Workout and Meals 7/7/09

Well here it is two days after the weekend and I'm still dragging a bit. I feel like I need to catch up on some sleep or something. Not to worry, next week I will be taking off to rest up between Phase 1 and 2 of NROL4W so plenty of time to sleep then.

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/ 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/blueberries and raw walnuts

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted zucchini, red onion, red pepper, feta cheese, 1/2 avocado, and some watermelon, green tea

4. raw sugar snap peas & red bell pepper w/3 tablespoons roasted garlic hummus

5. 3 oz salmon burger, 1/2 cup brown rice, steamed broccoli

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

Workout
This was one of the final workouts of Phase 1 of NROL4W which are set up a little differently. You do as many reps as you can with the weight you started the program with, then rest for 60 seconds, then move on to the next exercise. For most of the exercises I felt I could have done more but I didn't want to compromise good form for reps.

squat - 45 lb olympic bar for 25 reps
push up - 30 reps
seated row - 80lb for 27 reps
step up - 8 lb db for 32 reps
prone jackknifes 45

Wow I was sweating after this! I didn't have my stop watch so I didn't know how long this took but I did my usual 5 mins of the bike before and after and stretching.

In other news, I got my 12kg kettlebell today and I'm excited to get in some practice! I am planning a workout for Sunday which will probably be my final workout day before my week off. I am not quite sure what I will do with myself for a week. Maybe I can still drag strollers in the sand at the beach and swim in the pool with my son? ;-)

Catching up after the July 4th Weekend!

Well, it was a busy weekend filled with the regular Independence Day festivities. Bbqs, beach, pool, fireworks, a road trip, and kids off of their sleep schedules. Fun! I'm going to start by going over the workouts over the last several days. Food intake was pretty much the usual stuff with some bbq stuff and sushi thrown in. I'll go over that briefly as well.

Friday, July 3rd -
Workout - spin class
My typical diet during the day, a bbq in the evening. I had some bbq chicken, potato salad, shrimp cocktail, mozzerella, proscuitto, roasted red pepper kabobs, and then a fondue bar! Of course I had to have a few each of marshmallows, pound cake, and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Saturday, July 4th -
New Rules of Lifting for Women, Workout B

Warm up - bike 5 mins plus bridges

deadlift 45x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 70, 75, 85

alternating
db shoulder press 10x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
wide grip lat pulldown 3x8 - 60, 70, 70

alternating
lunge 3x8 - 15, 15, 20
swiss ball crunch 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike plus stretching
Weight portion of this workout was 28:35, altogether about 40 mins.

Eating was the usual stuff during the day. We ordered sushi for dinner. Salmon sashimi, spicy tuna eel avocado roll, and a shrimp tempura roll.

Sunday, July 5th
OFF from workouts
We traveled up to Long Island which isn't that far mileage wise but traffic is just terrible. It was about 3.5 hours each way. I had my normal green drink and green tea then greek yogurt/nuts for a snack. From there I'm just all over the place. I had some of my cousin's sangria which was fabulous! I made good choices at the buffet considering the options. I had salad and chicken franchaise. I stayed away from sausage and peppers, six foot subs, creamy mac and potato salads etc. but of course I had to have a piece of special made strawberry shortcake and a small brownie for dessert. Ugh! I'm a sucker for dessert!

This brings us to today Monday, July 6th
Workout - spin class
Back to the grind of clean eating. Here's what I ate today:
1. after workout - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tblspoon flax oil, green tea

2. Fage 0% fat plain greek yogurt w/fresh picked blueberries (my mom picked them on Saturday), mrs mays nut berry crunch

3. cold thai green curry shrimp and veges w/ 1/4 cup white rice. I was at the beach and this tasted yummy cold!

4. watermelon and blueberries, mrs mays nut berry crunch

5. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted vegetables (sliced green and yellow zucchini, thin sliced red onion, red pepper tossed w/EVOO, italian seasoning and salt and pepper then roasted in a 425 oven for 20 - 25 mins stirring occasionally so onions don't burn), feta cheese, and 1/2 avocado, green tea

6. snack pack cottage cheese w/sliced mango (SO good!), nut and seed crunch

Tomorrow morning I'll be doing one of two bonus workouts at the end of Phase 1 of NROL4W. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong I've gotten.

The plan for this week:
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift
Wednesday - track sprints at the crack of dawn
Thursday - lift
Friday - spin
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - not sure yet

Separately, I was just thinking about my every day activities and chores and how it really requires me to be in good physical shape. When I think back on today, I can come up with a bunch of instances where I needed some foundation of functional fitness to complete tasks.
1. carrying and loading laundry
2. packing the truck with beach gear
3. getting the kids into the truck. I am still required to have my daughter in an infant carrier until she is a year old. That car seat with her in it heavy!
4. unloading the car for the walk to the beach
5. dragging the stroller and beach caddy in the sand and back
6. unpacking all our beach stuff, then packing it back up
7. doing laps in the pool with my son for a 1/2 hr this afternoon
8. unloading, folding, then carrying laundry back up the stairs
9. bathe and play with the kids

It's alot to do in a day! I am exhausted just typing it. I was pretty winded after the stroller drag in the sand. I am not one for monitoring numbers in heart rate or calories but I am curious about this task. I am thinking about blowing the dust off my heart rate monitor the next time I'm going to beach to see just how hard I'm working :).

Workout and Meals 7/2/09

I got up this morning at 5:30 am to do my weight workout in my new Chucks. I will say there is a huge difference. Those cushy running sneakers were doing me NO favors!

Here's my day:

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

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop of Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 2 egg whites, 1 egg in a brown rice tortilla with salsa and chopped raw red bell pepper, honeydew and watermelon salad

4. chocolate almond smoothie -2 tablespoons raw almonds, 1 pitted date, 1 small frozen banana, 1 cup cold water, 1/2 tablespoon each of raw cacao nibs, ground flax seed, and hemp powder.

5. SPICY thai green curry w/shrimp, green beans, and zucchini over 1/4 c white rice

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
New Rules of Lifting Phase 1 workout A

warm up - 5 mins bike + bridges

squat - warm up 45x5, then 3x8 - 65, 75, 80

alternating
push up 3x8
seated row 3x8 - 90, 100, 110

alternating
step up 3x8 - 15, 15, 20
prone jackknife - 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike + stretching
Weight portion of the workout 28:48 so about 40 mins total.

I could never seem to progress in my squats. Now I know why (form and footwear),but for the longest time I couldn't get past 70 lbs. Well today I did 80 so I'm thrilled. Now that phase 1 is nearly complete I'm a little bummed. I would have really liked to keep working at it but I'll move on and see where the program leads me. By next Thursday I'll be done with phase 1.

Tomorrow I think I am going to take a spin class but I could change my mind and hit the track. We'll see how I feel in the morning!

Workout and Meals 7/1/09

Wow, first day of July! That means I've been going at this pace for 9 months and that my daughter is 10 1/2 months old. I can't believe I'm planning her first birthday party! Where does time go? The little extra time I have, I've spent working towards my goal of getting leaner. The only way I know how to do that is high intensity short duration workouts, change it up often, and watch the food intake. Which brings me to today's meals and workout.

Here it is:

a.m. - workout - treadmill intervals from 8 to 10 mph in .5 increments and down again. 23 min intervals, but 30 mins total time and 2.75 miles
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 6 inch turkey and provolone on wheat from Subway w/green pepper, tomato, cucumber, vinegar, and black pepper, water

4. snack pack cottage cheese, watermelon and honeydew melon salad

5. thai shrimp green curry w/green beans and zucchini over 1/4 c white rice

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

My mom is on vacation from work this week and I was out shopping with her and the kids today. My choices for lunch were Nathan's hot dogs, pizza, or Subway. Now I probably could have gotten a salad but the chicken breasts were kind of weird looking and I was in the mood for a sandwich. I figured a wheat roll was better than white pita bread. I skipped the chips and got a water. Maybe some extra carbs will give me some extra energy to squat massive weight tomorrow? Let's hope so!

Workout and Meals 6/30/09

I was up bright and early at 5:30 a.m. to get my lifting done!

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/organic spinach, kale, collards, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil mixed in and a cup of green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/a mango and Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 3 oz chicken breast, green beans, 1/4 c quinoa, watermelon

4. snack pack cottage cheese, cherries

Meals 5 and 6 - Girl's night at a friends house. Snacks and fajitas are on the menu : ).

Workout
New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 1 workout B

warm up - 5 mins bike, bridges
deadlift - 45x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 65, 70, 80

alternating
db shoulder press 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
wide grip lat pulldown 3x8 - 60, 70, 70

alternating
lunge 3x8 - 12, 15, 15
swiss ball crunch 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike + stretching
Weight portion of this workout was 28:48 so about 40 mins total.

My deadlift weight is going up now that my form has improved greatly and I've been doing it barefoot. I noticed some instability doing lunges with my running sneakers so I did go out and purchase my Chucks today. I hope things improve in future workouts.

I am just terrible at wide grip lat pulldowns. In most cases, my grip gives before I can finish the set. I really need to work on this. Looking forward to incorporating some kettlebell training and maybe some farmer's walks to help me with grip strength.

Also, I can normally use 20 lb dumbells for a shoulder push press and today was able to do regular shoulder presses with the 20s so nice improvement there.

If the weather is nice tomorrow morning, I'm going to rock the sprints and stairs at my local high school track with my friend Gymboss. If it's not so nice, I'll head to the gym for sprint intervals.

Workout and Meals 6/29/09

Monday again and the start of a busy week. I tried another raw meal for meal 5 today.

Here's my day:

a.m. - workout - spin class
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful of blueberries, Mrs. Mays nut and fruit crunch

3. 3 oz chicken breast, roasted asparagus, 1/4 c quinoa

4. cottage cheese snack pack, cherries

5. zucchini spaghetti w/raw sun dried tomato marinara sauce, 5 oz shrimp cocktail (not raw)

6. watermelon, nut and seed crunch bar

The spaghetti was good but it called for briefly stir frying the zucchini in coconut oil which is supposed to be tasteless when used for frying. I felt you could really taste it so I would use extra virgin olive oil next time. Otherwise it was good. Here's a pic for you.


Tomorrow gonna hit the weights!

Update on Workouts and Plans for Upcoming Week

I have been slacking on my workout and meal posts but not to fear everything is moving along nicely. My eating has been the same. I didn't try any new raw food recipes but I have one planned for next week. Last night we went to dinner with some friends, and my husband and I had sushi and I had a glass of red wine because I didn't love the dessert menu. I was either going to do a glass of red wine or dessert ;-).

Here were my workouts from last week:
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - run - treadmill sprints
Friday - lift
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - lift

Here are the details of Friday's and Sunday's workouts:

Fri, 6/26 - NROL4W, Phase 1 workout B
5 mins bike
deadlift - 45x5 warm up, then 3x10 - 60, 65, 75

alternating
db shoulder press 10x6 warm up, then 3x10 - 12, 15, 15
wide grip lat pulldown 50x5 warm up, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
lunge 3x10 - 10, 12, 15
swiss ball crunch 3x12
5 mins bike + stretching

Weight portion of the workout 31:16 plus bike and streching about 44 mins.

Sunday, 6/28 NROL4W Phase 1 workout A
5 mins bike
squat -45x5 warm up, then 3x8 -60, 65, 70

alternating
push up 3x8
seated row 3x8 - 90, 100, 110

alternating
step up 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
prone jackknife 3x15 (this was tough!)
5 mins bike
Weight portion was 26:43 plus bike and stretching about 40 mins.

I'm down to the final workouts in Phase 1 which are 3 sets of 8 reps. I felt stronger in today's workout especially with the squats because I did them barefoot. I am positive this has improved my squat tremendously in addition to the workshop I attended last Wednesday which really helped with my form. I feel that a previous knee injury has kept me from really being able to push the weights when it comes to squats and deadlifts but now I feel more confident in my form so we'll see what happens in future workouts.

This is my plan for next week:
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift + sprints
Wednesday - OFF (or sprints if not done Tuesdsay)
Thursday - lift
Friday - sprints or spin
Saturday - lift
Sunday - OFF

I've got to take Sunday off instead of Saturday next week because I will be traveling up to Long Island for a family bbq. I have many eating challenges next week. Tuesday night I've got a girl's night get together and I'm bringing spinach dip with tons of vegetables. Friday night I have a bbq and Sunday I will be traveling in a car for a few hours each way with a bbq in between. UGH! So as always I must stick to the workout schedule!

What challenges do you have in the coming week? Have you adjusted your plan accordingly?