing, and I have thought of you all off and on over the last several months.

Blessings!
Jared

Back To Working Out!!!

My chiropractor visits have eased the pain of the injury from early October, and I have been sleeping better this week, so I have finally decided it is time to start working out again. It is crazy to think it has been since early October since I last worked out, but to be honest it feels like it has been longer. I have decided to restart the Body Transformation Series (found on Melissa Bender’s website/blog benderfitness.com) I was doing, and I am really, really looking forward to it. I have learned a lot since I started the program in early September. I was doing a great job with my workouts, but I wasn’t eating as healthy as I needed to in order to see the results I wanted.

Last night I got home and was feeling a little tenderness in right knee, hip, and butt area, which is the area where that flared up originally. These are also the areas that I have been having issues with for years, so I was hesitate to do anything at all. I kept thinking that I was going to only make the tenderness worse or possibly completely injure myself. Then it hit me that I would probably feel that way until I actually tested these areas out.

I did the Fitness Test that the program has, but I left my results at home. I will try to post them later tonight. The big thing that came out of the Fitness Test is that I never felt my tenderness get worse, and I haven’t felt any pain today. That is a HUGE win in my book!!

I may try to do the first workout of the program tonight, but probably won’t go full force. I plan on taking it slow the first week and then turn it up a notch or two. The biggest thing I need to do is simply start working out again!!

Recovery Update – Chiropractor Visit 6 and New Mattress Update

 

I went to the Chiropractor this morning and the visit went well. I seem to still be coming along nicely. I am still waking up with soreness and stiffness, but that is because I am still adjusting to the new mattress. I talked to a ton of people last week and most seemed to say it takes a week before you start enjoying your new mattress. I think a lot of my issues are because my old mattress was in terrible shape. Last night I slept as well as I have since I got it. I still have a little ways to go, but it is nice to notice I am making progress.

Once I stretch and start moving the soreness/stiffness goes away pretty quick. The nice thing is when I am moving throughout the day or when I helped move the mattress I didn’t notice those simple movements causing me pain or my injuries to flare up again. All in all I would say I am doing well. The other nice thing about sleeping fairly well last night is I feel like I can finally get back to working out. I have been talking about doing my first workout for about 10 days now, but when you are dragging all day it is tough to even think about working out.

However, I have had people encouraging me and taking an interest in my recovery and that has helped me ton. I appreciate that more than I can express!!

I hope everyone has a great Monday!
Jared

Recovery Update – How things are going with the new mattress

I finally got to sleep on my new mattress Sunday night, and I have to be honest that I didn’t sleep as well as I thought I would. I woke-up sore and with some stiffness. I slept alright till about 4am but the next hour and a half was kind of rough. I woke-up feeling this way, and thought I spent money and this is how I feel. I called my Chiropractor and explained my situation, and was told it was normal for there to be a “break-in” period with a new mattress. I got online and did some research, asked a few people, and even sent out a lot of text messages.

Online it seemed that the word on the street was that my situation was the rule and not the exception. Few people seldom go to sleep on a brand new mattress and don’t have some sort of issues sleeping or discomfort. However, part of me felt like this was someone in the mattress business, but I ran into a few people and a very good friend of mine who had the same issue/s I was currently having, and that made me feel a lot better. One person said it is just like when you work out for the first time in a long time. You have certain muscles that you haven’t used in a while that need extra time to get used to being used, which made sense to me. I have been sleeping on a terrible mattress for way too long, and recently been sleeping on pillows because my mattress was in such bad shape. My body probably isn’t use to being support in certain spots.

Another analogy that I found was people comparing a mattress to new shoes. You don’t buy new shoes and the next day go run 5-10 miles in them. You break them in and let your body get use to them. This really made sense to me when I slowed down and thought about it. I am sure my body needs to get use to my new mattress. I didn’t sleep amazing last night, but it was much better than Sunday night. If that continues I should be fine by later this week.

The only downer in this whole deal is where I bought my mattress didn’t have a 30 or 60 day refund policy. They are willing to exchange my mattress for a new one, but I would have to make that call by Thursday. However, since I slept better last night I think I should be fine with the new mattress. At least I have a couple more nights to see how things go. So, I would say when you are purchasing a mattress to make sure you ask about return/exchange policies first. For the record I didn’t buy my mattress at a traditional mattress store.

My Chiropractor hasn’t led me down the wrong path on any of his past recommendations, so I have complete faith in him. Plus, I know God is with me and that always helps. Plus, I have had many people I trust who have told me they were at one time in the same boat as I am currently.

I believe the type of mattress I bought is a Corsicana Euro Top Mattress Set, and it is made here in my home state of Texas in the City of Corsicana. You can go spend an arm and a leg on a mattress, but I was reading about people who spent 1 or 2 thousand dollars have the same issues as I am having. I got away much cheaper, and feel that in the coming days my body will get more use to the new mattress.

I am still planning on getting back to working out later this week. I am going to hold off until tomorrow or Thursday. Have a great day!

Jared

Recovery Update – New Mattress

I bought a new mattress Friday and it was delivered today. I am looking forward to sleeping on it tonight. My Chiropractor recommended a place that sells Mattresses for a very decent price. I was thinking I was going to pay $1000.00 plus, but got away paying $435.26 including delivery. I’ll be able to give more of a review tomorrow, but my Chiropractor hasn’t led me wrong yet. My old mattress needed to go. There was a place it had sank that must have been around 2 inches deep, if not more.

I might try to get in a workout later, but got a few things to take care of in my room first. However, I feel like I am finally getting to a place where I’ll be able to workout this week. Plan on taking it nice and easy, but feel like I am going to truly be able to get where I want my body to be. Sleep is such a big part of fitness and the new mattress is something I kind of knew I needed since this summer.

That is all I got for now. George Strait won the CMA for entertainer of the year and I am still stoked about that! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Jared

Recovery Update – Chiropractor Visit 5

My last visit was this Monday, and I seem to be progressing nicely. I am going to need a new mattress, because I am waking up with some pain but once I wake-up it seems to go away. My next visit is not next Monday but the following Monday. My Chiropractor told me a place that sells mattresses for a decent price, so I guess I’ll be doing that later this week. I have had a feeling since this summer my current mattress has seen its better days. At least I have a current work around that has helped me sleep a little better the last two nights.

I am going to do my first workout in a few weeks later this week, but it seems like for the last week I have been fighting off a Cold that wants to make my body its home. I think the biggest problem is my lack of sleep, but I think I have a fix for that.

If you read this and have any questions please feel free to ask away. Have a great day!!

Blessing!
Jared