Amy - We ran A Mountain!

Yesterday as I walked to work I glanced to my right over the SRC fields and saw that big yellow A on the mountain staring back at me in defiance... and today that defiant mountain has been conquered.

I actually really love walking/running A Mountain. I like to go up there during stressful periods of the semester because the view just can't be matched. In Phoenix, that is :) It had been a while since I'd been up there watching the clouds stretch over this city. So it was amazing knowing that I was standing on the top after some physically challenging weeks in Fall Shape Up.

Even through the sweat, the dirty knees and elbows (from planks and berpies in Sparky's Yard), and tight, sore muscles, I am loving this whole experience. I even love the early mornings. We're out there with the ROTC kids most days. They tend to give us strange looks. I tried to invite some of the ROTC officers to run with us today as we passed them on Palm Walk, but they declined. Okay... they laughed, but I think they were just jealous of our trainer, Zack, and his red sweatband.

Sadat- Day: 10

Last couple of days have not been too crazy. We have been doing some things we've already done and a few things I am used too. Biggest update so far, it does not hurt to do lunges anymore. I think after last week my body gave up on trying to keep me sore, so my hamstrings dont kill every day now. But this past weekend left me completely exhausted. I help set up triathlons on the side and after working 7a-6p on Saturday and 330a-3p on Sunday in the heat, you dont feel all that great on Monday, so this week i have been slacking a little bit on the workouts. Hopefully i pick it up tomorrow, but we got the "A" Mountain run. Did i mention i do not like running before? Ya, i think i did.

Total Weight loss to date: 7lbs.

Sadat - Week 2 Recap

I realized that Fall Shape Up reminds me of something. I remember when I played football in High School in California. We used to have practices in the burning (not as hot as AZ) heat. Full pads, 4-5 hrs each. Middle of the day. I remember waking up every morning with a nervous feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what we were getting into that day during practices, I just knew it was going to hurt. I knew I loved playing it, but the anticipation of not knowing whats going to happen next left me with a nervous twitch until I got onto the field. After practice was over, I felt great, and was ready for the next day, until I woke up again.

Fall Shape Up feels like the exact same thing. I am completely excited about doing it each day, its just that I dont know what my physical limits are yet for the shape I am in, and get nervous if the next workout is going to push me past it or if I cant do it. Even though we have a schedule of what we will be doing, you really dont know what it means til you get started. So far, its pushed me farther than I have pushed my self the last few years. I know its only been 2 weeks, but I think back to my post about running a mile the first day and how difficult that was the first day. Well, everything else since then makes it look like a stroll in the park.

This week was great, there was a lot of agility and athletic lifts, alot of endurance exercises, and alot of sweat. I enjoyed the boxing day we had on Wednesday the most so far. I hope we get to do more of it. I also suggested we do yoga (which is something I am interested in learning) but I think maybe the entire group shot it down. Well see, maybe it can be integrated some how.

Hopefully my hamstrings get a little rest over the weekend, so I can get through another hard week next week.

Sonia week 2

Week 2 found more sore body parts - and I found out that I DON"T like boxing!! Don't like any part of it!! Rest of the class is great! - so Michelle oops did I say her name - what's the next game plan for BOXING NOT!!

Sonia week 1

Whewwww! I completed week 1 - some sore body parts - however it is a good sore body parts! On to week 2.

Amy - Loooooong Cardio Days...

We finished our workout about an hour ago... I'm feeling good, especially now that it is over and I know I worked hard! To clarify, feeling good does involve some soreness for me :)

We started with jogging 3/4 of the way around the volleyball courts in the middle of the SRC fields, and then sprinting that extra 1/4. We did this for 5 minutes, and we did it as a warm-up! After stretching, Zack gave us 1 minute for water and then we jogged over to the stairs at the business school. I probably should have jogged home at that point... because we ran stairs for the rest of the workout, from the base to the 1st floor, then down, then to the 2nd, then down, and so on.

There are a lot of different ability levels in this class. In these first two weeks I think our trainer has been figuring out what those are, because he's now starting to push those who can handle it harder. For example, after reaching the 4th floor on the stairs, three of us jogged to the ground floor and he grabbed us and took us for a run around the whole west business building. And then we went right back into the stairs.

As hard as it was, I loved our workout today. I love the feeling that the morning is barely begun and I've already finished probably the hardest thing that I will do for the day. Now it's time to focus on nutrition until 7am tomorrow!

Wesley-Can I Get Some Relief

Well the Fall Shape Up is into week 2. I guess that I needed this class more than I thought. I haven't been this sore for at least 3 years. Everyday I wake up with tight, tight, muscles. People are saying that I'm walking like a penguin. The cause of all this soreness is the amount of lunges that we do everyday. Now I am a sucker for pain and like to be pushed, but man oh man are these lunges killing me. Guess that's what happens when you take a couple of years off from exercising. Besides the lunges I am really liking the program. It's very active and it combines strength training and weights which is something I really like. All the instructors are full of encouragement and truly helpful. Hopefully after this week my legs will return to normal feeling and I can have some new ache to tell everyone about next week. Halfway done with this week. Been loving every minute so far, well except for some of those lunges.

Amy - Week 2

I was excited to jump back into workouts on Monday after a relaxing weekend in Flagstaff. I may have pushed myself a little too hard, however, because I ended up with a pulled muscle during our last sprint. I tried to rest it as much as possible while going to classes all day on Monday, and was a little apprehensive to work out this morning, but it didn't bother me much at all. We'll see how it does tomorrow in our "endurance/conditioning run." Yay?

I actually am pretty excited for tomorrow. More for the feeling after the run is over than how the run itself will feel.

I started the SRC online nutrition program this week as well. It's pretty cool, and a lot of fun to play around with. You can create personal meal plans to count calories and make sure you're getting all the nutrition needed for the amount of physical activity you do during a week, or you can pick other perfectly balanced meal plans that have been created by other users. As a student living on campus it's been easier to create my own meal plans.

My muscles are sore, and I can feel the difference in my body since beginning Fall Shape Up, but I am really looking forward to seeing some of the differences as well. I have to keep reminding myself that permanent changes take time to be put in place, and my ultimate goal is that these changes for a more healthy life would be permanent.

So we'll keep taking baby steps. Or... deep lunges around the track.

Sadat - I Have a New Nemesis...

... and her name is Michelle.

Today we worked out for the first time with Blake and Michelle in Sparky's Yard. We did some light lifting in a circuit with Blake. He was very helpful with making sure everyone had proper form and technique for the 3 lifts that we did.

Then we switched to do cardio with Michelle. I knew it was a bad sign when she came into Sparky's Yard while we were stretching with a trash can in her hand. She smiled, and said "This is in case you puke." We went to some outdoor stairs. At the top were 24 weight plates, ranging from 2.5lbs to 10 lbs. We had to run up the stairs, grab a plate, set it on the bottom and repeat. Everyone was able to do this 4 times each. Pretty tiring, since my other nemesis besides Michelle are stairs. We then did some lunges. What is it with these trainers and their passion for lunges? Its like breathing to them. We followed that up with some push ups, bringing back the newly located weight plates to their original location (the top of the steps) some shoulder work, a good ole' "Indian Run", followed by taking the weights back down... again. Thanks Michelle!

Today was easily the most challenging day so far for me. I think thats going to be a common theme from here on out. I am looking forward to it though and hopefully next time around, i will be able to run up the steps EACH time instead of just the first time.

Now if i can just walk down the stairs to go home today...

Sadat - Week Two Begins

First day back this week. Probably shoulda done something active over the weekend besides walking my dog. I was breathing pretty heavy today during Fall Shape Up. Today we did our HEAT exercises. High Energy Athletic Training. And thats exactly what it was. We first did a circuit of push ups, squat jumps, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, lunges, and burpies. We did that for 10 minutes, and of course, it was exhausting.

After we finished that we did some high rep lifting. curls into squats, tricep curls into lunges, curls into military press, inner and outter thigh work. It all hurt, but was fantastic. Whats great about these lifts is that once you feel like you cant lift another rep, the trainer changes the body group, so you have to keep going, because that body group isnt tired yet.

Another thing Ive noticed is that whenever the trainer throws something new at you, you can see the look of nervousness on everyones face like, "I cant do that" "Do we have to do this now?" "water break pleaseeee" but as soon as we start it, everyone gets into it. They push aside those feelings of doubt. And when the trainer asks "hows it going?" or "are you liking this?" everyone always grunts out a "Yes".

I saw Michelle, our trainer for tomorrow as I was going back to my office after the session today, she had a huge smile on her face. I asked her, "what are we doing tomorrow?". She replied "Hahaha, i am not telling you!" I asked, "is it going to hurt?" she replied, "YES". Faaaaaantastic, cant wait for tomorrow.

Tara-Recap of thoughts running through my head from last week

So, I am supposed to be blogging every week, but missed the opportunity to blog on Friday. Which I think has it's blessings. After a weekend of resting, my reflections are a little different of the first week than what they might have been on Friday.

Reflection #1: There was no easing into this program.
-I thought after the testing it would be a week of easing into working out. But, I was wrong. It was cardio galore, no excuses, get your butt in gear! And you know what? I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Even though, I told our trainer that I hated her (many times), I thought it was great! No excuses, get your butt in gear, motivate yourself, move it, move it, move it! This is what I needed.

Reflection #2: It hurt more before.
-I was definitely sore throughout the week, but it is a different sore than before. Before last week, I would wake up and my back, neck, and legs would hurt (and no, I didn't exercise before this). Maybe it is my bed (yes, I need to get a new one), but I think it is from being overweight and the pressure on those parts of the body when I sleep. I actually felt good when I woke up last week (even though I was a little sore), those areas hurt less. It could be because I was focusing on the other parts hurting. In any case, I felt better in the morning than I had felt in a long time. This program is worth the pain I go through for an hour each day.

Reflection #3: I sleep better.
-Monday-Thursday night, I slept the best I have slept in about a year. I have some small cases of insomnia where I get up in the middle of the night and watch TV or I ponder things for about an hour. I slept right through. I didn't realize that the physical activity is what made me sleep better until I saw this quick news special on insomnia and exercise is one of the cures for it. I guess I am proof of that.

Reflection #4: I need to eat better.
-I know that another fellow blogger went cold turkey last Monday and added a diet as well to Fall Shape Up. I am not a cold turkey type person, but am committed to eating better. I am going to start with my lunch choices every day and bring something healthy to eat and munch on all day. Once I conquer this area, I am going to work on the dinners.

Reflection #5: I want to do more things.
-On Friday, I found myself a little bummed that we were not working out today. I brought my workout clothes just in case I wanted to work out and even went the next step of telling someone I brought clothes and to come find me when he works out, but I failed to do it. I fell into the old thought patterns of making excuses of why I can't work out. Fall Shape Up is great because I have to work out Mon-Thurs and have co-workers who will get onto me if I do not. So, I am putting in my schedule now, that on Friday, I will at least get 30 minutes of cardio in.

That's it for now, more to follow.
Toodles.

Daryl Week 1/Disappointment

Well we are one week in and I've now had to momentarily drop out. I had surgery on my thumb on Thursday and this ruled out any possibility of physical activity for a two week period, this will be a significant hindrance to the Shape-Up routine, especially since it is mainly predicated on consistency. I hope I will have no further complications and will be able to rejoin the group on October 5, it will be interesting to see how people have improved in that amount of time.

The three days I were able to attend were good and heavily cardio based. I am a person looking to build muscle and doubt that this routine will help with that. But it should at the very least give me a much stronger core and help with endurance. The first day was a testing day, so we could watch our improvement over the weeks. There was a 1.3 mile run which I was able to finish in 9:48; not terrible but I would say a good goal for me would be to run 3.1 miles in under 19:00 minutes, something I have not done since high school. But a good starting point. We also did a push up and sit up test. These tests see how many you can get in over a one minute time period, I was gassed by the 0:45 second mark on both, so there is definite room for improvement here as well. Finally they weighed us. I came in at 175. I would actually like to weigh around 180, but there is a definite need to reproportion the weight. My legs hurt from the run for the next day, I need to get in better shape.

Day two we went to Sparky's Yard and did some cross training and weights. A lot of it focused on stretching and I realized that while I have been a fairly active person, I concentrate very little on stretching. After this day I couldn't tell if I was sore from the work out or the stretching. We also did some lifting today. Dumbell bent and upright rows as well as shoulder press and bench press. My first set I was a little more ambitious than I should have been. Zack (the trainer) said to grab a weight we thought we could lift 20 times, so I did - not realizing we would be lifting this weight for nearly a minute and a half. This was the first of the excersises I was unable to complete in the Shape up, but there have been more since. I dropped down to a more reasonable weight the next time and things were still very challenging.

Cardio Day. Run as many laps as you can for half an hour. By the way laps include not just the SRC track, but a little jaunt over to WP Carey's fourth floor. I was proud that I never stopped to walk and at the very end of the work out Zack came to run the last quarter mile with me, he's faster than I am. You know how horses get to running to fast and just have to pull up and lay on the ground? That is how I felt when I had finished the end of that run. Then we stretched out and that was the day. Challenging for sure. I also find I don't get into work until 8:15, but well we finish on time I always continue to sweat for the next 20 minutes after the workout, gross I know, and need to cool down before I am able to shower. I am already feeling more confident about my endurance, but we will see how much worse things get after two weeks of no physical activity.

Daryl

Amy - End of the first week

Wednesdays are listed as long cardio days for this program, and yesterday was definitely that. We jogged around the SRC track, and at the SW corner of the track sprinted to the business school, up the stairs to the 4th floor, back to the track, and then back to a jog. We did this for 30 minutes, or until exhaustion.

I pushed myself pretty hard and felt amazing afterward (if you count sore quads as part of that amazing). It was just great to go through my day feeling like I had accomplished something big at the beginning of it. In general I'm really liking these morning workouts. I would never consistently get up in the morning by myself, but the motivation of having a set time is helping me get into a pattern. Hopefully after this program is over I'll be able to continue that pattern on my own.

Today we had more of a recovery day from yesterday than a hard workout, although I was still sweating afterward. I'm excited for the weekend and a trip to Flagstaff with my family that I have planned. Maybe I'll run up a mountain, or a pine tree so that I don't die in our workout on Monday :)

Sadat- Week One - Done

So week one is over and done with here. And here is the run down.

* My legs went from feeling great on Monday, to terrible Tuesday, to silly putty Wednesday , to ehh not so bad Thursday.
* I switched my diet from eating whatever I want to a portioned controlled, 5 - 6 small meal a day diet since Monday. Going cold turkey on a diet is never any funny. But so far, i havent slipped up on it.
* Went from drinking a gallon of Ice tea probably every 2-3 days to only water, 2 cups per meal.
*I have lost 4 pounds so far. I know its mainly water weight, but I havent weighed this much in over a year and a half. So that is encouraging.
* Working out with 10 other people is great, because you dont want to give up when you normally would.
* I like the different types of workouts we are doing, because i would never do them on my own.
* I look forward to this everyday so far.
* I am terrified of whatever Michelle, our Asst. Director of Fitness, is going to do to us next week for her workout with us.
* Lifting to exhaustion hurts like hell, but feels great afterwards.
* I am still sore.
* Now the weekends coming and i gotta make sure i do something to be active during that time.

On to next week....

Amy - Two workouts in!

It's Tuesday night and it's been a long couple of days with my normal school/work schedule. Added to that are sore muscles from Fall Shape Up, but it's the good kind of sore.

Monday morning we completed some assessments, including running a little over a mile, one minute of push-ups, and one minute of crunches. I was fairly happy with what I could do and I'm really looking forward to our second assessment to see just how far I've come.

This morning we spent an hour in Sparky's Yard, which reminded me of summer camp with it's big tent and dried leaves in the corners. We did a variety of drills; running, jogging, burpies (birpies? berpies? Anyway you spell it, it comes out h-e-l-l), weights, circuit training, etc. I love the whole body aspect of the work-out. I usually focus on jogging, with a few push-ups and sit-ups almost as an afterthought, but today was great. I was sweating and working muscles all over my body.

We're keeping a food diary for two days now to be handed in to our trainer on Thursday morning. It's made me think twice about eating a few things. Do I really want to have to tell my trainer I ate three cookies? Shame is a motivator. :)

I looked over our syllabus for the first time tonight and got pretty excited about it. In just a couple of weeks we'll be running A Mountain? There's some ASU fitness spirit for you. Bring it, Sparky, I'll race you to the top.

Sadat - Day Two

So today was tougher than yesterday. We were in Sparky's Yard and did some lifting and running. For strength exercises we used a low weight to do dead lifts, then bicep curls, then a squat into a military press,... for a minute and a half. Needless to say, it burned. As soon as we finished, we did weighted lunges for the length of Sparkys Yard. We then ran the path way between Sparkys yard and the East Turnstile exit 5 times back and forth. Now let me tell you, I have walked that path a million times. But today, it felt like it was the size of a football field. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was because my legs felt like jell-o, but it went slow. We then did the whole thing again, went up stairs did some crunches, push ups bridges and squats followed by 6 minutes on the ellipticals and some core exercises. By the end, I was a sweaty mess, but I loved every minute of it.
I typically dont ever do this type of training. Its always been either lifting or cardio, never really done it one after the other. But i like it. I think this will help me to be more athletic, which i do want. Overall, it was a long work out, it kicked my butt and i look forward to more of it tomorrow.

Sadat: Big Surprise. Found out I am not a Runner.

Today was Day one of Fall Shape Up. We completed baseline testing today in four areas. Weight, Pushups, situps, and a one mile run. When I heard this is what we were doing, i was a little nervous about the run. I have not ran in years. I am not good at it. I am the Detroit Lions of running. If N'Sync was the boy band of running, I'd be Joey Fatone. But, before i started this thing, i told myself i would not quit on anything or do anything half a**ed. So, today we got on the treadmill, I put that sucker on 6 MPH's and did the mile in 9:47. Not, bad considering I thought I would do it in over 12 minutes. I am also pretty happy that I didn't stop once to get water, walk, or anything. My shin splints flared up, but I had Guns N' Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" playing on my head phones, so I was alright. After that, we did the push ups and i was done at 46 again. Next, we did sit ups, full sit ups this time. Well at least now I know what I have to beat by December. looking forward to some circuit training in Sparkys Yard tomorrow.

Everyone in the group seems to be there for the same reason, to better themselves. I look forward to getting to know all of them more and motivating each other.

Alright back to the grind. Talk to you all soon.

Wesley-Shaping Up So I Don't Fall Down

So begins a new aspect of my life. I am Wesley and I need to get into better shape. Luckily, I have been provided with an opportunity to do just that. As an employee at the SRC I was chosen to participate in the Fall Shape Up.

I have been involved with sports and physical exercise all my life. Even so, this will be the first time that I will have such a physically demanding schedule. For the next 12 weeks I will be training 4 days out of the 7 with a group of others who wanted to get into the best shape of their lives. This will be demanding not only because I'm not in the greatest shape, but I will also be participating in intramurals and ice hockey at the same time.

What I am hoping to get from this program is to gain back the physical standards that I used to have and then exceed them. 3 years ago I was involved in an accident that left me unable to participate in any physical activity. It is only recently that I have been able to resume a full regimen of sports and working out. Trying to do it on my own has not been productive. That and all the Cokes I drink and junk food I eat. With this program I plan on being transformed into the lean, mean, fighting machine known as Snipes.

It all begins this coming Monday. I am really looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing my goals, meeting new people, and hopefully inspiring people that have had an injury like my own. Inspiring them that its possible to not only return to the level of fitness before the injury, but recovery and exceed the peak at which you once were.

Amy - The Change begins!

I'm a student employee with the SRC and I work at the admin desk. I study music therapy here at ASU, and I'm very excited to start Fall Shape Up next week.

It's weird to think that a major life change begins on Monday! I am a fairly healthy person and on average I exercise a couple of times a week. The reason I signed up for this program, however, is that I feel like I keep hitting a wall in the area of health and fitness. I will be very proactive about working out for a couple of weeks, and then go several weeks without doing much of anything. Or I will eat healthy and enjoy moderate portion sizes, and then I will fall out of that rhythm until guilt sets in. I also feel as though I will work hard either in the area of nutrition or fitness (rarely do I focus on them at the same time), and then I'll reach a point where I am almost satisfied with how I look and feel. Then I start to backslide instead of working harder to lose that last six to ten pounds.

I'm super pumped for Fall Shape Up to be that extra motivation I need to go the extra mile (literally) for great fitness! I'm excited to share the process with you blog readers out there as well :)

I had my first assessment today and it went well. I was really nervous showing up because I didn't know what to expect. It was intimidating wondering if there would be one thousand other people in the room watching while I stepped on the scale. But then again, I guess this blog is a little bit like a thousand people watching our whole "get in shape" processes. I'm nervous about this whole thing, but my excitement is weighing out my nervousness. We'll see how I feel on Monday after the first work-out!

I'm not someone who would qualify for Biggest Loser or other extreme fitness programs out there. So I think this will be a great experiment in what happens to a pretty normal person who makes a big change.

Sonia's fall shape up thoughts

I am very nervous as I began this Fall Shape Up program AND writing on this Blog. I dont like to share my insecurities and it seems that this opportunity is bring this forth and stressing me out. I am looking forward to Monday and not sure if I will be able to move the next day but will go forth. I think once I get comfortable with this work-out program and blogging, I will be able to share more.
Wish me luck,
Sonia

Tara's thoughts before the Fall Shape Up starts

So, a little about myself.

I'm 33, married, and the mother of an adorable 9 month old little girl named Zoe. I am about 40-50 lbs over my ideal healthy weight and the fat mainly lies in my belly (no, the tire around my belly is not part of the outfit). All the weight I gained from my pregnancy, I lost in 8 weeks after I had her, but I have slowly (or quickly) gained about 30 lbs since then and have really tried to deny it by wearing baggy clothes, making jokes about my weight, or covering up the embaressment by just eating more.

As for weight-loss techniques, I have tried almost all of them. Weight watchers was the most successful, but that taught me how to fast for a day before each weigh in and then gorge myself that night after the weigh-in (not healthy). I tried Atkins but that was gross eating all that meat. I even did Phen-fen back in the day. About two years ago, I stopped eating red meat and joined a "Commit to get fit" group and lost about 20 lbs and felt really good. But, got pregnant and so anything with the word exercise was thrown out the window with the alcohol and fish I couldn't eat or drink.

I am also an ex-college athlete and know what I need to do, but just don't have the motivation. I don't really enjoy excersing, probably because it was a job for me in college (lifiting weights, running, and practicing EVERYDAY). But, I do welcome the discipline I miss from those years of my life.

This Fall Shape Up opportunity is a great thing eventhough I might look like I am not enjoying myself or will complain often. I know that if I am committed to it, this could change my lifestyle (which would be awesome). I know I am not going to be able to get out of doing this because I have 3 other people that I work with doing this, and they will get onto me if I give up. So, here I go, it starts on Monday, so I might reward myself this weekend and go and buy a new work-out outfit.

Toodles,
Tara

Sadat - Pre Fall Shape Up

A little bit about me; I am a 26 year old male. I work as Program Coordinator at the SRC. I am out of shape. Ive always struggled with staying in shape and being healthy. Only once in my life have I ever felt completely fit. That was back in my sophomore year of college. I buckled down, followed a strict work out and diet regimen, and was very motivated. I went from weighing 215 leaving freshmen year in college, to weighing 168 before college started up again. Then college started, and fitness went out the window and partying took over again. I gained everything back.

Since then, I haven't been motivated at all to do much. I've tried to get back into working out again, but could never keep it routine and I had other commitments including work and school. This past summer is probably the most motivated I have been in recent years. I have lost 11lbs and feeling a little bit better. But, there's a ton more for me to work on, and I am excited to get started.

Next week I begin Fall Shape Up. I have never worked with a personal trainer before, but I am looking forward to see what they have to offer. I feel like I know more about fitness and working out than the Average Joe, but there is always something to learn.

I did my assessment today and actually felt pretty good about it. Thought I was going to do alot worse than I did. My blood pressure was good, my VO2Max needs help, got 71 sit ups in a minute, and 46 push ups in before exhaustion. Hopefully, I will improve on all of them by December.

My goals are to lose between 20-30lbs, lose a few inches on the belt, lose fat and gain lean muscle. I do not want to add any more size to my muscles. I am hoping to be more athletic, flexible and overall live a more healthy life.

Check in next week for an update.