Improved Conditioning

In my fitness conditioning and training, I have two arch nemeses - running and jumping rope. I would prefer for not a soul to ever see me do either, but I will tolerate jumping rope with others. I will not run in front of other people, though. It's one thing that I feel I am so horrible at that it's just an embarrassment for me. I'm pretty sure it goes back to high school, but it still bothers me.

Anyway, I decided to take on jump roping the other night. I wanted to try an old 15-min jump rope routine that used to kill me (Ropesport's "Beginner" jumprope workout DVD). Well, surprisingly enough, I breezed right through it. Not only did I breeze right through it, but I also tacked on 10 minutes of the advanced routine AND the Crossfit "Annie" workout immediately afterwards. The "Annie" workout is as follows: For time - 50-40-30-20-10 of double unders & situps. Since I can't do double unders yet, I just did jump rope revolutions for the prescribed amount. I got a new speed rope and that made a big difference; I used to use a weighted jump rope for Ropesport work. Anyway, I really attribute my kettlebell training to my improved conditioning. I haven't jumped rope since Sept 2006, and I thought I was going to be spent after the fact. It feels great to be in good shape.

The other good news is that my weight is dropping quickly! In 4 weeks, I've lost 6.1 pounds. I suspect I will keep dropping quickly since I've stopped taking BC. This trend will probably continue until I get back down to my normal weight, then it will plateau. I'm feeling good and 2008 is starting off nicely!

I came down with a bad cold (fever, chills, lack of appetite) over the weekend, so I didn't train Friday-Sunday, and I definitely won't train today. I'm still feeling pretty badly, so I'm just going to focus on getting my energy back up. I just wanted to take a minute to share the good news!