Where are you seeing yourself excelling in your workouts lately? What are some workouts you are doing that you might not have expected you could do? Where are you struggling?

For me, I am really happy to say I am really enjoying step workouts! I am also noticing that my cardiovascular endurance is increasing. I think I am in a bit of a plateau with weight workouts, and need to figure out how to shake that up. I am doing STS and I think it might be a matter of re-testing my 1 RMs and heavying up more on the weights. 

:) ~ work out woman ~ (:

My legs no longer cramp when doing Kick Max or Maximum Intensity Cardio.

I still struggle with putting too much food in my mouth. My father died Sunday morning, so that isn't helping me either.

I'm really sorry to hear about your father, DL. Sending hugs your way. (((()))) :) ~ work out woman ~ (:

I'm so sorry about your father, DL.  I can't imagine what you must be going through.  Don't be too hard on yourself about food right now.  You need time to grieve your loss. "God, please help me to be the person my dog thinks I am."         ~unknown

Very sorry for the loss of your father DL...many kind thoughts and prayers for you and your family.   katie "By perseverance, the snail reached the Ark."  Charles H. Spurgeon 

so sorry for your bad news DL  ..  give yourself time  :-)

Oh so so sorry about your Dad DL. You need to let yourself grieve and be sad. The rest will come later when you are feeling stronger.  Take care.

So sorry for your loss DL {{Hugs}} to you... Your only as strong as you give your self permission to be
Jari-Get Extremenly Ripped
  

the original Q Accomplishments and Struggles 
.. as many of you know I was a 4 dvd a day person, cruely that was taken away from me by mother nature herself in the form of changing hormones, pre-menopause, so began my struggles to keep on exersising but keep on, keeping on I did, in the form of walking dvds and discovered I really enjoyed it .. 
:-)
then slowly but surely when the moment of super tiredness passed, almost 3 months later, I'm discovering that I'm able to up the intencity again, adding high cardio when I feel like it .. Accomplished .. I'm able to take it down a notch and walk when I need to and still get that worked out feeling I strive for .. I alternate between walks and high - low cardio .. my endurance is on the rise again
:-)

DL, so sorry for your loss, take care of yourself and get enough time to grieve.

About your question w.o.w., still struggle with the stinkin' push ups on CLX but it's also an accomplishment, now I can do more push ups on my toes than I ever thought (well, I could do zero before).

Still struggling with step workouts. I almost master Cathe's basic step, but today did the one in body fusion and oh my! I almost had my first fall from the step, but I'm enjoying it, I feel very happy when I can do the turns, pivots cha chas and all that stuff Cathe likes
Believe me I'm a super klutz, uncoordinated and step challenged kind of gal Outside a dog a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read. ~G. Marx

Gabytopo, have you looked at Kathy Smith's Step Workout? It's older, but doesn't do the complicated spins and turns.

(Thank you everyone...I didn't mean to hijack the thread)

Thanks DL, I'll look for that one. :)

And don't worry, you didn't hijack the thread. We can support you and talk about struggles and accomplishments at the same time :) Outside a dog a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read. ~G. Marx

Gabytopo

Thanks DL, I'll look for that one. :)
And don't worry, you didn't hijack the thread. We can support you and talk about struggles and accomplishments at the same time :)

Absolutely! We are here to support each other as well as to discuss things.

Off to workout... hope you are feeling a bit better day by day DL. :) ~ work out woman ~ (:

My struggle right now is food.  I am from Arkansas.  We have 2 seasons: summer and football.  Right now it is football season.  A lot of my meals are coming from concession stands.  At home we have grilled chicken sandwiches so that helps, but on the road, it is a garbage fest.     

Sorry to hear about your dad, DL.

DL - Sorry about your Dad!!!

LRM

My struggle is also diet.  I can do good for so long and then when "that time of the month" rolls around, it's all shot to heck!  Then I am starting all over again. 

My accomplishments I guess would have to be that I am using weights and able to do push ups off the toes.  When I first started to workout I did Denise Austin and the Firm using as little weight as I could.  I never dreamed I would be wanting 12 pound weights doing Cathe and Jari!

DL - my condolances too.

My accomplishment right now is the fact I am working out around my injury and not letting it side line me (and the fact I ran today, after years and years....)

My struggle is the fact I can;t do any upper body work and a lot of other things while I let my shoulder heal, it is so tempting sometimes.... If you get a speeding ticket you wouldn't go and break every traffic rule for the rest of the day... Treat yourself with the same respect!

DL, so very sorry for your loss...been there 1 1/2 years ago...carrot cake was my comfort.

My accomplishments have been in the 'plyo' area...I used to wouldn't even try to jump with 2 feet up on a step; I knew I'd go sprawling.  Now, the lead is mostly gone and I feel so much lighter on my feet doing most moves requiring jumping with a bit more grace. 

I struggle with 'step' because I find the process of learning routines tedious and tiring, but I also know how fun the routines are once I have learned them so now I practice on an active rest day.

Hi, DL, so very sorry to hear about losing your Dad. I can relate, mine passed in 2004 and I still really miss him. He was a wonderful father, a gentle, loving, caring Libra. They don't make 'em like that any more. Time does heal all wounds, but you will never forget the way he made you feel....and you shouldn't!
I have found with gaining strength in my lower back I can walk farther now than I could a year ago without the pain I was experiencing. All due to strength conditioning. Some of the workouts mentioned in my success story left me so sore, but now, just minor discomfort, but in a good way. The human body is amazing in how quickly we adjust, adapt, and heal. I guess we just have to keep challenging ourselves, heaven knows life sure does without me even trying! "Angie Baby "

Hey Slinks,

Your symptoms of tiredness were probably due to overtraining.  There's a good article in FitnessRx magazine this month (fitnessRxmag.com) about this and it specifically mentions the many weeks it can take to recover from it.  It also talks about how alot of fitness enthusiasts will just keep pushing even harder to break through what they consider is a plateau rather than overtraining.  You did right to take the intensity down and give your body the rest it needed.