graduation from C25K!!!!

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1317 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 356 Cal
Net calories consumed: 961 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 9 Day 1
• Hundred push ups Week 5 Day 2

Well, I'm happy a graduate from C25K.  I'm unhappy that I had my slowest run in the program today.  The plus of my run is that my run was unconventional and provided me an opportunity to explore my neighborhood.  I ended up jogging on grass (which slowed me down).  I also inadvertently ran through sprinklers, which probably slowed me down because I was drenched (including my feet and shoes).  It's no walk in the park to run in wet shoes.  On my walk home, I went off the neighborhood sidewalks and explored areas in my neighborhood in which no paved paths lead.  I saw some pretty sweet backyards and pools.  After I realized that my pace was a lot slower than normal, I spent a lot of time googling articles, trying to figure out whether I had a bad jog.  See, I wasn't hating my jog.  In fact, there were moments in which I really enjoyed it.  I also did not feel like I was moving slow.  I felt normal, except when I was running through the grass.  I just don't think I had a bad jog, even though I was super slow.  I don't understand.  Oh, I also tried running faster during one part of the run but then became super exhausted.  Pink's Just Like a Pill came on and I just had to run fast during the chorus.  There's just too many factors that were varied:

• grass
• sprinklers
• 1 fartlek

All, some, or none of these could've caused me to slow down from an 11 minute mile to a 12 minute mile.  Maybe I will do an experiment on my next running day to get to the bottom of this issue.  So, I had to once again think about my goals.  Is my goal to run fast?  (well, I want to run at a reasonable speed).  Well, I want weight loss and fitness.  Fitness involves both endurance and strength.  I must admit, my fartlek (and possibly grass) wore me out and towards the end, my muscles were tired.  So, I guess lesson learned is I need to work on strength.  Well, tomorrow, I will be doing squats and lunges galore!

This past weekend,  I discovered KevJumba, thanks to Jeremy Lin.  This guy is from Houston and has such a cute personality (although he probably wouldn't think so).  I like KevJumba because he seems to have a lot of self respect, even though he makes fun of himself.  So, tonight, when I was doing hundred pushups and thinking, "Dude, this is rough," I started thinking about KevJumba's mindset and how he would respond.  I actually don't know how Kev would respond, but I was imagining that he would not quit or be negative and it helped me power through the workout.

Weekend eating and exercise summary

Weekend eating and exercise summary -

Friday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1644 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 374 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1270 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Wk 8 Day 2
• Hundred Pushup plan Wk 5 Day 1

Friday was such an awesome day.   Even though I was rejected from a job the day before, I was able to rebound very quickly and focus like crazy on job search.  I also did my running in the morning and  gleefully realized that I wasn't hating it.  In the afternoon, I decided to move forward with Week 5 of the hundred pushup plan and realized the motivating power of support.  I struggled through this day of the program and wondered how I will make it through the other days and how I did so well on the last day of week 4.  Then during my last set of pushups, I started thinking about Lisa telling me to keep on going and to not stop.  Somehow, that just gave me a boost of energy.  Amazing.

Then, the surprising highlight of my week was on Friday, I got to see Jeremy Lin speak at the church in which I was baptized in.  Prior to this event, I was unimpressed with his feats on the basketball court.  I just didn't see anything special about him.  I did not think he should be given special attention just because he's an Asian, or a Christian, or even more extreme - an Asian Christian.  But, hearing him speak, I have become uber impressed.  Clearly, he's a big deal to a lot of people, but he's articulate and unflashy.  I couldn't help but compare him to some of my fellow business school classmates.  So many of my classmates are the shit, know they're the shit, and walk and talk with swagger.  This is how MBA's are supposed to be.  Jeremy Lin just walks and talks.  There is nothing flashy about him (even though he has more reason to have swagger than so many people that I know).  So amazed and impressed.

Saturday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1350 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 203 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1147 Cal

Exercise Summary

• NTC Core Crunch
• Fitness Blender 20 Minute Home Upper Body Workout Routine
• Blogilates POP Pilates: Bikini Bod 2 for Arms and Abs

I was pretty depressed on Saturday.  I guess it kicked in that I got rejected from a job that I thought I was perfect for and I felt very disappointed, helpless, and hopeless.  I felt like God had left me and started wondering what rock bottom meant for me.   I was so depressed, I really didn't want to exercise, but I did.  I tried to do Core Crunch the day before and just couldn't muster the energy to get past the first minute.  Today, I was very impressed with my Core Crunch abilities.  I did more consecutive froggers than I have ever done.  The Fitness Blender routine was pretty easy, but had some challenging moments, namely back flies.  I tried to move on to Blogilates after Fitness Blender and quickly realized that I needed a break.  This Pop Pilates routine starts with 5 minutes of planking.  It was pretty intense.  My arms needed a break and I was happy to oblige.  After a 30 minute break, Pop Pilates was quite enjoyable.

Sunday:


Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1724 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 367 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1357 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Wk 8 Day3

C25K today did not suck.  30 minutes of jogging an 11 minute mile.  I'm impressed with myself.  C25K Wk 9 Day 1 is graduation.  This will be another 30 minute run.  I'm going to keep on adding time in the same way as C25K until I can run for 34 minutes which will be 5k.  Once I hit 34 minutes, I will continue to run for 34 minutes 3x / week for 2 weeks.  Then I will start working on speed work.  The goal is the 10 minute mile!  

You don't need to run fast, just run - C25K Week 8 Day 1

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1325 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 484 Cal
Net calories consumed: 951 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 8 Day 1 - 11.2 mph, avg HR - 152
• Hundred pushups exhaustion test - 50 pushups

Well, I took a few days of break from C25K.  I got home late again, but the minute I got home, I got into exercise clothes and went out to run.  I enjoy my sense of accomplishment, but there was a lot of whining going on in my head through the whole thing.

I did my end of week 4 exhaustion test for the hundred pushup program as well.  I was thinking about re-doing week 4, but since I did 50 pushups, I think I'm ready to move on to week 5. I've repeated week 4 3 times.

If you want something you've never had, then you have to do something you've never done

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1419 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 380 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1055 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 7 Day 3
•  

Lish is totally batting home runs today.  I went to her Facebook to find the above exercise routine and found the title of this post.  I just have to comment that it makes sense.  Jogging outside of my comfort zone did not work for me, but I think exercising and watching what I eat is working for me.  I'm very proud of the fact that I've been exercising when I don't want to.  But, because I want to burn off my calories, I do.  In fact, I am just very impressed with myself today.  I was totally dreading my jog.  I took my dad to the acupuncturist and  got home later than I usually start my jogs.  Plus, there's been all this talk about West Nile Virus and I live in a community with lots of lakes.  Mosquitoes love lakes and they come out from dusk to dawn. Despite the fact that dusk had arrived and me telling myself, "This is going to suck.  I hate running, " I did it.  I ran Week 7 Day 3 of C25k.  Plus, I took my own advice of taking it easy.  I barely jogged that much slower by taking it easy.  When desires to quit crept into my head, I jogged a bit slower for 10 seconds.  After I started feeling good again, I picked up my pace.  It was actually quite awesome.  I had a good run today!

Also, I did the above routine in 10:48, which is an improvement from the last time I did the workout (which was 11 something).  Methinks I'm getting fitter or better at doing certain exercises.

Also, I was super tired this morning, but lunch re-energized me.  I had a very light 300 calorie lunch consisting of veggies and lean pork.  I do not think beef goes well with diet.  In fact, it might actually cause me fatigue which I don't like.  Every time I eat beef, I gain weight and feel like dung.  I'm not going to stop eating beef (especially short ribs), but I might consider taking a 10 month fast from beef.

C25K Week 7 Day 2 - Am I ever going to enjoy running?

Calorie Summary

Calories consumed: 1600
Calories burned: 349
Net Calories: 1251

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 7 Day 2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 1
• Tone It Up Fine Toning Arms Routine
• Fitness Blender Kelli's Quick Cool Down and Stretch

Good news, I keep on getting faster and faster on my runs.  Towards the end of today's run, I really wanted to go faster so I can reach the end of the road before my 25 minutes were up.  I could only go so fast because my muscles were en fuego!  I realized that if I want to get even faster, I'm going to need to build up some muscle endurance.  So, I guess I will be doing a lot more squats, lunges, jump squats, jump lunges, jump / knee tucks, etc.. in the near future.  Yet again, I kept on wondering when the jog was going to be over.

Will there ever be a day when I don't want my jog to end?  This week's C25K jogs seem so daunting.  Last week's jogs seem like cake in comparison. I think I can physically jog a 5K.  The reason I don't enjoy the jogs is because I am just not mentally there yet.  By this time next week, I will think that jogging for 25 minutes is no sweat / a walk in the park.  I need more mental endurance.

I believe that the occasional burst of speed during my runs has helped me run farther.  I listen to the Katy Perry station on Pandora during my runs which generally has up tempo music.  During the chorus of songs, I try to run a bit faster to build up speed and endurance.  I don't do this during all the choruses of my run because I don't have the endurance to do such a thing yet.  I fear that if I did this during all the choruses, I will get so tired during that I will get so discouraged and stop.  I only do this when I have the energy and am feeling pretty good (which is generally towards the beginning or end of my run).  But, apparently, it's helped build endurance.  I wonder if I should challenge my fear and try to run faster during all the choruses to see what happens.


 I've decided that I need to stretch more because my muscles are constantly sore.  I did this quick stretch routine by Fitness Blender which I found highly efficient.  I'm doubtful with regards to how effective it is.

I'm also subscribed to the LivestrongWoman channel on Youtube.  I subscribed for two reasons:  First, it's constantly on the top 50 of most watched Youtube channels.  I'm very curious as to why.  Second, Cassey of Blogilates has a pilates show on the channel.  These two girls called toneitup post workout videos filmed in Hermosa every Tuesday and they look pretty straightforward.  This was a very good video, but there was one bent over back fly move that was very difficult.  Overall, I like Cassey's arm videos much better because I find those to be more challenging.

I've gone off the hundred pushup wagon, which I am not very happy about.  Today, I tried to get back on the wagon and had a difficult time.  I might've regressed in my pushup abilities during my hiatus from the program.  I would like to hop back on the wagon and continue to improve and achieve pecs of steel!

I would've had a good eating day except my uncle brought over some stir fried rice noodles.  I haven't had rice noodles in forever.  I ate a bowl of it, logged my calories in LoseIt, and realized that I made a big mistake.  It was over 400 calories (I might be over estimating).  I would like to be more careful the next time I eat a pure carb item.

I've been reading this blog called No More Harvard Debt which has been inspiring for a few reasons.  The author, Joe, had a goal, to pay off $90K in student loans in 10 months, which he aggressively pursued. I wonder if he ever had any doubts about whether he would be able to attain his goals.  He was so aggressive that he skipped out on friend's bachelor parties, weddings, and a trip home for Christmas.  Second, his blogs have an element of story telling and lessons learned which makes it very compelling.  This weight loss thing has been a lifelong struggle.  I've been inspired to be a lot more aggressive in losing weight (or going after any goal) and keeping an eye on the prize.  I talk a bit about my exercises but I think I can go into a bit more detail.  So, Mr. Joe, thanks for inspiring!

So, my goal this week is to lose 1.5 pounds.  I weighed 155.6 yesterday.  I would like to weight 154 at 10 AM on 9/24/12.  Let us see if I have the discipline to do this!

weigh in

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1632 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 459 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1142 Cal

Exercise Summary

A workout from Lish of BodyRock TV's Facebook page - pretty fun.

C25K week 6 day 3 - I did it.  I wasn't in the mood to exercise again.  I did OK.  I think that I'm not going all out during my runs because I am afraid I'm going to lose steam towards the end of the jog and I'll feel like dying.  In the beginning, I was actually thinking about quitting, and then I thought about this picture posted on Lisa of Bodyrock's Facebook page:

 

Helped me to stay in the game.  Well, for the past 2 weeks, despite the fact that I've been eating and exercising under my calorie limit, I haven't been losing weight.  Maybe I need to step up my exercise game.  Lisa was knocking out home runs on her Facebook page today.  This illustration actually got me out the door to jog:



Well, I've been overweight for so long.  I'm not sure if I feel pain or maybe I'm just used to the pain.

Yesterday, I did a super fun workout from Fitness Magazine August 2008.  It was super fun!! It is so much better than any magazine workout that I've done since I've been home.  Definitely going to do it again.

Also, yesterday I did week 4 day 2 of hundred day pushup.  Almost died.  So hard.  I'll get to hundred pushups, one day.

Finally, I'm about to do the following:



I got it from Lish of BodyRock's Facebook page. I guess BodyRock is knocking it out of the park today.

C25K Week 6 Day 2

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1695 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 258 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1438 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 6 Day 2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 1 - yup, decided to redo week 4 because I was barely eeking out pushups during Fitness Blender's HIIT.  In one minute, I was struggling to do 24 pushups and my pecs were en fuego.  Plus I started week 5 today and realized it was a bit tough

Once again, I was in no mood to exercise today.  I took the C25K a bit easy and jogged at an easy rate.  When I came home, and saw how fast I was ran, I was a bit disappointed.  Then during dinner time, I was wondering why I was disappointed because I really did not want to run today.  I gave what I could.  Then I started to think about what my goals are with exercise. At the end of the day, these goals are what's important, because if I'm exercising just to exercise, then there's no reason to be disappointed.  Well, without further, here are some of my goals:

• lose weight - 160 to 135 (even 120).  I'm Ellen Page and Christina Aguilara's height.  They're in the 120s (or even less).  I think 120 is a bit aspirational.
• be able to do outdoor nature activities- my brother is hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain right now.  I'm a bit jealous.  I want to be able to do this one day.  I also just want to be able to just plain hike some of trails in the US, i.e. Appalachian Trail or even some of the more advanced trails in California.  I'd like to be able to backpack the Yosemite.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would like to
• attain a baseline level of fitness. I'll use certain performance indicators to measure my fitness:  
• I want to run 10 mph for 5k
• 10 one-legged squats with ease.  Get down low!!
• froggers for one minute.  Yes, even the Bodyrock folk struggle with this, but I want to be able to do it
• Half moon pose in yoga
• Jeanette Jenkins ab workout in NTC

I didn't just pull these goals out of my ass.  If I want to ski gracefully down a mountain as well do some outdoor nature activities such as hike, I will need both conditioning and balance.  I think being able to meet the above performance indicators will help me be able to participate in social outdoor activities more easily.  So, should I be upset about the fact that I took it easy jogging to today?  I think there's still a lot to be happy about.  Jogging helps me lose weight. As long I'm working to meet at least one of my goals, I'm golden.

Fitness is like marriage

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1601 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 459 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1142 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K week 5 day 3 - I did it!  The last time I ran 2 miles for exercise, I was running at a 12 minute / mile pace and was training for a 10k.  Today, I ran this at an 11 minute/mile pace.  Yowzas!!
• ZWOW #32 - Show Me Your Strength - finished in 12:47.  The side hops were no joke.  I could not continuously jump 60 jumps like Zuzana did.  I needed occasional breathers. She did the exercises in 10.  That woman is a beast.  Then she went on to run a mile.  I ran my 2 miles before this exercise because I didn't want to risk not being able to make it.  I also took a dinner break.  Plus, it looks like she lives in a nice hilly neighborhood in LA.  I jogged in flat Houston.
• Bexlife Fat Free Abs Workout - my abs were beat.  Don't know why I did this.
• Yesterday, I did hundred pushups program week 4 day 3.  I barely eeked out 40 pushups at the end.  I am more comfortable doing the standard pushups but they are a lot harder than on the knees pushups.

Really happy with my eating today.  I knew that I was going to dim sum for lunch.  I had no idea how many calories that would be, but I knew that when I was there, I needed to be mindful.  I ate everything that I wanted to eat, but only ate half a turnip cake, taro cake, or bean curd sheet roll.  I also knew that I needed to exercise if I wanted to come in under my calorie limit.  I procrastinated running, but Cassey of Blogilates sent out a really great motivator to those who are signed up for her newsletter.  She had a really great picture with an illustration that read "Fitness is like marriage.  You can't cheat on it and expect it to work." She went on to say "You must stay committed. Be true yourself. And your goals, whether it be reaching a new level of fitness, living a healthier life, or sculpting the body of your dreams, will manifest."

Also, I confirmed that I want to keep elbows in during pushups by watching this workout.   It's by Turbulence Training.  If I ever go workout at the gym (which I do occasionally), I will try one of his workouts.  They seem pretty good and fun.

Finally, I decided that I will weigh in tomorrow.

C25K Week 5 Day 2

Calorie Summary
Calories consumed: 1793
Calories exercised: 365
Net calories: 1428

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 5 day2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 2.  Today was so hard.  I broke out in sweat while doing pushups.  Check my progress here.
• Bodyrock Sexy Satisfaction workout

Went to Fidelity and Costco.  Learned my lesson from last time: avoid the free cookies at Fidelity.  Be mindful with the free food at Costco. As a result, I did not go overboard with my snacking.

I woke up early to go jogging (i.e. 6 AM early).  Week 5 of C25k is very daunting because the whole program, I've had a chance to take walk breaks.  Suddenly, on day 3, I need to run for 20 minutes straight.  Well, today, I ran for 8, walked for 5, and ran for 8 more.  The first 8 minutes were no sweat.  I was almost dying the last 8 minutes.  It wasn't muscle fatigue.  It's more like serious huffing and puffing.  I wonder if this is an indication that my V02 max can use improvement.  Although I am quite pleased with my running pace today (10:36 mile), one of my goals in life is to run an under 10 minute mile.  To do so, I'm thinking I need to improve V02 max, which can be done by sustaining a fast run for 2-5 minutes as indicated by this Runner's World article, which is what I did today.  I think what this article is saying is that I need to push myself for a sustained period of time.  Now, I have no idea how I'm going to do on Saturday, when I need to run for 20 minutes, but I hope today's 8 minute of sustained V02max will help me have more endurance.

I started doing the Sexy Satisfaction workout.  I actually completed two rounds.  I don't know why I quit.  Actually, yes I do.  This workout is filled with pushups.  The press and kick is pretty tough.  I think I'm going to try again today.  After attempting 2 rounds, I went to look at myself in the mirror and saw what appears to be the beginnings of a six pack trying to appear from a layer a fat. :) Weird, but cool.  I guess Bodyrock really works.

New Widget and Sexy and Tight Workout

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1445 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 287 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1275 Cal


Exercise Summary

• C25K week 4 day 2 - outdoor run!  Very nice.
• One minute of NTC Jeanette Jenkins Hollywood Ab Blast (yes I only did 1 minute of planks)
• 4 minutes of BodyRock Sexy and Tight Workout
• 1.5 minutes of NTC Core Crunch

Fabulous eating day.  Ok exercise day.  I did 1 minute of plank and I didn't think I was going to make it, but I did.  But that was too hard, so I started to casually go through all the exercises in Ab Blast just to mentally prepare for what was to come.  I attempted to do forearm plank balances.  FAIL.  I totally collapsed.  Everything else I could do (without considering fatigue).  I moved on.  Decided to attempt the lastest Bodyrock.  Then decided that it was too hard.  Freddy said if I was a beginner, I should only do 1 round, which is what I did.  I regret only doing one round.  I should've attempted another round.  After my 1 round of Bodyrock, I decided to attempt Core Crunch.  FAIL.  I think 1 minute of planks totally killed me.  Well, I've decided that I am totally going to do one of the NTC ab workouts tomorrow.  I've got my mind made up.  I'm going for it!!

Oh yes, I got new running shoes over the weekend.  LOVE THEM!!  Asics GT 2170.  I feel like I'm running on clouds.  What a different new shoes make!  Today was my second time running in them.

Training insane on the treadmill

Yesterday was weigh day but I had no intentions of going to the gym.  Therefore, I could not weigh myself.  I bit the bullet and purchased a digital scale from Amazon.  It should arrive tomorrow.  I really like my goals from last week so I will use them again.

My goals for the week are as follows:

• Eat between 1200 and 1400 Calories / day - net
• Drink more water
• Choose happiness, contentment, and thankfulness
• Be more resourceful with my time.  No internet shopping!!

Calorie consumption: 1553 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 259 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1294 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 4 Day 1
• A 10 minute ab workout from Fitness Magazine August 2008 - (there were challenging moments and there were cakewalk moments)

Since my last post, there are a few things to note:

1.  NTC is getting easier, most notably Core Crunch.
2.  I did NTC Body Sculptor yesterday.  Single Leg Clock Squats totally broke me.  I want to get better at these!
3.  Ski exercise is getting easier.  This has single leg squats which suck, too!!  I will master this because I want to be a graceful skier.
4. C25k today was amazing!!  I nearly died.  I was running pretty fast (for me): 5.2 mph.  I had the treadmill on random, and it was giving me crazy hills.  I had to slow down.  But then, the last 5 minutes, I decided to keep up with my faster pace and I kept on telling myself "mind over matter" and I kept on trying to focus on other things such as counting.  Well, I did it.  I feel proud.  If I can do it once, I can do it again.  Hopefully next time it will be a lot easier.

I have this scrapbook of workouts that are clippings from magazines.  I'm trying to go through these and figure out whether these workouts are any good.  If they aren't, then there's no need to keep them.  Well, this ab workout had highs and lows.  I think blogilates or anything on Youtube is better.  I will persist in going through my workout scrapbook though.

Week 1 Weigh In

Good news!  I've lost 1.0 lb. this week!  I don't have a digital scale at home so I'm going to start using the scale at the gym and weigh in on Sundays or Mondays.

My goals for the week are as follows:

• Eat between 1200 and 1400 Calories / day - net
• Drink more water
• Choose happiness, contentment, and thankfulness

Sunday:

Calorie consumption: 1510 Cal; Avg. HR - 132
Exercise calories burned: 230 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1280 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 3 Day 1
• Exhaustion test of 100 pushup challenge.  Check my progress here.  Turns out I didn't to do this.  I could've moved on to week 2
• NTC core crunch

Jogging was exhausting.  I think I'm going at it too hard.  My HR isn't through the roof, though.  I just felt like I was starting to get a headache which is a sign of dehydration.  I might need to drink more water.  Between today and tomorrow, I will drink more water.

Core crunch has gotten tougher.  At least I'm finishing the workouts.  I discovered that I'm using hip flexors instead of abs for some of these exercises.  I need to modify my form for the future.

Completed Core Crunch

Today's calorie consumption: 1529 Cal
Exercise calories burned: 311 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1218 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 2 Day 3 - max HR - 177; avg HR 140
• Hundred pushups - Week 1 day 2.  Check my progress here.
• NTC - core crunch 
• Blogilates - BIKINI BLASTER 4: Awesomesauce Arms

Did awesome on couch to 5k.  Ran around the neighborhood.  I think I was running faster than a 12 minute mile which I am ecstatically happy about.  I hope I can keep this up.  I enjoy running to the Killers Pandora station while I run outdoors.

Core crunch freaking killed me.  I did this in the late afternoon and pushups in the late morning.  Finished the whole workout, but it took me longer than 15 minutes.  Doing the pushups in the morning made the plank in core crunch extra difficult (as in I had to go onto my forearms to complete).  I also took super long breaks between circuits.  In fact, I started slowing down one and a half minutes into the workout.  My goal is to be able to finish this workout in 15 minutes.  Needless to say, this workout is going into my repertoire.

I think the pushups made awesomesauce arms very difficult to. I felt like my arms were going to fall off (which I didn't feel last week).  I didn't do the pushup portion of this exercise.