After my not so stellar performance in Week 6, I really wanted to turn things around in Week 7. I was so excited about the change in routine and all the crazy new workouts that I was going to be doing, that I actually got up on Saturday morning and worked out. It was a bit weird to know that everyone else in the house was still sleeping soundly, including Stefan, but it was a rather fun workout (despite that I must have looked ready to die afterward) and I was really glad I did it.

Here’s my rundown:

• Saturday — I did the Balance, Strength & Agility Workout. I really enjoyed doing this workout. It was challenging but not quite as physical as many of the workouts. This one focuses a lot on your balancing abilities which made it fairly difficult but I really enjoyed the martial arts-style “one leg hop kick” move. The only part where I felt some pain was during the Jump Squats. After about 15 in a row, you really start to feel them. I completed 2 circuits of exercises in 9min 25 sec. I seriously could never have finished 4 circuits…I was already feeling like I would throw up again after my shower and Stefan seemed to think I was going to pass out. Not really the way it needs to be after each workout, IMO. But it was pretty fun and I definitely will try it again. I think that the living room being fairly warm and me working up a sweat was just not a good combination.
• Monday — I was once again reluctant to get out of bed, but reminded myself about how much I got accomplished on Saturday before our guests arrive which once again shows that I seem to be much more productive and focused on my tasks when I work out in the morning. I went for the Ball Buster Workout this time and managed to get through 3 rounds in 18min 18secs before Mack started getting fussy. I probably could have finished up a 4th but I was also kinda glad to stop. Going further probably would have put my right back to the ready to pass out stage.
• Wednesday — I did the Balance, Strength & Agility Workout and was once again shocked out how winded I was at the end of two circuits. How am I ever going to complete 4? These people are animals! I completed the two rounds in 7min 47sec. This is a HUGE improvement over Saturday’s performance and I had a definite increase in my balance this morning. I rarely had to put down my foot after each Skater rep (which really sped things up) and also didn’t need to readjust my balance SO often when doing the jump to kick exercise at the end of the circuit. The jump squats absolutely killed me. I wanted to be done with those after 15 reps but 20 was the magic number and I did keep going. No fear of throwing up this time and I finished this and the warm up in about 30 minutes. I haven’t committed to an actual cool down yet aside from writing down how my workout went and opening the windows in the living room to let some cold air in. I was also pretty sore for a couple days after in my glutes and a little bit in the legs too. Always interesting how well these workouts work you over.

Since it’s still just a bit too cool to exercise outside, I’m still trying to figure out the best alternative. Maybe after this upcoming cool snap it will finally start to really warm up and turn into spring.

I missed a few days this week but some stuff came up that kinda threw off my rhythm and put me into a funk. My jump rope and interval trainer are here, though, and I think I’m going to make use of Stefan’s hypnosis skills to help me get up in the morning to work out. Mackenzie is not getting up at 7 am instead of 8 which means I need to get up even earlier to finish my workout and shower…so time to really get my butt in gear. But the good news is, I’ll be getting tons of stuff accomplished during the rest of the day, too, if I’m up that early already.

Thanks to everyone who left comments last week during my doldrums. You really did help inspire me at the beginning of the week!

Do you want to workout with me (and Zuzana)? I’ll be posting a new BodyRock Challenge post every Friday. There I will recap my own progress from the previous week, leave some motivation for all of us and announce any changes to the workout routine. If you aren’t ready to move up to the next level, don’t worry; just keep working out at the current level until you feel it’s too easy or you notice you aren’t winded at the end of the workout.

I’d love to read your comments and progress. If you are linking to your blog and you talk about other things than BodyRock, please link DIRECTLY to your own post so that those of us who want to give you some encouragement can easily find your post. If you don’t have your own blog or website where you can talk about your progress, then just tell us how you did in your comment!