pampered indeed!
quick OT question -
Second picture on the MSN page - say it ain’t so! 
Ok, I’m calling you in on your word!!! you promised to tell the story on the pilates and what constitutes good food??
Lookin good in the second foto, I’ll have to put it through photoshop to actually see you though.
How’s work treating you or are you taking a few days off??
Ya, that picture is really dark I don’t really know why… and my date was kind of a huge tool, but hey 
And yes, I took a few days off of work, but now I back on it- just finished up tonight and I am going back first thing in the morning.
Pilates! As I’ve mentioned, I took one class at a different gym which was really high intensity. It is major core work, but there is a lot of focus on keeping the whole body aligned and balanced, so it works all of your stabilizers. At that particular class, we did everything at a pretty quick pace and until fatigue, and we also used rings where you hold them between your ankles and do different things while squeezing the ring… pretty challenging.
The classes I am doing at my current gym are a little slower-paced, but in a lot of ways that makes it harder. It’s a mix of stretching, strength, and intense core work, all while being aware of your body’s alignment and balance, kind of like yoga. You get into a breathing rhythm as well, which gives you something more to focus on. Some of the stuff takes a lot of concentration because you have to force yourself to use your abs and not use momentum in the different rolling postures.
In general I think it’s great, I would definitely recommend it! A lot of the exercises can be modified to be more difficult and it is not very stressing on the body- I could do it on an off-day and still feel like I got rest.
Good food… I am actually a little more picky about my food than I thought I was. I eat a LOT of fruits and vegetables (organic), I eat a lot of seafood and chicken and no other meat, wheat bread, sometimes yogurt or oatmeal, and I avoid white pasta whenever possible. There are certain foods that I reserve for the first half of the day- cereal being one (whole grain w/nuts/fruit), eggs and milk (I have milk only with cereal but thats only because it’s too heavy for me just to drink) and if I’m going to cheat by eating cookies or chocolate (necessary evil!!) or something I would rather do it early. I drink water and tea almost exclusively- no soda, no coffee (unless decaf), and rarely I will drink a few selected fruit juices.
Sometimes when I get home from work I just can’t find anything I feel like eating or which passes the test… when I want to eat I want to EAT- I don’t want to stand around cooking at 9 or 10 when I am starving. So if we’re low on fruits & veggies I head to the crepe place down the street for some “good” food
Hehe, yeah that happens (the date being a tool bit) and the pics dark because the background is too bright (that’s my opinion after photoshop editing)
I’ve never actually tried it and I probably wouldn’t do it for a couple of reasons… 1. I’m really unco (uncoordinated) so I’d probably fall all the time, 2. I think people would look at me funny wearing tights in a pilates class, and the women always stare at your ass (not bad, just a little odd 
) and 3. It costs money which I don’t have 'cos I’m not working (I’m a freakin parasite!!)
DAMN GIRL. You are picky. My diet is really simple. It’s 2 pots of food (of whatever’s left over from last night, breakfast depends on how much time I have left for it before I have to run to the bus (it takes me 1hour to get to uni) white pasta (as much as I can have!!! especially lasagna… yummm) red meat, as much as I can get, or chicken or turkey or tuna (whatever’s handy) lots of diet coke or regular pepsi (whichever is closer, preferably pepsi) and chocolates or cake type things (these are between classes so it’s usually one or two a day) and despite all this rubbish… I still can’t put on weight!!!
Yeah there’s this crepe place here in santiago which is really really delicious!!! lots of white bechamel sauce all over the place hahaha good diet??
I’m not talking about like… DESSERT crepes! I usually get them with salmon or chicken and pepper… so yes, it passes my healthy test- just not too often!
Yeah I actually understood that despite the hour. white bechamel sauce is a white sauce they usually pour on lasagna or on chicken etc… you should try it sometime.
Ah :o didn’t catch that one!
Since we are talking about food, I have a question for anyone who might be reading- what are the best foods to eat late at night? I usually eat my dinner between 7 and 8, but I haven’t been sleeping until 1 or even 2am lately. I get really nervous to eat food once it is dark out (don’t ask… I don’t know, I feel like anything I eat after dinner is sin) but I often go to sleep hungry with my stomach growling and everything.
I really crave sweet stuff (as in CHOCOLATE) so I sometimes will consent to eating fruit, and I have been drinking tea at night since the warmth sometimes tricks my stomach into feeling full. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to bed hungry.
I have a feeling cottage cheese might be the answer, but if anyone has suggestions…
P+F combos are probably best. I go 1 cup of cottage cheese and .5 cup of coconut milk; a stripped version Clemson’s anti-catabolic cocktail.
Omega 3 eggs (chickens fed flax seed) is my last meal. After ZMA & before bed. If worried about fat/cals… have the egg whites.
I usually hate eggs but there is something in these that I crave?! I blame nightmare4d for getting me addicted.
Interesting day-
First, AWESOME yoga for 75 min-lots of pigeon pose and this IT band stretch that was the best thing I have ever felt. Best class I have been to yet.
then lifts:
-bench 1x6 @75, 3x8 @70
-shoulder press 4x8 w/25’s
-dips (to almost 90) 3x8, 8% assist
-3x4 pushups- 4 down, 4 hold, 4 up w/abs in between
-DB bench 4x8 w/25’s
Bench frustrates me more than anything in the world- it is the one lift that I can’t get to be consistent. The other day I did 4x6 @ 75 and it was no big deal, but today I couldn’t manage the 8. Same thing with DB bench- granted it was the last thing I did, but usually 30’s are fine. :mad: I actually did only 3 sets because my arms were just like… NO. So I put my stuff away and was all set to go, and then I went back and did the last set because I knew it would torture me if I cut it. Interestingly enough, for both the benches- the last set was easiest! I had to focus all my concentration on just pushing , I suppose the concentration could be all I need… who knows.
Otherwise… I set up an hour of deep tissue work for sunday, and I’m getting my feet and ankles checked out on monday.
I am still open to responses on the food question- yogurt and tea seem to be doing alright so far tonight, but I’d like to go with what is most optimal. I really need to get a grip on myself- I’m always concerned with dropping weight in the back of my mind, but I am probably already closing in on the lower limit of what my body wants to sustain… once I get down to 112 or even 114, thats usually the start of danger, so I am still safe at 116.
I am barricading myself in my room to keep from getting my head ripped off- tension tension tension in the house makes my ankle hurt.
little offtopic:
krasnaya is ok, but what is “fleur”?
Any file pics of this Pulease I’m always up 4 new positions lol - seriously … totally committed to not getting injured again and stuffing up next season as well.
sure- click here: http://www.abqjournal.com/go/yoga/781529go10-10-02.htm -then click on the little photo to enlarge it. It’s useful to read the description of all the steps to get into it, when I was doing it yesterday we did a whole bunch of positions on the way to that one! I don’t always think to stretch my IT’s, and I was reminded of that…
and for mixey- ‘krasnaya’ is russian for red, and ‘fleur’ is french for flower
Many thanks Kras - that looks quite intense -I can see myself falling over a few times getting that right
Did nothing today besides walk my dog and stand around at work… I was doing registers for 6 hours so I didn’t get to walk around much as I would normally. Good for my ankle I guess, but made me antsy… I don’t like off days.
Not really sure what I’ll do for the next couple days- tommorow maybe will be a water and sauna day, and sunday I am getting massaged in the morning and I don’t really see myself doing any kind of workout afterwards! I definitely want my hamstrings done, but I sort of want to ask for more than that. My piriformis and back have been a little tight in the usual trouble place that froze my joint, but it hasn’t really been bothering me, especially now that I’m doing more pilates and yoga. My shins aren’t bad because I haven’t been running, so I guess I could either go with quads, or with my shoulders which are tight and making my whole back hard as a tree trunk.
The burned toast that is inside my ankle isn’t hurting much… my new experiment is to make ice packs of 3 parts water, 1 part rubbing alcohol since RA has a lower freezing point… it makes a slush which is colder than stupid ice cubes and can mold around my ankle better… just have to watch out for “ice burns”! I’m excited to try it.
nothing today besides work.
I elevated my ankle and deep-froze it with my alcohol slush bag, which worked incredibly well.
massage tommorow, so who knows if I will get anything done. I hate hate hate taking off days, but I guess I’ve learned to be smart enough to take them.
I think protein is what I am really craving at night- I went downstairs and freakin attacked a chicken earlier and I’m not feeling late-night hunger for the first time in days.
Just had my deep tissue massage… oh lord.
It was painful- I encouraged the guy to go as hard and deep as he dared so it hurt, but at the same time it felt really really good. I had an hour appointment so I told him do my hamstrings and if there’s time do my lower back. I think he had a little crush on me or else he was really bored, but he did my hamstrings, lower back, quads, piriformis on both sides, and a little bit on my IT bands and on my ankle. He gave me 50% discount since it was my first time going to him, plus an extra 15 minutes free. He told me he wanted to give me even more time but he had to go to his other job- but hey, I might as well go back again and take the offer! I was originally planning to get work done on the big/problem muscles, but he seems keen to do those PLUS extra things as favor, so I will go back as my budget allows.
He said my ankle felt crunchy- tommorow is the podiatrist, we’ll see if he can tell me anything or if he refers me to his partner who does sports injuries at the same office. Btw, the alcohol slush is the best tip I have come across in a looong time- it gets colder than ice, you can mold it to knees and ankles, and the slushiness gets a lot more contact while also being more comfortable.
I am antsy not doing anything workout-related for a third day but I have been told to take the time off… I am exhausted though, it’s the middle of the day and I am ready to get back in bed. My sister is getting sick, so it might not be a bad idea for me to lie down and relax.
I missed pilates this morning because i got confused and thought it was the evening class today when it was actually at 10:30, so I slept through it. 
I was really disappointed because the way my work schedule is set up this week I am missing my two favorite yoga classes and two pilates classes, so I can make yoga on wednesday and sunday and thats it. but anyway,
LIFTS- felt AWESOME today:
-10 minutes core for WU
-bench 2x6 @75, too easy, so --> 2x6 @80- the 80 I guess is a new PR, I feel kind of stupid saying that because while it was harder it was still manageable. It felt awesome, I really feel like I am actually making strength gains and not just coasting.
-4x10 dips to about 90 degrees, 8% assist (the lowest that the machine goes.) I think I’m ready to try no assistance next time and see what happens. I have done no assistance and just not been able to go very deep but now maybe that will have improved.
-4x8 DB bench w/30’s- I think i was bringing my elbows in too much before which made it harder than it really should have been because when I made the adjustment today it felt easier- probably will shift and attempt 35’s next time.
-4x12 tricep extensions w/25 DB
-stretch
I also did some quick and light stretching for my legs- they feel better than I thought they would, it feels like there is a little bruising but nothing visible and it’s nothing thats restricting my movements so I don’t think the massage went overboard.
Going to the podiatrist today, we’ll see if he can tell me anything enlightening about my ankle, etc.
frustrating- went to see the podiatrist who was like, well… it’s not a bone chip and I can’t really feel anything obviously wrong with it so it must be just an overuse injury.
Wow… really?!
He gave me a prescription for physical therapy so I don’t have to break the bank getting treatment, I guess the next step is to set up an appt. for that. He also molded new orthotics for me and pointed out a joint deformity in the OTHER foot which may eventually require surgery if I let it get stiff.