“That’s a beautiful name,” he replied. “Is it a family name?”

“No,” she replied. As a matter of fact I gave it to myself. It represents
the things that I enjoy the most – cars and men. Therefore, I chose
“Carmen.” What’s your name?”

He answered “B.J. Titsengolf.”

We’ve been going for almost 7 weeks now. We started out a little rocky – taking one day to rest every 3-4 days, but now were going full strength – 6 days on, 1 day off.

It’s all about creating the habit. We work out in the morning, first thing, before getting to work. Some days are harder than others due to schedules, etc. but it’s finally become part of the normal morning routine.

We did have one little oopsy around Easter. The girls were out of school on Friday, we went out of town for the weekend – and then we looked up and some how had not worked out for 10 days! How does that happen?!? Anyway, we picked it back up where we left off… At the beginning of week 6, we decided to go ahead and move up to Level 3-4 – the cardio was getting easy to me and the sculpting for both of us…

Lets just say that Level 3-4 is way more intense! In a good way. The sculpting routine added more reps and more intensity especially with the push ups and lunges/squats. It also added an entirely new set at the end for smaller muscle isolation – forearms, calves, and upright rows. The cardio routine got way faster and added more sets of the exercises. We’re both dripping with sweat by the end. And abs went from 100 reps to 200! I’m feeling that one…

One of my favorite parts of the cardio work out is the power yoga in the beginning and also the kick boxing moves. I’m thinking of ordering the entire kick boxing workout at the end of this program.

Oh, and BTW, we’ve grown to LOVE the bands!

We were unsure at first, but they’re so easy to use and to store that we’ve bought several more levels of resistance. They take up very little space in the storage chest in the living room. Couldn’t do that with dumbbells! It’s also very easy to adjust your resistance on the fly – rather than having to change out dumbbells.

To date, both Dan and I have seen a dramatic increase in muscle tone, strength, and endurance. In the beginning, I could barely do 4 push ups on my knees – now I’m doing 20 and getting ready to do full push ups! yea! Dan’s challenge has been the cardio, but he’s actually starting to make some real progress.

The only side effect that we’ve seen from the program is that we’re both quite tired after the intense workout. I’m wondering if I was to quick to judge the supplements? I still don’t think it’s a good idea long term, but maybe a boost until you get into shape is not such a bad idea.

Having said that, we have decided to add a protein supplement to our post workout smoothie to see if helps to speed the recovery. BTW – I learned the difference between protein concentrate and protein isolate… In summary, Protein isolate is higher quality protein (the concentrate has more milk fats, etc – less pure), so make sure to read the labels when buying a protein supplement. We got the Nectar Sweets (Vanilla) – It’s really good but too sweet and uses artificial sweeteners. Next time, I’m going to try one without the added sweeteners…

Here’s the smoothie recipe, which by total accident happens to be (almost) perfectly balanced 40-30-30 (Carbs-Fat-Protein) Zone proportions rather than the normal60-30-10):

Banana Almond Smoothie

2 cups of rice milk (or regular milk)

3 frozen bananas

2 scoops of protein powder

2 tablespoons of almond butter

1 tablespoon of Udo’s 3-6-9 blend

Here’s the nutritional data for the smoothie. BTW – if you’re not using www.NutritionData.com to track your food intake, you should be. It’s the best tool I’ve found! You can track everything you eat and enter custom foods and recipes. It just rocks!

We have also added a Taurine supplement (500 mg) for added energy during and after the workout – Basically Red Bull without the drink – especially if you have it with a cup of tea to add a little caffeine.In case you’re not aware, Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid that occurs naturally in the human body. I did a lot of research and really didn’t find any negative side effects – other than drinking way to much and overdosing – similar to drinking too much coffee. It’s used to treat many different ailments from diabetes to high blood pressure. Many of which have not been proven – but why would the pharmeceutical companies recommend a $5 cure when they can recommend a $500 ‘management’ plan. Anyway, that’s another post all together… But isn’t it funny how all of the ‘natural’ remedies are ‘unproven’ and all of the ‘pharmaceutical’ rememdies are FDA approved? (points to ponder…)

The one BIG thing that has been frustrating to me is that I have not lost a single pound since the very beginning and one of my goals going into this was to lose 15 pounds. And compared to most people, I eat a very healthy diet – very little junk food or fast food, very little break or pasta, very few sweets, etc. So, you can see why this is a little frustrating to me. Dan thinks I worry too much about that and in some ways I agree with him, but I also obviously have plenty of body fat to lose… (left over from a few years ago when my diet was more typical American junk…)

In addition, in my attempt to reach my goal weight more quickly (and yes, I know I’m being impatient!),  I am also adding a fat burner energy supplement (I’m the one who drags the hardest after a workout). I’ve only been doing this for a few days, but have noticed a HUGE increase in my post workout energy with no negative side effects (like being jittery or not being able to sleep). So far, so good, but I will be paying close attention to my body because I’m quite sensitive to those things – any adverse feelings and I’ll stop. The one recommended to me was the Viper Fat-Burner. It’s definitely a stimulant and I’m not going to take it for more than a month, but I just feel that I needed something to get me through the initial intensity of the workouts and help me burn a few extra calories.

I’m also using nutrition data to keep a closer eye on what I’m eating over the next month… I do understand that it took me 10 years to get so out of shape and that I’m not going to get all the way back in 90 days! LOL

We’ll keep you posted on our progress and we’d love to hear your experiences with the P90 program and any supplements that you have had good results with… Leave a comment below.

(leave a comment – I want to hear what you have to say about this)

Research Shows S&M Activities, Though Stressful At First, May Bring Couples Closer

Here’s the link to the original post on CBSNews.com: 
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/31/tech/main4906044.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

Not sure how long the link will be valid so here’s the article…

Study: Spank Together, Stay Together

(CBS)  Despite a spike in stress levels, couples who engage in sadomasochistic activities (S&M), may end up strengthening their relationship, according to a new study published in the magazine New Scientistthis week. 

Two separate studies, one from Northern Illinois University and one from the University of Pisa in Italy, researched hormone levels at S&M parties. 

In the NIU study, those receiving stimulation got a boost in their levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The Pisa study showed a rise in testosterone among women who took part in S&M activities, which include spanking, bondage and flogging. 

When the activities go well and are enjoyable,couples told researchers they felt closer to each other. However, the opposite was true of negative experiences with S&M. 

“When sexual intercourse is consensual it is not stressful – even if it is extreme sex,” Donatella Marazziti of the University of Pisa said.

Mine either! That’s why I just started this really cool work out program. I’ll tell you more about that in just a bit…

I’ve been looking all over for a 90 day fitness bootcamp to get ready for summer. I decided that this was the year that I’m going to get back in shape – finally! Know what I found? Every single fitness bootcamp in my area starts somewhere between 5:00 am and 6:00 am. I’m not even awake at that hour – much less ready to work out!

When we took a trip to Denver to hang out with some new friends of ours (Kasidie.com) – I couldn’t believe how great they looked! And how great their friends looked! I won’t name any names, but one incredibly hot guy that I met had pecs that felt as if they were made of granite! Dan had to pull me away… LOL

I asked myself if it’s something in the water in Denver? Do they all have personal trainers? What’s up?

So I asked and was very surprised to find out that they used the exact same workout to get in shape!

It’s Tony Horton’s Power 90 (lovingly referred to by it’s users as P90) – a 90 day IN HOME fitness boot camp. Now this is the basic model – if you’re already in shape, then there’s the P90X. From everyone I’ve spoken to, it’s just as awesome as the P90 program but much tougher!

I got so excited that I ordered it as soon as I got back to Dallas.

Stay tuned over the next 90 days to track our progress through the program. We’ll let you know if this program is everything it’s cracked up to be. (Yes, Dan and I are both doing it!)

Let us know if you’ve tried P90 or P90X and what you’re results were… Upload your before and after pics. Leave a Seesmic video comment. Or just leave a text comment telling us what you think.

BTW – The before pictures were very scary so we’re post them at the end – with the after pictures!

UPDATE: Here’s how it’s going: Power 90 (P90) – The First Week (And The Second Week)

The good you find in others, is in you too.

The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.

After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.

The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.

The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself.

To blame and complain will only make matters worse.

Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.

What you see in others, shows you yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best.

Give to others, and you give to yourself.

Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.

Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved.

Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

Listen, and your voice will be heard.

Teach, and you will learn.

www.MindMaster.tv

MindMaster is a really cool subliminal tool that we use to achieve our goals. I’m also on their mailing list, which is where I got this very inspirational message.

When you are feeling challenged and annoyed by another person, stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself where you see this same behavior in your own life.