Phase 1 COMPLETE!

Are those 10s Jamie? Cause I can totally do 10s. :)
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No cardio?!
Wow, I can't believe it's already the end of phase 1! 4 whole weeks I went with so much less cardio. I did cardio once a week in the form of TurboKick and 10 minute warm-ups everyday. And heck no, I didn't miss the cardio. The lack of cardio made even the warm-ups hard. My weekly TurboKick was a treat; I took it easier than I used to and enjoyed it more. :)

Jamie isn't the first person to say that too much cardio breaks down all the muscles. For awhile, I did so much cardio (2+ hours per day). Though my body feels bulky now (ick), I can feel all the muscles and that makes me happy. I enjoyed working out my muscles, and realized that the fittest people do less cardio.

How my body feels
The first week I felt sore, the second week I felt sore. Not the third week even though the workouts changed and intensified. And Friday of this week, which became a rest day, I felt all kinds of soreness in my body. I can't tell if it's from sleeping in a bed for the first time in weeks or from all the working out. Must be both.

My body is pretty strong. At least my legs. My shoulders, though they have always been my favorite feature, are quite weak. Good thing I don't have to work at them. Speaking of shoulders, the shoulder pain I had for 6+ months has gone away! Woo! In fact, nothing really hurts in a bad way.

Mentally
I was sometimes awkward at the gym, especially with the cable machines. I got over it.

I didn't dread going to the gym. I loved people watching! So much fun.

Some of the interesting people I see daily:

• An older woman who hangs onto the stair climber for at least 30 minutes a day. She's like dying!
• A 30-something man who grunts and counts out loud. Every gym has one of these guys!
• Super in-shape 20-something guy whose muscles make me laugh in disbelief!
  
• A late 20s dude who bikes for 10-15 minutes everyday then does weights. Nothing special, but he catches my eye... especially when he does 300+ pounds on the leg press and has no notable legs to speak of.
• Two older men, one slim and tall and the other thicker, who workout together everyday
• My former middle school P.E. teacher going to an aerobics class

I also liked taking my time rather than going to a class and rushing to get home afterwards. I did extra sets when I felt like I needed more or made up for crappy single-leg deadlifts the next day.

Confidence was built when I worked out with my co-worker and cousin. When I go online and see the weights bloggers put up, I'm flabbergasted. I thought I was in pretty good/above average shape (at least inside) and usually just keep up. Well, fit bloggers are probably not the best people to use as a gauge for fitness - you guys are already fit. My co-worker and cousin are two regular people in the world and they definitely made me feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. All of that working out for 2+ years has paid off a little.

Nutrition
I'm eating breakfast before my workouts, usually egg whites and oatmeal. On days I go to TurboKick though, I drank a Shakeology. Because of breakfast and taking my time with workouts, I've had to wake up earlier.

I was extremely conscious of eating tons of protein and with it, veggies. Okay, really, I just ate chicken and spinach. I stopped eating as much sugar. That is big. I cut down on apples and ate more bananas. Yes, that's more sugary but better for recovery.

I stopped eating carbs at night... for the most part.

Overall, I just ate more. I aimed for enough calories everyday.

Supplements
I drank a protein shake after my workouts and sometimes at night. No big deal cause I drank protein shakes even before. I bought a cheaper brand (MRM) than the Shakeology though.

I also continued to take my probiotics and digestive enzymes when I could remember and needed them. Apple cider vinegar drinks via Fitting It All In were actually the ones that made me feel best.

I made sure to take my vitamins, Alive! vitamins, which my manager/holistic doctor approved of.

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Finally, I just started taking BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) this week. I haven't seen any major results thus far.

I'm afraid of what's next... the cardio. Its been too long and like I said, even warm-ups were hard this last week!