Workout, Meals and Random Thoughts 6/4/09

It's Thursday! One day closer to Saturday which is my day off from training.

Here's how it went:

Meals

a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink, brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/organic kale, spinach, collards, beet greens, celery, cucumber, ginger, parsley, lemon juice, apple juice, and 1 tablespoon flax oil. Green tea.

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir with a scoop of Miracle Reds powder, serving of pecan, almond, peanut crunch

3. spinach salad w/ 3 oz chicken breast, beets, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and EVOO, a pear, green tea

4. raw cauliflower, broccoli, & sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. chipotle chicken chili made with ground chicken, diced tomato, corn, carrot, onion, red bell pepper, black beans, chipotle chili powder, cumin, 1/2 cup rice
green tea and a piece of dark chocolate

6. cottage cheese snack pack w/3 sliced strawberries, nut and seed crunch bar


Workout
NROL4W, Phase 1 workout B

deadlift 2x15 - 50, 50

Alternating
db shoulder press 2x15 - 8, 10
wide grip lat pulldown 2x15 - 50, 50

Alternating
lunge 2x15 - 8, 10
swiss ball crunch 2x8

This workout took 18 minutes. I did 5 mins on the bike for warm up and cooldown plus a little stretching after. I'd say about 30 minutes total.

I am finding I'm REALLY not sure what weight to use for sets of 15 so I'm just going ultra conservative and up it next workout. I'm really loving the 30 minute duration for the first few weeks. I can get up at 5:30 am instead of 5 am. That's always a good thing!

I'm feeling in the mood to just run steady state so I think I'm going to do 4 miles tomorrow morning.

On a separate note, I am booking a foundations class at The Training Room, Jersey Shore Crossfit for June 20th. They go through basic kettlebell exercises and some of the drills they do there. I am looking for just a sample of the workout. I would ultimately like my family to pitch in to get me private sessions to learn kettlebells for my birthday in October. I am extremely excited that I am getting my sister and possibly a friend to join me for the class!

Who else wants to go?

Workout, Meals, and Random Thoughts 6/2/09

Today was the first day doing New Rules of Lifting for Women. It was me, my notebook, and my Gymboss this morning!

Here's how my day went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following workout - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/flax oil, green tea

2. 6 oz plain greek yogurt w/3 sliced strawberries, serving of almonds

3. 2 egg white, 1 whole egg omlet with raw red bell pepper, 1/2 avocado, and a pear

4. sugar snap peas & cauliflower w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. 4 oz salmon burger w/ 1/2 cup rice, steamed broccoli
piece of dark chocolate and green tea

6. snack pack cottage cheese, nut and seed crunch bar


Workout - NROL4W, Phase 1, Workout A
Squat 2x15 - 45, 50

Alternating
push up 2x15
seated row 2x15 - 80, 80

Alternating
step up 2x15 - 8, 10
prone jacknife 2x8

Time was 20 mins. 5 min bike warm up and 5 min bike cool down plus stretching so a little over 30 mins total time. Planning on doing my intervals at the gym tomorrow morning.

I am not used to doing timed rest periods so that was different for me. Since I am starting from the beginning of the program I decided to be cautious when picking my weights for the sets of 15. I figured I can always move up next workout.

On a separate note, I bought a pair of shorts today. You may be thinking, "Yeah, so what?". Well I haven't bought a pair of shorts in a VERY long time. Not only did I buy shorts, but I had to buy the smallest size they offered which was a size 2! Now this is not a terrible problem to have I'll admit. However, it proves my point that I need to lift more and not focus so much on "fat loss".

Until tomorrow my friends!

Workout and Meals 5/13/09

a.m. - workout - treadmill
3 min walk to warm up, steady pace running, 6 intervals thrown in toward the end, and 7 min walk cool down. Total of 3.75 miles 40 minutes

1. syntrax nectar, 1 tsp glutamine on the way home from the gym
after shower - greens drink, green tea

2. plain greek yogurt w/a scoop Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. spinach salad with grape tomatoes, feta cheese, 1/2 cup chickpeas, balsamic vinagrette, strawberries, green tea

4. raw cauliflower and red pepper with 3 tablespoons hummus

5. 3 oz chicken burger (ground chicken mixed with grated onion, 3 tablespoons peter luger steak sauce, gluten free breadcrumbs), roasted asparagus, 1/2 avocado, grape tomatoes, a pear

6. syntrax nectar w/1 tsp glutamine, nut and seed crunch

Tomorrow morning I am attempting to hang clean. Will report results.

Workout and Meals 5/12/09

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar w/1 tsp glutamine, brown rice cake
after shower - Green drink - organic kale, collards, spinach, parsley, celery, ginger, apple, lemon juice and apple juice w 1 tablespoon flax, green tea

2. vanilla greek yogurt, serving of almonds

3. 3 oz chicken marsala (leftover from Mother's Day), about 1/4 cup scallop potatoes, and alot of salad with balsamic vinagrette, green tea

4. snack pack cottage cheese, veggie fries

5. 3 oz chicken breast, about 1/4 cup scallop potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, green tea

6. syntrax nectar w/1 tsp glutamine, nut and seed crunch


Workout
5 mins bike

Straight set
deadlift - 1x8, 4x5 - 45, 65, 70, 75, 80 (and a PR for me!)

Giant set
seated cable row - 1x8, 4x6 - 70, 80, 90, 100, 110
flat bench db press - 1x8, 4x6 - 10, 15, 20, 20, 20
barbell split squat - 1x8, 4x6 - 35, 45, 50, 55, 55
push up - 5x12

Straight set
front squat push press - 1x8, 4x6 - 35, 40, 45, 50, 50

Superset
45 degree planks hold for 45 seconds - 3 sets
flat bench reverse crunches 3x8

Sprint intervals outside for 12 minutes! Holy hell that was tough. The high school kids were waiting for their bus while I was haulin ass down the street :).

Gonna run my 3.5 miles tomorrow!

This is Where I'm Starting!

This blog is being created for accountability and to share and hopefully inspire someone who may be in the same situation. I recently read something about creating accountability for yourself and the ultimate accountability is public accountability. So here I am!

My journey to fitness started in my twenties after hours of commuting and a desk job caused me to put on more than just a few pounds. I had not a clue where to start since I'd always been a thin kid and was a junk food junkie and not really athletic at all. Probably like most people looking for information I turned to fitness magazines for workouts, tips, and inspriration. Over the years I've followed the fads, low fat, no fat, low carb, no carb, high reps, low reps, diet pills etc. I did all the "6 weeks to abs" workouts and there were some changes but nothing close to those fitness magazine models!

Eventually my metabolism and immune system suffered and I had to make a clean slate for myself. Turning to organic greens and fruits, legumes, green tea, and occasionally hormone free chicken and wild caught fish, I was able to lose 20 pounds in a few months. I excluded any processed foods, breads, and wheat sticking mainly to rice (white and brown), quinoa, and potatoes for carbohydrates. I felt good and my body never functioned better but I was still looking to change my body composition. Mainly to increase lean muscle and reduce bodyfat.

When I least expected it I found out I was pregnant with my second child and went through the pregnancy relatively healthy. Once I had my daughter which is now 8 months ago, I decided this was going to be the time I was really going to do it. Stop lying to myself and making excuses and commit to something that was going to be good for me.

In 6 months I was able to lose 22 pounds and 8% bodyfat using the following protocol:

1. Spinning - 2x week
2. HIIT sprinting - 2x week
3. Full body weight training using compound movements and bodyweight exercises - 3x week
4. At least 1 day off per week for full rest
5. I did not count calories but rather ate portion sizes of whole foods.
6. Listening to guided meditations in the evening before bed for relaxation and to focus thoughts.

I am so happy about how far I have come but the changes in my body are so small at this point I'm finding it hard to gauge how it is truly going.


My goals and plans in the short term are:

1. Increase running to do a 5 mile race on May 23rd while maintaining my strength gains
2. Take measurements and pictures at the same time every week to compare
3. Weigh myself at the same time every week using a bodyfat scale to monitor bodyfat (Bodyfat scales are not the most accurate way to measure bodyfat, however I started to measure it this way and will continue this way for consistency.)

In my next post I will include measurements and possibly photos (still thinking about that one) in addition to more information on my meal plan.

I am going to be accountable, are you?