Sorry I've been nearly non-existent lately. I have just been busy with clients and bootcamps, and haven't had time to blog.
The good news is.. I'm completely off of my medications. I'm not going to say it's been easy because it hasn't been. The first 2 days completely off were atrocious: headaches almost as bad as migraines, a few hard-core panic attacks..
Let's talk about that there panic attack for a moment, shall we? It was day 2, and i was REALLY OFF that day. VERY tired, cranky, headaches.. it was just awful! I was on my way to a client and 1/2 way there it hit me like a wrecking ball to the head... Sheer and utter panic. I get to my client's house.. no one is there.. i really needed to use the bathroom.. I know gross, but if you suffer from panic or anxiety disorders you most likely experience the same thing i do. Then MORE panic set in because i HAD to go and i didn't want to defecate myself. I called my husband to at least provide a distraction, and it worked for a few moments, then the wave came even harder. The client comes home and i explain to him what is going on and that i will have to call my husband to pick me up because I'm just sick.. He understood completely, thankfully, and eventually hubby arrived to come get me.. i left my car there and went home and went to bed.
Since then i have had 3 other attacks. One was the following week, on a Saturday then again the next Monday. I've had increased anxiety since then when going to this client. I speculate that it is just my brain associating that client and house with panic. Every day that i go there it's been getting better and better. I've found that chewing gum and singing my favorite Duran Duran tunes helps because I'm breathing a certain way. OH yeah.. forgot to mention. I noticed that when my anxiety starts i immediately check my breathing and sure enough I'm either holding my breath or shallow breathing. So that may even be the trigger to most of my attacks.. that I'm on auto-pilot when it comes to my breathing. it's just very strange.
It's been 3 full days now and i haven't had a single episode of either!
What i have been doing in addition to being consciously aware:
1. Doc put me on Sam-e, now i am not in any way/shape/form suggesting you take this holistic approach because it's not for everyone. This supplement acts like serotonin and stabilizes mood. Normally it's suggested for depression, but because the Lexapro is considered an anti-depressant it should have the same effect. The dangers associated with Sam-e are why i recommend talking to your doctor about it first, as it CAN make things worse as noted on it's side-effect/warnings all over the Internet. It takes 7-10 days to take too.. so it's not like popping vitamin-C and you feel better, it needs to build up in the system.
I'm not sure if it's the Sam-e that has been helping, or me trying to be aware and unafraid of my illness, but either way it's working.
2. EXERCISING! I am a personal trainer, and I own my own fitness business, and i host bootcamps M-F in my area. If you take a gander on the Internet and watch videos of some of the bootcamps out there you will notice instructors just shouting and motivating and counting time/reps. Not THIS instructor!! I WORK OUT WITH MY CAMPERS!
My theory is 3 sided:
1. If I have to wake up at 5am, I'm going to make the most out of it!
2. I'm a constant mirror of form, they can look at me and see how my body is positioned and if i notice them with bad form i can correct them and they can visually see me doing the workout properly.
3. How can i tell how effective the workouts are if i don't do them myself?!
It's been 3 weeks and not only do i feel the difference in my posture, strength, and physical appearance, I'm noticing great improvement in my cardiovascular endurance, and tolerance.. I think i might be ready for Insanity again! lol (I'll do it between cycles 1 & 2, when i have a week off). The Spartan Sprint Race is 2 weeks from tomorrow.. I feel pretty confident that I'm ready, or at least i will be ready... oh my heart just fluttered lol.. pre-race jitters lol
I find that getting that 0530 workout in gives me SO much more time and energy to get everything else done too. My campers mentioned the same thing going into week 2 "they have more energy throughout the day".
I HIGHLY recommend working out as a means to deal with anxiety disorder. I had another blog on wordpress last year and had tons of articles regarding that topic, but for some lame reason they suspended my account.. whatever.. looking to the future now and I've always been happier at Blogger anyway.
Showing posts with label Insanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insanity. Show all posts
5.20.2011
4.06.2011
Reassessment
I want to preface before i get into the thick of it by saying that weaning from an anti-depressant is serious business, and you really have to take care of yourself and listen to your body.
I say this because yesterday was a particularly hard day (day #3 of the wean). Bad headaches, tired is barely a word to describe the lethargic feeling, no appetite, and that is to mention just a few.
I had to skip the workout yesterday, and had planned on working out today, but I'm keeping it at a yard-work only work-out, as my anxiety levels are a bit high, and my symptoms today are worse than yesterday.
I AM afraid of a repeat of Monday, I will not deny it. IT was scary. I am however, grateful for the experience because if one of my boot campers experiences light headed-ness i know what to do while waiting for an ambulance to come. I always say "everything happens for a reason", and whether that is the reason, or it's something that has to do with my physical state, it happened and it happened for a reason. I don't look at it as a set-back, I look at it as a learning experience.
While i was scheduling out my to-do list last night i decided that i am going to forgo the full Insanity jump in and continue with my Chalean weight training and after a week i will switch to the Chalean/TurboFire hybrid. That will allow me to have the weight training i need (and want) as well as bring up my cardio levels.
When I started P90X, i didn't just buy the program and jump in. I knew my body was not physically able to do it. What i did do, is purchased 10 minute trainer then worked up to turbo jam, then Chalean Extreme, THEN i did P90X. And because of that gradual increase, i was able to kick major doopah with P90X! I never felt like a failure or discouraged, and i didn't have any physical side effects, other than soreness, which is what i love because it tells me I'm getting somewhere.
Thinking ahead to the Spartan coming up in June, my decision to register was to give my own brother a push, and to also use this to gauge my own physical capabilities for the Tough Mudder in November. That being the case, I'm clearly not ready for Insanity. I need to take the same "marathon vs. sprint" approach and work my way up.
Game Plan: Chalean/TurboFire Hybrid and Couch to 5k training. Couch to 5k training is a 30 day plan, so even if i start in May i will be OK. In the meantime I'm going to do the hybrid to get started.
I say this because yesterday was a particularly hard day (day #3 of the wean). Bad headaches, tired is barely a word to describe the lethargic feeling, no appetite, and that is to mention just a few.
I had to skip the workout yesterday, and had planned on working out today, but I'm keeping it at a yard-work only work-out, as my anxiety levels are a bit high, and my symptoms today are worse than yesterday.
I AM afraid of a repeat of Monday, I will not deny it. IT was scary. I am however, grateful for the experience because if one of my boot campers experiences light headed-ness i know what to do while waiting for an ambulance to come. I always say "everything happens for a reason", and whether that is the reason, or it's something that has to do with my physical state, it happened and it happened for a reason. I don't look at it as a set-back, I look at it as a learning experience.
While i was scheduling out my to-do list last night i decided that i am going to forgo the full Insanity jump in and continue with my Chalean weight training and after a week i will switch to the Chalean/TurboFire hybrid. That will allow me to have the weight training i need (and want) as well as bring up my cardio levels.
When I started P90X, i didn't just buy the program and jump in. I knew my body was not physically able to do it. What i did do, is purchased 10 minute trainer then worked up to turbo jam, then Chalean Extreme, THEN i did P90X. And because of that gradual increase, i was able to kick major doopah with P90X! I never felt like a failure or discouraged, and i didn't have any physical side effects, other than soreness, which is what i love because it tells me I'm getting somewhere.
Thinking ahead to the Spartan coming up in June, my decision to register was to give my own brother a push, and to also use this to gauge my own physical capabilities for the Tough Mudder in November. That being the case, I'm clearly not ready for Insanity. I need to take the same "marathon vs. sprint" approach and work my way up.
Game Plan: Chalean/TurboFire Hybrid and Couch to 5k training. Couch to 5k training is a 30 day plan, so even if i start in May i will be OK. In the meantime I'm going to do the hybrid to get started.
4.05.2011
The Making of a plan
Last night I did some thinking about what had happened yesterday.
Yes, it's been eating at me, I'm human and a problem solver so it's naturally going to be a mind burden until i resolve it.
My one main weakness (besides cardio endurance) is hip flexor strength. I've been fighting this battle for a few years now. I noticed yesterday, while doing the fit test, that when I have to jump up to slap my knees or any similar movement, it's very difficult and my body finds the need to lift up one leg up at a time.
My goal this morning is to put a training schedule together to increase the strength in that area and in my core as well as Insanity. I'm not giving up on this program, I'm just going to have to take it slower than i would other programs. Typically, like with Chalean Extreme, TurboFire and P90X i would follow the trainer or the advanced person in the back. I found out the hard way yesterday, that with Insanity i will have to follow the modifier (if any) or take it really easy and work my way up through the course of the 60 days.
My other weakness is nutrition. I eat healthy, don't get me wrong, but it's eating enough to power through weight training and intense cardio training that is going to be a test for me.
I've already come to the conclusion that cardio training will have to be done later in the day, so I will do my weight training in the morning. I will keep you updated on what happens!
Yes, it's been eating at me, I'm human and a problem solver so it's naturally going to be a mind burden until i resolve it.
My one main weakness (besides cardio endurance) is hip flexor strength. I've been fighting this battle for a few years now. I noticed yesterday, while doing the fit test, that when I have to jump up to slap my knees or any similar movement, it's very difficult and my body finds the need to lift up one leg up at a time.
My goal this morning is to put a training schedule together to increase the strength in that area and in my core as well as Insanity. I'm not giving up on this program, I'm just going to have to take it slower than i would other programs. Typically, like with Chalean Extreme, TurboFire and P90X i would follow the trainer or the advanced person in the back. I found out the hard way yesterday, that with Insanity i will have to follow the modifier (if any) or take it really easy and work my way up through the course of the 60 days.
My other weakness is nutrition. I eat healthy, don't get me wrong, but it's eating enough to power through weight training and intense cardio training that is going to be a test for me.
I've already come to the conclusion that cardio training will have to be done later in the day, so I will do my weight training in the morning. I will keep you updated on what happens!
4.04.2011
Insanity
4.4.11
Today marked day 1 of Insanity (not the mental condition silly, the workout program!).
Day 1 is the Fit Test. There are 8 moves that you do and count and log on your fit test sheet.
Out of 8 I made it to #4 (Power Jumps) for a total of 17, and that is as far as I made it before I literally passed out.
Now I'm not saying this to scare you or to have a pity party. I'm just sharing with you my experience with the program.
There were/are many factors that i am considering as the culprit, and being a trainer i should know better. However, I am human, and humans make mistakes too especially when gauging their own physical capabilities.
#1 The fact that I ate too close to workout. Though, it wasn't solid food, it was a smoothie, i still think the blood was directed to digestion, because my brain wasn't getting it.
#2. The change in workout time. I'm a night person. i love working out at night more-so in the AM because I have more energy and I'm more motivated, my body was still half asleep when i started.
#3. I started another meds ween 2 days ago, and that in-and-of-itself taxes the brain and body like you wouldn't believe... not to mention the headaches!
Those are the main 3 that keep coming to mind. I was making extra sure i was breathing properly, and not OVER exerting myself. After-all it is just a fit test meant to gauge progress, not performance. This is training for my Spartan and Tough Mudder races, I'm not trying to win the Miss America Pageant.
While my hubby was trying to help me come back from the blackness (thankfully, he was home AND EMT certified), I couldn't help but be thrusted back to 2 incidents in my life where this same thing happened, and the result.
The first time was at the gym. I used to frequent Gold's Gym in my mid 20's for morning workouts on my way to work. Loved that place so much, loved the environment, the feeling, the energy. Then one morning i was doing lunges with weights.. Now you have to remember, in my mid 20's i was in peak shape, my body fat was nearly non-existent, and i was shredded and ripped, working out was my drug of choice and i worked it hard, and it showed. That fateful morning, while doing lunges, i passed out. Went down like an over-loaded barbell. I was brought to, checked by medics and i refused to be sent to the hospital, cleaned up and headed to work.
I never went back.
I was so embarrassed at what had happened that i couldn't show my face in that gym ever again. In fact, that pretty much ended my gym time all-together for quite a while.
The second incident didn't even involve the gym, or training. I was accompanying my boyfriend at the time on a business trip to South Carolina. We were on day 2, had eaten breakfast together and he went off to his meeting and I to the pool. It was a hot day, but nothing i wasn't used to, nice breeze, kids playing and splashing around, i had a great book what could be better?
That's what i thought too.. then i didn't feel to good.. I started feeling 'funny', so i calmly packed up my stuff and headed to my room on the 7th floor at the end of the hallway. Before i was even able to hit the elevator button in the lobby the blackness started. 'Stay calm' i kept saying to myself. I made it to the 7th floor, and just like a horror movie when the hallway seems to lengthen for miles, i started making that trek to my room. Cleaning ladies where staring at me as i was nearly crawling to my room (i know, i know.. why not help me right?). Once inside, i got sick, I'll spare you the details, and passed out on the bed.
When he came back from his meeting, (6 hours later), I was still passed out on the bed. He woke me up. Scary to think that i could have died, and my last visual was the cleaning lady staring at me while i was trying to get to safety lol.
When events like these happen, they change your life, well they changed mine anyway.
I never felt comfortable in a gym environment ever again; i was always afraid that it would happen again. People staring at me when i work out also makes me feel very uncomfortable because it brings me back to what i saw when i opened my eyes when the medics brought me to. I know the saying 'When you get smacked down, just jump back on the horse', but for me that horse just kept bucking me off. So i found working out at home to be a better substitute, even though i didn't have the equipment that the gym had.
Then, in my mid 30's Beachbody and P90X came into my life and the rest is history. I don't need a gym now! Though, it does not help the blacking out situation. So I'm going to have to monitor that and keep you abreast of what happens.
Today marked day 1 of Insanity (not the mental condition silly, the workout program!).
Day 1 is the Fit Test. There are 8 moves that you do and count and log on your fit test sheet.
Out of 8 I made it to #4 (Power Jumps) for a total of 17, and that is as far as I made it before I literally passed out.
Now I'm not saying this to scare you or to have a pity party. I'm just sharing with you my experience with the program.
There were/are many factors that i am considering as the culprit, and being a trainer i should know better. However, I am human, and humans make mistakes too especially when gauging their own physical capabilities.
#1 The fact that I ate too close to workout. Though, it wasn't solid food, it was a smoothie, i still think the blood was directed to digestion, because my brain wasn't getting it.
#2. The change in workout time. I'm a night person. i love working out at night more-so in the AM because I have more energy and I'm more motivated, my body was still half asleep when i started.
#3. I started another meds ween 2 days ago, and that in-and-of-itself taxes the brain and body like you wouldn't believe... not to mention the headaches!
Those are the main 3 that keep coming to mind. I was making extra sure i was breathing properly, and not OVER exerting myself. After-all it is just a fit test meant to gauge progress, not performance. This is training for my Spartan and Tough Mudder races, I'm not trying to win the Miss America Pageant.
While my hubby was trying to help me come back from the blackness (thankfully, he was home AND EMT certified), I couldn't help but be thrusted back to 2 incidents in my life where this same thing happened, and the result.
The first time was at the gym. I used to frequent Gold's Gym in my mid 20's for morning workouts on my way to work. Loved that place so much, loved the environment, the feeling, the energy. Then one morning i was doing lunges with weights.. Now you have to remember, in my mid 20's i was in peak shape, my body fat was nearly non-existent, and i was shredded and ripped, working out was my drug of choice and i worked it hard, and it showed. That fateful morning, while doing lunges, i passed out. Went down like an over-loaded barbell. I was brought to, checked by medics and i refused to be sent to the hospital, cleaned up and headed to work.
I never went back.
I was so embarrassed at what had happened that i couldn't show my face in that gym ever again. In fact, that pretty much ended my gym time all-together for quite a while.
The second incident didn't even involve the gym, or training. I was accompanying my boyfriend at the time on a business trip to South Carolina. We were on day 2, had eaten breakfast together and he went off to his meeting and I to the pool. It was a hot day, but nothing i wasn't used to, nice breeze, kids playing and splashing around, i had a great book what could be better?
That's what i thought too.. then i didn't feel to good.. I started feeling 'funny', so i calmly packed up my stuff and headed to my room on the 7th floor at the end of the hallway. Before i was even able to hit the elevator button in the lobby the blackness started. 'Stay calm' i kept saying to myself. I made it to the 7th floor, and just like a horror movie when the hallway seems to lengthen for miles, i started making that trek to my room. Cleaning ladies where staring at me as i was nearly crawling to my room (i know, i know.. why not help me right?). Once inside, i got sick, I'll spare you the details, and passed out on the bed.
When he came back from his meeting, (6 hours later), I was still passed out on the bed. He woke me up. Scary to think that i could have died, and my last visual was the cleaning lady staring at me while i was trying to get to safety lol.
When events like these happen, they change your life, well they changed mine anyway.
I never felt comfortable in a gym environment ever again; i was always afraid that it would happen again. People staring at me when i work out also makes me feel very uncomfortable because it brings me back to what i saw when i opened my eyes when the medics brought me to. I know the saying 'When you get smacked down, just jump back on the horse', but for me that horse just kept bucking me off. So i found working out at home to be a better substitute, even though i didn't have the equipment that the gym had.
Then, in my mid 30's Beachbody and P90X came into my life and the rest is history. I don't need a gym now! Though, it does not help the blacking out situation. So I'm going to have to monitor that and keep you abreast of what happens.
2.15.2011
How it came about..
Hopefully, you read the info about what this blog is for. If not, please see the main page.
Today I posted this on my coaching group on facebook:
I went to their website and looked at the obstacle course descriptions and I about had a panic attack.
Crawling through tubes, running through electrically charged fences, running through fire..and those are just to name a few.
I became light-headed, heart started racing, and the sweats started. Panic set in.
I decided to get in contact with MY coach, and asked his advice because he was having a hard time with nerves coming into a major event himself. His advice was basic and to the point. Don’t worry about time, just focus on surviving to the end, and train.
As basic as that was, it was very effective.
I already had planned to start a workout program tonight, (as i mentioned above), but now I’m going to increase the intensity of it all. Not only do I have to work on strength; I also have to work on endurance as well. I know Insanity™ is one of the most intense endurance training programs in the video market. It’s a completely mental program that pushes your limits, and I’m REALLY going to need that. I am also going to need extreme strength training, and as much as I LOVE ChaLean I may need something more intense, but I am going to stick with that until I can find a proper substitute.
Today I posted this on my coaching group on facebook:
That post started a VERY quick whirlwind with my brother and I, and HE decided to sign us up for the Tough Mudder in November.Re-starting ChaLean Extreme today. After many talks with Coach Susan, i think i am going to train for a Tough Mudder for 2012. I saw that they have a training regimen and it looks fabulous! So have to get started! My biggest weakness is endurance. It never used to be that way, when i was a kid and i would swim/train at “the Y”, i used to be able to swim underwater about 3/4 the length of an Olympic size pool over and over. My trainers used to be amazed at my underwater aquatic abilities lol. Now I’m lucky if i could run a 1/4 mile without wanting to keel over. So train i must!
I went to their website and looked at the obstacle course descriptions and I about had a panic attack.
Crawling through tubes, running through electrically charged fences, running through fire..and those are just to name a few.
I became light-headed, heart started racing, and the sweats started. Panic set in.
I decided to get in contact with MY coach, and asked his advice because he was having a hard time with nerves coming into a major event himself. His advice was basic and to the point. Don’t worry about time, just focus on surviving to the end, and train.
As basic as that was, it was very effective.
I already had planned to start a workout program tonight, (as i mentioned above), but now I’m going to increase the intensity of it all. Not only do I have to work on strength; I also have to work on endurance as well. I know Insanity™ is one of the most intense endurance training programs in the video market. It’s a completely mental program that pushes your limits, and I’m REALLY going to need that. I am also going to need extreme strength training, and as much as I LOVE ChaLean I may need something more intense, but I am going to stick with that until I can find a proper substitute.
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