Searching, packing, hectic...

Here's a quick update

I did not have a chance to update on Sat and Sun as we had guests staying over and all day schedule to complete. Moreover as I did not do any cardio those days, then I also didn't take any pics to put up here. Monday I did a cardio session, yesterday I was in the gym doing upper body and today had another short cardio session on the rowing machine.

Tomorrow I'll probably also manage to squeeze in a cardio training before we are off to a wedding in South for a couple of days... Hopefully next week things will calm down a bit :D

Shamefully I again have to say that no pics as due to upcoming event the batteries were loading and rather than to take a pic in the evening I packed the camera away. I know! I'm evil :D
We'll get there in the end.. right now I'll have to go back to packing...

to be continued...

From Milky Way

Yes, I'm still an inhabitant of this planet and haven't disappeared to the vastness of space or been sucked to endless black hole. I have been very busy though with learning and drawing up my thesis as well as planning some upcoming trips. End of October we are going to London for 5 days as one of my heros Stephen Fry along with Mark Carwardine is giving a speech at Save the Rhino event that takes place in the Royal Geographical Society. Last time I was in London was with hotelschool and main activity was to give presentations, go through half built hotels and listen to incredibly boring speeches right after stepping out Eurostar (3am with a bus to Brussels, 2.5 hrs or so train ride, tube to station and walk quite a bit to reach the venue = extreme exhaustion).

End of December I'll be going back to Estonia for 2 weeks to see family and friends and enjoy Winter (fingers crossed that there will be some snow).

Now a few words about training and condition. Past 2 weeks I went to the gym twice a week, this week it will be 3 times as I think my arm can take it (hopefully). Other days I did cardio at home and had either 1 or 2 days off, depending how I felt. For some reason I have been feeling like I have a temperature, but it's all normal when I measure it.. must be th heat outside asit's still pretty warm here.

Alright.. here are the pics from a week ago and for sure you'll see the next pics on Sat or Sun.. that's a promise! :)


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Vital Signs - check!

Welcome back to our weekly broadcast as it appears to have become. There really isn't much to say when being sick.. however, things are getting better. I feel like an AA member saying this, but I have been vertigo/dizzy free for 2 whole days and that's very positive :D My forearm is not hurting, but that's mainly cortisone working. I'm keeping the arm brace on to help along with the healing and I will also start doing some exercises to build up strenght.

I also did a blood test last Wednesday and got the results today. All within norm, except liver indications, but this is most likely due to cortison shot that I got on Monday. I think I spent about 2 hrs on the Internet to check what all the results, indications and numbers mean. It's not enough to know that all is ok and put the paper in the drawer, but find out what affects what, relationships and how to improve the results. Maybe it's something people do naturally or maybe their doc has half an hour to explain everything or maybe they know all the indications by heart.. well, not me.. at least not till today :D

Big news is that I went to the gym today after so many weeks (3.5 I think). I felt a bit weak and was very conscious about my arm and how not to increase the damage. There are some adjustments I have to make to be sure that I don't make things worse. I did some cardio sessions last week whenever I felt I was able as it wasn't very funny to bike while being dizzy or nauseous.

However, I did make pics after Sunday session and here they are :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Drugged and dizzy

As promised, here are the pics and I do have to say it took a good half an hour to get it set up and get it working, but got there in the end :D

You'll also notice a little accessory on my forearm that is mainly there to give a break to the now confirmed case of tennis elbow. Trip to the doc yesterday confirmed what I knew before. I had expected things to get better when we did not play tennis, but as I picked up the racquet on Friday evning I knew right away that things were still bad.
The doc gave me an option whether to do creams and slow treatment or she could do an injection.. unless I'm not afraid of needles. I said that I have gone through worse while being a blood donor, so she's not going to scare me with a small syringe :D She also told me to get the elbow brace.. which I did.
What she didn't tell me was that the injection was cortisone and that it will most likely crystallizes and causes more pain for the first 24hrs than what I had known before.. but I thank Wikipedia and other sites that allow me to do my own diagnosis and research ;)

Moving on to vertigo, I had 2 pretty bad and sleepless nights, because as soon as I turned I got dizzy. Doc tried to convince me that this might pass, but by that time I felt awful, tired and just wanted something that would allow me to feel a tiny bit better. So we agreed that she would give me some medicine to see how it works out as there are no promises whether or not it would work. Well, I managed to sleep during the night, so that alone had a positive effect and I don't feel overly nauseous. However, I do still feel tired and get worn out pretty quickly... but I'm getting there :D

I also asked the doc to do a blood screening and that's probably where I'm headding tomorrow morning :)

Right.. I did 30 min on the bike today, but pretty slow pace... better than nothing though :D

It's all downhill..

Right.. do you want the good news or the bad news?

I'll say the good news - I am still alive and despite not making to the gym, I managed to do 4 biking sessions this week varying from 20 min to 40 min. Friday evening we also had a tennis session for 1.5 hrs, so that was great. My weight is coming off bit by bit and I am pleased for that :) Hmm.. I think that was it..

Move on to the bad news..
I still have vertigo and it's been now for a week (I'm going to the doc office tomorrow) and resulted to me falling on the floor during the night when I got up from bed to close the bedroom door. That wasn't very funny anymore.. I won't even mention the small incidents that have happened throughout the week.

Secondly, even though we have not played tennis for over a month, I felt pain in my right arm the moment I picked up the racquet. That would be another thing I'll ask the doc to check.. and maybe a blood check to see if other things are ok.

Thirdly, I wanted to take a pic this morning after the cardio, but of course as I was setting up, the batteries went dead. So I dismanteled the camera, removed the batteries and that meant no pic today. I will post it either tomorrow or Tuesday :)
I'll also let you know then what did the doc say and what the bleep is going on..

See you soon!

CSI of a blogger

10 days, sjeesh.. time goes by so fast.

OK, lets set the record straight. Last week I spent 2 days in the gym - Monday and Tuesday and had excellent workouts on both days, so I was really happy with the progress. Wednesday was off and Thursday I was packing for our long weekend trip to the seaside. What made the first half of the week terrible was the heat. 30C in shadow, no wind and constant sun.. this is an absolute killer for me and pretty much limits me in what I'm doing.

We left Thursday evening and I found relief to the heat by just having some air and being able to soak my feet in the water while walking the dog on the beach. It was great to get away for awhile and we were not back till late Sunday evening.. that also explains my long absence from here. I planned to go to the gym yesterday, but during the night while I was turning I had a pretty bad case of vertigo. I managed to get it under control while turning back to my left side, but when I got up later then I kept feeling dizzy and nauseous and felt completely exhausted. That was enough not to go to the gym as it would have been plain stupid.

This morning I still had some dizziness, but felt better. However, rather than taking a risk and going to the gym I did some cardio at home and biked for 35 minutes. I was pretty happy with that and glad that I did not fell off from the bike :D

Whether I go to the gym tomorrow or not really depends of my condition and whether I will have enough balans to handle the weights.. no point of dropping anything on my head :)

I'm pretty sure we will go to play tennis this weekend as the tennis center is open again after a summer break, so that's something to look forward :) I will also definitely post photos this weekend to see if there is progress :)

See you soon!

Surviving in a heat wave

Another day of excruciating heat, 28C in shadow is definitely not for someone who comes from north and is used to having all 4 seasons. There's always a dilemma whether to open doors and let the air in or keep everything locked and closed so the last bit of cool doesn't get out. BTW did I already say that this is not my kind of weather ;)

Alright, lets start with Wednesday - it was my leg day and I got a very decent workout, squats, leg press, leg extention and curls etc. I was completely soaked by the end of it, but glad to say that I could function and walk the next day.

Thursday was my day off and I went dress shopping as I have to attend a wedding in October.

Friday was shoulders and back day, but I felt somewhat light headed and felt that I could not do the max that I normally could.

I did 15 min on rowing machine and 15 min on spinning bike this morning, but again have been feeling pretty low on energy, so even an afternoon walk with the dog was a stretch, though it was only for an hour. Well, I did survive to tell the story, so it can't be that bad ;) :D

And here are the pics after morning cardio


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Leave no exercise behind

It's incredible how time just flies, so another update is definitely in order to appear in this blog. I have been busy and after a day behind the computer and doing exercise I'm almost asleep in the evening and then off to bed rather than updating or doing anything on the Internet.

OK, last week I had 2 sessions in the gym, upper body and legs. Upper body went well and so did legs, however I used a couple of new exercises that left my lower back and hamstrings in pain for three days. That meant that I took 1 cardio day off to recover and the other 3 days I did cardio at home. I also had to take one weight training day off as I managed to damage my right hand by carving an enormous patch of skin off from thumb finger right down to the flesh. This meant that I did not have an grip to lift weights or could hold on to them..

Here is a more healed version of what was before.. may not seem much but this is enough not to have a grip.


Anyway, current plan is to do 3 days weight training at the gym and 3 days cardio at home and one day off.
I also took my camera apart and will try to get it back into action mode by this weekend to finally take a pic.
I had an upper body weight training on Monday which went well and this morning I did a 45 minute cardio session, tomorrow it's back to the gym and giving a bashing to legs :)

Cardio

After sessions in the gym I was back to cardio. On Saturday and today I did 45 minute sessions on my spinning bike, but used a steady pace and didn't let the heartrate go sky high. So rather than strenght and trying to exhaust myself, I wanted to achieve more endurance.

After a long time I've taken pics and posted them here and I have to honestly say that I'm not happy with what I'm seeing. However, I have done some modifications in the menu side and we'll see how things look a week from now. I know it's invisible, but under that protective layer of fat there is quite a lot of muscle.. the padding is just too thick :D I also realize that me sitting behind the computer the whole day and a trip to the gym to pump muscle is also not helping things along. But I will be quite a bit more grounded as I need to get a lot of work done on thesis... OK, no more complaining and more action!!!

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Mind bending

I was back in the gym today to do shoulders, back and triceps

Started with 10 minute warmup as usual, military press, lateral raise on a machine, lat raises with dumbbells, front dumbbell deltoid raises, seated row on two different machines, pulldowns, triceps pullover, triceps extentions with a bar and with a rope.

I do have to say that my legs are a bit stiff and slightly painful from yesterday, but no pain, no gain I guess. Strangely I feel that the tension is in my calves and not so much anywhere else. Reading from different forums, I'm most concerned about my knees.. but so far so good :)

I'll bet that by tomorrow noon I will have some serious shoulder pain as I can feel some pulling there right now and that usually means calm before the storm... we'll see.

Tomorrow is cardio day, so I better go and choose a movie I want to watch while biking :D

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Lovely

Time for another update

I did a 40 min cardio session yesterday morning on the spinning bike and was quite pleased with the result. I'll say it again.. cardio is so much easier and you have more motivation when you're the type that needs to focus on something else to get through the discomfort and pain. I'm that kind of person and that's why I watch movies while doing cardio :) It works for me, but that is not the one and only answer/cure for someone else.

I was back in the gym today, it was legs day and I have to say that by the time I finished I was soaked and dripping sweat, so no slacking!!
10 min warmup, squats on Smith machine, leg press, leg extention/curls, calves, lower back and abs. All in all I was done within 1hr as I don't see the point of spending time and hanging around there more than necessary. While doing the exercise I'm already preparing the next one in my mind, think through what are the next step so that things would go smoothly. Time between the sets is 30-60 sec, that also means I do not wander around or spend time chatting, have to keep the intencity up while working out to keep the pressureon and be mentally more prepared :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Update nr 2398400 :D

Sunday
did a cardio session in the morning on the spinning bike for 35 minutes and spent an evening at a birthday party

Monday
day off

Today
Back in the gym, chest and biceps day - 10 min warmup, benchpress, dumbbell flys, incline bench press, pec-tec, biceps with dumbbells, biceps on crossover machine, lower back and abs


I do apologize again for keeping quiet for longer periods, but as I'm busy with thesis and spending my studying full time, then I'm pretty out and tired by the evening.. but I have not stopped exercising!! Far from it, don't even think about it!!! :D

Up to date with an update

I do apologize the brief silence, but you can bet on that I'm still here and active :)
Thursday I had legs day at the gym where I started with a 10min warmup, then squat on Smith machine, after that I wanted to do also lunges, but my left leg thigh started to shoot pain as soon as I lowered the leg. After a couple of times trying I decided that it would be wise to just leave it. I did legpress, externtion and leg curls and calves. Ended the workout with lower back excercise and abs. Good news came the next day with a revelation that I can still walk and function normally :D

Yesterday evening we went to play tennis for 1.5 hours. I had a reasnoable warmup and although I lost some of the games that overall score was almost 50:50, so not bad. Only thing is that the complex will be closed for the next 3 weeks due to their Summer holiday. Only option is to play outside (if the weather is nice) or I'll do home cardio.

Speaking of home cardio, then I did 40 minutes on a spinning bike this morning and I was pleased with the result. I will also do some biking tomorrow morning as I still have some worries about my elbow and want to give it some rest after the tennis session we had. I'll see tomorrow morning what the condition is and whether I'd take the risk.

That's basically it :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Push, push!!

As said before, I had a day off yesterday and that meant action today :) I was back in the gym around 5pm and started with a 10min warmup on a bike. As I was doing that 2 guys walked in and went straight to the bench press and started to pump.. Pppffftttt, as this was what I was supposed to do next. In my old gym there were a few more benches, but this gym only has one. However, not all was lost as there is still the Smith machine... yaaay! I wasn't sure how I could pull it off as I hadn't done such a thing before. Well, must be brave I said to myself as I put the bench in the position and laid down to see if the bar will hit my chest at the right point. All seemed fine and as I was doing warmups on the Smith I felt more confident, so onwards with the weights :D Then dumbbell flys, pecs, biceps, lower back and that was it for today :) Tomorrow it's the battle of legs...


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Gym Day

I was back in the gym today as I felt good again and the pain from previous sessions was almost gone :) Today was back, shoulder, triceps day where I started off with a 10 min warmup on the bike and finished with a good old stretch :)

Just a small note as it's time for bed to ged a good night's resting. Tomorrow is my day off, so no posting till Wednesday!!

Cardio

An update is definitely necessary

Friday
We were scheduled to go and play tennis, but I was still quite sore and we also had to go and pick up our new furniture and fitting a 2.30m table plus 6 chairs in a car was a workout by itself :D

Saturday
I did a 25 min spinning session in the morning rather than go for tennis as I seemed to cope a bit better with the biking than running around the court.

Sunday
I did a 35 min spinning on the bike and felt a lot better today, I can walk, stretch and sit without significant pain, so it's an achievement :)

On top of everything we were moving, assembling, dissembling furniture, cleaning, running around for the whole weekend.. I think the dog is pretty sure we have gone nuts :D

Well, here is what I can promise.. there will be a pic at least once a week, or a bit more often.



to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Pain is not my friend today

I'm getting pretty good with predictions now, as there is pain in my legs and quite a lot of it. As usual there were little signs yesterday evening that this would happen and morning was also ok. However, during lunch it was clear that it's has just gotten worse. It's not as bad as it was after workout in Estonia, but not far off also as walking means pain and sitting or getting up just hell :D You might have guessed that I took the day off to just rest and let things heal up. Tomorrow we are supposed to have a tennis session in the evening.... I'll see what is the situation by then and try to be a good sport.

Now it's time for bed to get some rest and sleep the pain away...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Gym day 2

If you read my last post, then I said that I might have some muscle pain the next day.. well, welcome back and yes I can confirm now that indeed I have gone through quite an extensive amount of soreness :D Yesterday evening it was ok, and also this morning for some time, but then it just increased and increased to the point of being uncomfortable. I should mention that I survived and went back for some more. Weird eh!?

I didn't do upper body, but it was time for legs:
Warmup 10 min on a bike
Squats on Smith 1x20kg, 3x30kg
Lunges on Smith 4x20kg

By this point my legs were pretty weak, those two exercises just take them out...

Leg extention 8x70kg, 2x8x60kg (I have to check the next exercise kg's as I didn't write them down straight away and can't remember the weigh markings)
Leg curl 3x8x70kg
Leg press 8x70, 8x80, 8x90
Calves on a leg press 3x12x75kg

Most of the evening my legs have been quite out. Not hurting or pain, just really weak... we'll see what happens tomorrow morning :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Gymming

I'm back in the gym.. it's official :P Another remark that I'm going to make is that my upper body is completely exhausted and tired that I can barely hold things up. It was good to wrestle around with weights and feel good about it... well at least this evening, we'll see what the damage is tomorrow morning :D

Another thing is that right now I have moved the gym time towards the evening. Today I went there after 5.30 pm and pure workout time was around 1h 15m, focus was on the upper body - chest, biceps, lower back, abs. I have to mention that I nicked the exercises from Jackie to bring some change to the old workout

Bench press 20repx20kg, 2x10x30kg, 2x8x35kg, 2x7x40kg
Dumbell flys 2x10xá7kg
Dumbbell press 2x10xá12kg
Pecs in cable crossover 3x10xá9kg
Biceps 3x8xá9kg
Lower back raise 2x10
Back extention machine 2x130kg
Abs 2x...
Abs leg raises on a bench 2x10

As I was back quite late, then no pics today and I might reduce the number of pics I take, but will look into that a bit later.

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Round and round

I was back on the spinning bike this morning and did 30 minute steady pace workout. Well, I did not work out during the holiday and now I have to build up the capacity again to bring it in a level I had, before I'm back to heavy duty. No point of hitting hard as it puts unnecessary strain on the heart.

Good news is that I went to check out the potential gym about 1.5 km away (previous gym was more than 10km) and it seemed ok. There were some minor issues like they only have 1 or 2 benches to do presses, could have a couple of more machines, but I think I can compensate the exercise in some other way. Another thing is that they only have one bench press bar, so it might cause some difficulties if I want to try some of the exercises that Jackie showed me. On a positive note they have a Smith machine :P

It's quite late and time to hop to bed..

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Back from vacation

Just a short welcome back note and to say that I'm back blogging again. We had a wonderful stay in Estonia, toured around the country for a bit, had a very cool workout with Jackie in Pärnu that left me unable to use my leg muscles for quite a few days. I saw an absolutely amazing Morrissey concert and visited Estonian XXV Song Celebration concert that is so unique and offers loads of emotions - over 25 000 singers and over 100 000 spectators (that is close to 1/10th of population).

.

We were back on the 8th of July, but I felt completely drained and tired also the next day, so no exercise. Yesterday evening we played 1.5 hrs tennis and I was obviously rusty :D This morning I did 25 min steady pace on the spinning bike, but as we were rushing off to the movies I did not have time to make pics as I have not installed the camera yet and it would have taken forever to do the set-up.Tomorrow I'll do some more spinning and I'll also check out a new gym that is closer to home.

.

All is still fresh, so I'll see if I can make more sense later and see if I can share some emotions :)

.

Here are some pics from the XXV Estonian Song Celebration

Quick update

I did 20 min on the rowing machine in total of 4270m which is better than yesterday, but despite the gloves I still managed to get blisters on two of my fingers. Not happy about that.

I wanted to say that I will not be updating frequently and more likely there will be a break in postings till 8th of July as we are off to Estonia :)

I'll catch you back here soon!

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

One, two..one, two.. check, check

First off congratualtions to my fellow Estonians on Victory Day, 23rd of June is special to us and 24th used to be a wonderful continuation as it was my grandmother's birthday. She would have been 75 tomorrow...
On the other hand today has been dedicated to celebration, BBQ, bonfire, food.. and more food :D For others it's also a day for drinking, but as I don't drink any alcohol, then I guess it's applejuice for me ;) I have to admit though that being here in the Netherlands I don't celebrate it much, I think last year I was doing some meat grilling, but it's not the same...

About exercise.. I was quite determined today to do some rowing and as I mentioned in my previous post I had to do something to protect my hands. I knew that I had some medical tape with what I covered my palms, but as soon as I started to pull I felt pain in palms as the tape wrinkled. Pulled the tape off, looked around and decided to give another go to the gloves. I have 3 pairs, I had tried 2 of them and now decided to go for a size bigger to see if it has any effect. In the end I managed to do 20 minutes and 4160 meters which is pretty ok considering I had to change the gear in the middle of the exercise. All in all, 20 min was enough for a start to make me sweat and tired :D If all workos out good, then I'll be also rowing tomorrow :)

Here are the pics :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

On the bike again

Yes, as the heading says, I was biking again. Can't help it that my palms feel sore and as I said before, no point of making things worse than they are. I did 40 minutes exercises with intervals to get the maximum out of the session. For some time I've felt a sort of tension in my back muscles.. they must be craving for a good weight workout :D Well, this problem will be solved in Estonia on Sunday when I have a session with Jackie. We can go nuts in the gym :D Finally there is someone to give me tips about some exercise that I haven't deared to do myself in a fear of either dropping it on me as I don't have someone to secure the lift, or injuring due to wrong technique. I'm definitely not going to take the risk that can backfire badly.

I finally got an appointment with my thesis supervisor after sending him a second e-mail and begging him for a meeting.. sjeesh. Well, at least he still responds to me which might be an ok indication. I fear what he's going to say about my topic and my area of research.. I really do not want to redo or find a new area. At least I can use the next two days to prepare and read some more materials to convince him :)

OK, that's it for today, here are the pics


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Cardio combo

I felt pretty good this morning, sleepy, but good.. so I decided to do some rowing. I did 10 minutes as even with gloves I felt a burn and skin rubbin off in my palms. I really have to figure out some option how to fix that and how I can hold on longer without pain and discomfort :(

After rowing I hopped on the spinning bike and did 30 minutes biking in intervals, so altogether 40 minutes which is pretty good :) As soon as I find a better option for rowing I will increase that part as it gives a lot better overall workout, rather than increasing leg muscles by intense biking ;)
I miss more and more a good workout in the gym, so it will not be long before I'm back there wrestling with weights :D I do feel that my upper body does not receive enough training and it craves to push up some dumbbells :D

Here are Sunday's pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Just pics

I dozed off, managed to get my eyes open to make this post and then go back to dreamland. Extremely tired this evening and all I want to do is just sleep :D
I did 30 min on the spinning bike in a steady pace just to have some change and throw off the routine. I went off to the market before the exercise and bought a watermelon, of course I had some and looking at the pic I see where all the water went :D Oh well...

Reporting back here again tomorrow.. niiiiight!

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Car..di..oooo

I wrote yesterday some extra to my last post, so if you are interested in me rambling, just scroll down :D

I was back on the spinning bike again his morning, I did 35 minutes of HIIT that had quite a long afterburn as I was sweating well after I stopped pedaling. Took the pics, then shower and back to brainstorming to sort out the information I received yesterday at the meeting.. joys of student life :D

Short note as it's time to go to sleep.. here are the pics :D

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Only pics....- EDIT- on Thursday

Only pics as it's so late and I have to go to bed..

I'll catch you later.. :)

................................................................

.

-EDIT- on Thursday

Little update from here

.

Wednesday was my day off, so no exercise, no pics. Yesterday I got a confirmation for a meeting that took place today (Thursday), that meant that no exercise also today. I thought I might manage after I come back, but I was completely drained and had/still have a backache.

Good news is that I got the results from my last exam and for some weird reason I passed.. well barely, but overall grade 7 out of 10. Could be better, but considering how insane the exam was, then I'm just pleased that I don't have to do it again. At least I don't have to worry if I'll be back from Estonia on time :)

.

Trip to Estonia is looming (26/06 - 08/07) and it will be definitely exciting. Loads of plans already where to go and whom to see :D I also have some goals that I want to fulfill.. I've been a blood donor for a while and I donate every time I go to back to Estonia.. which is a couple of times a year. There is also a Gene Bank where I would like to register and besides that I also want to sign up as a bone marrow donor. One of my friends had cancer and my dear grandmother died of cancer, so it would be great if someone could benefit from what I have in abundance :D

.

As I looked into the matters, then it's most likely that I might have to cancel blood doantion as the last two procedures would already collect approximately 100ml blood (50x50).. I should have some left for myself ;) I haven't checked yet, but it might be that I can do one procedure + blood donation and have to sign up to other procedure next time I'm in Estonia.

.

Right now my focus is on thesis, but there are plenty of problems.. I still have to tweak my topic as that was what I discussed during the meeting today with my old uni research teacher. Main problem is that I sent my thesis proposal to my university supervisor already a week ago, but no answer.. ggrrrr. I also tried to call his office today but no answer.. considering thay usually are not in the office then it's not a surprise. I live quite far away from the uni and taking a trip there just to see if he's in is a quite a high risk. I'll try to call also tomorrow and if no answer, then I might take the trip on Tuesday to see what's going on. I really need only 1 meeting with him to settle the topic and research so I know that what I'll do is 100% correct.

OK, enough for today, I'll be back to exercising and pics tomorrow :)

Short note

Short note today..
I abandoned rowing again as I still have concerns about my forearm, so I opted to spinning again. I did 45 minutes of cardio, varying intervals and speed to get maximum out of the exercise. By the time I finished I was soaked and quite happy with the result :)

Here are the pics..

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Little row, little spin, little rest

Short note today. I did a 10 minute full on rowing and 20 minutes on the bike.. absolutely soaked afterwards. There is a little stinging sensation in my elbow this evening, but feeling pretty alright otherwise.
It was raining the whole day an the low pressure made even the dog lazy. We realized today that it was her 8th birthday yesterday, so that might have been the reason for a bad mood ;) Well, she got an extra chewing stick and we didn't get any complaints!

I spent the day relaxing, watched heaps of Louis Theroux documentaries. I ordered 2 books via Amazon, Ottolenghi cookbook that has heaps of healthy recepies that actually look appealing. Second book is A Day at El Bulli to get an insight to the best restaurant in the world and I've set a 5yr goal to get a reservation to the restaurant, or if needed 10yrs.. well getting a reservation there is like winninga lottery :D

OK, today's pics are here..


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Revenge of the blister

Quick update .. I decided to try some rowing today as it was clear that we will not be able to play tennis this weekend. My partner still has muscle pain in his right chest and back for almost a week now. I told him to see a doc, but of course the answer was no and what could the doc do anyway :D Hopefully we'll be back training on the court next week.

Well, coming back to this morning, I rowed for 15 minutes on quite a high rep and altogether over 3000meters.. I'll check next time the right numbers.. After that I did 10 min on the bike to finish off.. altogether 25 min. On the downside I have quite a sore 'almost a blister'on my left hand. I probably was moaning about the problems with rowing already before ;) :D The plan is to do some more rowing tomorrow and I'll put workout gloves on to see if they would help a bit. I do like rowing as it gives an overall workout and is a lot more beneficial than spinning.. I'll just have to watch out for my right forearm as I'm not 100% sure it has completely healed.. I still get some tension and an occasional nerve sting.

Time to stop moaning and have an early night :) Here are the pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Drop the ball.. droooop it...

My little posting gives you the indication that indeed we did not go to play tennis. Luckily we did made the decision in the morning, so I could just do my cardio and not worry whether I would get any exercise today. I do like to play tennis in the evening, but not so keen on doing spinning or rowing late at night..

The plan so far is that when I get back from vacation to Estonia I'll start going to the gym again. Exact date would depend on when they decide to charge me.. either they take a full amount for 2 weeks (which is a lot) or half of the money (which would be fair). I would just have to reschedule my gym time towards evenings and write my thesis in the morning... I usually feel sleepy and tired after a heavy workout and find it very difficult to work.

Alright, about today.. I watched the rest of the cartoon while spinning for 35min in intervals. Unfortunately right in the middle of the workout, media center that played the cartoon DVD, decided to upload and install updates for more than 5 minutes. No cartoon, no picture.. ggrrr.. had to switch to normal TV and watch Crimewatch Roadshow.. quite a strange name for a program that is dedicated to solve crimes.. I definitely would not call it a roadshow.
In the end updates were installed, media center rebooted and I could go back to full workout mode :D

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

I propose cardio is the answer

Back in action this morning, I did feel a bit tired, but I was still up for it :) I put a cartoon on to cheer me up, climbed on the spinning bike and managed to do 35 minutes in intervals. I was quite pleased afterwards, it's always the starting up and getting going that is not my strongest point :D

It seems at this moment that we might not go for tennis tomorrow as my partner has strained his ancle and has had muscle pain in his back for several days. We will evaluate his condition tomorrow and see whether it would be ok to play or not.

The rest of the day I was finishing up my thesis proposal that I sent to my "maybe still my" supervisor. If he accepts my topic, then my area of research will be how traditional travel agents will survive with the growing European online market.. Naturally I suggest they should do some cardio ;) Kidding :D

Alright, if we cancel tennis I'll be back here tomorrow, if we do go for it, then I'll be here on Saturday :)

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Take it for a spin

I do have the pics, unlike yesterday when I forgot to download them from the main drive :D As usual I was spinning this morning as I want to give some rest to my forearm. It seemed fine yesterday, but today I can feel the nerve when I move my arm.. well me spending most of the day behind the computer could partially explain that.
In the end I did 35 minutes on the bike, mainly trying to maintain the speed rather than climb the "hills" as I usually do to add HIIT element in the exercise.

On different notes.. I have a few currant bushes in the garden and redcurrants are already almost ripe. However, as long as I have been living here I haven't had one because they are all pecked by the blackbirds that live in the bush at the other side of the garden :D So I decided to get a net to cover the berries and try to get something to put in desserts:) Things went a bit pear shaped the next day when I looked out of the window and saw a youngish blackbird under the bush. I thought it was just hopping around there, but then realized she had trapped herself and was covered with the net. Next move was to take scissors, cut the net to get this ball of bird/net roll free and then slowly try to untrap the bird. It took ages and she was pretty keen on biting me, must have thought it would help, but didn't even feel like a pinch :D Finally she was free and I released her under the bamboo bush from where she could run towards her nest. In the end everyone happy and she seems to have learner her lesson and also spread it around as no more accidents have occured :)

Alright, here are today's pics.. Tomorrow is my day off, so I'll see you back here on Thursday :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Have to do a re-post later/ The re-post :)

To make a short story even shorter, then I take my pics upstairs with another PC and usually transfer them through internal network to my laptop. Now, for some strange reason I have not done so today, thus no pics to put up.. aaaand all th systems elswhere have been shut down. So I'll retrive the pics tomorrow and post them then.. plus the text...
................................................................................
Tue morning and after turning upstairs PC on I could get yesterday's pics :) I did a 40 minute session on the spinning bike, felt tiny bit low on energy, but I was still pretty happy with the overall outcome :)

Here are the pics


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

So long tennis and rowing..

I woke up this morning feeling better than yesterday, but when I flexed my writst I could still feel pain muscle tightness in my forearm. Rather than making things worse we just decided not to go and give some time for healing. Tough decision will come next week whether to take the risk and play or should I wait a bit longer. Fingers crossed...

Rather than moan and sit around I went on the spinning bike and did a 35 minute workout. Well, it would have been pretty stupid to row ;) I did feel pretty good afterwards and even better as my forearm was still attached and most importantly it didn't hurt!!! I found some comfort by watching Roland Garros French Open men's final Federer vs. Soderling and saw the Federer taking the win.. finally! Took him 4 years to achieve it and if Nadal would have been playing things might have been a lot different. Wimbledon coming up soon :P

Time to sign off.. here are today's pics :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Return of the posting :D

As promised, I'm back!! :D

Do I regret taking some time off? Absolutely not, because I feel bit better and have more energy to run around. Well, bad news is that my exam did not go very well.. being a master student I thought the focus would lie on general theory, but it apparently was on definitions and specific concepts e.g name the author who wrote about this concept. Crazy! I was very sure that would be the easiest exam to take compared to economics, entrepreneurship and research principles... I'm 100% sure I have to do the re-exam, bad news is that I might be in Estonia during that time and may not be back on time. I'll see if it would be possible to take the exam a day or two later.

Well, needless to say I was pretty down after the exam and felt pretty bad for not passing. This would be first time this year that I would have to do that.. sulking now..

I had a tennis session yesterday and this morning. Yesterday didn't go so well as I managed either to overshoot or hit the ball to the net. Today was a bit better, but a small headache didn't help, but I'd say I managed to win about 45% of the games.

Another piece of bad news is that I suspect I have developed tennis elbow, probably due to bad stroke habit or I haven't warmed up properly before playing. Although, it's the same arm that I managed to damage the nerve and it could be that due to that I've been holding my arm differently. There is pain in my muscle and after I was vacuum cleaning I felt that I just can't pick anything up and that my arms was very tight and sore... just what I need right now, sjeesh! I'll see how thing are in the morning, but most likely we'll cancel the tennis and I'll have a date with my spinning bike.. no point of rowing ;) I'll let you know tomorrow what happened

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Day off (edit)

I must have been so happy to make a post yesterday that I forgot to point out that today is my day off. Just that you know that I didn't sneak off ;)

This week is a bit difficult week as 100% of my time goes towards studying and for sure Thursday I have to take off because I have to show up to the exam and it takes me almost 4 hrs to travel, plus the exam itself is 3 hrs.. I'll be home quite late.



Edit

I woke up this morning and I was again very low on energy and if it makes any sense.. tired on the inside :(
Rather than trying to push and do more I've decided to take some time to recover and see if that helps. Therefore, crazy as it may sound, I'll have some time off. I have planned a tennis session for Friday and weekend, so you'll know I'll be definitely back in action then, but not the next coming days.
Not to worry I'll report back here the latest on Saturday.. till then it's time that you'll do some exercise!!! ;)

I'll see you back here soon!!!

Tennis, tennis, tennis...

For some reason I couldn't log into Blogger yesterday, even the page didn't load 100% :( Good news is that I'm back here now :D

Friday evening was tennis time and had a great time at the court. I think the winning/losing rate was somewhere 50/50.

Saturday was I think one of the worst days I've had. I was very low on energy and my head seemed to be filled with blood if I reached to pick up a ball or even when looking down. In the end we cut the game short and I think we played for about an hour.

Sunday, well today I felt good again and I was running around to fight for every point again... so great! :) Also, I managed to win majority of games, thus a good ego boost ;)

I've been preparing for my exam on Thursday.. making summaries of chapters and articles and now going over, trying to memorize some of the material. I've never really understood the concept of an exam as there will not be a point at work or life where you cannot look up informative material. It's not like you are not allowed to look something up from the book while doing research or writing a report. Moreover, exam as such does not take into account personal capabilities. For example I know a few people that have photographic memory, so they go through things once and it's there. Also some people just have better memory than others... oh, well.. better stop moaning and study instead ;)

Time for bed as tomorrow is a new day for learning :D




to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Only spinning

This is already a habit... short posts I mean, but 11.40 pm has miracously appeared on the clock and it's late in the evening again..

Well, cardio in the morning for 35 minutes, only spinning this time as my hands are pretty sore form yesterday's rowing and decided to give them a rest before tomorrow's tennis. Again felt low on energy in the morning, but I think more and more it will come from the fact that I'm thinking and worrying a lot about my upcoming exam and more importantly about my thesis. It's probably going to suck the life out of me by the time I'll finish :D

Tomorrow is the last day at uni, I'll go and look at a couple of sustainability project presentations, have lunch with friends and say some goodbyes.. then it's gameface on and pure studying, writing & research...

As tomorrow we play in the evening, then next pics will be up on Saturday.. hang on till then :D

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Row + Spinning

I do apologize, but this is also going to be a short post as I have spent the day on doing projects and the night has creeped in as usual... sigh

Well I did 20 minutes of rowing in the morning, followed by 20 minutes of spinning and I have to say I'm pretty proud of that as I felt a bit tired, but decided not to give in or make up excuses to shorten the exercise time :)

Tomorrow is another day and another chance to do it all over again :D

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Spinning session

Veery quick and short update..

I did a spinning session this morning as I wanted to give some rest to my elbow and decided not to row. All in all a good 45 minute session after which I was soaked of course :) Rest of the day was spent on various project that all have to be completed ASAP as usual :D

Tomorrow is my day off, that means new post will be up on Wednesday!!

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Tennis & Star Trek

Yesterday evening we went to the movies with one of our friend who was very eager to see the new Star Trek movie. I have to admit that I never watched the series or the movies, but knowing that this was also made for general public, then it didn't put me off one bit. Well, I am a very big fan of Star Wars, so the sci-fi didn't put me off. I have to say that I was very pleased with the execution and storyline. I could follow everything and didn't feel that references to perhaps classic lines would have required previous knowledge. I'm not going to reveal the plot line as some of you still might want to go and see it :)

In the morning at 10am we were back in the tennis court to play for 1.5hrs. Today and also yesterday luck seemed to be a bit more on my side, though it was pretty equal play. Ankle and elbow seem to hold up right now, so I survive for another day.

I have been busy with building a case study for Tuesday's class discussion. Main topics are ExxonMobil vs. British Petroleum and the PR that surrounds their corporate strategies (Exxon will always be bad while BP being a bigger current polluter will always be in a better position in environmental marketing). Secondly looking into the views that globalwarming is another fad to milk millions.

I'm way behind with my thesis, knowing that I'm going to to have an exam in 1.5 weeks isn't helping as I need time to study... After Tuesday though I am able to put more time in building proposal and overall thesis topic..

Well, that's just about enough for now :)
Here are today's pics..

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

The Last of the Famous International Playboys

Well, Saturday evening already... time goes way too fast.
Had a game of tennis yesterday evening for 2 hrs, unfortunately it was not my nigt as I wasn't really winning the games. Moreover, things got worse when I launched myself towards the ball to the right while my body was still traveling to the left. At that point I felt my weight going on my left ankle and I guess the shoe wasn't tied properly.. to make a long story short.. the next moment I was lying on my back and I wasn't sure whether I should try to move my ankle or not.

In the end it took a couple of minutes to test functionality and had to make sure that if I try to play then I will not make things worse. There is no point to act as a superhero if it means months of recovery afterwards and there is no point to take advantage of the situation and skip the workout. Though I might add that sometimes it might be better to be a bit of a wuss as the extent of the damage may not be so big as it seems. The thing is I'm not sure what to do with my elbow. It's been ages since I managed to give that enormous knock on the nerve, but it still causes miscomfort and pain regularly.

This morning was another session, we asked if we could use the outside court to try it out. Well, I had sun in my eye, so it was pretty hard to serve. The court was quite slow and I guess this would take some time to get used to.. but on top of everyting the administration guy came to say that we have only 30 minutes on the court of which 5 is left because he didn't see that the court was booked for others.... So we packed our bag, went inside and spent an hour on the inside court after which I was extremely tired...

ok, time for bed.. the title of the post refers to one of Morrissey's songs, reason being that he reached yesterday the big 50. I wonder if he'll be now even more grumpy than before.. have to wait and see in what mood he's in the concert on 5th of June in Tallinn :D

Today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Combo morning

Well, I found my way back to the awaiting rowing machine this morning. No point of letting it dust in the corner, so we both tested our abilities.. Not really sure who came out as a winner, but I know for sure that my hands are not very happy and are staring to develop lots of extra skin. I do have gloves, but they as far as I remember they were pretty uncomfortable to wear. Perhaps if I get used to the a bit more.. oh well...
I did 20 minutes on the rowing machine, and the plan is to increase the rowing time bit by bit. It gives an excellent full body exercise compared to spinning which mostly engages legs.. As usual I was sweating after 20 min and it didn't get any easier while doing another 20 min on the spinning bike. Altogether 40 min which I'm pretty happy with :)

This week was pretty busy at the uni, two consequtive days of presentations and class discussion. I tried my luck in changing my thesis supervisor, but that didn't go through as the person I wanted already has 6 students under him and he probably would have to be a Superman to take another one aboard. I might as well be stuck with the old one then.... Only a bit then it's time to focus 100% on theisi writing. Although first I have to redo my proposal as I changed my topic and need to do an industry analysis, problem statement and a few hypotheses or research questions.. I'll reveal the exact topic later as I haven't formulated in one sentence, so it might be a way too long story :D

Well, constant worry is work as uni is over as soon as I finish (August-September if all goes ok) and I'm out in the market... This means that next 3 months I'll be browsing through job sites and look opportunities across my network... fingers crossed....

I have a tennis session tomorrow evening, this means that next pics are up on Saturday.. hold on till then and if you want to have a rant on any topic you can think of, then comments area is all yours :D

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Row, row...

Had a day off on Monday, so no post then. This morning I had a date with the rowing machine to get it all going again :) Had a short session as I had to go off to uni and had to do some preparations beforehand.

Have to take also tomorrow off as I'm the meeting's chairman and need extra time to prepare. I'll be back again on Thursday to tell more about the latest adventures :D

Here are the pics ....

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Tiiired :)

Again very quick update late Sunday night, though the heading shows Monday alread :D Yesterday (Saturday) evening unfortunately stretched very late due to my project. I had all the pics, just not the time to sit down and write the blog. Well, today we have visitors and again it's really late, but I determined not to go to bed before the pics are up.

1.5 hrs of tennis yesterday morning and another 1.5 hrs today, this week however it seemed to sap all my energy out this week. I seemed to be on a losing streakno matter what I did. That in turn drives the motivation down and that of course minimizes energy levels. I did try to get my mood up, but as I got more tired I just kept making mistakes and either hitting the ball to the net or constantly overshoot.. oh well, better luck next time :D

Time for bed.. here are the pics....

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Double cardio

Really quick update as it's bedtime..
I did cardio in the morning, 15 min rowing and 20 min spinning.. competely soaked. In the evening I had a second round of cardio as we went to play tennis for 2hrs...really tired :D Rest of the day I was reviewing my report... I have to hand it in on Monday, but wanted to finish today. Just a few tweaks and a couple of pictures have to be added tomorrow and then can send it off :)

Here are pics right after morning cardio....

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Two for one (edit)

Another sunny day over here, though spent indoors studying, but that's ok.. have to finish the sustainability report by Monday, but the goal is to do it by Friday so I could start with thesis. Loads to do in the coming months... the faster I write, the faster it will be over. My goal is to finish the thesis by end of August, possibly earlier if I can.

Well, as you guessed it was time for cardio again. This time using two different machines to get the max out of it. Started out with rowing for 15 minutes, after which I was already soaked and then continued on my spinning bike for 25 minutes. I have to say that my t-shirt was completely soaked after that.. not a dry spot on and it took me a long time to cool down. So I could say that the target was achieved as this was exactly what I wanted... got the max out of myself :)

Wednesday is my day off and as I have a conference on Thursday, then I'm afraid I won't be here before Saturday as I have my Friday tennis session in the evening, but I might be able to do a small rowing/biking session on Friday morning.. :D

Here are pics right after cardio...


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Pedaling away

I was up late this morning, I think those rounds of tennis really tired me out :D Well, after making breakfast, taking the dog out and looking over urgent mails I was ready for the ride. Grabbed my drink bottle and a remote (sounds pretty funny and weird), set up the movie - I always have to put subtitles on because the bike and the rowing machines generate enough noise to miss crucial sentences, so it's best to just run the subs and not be tempted to rewind in the middle of the exercise.... well, there was noting else than to just start pedaling.

A little warm-up, then HIIT type core part and a cool down, altogether 35 minutes.. may not sound much but I was dripping by the end of it :D

Had white asparagus again in the evening with eggs and ham.. during lunch I had a piece of beef steak... I had bought a whole filet of beef a couple of days before and had to cut it into steaks to put some into freezer and save some for the coming days. Well, why it's worth mentioning?? Because it was one of the best steaks I've had for a very long time.. it was basically melting in the mouth. I find most of the meat related products here to be of really poor quality and therefore prefer fish or vegetarian options and an occasional ham as you read above :D As summer is approaching, then more and more seasonal things are coming to the stores and market and that makes the sizing down goal a lot more easier :)

Well, that's it for today.. you can see the pics below :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Round II

Back in the blog.. I still have no clue what I managed to catch on Friday, but it's still affecting me. However, I was good enough to play tennis yesterday evening and extremely proud as I won both sets 7-6 & 6-4. In total we played for 2 hours and as it was pretty intensive I was basically dripping by the end of it.

This morning we were out in the court at 10am and the results were 4-6 & 6-4, so one set each and the third set was played till 3-4, but we ran out of time, so who knows ;) We had 1.5 hours play time and again as competition makes you run for every point, you're just completely exhausted by the end of the session :)

Although the weather is warm and sunny we still haven't taken the risk of playing outside and stayed indoors. The positive side of it is that no one else is there, so it's nice and quiet :D

Here are the pics after the we got back from the court

to be continued...

Change your body, change your life!

........................................................................

I said awhile ago that I was working on a project for the university's Sustainability course. It's a consultancy type of report where we basically lay out why one of the biggest supermarket chains should change from plastic packaging to biodegradable packaging. For illustrative purposes I collected all the pastic pakaging we bought from this chain for a week and scattered it out on my backgarden to make a few pics...

this times 8 million is approximately the weekly plastic we might produce here in the Netherlands... Considering that this does not turn into organic matter and is not used in any other way, then you'll understand the staggering amounts of pollution we all create....

Update

Really quick update.. I haven't gone off or stopped. Just have been double busy. Wednesdy was my day off, yesterday were urgent school matters and my partner's birthday party which took most of the day. Today back at school and planned to play tennis in the evening... However, I felt really poorly in the evening, so we had to cancel. Tomorrow evening we have planned a game of tennis, as it is in the evening I'll report back on Sunday :)

See you back here soon :)

A little bit more cardio

A really quick update as it's almost bedtime and I should crash soon to get as much sleep as possible. I've been waking up quite early in the morning and my dreams leave me emotionally drained, so I feel pretty tired lately...

I did a cardio session in the morning with 15 min of rowing and 25 min of spinning. Today's pics are just below..


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Spinning around

Today was another cardio day and I have to say that I have to settle with cardio for awhile since my gym membership is up and I have to see whether I prolong it in the same club or find something a bit closer to home.. maybe also something a bit less expensive. Well.. I'm still a student, so funds are pretty tight :D

I did 40 min spinning this morning while watching a movie.. I do find that if I have to do cardio I really need something extra to keep the momentum going and have fun while exercising. I'm sure there are people that say that you should just focus your mind and only think of the cardio.. well, it's not working for me, so why torture myself when I know that I can achieve better result with another tactic and be a lot more pleased of the overall workout :)

Here are today's pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

3 days, 2 training, 1 day off

Well, Friday and today were tennis days, a good run around the court while trying to apply some tactics... sometimes successfuly, other times overshooting and losing points. I was quite sore on Friday evening from Thursday's gym, but did have a good game. Saturday was my day off, but as I woke up and jumped out of the bed I knew that I had been too eager and had pulled my left calf muscle at the court. Nothing bad, just felt it after I had sat down for awhile and then started to walk.. it just needed a bit of warming up :)

Today was a good game, we played for 2 hours and I was really tired by the end of it as it requires constant bursts of energy to run after the ball and that just tires me out in the end. Not complaining, becuse this works really well for me and I like it a lot. I definitely recommend it for someone who wants to do some cardio and get the brain working at the same time... constantly gather skills, evaluate the situation and put the knowledge in action :)

The rest of the day was not so exciting.. I worked on the uni project to get all the material in one document and just do a raw draft that I can work on later.
Good news is that asparagus season has kicked off here.. got the first meal yesterday and made some today for dinner. Around here we only eat white ones.. boil them for 15 min and have eggs and ham topping (3 in 1 - carbs, protein and fat)... wonderful :D

Here are today's pics after playing tennis...





to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

In the gym part III

I was back in the gym again to go through all leg muscles, get a good lower back workout and finish it all up with some pretty harsh abs exercise. Muscle ache from yesterday was ok, half way through today I started to feel the abs, especially the lower ones as they had the biggest strain. Today was national holiday, meaning that gym closed at noon = pretty crowded room already from early morning on. Why it's always such a big deal and why do I talk about it? Because, besides the people that come for a serious workout there are so many that seem to come for a social gathering. They occupy the benches and machines while chatting away to their friends and forget that there is a chance that someone else would like to use the gear. I'm not towards anti socializing, just do it afterwards in the coffee corner as 99.9% of the talk doesn't have anything to do with gym related issues :D

No pics tomorrow as I have cardio in the evening, I might do the pics on Sat, but it's my day off, so it could be that I'll report back here on Sunday :)
Here are today's results...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

In the gym part II

Everything hurts lol... I was back in the gym this morning and did the shoulders + legs workout. However, everything that was done yesterday could be felt today and right now at 11pm the soreness from the morning exercise has kicked in big time :D

Unfortunately the rest of the day was spent inside doing more research for the project.. I think I have no enough material to draw up initial theory part for the report and next week hopefully we get to some interviews to see the viability of the project and how far we could take it.

I'm off to sleep as I'm about to drop off :)
Today's pics...

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Back in the gym

The weather has been pretty grey and drizzly since yesterday, though I have to say I'm not a fan of hot weather either, but some sun would be nice :) Spring is in full motion, but compared to more northen Estonia the progress is accelerated here. As it is warmer and sunnier the cycle of plant life is much shorter, thus blooming time is really short and that's a shame... I't almost May, but the redcurrant bush I have in the backyard has already some berries on it while the other half is still blooming.. go figure :D

I was up quite early today and after I managed to get fully awake I was off. It was really good to be back in the gym again and luckily it wasn't very crowded, so I could move from one exercise to the other without having to wait. There is some bad news though.. my right elbow is still giving me hard time and rather than using free weights for press ups I used machines. I'd rather not take the risk of smashing my chest or face if my arm gives way.
It was upper body day with back, chest and arms, plus abs and back raise. I was really pleased the way all went, even though I had to compromise, it was still good and felt really great afterwards :)

Off to the shop now to get food for the next days :)
Here are today's pics...


to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Home cardio

I couldn't go to the gym today as I had to sort out some issues with the ongoing project for uni and there were some things that needed an immediate response.. of course this was unexpected. Expect me when you least expect me! ;)

Rather than not doing anything, I took some time off to do a workout at home as I do have the necessary equipment... no point of them gathering dust :) I started the workout by rowing and finished with the spinning bike to mix up the cardio. As said before, it's good to do different things so there is never a certain routine that the body adapts to.

It's late again, so a short post and am off to bed..
Here are today's pics :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Sunday, Sunday

Had an hour at the tennis court this morning, there was a kids tournament so we couldn't stay longer. However, we had quite intensive match and I was pretty tired, though felt great :)

In the afternoon we took the dog for a long walk as the weather was warm and sunny. She had a swim in the water and couldn't get enough of it. Considering that she does not like to swim, but goes only as far as her legs can touch the bottom, she does want to spend 24/7 in the water :D I think the problem is in the ears, she doesn't want to have water in the ears and tries to protect them the best she can.. or she isn't much of a swimmer :D

It's pretty late here and I'm off to get some sleep
Here are todays pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Revving up

Spent half a day yesterday at the uni.. had to present a case for the class after literature presentation.. I chose GM's EV1, and built it up based on the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car". This went really well, so I was happy with that :)

In the evening we went to play tennis. Had a pretty good match for 2 hours.. we were supposed to do another 30 min, but my elbow that I damaged last week started to give up on me and shoot pain through the arm. So we decided to stop, no reason of taking it to the point that it takes longer to recover, or to be foolish enough to increase the injury.

This morning I was up and ready to back to the court and take revenge of yesterday's defeat. Had a really good run around the court and won several matches.. which is also important as it keeps up the energy and motivation levels :) I mean no one wants to lose.. right ;)

Going to take easy today and relax, tomorrow I'll be back at the court again and have to start working on the sustainability project, to change plastic packaging into biodegradable packaging. Considering that the plastic currently in use does not disappear as no bacteria or organism is able to turn it into organic, then we should take responsibility in production and consumption. Harsh truth is that plastic that was produced in 1950's has not disappeared.. it's still there, broken down to smaller particles, but still indigestibe to organisms, thus harmful for the bottom of the foodchain that we depend upon.

See what I'm talking about... The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
I'm conducting a little test for a week and will show you next week what happened..

ok, here are today's pics :)

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Back in action

Things are not constant and life is not constant. that's for sure. I do apologize for not posting yesterday, but as I did not do my cardio, then there wasn't much to report on. I had a really productive meeting with my old research teacher. I got lots of tips, contacts and he confirmed that what I had planned was good, just a few extra points to focus. Now I just have to sell the research problem to my current supervisor and launch the thesis writing at full speed.

As I got back from the meeting and ate I felt very sleepy and decided to lie for a bit... well this so called bit turned out to be several hours and I didn't wake up till it was quite late. I do go to bed not so late, but I wake up relatively early in the morning and that's why I might be a bit drained as I just feel the need to sleep durig the day.

Felt good in the morning and went to the gym to do overall training with a focus on legs. Luckily it wasn't crowded today, so everything went really smooth and I was pretty happy as I managed to raise the weights again and put more pressure on muscles. Never let them get used to the same thing as they get used to the weights and movement and that just slows down the progress. Right now in the evening I can already feel a bit of muscle ache, it might grow worse by the morning, but I definitely will not mind... a litte suffering will remind what I'm doing it for.

Tomorrow I'll be at the uni during the day and in the evening we are off to play tennis :)
Next pics and post on Sat!

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Only 24 hours in a day

I was up early this morning, took care of the dog, downloaded a few articles to read later.. all for building up the thesis and then it was time for the gym.

Monday morning I would think that the gym is pretty empty.. well, I was wrong, it was packed!!! I couldn't believe it. Rather than taking a risk and wait for someone to finish their exercise I chose mostly free weights and organized the workout so that I could move on to the next step without cooling down. I have to say it was pretty intense and I had to drag myself upstairs to the locker room afterwards.. just didn't have much left anymore to give :D

I had an overall workout, mainly targeting upper body, on Thursday I can do the lower body workout as the next couple of days I'm too busy to go to the gym. Tomorrow is my day off anyway and Wednesday I'll do either spinning or rowing cardio at home early in the morning, so I won't miss a workout.

Tomorrow is also an early start, have to read a couple of articles before the class, have a meeting about forthcoming project for the course and we have to choose a topic we want to explore... right now it seems to be the one I suggested. After that I have a coffee meeting with uni friends that I can only see once a week if our schedules match.. after the class I have another meeting to decide which case study to present on Friday and whether I chould collaborate with colleague... Finally take the 1.5 + hour trip home while going through more thesis stuff to prepare for the meeting on Wednesday with my ex research teacher (originally was supposed to be today on Mon).. I want to be prepared and hope that we have a productive session...

Right.. I guess all I wanted to say is that here are the pics :)




to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Matchpoint II

Today was cardio day again and that meant stretching at the tennis court at 10am... 1.5 hours later I was pretty tired but happy :) We play indoors right now, but it seems that the weather is getting better all the time, so perhaps next time we will try out the outside court. However, there is a higher risk of losing tennisballs to the neighboring hotel parking lot.

Now it's time for uni stuff.. preparing for the class, meeting, project, thesis, thesis meeting etc..

Here are today's pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Matchpoint

Expect it when you least expect it! Well, tomorrow was a long day as I had to be at the uni, but I left the last presentation as I felt an enormous headache building up. I cycled to the station and took the train home.. the whole hour in the intercity I was basically sleeping, switched trains at the central and was home 15 minutes later. The whole journey from home to uni takes around 1h 45 minutes one way.

Anyway, as soon as I was home I just wanted to crash as to relive the headache, but of course the dog comes first, so were off to do our little round outside. To make a long story short, I didn't go to play tennis yesterday, instead I took it easy and went to bed early.

This morning I was fine again and just couldn't wait to get to the court. Instead of the usual 1.5 hours we did 2h.. could have done 2.5, but my elbow is still a bit sore and there was no point of taking it in a verge of more serious injury.

On another topic.. I bought Roundup couple a weeks ago to get rid of some really annoying weed that just keeps spreading no matter what. I remembered the name because my relative was using it many years ago in Estonia, but as with many brands I did not look up who was the producer. However, yesterday as we were discussing case studies in class Monsanto came up and of course Roundup.. Had I known before the history of Monsanto and the way they make science I would have never, ever, never bought the herbicide and now I'm trying to figure out if it is possible to take the whole thing back to the shop just to get rid of it as I don't plan to touch it again. Why you may ask? Never trust a company where the employees are constantly falsifying the tests and where no one takes any responsibility whatsoever!!! Lesson to be learned.. never buy blind something that is even as simple as a herbicide, because you will put your own health at risk, you will contaminate the soil and support an organization that is determined to contol the market and wants profit at any cost. Anyone who can convince me otherwise is welcome to leave a comment...

And back to the main topic... here are the pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Lower body

This morning, about half an hour before I was going to the gym I managed to hit my elbow against the door frame, exacly on the nerve. Very appalling pain that left me feeling nauseous for almost an hour and I had to lie down. I do have to say that I have high pain tolerance, so.....

After I managed to get back on my feet and was convinced that I can drive and be able to dress after exercising I was off to the gym. Luckily todays was lower body day + shoulders and I managed to keep the rest of the limbs attached, therefore we could label the trip as a success ;)

I have a long day at the uni tomorrow, but I hope to be back by the time we go to play tennis. However, tomorrow will be no post or pic, I will be back here on Sat :)

Here are today's pics...

to be continued...

Change your body, change your life!

Upper body

Yesterday was a day off and I was back at university after holiday week to start with a new block about sustainable business... As I glanced over the blockbook, it seems we have to do loads of work and that does not give much time to write the thesis... Not to mention that I am a bit stuck with it, but e-mailed my old research teacher as he's great to talk and brainstorm with.. so next Monday we have a coffee meeting and I'll probably get to see his motorcycle that he is so proud of :D Well, for those who think it's weird... it's just that it was always very informal atmosphere during bachelor studies and over the years the student-teacher relation changes and turns more into partner/colleague relationship. It will be interesting to go back and see what everyone is up to there :)

OK, I was back at the gym today and it was upper body workout, so back, chest, shoulders, rotator cuff, biceps, triceps, abs etc... the whole shebang :) I'm steadily increasing the weights not to give muscles any chance of customization and of course also different types of exercises for the same muscle group for variety.

I also have to say that anyone struggling with weight or feels enormous cravings, I can say that daily pictures help a lot. You are under the pressure as you want next day's pic to be better than the last one, so you feel a lot less tempted to cheat. However, that does mean taking pictures almost every day.. and of course no photoshopping!!! ;) Moreover, you see your own progress and that motivates you to do better and try harder :)

As I said, if there is someone who stopped blogging and exercising, then come back and start again.. it seems incredibly hard, but after the first post you know that you can do it and be the next Comeback Kid :D

Here are today's pics

to be continued...

Change your body, change your life!

Spinning around

I tend to wake up quite early these days, around 6.30 or earlier and being unable to fall asleep again I see no point of turning from side to side, so best option is just to get up :) Gives me time to go over the news, get something to eat and entertain the dog :)

Because the gym was closed due to holidays I did the cardio workout at home with my spinning bike for an hour.. I do have to admit that the last 5 minutes was spent counting seconds, but just couldn't stop and give up :)

Here are pics right after the cardio :) Tomorrow is a day off, so no post, no pics...


to be continued...

Change your body, change your life!

Happy eggs!!

Morning was spent playing tennis, then more work in the garden, then preparing a few eggs, followed by melon and shrimp salad :P

I was already pretty tired from past couple of days, but managed to pull myself together and win majority of the games in tennis.. that felt great of course :D Gym is closed also tomorrow, so I'll probably get the dust off my spinning bike and get it rolling :)

Here are today's pics

to be continued...
Change your body, change your life!

Cardio days

Just a quick update.. had a round of tennis last night and this morning (2.5 hrs & 1.5 hrs) .. have to say that my legs are letting me know what they have been through, but they're still attached, so no worries ;)

It has been a beautiful day, so I managed to potter around and got something useful done in the garden before Summer arrives :)




to be continued...

Change your body, change your life!

Let me introduce you to....

Kyra :)

A little more than a year ago I thought of doing some charity work at dogs and cats shelter. I didn't see how it would be possible to accommodate a dog in our home as we are off for 8hrs a day and not sure that would be nice for the dog.. plus a young dog will most likely be tempted to chew the cables etc.

Well, the idea was just to check the place out and see how it is there. However, as soon as we entered we found this incredibly sweet dog, pushing herself against the bars right about in the third cage. Compared to others she was calm, quiet and really wanted someone to interact with her. She just captured us immediately :) She had been brought in about a month before with her front paws badly damaged.. all the skin was off and fles out at the back.. either seld inflicted or something else had caused it.. Also, the shelter had no clue abut her personality, how she would be with other animals or what happens when she is alone at home..

We walked around, but kept coming back to her and decided to take her out for a walk... that went great as she behaved extremely well and knew all the commands. Well... we were sold and decided to give it a try to see how she feels at home, so a week later we brought her for an afternoon and she seemed to like here. We took her back and the shelter and arranged all the paperwork and brought her home.

It took her awhile to become how she is now.. playful, cheery and happy. It's been little over a year and I can't imagine not having her :) She is extremly well behaved, except the occasional piece of paper from the trash bin ;) She turns 8yrs old in June and we'll celebrate this probably with a trip to the pet shop :P

.

Here are some pics from our trip to France in Summer 2008

.

Absolutely yes!

Extremely sunny today and pretty warm already.. meaning that around 4am the birds start tweeting already and a whole choir is behind the window by 6am... I usually manage to stretch till 6.30 or 7 before jumping up to ge the day started.

As I was scrolling news sites in the morning and saw that Morrissey tickets for the concert in Estonia were about to come on sale. I already knew I would be back in Est during that time due to Estonia's Song and Dance Festival and wanted to have the tickets also for the concert for a looooong loooooong time.. just didn't know when they would be on sale. Anyway, there is always a problem that Morrissey tickets are sold out and I was really scared that I would not be able to get them... but... my little cousin was so nice to go and stand on the line at the ticket office and managed to come out with 2 golden tickets!!! I was in absolute euphoria as this is basically the only artist I have ever wanted to see live, so this means the world to me :)

I was so happy, that by the time I went to the gym I was high on what will happen in a couple of months, which resulted me having a blast with dumbbells and going nuts with weights. I had upper body and lower body workout previous days, so this was all around workout, targeting major muscles.

Tomorrow, Sat and possibly on Sun (unless they're closed this week for Easter) I play tennis, which gives a nice HIIT style cardio workout, while having fun :) As tomorrow's training is in the evening, the next pic will go up on Sat, not Friday...

Today's pics are below :)




.. to be continued next time

The comeback kid?

Not sure if this will be a comback, but will do my best to try. I know it sounds pretty sheepish, but there have been just too much going on that kept me away from here.. fingers crossed.

I had a break in training for some time, but have been training again for a couple of months and feel that it's time to get my head right and do things full steam. I have analyzed why I swirled off from my track last time and what needs to be done differently. In the end it's me and no one else who is responsible for my progress.. as Adam and Tom will confirm, it's all in the head.. the rest will follow :)

If there is anyone out there that has fallen off and finds it very, very hard to come back, then this is exactly what is happening here. I'll post my current pics and they are nowhere near what I want them to be or how they were before.. but I'm sure you will find people who are willing to support you and give you thumbs up for the courage to admit what has happened and welcome you back.. as long as you take yourself seriously. Everyone have their own battles to overcome, whatever the reasons. Just come back!! :)

OK, had a good upper body workout yesterday that has left me all sore. Today was lower body workout which went really well.. not considering that I managed to hit my leg against a metal bar right below the knee, on the bone, but no broken bones and still alive ;)

Until I figure out the numbering, I'll just go with the titles..

Today's pics....



I'll also figure out the best picture format.. this seems a bit too far perhaps

... to be continued next time

Why I'm not here :(

Hi everyone,
I do apologize for anyone who has viewed this blog and can't understand why I haven't continued. Although I'm not sure I plan to continue blogging.. not at least for a while..
.
Last few months have been really difficult. My grandmother started to become a bit sick and no one could understand why until she was taken to hospital in November. A couple of days later she was diagnosed with liver cancer and doctors said there was absolutely nothing they could do anymore. I flew back to Estonia three days later on Friday... I also prolonged my stay in for a few days as I didn't want to leave... Next Friday morning we got the call from the hospital.. she had passed away. I'm just glad I was there...

Return of the dead??

Well, I am still alive and well, but haven't been spending any time here anymore... Why? I just had to escape and go to find a place where I could manage and be happy again.

Last year of my studies has been very hectic and put a lot of pressure on me. It took all my time and I needed to focus more to make the best of it.
I'm happy to say that I graduated with double batchelor degree and had the best research report of the whole course, earning 8.5 points out of 10. The next step is in September, when I start my Master studies.... I don't know for sure what will happen there.

I haven't given up the exercise completely, though I have had now a longer break while finishing the report, going off to different holidays and having some pain in my back which is beginning to ease up now, so I can get back to the saddle.

Weight wise, I have gained a few kilos back, but I'm back on the driver's seat again and in control of what I'm doing, so I'll keep fingers crossed for that.

Am I ever going to be back here... I think yes, but first I need to figure out how, in what form, how often and when.... though I don't want to leave such a long gap again.. that was nuts.. but I just had to get away.

Thank you for everyone who checked back here once in awhile and all the best in succeeding your goal... there's always a way!!!

Kristiina

Day 232: Sick :(

Day 232

Small update
Thursday I had a 30 minute spinning training, yesterday I had a day off, but then it strucked.. I got a cold. My partner came down with a flu and had all the symptoms and high temperature (over 39C).. I luckily get away mainly with blocked/runny nose and a head that feels like tripled the size. That meant no training today, but I'll see how things are tomorrow morning and and see if I can give it a go :)

About spinning.. I don't have a workout video for that yet, but I follow sort of natural cycle: warmup of 5 - 10 minutes, then harder step, then easier, then "climbing the mountain", then easier, harder, easy, mountain and cooldown.. So far it seems to work since I have really been sweating already before 10 minutes is up :)


All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 229: Spinnnnnnnn....

Day 229

Just a reeeeally quick post with after cardio pics. Sorry for the missing arm :P
I have been busy with school things the last couple of days, so it felt pretty good to be up the saddle again :)
It's late and I have to go to bed, so this one is short..

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 226: Spinning out of control

Day 226

I was pretty excited to get my training gear on and run downstairs towards my spinning bike. First I had the hard task to move it to the right spot, then filled up my water bottle and basically I was ready... until.. I had cycled for about 5 minutes and even though I knew it before I wasn't sure how much would it bother - the sport's saddle. Well, I solved it by folding a towel into several layers, but it means I have to go to the bike shop to get padded or gel cover for further comfort.
Anyway, I did a 45 minute session and by the end of it I was really dripping with sweat, but it felt great :) Afterwards I went off for a walk in the woods as I also did yesterday since the sun has been shining and it's already pretty warm (15C).

Here are the pics...

Here it is.. the exact copy of the spinning bike I got yesterday.. and we became friends already lol :P

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 225: yesterday's cardio

Day 255

Here are yesterday's pics that I didn't manage to post yesterday. I did a 45 minute cardio session on the arc trainer and spinning bike to get some variation in exercise. As said before I also wanted to recap the spinning and see if I would like it enough to get the bike at home. Well, I did and this morning I went to pick it up - second hand bike, 3-4 yr old Schwinn.. I'll see if I can get a pic of it tomorrow. So I'm pretty happy with that :)

I had a rest day today, so the pics are from yesterday...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 223: Cardio II

Day 223

I had a rest day on Tuesday and did a cardio session yesterday for 35 minutes, but was too beat to write a posing here.. Well, today I was up and running and went to the gym to do another cardio day and get some variety in cardio machines. It went really well and between sessions I also did three different kind of ab exercises to give them a good beating.

I'll be down in the gym also tomorrow to try out the spinning bike to see if I would like one at home :P

Now it's time for bed so I'll be ready in the morning :)

Here are the pics...

All I have is today...

Change your body, change your life!

Day 220: Leg day

Day 220

Unforutnately no post yesterday since after I was back from the gym we went off to visit family and got back really late. But it's always great to see everyone and have a chat :)
So yesterday was upper body day again and that meant today it was time for legs :) Had a good warmup as usual to make sure all muscles are warm before any hard weight lift attempt. Then moved onwards to complete the workout and even though it was pretty busy all went fine:) I do have some muscle pain from yesterday and I think I managed to injure my shoulder slightly while doing triceps exercise, but it seemed to be fine today when pushing weights from shoulders, so hopefully it was just one off.

Had a great feeling afterwards and felt leg muscles long after the workout was done which was weird but nice:)
Here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 218: Cardio day

Day 218

Just a very short note and pics of today's cardio session, I took yesterday as a rest day and pushed my cardio for today not to stress my body after Thursday's incident and two day gym sessions.

I'll be back in pusing weights tomorrow :)

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 216: Legs up

Day 216

Back here again.. I went to the gym as planned and did lower body workout. In the end I also increased the cardio time by 5 minutes and that went just fine. All in all it took about an hour to complete and then I was off home. I had my after workout proteine shake and after 30 minutes something just didn't feel right. Well, I ended up in the bathroom with an apparent irritation in the stomach. I tried to trace back if there might have been something that was off, but so far I haven't got a clue.. Wel, I was pretty beat and due to that there are also unfortnately no pics :( sorry about that.
Tomorrow I'm off to schol to sort out a few things before the next week's holiday (read work at home week) and I think if I'm ok enough I'll do a little cardio session at home.

See you back here soon! :)


All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 215: Gymming up

Day 215

I have to say it felt great to be back in the gym and to be back in the action. It was upper body day and I think I have described it well enough in the blog before for you to know what I was up to :) It was a bit crowded in the gym today at 10.30am believe it or not, but luckily I didn't have to wait or change the workout schedule, so I was extra happy with that. As mentioned also before I upped up the cardio machine and I'm excited about that. I was also out today in the shops and looking at some running shoes that I still plan to get for the future times... I still hjave to have the meal plans to be tuned out 100% and I will get there since I have been putting it off the whole time, but enough is enough and now that I don't have to spend so much time at school then I think it will be a lot easier:) I'll tackle the meal planning problem a bit later on..

Here are today's pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 214: Rest days

Day 214

I had a day off yesterday to get some rest and let the muscles grow :P Due to school matters I also had to take today as a rest day which I'm not proud of, but things just worked out that way... On the bright side I'll be back in the gym tomorrow and then I'm back in the rythm again :)
I'll see you here tomorrow..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 212: heavy legs

Day 212

as you guessed, it was time to get back to the gym and finish the second half of the workout. Upper body yesterday, legs today. I started as usual with a warmup and as said yesterday also increased the level of resistance which I'm really happy with.. it means my cardio capacity has increased (if that's the word). On the other hand my body has gotten used to it and a new level/challenge is needed, but in the longer perspective I would like to give running a try and then it would come handy to have a proper level built up.

Why I don't run right now.. well, the stupid reason is that I haven't bought myself proper running shoes and the ones I have right now are too heavy and made for something else.. I tried to do a bit of speed walking on the walking band, but that ended up with a terrible muscle pain for a week or so. Second reason is that I still do have a lot of weight and also large upper body.. if I could put it that way.. that I feel extreemly uncomfortable with when running. I can do everything else.. except... but I'll try to work out a plan and well.. hopefully the weight will decrease and things get a bit more easier.. we'll see

Back to this day.. it was two different exercises for quads and thighs, then hamstrings, calves also shoulders and finished off with core exercises. Then 15 min cardio and off to the shower... :)

Here are the pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 211: Upper body

Day 211

I had a rest day from the gym yesterday and that gave me enough time to finish off my report and hand it in. Today it was time to get back to the gym and get another round of weight training done :) It was time for the upper body, so I started out with 15 min of cardio, then bench press, back exercise, biceps and triceps and core exercises for the lower back and abs:) I finished off with another 15 min cardio and that was it.

Good news of course is that I have gone up in weights again and I notice that I have to add some extra resistance when doing the cardio part.. not during the warmup, but when finishing off with cardio.

I saw a spinning bike at the shop today and was thinking wether it would be good to have it at home... but on the other hand the days I'm in the gym I can do cardio then.. and I have a rowing machine at home, so surely this should be fine. Moreover, rowing involves moving the whole body where as in biking legs would get the best part of the workout.. and I have to say I think my leg muscles are already big enough lol :P

Here are today's pics :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 209: Cardio day

Day 209

Today was cardio time and that meant I could stay home and use the rowing machine.. otherwise it gets waay too dusty :) I did a 30 min session and was dripping afterwards, so it felt great. Then plenty of fluids and a protein shake and then back to wrok.. have to hand in another report tomorrow.. Due to that I have to make this one also short and get back on recording down all the literature sources.. no fun at all :):P

Here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 208: I've got legs

Day 208

I was back in the gym and it was time to get those legs moving :) I started out with a cardio warmup, then did shoulders using free weights, then leg extention, leg press, leg curl, calves and back and ab's exercises as a topping :) Finished off with cardio and a little stretch..

I'll make this one real short since it's almost bedtime and I'm really about to crash, so I better make sure I reach the bed first :P

Tomorrow is cardio day, so I'll be back here in no time :)
Here are today's pics.. sorry about the light, it was pretty gray and rainy outside...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 207:

Day 207

And it was a trip back to the gym again :) Started with a 15 min warmup on a cardio machine, then it was time to work on my back, moving on to do the chest workout - two different type of exercises to stimulate the muscles from different angles. Then it was time for biceps and finishes off with tricept exercises. Finished off with ab's and core back :) After that it was time for another cardio session and done... all in all it was an hour's work and I was back at home to work on one of my reports again. Good thing is, as I think I mentioned, I can work from home from time to time that makes going to the gym a lot easier and days can be planned out a lot better :)

Well, there is plenty of stress time ahead, so no thumbs up yet lol. We'll see what happens and how things will go... so far so good and back on track :) Yipee:D

Here are today's pics...

PS Lots and lots of thanks to everyone who took an effort to leave a comment and didn't give up on me yet :) This means a lot to me and it's always something that keeps you going no matter what!! Thanks again!!!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 205: leg day

Day 205

as said yesterday I was back in the gym and working on lower body, meaning a good workout for legs to get all bigger muscle goups covered and varying exercises to stimulate different parts of the muscles. Started out with a warmup and at the end a 10 minute cardio session.. didn't want to over do it since I already have a good beating to the legs.. I'll see how they feel like tomorrow. I got quite a bit of chest pain from working out yesterday... not complaining.. it feels good :)

Tomorrow will be a day off to have a bit of rest and then push on on Tuesday... have to get back in action after seeing what everyone in Adam's shredder sphere have achieved... wow!!! I'm really proud of them and the results are really amazing.. :)

Here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 204: back to blog...

Day 204

Survived my examination week and now I'm back to bit more normal schedule.. if one could put it like that. I did do a couple of cardio sessions last weekend, but as you can see didn't touch the blog. I think it's a bit hard to explain why.. and I would rather not.. maybe in my later postings.

I'm organizing to get things back on track and now that my school schedule is a bit more clear it gives a bit more freedom to organize the trainings and when to do what. I might also change a bit of the blog content and add some side topics to get my motivation up and running again.. reason for pushing forward..

I had a cardio session yesterday at home and I was back in the gym today pushing weights and getting back on track :) I focused on the upper body and did the main muscle groups, tomorrow will be time to traing the legs :) It's late and I'm off to bed so I'll have a good rest and be ready for tomorrow :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 192: Cardio day II

Day 192

Day off again yesterday to get studying going, today I was doing another cardio session to get the body moving again and exercise before going back to books. I had a 30 minute session and felt good afterwards despite of lots of sweating.. which is always good.

I'm having some PC trouble since I use the pc in connection with the camera to take the pics (there's a program for that) and the problem is that the laptop's batteries are soo worn out that it can be off the power plug maximum of 10 min... I think now it's even less... well setting up and adjusting the zoom all takes time and today it happened that the pc shut down before I managed to end the session. Fortunately I had all necessary pics, but still.. next time I might have to be real quick and do it with 30 sec :P

Here are today's pics... as said before I will be doing cardio this week due to busy schedule... I hope to be back in the gym on Friday after the last exam.. :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 190: Cardio day

Day 190

Just a quick note saying that yesterday (Friday) I had my day off and today (Saturday) I did a 30 min cardio session at home. Next week it will be more cardio since I don't have much time to go to the gym.. it's examination week and I need every available minute to go over the material... joy of studying and learning lol :)

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 188: Bring it on

Day 188

Back in the gym and had a leg, and upper body day with some added cardio to get the fat burning. I really enjoy being in the gym during noon, something I can't do when going back to shcool again. I really like it because it's pretty quiet then and I don't have to look around to see if the next machine or weights are free to use or should I rearrange the plan because someone is using the equipment.

Well, good news is that my schedule seems to be a bit more flexible for coming weeks - two days at school and three days I can work from home.. however, I probably need to use the library, so I would still spend lots of time at school, though I do hope things will go a lot better with training.. fingers crossed :)

ok, here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 187: Gym time

Day 187

Well, on the 31st we had a quiet evening at the in-laws and I was busy reading some novels that I don't seem to find much time lately and the pile of "I really want to read this book" grows bigger and bigger. However, school books are the ones I have to focus on constantly... well, as I said it was great (I'm reading Oliver Sack's book and John Boyne book sort of simuntaneoulsy :) ). I had a little spark-candle set for the big moment (when buying I thought they were rockets though.. oh well, the candles did the job.. nice and cosy) and then it was 12 and that was it...

I've always thought it's weird.. it's not like anything changes.. like there is a big flip when the year changes.. same with birthdays lol, it's not like we turn much older the day then we were the day before.. :-D

Well, yesterday I was really tired even though I got plenty of sleep.. must have been that I went to bed late.. I didn't do any training and decided to just have a little rest. Today I woke up with a headache that continued most of the morning. Idecided to wait and go to the gym in the afternoon. Well, things were better then and I had a good training session - warmup, free weights for cheast, machines for legs, bs and back and then cardio session at the end.

Rest of the day was school work.. preparing for the exams for next week... six months and hopefully done then...

ok, time to go to sleep so I'll be fit again tomorrow :)

See ya!!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 184: Time to blog

Day 184

Time to update, I had a day off on the 26th because I did not want to overstress when begnining with exercising again and by some very unfortuante luck I had backpain the next day (either from sitting behing the table for too long or from new matrass). Anyway, I was back in the gym then for two days and today had a cardio session at home. Tomorrow will be my day off again since I have some school things to finish up, but I plan to do another cardio session on the 1st of Jan 2008. Time really goes fast..

I did a year contact with the gym yesterday.. saves up some money and also will not let me skip training (already because of the cost of the whole thing, the more I go the cheaper it would be for me lol). Eating has been as it's been and as mentiond before I will tackle this problem very soon and get back on track, it's about time for that!! lol

I hope you all have a good new year's eve and a blasting 2008!! :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 179: Oh dear...

Day 179

Well, it's time to show some signs of life again. Last week was really busy, so as I said before there wasn't any time to exercise but just loads of schoolwork, finishing projects and papers...

I took Saturday off to rest, I did a small cardio session on Sunday to give the body a signal that it's time to get back on track. I went to the gym yesterday and had a really good session. I have some muscle pain in the chest and feel some tiredness in the legs, but I really felt great. Today (also tomorrow) the gym was closed, so I had another cardio session at home.

Here are today's pics... the shape has gone worse.. pictures don't lie... but I'm hanging in there trying to find my spot and balance between school, workload, exercising, family life... lol. However, I'm sure it's nothing new and everyone have their good times and bad ones, it's just the matter of sorting yourself out, so that's what I have to do... and I will.

Happy holidays to everyone!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 169: On standby

Day 169

I do apologize for regular readers that there has been such a long gap, but that's how things go.
I had to pull everything into hault and focus 100% to studying. That means very long days at school, coming home to study more, sleep and then repeat the circle. I decided not to put my body through any more stress and pressure than that. You will also see from the pictures what irregular cycles can do.. I'm telling myself that it will be just a week and I can be right on track again. Another week of finishing up projects and reports to meet the deadlines and then it's 2 weeks of not so much of vacation but less stress :)

I will be doing another cardio training tomorrow and then I will postpone everything again till next Friday...

Here are the pics after today's cardio..






All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 163: Gym day

Day 163

This has been again really hectic. Yesterday I had a HIIT workout in the morning, but had no time to blog since I had to go straight off to my in-laws place and didn't get back till well into the night. This morning I was up early, so I packed my bag and was off to the gym. I had a good workout and I'm most happy about the cardio part. I do the warmup and the final HIIT session on a cardio machine, so it's double portion.

"Debbie said...
Hi Kristiina, I'm doing a 12-day Challenge starting Sunday, Dec 9th.Let me know if you're interested in joining me(see my blog).Debbie"

Hi Debbie, I would accept any other time and think it would be loads of fun, but due to very big workload from school I can't do much. Next two week and then I'm able to breathe a bit more, but right now all my time and focus goes on that. That is also the reason why quite a bit of my program suffers and I'm not very happy about it. I'm telling myself that this will be over at one point and I will have more time soon. Right now I'll just do my best and as much as I can...

Thanks Debbie and I'll check back on the challenge later on :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 161: Gym day

Day 161

It was about time I got to the gym again! I have been really busy with school and there is a lot to do before christmas holiday and that leaves little time to anything elase. Anyway, I had a morning off and was able to use this time to go to the gym and have a good workout. Due to this unusual time the gym was almost empty and it was easy to move around without having to wait after anyone :)

As I was now going through the photos I made after I came back from the gym I discovered that apparently the lightning was totally off and all the pics are completely blurry :( Just hasn't been my luck lately lol. I'll see if I can win the battle with the camera tomorrow :)

I'm posting here the pics I did after my HIIT on Saturday aka tomorrow lol

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 158: Cardio day

Day 158

I'm back.. I had a day off yesterday to give the body some rest (still have to be careful not to over do it and fall flat again by getting sick). However, today I had just enough time in the morning to do some cardio, so that's exactly what I did before going off to school. Eating was pretty hectic because I had to run around a lot and participate in different meetings and that just left very short gaps to actually sit down and try to have a break... but you just try to do your best during those situations :)

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 156: Back in the gym!!

Day 156

I'm happy and pleased.. I decided in the morning to pack my bag and go off to the gym. It was really important for me to get back, because I was afraid that if I don't go now, then I might start avoiding it forever or find excuses to skip my workout.. fall behind the wagon... you know the same old, same old story why lots of people quit or walk away..

Well, I had a great workout, I went without a workout plan and just wanted to try to fit in again. I had a 15min warmup and went off to do a good leg workout because it had been a long while since I pumped up the legs... I can do a bit of chest and arm workout at home since I have the dumbbells, but not much really for legs.. Anyway, I finished with 15 min cario and I think right about now, in the evening I'm starting to feel a bit of leg pain kicking in which I really don't mind, but rather look forward to :P

I have to see what happens tomorrow, since I have long days at school.. what I do try to have is a cardio session in the evening to get the fat layer burning again :)

That's it for today and here are the pics :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 155: trying to climb back

Day 155

Oh boy... this just hasn't been the best of times... It's already the second week that I don't feel good and due to that my exercise part has been limited. I have gotten over half of the symptoms I had last week, but this week I added a few new ones like extreem tiredness and not being able to basically do anything, even lifting my arm took an enormous effort. On top of that I have had past days dizziness that just today seems to have eased up.. I really don't want to moan, but just want you to understand that I haven't been slacking and all my attempts to get back on track have been unsuccessful.... On the brighter side, was feeling better this morning, so I took up the challenge to do a little cardio and see how things turn out... well, so far so good. I did 30 minute session and felt pretty good afterwards. I have to see if I'm able to go to the gym tomorrow morning and get back to lifting weights.

.

I promised to answer some of the comments, so here goes:

Miriam said...
I looked at your first pictures and I am really surprised to see how much fat reduction you have accomplished during the last 6 months. Although pictures speak for themselves I am curious to know the actual weight loss stats.

.

Unfortunately I haven't really been able to keep track of my bodyfat % since I haven't yet found a "proper" place that would measure it. I do have the calipers at home, but I just don't seem to get the hang of them lol. Well, weight wise I have lost around 8 kg (17.6 pounds), but at the same time I have gained a lot of muscle and I mean really significant amount. It's not very visible since there is still a good layer of fat covering and that's what needs to come off...

.

Another issue that I was struggling with besides being sick was ordering a new stack of protein powder. Apparently the price for whey went up and due to that my normal supplier changed the pricing policy so much that it really felt like a ripoff. I started to search for another place to order and finally came across of a supplier who is still offering whey for the old price till the end of December. So I just ordered pretty good stack that will last me for six months or more.

.

The irony is that right the next day I started to chat with Guido, one of my classmates at school, and it turned out that he is a fitness instructor at the local gym. Furthermore, when I showed him Adam's website he said that he knows it and then was really surprised when I said that I have actually been talking to Adam and know him. Not to mention that I'm actually on his website along with the other Shredded Council warriors :) Well, as soon as I told him that I had a lot of trouble with ordering whey powder he said that he can offer me up to 40% discount on all the items since he knows a guy who runs sports supply store. at least now I have my back covered in the future.. but I still have to go through the suply I have gathered.... and that's a lot..

.

I think that's about it for today..

.

Finally, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate your supporting comments, so thank you again Dougal, Miriam, Joni and Suzette (extra thanks to Suzette who is like a mother lion keeping an eye on everyone :-D )!!!!

.

Here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 151: Cardio

Day 151

Back again here, I had to skip my workout yesterday because I was home very late and just didn't have any energy. Today I was back from school earlier and did a cardio session, but it didn't turn out to be the best one... meaning there is still something wondering around the system or I just didn't have enough sleep last night. I was feeling very, very weak after the workout and to do something simple takes an enormous amount of time and effort. Well..the goal now is to go to sleep early today and see how things turn out tomorrow, I'll be doing some cardio again and see what happens...

I have to make this one short and stop now.. I will try to make a long post after a couple of days to answer some of the comments, my struggle to obtain whey powder and an unexpected ally...

Again a very big thank you to everyone who left comments!!!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 149: Second attempt

Day 149

Alright, yesterday I took another day off to give time to my body to heal. It was hard not to do something but I knew I had to give it some time. I planned already yesterday to do a cardio today, so this morning I did a 30 minute session that went well. So far it seems to be all good. I do have occasional hot waves, but I think it's also the heating that pays a role. I've also had lots of tea to get fluids in and get all the bad stuff out of the system.

I'm pretty happy with today's outcome because it was a proper training after a week of almost doing nothing, but feeling sick.. so yeah :)

I should also reveal that I have become a member of the honoured Shredded Council that definitely adds that extra pressure from the peers and makes you put extra work to the whole plan. Well, since I was sick, I couldn't send my pics to Adam earlier today, but here they are straight after the cardio (also the reason for my scruffy look lol)...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 147: Drawback

Day 147

Yes, a drawback. I'm afraid I feel today a lot worse. I had a meeting in the morning that took me total of 6 hours to get there and back home (35 min interview). Then I had to take a nap, because by that time I felt pretty bad and weak. No exercise today, nothing.... and that just burns me inside, but I have to be reasonable, take a step back in order to go forward again. I will see how it goes through the night and how things look by tomorrow...

All the best to all of you!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 146

Day 146

Just a quick note saying that I did a cardio session today of 30 minutes just to get the body moving again, so I'm happy with that. However, I still feel a bit illish, but I'll see if it goes a bit better when exercising. I'll be back again tomorrow :)

Here are the pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 145: Break - sick leave

Day 145 - sick leave

I have to say with great regret that I have not been near to fitness the past three days due to this undiscovered sickness that still has made me nauseous and in waves makes me sweat (not a very good sign) and a slight rash on both hands. As before I don't think I have a fever, but that is also not the only thing that shows something is wrong. I decided to listen my inner voice and rather not risk with making things worse. This time off has also given time to heal the bruising on my right thigh that I mentioned before.

I'll keep my fingers cossed and hope that I can do some cardio tomorrow and see if I can get back on track and get things going again. So don't give up on me yet and stay tuned :)

All the best and see you soon!!


PS Thanks to everyone who sent supporting mails and comments, it always helps!!! :)


All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 142: Back to weights

Day 142, Round 11, Phase 1

I have to say that I haven't been feeling very good today. I woke up in a pool of sweat and felt a bit nauseous and weak. I did go to the gym and surprisingly had a very good workout. I can already feel some pain in arms and chest which makes me feel even better. However, the initial problems like nausea and weakness have not disappeared... I'll see if it gets better tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed :)

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 141: Cardio time

Day 141, Round 10, Phase 3

Well, since I had a couple of days off, then rather than having another one off as my cheat meal day I decided to do some cardio and burn fat instead. I had an 30 minute session and felt really good afterwards. Apparently I have rowed almost 116km on my rowing machine so far.. not so much, but I will try to get to the 1000m range (might take a while, but still :P)

And finally here are the pics :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 140: Supersets

Day 140, Round 10, Phase 3

I took two days off, one part because of school, other reason is that the bruising on my thigh is rather gone worse than better. Maybe it's part of the healing process, but it sure looks scary, so I think it was a good idea to give it some time to heal and repair whatever is broken there.

Well, I was back in the gym today to do the supersets and get myself moving again. I started as usual with a 15 minute warmup, then it was time to push each muscle group to the limit. Luckily the gym was pretty empty, so it was nice to move between sets and didn't have to wait my turn. It seems that the gyms start to crowd up again and more is expected right after the holidays when people feel guilty for a week or two ;)

I ended the workout with 15 min HIIT while watching Ray Mears survival tips/skills (just to say I wasn't slacking, it's just that there is a cardio theater in the gym) :-D All in all it went very well and as usual I ended the workout with stretching all the muscles.

No pic today unfortunately, the battery gave up and I suspect they are out.. even though I charge them, the camera says that they're no good. I'll try to get new pack tomorrow and keep fingers crossed that the problem is not in the camera (I remember what Adam went through when his cam broke..sjeesh)

I'll see you back here tomorrow!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 137: Muscle Rounds II

Day 137, Round 10, Phase 3

Just a real quick post and I'm off to bed again to get some sleep. Today was the second part of the Muscle Rounds that focused on the upper body. I also should mention that my legs are a bit sore from yesterday, but not painful so that's good.

Like yesterday I tried to top the previos results, so I was able to increase the dumbbell bench press from 12kg to 13kg (each dumbbell) and I have to say that I started with 7-8kg, so there is definitely progress. My weight has again haulted and doesn't really want to decrease.. some of it might have to do with stress, hectic schedule and different eating times. However, I will also try to see if increasing cardio will help and also look critically again at my food list, there might be a problem bigger than I think..

ok.. here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 136: Muscle Rounds

Day 136, Round 10, Phase 3

Yesterday was my fruit day and as said, no blogging or pics. Today was different story, I had my proteine loading right in the morning and as much as proteine rich food during the day to be ready when going to the gym. I did have a good workout and as usual tried to improve the last results bit by bit, so I was pretty happy with that.

.

I still have the bruise on my right thigh and it's going to take a while before getting better, as long as it doesn't go worse :) Well, today was a leg day - quads, hamstrings and calves and as the headding said it was time for muscle rounds. Just to remind you that the idea behind MS is to take a weight that you can do 10 reps and actually do 24 reps by using short breaks in between sets..

.

Well, it's bedtime here and I have to be an early bird so I better go off

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 134: HIIT time

Day 134, Round 9, Phase 2

I have to say that surprisingly my legs didn't hurt, they felt a bit tired though, but no ache. Instead I have triceps pain instead.. I guess they got the best beating yesterday.What I do have is a massive bruise on my right thigh that is purple blue and feels as a bump. Of course I have no clue how or when I managed to get it. I assume that it was yesterday at the gym when I was doing the shoulder press and placed the weights on my legs just before starting the exercise. Oh, well....

Today was time for HIIT, so I has a rowing session at home for 30 minutes and it took quite a while to cool off. There is no point of taking the shower straight away since you just keep sweating, so best is to wait and do some stretching exercises. That was it for today.. tomorrow I'll have my fruit day and no exercise.. so that means no blogging tomorrow..

Here are the pictures :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 133: LAT it go part II

Day 133, Round 9, Phase 1

It was time to get back to the gym today and get the muscles sore again. I could still feel the pain in my arms from the workout I had two days ago, but since it was a leg day it wasn't a problem. The gym was pretty crowded, but luckily I didn't have to wait because of someone and could "flow" through the program pretty easily. I'm guessing that there will be some leg ache tomorrow... but I'll see, it might not be so bad.

I had a great evening with the in-laws.. we went out for a dinner to celebrate yesterday's event and it was of course very nice. In terms of carbs and fat and protein.. well of course there was plenty of that, but no reason to feel guilty or worry about it. You just have to know what you're doing and tomorrow everything is back on track.

Thank you again to everyone who sent kind words to me via the blog or mail.. it meands a lot. I really have to say special thanks to Suzette whos comments always give that extra boost :)

I also wanted to say that I do check very often the Shredders blogs and Adam's blog roll.. I'm not much of a commentator, but you can be sure that I keep an eye on you!! :) Keep up the good work and be in charge of your life..

Here are the pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 132: Birthday, Shredders, Adam!!!

Day 132, Round 9, Phase 1

Today is my day off.. partly because I arrvied home late from school and partly because today is my birthday, so the other half of the night I was unwrapping my gifts lol.. I received an iPod already before and now I got an armband that enables me to take it with me to the gym and get that extra boost during the workout. My old MP3 was not recognized anymore by the PC, so I couldn't chagne the songs.. meaning I have been exercising almost 130 days with the same songs coming from earphones... that requires even more willpower than the whole workout lol.

I would just like to say congratulations to everyone who participated in Adam's Shredding Mission and I suggest you take a look what amazing results they have achieved :) And of course I take my hat off to Adam who is celebrating his milestone (rebirth) - 1 year in fitness.. He is the reason you're reading this blog, so thank you Adam!!!

.

Here is Adam with a million dollar smile!!!

http://www.rtp-blog.com/

http://www.rtp-blog.com/

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 131: Time to LAT again part I

Day 131, Round 9, Phase 1

Back in the gym and it was time for Lactic Acid Training part one. This means low weight, high rep exercise that gets the muscles burning to make them grow. Focus was on chest, back, biceps and calves, not to mention the standard core combo and short HIIT session on top of everything.

I did have a great workout and everything went really well.. motivation was high, enough energy to keep me going strong till the end of the workout and in the end I was filled with "high" that you get from the workout.

Now, I didn't take a pic today, because I was home really late.. so instead I'll post here a pic of Kyle McLachlan because there is someone in the gym who looks exactly like him.. how weird is that! lol

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 130: Quick cardio

Day 130, Round 9, Phase 1

As I mentioned yesterday, I might squeeze a cardio session in though it is my rest day. Even though it was only 20 minutes it's better than nothing. Well, the point is that I really don't move much except to school and back and that's with a train and a bus.. not much walking.. that's why some exercise is good just to get a little kick for the day :)

Here are today's pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 129: Circuit training II

Day 129, Round 9, Phase 1

I'm back from the gym and today was time for Fat Loss Circuit Training part II. I started to feel already yesterday some soreness in the chest and ab muscles and it really had kicked in overnight, but that didn't stop me. I would rather describe it as a good buzz that makes you go out there to do some more training.

Anyway, I had great time at the gym doing shoulders, triceps, quads and hamstrings, core combo and a HIIT session at the end of it all. It was all good and I felt great afterwards. Tomorrow is my day off from the gym, but I have to see if I'm able to squeeze in a little cardio session to get some exercise, otherwise I'll be sitting behind the desk all the time...

Alright... here are today's pics :)



All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 128: HIIT part IV and back at the gym

Day 128, Round 9, Phase 1

Time to sit behind the PC and write what has been happening.. Friday I took the day off, so no activity then. Saturday I had my HIIT session part 4, but I dozed off yesterday before I could write the blog, so that's why there was no enrty.. don't think that I missed the session :-D

Today it was time to get back to the gym and get pumping. I started the Fat Loss Circuit Training and it sure felt good the grab the weights and pump up the muscles. The sweet taste of success through pain and pushing yourself to the edge. I get extra motivation during the biceps rounds since I have a vein on my left arm that has been starting to appear.. First I actually noticed it awhile ago, then started to see it under the skin quite clearly. Now when I do the pumping I can see it slightly.. just veeeery slightly pushing against the skin and forming a little contour. I'm sure if someone else would look at it, then they wouldn't know the difference.. but I do and it means the world to me.... The goal would be to get it out, so it would really pop out.. meaning getting the BF low, a lot lower to be able to do that and that all depands what I'm doing right now at this moment - eating, working, sleeping, mindset...

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 125: HIITed up part III

Day 125, Phase 3 Cardio week

Just a quick post saying that today I had another session of cardio and as it was my day off from the exams it went pretty good.. if not very good :)

Have to go to sleep and face the final test tomorrow before I'm able to loosen the brain a bit :) See you soon!!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 124: Cardio part II

Day 124, Phase 3 Cardio week

Day two of cardio week, had two exams in the morning, so it was definitely good to get rid of all that and get the mind clear for next stages. Well, there certainly has been lack of sleep lately and that also affects the motivation.. I'm very aware of that and try to keet track of it as much as I can, because there is always the risk of falling off, pushing things till a better moment comes along.. well, it's not going to happen. That's why it was time to put the gym cloths on and start rowing.. simple as that :)

Well, in the end I had a good HIIT session and it felt good. I do miss the weughts and think that I'm able to head back to the gym either on Friday or Saturday to get pumping again. Something to wait for.. definitely..

Here are today's pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

PS I just wanted to say that everyone in Adam's shredding challenge are doing an excellent job and you should definitely check it out.. just click on the link on the right side!! Awsome guys and gals!! :)

Day 123: Cardio time

Day 123, Phase 3 Cardio week

Hello to everyone again, time to update here a bit. Sunday was my rest day as well as my full fruit day which went pretty well considering that there isn't much good fruit in the shops. Yesterday I had to take the day off again because of the preparation for my today's exam. Just stressful time and not very regular eating habits that are already affecting my body. If not enough fluids or food is consumed, then it starts to act like a sponge.

Well, today I did 30 min of HIIT and then it was time to tuck into the books again to prepare for tomorrow. I have to make it short today since it's time to go to sleep and get some brain rest :)

Here are the pics, though the quality is not so good.. I'll try to make some adjustment soon to get the lightning right somehow..




All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 120: HIITed up

Day 120, Round 9, Phase 2

It was time to put my rowing machine into good use again and do a 30 session in the morning to get the mind clear before diving into the pool of knowledge again. As I was rowing I discovered that I definitely have to increase the resistance since my abilities are already past the current one and the whole process seems a bit too easy than it should be. It's another reminder that there has to be a constant progress either doing a lot more work within the same time span or increasing the weights - don't forget that!

Well, the rest of the day I have been a couch potato.. meaning really sitting most of the time and studying.. just 1 more day and then the survival of the best starts :-D

I was looking online at the World Men's Championships of Bodybuilding in Jeju where unfortunately the estonian guy (Ott Kiivikas) was eliminated due to "softness", meaning that there was too much fluid under his skin and the sharpness of the muscles was gone. I would say that compared to the group this probably was true and it might be that he took a last minute risk to do some adjustments..

I'll leave you with this mind blowing stuff and I can do it both ways :P

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 119: Nothing, absolutely nothing...

Day 119, Round 9, Phase 1

Yes, as the headline says it.. nothing happened today. I had to travel most of the day for a meeting in another city and once I came back it was too late to go to the gym. Well, at least next time something like this comes up I'll be wiser and do my workout in the morning, I just thought I'll also make it in the evening.. sigh. Well, tomorrow is my HIIT day, so no excuses or barriers then, just pure workout.. I'll be back tomorrow and then definitely with a pic!! :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 118: LAT it go part I

Day 118, Round 9, Phase 1

Back in the action today again.. yesterday was my day off, so no blogging.. I have to say though that it was really hard at the gym, it felt like I have tons of extra weight and it was hard to move. I suspect that I got up too late and that might have an effect.. I might have been half asleep, though I don't know. I guess you also have those days..

As many of you might know Adam is launcing a 14-day shredding challenge I have to say I was tempted, especially since the end date 8th of November is my birthday :P However, all the fuss with the school and organizing my thesis.. I have to skip the group shred, though I will of course continue with my own plan. As I also said before, the next week I'll do a cardio week so I don't have to go to the gym and can focus more on studying since I have 4 exams in 5 days.. joys of school life lol.

I would also like to say thank you to everyone who posted comments to my blog, thank you for your kind words.. I think if there weren't the pics, then it would be hard to see the actual and true progress. Believe me it was devastating to take those first day pics, not knowing if this will ever work out.. My best recommendation is definitely to take pics every day, trust me it helps in so many ways that you can't even imagine. I already regret that I didn't make separate pics of my body parts like biceps and especially calves, because you could really see the difference there. Well, at least there is the overall picture and making daily pics means that you can do what I did back in day 100!!

I wish everyone who are participating in the group shred success and just to have fun. I'm looking forward seeing everyone's progress and I keep an eye on you throughout the 14 days.

Let the games begin!!!

About today's pic.. well my cam battery said no even though I said yes, so due to the conflict of interests I had to give up... meaning no pic today :( And I was preaching before how important it is to take daily pics lol... sigh...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 116: Circuit Training part II

Day 116, Round 9, Phase 1

Today was part two of the Fat Loss Circuit training, and main focus on shoulders, tricept, quads and hamstrings. At the end I did a HIIT session again and as you already guessed, back home and studying lol. Oh, well.. just this year and then I think I'll be free... or should I say work, but at least I don't have to study during my holiday weeks :)

I'll make it short today to go to bed early and catch up with my sleep and get those 8 hours of rest.

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 115: Back in the action from both sides

Day 115, Round 9, Phase 1

Yes, I was back in the gym today after a looong time and it really felt great to touch the dumbbells and cardio machines. I did the Circuit training part one that was mainly focused on the upper body and a little HIIT session to finish it off.

Then it was time to come home, eat and get studying. I have been behind my PC since 14.30 til... 23.50 as it is now.. sjeesh and it's not going to get better since the next week is my examination week and I have some difficult stuff to chew through.

I also wanted you to know that since the emergency situation next week I'll probably will not go to the gym, but rather have a cardio week. This saves me time since I can do it at home and after finished get behind the books again :)

So, here are today's pics after such a long time :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 114: Rest Week

Day 114, Round 9, Phase 1

Little update to let you know that I'm still here and not given up on training. Tuesday was my rest day and cheat meal day. The rest of the week I have been very busy and long days at school, which meant that I had no time to go to the gym and had to skip training (not very happy about it). Knowing that this is the case, I decided to take some time off and have my rest period, so I wouldn't have more stress then necessary. Till friday I was working on a report I had to hand in plus extra work for a wok that has to be handed in a week from now. Next week is my vacation week from the school, though the week after is an examination week, so there is no holiday, but lot's of studying and working. However, I wil take some time every day to go to the gym and get back to the track. That means then that you can expect pics and blog to be back again starting from tomorrow :)

I'll see you back here tomorrow!!!

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 108: Supersets - 16 different exercises

Day 108, Round 8, Phase 3

Today was time for supersets and was intense. In total there were 16 different exercises for eight bodyparts. It also takes some time to move from one exercise to another and on top of everything to finish off was the HIIT session. Well, good news is that I was still in the time frame that I usually am.. around an hour, but the whole thing was quite harsh. Pushing through the pain and giving the max during each round, set and rep - everything matters. Well, as I said before.. it's never going to get any easier and I always have to push and work through the pain.. that's how it is..

Tomorrow is the day off, so no trainign = no pics and no blog.. what it does mean, is to get some rest and also have my cheat meal :P

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 107: HIIT

Day 107, Round 8, Phase 3

Back here again to give an update.. yesterday was my Muscle Rounds day for the upper body and that was pretty heavy. Though, I' not complaining, it was good to give it a max and I can feel the muscles today aching away :)

Yesterday there was also a bit of drama since I forgot to take my house key with me and when I got back Peter had gone off. My mobile had a flat battery and I couldn't remember his number out of my head... Well, in the end it meant almost 2hrs of waiting till I managed to go to my old workplace and tried to call him.. by that time he was home.. Oh well.. it just wasn't my day.

On the bright side I got a little gift for my 100Days achievement and also I think because I have my birthday coming up soon... a little new iPod Nano :P Very cool. Though I'm not sure if I want to take it to the gym.. even though my old MP3 is making weird sounds and I can't change music anymore because the USB doesn't work on that anymore.. so I'm stuck with the same songs day in and day out..

Today was my HIIT day with 30 min of rowing.. the result of that was a pool of sweat and a terrific feeling.. though rest of the day I have been studying which is not much fun at all, but someone has to do it.

Alright I'll leave you with the pics and go off to bed to get some rest.

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 105: Back in the gym

Day 105, Round 8, Phase 3

Yesterday was my fruit day, so no gym and therefore no posting. Today however it was time for action again, but not without some drama. In the morning I discovered a huuge blue spot on my left calve. I have no idea why, where or when it has happened, but there it was.

So what do you think of that? In real it looks a lot more blue lol.

.

I wasn't sure if it would be ok to go to the gym, especially because today was a leg day, so heavy on quads, hams and calves. On top of that I felt a bit tired. Today was a deadline day for two assignements that I had been working on and finished them just in time.

.

Well, I didn't increase the weights today just to make sure that I don't over stress the leg and also get back on track for tomorrow. I'm sure it will be better then and am able to go on with full steam :)

.

Alright.. here are today's pics...
I'm sorry for the quality, they turned out a bit darker than expected...

.

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 103: I'm back!!

Day 103, Round 8, Phase 2

They said it's going to be a week, but guess what!! First time I'm happy that someone actually lied :) That means I got a new modem today and don't have to stress about internet. I have to use it for school purposes a lot and of course to post my blog.. what else!

This is going to be another quick post since I have to go to sleep. I have lots to do tomorrow so I would be able to meet the deadline for two major works on Friday.. it'll be fine, just extreemly busy.

I'll leave you with this photo that will mark my 100 days in the program...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 101: No Internet!! :(

This will be a quick one.. the problem is that my modem broke down this morning so I have no internet at home. My provider promised to replace the modem but only after a week!!!! Seesh.. I thought that I'll just go to the store and buy a new one, but no.. people make it waaaay too complicated over here...

The only place I can use the net is at school and that's what I'm doing now.. however I don't think I have time to post every day, so this means that there might be a gap in blogging... until I have figured out a way to get things working again.. Well, in the worst case I will be back after a week... so don't give up on me yet!!!!

Not blogging doesn't mean not tranining... absolutely the opposite and that's why I have to run home now to get to the gym :)

See you soon!!


All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 100: I'll say it again 100 days!!!!!

Day 100, Round 8, Phase 1

I can't believe it's already 100 days!! Yipeee! Well, as I have mentioned there is still a long way to go, but the most important thing is that working out and keeping an eye on what I eat is the way of life. I think a lot of people get in trouble in the phase where they are still adapting to the new way of life and if there is a setback they just pull the breaks... I say it because I check regulary Adam's blog roll and there are just soo many that have stopped. Well, could be that they have just stopped blogging and continued... but I'm not soo sure about it. The realization that this is not for a month, or for half a year nor it's a diet after which you can pigg out and live happily ever after.... this is it how it's going to be... forever!

What do I have to say about it... it's not hard at all as long as you are willing t give it a shot.. you'll get used to it and it becomes the way you live....

I did have a little HIIT session today to get my body moving since the rest of the time I was busy studying.. and that means sitting the whole day.. so you do understand why one needs to move.

And here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 99: Let the good things roll...

Day 99, Round 8, Phase 1

Today was the second part of the circuit training, focusing on shoulders, triceps, quads, hamstrings.. plus core combo and a bit of HIIT for dessert :) I have to say that I'm not sore from yesterdays workout (or should I say yet), but I am pretty tired today after wrestling with the weights..

The rest of the day has been the same old, same old.. meaning studying and thinking of studying. Next week will be very busy, preparation for research class, interview that has to be transcripted and finally the topic proposal for the dissertation. Besides that I should have my own life lol... Well, sometimes it's good to complain a bit, but it's just the matter of doing and not whining :-D

.

Tomorrow is my day off, but I'll probably do some HIIT at home to get a bit of action.

.

Here is how things look today..

.

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 98: Back to action

Day 98, Round 8, Phase 1

Another takeoff and successful landing. Yes it was time to get back to the gym and get the muscles sore. I could still feel a bit of soreness from my last workout, but that didn't stop me beating the old records. It's quite funny to see the notes I made the first time around and then compare them with how much I have progressed right now.

I do have to say that the progress has slowed down a bit, it's not as fast as it was first time around. I also have to say that my weight has been staying the same for awhile now and sometimes it can be frustrating. The main point is not to give up or go on a eating spree. There will be time when the plateau breaks and the wheels start turning again... assuming that what I do is right (good eating plan).

Here are today's pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 97: Rest day

Day 97, Round 7, Phase 3

Today is my rest day and also my cheat meal day, so it was another bowl of curry after.... 12? days. This post will be short since no gym = no workout = no pic. Simple as that :) Tomorrow it's back to the gym and getting the wheel turning again. I think I'm hooked lol..

I'd like to say thank you to those who have come to check my blog and even left a comment. This is great and I really appreciate it... There has been progress and I do realize it, but there is a long way to go where I want to be, so the journey continues..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 96: Supersets

Day 96, Round 7, Phase 3

As I predicted I was home late yesterday, so there was no chance to go to the gym.. However, today there was no slacking and after I got home I was off to the gym. I had the Supersets day that basicly works most of the major muscles in the body. It was definitely good to be back and pumping. It is a bit hard to juggle with the amount of school related work I have to do at home, but I always want to squeeze the workout in. I'm saying this, because I know that it's going to get a lot busier towards the end of the year and then again towards the end of the dissertation. I'll worry about that when the time comes.. Right now it was just great to be back and get the body moving again :)

Here are the pics..

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 94: HIIT

Day 94, Round 7, Phase 3

Just a quick post here.. today was HIIT day and again I was happy to use my rowing machine at home for that. All together a 30 min workout and lots of sweat while in action. I did feel great afterwards and there was a good burn in the muscles for another 30 min.

Tomorrow I should be back in the gym, but I will have a very long day at school and right now I'm doubting wheter I have to push my workout till Wednesday and then use my rest day on Friday to catch up... I'll figure it out soon..

Anyway, here are the pics...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 93: More muscles

Day 93, Round 7, Phase 3

Today was time for the second part of the Muscle Rounds workout, focusing on the upper body - back, chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps. Quite the opposite to yesterday, the gym was totally packed.. and today is Sunday!!! Well luck was on my side and I was able to move from one exercise to the other without waiting someone to release the spot or return the weights.

Like yesterday, I started with a warmup - 15 min on the arc trainer and that usually warms me up enough to get the sweat running. Today's workout was pretty intense, so throughout the workout I was sweating a lot to the point that my clothes and part of the towel were soaked. Whether or not this actually improves my physiqe.. no idea, but this gives me a boost in the gym to try even harder.. so the two should be connected.

Unfortunately no pic today, I said yes, but my camera said no. The batteries were flat and since I have no clue how to extract electricity from potatoes.... I couldn't get the camera on. Tomorrow is another day.. :)

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 92: Building Muscle

Day 92, Round 7, Phase 3

I finally could have some protein again!!! So that alone made my day bright though it was raining outside. It was also time to get back to the gym and start with phase 3. Today was time for Muscle Rounds and the main focus was on legs - quads, hamstrings, calves. It was good to be back in the gym and to my surprise I wasn't so busy. Usually it's pretty packed since the gym is open only during the morning...

Anyway, I had a little cardio round at the end, then stretching and home. Tomorrow is another day to push the limit..

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 91: Rest day

Day 91, Round 7, Phase 2

Today was a rest day, so no weights or cardio just rest AND lots of fruit. I've said it before, I really look forward to fruit days, but after two servings I get huuge protein cravings. Well, part of it has to do with the fact that the natural fruit season is over and the fruit just doesn't tase the same as in the summer. A lot is imported and that means fruit has been picked half raw or raw and not let ripen naturally. There is a huuge difference.. Ah, well.. it's just a day and tomorrow morning is protein time again :)

No pic today because of the rest day.. I will post a pic of one of my favorite classic bodybuilders, estonian Imre Vähi

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 90: HIIT day

Day 90, Round 7, Phase 2

Today was a full HIIT day, no weights, just cardio. I didn't go to the gym, but opted for the rowing machine I have at home. Have to put it in good use and not let the dust cover it. So it was 25 min of cardio, bit of a stretch, drinking the proteine shake and after half an hour another one. After the workout was time for pictures..

..and here they are

PS Thank you to Suzette and Adam for their support and kind words. I think anyone who is on a similar journey knows how comments like that give you an enormous boost :) Thanks a lot...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 89: LAT it be II

Day 89, Round 7, Phase 1

Today was time for LAT part two - shoulders, triceps, legs, quads and core combo. It went pretty well, considering the fact that I managed to trip on the stairs at the uni and take a layer of skin off my right knee. The first thing I thought was that I hope I'm able to go to the gym... Well, before I would have just had a few curse words and think how clumsy can I be, but now it was different. I think I was even a little bit surprised to be so concerned about it... to be able to really make it to the gym and do my workout. Well, it went just fine and the only time I actually felt the pain was in the final stage when I was stretching. Otherwise it was all good and I had a great time :)

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 88: Pumping acid

Day 88, Round 7, Phase 1

I had a rest day yesterday, so there was no blog, no pics... just studying :) Today I rushed home, grabbed my gym cloths and took off to do my workout. Today was time to do the Lactic Acid training that you know I love lol. Though I think every time it gets better and I really shouldn't complain.

The only thing I can complain is that I get blisters in my hands. Also lots of hard skin that doesn't look very nice... I mentioned before that I bought a pair of gym gloves and after 1 workout my hands were even worse than before.. so go figure. I haven't had the time to look for another pair.. and I'm aslo a bit more sceptical to pay lots of money for something that makes the end result even worse... hmmm...

Anyway, today was upper body training plus calves and the usual core combo. I finished up with 10 min HIIT session and then it was time to come home and study some more.

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to take my pic today.. it's already really late and instead of setting the whole thing up I'm going to bed to get my beauty sleep. Meaning no pic today folks.. tomorrow for sure :)

Here is a pic though of my gym stuff

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 86: Cricuit Training II

Day 86, Round 7, Phase 1

I had a great time working out today at the gym even though it was pretty crowded over there. Today I worked on shoulders, triceps, legs an quads. Plus the core combo and finally the HIIT session. I was pretty exhausted by the time I finished, but there was no time to relax. As soon as I got home I had to study and it has taken me the whole day... oh well..

I'll post today's pics and it's time to go to bed over here...

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!

Day 85: Circuit training

Day 85, Round 7, Phase 1

Back to Fat Loss Circuit Training.. it was great to do it again and get the nice buzz in the muscles. Today was upper body workout and compared to the first time I did the training my weights have more than doubled. Also a lot of improvement from the second time around.. and that's what keeps you going.

Trying to beat yourself, improve, challenge.. this is what keeps you going and motivates you. Not to mention your goal where you want to take your body and what you have to do today to get towards your goal. Not yesterday or tomorrow, but today.. you go from there and do your best. The most important thing is not to give up and walk away, but analyze the situation, make corrections and continue.

Here are today's pics

All I have is today...
Change your body, change your life!