Fabulous Oil Wells Form Tips at t-tapp forum

If you're anything like me there are some moves in MORE and Basic Workout Plus that you don't feel like you're getting 100% out of. Reach Scoop is one, and Oil Wells is one. Now I love Oil Wells and love the stretching I get reach through my legs but I KNOW I'm not getting everything out of Oil Wells that I should. Teresa has SO many things going on in every little move that when I read another insanely fabulous post by Kiona at the t-tapp forums about Oil Wells I was stoked! That Kiona is amazing in how she breaks down the pieces of moves and shows exactly how to implement the tweaks.
Kiona's Oil Wells post is a wealth of information. Here's a taste - When looking to do this move, what you want to remember to do is lift your ribs as you are doing the move itself. Very much like you would do while standing in typical T-Tapp stance.
What? My ribs should be lifted while doing OIL WELLS of all moves? What does that even mean?! Well go read Kiona's post. She's amazing and I'm excited to do Oil Wells tomorrow!!!
Click here to go to Kiona's post on the t-tapp forum

Bowling, painting and the wonders of MORE

So Saturday was a scary day. And it would be scary for anyone with back problems. *insert menacing music here* Bowling, shopping and painting!

Saturday was when we celebrated our newly 7yo and newly 11yo sons birthdays. We went bowling. Yes, bowling. Because well... you know... I'm a glutton for punishment. As someone with chronic back pain bowling isn't top of the list of wise things to do. But my sons were so excited so I bowled. I stopped in frame 8 but should have stopped after frame 6. My back just got too tired. So the moms and I went shopping at Goodwill next door. So bowling, then standing and walking for over an hour, the back to bowling and walking around the arcade.

Then we return home and I.... paint until 2 AM. Two coats on one wall, a coat of primer and a coat of paint on the front door. Around 1 AM when waiting for everything to dry for second coats, I decided that my only chance at walking in the morning was doing T-tapp MORE. So I did it. And went back to painting fully expecting to wake up with one of those bad back morning.

Instead I woke up to the sound of angels singing and a great back. Insert awe inspiring music here:
I felt great. No different than any other day. In fact I kind of felt better than any other day. I truly believe that t-tapp is my savior with these back problems. Adding to that, my bad knee. Almost 2 years ago I slipped and fell and hurt my knee. With my weight, and running on the treadmill, etc. etc. it never healed. It was always hurting in the morning and when doing stairs, hiking on rough terrain, things like that. Well MORE has a few lunges and lots of plies. But with the t-tapp technique of knees out, tucking, leaning away from the lunges, not only do my knees not hurt from t-tapp they are feeling better all the time. Truly amazing stuff.

Lest I forget: (oh and assume that I pretty much do PBS at least once a day in the morning)
Workouts:
Wed Jan. 5th - MORE Instructional
Thurs Jan 6th - MORE Instructional
Sat Jan 8th - MORE
Mon Jan 10th - MORE
Tues Jan 11th - MORE and Broom

Instructional 1, Back Pain and MORE

Okay so as a precursor to Charlotte's coaching I gave Instructional 1 a try again after 2 months or so on Saturday. A. it was hard. I was sweating and exhausted after. I forgot LOL. But unfortunately there is a B.

B. I woke up Sunday unable to walk. Now granted, Saturday also had some things going for it like I cooked a whole turkey dinner and was on my feet with a guest here. But still, I woke up with the worst back pain I've had since my great stair rail falling incident. It took many hours to even be able to walk. But I HAD to since my husband was asked to give the sermon at church since our pastor was out of town.

So needless to say I now have Instructional 1 phobia. And since Charlotte's workouts have you go through the Instructionals some, I was upset. Monday, yesterday, when I was supposed to start, I just didn't. I started the course but didn't workout at all.

Enter the Moms and her MORE.

My mom got MORE for Christmas and isn't um... that excited to start. So within minutes of getting her home from the airport I snagged it. Yes, it is now home with me. I just spent the last couple hours while everyone watched tv watching MORE on the computer with headphones. WHAT A TREASURE it is! I am honestly blown away by the sheer VOLUME of what's on it. I don't think people realize everything that is on it.

Besides a full Instructional, it has videos on how to get out of a chair, how to walk properly, how to get off the floor and how to step up stairs. BUT then it has a full MORE workout (20 minutes), a special newer at home with T MORE that's 27 minutes, an upper body workout with a broom, a 10 minute SATI type workout, and a sitting workout. Dude. Everyone should own this!!!!! The idea of being able to crank out a 9 minute workout when I need to or do a modified TWO (which is what the MORE is) for 27 minutes.

Okay rave over. I just had no idea it was going to be quite so great DESPITE Trish saying a million times how amazing it is.

SO I did the MORE Instructional tonight. It was great. Had lots of breaks. But had so many tweaks and form reminders that BWO+ doesn't. Aside from modifications on PBS and T-tapp Twist, it has a small set of lunges (which was just enough to feel a burn but NOT hurt my knees and hopefully back) and a tiny Balance Sequence as well. I think it's going to be a great workout for me for a while.

The ONLY thing is......... how will my back feel tomorrow? Tune in tomorrow and find out. I'd LOVE to be able to do a MORE Instructional Bootcamp without hurting my back. Love.

Charlotte's Virtual Coaching

*note* this was supposed to be posted yesterday and wasn't for some reason!

Today I start Charlotte's Virtual Coaching program with a few other ladies on a private Christian message board. One by one we all signed up. It was on sale last month and I decided last minute to do it. Today's the day! And I guess anyone who reads here (and you know who the two of you are) will get a review! I won't be sharing details of course in respect to Charlotte but it should still be fun. And anyone who's up in the air about it should get an idea of what it's like as I blog. But if you've read at all you know that I find Charlotte incredibly inspiring as I can't see myself NOT like it. But time will tell.......
It's funny in some ways for me to post that I'm starting this after my New Year's post. But they don't conflict. Exercise, healthy eating, etc. are all good things. And I believe they please the Lord. It's when you make rules that dictate how you feel about yourself, laws for yourself about what you eat, what you do, outside of leaning on the Lord that are missing the mark. I do believe the Lord wants me to get healthy again. And after prayer feel that this is a great start.

So how does the Virtual Coaching program work? You get:

· An e-book, Renew You Virtual Coaching Personal Workout Inspiration and Schedule, with workout schedules, instructions and convenient forms

· 30 daily emails full of inspiration, T-Tapp tips and valuable insights

· Every 3rd day, a link to a coaching video of Charlotte sharing her insights and tips for you

· Bonus links and articles

Renew You Virtual Coaching gives you access to expert advice:

• How to jumpstart yourself when enthusiasm lags. Day 11.
• Tips for setting up your space for success with your workouts. Video Day 3.
• What is your brain wired to do (it can't help it!) and how can you take advantage of that? Video Day 24.
• How to stay consistent with T-Tapp. Day 28
• A secret that helped motivate me on the way to my goals. Video Day 15.
• Why it's not selfish to care for yourself—first—from a busy mom of 12. Day 8

Free Food/Exercise Log

I started this originally thinking I could easily keep track of my workouts. But if I don't log in for a couple of days I find I forget my workouts so easily. Every time I start a new entry I keep having to rack my brain to remember. And I have realized that while I don't like to journal at all in an actual paper notebook, I like to list, plan, etc. in a real notebook. Do you KNOW how many binders and notebooks I've made? Now using them.... it another story for another time.

Then of course while poking around Charlotte's blog I read this post by Charlotte about her notebooking. Here's her always motivating entry:
Charlotte's Notebooking Entry I was told she goes into more detail about it in her book. Go read there and be inspired to start the year off with a notebook.

As the New Year approaches I, like most every other woman out there, am gearing up to start revamping my life. So as part of that I want to set up an exercise, food and supplement journal. So I opened Photoshop and made myself some. And I figured that others might enjoy and use them too. SO you can download them here on the blog! The links are down under the preview and description. Here's a little preview of the pages.

There are two versions - plain and swirls with more decorative font.
Each zip includes:
Cover page
Daily Log page
2 Weekly Log sheets(1 with food log space, one without)
Long-term goal sheet
Short-term goal sheet
2 Numbers sheet (one with weight & measurements, one with just measurements)
T-tapp tips and tweaks sheet
A sheet with some great dry brushing info (I mean you can pretty much guarantee you get "what's dry brushing?" whenever you mention it so now you can print this and hand it out)

Download here:
Plain Log Sheets Download
Swirly Log Sheets Download

Note- if you haven't used 4shared before when you click that link it will take you to a page where it says "thank you for downloading" and has a timer counting down. Wait the 20 seconds, then click the BLUE link that says "Download Now". When the popup opens click SAVE then choose where you want it saved. It is a zip file so you will need to unzip it. When you go to open it, your computer will have a button that says "Extract Files". Click that and you're golden.
They are both zip files and if you have troubles opening them, just let me know.

I hope you enjoy and get loads of use out of these. AND I'm totally open for making more pages if anyone wants to suggest a change or a different page!

And lest I forget:
Thursday: BWO+ using the audio - I tried to do this in the bathroom with the mirror. I don't know how you guys who use a mirror do it. I couldn't focus ONE BIT. It was a so-so workout

Sunday: BWO+ Tempo and brushing. I like brushing. Why I procrastinate with it I don't know.

Monday: Brushed in the morning & BWO+ and the Balance Sequence from TWO. Balance was a tad hard and I'm crossing my fingers that my back feels good in the morning. Worked out in the afternoon instead of night.

Supplementy Stuff 1

There are times I wish I had loads of cash. Okay I don't care that much about money but when I pour over the t-tapp store I drool over things that normal people would raise an eyebrow at. I mean who drools over alfalfa and Vitamin D3 spray? And fiber? Seriously?

Me! That's who.

I really think it's part of the all-or-nothing mentality that I fight everyday. The same mentality that took the eating of one small cookie today and turned it into 7. The same one that turns one day of not working out into a week. And the same mentality that makes me want every single supplement in the t-tapp store. BUT those things cost money and just so you know, we don't have a lot of that ha!

So I ordered something small and cheap. Grapefruit oil. And DELICIOUS!


It makes water taste delicious! - SERIOUSLY it's yummy. And honestly even more than taste is the smell. It smells SOOO insanely good that it makes me happy when I drink water. I long to breathe in the smell and in turn I drink more. A drop or two in a quart is all so that small bottle will last a LONG time!

Grapefruit is a noted lymphatic stimulant and will assist in removal of toxic wastes from the body's cells and help regulate the balance of water in the tissues. I've been trying to drink it more as I try and do my body brushing more. I figure the two together will help my lymphatic system to work better.

Grapefruit Essential Oil can also be used the clean the CRT Body Brush since it has natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. I even put a drop ON my body brush before I brushed. Can I just say it is SO nice to have that smell wafting as I brush? LOVE it.

Also when Grapefruit Essential Oil is ingested it has reported to help with the digestion of fats and can help with cellulite control and weight loss. Well we all know that I NEED to lose weight and cellulite. What an added plus! I'll take it.

It's only $8 (note I'm not an affiliate at the moment so I get nothing for telling you about it!) and at the time I got it was even on sale for $6. Definitely affordable for me.

Great t-tapp forum post of the week

Okay this isn't a new post or anything but as of late t-tapp twist has become my favorite exercise and this post is grrrrrreat. Since doing anything other than just BWO+ has seemed to aggravate my back my goal for now is to give 1,000% on learning BWO+ the best I can. T-tapp twist is definitely the one exercise that as a whole I think for me, and I bet everyone, takes the longest and the most energy to get totally right.

This thread HERE by Kiona on the t-tapp boards is a gold mine of information on learning exactly how those hips should feel when doing t-tapp twist. I felt so much better when Kiona on the thread says that it's almost impossible to have your hips be 100% perfectly stable. So even the pros are still getting better at it. So I definitely feel a tad better about myself and my attempts at TTT. On the thread she gives great instruction on doing it sitting and against a wall to stabilize those hips. I plan on doing one of them once a day to really get it down. So run over and check out Kiona's amazing TTT thread HERE.

A nugget of wisdom from the amazing Charlotte

Remember Miss Inspiration herself Charlotte from my blog entry? If not, run over here and check out her video. On a Christian women's message board I'm on there has been a discussion/review thread of Charlotte's ebook. I won't give away a lot but I will say I really want to read it. She is such an inspiration and my friend Kim has said that the book is really inspiring. She shared with me a quote from her book and it really spoke to me.

You know, time is going to pass
whether you decide to T-Tapp consistently or not.
You can choose to give up or be “too busy”
and 6 months from now
wear the same size (or larger).
Or you can choose to be consistent
and work the workout
and 6 months from now
wear a smaller size and/or be toned and shapelier.
Six months will pass either way.

Where will I be in 6 months? I have been gaining about 5 lbs a month. So I can either be heavier than I've EVER been or I can be under 200 lbs! I can be fitter, healthier and happier. I can be disappointed in myself or I can be proud of my consistency.

I can't afford Charlotte's book right now as I have another t-tapp workout I want to get with my 50% off coupon that expires in January. But as soon as I can I'll do a review here. For myself of course LOL.

Did BWO+ (well Basic Tempo Plus since it's my favorite right now) this afternoon. Fighting the urge to do SATI. I need to break that "More is Better" mentality that years of diet and exercise have hammered in my brain. I may do PBS and t-tapp twist before bed though since my theory is that t-tapp twist and PBS are helping my back the most. We'll see...

Making cookies, eating cookies and um.....

Every year I make 4 bazillion cookies for Clay's work. I'm happy to do it. He is such a blessing to me and it honors me to be able to let him be "that guy". He likes being the guy who walks in with the mass amounts of tins of cookies. He likes being that guy who can take tins down to the Union office and give them to the head guys. He likes looking not just respected at work but respected at home as well.

But man I make A LOT of cookies. This year is was 10 kinds of cookies and many batches of each kind. 800 cookies maybe? We won't get into how many I ate. We just won't. You can imagine all on your own. If your imagination wants to be kind about it, I'll appreciate it.

I learned a couple of things yesterday in my cookie madness.

1. - I want, no I need, to remember just how gross eating sugar makes my body feel. After a day with way too much sugar, boy did I feel gross. In fact I feel even worse today, the day after with my body working to recover from a day with too high blood sugar.

2. - I want, no I need, to have t-tapp principles become natural. SO many times I found myself realizing how horrible I was standing, things like that. AND I got to the end of the day and poked around online and realized that not ONCE had I thought to do some Hoedowns to deal with my raised blood sugar. I have been getting into the habit of doing PBS (Primary Back Stretch) before bed hoping that will help my back. But had I been standing tight and tucked to protect my back and ribs up, lats set I would have had much less back soreness today.

If this doesn't inspire you I don't know what will

Poke around the t-tapp forums, get to know enough about t-tapp and you will eventually hear of Charlotte. Charlotte is the mom of 12 kids and THE most inspiring t-tapp testimony in MY opinion of course. With regular short workouts, with consistency with t-tapp she went from a size 22W to a now size 4! Seriously. That's something. And what's amazing to me as well is that as you watch her from the first segment to a year later, she has gained so much self-confidence as well as looks amazing. Okay we've seen a million transformation stories where someone goes from being 250 lbs to 120 and how they now love the gym and workout an hour every morning at 4am and run marathons. But I will never do that. There was a time in my youth when we lived in the city that we went to the gym early but I'm not that spring chicken, I live in the country, I have horrible back problems and now find that I am incredibly lazy Bwahahah. But over and over at the t-tapp forums and things like in Charlotte's video I hear the same thing "you don't have to workout hours a day, you just have to BE CONSISTENT". Smaller shorter workouts where you give 100% and be consistent. I've watched Charlotte's video a million times because it always makes me feel like I can actually DO THIS. I can be thin again, I can be healthy again, I can find strength and self-confidence again.

Month 1 update and chat

So as soon as I started this blog Thanksgiving rolled around and I just well.... ate whatever, didn't workout for a week and well you know how that goes right? I'm certainly not the only person in the world who does that kind of stupid thing and lives to regret it. Right?

I think sometimes we do things because we need to be reminded of just how crappy they make us feel so we get re motivated to NOT do them. So after a week of no t-tapp I woke one fine gorgeous Sunday morning unable to walk. Truly the worst day since I started t-tapp a month ago. It was the worst day since this lack of disc started causing me problems. Truly a dark dark day.

And of course Clay asked why I haven't been doing my t-tapp. Sigh. I don't know honey, why am I overweight, why do I eat so much, why is this house a mess, why didn't I brush my teeth last night, why didn't I do my t-tapp? Argh. Just because I know it's good for me doesn't mean I do it. Clearly.

*quick sidetrack* So that dark bad back no good day? So after hours upstairs in bed I decided to brave the downstairs. I literally had to brace myself on the wall and stair rail, white knuckling it the whole way down. I got about halfway downstairs and our HUGE 100+ lbs handmade with rough timber siderailing on our stairs ripped off the wall and crashing to the ground. It was quite scary since it hit the chair where on a weekend morning a child is usually playing some of their only allowed "game time". It was 3 feet away from our 1 year old. Scary. And at the same time incredibly depressing that me and my 200+ lbs was too much for the railing. Now I should note that WE did not make that handrail, the guy who made this rocking little house did. Just making that clear to save my husband's reputation and all that. Turns out those screws the dude used just weren't that long. Go figure. And I'm fat and exert way too much force. Pfft.

So I hopped back on the t-tapp wagon. Monday I did BWO+ and yesterday did BWO+. After Monday's workout I woke up able to walk but still a tad sore. And after yesterday's t-tapping I awoke this morning feeling pretty darn good if I do say so myself. This whole t-tapp thing never ceases to amaze me. I was such an anti-t-tapper for SO long. And here I am unable to skip even a day without my body freaking out! Who would have thought?

And here we go

To be honest, I can't believe I'm not only starting this blog but doing t-tapp at all. Confession time. I have been a long time anti-t-tapper. From my research I have been a die-hard weight lifter and interval type cardio gal. And I admit that I love pulling around a big heavy barbell. I do. I don't really like doing sprints but I "got" why intervals worked. But I didn't "get" t-tapp. And to be honest I still lean towards natural movements being better for the body. I have friends who have argued with me about it. Friends who have had great results by the way. Friends who LOVE t-tapp. We've gone back and forth. And I'm well known amongst them as the anti-t-tapper.

Enter my back pain. There's something about getting told you basically have NO lowest disk and it's a surprise you can walk. There's something about waking up in the morning to a family of 5 kids and NOT being able to walk. There's something about not being able to carry your baby downstairs without your back giving out and falling. There's something about the doctor telling you that if you continue on the exercise path that you're on that you may end up bedridden for months at a time that just well . . . . changes things.

So here we are. There was only one no impact, spinal alignment exercise that I thought of as the Dr. told me that I needed to change my life. T-tapp. MAN there's nothing like having to eat crow I tell ya that much. Even had one person I know somewhat call me out "what happened? I thought you were totally against t-tapp". I talked to Clay about it and got Basic Workout Plus. I joined the t-tapp forums and got to reading.

And here we go. On a journey in the pursuit of tappiness. And so begins a blog about my t-tapp journey hopefully from an overweight, tired, in pain homeschooling mom of 5 to a healthy, thinner, stronger, more active mom of... who knows how many by the time I get there lol. (oh the first post of any blog is always the hardest and the worst. Bear with me)