Day 5

Since my legs were so dead after back-to-back workouts Sunday, I saved today's workout for the evening, after my roller derby practice.

I've been playing this sport for many years now, minus the one year I took off to have the baby, and by now, practice never feels like much of a workout. That could be because the level of training on my team isn't that high. Still, I usually manage to work up a sweat, and it is better than doing nothing. Often, when someone takes time off from roller derby for one reason or another, they gain weight, so it definitely counts as being active.

The main downside to waiting until after practice is that I didn't get home until almost 10 p.m. because I also had to run to the grocery store, since I didn't go over the weekend. Which means I didn't get finished working out until almost midnight, which means I didn't eat dinner until then.

This workout was legs and back. My legs already have the strongest muscles in my body, partly because I play sports involving sprinting and roller skating, and partly because I do a lot of legs with my trainer to improve my performance in sports.

Not much in this workout was particularly challenging. I completed all of the reps that they did in the DVD, and then I did 20 reps each for the pull-up exercises. I used my same old 8-pound weights for all the moves where weights were recommended. I am usually careful to do squats properly without my knees going over my toes, but my knees were a little sore right after the workout. I don't know if that was from improper form, or from using weights. I'm going to ask my trainer.

I had initially planned to do the workout without the DVD by just following the book. But then I wasn't totally sure I was interpreting some of the descriptions correctly, so I popped in the DVD. It was the right thing to do, because I really do benefit from having Tony motivate me!

The next day, the only soreness I had was mild soreness in my inner thighs, so I definitely need to intensify the next time. I hope to have heavier weights by then.

I was not successful at sticking to my diet, all because I didn't spend any time Sunday meal planning or prepping. I had to run out the door in the morning, so all I grabbed was an egg, turkey bacon breakfast sandwich. I went home for lunch and ate a burger patty with veggies, and then before practice, I ate a granola bar and a cup of yogurt. Too many carbohydrates and not enough protein, for sure.

When I was grocery shopping after practice, I was hungry, so I got myself a chocolate protein drink from the milk aisle. Man, I hate protein powder. First of all, half of it is a scam because it has more carbohydrates than protein. Those are "recovery" drinks, I guess. But then the stuff that has the right amount of protein, fat and carbs tastes like sweet. Just sweet. It's that sugar alcohol crap they use to sweeten it because it doesn't have that many calories. I'd rather just eat some plain bitter cocoa powder. Don't get me wrong, I love sweets, but I don't like things that just taste like super-concentrated sweetness.

I had been choking down protein powder for months just to get a high number of grams of protein in my diet, until recently, when I swore I would never consume it again. Having a drink with some of it mixed with chocolate milk did not make it OK. I could still taste the bad taste. I didn't even finish my drink. This is what happens when you go to the store hungry.

After working out, at around midnight, I had a dinner of steamed spaghetti squash, a little pesto and chicken breast. That is way too late to be eating, so I have to figure something out for the nights that I have practice or a game, and then work out after. I also didn't even eat enough calories and went to bed hungry. Boo.

I forgot to mention earlier in the week that I skipped the second Abs workout, but I did get back to the abs DVD at the end of this workout. I skipped it because my abs were still really sore, and I didn't think it was a good idea to do the exact same workout while sore. Also, I'm not obsessed with abs workouts. I know that you can't target the fat in specific areas of your body, and I feel like people do too many abs workouts because they think that will make their stomachs thin. It won't, only diet will make your stomach thin. If you want a six-pack, do as many abs as you want, but I don't care about that.

Day 5 is an accomplishment! I see that this will turn into a monotonous routine, and I'm going to sleep a little less and have a less clean house, probably, but I am confident at this point that I will complete all 90 days and not quit.