Good Morning, Striders!
Where do you get your power from?
Are you able to survive, to thrive, and to flourish through the strength of your friendships with others? Do you have a deep religious fervor that keeps you going? Perhaps you just know, deep within yourself, that you are able to do whatever you wish?
I’d like to know.
My update:
- Crunches – My stomach aches. The major muscle groups are worn out so the smaller ones have been working overtime. That’s good. I’m glad of it. I’ll keep going. 250 seems like a lot until I get to 220-30 and realize I could probably keep going. I didn’t feel that way last Thursday. Improvement? Possibly. =)
- Vegetables – Cabbage. Raw. With a bit of salt. It was good. =)
P.s. I’m open to ideas for next week’s challenge. Is there something you’d like to try?
I’ve always assumed I could do anything until proven otherwise. I have proven I can’t do some things – cartwheels come to mind – but generally, if something matters to me, I enter the process expecting to accomplish it.
I used to love to do cartwheels…sigh.
I like the attitude of entering the process expecting to accomplish it.
I’ve never been able to do a cartwheel. I want to do a standing back flip!
I hate to think how many body parts I’d break if I attempted a standing back flip. Can’t do a cartwheel … fell down stairs … are you catching on to the trend here?
I hate to think of how many joints I’d dislocate if I tried a cartwheel. I think I’d wind up in a heap, unable to move until someone, slowly, put me back together again.
I can do a cart wheel — where did I leave that cart …
Very interesting question! I think I get my strength, when I have it,
, from different places at different times. I always gain strength from my workouts though. I feel renewed & strong & amazed at one I can do for my age. It makes me feel good! BUT, I will say that I gain much strength from my husband & family/friend support. I could not have made it thru many things without them & my workouts!
I get my power from sleep, my family, my faith. Without sleep, though, all is dark.
Crunches – 250 done.
Veg – zucchini, Shrek, spinach salad and left over broccoli/green beans for the rest of the family
Idea: wall push-ups…not a barn raising…just where you do push-ups with your hands on the wall, not the floor.
My veggie of the day was cabbage too. I braised them with carrots and mushrooms and white wine.
250 crunches done by 8am. Woohoo! I have to say though, I am looking forward to the end of this week.
Oh, as far as next week’s challenge: since we did cardio and upper body work already, how about a lower body challenge.
Suggestions:
1. squats
2. lunges
3. step ups
Today’s veggie is peppers. I haven’t even started on the crunches, but they’ll get done.
I like the idea of a lower body challenge, also. Eating ideas: tea (green tea increases metabolism) or an apple a day or whole grains.
Ate a greek salad-man I eat a lot of those, and having some beautiful rainbow swiss chard tonight. I might even post a pic. I’ll leave out the picture of my husband’s sexy-ass HOMEMADE macaroni & cheese though. Good thing I did a 45 minute KILLER boot camp where crunches were a part of the workout. I did around 150 total, SO I have the other 100 to do before bed; we’ll see..
You guys are helping me keep going-thank you!!!!!
Raw cabbage, cooked cabbage, I love it, but MAN it makes me gassy and super bloated. Not good, but tasty!!
Strength-God, I wonder that all of the time. Where the HELL do I get it from? I think it’s just ingrained, I’m a bad-ass, and some days are just harder than others in life. I lean on friends, family and a LOT on myself which does take it’s toll…
Thanks for the encouraging words yesterday, Seth.
If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now: this has to be the best usage of social media i a while.
An idea for the challenge: Stairs – 500-1000 stairs per day or some amount of hoola hooping. I’ve been doing it with a Wii Fit – but you can go and get a hoola hoop for cheap at a sporting goods store or even WalMart. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.
You’re more than welcome. We’re all in this together.
I’m liking this use of social media as well. It’s kinda time consuming but so inspiring as to make the entire process entirely worthwhile.
Hoola Hooping? Bwhahaha! I would first need a waist to spin said hoop around. =)
Another idea! Eating whole grains and no refined; no white bread, white pasta, white rice, or potatoes. Eat the whole grain equivalent – sweet potatoes instead of regular.
I’m liking it! Great idea, Matt. The idea of doing it forever freaks me out, but I can handle a week. Who knows, it may even become a habit. Knowing we are all in this together helps.
I get my strength, my joy, my life and breath from my God. I had LOTS of yummy veggie goodness today. A photo of dinner is posted at http://mywhimsey.blogspot.com and included Onion, garlic, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, chicken Italian sausage and my taste of fennel.
Now, time to clean up the kitchen and hit those crunches. I’m with Seth that when I first started, I wondered how I would ever get through 250 crunches. Now, I’m getting close to the end and thinking I could do a few more. I’d say that’s progress. The belly’s pretty sore, but starting to feel just tight rather than painful. That’s a great feeling that I haven’t had in a long time.
In the upcoming challenges, I’d like to do something with making sure I drink enough water, maybe some upper body work. I’m loving this. Go Striders!
Great progress Striders
That looks delicious!
Today was awesome, so much weight off my shoulders. The crunches & reverse ones were great and I had snowpeas and cucumber.
Hmm, next week’s challenge? Maybe eliminating what you crave, whether it be coffee, chocolate, or whatever else. I know that sometimes getting rid of them can make the cravings go away.
There are so many great ideas above – I like the whole grain idea (although I don’t know how much I would change, being a gluten-free baker who loves sorghum and millet makes that easy =D).
I get my power from myself and my friends and family. I’ve always had an understanding of who I am and my friends are wonderful support, as well as my family who always know how to get me going, moving, doing.
My day 5 and 6 are here.
My strength? I’m stubborn. Very very very stubborn. But I try to use that power for good.
Long story short, my parents wanted to make me into one kind of person. I rebelled and refused to give in. It was a nasty nasty situation, and my sheer stubbornness kept me alive and fighting. See, to me, while stubbornness and determination are essentially the same thing, stubbornness has more sheer power behind it, which is why I use it. Anyway, that’s where my strength came from – refusing to let them win.
But in the end, it has to originate with God (according to my belief) and is added to by those who genuinely love me and want what’s best for me. Without those loved ones, the fight would be a lot harder.
As for whole wheat… I could tell you that sourdough, aka wild yeast, is far healthier than bread made with commercial yeast, so if you really want to go healthier with bread products, switch to wild yeast. Personally, I can’t digest bread made with commercial yeast without massive digestive upsets, but have no problems at all when using wild yeast.
Wild yeast with whole grains is even better.
Crunched snow peas. Very good.
Crunched 250 and it is getting easier. Who knew?
My power and strength comes from my Lord Jesus. When I do things in my own strength I faulter. I literally feel my inspiration fade. When I pray and give praise to my Lord it’s just the opposite result.
Striders only 500 more Crunches for the week
where do I find my strength? I look upward (G-d) & next to me (my partner).
I’m with Carla one where I get my strength
Wednesday was a skip for me. I’m sick and 4/5 kids are sick, coughing till they puke. 5 hrs of sleep. Headed to bed pretty early here. I pretty much drank ginger tea today.
My little guy went through that 3 times so far this winter. It’s a pretty tough cold/flu to fight. I found that he got really angry and inconsolable during the nights too which was very out of character.
Hope they’re better soon and normal sleep returns!
Realizing it’s been a couple of days since I’ve checked in. I’ve managed to do my CORE workout about every other day (did it Thursday, before the challenge had really started), then Friday, then Sunday, Monday, and again today (Wednesday). So not half bad, considering I had not done it at all for about a month previously. Not perfect, but acceptable. I’m realizing I have some scheduling issues to be worked out. And energy conservation issues with the m.s.
And veggies galore! On Sunday I had 9 servings of veggies (4 of them green: asparagus, dandelion greens (X2), Brussel sprouts). Monday 12 servings of veggies, six of them green (celery, cucumber, cabbage, asparagus, lettuce, arugula). Tuesday 9 servings of veggies (6 green), including cucumber, celery, dandelion greens, okra, spinach, and arugula.
I’m also on day #4 of vegan eating. I don’t anticipate staying wholly vegan for very long, but it feels like a good way to kick-start my MS Recovery Diet process. So I’m really eating *lots* of veggies! This was a good week for this challenge for me. My main goal is to eat entirely dairy free for at least a month.
I’m still thinking about the strength thing. Sometimes the strength just seems to be there, other times not so much. I do think it has something to do with how well I’m taking care of myself.
And stubborn. I hear you loud and clear about stubborn!
Well, day 5 was an improvement over day 4. The veggies were actually the same (although there were 4 different green veggies at once so I think I’m covered 8=).
I also managed to get in 150 crunches in one session before bed (and threw in 25 leg raises as an attempt to mollify the failure to reach 250). I’m obviously not going to get in 250 at one crunching, so I need to find a way to get in 2 or 3 sessions during the day.
As for my source of strength, it varies. I usually look to God as my source through Jesus. But I often fall back on my own strength. I do find that isn’t enough to hold me up for very long though and return back to relying on God.
What is amazing to me is that when I look to him for strength, it flows from so many different sources — quiet time and study, prayer, family, friends… It even comes through those who don’t even believe what I believe (or even believe in God at all). But the biggest surprise is the strength that comes from investing in the lives of others.
A couple of thoughts for future challenges (next week or beyond):
1) Say hello to one person each day that you normally wouldn’t.
2) Clean up somebody else’s mess (e.g. pick up trash on the side of the road).
3) Read a book in 7 days that is outside of your normal reading style.
4) Keep a journal.
Day 5 http://lxxiii.blogspot.com/2010/01/primal-stride-challenge-2-day-5.html