Friday, June 30, 2017

Happy Friday!

Well, I'm still taking a break from WODs.  My spotting has stopped, but I want to give it one more day just to be sure.  I've been doing walks around my lake to keep somewhat active, but it's definitely not the same.

I'm not gonna lie- I was getting pretty nervous the past two days.  My boobs were still sore, but I felt good otherwise.  Not really as tired and no nausea at all during the day.  Last time that happened, the baby had died and I didn't know it yet.  However, the burning stomach came back today before lunch and hasn't let up yet.  Who knew I'd ever welcome feeling crappy??

Anyway, here's a WOD idea for today, if you're up for it-

21 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

7 burpees
21 air squats
7 butterfly sit ups

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Ultrasound Updates!

Our ultrasound went well today. According to the tech, I'm 5 weeks, 5 days. Baby measured 5 weeks, 4 days. We didn't see a heartbeat (we didn't really expect to anyway), but we did see a gestational sac and yolk sac in all the right places. She said she didn't see any blood that would explain my spotting, which is also good news. They scheduled me for a follow up ultrasound in 2 weeks. By then, we should be able to see a baby with a heartbeat!

I had a little more spotting last night and this morning, so I will be taking it easy on the workout front for a little bit again. When we got home from our appointment, we took the dogs for a walk around the lake. That will count as my WOD for today!

Monday, June 26, 2017

One More Day!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Our first ultrasound!  I will be 5 weeks, 6 days.  I know it's early and that we probably won't see much.  I don't really expect to see a heartbeat because I know that usually happens in week 6.  All I can do is hope that baby is where it's supposed to be and is measuring correctly.

I don't feel as nervous as I thought I would feel, which is nice.  After my miscarriage, I really struggled with whether or not I would be ready to try again after my first cycle.  One day, my husband and I had a frank discussion and I told him how I was feeling.  I was worried that my miscarriage would make me worry about every little thing.  If we didn't get pregnant the first month, would I feel like something was wrong with me?  If and when I did get pregnant again, would I be able to enjoy it?  Would I just feel like I was just constantly waiting for bad news again?  It was the first time I really said it out loud.  I was scared.  After we talked, I had a revelation of sorts.  When will I ever feel ready?  The truth is, I don't think I would have ever felt like I was ready.  My insecurities and worries are always going to be there.  My innocence was robbed.  I know what it feels like to lose a baby.  But.. I also know I survived it and that was important to remember, too.  So, we tried again as soon as we could and here we are today. :)

In other news, I have been feeling super nauseous at least once a day since I hit 5 weeks.  As I write this, my stomach is a burny, unhappy mess.  If nausea is any indication of a happy, healthy baby though, I'm more than willing to deal with the nausea every day.

As far as working out, I managed a 2.5 mile walk today around our lake.  If I can get my butt in gear by the end of the day, I also plan on doing the following:

10 rounds-

10 burpees
10 butterfly sit ups

Updates to come, tomorrow after my ultrasound!

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Hello, Pregnancy Symptoms!

Really trying to keep up with working out over here, but it's been tough.  Today marks 5 weeks, 3 days pregnant and I've already had a bunch of symptoms that I never had last time.  First of all, I'm pooped as soon as I wake up.  I keep waking up at 2-3 AM and am WIDE awake, so I'm sure that doesn't help any.  That whole bit I can deal with, though.  

However, two nights ago, I started getting this intense burning sensation in my stomach, which is what usually happens when I'm going to throw up.  I laid in bed for about an hour and it eventually subsided.  I thought maybe I had just eaten too much for dinner or just eaten too fast.  However, yesterday, it came back with a vengeance and lasted ALL day.  So, I did what I could yesterday.  I took a 2 mile walk around my lake and called it a day.

The good news is I saw my endocrinologist yesterday and my thyroid levels look great!  Super happy about that!  Last time, I didn't realize I was supposed to be getting them checked so early on.  By the time I did get them checked, I was 7 weeks and they were all way off.  I attribute that to my miscarriage, and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right this time.

Anyway, so far this morning, my stomach is okay.  I'm going to see how I feel after eating something and try to make it to the gym.  I'd really like to get some lifting in and do a template day.  This is the plan for today:

Medium grip bench press 3 x 55 lbs
Seated DB shoulder press 3 x 20 lb DBs
Assisted dips 3 sets
Barbell bent row 3 x 70 lbs
Barbell face pull 3 x 25 lbs
Lying leg curl 3 x 50 lbs
Back squat 3 x 115 lbs
Slant board sit-up 4 x 30 lbs

If that doesn't work out, my plan is to attempt the following at home:

5 rounds

20 air squats
10 burpees
20 butterfly sit-ups

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Summer!

Happy first day of summer!!  And last day of work for me!  So incredibly ready for a few weeks off after a super crappy year.  Thankful for time to recharge my batteries and grow this little poppy seed into an apple (per BabyCenter's baby sizing, haha)!

I decided to do some supersets today and boooooy can I tell I'm pregnant again.  Getting out of breath at the drop of the hat!  Never ceases to amaze me how that happens.  For that reason, I tried to take it slow today.  I wear a FitBit now, so I was watching my heart rate.  If it got too high, I took a little break to let it come back down.  There were 3 supersets total.  I completed the first in total, took a 60 second break, completed the second, took a 60 second break (that turned into more of a 2 min break because it took longer to get my heart rate down), and then completed the third.  

Here's what I did:

Superset #1

5 rounds-
10 goblet squats (35 lb kettlebell)
10 burpees

Superset #2

5 rounds-
10 goblet lunges (5 per leg, 35 lb kettlebell)
10 kettlebell swings (35 lb)

Superset #3

5 rounds-
10 alternating single leg step ups (on a coffee table)
30 second plank

I finished all 3 supersets in 23:13, including breaks.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

This Eggo is Officially Preggo Again!

Wooooo!  The relief I feel is AMAZING!

I went and got my blood work done on Saturday and yesterday (Monday).  They called me last night with my Saturday results: hCG- 325 and progesterone- 20.4!  I was happy with those numbers, especially the progesterone because I have no idea what my levels were in my last pregnancy/miscarriage.  I've realized, with miscarriage, there's always a little devil on your shoulder.  "Was your progesterone level too low last time?  Did your low thyroid levels cause your miscarriage?  Did you work out too hard?  Did you drink too much caffeine?"  It's a LOT.

Anyway, the happiness I felt from the results was pretty momentary before the devil started talking to me again.  "Are your levels going to double like they should?  What if they don't?  You should prepare yourself for another miscarriage."  I've been worrying all day.  Finally, I got the call I was waiting for- my hCG more than doubled and was 812!!  When I got off the phone, I broke down and I cried in my kitchen.  No joke.

Bonus!  I think since the doctor could hear the fear in my voice (and since I was spotting last week), I get to go for my first "dating scan" in a week.  Thankfully, the spotting seems to have resolved itself.  I am hoping it was just a delayed showing of implantation bleeding, as it happened around the time my period should have started.

So, given all of this good news, I decided to resume my workouts today.  Here's what I did today:

30 kettlebell swings (35 lb) <-- go up/down in weight as needed
2 min bike (medium resistance) <-- could substitute with 2 min row or run as well!
30 hand release push ups
2 min bike
30 shoulder to overhead with kettlebell (35 lbs)
2 min bike
30 hand release push ups
2 min bike
30 kettlebell swings

I finished in 18:32!  :)

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Early Updates

Well, I'm still having some slight spotting when I go to the bathroom, so I'm going to keep this weekend pretty low key.  I'm going to forgo working out and try to take it easy.  Luckily, I'm done with work for the summer in a few days, so I'll be able to relax and focus on taking care of myself.

The good news is my pregnancy tests (confession: I'm a POAS addict) are definitely getting darker as the days progress, which makes me feel a lot better.  I was really worried that this was a chemical pregnancy.  I called my doctor to set up my first appointment and mentioned the spotting.  They sent me for blood tests today and Monday to make sure that my progesterone levels are okay and hCG is doubling normally.  At this point, I can just hope and pray that everything is progressing as it should and I'll see later this week.

I feel extremely tired.  Way more tired than I felt with my last pregnancy, which I'm hoping is a good sign.  I went to bed before the sun went down yesterday and I probably will again tonight.  Although, I have also been WIDE awake at 3 AM the past few nights, so I'm sure that's contributing to how I feel.  My boobs are also starting to get bigger and feel slightly sore.  Again, all good signs, I think.

Anyway, here's my WOD idea for the day:

Warm up-

EMOM (every minute on the minute) for 10 minutes

20 mountain climbers
20 plank jacks
10 tricep dips (on coffee table)

WOD-

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 15 minutes-

5 burpees
10 air squats
5 burpees
10 butterfly sit ups
5 burpees
10 lunges (each leg)

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Taking a Short Break

Well, just as I start feeling good about working out again, something pops up, as usual!!  This is a "something" that I am more than willing to take a little break from working out for though..

A positive test!!  I can't believe it!  

Since I just went through the miscarriage and all that goes with it, I have decided to take a short break from working out to let my body do it's thing.  So far, the tests are faint and I have had a little pink spotting in the mornings, which is, of course, concerning to me.  I'm worried about a chemical pregnancy or early miscarriage.  I'd rather be safe this time and feel like I did everything possible to give this little bean the best shot.  I'll still be posting workouts that I WOULD be doing, but I won't be doing them myself for a little while.  I'm going to stick with walking around my lake for now and hope for the best because that's all I can do at this point.

So, here's today's WOD idea-

10 rounds:

10 air squats
10 push ups
10 butterfly sit ups
10 dips (using a coffee table)

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Mash Up Day!

Decided to do a little bit of everything today.  I wanted to do some slower lifting, but also wanted to do a WOD and get my heart rate up for an extended period of time.  I decided to throw the lifting into my warm up and follow up with a WOD-type workout.  For the WOD, I put in a row, but you could also supplement with a run or bike.  Also, I decided to change up the walking lunge and do some weighted and some unweighted.  Overall, it was a great workout!  Happy Saturday!

Warm up:

10 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute)

Power clean
Push press
Front squat
Thruster

I did 45 lbs minute 1, 65 lbs minutes 2-3, and 75 lbs for the remainder

WOD:

5 rounds

250 m row <-- you could also do a 200 m or 1/8 mile run
20 butterfly sit ups
20 hand release push ups
20 walking lunge (on rounds 1, 3, and 5 I added a 25 lb plate and made it an overhead walking lunge)

Time- 24:55

Friday, June 9, 2017

Back to Lifting!

I have this BEAUTIFUL Friday off again.  While it was still nice and cool in the morning, I decided to go to the gym and see how my hips would fare if I tried lifting heavy again.  I warmed up with the sumo deadlifts, since I think that's what bothered it last time.  I figured if it didn't feel right, I'd do a rowing/upper body workout instead.  Luckily, it felt pretty good.  I moved slower than usual through the reps and made sure my form was reallyyyy on point.  And now, here I sit on my back deck, soaking in the sun and warm weather, pain free! :)

This is week 1, day 1 of my second set of templates.  I'm using the 10 rep maxes that I found 2 weeks ago to figure out my weights.  Here's what I did:

Sumo deadlift 3 x 12 (115 lbs)
Leg press 3 x 12 (160 lbs)
DB walking lunge 2 x 22 (11 per leg) with 30 lbs DBs
High bar good mornings 3 x 15 (55 lbs)
Standing DB shoulder press 3 x 12 (20 lb DBs)
Parallel pulldowns 3 x 12 (70 lbs)
DB upright row 3 x 12 (20 lb DBs)
V-up 4 x 12 (20 lb DB)

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Thursday 21-15-9

Today, I wanted to be out of breath and sweaty, but without taking up a whole chunk of my night.  Sooo I came up with this little guy.

In CrossFit, we do a lot of 21-15-9 rep schemes.  Basically, it means that you finish 21 of each movement, then do 15 of each, then 9 of each, and you're done.  It's a nice workout because you know you're going down in reps each round.  However, sometimes, coaches get a little diabolical and make you go back up in reps.  That's what I decided to do to myself tonight because.. it's fun to torture yourself, you know?

As I've said before, I only have kettlebells at my house, so I have to get crafty with my workouts.  If you don't have a kettlebell, you can use a DB (or heavy purse, bag of rocks, or whatever you have that's decently heavy and can swing) in terms of a KB swing.  I didn't have a box to do step-ups on, so I used my coffee table (NOTE: I tested the stability of the table before I started.  Be careful whatever you use isn't going to flip over when you put your weight on it).  You could also use your couch or something similarly sturdy/tall (my table was about 20" tall, I'd say).

Anyway, without further ado:

21-15-9-15-21

Burpees
KB swings (35 lbs)
Alternating single leg box step-ups <--- alternating meaning I did left, right, left, etc. and started each round with the opposite foot

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Mini WOD

Feeling tired today.  I haven't been sleeping well at all.  I wasn't going to do any workout, but then I came across this one on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  The goal is to move as quickly as possible through the movements:

40-30-20-10 (complete 40 air squats, then 40 sit ups, etc.)

Air squats
Butterfly sit ups

After each set of sit ups, complete 10 hand release push ups.

Enjoy :)

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Sunday!

My hips are feeling much better today.  Just a little left over soreness, but nothing terrible.  I decided to keep it pretty light again today so as not to irritate them again.  I chose a WOD that I actually did before and really liked.  I did this one back in February- not long before I found out I was pregnant, actually.  This workout sticks in my mind because it was the first time I thought to myself, "why am I so out of breath?"  Once I realized I was pregnant, it made sense.  This time, I thought it would maybe be a little easier, but it's definitely still a hard one.  I was drenched in sweat by the end.  Change the weight as necessary-

4 rounds:

500 m row <-- if your gym/home doesn't have a rower, you could also run 400 m (1/4 mile) or use a stationary bike for about 2 min
10 renegade rows with push up (15 lb DBs)
10 DB full body crunch(15 lb DB)
10 DB thrusters (15 lb DBs)

This took me a total of 24:10.  After yesterday's mostly upper body workout (and I went kayaking later in the day!), my arms/shoulders were smoked.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Back to the gym!

I decided to go to the gym today and do whatever my body was comfortable with.  I needed to finish my 10 rep maxes, which were mostly upper body anyway.  Anything that was lower body I either didn't do my maxes for or just didn't do the movement at all.  I decided to add some pause back squats to my warm up to open up my hips.  Also, they are one of my favorite movements ever!  Basically, it's a back squat, but you descend slowly (like a 2-3 count to the hole) and then hold it in the hole for a few seconds (I usually do anywhere from 3-10 seconds, depending on the weight) before coming back up at normal speed.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!  They are a great movement to open up your hips and make sure your form is right the whole time.

Anyway, here's what I ended up doing/10 rep maxing out at today.  Tomorrow, I will be doing a WOD-style gym workout:

Warm up-

500 m row
10 m forward/backward inch worm with 10 sec hold in plank
5x5 pause back squats at ascending weights (I did 65, 95, 115, 115, 115)

10 rep maxes (weight at which I could do 10 reps)-

Barbell face pull = 30 lbs
Assisted underhand pull ups = 13 on assist (70 lbs) <--- NOTE: this makes me so mad, but it's a side effect of my spinal cord injury last year.  I lost SO much strength in my arms. :(
Slant board sit up = 35 lbs
2-arm DB row = 30 lb DBs
Cable face pull = 60 lbs
DB hammer curl = 20 lb DBs
Seated DB shoulder press = 25 lb DBs
Barbell walking lunge (20 total lunges) = 55 lbs
Seated leg curl = 70 lbs

Friday, June 2, 2017

FriYAY

Happy Friday!

Yesterday was an active rest day.  I took my kayak out on the lake after work for around 45 minutes.  I LOVE kayaking.  It's such a good upper body workout, but so fun that I don't feel like I'm working out.

I have the day off today, so I took a nice 2 mile walk around our lake this morning.  I will also probably be taking my kayak out later today.  It has been so rainy and cold here lately.  I'm excited to finally have a few nice, warm days to enjoy the lake.

This isn't quite as "active" as my usual workouts, and that's intentional.  My hips are still bothering me.  Especially my right side.  I want to keep moving, but I don't want to do anything that's going to prolong the pain.  I figured a walk was a good way to do that today.  Always important to listen to your body and even when your mind says "Go! Go! Go!"