Um, hello little neglected blog!
See, I told you when I started this thing that I'd eventually forget to update and....well, as predicted...
Do over?
A ton has happened since my last post in, what was it, July?
I've still been working out like a MANIAC. I also have started co-teaching TKB and will hopefully be getting my own class in January. This, from the socially-retarded freak who said she'd never teach! :) I've also gotten certified (GOLD, baby!) in the PiYo format and hopefully will be teaching that soon, as well! Look at lil ol' me GO! I owe it mostly to Deb (I think I've talked about her in almost every post here...obsessed much?) She has been SO encouraging and has been my biggest cheerleader!
So here's what a typical workout week looks like for me:
Monday: TKB with either Deb at 24 Frisco OR TKB with Teresa at 24 Little Elm
Tuesday: TKB with Melissa at 24 Frisco OR Cardio Fusion and Step & Strength with Deb at Frisco Athletic Center
Wednesday: TKB with Deb (and me) at FAC
Thursday: My rest day!
Friday: Hip Hop Hustle with Melissa at FAC followed by TKB with Pat (also at FAC)
Saturday: PiYo with Teresa at FAC OR Step & Strength with Deb at FAC, followed by TKB with Teresa at FAC
Sunday: My other rest day!
Other updates....hmmm....
Oh, no longer drinking Shakeology. I am bummed, but I have to do what the doc says. There are a couple of ingredients that do, indeed, lower my platelet count. For some people this is actually a good thing. For someone with ITP, not so much. Wah.
As far as health/workout, etc, that's all I've got for ya! Until next time (probably 6 months)....
Peace out!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The "Bummer" Summer
Alyssa and Jackson were counting down the days til summer. "X number of days til school's out, Mom & Dad!"
Mom (me), on the other hand, was dreading when that X turned to a zero. It's always great for a week or two, and then it all starts sliding downhill. "But this year, this year will be different," I thought to myself. "I spent all this $$ on these great camps and swimming lessons, so SURELY the dreaded words 'I'm bored' will not slip from their sweet lips!"
Apparently I'm a slow learner - that, or in complete denial. ;)
I think we made it all of 1 day before the boredom settled in, which triggered bad attitudes, which resulted in incessant bickering, teasing, whining...all leaving me looking like a woman who belongs in a Calgon commercial.
HOWEVER! I am bound and determined that these lil negative nellies will be TAMED! We have a long weekend this week, followed by vacation Bible school the next, then Art Camp and more swimming lessons, lots of time at the gym, play dates with friends, summer movies, and then before you know it we will be on a airplane on our way to the pale sands and emerald blue waters of Emerald Isle! I dare them to complain about THAT! :)
What are you doing this summer to keep your kids occupied and yourSELF sane??
Mom (me), on the other hand, was dreading when that X turned to a zero. It's always great for a week or two, and then it all starts sliding downhill. "But this year, this year will be different," I thought to myself. "I spent all this $$ on these great camps and swimming lessons, so SURELY the dreaded words 'I'm bored' will not slip from their sweet lips!"
Apparently I'm a slow learner - that, or in complete denial. ;)
I think we made it all of 1 day before the boredom settled in, which triggered bad attitudes, which resulted in incessant bickering, teasing, whining...all leaving me looking like a woman who belongs in a Calgon commercial.
HOWEVER! I am bound and determined that these lil negative nellies will be TAMED! We have a long weekend this week, followed by vacation Bible school the next, then Art Camp and more swimming lessons, lots of time at the gym, play dates with friends, summer movies, and then before you know it we will be on a airplane on our way to the pale sands and emerald blue waters of Emerald Isle! I dare them to complain about THAT! :)
What are you doing this summer to keep your kids occupied and yourSELF sane??
Friday, June 17, 2011
At last!
Wow, it's been a while huh? Looks like this blog is going the way of my past, oh, 5 other blogs. ;) With summer here, you'd think I'd have more time to do things like BLOG, but it seems like I'm actually BUSIER trying to find ways to entertain the kids on my own for 12 hours every day! I promise to try to take a few minutes a day to blog. Cross my heart.
I've been less than myself this past week. I had an "incident" on Monday where I thought I was going to pass out, I had to run to the bathroom and hurl. I was too dizzy to finish class, so I missed more than half. Major bummer, and embarrassing to boot! Turns out my platelets are super low again (I have ITP - look it up, I don't have time to go into it), and am having other issues with my system...which means I feel very drained of energy. I have to take extra precautions when my platelets are low, too, because if I were to fall and hit my head or something like that, I could bleed in my brain and well...let's just say I want to avoid that! So it's low intensity until I can get my body working better again. The exercise addict in me wants to go full stop every day, so this is hard. But at the same time it's nice to essentially have a little bit of a break.
In other "what a bummer" news, I've been banned for a month from Shakeology. Doctor thinks something in it may be aggravating my platelet levels etc. He said stop drinking it for a month, we'll check my levels again after the month and see if they're back up. If they're back up again and I've made no other dietary changes, I may have to give up Shakeology indefinitely. :( I don't know what to root for here...I want my levels to be back to normal, but I also don't want to stop my shakes! But being healthy and functional is more important.
Today I mixed my exercise routine up; normally today is my Hip Hop Hustle day, but I decided since I missed any resemblance of a workout yesterday (we went to the Dallas Mavericks Victory Parade) AND ate like poop, I needed a really big butt kickin' to be served up via Kelli G's step & strength class. She delivered, for sure. My arms were on FIRE when she broke out the kickboxing moves WITH weights. In the words of Martin, DANG GINA! It felt so good! I've been neglecting my strength training lately.
That's all I've got for now - my kids are about to rip each other's throats out...HA!
I've been less than myself this past week. I had an "incident" on Monday where I thought I was going to pass out, I had to run to the bathroom and hurl. I was too dizzy to finish class, so I missed more than half. Major bummer, and embarrassing to boot! Turns out my platelets are super low again (I have ITP - look it up, I don't have time to go into it), and am having other issues with my system...which means I feel very drained of energy. I have to take extra precautions when my platelets are low, too, because if I were to fall and hit my head or something like that, I could bleed in my brain and well...let's just say I want to avoid that! So it's low intensity until I can get my body working better again. The exercise addict in me wants to go full stop every day, so this is hard. But at the same time it's nice to essentially have a little bit of a break.
In other "what a bummer" news, I've been banned for a month from Shakeology. Doctor thinks something in it may be aggravating my platelet levels etc. He said stop drinking it for a month, we'll check my levels again after the month and see if they're back up. If they're back up again and I've made no other dietary changes, I may have to give up Shakeology indefinitely. :( I don't know what to root for here...I want my levels to be back to normal, but I also don't want to stop my shakes! But being healthy and functional is more important.
Today I mixed my exercise routine up; normally today is my Hip Hop Hustle day, but I decided since I missed any resemblance of a workout yesterday (we went to the Dallas Mavericks Victory Parade) AND ate like poop, I needed a really big butt kickin' to be served up via Kelli G's step & strength class. She delivered, for sure. My arms were on FIRE when she broke out the kickboxing moves WITH weights. In the words of Martin, DANG GINA! It felt so good! I've been neglecting my strength training lately.
That's all I've got for now - my kids are about to rip each other's throats out...HA!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Ok, well now I'm OUT.
Shoot. I guess I spoke too soon.
I was feeling pretty good this morning - a little fatigued, but a lot better overall. So I decided TKB at 24 Hour Fitness was a GO. I struggled to keep up and felt like throwing up a couple of times (Chest congestion = hard to breathe. Chest congestion + high intensity cardio = dang near asthma attack...HA!), but I didn't feel really terrible until I was done with my workout. All the sudden my throat pain was nearly unbearable, but I had a dermatologist appointment already set (and you KNOW how hard appointments w/specialists are to get), so I decided to deal with it later. After I had two moles scraped off for biopsy, I headed over to the OTHER doctor where I was immediately swabbed and the test that normally takes 10 mins to come back turned positive almost instantly (so says the nurse). The doctor said he was surprised I could breathe at all as swollen as my throat was. NICE.
Let the guilt set in .... NOW.
Since I've been sick I've exposed myself to I don't know HOW many people, thinking it was just a non-contagious sinus infection. I get them every year around this time, so that was my first thought. All the while I was contagious and spreading my crap. I am THAT person - the person I CANNOT STAND. The person who is sick and carries on around other people like they're not. GAH.
So, if I was around you the past few days and you get sick...I am really REALLY sorry and I give you full permission to punch me in the head when you're better.
I was feeling pretty good this morning - a little fatigued, but a lot better overall. So I decided TKB at 24 Hour Fitness was a GO. I struggled to keep up and felt like throwing up a couple of times (Chest congestion = hard to breathe. Chest congestion + high intensity cardio = dang near asthma attack...HA!), but I didn't feel really terrible until I was done with my workout. All the sudden my throat pain was nearly unbearable, but I had a dermatologist appointment already set (and you KNOW how hard appointments w/specialists are to get), so I decided to deal with it later. After I had two moles scraped off for biopsy, I headed over to the OTHER doctor where I was immediately swabbed and the test that normally takes 10 mins to come back turned positive almost instantly (so says the nurse). The doctor said he was surprised I could breathe at all as swollen as my throat was. NICE.
Let the guilt set in .... NOW.
Since I've been sick I've exposed myself to I don't know HOW many people, thinking it was just a non-contagious sinus infection. I get them every year around this time, so that was my first thought. All the while I was contagious and spreading my crap. I am THAT person - the person I CANNOT STAND. The person who is sick and carries on around other people like they're not. GAH.
So, if I was around you the past few days and you get sick...I am really REALLY sorry and I give you full permission to punch me in the head when you're better.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Down but not OUT!
I have been sick the past couple of days. It's spring in Texas, and for most that means ALLERGIES, but for me it's the inevitable SINUS INFECTION. That first day you always feel the worst (at least *I* do). Knives in the throat from the constant drainage, chest congestion from the constant drainage, sinus headache from the congestion...you get the point. ;)
Anyway...most normal people would validly use this an excuse to take it easy and take time off from exercise, but not this crazy ADDICT. I always take Sunday off, but I got my workout in on Friday, Saturday, and today...despite not feeling at the top of my game.
Friday I got my Hip Hop Hustle fix. I truly look forward to this class more than any other class all week. It's the one time every week where I feel like I'm only there to have FUN and just HAPPEN to burn some calories while I'm at it. It's not that I don't have fun in my other classes, they just FEEL like WORK...Hustle doesn't, even though I'm probably burning a solid 500-600 calories each class.
Fridays are my "twofer" days, so I get to do about half of Pat's TKB class immediately following Hustle. Talk about high energy! I usually have so little left in me by that point that I probably shouldn't be in the front row...haha! I wish I could stay the full hour, but alas...I have a child who can't stay in the Kids Club for more than 2 hours.
Saturday I was SO excited because my faaaaaaaaavorite (do the extra a's show you how EXCITED I was?) PiYo teacher had been OUT on maternity leave. Her substitute, though she undoubtedly kicked everyone's butt, was not doing real PiYo and didn't give me the kind of workout I was looking for. And if a class says it's PiYo, it needs to be PiYo! Sounds harsh, but remember...no BS here! ;) Anyway, so my favorite girl was back, and the workout was INTENSE but AWESOME. I feel so weak and strong at the same time after PiYo. My muscles are shaking and fatigued, but it feels GREAT. I told my daughter that once after we finished TurboFire together and she pretty much called me crazy. HA!
Today was probably the hardest for me. I was SO low on energy - very fatigued and my throat and head just felt BAD. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself as hard as I did...but, I'm competitive. I see the people around me outperforming me and I've just gotta push til my body won't go! :) I did turn it down a bit, not as much plyometrics as I'd normally do, but I still got a killer workout and honestly felt a heckuva lot better than I did before the class.
The one thing that REALLY stinks about this sickness, though, is that I can't drink my Shakeology. It, mixed with the lovely gunk streaming down the back of my throat, doesn't taste good at ALL. I notice such a huge difference...from my attitude (down), to my cravings (can we say tootsie rolls?)...my health and well-being are so tied in with my daily dose of Shakeology. So another reason to hope I get better SOON.
Speaking of Shakeology...did you see the news? A new flavor is coming! And they didn't mean to, but they spilled their own secret in the contest rules....the new flavor will be TROPICAL. I'll definitely have to try it...it sounds...interesting right now. I hope it's good so I can mix it up!
Anyway...most normal people would validly use this an excuse to take it easy and take time off from exercise, but not this crazy ADDICT. I always take Sunday off, but I got my workout in on Friday, Saturday, and today...despite not feeling at the top of my game.
Friday I got my Hip Hop Hustle fix. I truly look forward to this class more than any other class all week. It's the one time every week where I feel like I'm only there to have FUN and just HAPPEN to burn some calories while I'm at it. It's not that I don't have fun in my other classes, they just FEEL like WORK...Hustle doesn't, even though I'm probably burning a solid 500-600 calories each class.
Fridays are my "twofer" days, so I get to do about half of Pat's TKB class immediately following Hustle. Talk about high energy! I usually have so little left in me by that point that I probably shouldn't be in the front row...haha! I wish I could stay the full hour, but alas...I have a child who can't stay in the Kids Club for more than 2 hours.
Saturday I was SO excited because my faaaaaaaaavorite (do the extra a's show you how EXCITED I was?) PiYo teacher had been OUT on maternity leave. Her substitute, though she undoubtedly kicked everyone's butt, was not doing real PiYo and didn't give me the kind of workout I was looking for. And if a class says it's PiYo, it needs to be PiYo! Sounds harsh, but remember...no BS here! ;) Anyway, so my favorite girl was back, and the workout was INTENSE but AWESOME. I feel so weak and strong at the same time after PiYo. My muscles are shaking and fatigued, but it feels GREAT. I told my daughter that once after we finished TurboFire together and she pretty much called me crazy. HA!
Today was probably the hardest for me. I was SO low on energy - very fatigued and my throat and head just felt BAD. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself as hard as I did...but, I'm competitive. I see the people around me outperforming me and I've just gotta push til my body won't go! :) I did turn it down a bit, not as much plyometrics as I'd normally do, but I still got a killer workout and honestly felt a heckuva lot better than I did before the class.
The one thing that REALLY stinks about this sickness, though, is that I can't drink my Shakeology. It, mixed with the lovely gunk streaming down the back of my throat, doesn't taste good at ALL. I notice such a huge difference...from my attitude (down), to my cravings (can we say tootsie rolls?)...my health and well-being are so tied in with my daily dose of Shakeology. So another reason to hope I get better SOON.
Speaking of Shakeology...did you see the news? A new flavor is coming! And they didn't mean to, but they spilled their own secret in the contest rules....the new flavor will be TROPICAL. I'll definitely have to try it...it sounds...interesting right now. I hope it's good so I can mix it up!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
My Precious
Hello, my name is Amy Howe and I'm addicted to TurboKick Boxing.
I did my first kickboxing tape when I was probably 19 or 20 years old. It was OLD SCHOOL - Kathy Smith Kickboxing. I originally had it on VHS, if that tells you anything. It is old, but it's actually decent - I did it this past winter when we had crazy snow & ice and the gym was closed. Of course, it doesn't hold a candle to TurboKick Boxing (which I'll refer to as TKB from now on), but it really does give you a good workout and helps you learn "true" kickboxing form (they have professional Keith Cooke on the video). It was helpful to have had that experience when I ventured into my first TKB class last Spring. I wasn't completely in the dark about what a jab, cross, hook, and uppercut were. :)
Since I had been pretty much solely running before I got back into the gym atmosphere, it wasn't like I could just walk into the class and be a pro TKB-er. I was actually humiliated after my first class because everyone seemed to know what they were doing and I was lost at all the new combos. It took me about two weeks of twice a week classes to really catch on to the moves unique to TKB, but since then...I've been what I guess you could call a TKB JUNKIE.
I currently take 4-5 TKB classes per week and even went so far as to go through TKB Training. I could teach the format if I wanted to. That scares the crap out of me...I'm ok being front & center, but actually having to talk and teach and execute moves...I think I have a while yet before I have the nerve for that. Baby steps are my best friend. ;)
This morning I did TKB with the always amazing Deb at the Frisco Athletic Center. She is really one of my favorite all around instructors - she ALWAYS cues, she has a ton of energy, she's funny, motivating, and her body is inspiring! At 42, I hope I am as kick-butt as she is!
Do you have a favorite workout?
I did my first kickboxing tape when I was probably 19 or 20 years old. It was OLD SCHOOL - Kathy Smith Kickboxing. I originally had it on VHS, if that tells you anything. It is old, but it's actually decent - I did it this past winter when we had crazy snow & ice and the gym was closed. Of course, it doesn't hold a candle to TurboKick Boxing (which I'll refer to as TKB from now on), but it really does give you a good workout and helps you learn "true" kickboxing form (they have professional Keith Cooke on the video). It was helpful to have had that experience when I ventured into my first TKB class last Spring. I wasn't completely in the dark about what a jab, cross, hook, and uppercut were. :)
Since I had been pretty much solely running before I got back into the gym atmosphere, it wasn't like I could just walk into the class and be a pro TKB-er. I was actually humiliated after my first class because everyone seemed to know what they were doing and I was lost at all the new combos. It took me about two weeks of twice a week classes to really catch on to the moves unique to TKB, but since then...I've been what I guess you could call a TKB JUNKIE.
I currently take 4-5 TKB classes per week and even went so far as to go through TKB Training. I could teach the format if I wanted to. That scares the crap out of me...I'm ok being front & center, but actually having to talk and teach and execute moves...I think I have a while yet before I have the nerve for that. Baby steps are my best friend. ;)
This morning I did TKB with the always amazing Deb at the Frisco Athletic Center. She is really one of my favorite all around instructors - she ALWAYS cues, she has a ton of energy, she's funny, motivating, and her body is inspiring! At 42, I hope I am as kick-butt as she is!
Do you have a favorite workout?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Here we go!
Now I've done it - I've ventured back into the world of blogging! Since I stopped my photography blog this year and my personal blog a year or so ago, I haven't had a good outlet (other than Facebook) to share all the mess floating around in this big ol' head of mine!
I think I'll try to keep the focus of this blog on fitness and health, but if you know me, I tend to be passionate...and a lil bit impulsive at times! So there may be a little randomness inserted here and there...And...I don't exactly sugar coat anything. You'll hear it "how it is" from me! This is officially a "No B.S." blog. You've been warned... ;)
SO, to start this puppy off right....any questions for me??
I think I'll try to keep the focus of this blog on fitness and health, but if you know me, I tend to be passionate...and a lil bit impulsive at times! So there may be a little randomness inserted here and there...And...I don't exactly sugar coat anything. You'll hear it "how it is" from me! This is officially a "No B.S." blog. You've been warned... ;)
SO, to start this puppy off right....any questions for me??
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