January 8th

I completed Week 1 Day 3 of the Pull Up Challenge today! It was pretty challenging, seeing as how my upper body has had almost no chance to recover and wasn't at a very fit baseline to begin with. I have a strained muscle near my right shoulder blade that's been giving me hell for about four days, and no amount of foam rolling or stretching or yoga will make it feel good again. My two-day break couldn't have come at a better time.

Speaking of yoga, my boyfriend and I went to our local brewery last night for their Happy Hour Yoga. It's held pretty much every Monday, and $10 gets you an hour yoga with a very enjoyable, lovely instructor, as well as a beer. Could there be a better deal in town? I think not, especially when it comes to yoga.

Day 3 Pull Up Challenge

10 minutes elliptical, manual setting, to warm up

2x10 shoulder circuits

2x10 band pull aparts (graduated to medium band today!)

2x10 wall slides

2x10 plank pushups

3x15 wide grip lat pulldown (70#)

4x11 dynamic side plank (these are rough!)

3x16 alternating dumbbell chest press (12#)

4x11 bent over dumbbell row (10#)

3x15 hanging knee raise (rough, braced arms instead, I kept slipping when hanging!)

3x15 bicep cable curl (most at 20# but I had to decrease to 10# to bust out the last 5 reps)

10 minutes elliptical, manual setting, to boost heart rate before ending!

Crappy stretching at home thanks to personal trainer and two late-starting "Resolutionists"hogging the entire stretching area.

School has started up again. Today was only my second day, and my four classes came in at two hours a pop, which meant I was at school from 8am to 2:30 pm with only 10 minutes between classes. Luckily, I started the day off right with a good workout and a healthy breakfast :)

Tomorrow I'll do a little leg work, a lot of cardio, and stay away from my upper body. It deserves a rest! Then eggs, bacon, and pumpkin bread for breakfast, one class from 8-9am, and I'm home free for the day...to do heaps of homework for my T/Th classes :(

Also, I got a job! It doesn't start for a while, but I'm pumped!!!!

xo

amanda