I'm glad you had a good gym session!

I appreciate the encouragement, thank you! Yes, I def think they will lose people. There's a family of 6, and on a testing month, it would be about $1000 for them!!! I did talk to the instructor a little, and it seems like, unless he changes things (which happens), we should be able to go at least through black belt. Boo about the tennis!

Warning: this will be a novel! So last night at class, I went back to the chief instructor's office to ask him how much it would be to add on my younger son, and he casually mentioned that the whole pricing structure was changing. Currently, the first student in a family that signs up is a certain amount, then each additional family member is a significantly cheaper add-on amount. My son was the first to sign on, and his homeschool special needs scholarship covers his fees, so--while still a financial stretch--I figured I would be able to handle my other son joining up. With the new pricing structure, I will not even be able to afford myself! To have all 3 of us, even with the scholarship, would be like a modest mortgage payment in our area every month. Plus, there was a lady taking her black belt test last night, and she mentioned her testing fee, which almost made me faint. Much higher than we were originally expecting. I'm just so thrown for a loop by this. Wow. I expected to do this for life, and then I suddenly find out that I might not even be able to go any more after this month. In some ways, the timing works out, I guess. We are both really unhappy with the changes in the curriculum that just happened. Basically it is now half as difficult to get a black belt, which makes all our work seem kind of cheap. My older son is really mad that we will spend the entire next year "learning" stuff we already learned (because, under the new system, we have learned everything up to 2nd degree black belt). I have also been sad that the extracurricular we do is not particularly conducive to him making friends his own age. Being a rural homeschooler of an ASD kid means you have to be pretty choosy about that sort of thing to make sure you maximize the benefits and minimize the stresses, if that makes sense. But I know he wants to be around boys his own age. Still, after this long, martial arts has become such a part of my identity and will leave such a void, socially and emotionally. The training has had such a positive impact on me. And, jeez, there have been SO MANY big changes in my life since the new year, and here comes another one. Yikes. ANYWAYS, I am going to email the chief instructor and get a more concrete breakdown of prices and find out when they will take effect (he was kind of vague) and how much bb fees have increased. I was so shocked and honestly upset at how blase he was about this massive price increase that I didn't get all the details I should have. Sigh. Today's plan: will have to skip my workout due to an early morning grocery run, but we're headed back to my parents' place this afternoon and I'm sure I'll work my behind off doing all the stuff that has piled up since the last time I was there. Also try to figure out how I will adjust my workout plan. My son wants to get on a basketball team, but that'll have to wait until after this virus stuff calms down. We've had 2 cases in the county just across the river and now basically everything is shut down until at least April.

@Matryoshka Way to go keeping up your workouts at home! It's hard to get in a groove doing it from home, but once you do there are a lot of positives. Have you tried subbing under-the-table-rows for pull-ups? The more your legs are bent, the easier it is, and the straighter you keep them, the harder. Legs straight and heels on the floor are the hardest. It's not an exact sub for pull-ups but it'll def do until you get one.

@Laura Corin I'm glad you had a good day and that you're enjoying your yoga program! @soror Hope you got good sleep last night too. I did about 35 mins of running intervals yesterday afternoon, which was about 10 mins short of what it should have been. But it was really hot out and my worn-out shoes were killing me. No more long runs until I get new shoes! And it is definitely time to start shifting into my hot-weather routine. The only indoor workouts I do are CKD classes, so I do have to be intentional about what I'm doing and when once average highs get past the mid-80s. I'm waffling about whether I will work out this morning. My brain wants to, but my body feels tight and crampy. I may do light CKD practice if I am still rarin' to get out there by 8am, but most likely I will rest. CKD class tonight.

Lifting done...felt blah but I got 'er done. A bright note--a middle school friend of mine is coming up from South Florida this weekend! She's an active type and was totally up for my suggestion that we spend Sunday morning hiking at the state park near my house and then go out for lunch. YAY! FRIEND TIME!

Boo! Dang, we have all been blah lately, haven't we? I hope being outside will perk you up big time! *virtual group hug*

I wonder if the different progesterone cream you briefly used affected your period? Ugh, 6 days. If I get too far into day 4 I'm like, WTH body?! But yay for no pain or awful fatigue! I remember having such, such a hard time with the whole being watched/perfectionist part of martial arts. I'm an INTJ and do NOT like to "perform" anything in front of anybody without knowing it will be A+. In fact, I just remembered that last night, I was doing great with spinning kicks for 9 reps, then at the 10th my fav instructor walked up to check my form and my brain completely crashed and burned. LOL. Halfway through the movement I was like *abort, abort*! It was so ridiculous I had to laugh. It does get better, but I do hope you get to move soon. I would not be comfortable in the middle of a gym like that!

Yesterday morning I did 40 mins of CKD stuff (basically just going through the new curriculum belt-by-belt and hacking my way through it) and then 20 mins of interval running. CKD class last night, which got my heart rate up pretty well and burned off some stress. This morning is lifting and then possibly an afternoon run. Does anyone have any experience with any swimming gear (leggings or shirts, etc) that would keep my a little bit warmer in the pool than a regular bathing suit? As dumb as it sounds here in Florida, I really had a tough time with the pool temperature last year. It rains almost every afternoon in the summer, which keeps the pool a lot cooler than you'd think and I just get so tense and can't warm up. I know surfers and SUP-ers wear swim leggings and rash guard type things and some say they will keep you a little warmer but I'm wondering if that's true. I love to swim, but am literally dreading this year's pool season because of how uncomfortable I was last year. @soror I'm glad things are getting a little better hormone and energy-wise. You're so right that hormones (and sleep) have such a profound effect on the ability to eat moderately.

The time change is so annoying! It definitely throws the kids for a loop, and, by extension, everybody else, haha. And spring (otherwise known as summer, but with pollen) is here in a big way too. Every surface outside is covered in yellow! I'm glad you are bouncing back after your slump! Having guests and having to socialize for that long would definitely have depleted my energy.

I asked the chief instructor if we could do the old test, and he agreed, then the next time I was there he had changed his mind. 😞 But you're right about the teaching!

I'm sorry I haven't been all that involved in the last few days...stress is kind of high here and I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed. My oldest son desperately needs to go up on his dose of ADHD meds, but the pediatrician won't sign off on that unless he gains some weight. So I am trying to feed him high calorie density foods that he can deal with (he has a few food issues stemming from being on the spectrum), trying to meet the preferences of my picky younger son and picky husband, and feed myself my usual athlete's diet. I feel like all I do is cook and clean up at the moment! Plus, since both boys have a mild cold, we haven't been able to go to my parents' place, which means they don't get their usual time to run wild in the woods. And believe me, we are feeling the impact in their behavior!! And just various issues in other areas of life...not the least of which is that there has just been a MAJOR change to CKD international curriculum that will affect our black belt test. For instance, if the instructor tells me to do orange belt senior speed drill, it is a totally different speed drill than I have learned for the last 2 1/2 years. The techniques aren't any harder, they're just not smoothly integrated into my muscle memory and I will be a lot more stressed about the upcoming test as a result, BLAH. WHY. Anyways, today has gone pretty well. I ate right, lifted in the morning and did 45 mins of running intervals in the afternoon just to blow off angst. Hopefully I will get tons of sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow ready to face the day. Thanks for letting me vent here, ladies!

Hi everybody! Been pretty quiet here, just keeping on with the regular routine. I rested yesterday, then this morning did about a half hour of CKD drills and a half hour of running intervals. CKD class tonight. The boys are still sick with a cold and/or allergies so we can't get out to do much. I def have cabin fever and the blahs in general! Boo. Enjoying y'all's updates though! @soror Looking forward to hearing about the MMA class if you make it!

5x3 pull ups, woo hoo!!!!

@Laura Corin pumpkin seed butter?! Sounds great!! Have fun tonight!

@soror oh man, high estrogen PMS is no fun. I'm sorry. I wonder what's causing it given that you are so lean so it's not high body fat %? Stress or thyroid stuff? Anyways, it makes you feel insane so I'm sorry you're going through it. When mine was bad my insomnia, fatigue, and mood swings were horrendous. Let us know how everything goes. @wintermom I hope you had a fun snowshoeing excursion! I finally got some decent sleep last night. Not sure what all the day holds until my 5 year old wakes up and I see how he's doing with his cold? allergies? who knows. But at least I'll be doing my last round of lifting for the week in the AM (pull ups, floor press, squats, 1 legged Romanian deadlifts, glute bridges)....maybe something active in the afternoon if all goes well. I definitely have cabin fever and a general all-work-no-play type of malaise going on, bah. Oh well!

Well, dang Soror! What a crappy few days it's been for you, ugh! I'm so sorry. Hopefully after your period you'll have a great low hormone phase and feel wonderful. I'm jealous of your haircut--I need to get that done. My hair gets so heavy it's hard to put up past a certain point and that was like 3 months ago, lol. Also jealous of friend time! I hope you have a good day despite all the physical stuff going on.

@Laura Corin Thanks Laura! I'll put that on while I'm working this morning to check it out. Well, I'm up too early again thanks to a sick little boy's coughing (bless his heart). But at least I will have time to catch up on work. I enjoyed both my workouts yesterday and the heavy storms never really materialized, so all good. I was able to up my weight on squats, 1-legged Romanian deadlifts, and glute bridges, which is satisfying. Got 5 pull ups in one set and 4 on the other two. Progress! I noticed I"m getting some ab definition (!!!!!), which is also quite satisfying, haha. This morning I'm planning on an hour of CKD pattern practice and maybe a run this afternoon if I get restless. Eating has been going well. I'm getting much better at the whole Eating Just Enough habit, thanks in part to an increase in veggies and grains. I think the volume and fiber help me be more aware of my fullness cues, if that makes sense. Plus I definitely notice a difference in my energy and mood when I'm eating more fruit, veggies, and grains. Thankfully my sensitive stomach seems to be handling it well as long as I avoid stuff that is higher in soluble fiber (oats, barley, beans, etc). Insoluble fiber seems to not have the same effect. Y'all have a good day!

I'm so glad you got some rest!

Morning, all! I'm up too early, but one of my kids is having severe allergy problems and his sniffling woke me up. Lots of from-home computer work to do today, so I figured I'd just go ahead and get at it. Last night's class went really well...more spinning kick practice, then I successfully did 3 mins of air shield attack and later held an air shield for someone else (which I find very hard on my body unfortunately). I'm pretty sore from neck to mid-back as a result. Not the bad kind of sore--more like the "oh yeah, I rock" kind. 😁 We're supposed to have high wind and strong storms today, so I'm planning on getting out to my carport gym and lifting before that gets going, then CKD again tonight. 2 stripes on my brown belt now--I'm almost cleared for the March 20th brown senior test!

Good job being consistent! I'm amazed at how strenuous even the simplest-looking CKD patterns are. There's just so much control involved. So I'm not surprised your forms feel like exercise.

Did an hour of CKD kicking practice this morning. I was pretty tired by the time I did all kicks 10x on each side...gonna have to up my game cause that's only like a fifth of the bb test!

Ugh, I am so sorry you're having such a rough time right now! But it sounds like if you can just get through the next few days, things will right themselves. *hugs*

I for sure think the cold has a big role in it. Somebody on a FB fitness group I'm a part of described herself as a Power Eater. Amen! I think we all need t-shirts! Power Eaters Unite! (at the supper table)

You are EXTREMELY active right now in extremely cold weather. I'd be wolfing down the food too! Actually, I do...my husband is always like, "hungry much?" I've noticed that whenever I'm super duper extra hungry for several days like that it's almost like my body is gearing up a notch, getting stronger, metabolism revving up. Feed yo' self! 🙂