Welcome to "Hell Week"
Roman: Joann’s done with her vacay and back for what she has lovingly called “Hell Week”. This can only mean one thing--we gonna be sore. Started the day off with renegade rows. I’ve heard them called renegade man makers, but that wouldn’t necessarily apply here seeing as how our group is largely populated with women. It could also be misconstrued as sexist, but I digress. Renegade . . . whatever’s involve a pair of dumb bells (weight of your choosing, but not too light). Begin in the standing position with weights in hand and squat down, place the weights on the ground, step back or jump back while in a push up position. Then, you guessed it, perform a push up. Back up with weights in hand and press them up above your head. Do this ten times before moving on to the next exercise. Next exercise: back to push up position with the weights in your hands, remain in plank position, dumb bell row alternating arms. Do this ten times as well, completing one rep means that one arm comes up and then the other, that’s one. Lather, rinse, repeat for five rounds. After we finish these up, we head outside for a two mile loop. We ended up breaking into two groups for this one (unwillingly), with one group going north and other going south. Although Joann said the same thing to all of us, some of us obviously misinterpreted what was said. Guess I’ll find out later today what she said and/or meant since we have to go back for our first official two-a-day today. Woo hoo!
No rest for the weary
Vicky: Friday. The past 2 weeks, we have done yoga to end out the week, but not this week. We had yet another rough workout. Jason had us do some interval training. This is the workout we did. It was pretty rough, especially since my abs were still killing me!Roman: Still relatively sore from this week’s workouts. No yoga today unfortunately. Bummer, was really looking forward to some yoga. Enough moaning, on to the business at hand. See image to the left. My legs felt extremely heavy today, especially my hamstrings. Don’t really know why though. I was trying, but I could tell that my legs just couldn’t give me the lift I was expecting. Oh well. Still got through the workout and done with week three. Halfway done with the challenge!
Proof that I did my homework
500 calories burned in 46 minutes. I then probably gained it all back after meeting my family for lunch.
Sleep, how I missed thee...
Vicky: Cue the next day. We didn't have to go into the gym today. It was so nice to sleep in! Although I had woken up at 5:45am, I was able to go back to sleep for another hour. I still felt tired though. Plus, the soreness finally hit me. My abs and butt were burning! It was hard for me to even get out of bed.
I am volunteering this morning for Latinitas and my sister arrives around noon, but I am going to bring some workout clothes with me and try to squeeze in my 500-calorie homework assignment at the gym. Wish me luck!
Roman: Sleep in!!! We got the day off, this time for real . . . well, unless you hadn’t done our “homework”. Homework: burn 500 calories on an exercise machine or by some other means. Fortunately I had done this already by helping out a buddy with his backyard. We built this little flagstone patio. FYI: more than 500 calories were burned during the creation of this patio. A lot more.
I am volunteering this morning for Latinitas and my sister arrives around noon, but I am going to bring some workout clothes with me and try to squeeze in my 500-calorie homework assignment at the gym. Wish me luck!
Roman: Sleep in!!! We got the day off, this time for real . . . well, unless you hadn’t done our “homework”. Homework: burn 500 calories on an exercise machine or by some other means. Fortunately I had done this already by helping out a buddy with his backyard. We built this little flagstone patio. FYI: more than 500 calories were burned during the creation of this patio. A lot more.
Wednesday warriors
Vicky: Today we did the second 300 workout. Jason switched it up a bit this time. We did the ~2 mile run first this time as a "warm-up". Then, we came it to a list of exercises that we had to complete. We weren't timed today, but we just had to get them done as soon as possible. There were box jumps, one-armed kettle bell swings, decline push-ups (which makes push-ups twice as hard! Luckily, there were only 25 of those), and butt-wiggles, to name a few. I felt fine after the workout. I wasn't tired and strangely enough, I didn't feel like I got much of a workout. Roman had started feeling sore right away. His butt and abs were burning. Me, on the other hand, I only felt it in my butt, but I think that was leftover from Mt. Bonnell yesterday.
Roman: Another “300” workout, although I’m pretty sure this was more like a “450” workout. Pretty sure we did more than 300 repetitions. Guess it’s just easier to keep the name. This time, however, we began with our two loop run. Just a little different seeing as how we usually end with the run. Included in these were some one armed kettlebell swings, box jumps, TRX exercises to name a few. I don’t know what it is about me, but I begin to feel sore immediately. It’s funny cause Vicky won’t feel it for about another day, so due to my immediate soreness, I get to tell her what to expect. Nalgas and abs are still sore, by the way, or perhaps even more so now.
Roman: Another “300” workout, although I’m pretty sure this was more like a “450” workout. Pretty sure we did more than 300 repetitions. Guess it’s just easier to keep the name. This time, however, we began with our two loop run. Just a little different seeing as how we usually end with the run. Included in these were some one armed kettlebell swings, box jumps, TRX exercises to name a few. I don’t know what it is about me, but I begin to feel sore immediately. It’s funny cause Vicky won’t feel it for about another day, so due to my immediate soreness, I get to tell her what to expect. Nalgas and abs are still sore, by the way, or perhaps even more so now.
Welcome to the hell that is Mt. Bonnell
Roman and I carpooled with Freddie from popolio.com down to Mayfield Park, where we were to park our car and run up Mt. Bonnell Road. Armed with my trusty heart rate monitor and iPod mini, I started running alongside the boys. At first the road dipped, but then, once we got to the bottom, the road turned very steep. I only made it up about half way until I became the first to start walking. After a short walk break, I started running again to keep up with the boys. I kept running, with a couple more small walk breaks here and there. My heart rate was getting up to 184! It was so nice to finally make it to the top; 780 feet above sea level! Those 11 minutes of climbing were sure rough!
Back down we went. I was scared of going downhill and ended up "riding the brakes" the whole time, pounding the road with every cautious step. When I was younger, I had slipped going down the only hill in Miami and wound up in the hospital getting stitches. I was not about to relive that. I made it down in only 9 minutes, but I was hurting! We cooled down for a little while around the car before heading home.
So, Roman had been complaining about his glutes hurting yesterday. Mine were fine, until after this run. Now they are killing me--probably due to the "Bow to the Queen", kettle bell swings, and bear crawl exercises we did yesterday. I hope what they say is true: "No pain, no gain". My glutes are in pain, so I hope it pays off with a nice butt. :)
Roman: Time for something a little more scenic. Since we had the “day off” (I use that phrase loosely) Vicky, Freddie, and I decided to do our grab bag of running Mt. Bonnell. Even though I had been sore all yesterday, specifically my nalgas (glutes) and abs, I wasn’t going to let that keep me from running Mt. Bonnell. The way up was brutal and coming back down was no picnic either. After that, my tibialis anterior (a.k.a. shin bone muscle) muscles were extremely sore. I was having a hard time walking, at least I thought I was. Guess I was hitting the brakes harder than I thought . . . or maybe I was pushing up the hill harder than I thought. Either way, I was really sore. Gorgeous view up there though.
The Spartan workout
Today was the first 300 workout with Jason. We did 50 each of 6 exercise, including kettlebell swings, push-ups, dips, bear crawls, etc. He suggested we do 5 rounds of 10 of each, which made it manageable. I got done in 14:32, and most everyone got done in 10-20 minutes as well. Since we went through it pretty quick, Jason had us head out the door to do the almost-1-mile loop we did last week 2X, so nearly 2 miles. What is with the humidity lately? This is Austin, right, not Houston or Miami? Anyways, I felt good after. I think we'll attempt to tackle Mt. Bonnell tomorrow since we have the day off from the gym.
Roman: Joann takes her vacation and we soldier on. Today we did a workout aptly named “300”, a compilation of a variety of exercises that the repetitions add up to . . . 300. Included in the exercises were kettle bell swings, push ups, bow to the queen (a variation on a lunge), TRX stuff (ab and core work), and bear crawls just to name a few. It was rough. Then, after all that we head out the door to run two loops. Which it turns out is about a mile and a half total and not the 2 mile total we were lead to believe. Thank you Google pedometer. All in all though, it was a good way to start the week.
Yogaaaaaaaaaaa......
Vicky: This is pretty much how I felt this Friday. Luckily, Joanne took it easy on us and had us do yoga. It's a good thing she didn't have us do corpse pose, because I probably would have fallen asleep!Roman: Time for some more yoga. I am really liking this Friday morning yoga sessions. It’s just a real nice way to finish up the week. Stretch out the muscles and at least for me, relax a lil’ bit. It was a real nice time.
2-in-1
Roman: The beginning of our first day of two workouts in one day. Start the day off with a 2 to 2.5 mile run. We were told that this would be the morning part of our two-a-day and the weights would be part of our evening workout. Well, were pleasantly mistaken. And I really do mean that in a good way. We all ran extremely well and finished ahead of what Joanne had initially thought. We ran so well in fact, that we had enough to time to do our evening workout right after our run. We did the “300” workout. A workout named after the movie and one of the also one of the workouts they did. The idea, if you haven’t figured it out, is to do a combination of exercises until you reach 300 total reps as fast as you can. Included in our version are kettlebell swings, pushups, bow to the queen (a special version of the lunge with a kettlebell), thrusters with the kettlebell, bear crawls (stationary and moving forward), 6 to 3 to 6 to 9, mountain climbers, and finish it off with a some pull ups (super set). I’m sure I’m missing some exercises, but that’s ok. If I remember them, I’ll make an addendum to the post. It was rough doing our two-a-day in one hour, but it was nice to finish it up all at once.
Vicky: Looks like Roman pretty much summed it up. I'll add that I was so happy when Joanne said that we didn't have to come back to the gym that evening.
Vicky: Looks like Roman pretty much summed it up. I'll add that I was so happy when Joanne said that we didn't have to come back to the gym that evening.
Getting-over-the-hump day
Roman: Middle of the week and more workouts! A little warm up with the jump rope and split off into two groups. One group stays with Jason and goes to work on the TRX while the other group heads off with Joanne and begins the day with body weight exercises and kettelbell drills. The TRX drills are no easy task as Jason runs us through rows, squats, chest presses, lunges, and ab drills. We did these for a set amount of time and then we switched. Now on to body weight drills with Joanne. These are also done for a set amount of time. We do some mountain climbers, knee to elbow mountain climbers, two legged hop mountain climbers (think of a clock and go from 6 to 3 to 6 to 9), some planks, pushups. Have you noticed that kettlebell drills haven’t showed up? Well, eventually they reared their beautiful odd shaped heads. Begin with two handed swings, cleans, and one handed swings. After a few minutes there and back to Jason. Then back to Joanne. After an hour of this we do some light stretching and head home. Time to prepare for our first two-a-day.Double dos - Week 2, Day 2
Roman: Start the day with a warm up on the TRX system. Grab some gear and head on out to the back parking lot. Start the day with a mile run on the beautiful streets of the Hyde Park area. What awaits is a nice circuit of wall balls, ladder drills, liners, and pushups. Did I mention that we have to 50 of each wall balls and pushups. Although 50 doesn’t really seem like much, it adds up quick. After we’re done with all that, another mile. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This last mile run was special though. I was given a 16 pound medicine ball to run with. Freddie was given an eight pound medicine ball to run with. Since we Freddie and I managed to finish the circuit at the same time, we were able to share the two medicine balls on our run. We split the time with the 16 pounder and eight pounder, which was nice. I hear that next time we might get to carry the punching bag. Yippee! Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!
Vicky: I really didn't like Joanne today because she pushed us HARD. Plus, I made the mistake of weighing myself and I had GAINED 2 POUNDS! I'm hoping it's all muscle. So, we started warming up on the TRX, then we were told to head outside. They had set up stations: wall-ball (throwing a heavy ball against a wall, catching it, squating with it, and then throwing it back up again), suicide drills around cones, ladder drills (kind of like hop-scotch), and pushups. Then, we had to run a route through the neighborhood that was 2/3 of a mile. When we returned, we had to go through it all again and then another run. Then the circuit again. I was about to do the last run when Joanne made me take a "friend" with me, a 10 lb ball! It wasn't that heavy, but it was awkward to run with. With the amount of work we did and the wonderful humidity that day, I think I sweat more than I ever had before! Gross!
Vicky: I really didn't like Joanne today because she pushed us HARD. Plus, I made the mistake of weighing myself and I had GAINED 2 POUNDS! I'm hoping it's all muscle. So, we started warming up on the TRX, then we were told to head outside. They had set up stations: wall-ball (throwing a heavy ball against a wall, catching it, squating with it, and then throwing it back up again), suicide drills around cones, ladder drills (kind of like hop-scotch), and pushups. Then, we had to run a route through the neighborhood that was 2/3 of a mile. When we returned, we had to go through it all again and then another run. Then the circuit again. I was about to do the last run when Joanne made me take a "friend" with me, a 10 lb ball! It wasn't that heavy, but it was awkward to run with. With the amount of work we did and the wonderful humidity that day, I think I sweat more than I ever had before! Gross!
Week 2 - Just another manic Monday
When we arrived (right on time), we warmed up while waiting for Joanne. Once she got there, she told us to pair up, with one person on the TRX (Total Resistance Exercise) suspension system, which are basically straps hanging from the ceiling with handles, and the other in front with a kettlebell. I'm tired, so I think I'll let Roman recap and describe the rest of the workout...
Roman: So here we are at the beginning of the second week. We begin the day with a little jump rope warm up and a review (for those that showed up last Wednesday) of the TRX System. To learn more about the TRX System, go here. It’s a pretty sweet system! It might just be my new favorite tool. We also used a kettlebell to do swings and some power cleans. It was something that I hadn’t done in a long time and boy was I sore later. We also managed to do some abdominal specific work which something that we hadn’t focused on. We finished it up with a five minute intense cardio session to top it off. All in all, not a bad day.
End of Week 1 - I have the power...yoga!
It has been a while since I've done yoga and I can feel it! Joanne had us hold some of these poses for quite a while. I admit that I had to drop out of some of them at times when my body was shaking too much. I can't wait to get back into good yoga shape! Namaste!
P.S. More Star Wars yoga poses can be found at the You Will Not Believe blog.
Roman: Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. As you might’ve guessed, we did some yoga today. I miss doing yoga. It was nice to get back into it. It was also a great way to the end the week. After four days of being sore and hurting our muscles, it was nice to finish the week off with some stretching, but still a constructive workout. After this, some active rest and then the weekend. Woo-hoo!
Day 4 - On the run
Vicky: After a tough Krav Maga cardio class last night, I was feeling pretty run down this morning. Regardless, Roman and I rolled out of bed and got our tired butts over to Anytime Fitness at 6am.
Today's workout started with jumping rope. I was so happy to find a jump rope for short people! Roman and I attempted some double-unders (passing the rope under your feet twice in one jump).
Today's workout started with jumping rope. I was so happy to find a jump rope for short people! Roman and I attempted some double-unders (passing the rope under your feet twice in one jump).After some fancy rope jumping, we were sent on our way down to Hemphill Park, where we were told to warm up by following the .5 mile trail.
Then came the two-mile run. Yes, dos millas. My legs were still sore, but they got me moving. I just told myself that the faster I go, the faster I get this over with, so I ran. I took a couple of short walk breaks here and there, only allowing myself to walk the distance of two trees, then made myself start running again.
I finished in second with a time of 22:37; Roman and his long legs had a time of 20:15. Not bad, but not great either. I'm sure we will be training to improve these numbers. My feet are all blistered now. Joanne said that it may be time for new running shoes.
I am so looking forward to yoga tomorrow!
Roman: Our two mile timed run day. A good half mile warm up and a little pep talk mixed in with some light stretching and we’re off. It was so humid outside. It might not have not have been the best weather for a run, but it most definitely wasn’t bad. I made sure I paced myself, even though I am not in the best of shape. I told myself that I wouldn’t stop and success! My goal was met! I managed to finish with a time of 20 minutes and 15 seconds. I hadn’t run two miles in so long that it was nice to do. I need some major improvement on that time and I know that by sticking with this media challenge and the group I’m with, that it will happen.
Roman: Our two mile timed run day. A good half mile warm up and a little pep talk mixed in with some light stretching and we’re off. It was so humid outside. It might not have not have been the best weather for a run, but it most definitely wasn’t bad. I made sure I paced myself, even though I am not in the best of shape. I told myself that I wouldn’t stop and success! My goal was met! I managed to finish with a time of 20 minutes and 15 seconds. I hadn’t run two miles in so long that it was nice to do. I need some major improvement on that time and I know that by sticking with this media challenge and the group I’m with, that it will happen.
Day 3 - Rain day!
Vicky: I called a rain day today. Roman and I didn't make it to class because I was scared of driving in the rain in the dark, especially since his tires are showing tread already and mine are practically bald. Safety first!
We are not going to be slackers, however. Roman took his workout clothes with him to work and will stop by the gym afterwards and I will attend a Krav Maga class to make up for our missed workout.
BTW, still having trouble walking and sitting.
Roman: Rain day! Still got a workout in after work, which was good. Although the rain kept me away in the morning, due to some less than stellar tires (time for new ones). Well anyway, the workout was good, but I definitely missed the group atmosphere.
We are not going to be slackers, however. Roman took his workout clothes with him to work and will stop by the gym afterwards and I will attend a Krav Maga class to make up for our missed workout.
BTW, still having trouble walking and sitting.
Roman: Rain day! Still got a workout in after work, which was good. Although the rain kept me away in the morning, due to some less than stellar tires (time for new ones). Well anyway, the workout was good, but I definitely missed the group atmosphere.
Day 2 - No rest for the weary!
Vicky:
Day 2...Woke up feeling really sore and tired. It hurt to walk! We got an email from Joanne last night letting us know about the workouts for the rest of the week. Today was going to be stairs. I could barely walk, let alone do stairs!
Roman and I arrived on time, surprisingly, and started warming up on these cool machines that you can either use as an elliptical or a stair stepper. The platforms where you put your feet partially cover them to make it look like your feet are big robotic things and when I started on the machine, my movements were pretty jerky. It made me feel like a transformer!
Once everyone was there, Joanne assembled us, took us through some warm-up exercises, and sent us down the street to a parking garage. We were told to run up and down the stairs of the 6-story garage 6 times. There were about 10 steps on each floor. You do the math...that is a lot of freakin' stairs! It hurt so much more going down them than up! In addition to that, we were to run down and up the ramp that leads to the other side of the garage each time we made it to the top of the garage.
Add the humidity and the obstacle of dodging the nurses arriving for the shift change at the hospital for an interesting workout! We walked back to Anytime Fitness, did a quick cool-down, and called it a day. I walked out of the gym like an old lady and continued to do so for the rest of the day.
Roman:
Stairway to . . . the top of the parking garage and back down. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. We arrive on time and we go over the game plan. Run down to a local parking garage and go up and down it. This was the idea, but since I have the genetic gift of height, I was asked to do a little more. Once at the top for the 5th time, I was asked to run “suicides/liners” from one parking spot to the other and back then back to the first and onto the second and back. You get the idea. After getting done with that, we or rather I was asked to run back to the gym. It really wasn’t that far, but I think I might be being oppressed. Damn you vertically challenged people! Just kidding.
Day 2...Woke up feeling really sore and tired. It hurt to walk! We got an email from Joanne last night letting us know about the workouts for the rest of the week. Today was going to be stairs. I could barely walk, let alone do stairs!
Roman and I arrived on time, surprisingly, and started warming up on these cool machines that you can either use as an elliptical or a stair stepper. The platforms where you put your feet partially cover them to make it look like your feet are big robotic things and when I started on the machine, my movements were pretty jerky. It made me feel like a transformer!
Once everyone was there, Joanne assembled us, took us through some warm-up exercises, and sent us down the street to a parking garage. We were told to run up and down the stairs of the 6-story garage 6 times. There were about 10 steps on each floor. You do the math...that is a lot of freakin' stairs! It hurt so much more going down them than up! In addition to that, we were to run down and up the ramp that leads to the other side of the garage each time we made it to the top of the garage.
Add the humidity and the obstacle of dodging the nurses arriving for the shift change at the hospital for an interesting workout! We walked back to Anytime Fitness, did a quick cool-down, and called it a day. I walked out of the gym like an old lady and continued to do so for the rest of the day.
Roman:
Stairway to . . . the top of the parking garage and back down. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. We arrive on time and we go over the game plan. Run down to a local parking garage and go up and down it. This was the idea, but since I have the genetic gift of height, I was asked to do a little more. Once at the top for the 5th time, I was asked to run “suicides/liners” from one parking spot to the other and back then back to the first and onto the second and back. You get the idea. After getting done with that, we or rather I was asked to run back to the gym. It really wasn’t that far, but I think I might be being oppressed. Damn you vertically challenged people! Just kidding.
Day 1 - Let the torture begin!
Vicky:
Our trainer, Joanna Blackerby, started kicking our butts from Day One. Our first day of the challenge consisted of what felt like a zillion squats, push-ups, sit-ups, heismans, etc. in the gym with our trainer Joanne walking around to correct our form.
When it was over, I thought to myself "That wasn't so bad"...then I walked down the stairs to leave the gym and the pain in my thighs started kicking in. This worried me since the pain from working out usually doesn't hit me until 24 hours later. If it was starting now, how am I going to feel tomorrow? :(
Roman:
So, you would think that day one would’ve started at 6am on Monday morning, but you would be mistaken. The day really started the night before while I was going to bed, mentally preparing myself for what the next morning had in store, as well as forcing myself to go to bed early.
Day one started with very little warm up and whole lotta squats, lunges, jumps, and push ups and sit ups to finish it off. The amount of squats, lunges, and combinations thereof was insane. I might look like I am decent shape, but I know that I am most definitely not. I was hurting about halfway through. I knew my legs would be hurting “oh so bad.” Joanna was tough on us, but that’s the deal we made. No going back now.
Our trainer, Joanna Blackerby, started kicking our butts from Day One. Our first day of the challenge consisted of what felt like a zillion squats, push-ups, sit-ups, heismans, etc. in the gym with our trainer Joanne walking around to correct our form.
When it was over, I thought to myself "That wasn't so bad"...then I walked down the stairs to leave the gym and the pain in my thighs started kicking in. This worried me since the pain from working out usually doesn't hit me until 24 hours later. If it was starting now, how am I going to feel tomorrow? :(
Roman:
So, you would think that day one would’ve started at 6am on Monday morning, but you would be mistaken. The day really started the night before while I was going to bed, mentally preparing myself for what the next morning had in store, as well as forcing myself to go to bed early.
Day one started with very little warm up and whole lotta squats, lunges, jumps, and push ups and sit ups to finish it off. The amount of squats, lunges, and combinations thereof was insane. I might look like I am decent shape, but I know that I am most definitely not. I was hurting about halfway through. I knew my legs would be hurting “oh so bad.” Joanna was tough on us, but that’s the deal we made. No going back now.
The Official Weigh In
The Team
- Glen Langford - Owner, Anytime Fitness - Guadalupe
- Joanne Blackerby - Training Director, Anytime Fitness
- Neil Diaz - NCD Resources
The Contestants
- Roman Gonzalez of The Austin Times
- Vicky Garza of The Austin Times
- Rob Faubion of AustinonStage.com
- Kate Messer of the Austin Chronicle
- Austin Morton of Austin Monthly
- Erin Quinn of Austin Monthly
- Miss Kitty of MissKittyRadio.com
- Chuck Loesch of 101X radio and InSite Magazine
- Freddie Rodriguez of Popolio.com
- Deborah Licon of Studybreaks Magazine
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