Find Kardus

And I got to thinking about how Kate pretty much kicked my ass in the Viking Assault last year.  Now, while I was very impressed and proud of her ability, I didnt take too kindly to the ass whooping.  We Fonner girls are competitive and Im not too interested in being walloped like that again when we do the Insane Inflatables 5K in late June (anyone wants to run it with us, were signed up for the 9am heat!).

So time to get with it.

I heard about a program called Farrells Extreme Bodyshaping from a few people and became inspired to give it a shot because of this amazing and brave woman.  Its a 10-week program and the premise is that you exercise, hard, 6 days a week and you follow a nutrition scheme and you can see some pretty amazing body transformations.  This program isnt focused on weight loss (in fact, I dont care if I dont lose weight - well maybe just that extra pound or two from Christmas) but its focused on your health - getting stronger, more flexible, better cardiovascular health, etc.

The exercise is 3 days a week of kickboxing - like the real deal - with a punching bag, boxing gloves, wrist wraps, martial arts shoes and the whole nine yards.  And then 3 days of strength training with resistance bands.


You sign up for a specific class time and go at that time everyday (with some flexibility on Saturdays to attend a different time).  My class time is 5 AM.  FIVE OCLOCK IN THE MORNING YALL.  That means my alarm goes off at 4:15 and Im out the door by 4:35.  You are probably thinking Im one of 10 people in the world who would be crazy enough to do this early class.  Nope - youd be wrong.  This class time is one of the most popular.  I can see why.  Its really the only time that doesnt interfere with the rest of my life and responsibilities (you know, kids, work, etc.).

The nutrition piece is pretty basic in principle.  You eat 6 small meals evenly spaced throughout the day with a specific balance of protein and (good) carbs.  Sounds simple enough, however, this is actually my biggest challenge which I will spare you the details on for now.  But just imagine limited to no diet coke and no sweets.  So yeah....an adjustment to say the least.

Last Saturday was the orientation and baseline testing day.  We were weighed, measured, and photographed.  They checked our body fat % and resting and excited(?) heart rates.  Then we had to see how many push ups and sit ups we could do in a minute.  And then we ran a mile.  Well do all those things again at the 5 week and 10 week marks to see how weve improved.

So, running a mile.  That was something.  We did it outside and I think the temperature at the time we ran was < 10 degrees.  It. Was. Bad. Word. Cold.  But I did it!  I ran the whole mile - never walked and I did it in 11 minutes 30 seconds.  I have NEVER run a mile that fast in my entire life.  I cried when I finished.  It was a testament to all the weight I took off and to the fact that I spent the previous 3 weeks doing T25 videos to prepare (thanks Jenny for the kickstart on that!).  I can honestly say that I am excited to run that mile again on week 10 to see if I can break the 10 minute mark.  That might be aggressive, but thats my goal. 

Now Ive officially finished up week one and I didnt die.  I am pretty sore (though not nearly as sore as I would have been if not for T25).  But. I love it.  I love the kickboxing.  I love the camaraderie.  I love the accountability.  I love that I am already feeling stronger in my arms.  I love that I sweat like a mother.  I love the hollering and cheerleading.  I love that I am active.  I love it.  (I cant say "I love it" yet about the eating style...still working on that one....)





And I am ready for fun day tomorrow.  Boy, am I ready for fun day.  Whats fun day, you ask?  Its one day a week where I dont have to follow the strict nutrition scheme.  I can eat chocolate and pizza and maybe some Mexican food and and and...oh yes.... fun day.  Except my fun day will not exceed what would be the number of weekly "extra" points you get on Weight Watchers.  That way, I keep it moderately in check.

Oh and one more thing I love.  I love that my exercising initiative is already having an affect on the kids.  This morning, I got back from my workout (which was at 5am EVEN on SATURDAY) and this conversation happened:

Lily:  Mommy, where did you go?
Me:  Exercising class.
Lily:  When are you going to do exercising at our house again?
Me:  I dont know.
Lily:  Well I want to do exercising with you, too.  So you have to do exercising at our house.
Me:  Ok, tomorrow well do exercising at our house.

And THAT, my friends, is how I signed myself up to exercise on my one day off.  Even my (almost!) 4-year-old is holding me accountable.

And one final note to this blog post that never ends.  Check out this little boxer!  Someday maybe we will square off!