P90x Fitness Review – XStretch, Week 4, Day 7 – Total Days – 28

Talk about a late workout!

Today I managed to get XStretch into my day in the late afternoon. And as always, it was truly a treat to do.

This ends my recovery week! Yay! Tomorrow I start again with Chest/Shoulders/Arms (I think!) and on Tuesday, take my Day 30 pix.

It’s been quite the ride! I’ve learned so much about myself that it’s ridiculous – I never really knew the depths of my dedication to getting fit before. In other words, I’m quite the happy camper.

And that’s Day 28,

Barbara

ps – some nifty Tony Horton goodies:

Being a mom can be non-stop, so make it great

You know you’re a mom when you’ve just spent 4 hours building a friend a super site, realize that you can finally rest, and then….

your kids come to you and say

MOM! It’s GREAT outside! Let’s go practice our Nunchaku katas!

Reaction from Mom:

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Reaction from Child:

No really Mom! It’s only slightly below freezing! Our nunchaku will spin real good!

Reaction from Mom:

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Reaction from Child:

Mom? Do you need coffee?

Reaction from Mom:

(can’t anyone realize I’m comatose?) Okay dear, I’ll consider doing DDR with you if you set it up and give me 10 minutes to decompress….

Reaction from Child:

(ZZZZZIPP as she disappears to set everything up)

Sigh. Ah well, it’s good for me, might as well dash right to it.

Parenting – a job for only the dauntless. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some great DDR goodies:

Neuropsychological testing in NJ – where to go

Being a webmaster can be quite an education! I’ve just had the privilege of building the website for Dr. Ilyse O’Desky, a Neuropsychologist based in Springfield, NJ.

Dr. O’Desky specializes in evaluating children for attention problems, information processing problems and learning disorders. She also tests general intelligence for gifted children as well.

From the main page!

…

As a parent, you want the very best for your child.

Whether you’re looking to maximize your child’s potential, or help your child to overcome a learning issue, a neuropsychological evaluation can be most beneficial.

Aspergers, Dyslexia, NLD (non-verbal learning disorder), Attention Deficiet Disorder…all of these conditions can be approached to give your child the best possible chance for living a normal, self-sufficient productive life.

Here at Dr. O’Desky and Associates, we are trained pediatric neuropsychologists who specialize in assessing exactly what your child needs…. and putting you on the right track to resolving his or her issues…..MORE…..

If you have concerns for your children, definitely check the center out.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some useful ADHD resources:

I am Woman! I’m not only Mom or Wife or Executive or …..

You know, as I continue to travel thru this thing called LIFE, I’m becoming more and more aware of how dangerous it is to lose site of your own inner self.

Sure, I’m a mom. A super mom, I’ll admit!

And yes, I’m a wife, an utterly wondrous one too.

Add entrepreneur to that as well!

And “All Around Problem Solver” is right up there.

Wait! Don’t forget about “Good/Great friend” to those people who are important to me. I look out for them, and (unless they take me for granted), are always there to help out.

But! Take all those people I listed up there – what about Me, the woman?

Me, the person who drives all those other aspects of my personality?

You see, I’m starting to realize that when you’re everything to everyone, you run the risk of being nothing to yourself. And when you sputter out of gas, you end up being no good to anyone at all (and that is truly a shame for your family).

So! All you superWomen and superMen out there…all you folks who are stable rock-hard bastions of support to those whom you love and care about….

Do you give yourself permission to be as good to yourself as you are to everyone else?

I cannot begin to describe how important a well-balanced, directed energy for yourself can be. I’ve now been taking advantage of that myself – I treat myself to activities I adore that my family members might view askance (P90x, Karate, Kendo, Jui jitsu, etc.), I give myself permission to tell the kids I’m off-duty and retreat to my room and relax, etc.

Do you take time for yourself as well?

You really should! You’re not just how others view you…you’re important to yourself, just as you are.

Never forget that.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – here are some nice ways to treat yourself:

Richard Simmons Review – Sweatin’ to the Oldies and more

Morning,

Long long ago, back before the earth’s crust cooled (okay, 12/2006), I began my own personal weight loss journey.

At 170+ pounds, I was kinda sorta huge…but had made that connection of “losing weight means reclaiming my life with my husband, children and family once again”.

So! I started to exercise. Slowly but surely, I began walking a few miles, and then came across Richard Simmons video tapes at various exercise forums. Intrigued (who could forget RS in General Hospital?)

I posted to my local Freecycle.org and received copies of Sweatin’ to the Oldies 3.

Ohmigosh, what a blast!

You see, STTO III (and lots of other Richard Simmons videos/DVDs) has actual obese people doing the work outs as well – 200+ pounds, 300+ pounds, you’re left feeling “hey, if they can do it, so can I!). For the first time in over a decade, I danced! I moved! I broke a sweat and wow, it felt so good! Big huge eggplant Barbara challenged herself and surpassed what she thought she could do.

Because of that, I can heartily endorse anything done by Richard Simmons. His empathy and honest caring about his people really shine thru in everything he does – he’s truly a motivating, inspirational individual. And his clubhouse has one of the most supportive forums I have ever seen (and trust me, I’ve seen and participated in a lot!).

So! If you’re overweight and looking for a gentle yet utterly effective way to get moving and grooving, definitely check out Richard Simmons. You’ll be thrilled you did.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Some more Richard Simmons goodies:

Cathe and STS Shock Training System – breaking news

Morning!

If you’re a Cathe fan and am following the frenzy for STS (Shock Training System),

Cathe has started blogging about the Behind the Scenes information that went into the video. To wit:

Today we held the first official rehearsal for STS. As you can see in the above picture Brenda is now healed from her Triathlon injury and will be joining Cedie, Jai, and Lorraine in Cathe’s next production called STS. Though it looks like the whole gang will be back we will also have several new cast members, including several males joining our STS team (more on that below). In the above picture the “Girls” have a chuckle as they plan a segment where they will take on the “Boys” in a “pushups-to-failure” segment – this is a challenge they plan on winning with ease!

Our new cast members, which we will introduce to you at a later date, were selected from a pool of fitness talent provided by a casting company we hired several months ago that did a regional search for us. Each potential applicant was interviewed and filmed by the casting company and then their files and filmed audition were sent to us so Cathe could make the final selections…..MORE…..

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some nifty Cathe discounts:

Broke 150 pounds in lat pulldowns, 110 in chest press and ….

Hi all,

Quick post before I call it a night – today we took the kids to the gym, and while my husband swam with them, I tackled the Cybex room. True, I’m still supposed to be in recovery week, but hey…I couldn’t wait to start lifting once again. Bad mom!

The good news is, I broke 110 pounds with the chest press and 150 pounds with the lat pulldown (yay!). Considering that when I first started with Cybex, I was at 55 pounds with the chest press and 90 pounds with the lat pulldown, I’m pretty pleased with my progress – this is 5 pounds more than I was able to do prior to the P90x recovery week. So I guess recovery ideas really do work!!

I’m also pretty happy with the idea that I do not let my age interfere with what I choose to achieve. I think this is common-sense wisdom – you’re only as old as your spirit is light. And right now, I feel kinda sorta like a feather. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some neat weight lifting goodies!

P90x Fitness Review – Yoga X, Week 4, Day 6 – Total Days – 27

Howdy all,

Well! It took awhile today, but I managed to complete P90x, Yoga X, a few minutes ago.

The good news! “Yoga Death”, as is so fondly known by me, is actually not so killer anymores. True, it’s still quite difficult at times but I was actually able to speak in coherent sentences afterwards (and not whimper my way out of the guest room).

Not only that, but I can now jump my feet to my hands while in plank (yay!) and can really do some super balances with regards to shoulder stands and the like.

Tomorrow will complete Week 4! And that means in 2 days, it’s Day 30 picture taking time! Wheeeeee!

I’m really feeling my flexibility increase lately. Even when walking or doing karate or wrestling with the kids or what have you….it’s all simply coming together. ’tis truly a great program.

And that’s Day 27,

Barbara

ps – some nifty P90x discounts:

100 karate front kicks, 100 karate round house kicks, 100 karate jump front kicks…..

Morning!

I’ve come to the conclusion that to flow better in karate, it would reeeeealllly help if I practiced at home. Thus, I’m creating my own home-study program of the basics, and so far, it seems to be rather useful indeed.

Let’s take front kicks. The key to getting height, obviously, is to raise your knee high (the crowd goes wild!) and then kick. But what if you’re rather, ahem, a klutz at that?

Simple! Just practice raising your knee…and that’s it. And do it again and again and again and again and …. you get the idea. Eventually, your thighs realize, hey! I can lift high! And once you’re at that point, you can then focus on the actual kick outwards. Do that 100 times on both sides.

Next, tackle the round house kicks. This is the kick I like but am lousy at – it involves pivoting on the left ankle, which is quite difficult for me. However, I’ve learned that even someone as graceless as me can improve – it’s all a matter of staying within your center of gravity. Then do those, 100 times on both sides.

Next, let’s talk jump front kicks! They’re still pretty impossible for me. But! I have managed to break down the moves like I did with the front kicks, and am now practicing them one at a time. It will take time, I know, but every day I can feel myself getting better and better.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in during my life, it’s that you should never accept commonly-held beliefs without testing the boundaries yourself. And if you run into a roadblock, modify! Compensate! Never give up – you’ll almost always discover the one super way that works for you.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some neat Karate goodies!

Finding out where sex offenders live near you

Morning,

Did you know that you can access online databases of sex offenders who might live nearby you? This is an excellent resource for parents.

Here’s what I’ve found for you:

It’s always a good thing to know who your neighbors are.

Data points,

Barbara

ps – some self-protection items: