Every.Single.Day

We got this here

MVHS Track

When the weather cooperates, Mike trains us at a high school track. We spend most of our time on the bleachers (of course, because they are so painful) but we run on the track a lot too. He's also been known to make us jump squat up and down the length of the football field.

We haven't been in a few months because it's been so hot.

Thursday's workout was our big return and we were all a little nervous because it had been so long.

I can honestly say that it was - by far - the hardest workout to date. At least for me.

I have never been pushed so hard and been so physically exhausted.

Brianne is such an athlete. She makes any workout look easy. She always leaves me in the dust, but there is no one else I would rather follow.

I hope to be as in shape as she is one day....SOON!

Sorry for the booty shot. I was about 1/2 way through the first set of bleachers. It got a lot worse.

(One cool part of today was that I noticed a huge difference in my ability to do jump squats up the bleachers. They are still unbelievably difficult and exhausting, but are doable. It's so encouraging to see progress).

Go Erica! She is such a hard worker!

Great job Rae! You are improving so much!

All of us in action. We need more close-up shots of Crystal. She has had a lot of personal struggles but is making progress.

And, here is cute Charis. I didn't zoom in too close to her since my parents read this blog and she is giving Mike the one-finger salute. She is such a character and works really hard. She is in great shape.

The last thing we had to do (at least Brianne and I ----> I was so exhausted that I didn't really pay attention to what everyone else was doing) but we had to do burpees up the bleachers. We started with one squat, one push up and one rep of jumping our legs forward, then back.

Then, we jumped up to the next step and did 2 of each, then 3 of each and so on...all the way up 18 steps.

It doesn't really sound like a big deal, huh?

Well, it was. Huge.

Here is the grand total. I was literally sick when I finished. Right there at the top of the bleachers at Mountain View High School. It was pretty embarrassing.

But, I did it.

And, I am so proud of all my girls for working so hard too. I really have the best team.

The pain is real and the soreness inexplicable....

Our good friend Nick has recently started training with Mike.

We are so proud of him and love to share horror stories because only people who have experienced Mike's torture can truly understand.

We got this email from Nick yesterday:

"I was sore going into the workout today, but by the time I got home, I literally could not move my arms...  That has definitely never happened to me before, even when I worked out hardcore in the past. Getting my car into reverse required two hands, and my gallon jug of water is just way too heavy to lift... Thank goodness for straws! I'm starting to understand your pain.  Oddly enough, my legs aren't too bad.  Thank you for evoking hell upon me!  It's kicking my butt right now, but feels really good at the same time."

Keep at it Nick! You're a rock star!

We Tease Because We Care

We love to harass Mike.

Here's a little video from last night's workout.

He is such a good sport.

We are so lucky that he's not only our trainer, but he's also a good friend. He is such a great guy.

Make It Fun!

Let's be real, workouts are rarely fun.

It's mostly just sweat and pain and more sweat.

And a little lot more pain.

However, when you get to work out with friends, workouts can be fun. Here is a photo documentary of last Tuesday's workout.

(Buckle up - it's not pretty)

We are a rough bunch.

(Check out Brianne's legs - hot!)

We look a lot happier than we feel. Running the block isn't our favorite activity. Mostly because it's always during rush hour on 8th North. No bueno.

Yep, this pretty much sums up our group and the level of commitment we bring.

(Just kidding - we bring our A game to each workout)

So, we had the great idea to mix stuff up by warming up with a good, old-fashioned piggyback race.

(You would think the guys would be all over that - weird)

However, not one other person thought it was a good idea - not embarrassing at all - so, Brianne and I decided to show them that it was, in fact, super fun.

We sure showed them.

After the one-man (2-girl) race, we headed inside for about 1,000,000 push-ups.

Just look at us go.

The tricky (horrible) part was that we had to do one normal push-up (yeah, a girl's push-up, but we are girls, so back off!) and then balance on a medicine ball and do every other push-up on that.

For those of us who aren't super coordinated (me), it was pretty difficult.

But, we suffered through - barely.

Next up were squats...with weights.

(Do you love how Mike has become our official workout photographer? He gets really excited about it.)

So, I know this next picture is completely awful and the shutter speed was way too slow to catch our super fast squats but I love it for so many reasons. Here are 5 of those reasons:

1. Even though there is nothing sexy about a squat, we look okay.

2. Brianne has incredible legs.

3. My butt doesn't look humongous in this picture.

4. We are working really hard, and...

5. Erica and Rae are not working hard - they are literally just hanging out in the background, watching us.

Which is super hilarious.

Totally busted girls!

And this next picture is ugly and cool all at the same time. We look pretty great grunting through our sit-ups (not at all).

My favorite part of this picture - and maybe the whole day - is that when Jess was done training his client, he just came over and sat down next to us to chat.

He's really nice.

So, that's a little of what our workouts are like. Or rather, what we look like huffing and puffing through our workouts.

It's fun to see our own and each other's progress. This whole experience has, for sure, been life-changing.

I never imagined a year ago that this would be my life.

But, I am so grateful!

My Declaration

I hereby declare that going forth, starting 10/15/2014 I will not be partaking of the nectar of the gods “soda” namely “Diet Mountain Dew” from Monday to Friday… I will occasionally treat myself on the weekends.  

(Because, honestly, saying I will never partake again is just setting myself up for failure).

I have really had a problem lately with soda.  I know diet soda is free of calories but, for me, I know it makes me crave other not-so-good-for-me foods!  I seem to think a diet soda tastes best with any kind of salty, yummy carbs I can get my hands on.  I have really been struggling lately with falling off the wagon.

I need a swift kick to my BUTT!!!

I need to realize I CAN reach my goals!!!  I have been very self-defeating lately convincing myself that if I make a bad food choice that my WHOLE day is shot which means for me “free for all eating”.  Instead of saying to myself “Erica, it was not a good decision to eat that brownie but I am going to turn this around and make the best decisions the rest of the day.”  It really goes more like this “Erica, I just ate a brownie so since I am probably over on my calories for the day I will go HOG WILD and have a “Dairy Queen Blizzard!!!” 

(by the way, this is a true story from yesterday)

So, this girl is going to pull herself up by her BOOT STRAPS (as my mother would say) and get back on that horse!!!

Who’s with me to make a change in their lives too???

Progress!

I have known Erica for over 8 years. She is such a good person and is truly beautiful inside and out.

She always has been.

She is such a hard worker and is always positive. She encourages the rest of us and always has a smile on her face.

I am lucky to have her as a friend.

It's so fun to see the progress she is making.

She's a foxy lady!