Feet Schmeet

I was looking through some pics tonight and I can see how different I look, even from December. I need to get my foot healed up and get back to working out again. I feel like I am gaining weight back I miss my Turbo Kick classes...I miss feeling good and enjoying working out.

I don't think I ever posted about my foot but basically I've been dealing with this horrific pain in my foot for over a year. It would come and go but it would really KILL me after I worked out or after a long day on my feet. I just ignored it forever, but finally it got so bad I had to go to the doc again. I found a new (better) foot doctor and he diagnosed me with a cuboid sublex. Basically a major bone in my foot was rotated or dislocated out of place causing the sharp pain all over my lateral foot. Awesome. I was glad to finally get a proper diagnosis, but I didn't realize it would take so long to "heal".

So, I've been doing physical therapy for about 5 weeks now per my doctors orders and have not been doing any of my high impact turbo kick classes or anything. I feel like blah. The foot seems to be getting better, but it's off and on. It mainly feels better when its taped up tight by my PT (I am loving the taping she does, it's such a relief). Without the tape I feel like it just gets worse. I have been wearing my running shoes (new ones) everywhere and it feels better usually with those. However, as soon as I wear normal shoes or dress shoes or try to do any major activity it usually hurts again. I hope it gets better 'cause I need to get back to the gym, STAT. 

I just hate my feet. I have the worst feet ever, always have. Structurally they are just jacked up. It's a hereditary thing they said, nothing that I did that caused it, they are just that way and it makes everything a problem. Lucky me! During PT we have been working on strengthening the muscles in my feet with all these exercises to try to create some support that my feet don't naturally have. Its getting better but I feel like an old lady with feet like these and I shouldn't!

Hope all goes well and I can get back to normal soon.

Starting Today...

Starting today I am getting back on track with my diet and exercise!! I am making myself go to Turbo Kick tonight, no matter how tired I am.

Ever since my foot pain got really bad a month or so ago I have been bad about going to classes as much as I used to. I have kind of fallen off of the wagon and I am not happy with how I feel lately. I need to get back on track with working out and watching calories. I really want to keep losing. I have been so busy lately that I have put myself on the back burner. I swear I am the busiest unemployed (under employed) person you will ever meet. I need to remember to make time for myself.

My damn feet! My foot pain would make me so angry because every time I went to class my foot would kill me. Then when started feeling a little better my right knee started shooting pain during a class one day and it got worse and worse every time I went. So I took it easy for a couple of weeks, not going as often and things kind of feel a little better in the knee and foot department, but now I feel like a lazy blob.  :-(

I think it's time for a change anyway...there is a new gym opening up near our place in early 2011. I am thinking about joining there and quitting the place I go now to give myself a little more variety in my workouts. As much as I love Turbo Kick, I think I am hurting my body doing it so often. Its very high impact and its too much of the same thing. I am proud that for once in my life I have stuck with something exercise related for over a year. I'm glad found something I love, but I think I am ready to mix up my workouts. I think I have to do that to keep seeing changes in my body. I want to be able to do weight training and other types of cardio and still take classes. My little studio just doesn't offer all of that, its just classes. 

At my last doctor visit, he told me that I have lost 16% of my body weight and that on average people only lose 6% or something like that doing an at home diet and exercise plan. He said that I should be proud of myself because its very hard for people to lose that much on their own. He also said that it will most likely be very difficult to keep losing. I just have to keep at it and try to keep going in the right direction.

I am also going to be better about my diet again. I am always conscious of what I am eating, be it good or bad, but when I get busy I also get lazy with what I eat. I eat to fill up quickly or because I am craving something bad. I have to remember that when I eat bad, I usually feel bad.  All things in moderation I guess.

Turbo Kick

So it's been a while since I've written. I was on break from Harrington for a couple weeks but I managed to stay busy. I worked out a lot and kept busy with Alumni Board of Directors stuff. We are planning "Homecoming" events for June so we are super busy with that.
So, I've been meaning for a while to write about the workouts I've been doing at my gym/studio because I am absolutely addicted to one class called Turbo Kick. I have truly discovered my passion for working out. I LOVE group exercise classes. This has been a huge player in my weight loss. Never again (hopefully) will I ever count down the minutes on the treadmill or elliptical.  I find that hour long cardio classes are SUPER fun and keep me motivated.

So when I first started out with the gym/studio I did mostly outdoor boot camps and outdoor yoga (last summer). Then when the new space opened I took indoor group classes, like strength boxing (with small hand-held weights) and lots of other cardio and strength classes. From the first time I took Turbo Kick with one of the new instructors I was immediately hooked. It is my favorite and I don't think I could ever live without it. Turbo Kick is a high energy choreographed kickboxing style class that's as dancey as it is athletic. Instructors are certified to teach it by the owners of Turbo Kick. They are the only ones who have access to the music and choreography.  New "rounds" are released only to them every few months. Each round the choreography changes and so does the music. So basically every few months we get a new "routine" and we do it for a few months. I love it because the music is great and so is the instructor. She is SO good at cueing and is very enthusiastic without being annoying! They teach it all over the country and its supposed to be similar no matter where you take it, but in my opinion its ALL about the instructor. If he/she is good its SO much better.
The best thing about Turbo Kick is that it burns 700-1000 calories per hour. Probably more for chubs like me! ha-ha. Each class is about an hour, so when I leave I am drenched in sweat and I feel I've had fun and also worked hard.

Below are a couple links to the "promos" that the company releases to get people excited about the new rounds. Please keep in mind, the music in the teasers is NOT the music that's used for the workouts. It's such a secret that they usually don't even put the music on the promo...probably for copyright reasons too. The real music is good hip-hop, pop, dancey house stuff...its GREAT!  It's all mixed together so that the class just flows so well.  Also, the super colorful outfits in the teaser look nothing like our class! hahaha, they crack me up....they're all so coordinated! :-)
Here you go....enjoy!
We are on round 40 right now. Its awesome!


Here is round 39 too. This was the last one we did. It was great too!


This is the round 38 Promo. This is music is a sampling of the real music used in class. I LOVE that "shots" song. Its the best song to workout to! This was one of my favorite rounds.