1985 Just Called

I have a fitness friend who loves to rebound like I do. She recommended a video from 1985. She even offered to mail it to me for me to borrow. It was so cheap on Amazon that I bought it instead. The video is Jump To It! The lovely Dan Finnegan and her sister Debbie Smith put this video out, and it screams 1985. The lead is dressed in the then-cute leotard with two different colored slouch socks, head band, and high-top shoes. The music is very 80s.

Today we call that cheese. Then it was cool. It doesn't bother me in the least because I lived through that era, and aside from having my son, the 80s were probably the best time of my life.

The workout itself kicked my butt from here to Sunday. I did preview it and she did a slow warm up, then a super long stretch. I did not do either of those. I do not believe in stretching at the beginning of a workout. It's a quirk of mine, but stretching comes at the end when your muscles are warm. Plus, why start, get your heart rate up, then stop to stretch?

Started with the workout and it was fast and furious. They were doing high kicks which I did not do. My heart rate skyrocketed within minutes. It was tough! I lost sight of the outfits and the 80s music quickly, I was just trying to keep up! The various routines varied in tempo, and thankfully some were easy, but others had me huffing and puffing.

This is a keeper. It boiled down to 30 minutes of pure butt-kicking cardio which I loved. I have a new goal to make it through this video completely without altering, slowing down, changing steps--that means keeping up on beat, doing those kicks. I think it may take me awhile!

It's fun to find things from the past.

And speaking of workouts, I am now on week 4 of my FIRM 90 Day Rotation. This is the longest I have ever gone on a rotation. I'm shocked. I am missing Cathe DVDs and Gin and step very much, but I'm loving my FIRMS and I keep reminding myself it won't last forever. As my fitness builds back up again, I know I'll be doing more doubles. I've done a few already, including today. So hopefully I can add in more step to this rotation as time goes. However, the rotation does get tougher as it goes along, so I'm in for a ride. I do believe I will make it through! I've always wanted to say, "I've done The FIRM's 90 Day Rotation!" I'll get to say that in 8 more weeks!!!

My Goal Chart & A Big Favor!

So I was looking at my goal chart just now and it was disgusting. I've gained weight, I'm heavier than I was a year ago. Granted, not by very much--a couple pounds, but what the heck happened?

A whole year went by, I got to 192, then I went back up. Feeling very bad, being very hard on myself, my husband told me to cut myself some slack. That whole kidney stone business was brutal. It really was. I knew I felt bad, but now that I no longer have the pain and look back, I wonder how I made it through. Seriously. Plus I had two surgeries within this year segment. So while I'm not overly happy, I will cut myself some slack.

I'm eating well, exercising, saw the scale squeak a bit, but then it halted. I weigh everything, I eat the right salt/protein/fat/carbs, very few processed foods. I work out, I move more than I have in years. Not just exercise, but daily movement. Last week I had 124,534 steps, 54.92 miles. I remember the days where I didn't move, I sat. So the lifestyle is there, I'm making informed choices, and yet the scale doesn't budge, it just squeaks every now and again. Persevere. I'm just going to keep plugging away. It will move--it has to!

And life goes on. I really would like to start updating that goal chart again. I do not like being stuck, going backwards, being stuck again. Ready to kick this fat to the curb!

~~~

I have a really big favor. I'm going to blog more about this, but anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows how much I love The FIRM--the Benson era Firms. Well, here's the deal. These instructors have done so much for me even though they don't know I exist. I would like to give back. Well, as it turns out, some are on Facebook and they do friend their fans. One of them is the wonderful LaReine Chabut. She asked me--yes, me personally!--to help spread the word about her Facebook page. Here it is: LOSE That BABY FAT. It is listed as TV show. I have not asked her about that, but will. Anyway, she's talented and one of the "safe, trustworthy" instructors. If you're on Facebook, please go to her site and "like" it. It would mean a lot to me. I do plan a longer post on her shortly, but just wanted to get that out there tonight. I've added her photo/link to the upper right-hand corner of the blog. For those who have just had babies, she's your gal! For those of us who have older kids, she's still our gal! Thank you for that!

Day 2 of the Rotation

Today I did my workout, The Firm's Core Cardio 1 and an ab workout. I plan on something light tonight.

Observations: My glutes are screaming! DOMS from triceps work as well. It's good to have those feelings. Tomorrow is another strength workout and I'm fearful of what it will do to my screaming glutes, but I need to remind myself that it's good to work out when one has DOMS. The soreness will probably be gone tomorrow anyway. I love my Firms. If I could have only one "set" or instructor or brand, it would be the Benson-era Firms. Thankfully I'm not limited, as I'm a vidiot to the core and love many instructors.

My heart rate monitor broke! The battery appeared dead, so I replaced it. It worked, had me re-log all the information, then when I put the back on it, it quit again. Not happy as I use that on my rebounder because the fitbit doesn't work correctly on there, and I also use it to actually watch my heart rate! Will have hubby look at it. Hoping that I don't need to buy a new one. It has had a lot of use, though. It's one of my can't-live-without items, though. (So is my fitbit.)

Food great today. Out of salad, so hubby is running to the store later tonight for me--bless his complaining heart. lol

This is the last day of my son's after-school class and I'm thrilled--Tuesday freedom! We love his class, love the instructor, and it's a great outlet for him, but it makes Tuesdays crazy as I also do all my errands on Tuesdays. I do that to save time, gas, energy--and it always makes for a busy and somewhat stressful day.

I can't think of anything else to say. Drinking tons of water, getting tons of movement, feeling so much better. Going to do some light movement tonight, I don't know what it will be yet, though. Watching a Cathe video that arrived in today's mail that I traded for--I definitely don't have energy for that!

Slacking...

I've been doing too much slacking in certain areas lately.

1) Haven't been updating the blog. When you've blogged for over two years, though, you run out of things to blog about. I think up great posts as I'm drifting off to sleep, but in the morning I realize there was nothing great about them because they were just sleep thoughts.

2) Haven't been reading blogs on a regular basis. There's a simple reason for that. I really get bothered when I see recipes with foods I can't have. I'm getting over that, I'm so much better, and I can even crack jokes about almonds now, so that may change soon.

3) Haven't been updating my pretty exercise calendar. My exercise has been weird, I've been doing mostly walking lately. I've been averaging around 18,000 steps daily, give or take. I've been slacking in the weights department--big no no!

So, I will try to update the blog on a more regular basis.

I will try to read blogs on a more regular basis.

I will update my exercise calendar and kick it up a notch with the workouts. In fact, I found some new-to-me friends, fellow Firm lovers, and we're all going to do The Firm's 90 Day Rotation together starting today. This rotation I have attempted many times, but other instructors call my name and I stray by week three. Hopefully this time I'm going to do it! I've always wanted to accomplish that.

I'm feel a LOT better. I had a really good week last week. My spirits are up, my energy is up, and I'm finding my new normal now. I think I just had to go through that rough patch to appreciate everything more so.

New Year, New Blog Name!

It had to be done. It really bothered me every time I saw 282.5. I had to change the name of my blog.

I am no longer 282.5. That seems like a lifetime ago. I've worked hard, changed my ways, and it was time.

That's just not me now. Sorry, don't have a current photo to insert--will have to get dolled up and pose one of these days.

So the decision needed to be made, what do I name my blog? There was only one answer, and this blog name has been floating around my brain for months.

The Tortoise.

Slow and steady wins the race. Persevere. Stick with it, keep plugging away. Yup, that's me. Then, of course, there is The FIRM connection.

That's a favorite workout of mine, plus the fact that the categories of FIRM workouts were Tortoise/Hare/Strength/Cardio...it was a no brainer.

I was a bit worried that The Tortoise was negative, picturing a slow and awkward tortoise crawling at a snail's pace. But that's how I get around some days myself. I think it's more positive than negative.

So new year, fresh new start. I am now The Tortoise. I will win.

Anna Benson

There is sad news on the fitness forums tonight. Confirmation is from friends of former FIRM instructors. So, it's still speculative and internet rumor, but the people reporting are people that I trust as well as you can trust anyone on the internet...

Anna Benson, the creator of The FIRM, my beloved exercise videos, has passed away due to stomach cancer.

When I did my give-away, I placed the order for the winner. Anna's assistant called me the day after I placed the order to confirm the address this was to be sent to, as it was different than mine. I must admit, I was giddy when I saw "Anna Benson" on my caller ID, even if it wasn't Anna herself. We chatted a bit (lovely conversation) and I asked what Anna was working on next. She paused, then said, "Well, Anna is -- Anna is working on it." I noted at the time there was a very strange sound in her voice when she mentioned this. I just assumed she didn't want to tell me as Firmies "gossip" a lot. Looking back, I know that pause and change of voice was because she knew Anna had cancer.

I would suspect that this is not a rumor and is true. I can only hope that it is a rumor. Nonetheless, I want to thank Anna Benson. While I was years late in finding her exercise videos, they have changed my life. I had an intense fear of weights, lifting, weight work. It was manly! The beauty of her productions, the femininity, the southern belle-feel, the grace--it all changed me forever. I now love weight work more than cardio.

In the few short months I have been working out to The FIRM tapes, I have become stronger, developed definition and physically and mentally felt better.

So Anna Benson will always live on in my heart, and I'll think of her every time I pop a tape or DVD in.

Rest in peace, Anna.