Time to get fit!

Do you set goals?  I don't necessarily want to call them fitness goals, but yes that's what I'm talking about.

I wish I lived near all of my loved ones and friends so I could encourage errr MAKE them be fit.  I tried the encouraging thing a lot time ago.

Maybe you don't know what to do?  Do you need ideas?  I want to challenge YOU to hit the sidewalks, trails, treadmills, whatever.  It's time to get fit.  I also want you to push yourself.  You need to elevate your heart rate, get on a good sweat, and yes potentially even feel sore the next day.  We like soreness.  It shows you are working hard.  I not only want you do to this, I want you do to this FOREVER.  It's not an only do it every now and then kind of thing.  Health should be your life because you only have one life to live.  Preserve you youth.  I promise you as you age, you will age more gracefully if you remain physically fit.  Your heart will work better, your muscles will work better, your lungs will work better, you will be able to move easier.  Things may even hurt less.  Your entire body will work better, imagine that.

You know who you are.  I'm going to give you some treadmill options below.  Start there.  I also want to encourage you to start lifting weights.  If you don't know what to do, send me a message and I'll point you in the right direction.  Most of all, OWN THIS!  Do not be afraid of the gym.  No one else in there cares what you are doing.

Option 1:  walk for 30 minutes, moderate pace.  Oh that's too boring...go to option 2.

Option 2: Treadmill
walk 3% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 5.0mph for 5 mins
walk 5% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 5.5mph for 5 mins
walk 7% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.0mph for 5 mins
walk 0% incline @ 3.5 mph

That's too easy? Go to option 3

Option 3:  Treadmill
walk 5% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 5.5mph for 5 mins
walk 7% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.0mph for 5 mins
walk 9% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.5 mph for 5 mins
walk 0% incline @ 3.5 mph

STILL too easy?  Go to option 4

Option 4:  Treadmill
walk 7% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.0 for 5 mins
walk 9% incline @ 3.5mph for 5mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.5mph for 5 mins
walk 11% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 7.0mph for 5 mins
walk 0% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins

Daddy of all options, the one I do.  You can do it too!  Work up to it.

Option 5:  Treadmill
walk 9% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 6.5mph for 5 mins
walk 12% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
jog 0% incline @ 7.5mph for 5 mins
walk 15% incline @ 3.5mph for 5 mins
RUN 0% incline 1-mile as fast as you can.  I try to keep my speed around 9.0mph
walk 0% incline @ 3.5mph for five mins

Once you feel like your are getting stronger cardiovascular wise, try doing sprints on the treadmill.  I'm not saying do these all the time.  I also want you to do steady state low intensity cardio workouts, but you need to change it up every now and then too.  Sprinting will help you get faster and stronger.

Option 6: Treadmill (another option just to change it up)
30 minute treadmill sprints
30 seconds on followed by 30 seconds off.  Repetitively over and over until 30 minutes is reached.  Pick a speed that is hard for you.  This is different for everyone.  If you can't do 30 minutes, do 20 minutes.  The way I do these, is I sprint for 30 seconds and then straddle the treadmill belt by standing on the sides for 30 seconds.  And then I hop back on.  I use the hand rails for all my transfers.

Do anything, something.  I just want you to want to get fit.

By the way, my 62 year old mother works out 4-5 days per week.  She follows a similar lifting program to me and does cardio.  She has even done the treadmill sprint workouts when her knee is feeling okay. So really, you don't have any excuses.

Tough love.  :)

If you think I'm talking to you, then I probably am.  I expect a report back on progress....
               

Livefit Trainer common questions on eating

Thank you Sandy...I worked out 5 times this past week.  It was heavenly. I haven't done that since before school started this summer.

On a separate note, I'm going to write this blog to answer some common questions that I get.  If you already know about clean eating, what to buy, where to find it, etc, then this post isn't for you.  Everyone else:

If you follow the same workout program I did/do the Jamie Eason 12-week Livefit trainer (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html) then you will see there is a menu link on the page as well as recipes.  I love the recipes.  Some of them are staples in my kitchen.  I highly recommend the 3-bean turkey chili, the Monster Meatloaf, and all of the homemade protein bars.  I'm currently loving the pumpkin protein bars.  The program gives you suggestions for sample meals to eat for all 6 (yes I said 6 meals) for the day.  In the beginning, a lot of people tell me they don't feel hungry enough to each that many times per day.  Yes yes, I felt that way too.  Your metabolism isn't used to it. I recommend eating ALL 6 meals every day, even in the first few weeks when you don't feel hungry.  You will find in a couple of weeks your metabolism will have caught up and you will be hungry and ready for your next meal before the time arrives.  If you have problems remembering to eat every 3 hours b/c you are busy, set alarm reminders on your phone.  Where there is will, there is a way.  No excuses.

Next, whey protein.  I use all natural (sweetened with Stevia NOT sucralose-the stuff Splenda is made from) whey protein.  I have a post-workout protein shake within 30 minutes of working out (cardio or lifting).  I also have a protein shake before bed.  The program calls for egg whites before bed, but I don't eat eggs.  I sometimes make protein whey pudding or ice cream, but lately it has just been a shake before bed.  It gives my muscles nutrients to feed off of and recover for those 8 (hopefully) hours of sleep.  Also, if I don't consume some sort of protein before bed I wake up in the middle of the night famished.  I mix my protein shakes with almond milk.  Almond milk has considerably less sugar than regular milk, yes even skim milk.  I no longer drink regular milk for this reason.  It's all about limiting sugars.  I order my whey protein from www.bodybuilding.com b/c they ship crazy fast and usually you get a free gift.  Win win!

I use this protein for my protein bars and my before bed shake.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/natwhey.html

Matt only likes chocolate and is fond of this brand.  I like chocolate for my post-workout shakes.  I also put a banana, ground flax seed, and raw spinach leaves in my post-workout shakes.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mrm/100-percent-all-natural-whey.html

Almond Milk

As stated above, I ALWAYS have homemade protein bars made each week.  Usually I eat 4 bars with a bag of raw veggies for meal 2.  The protein bars call for oat flour.  I buy the really big thing of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats (plain oatmeal) and grind it up in the blender.  Oat flour!!!!  You can buy it already ground up but 1) I have never found it and 2) this is pretty inexpensive.

I use Stevia to sweeten my coffee and it is called for in most of the protein bar recipes.  I buy the little packs and they are found in the same isle where sugar and Splenda are.  So why not Splenda, it's cheaper??  Splenda is artificially made.  Naturally found products are going to be easier for your system to digest.  Plus, no one knows if artificially made products have carcinogens, cause cancer, etc.  A lot of people say Splenda causes extra bloat in your belly and here we are trying to slim our bellies down.  On occasion if I end up somewhere (say out to eat or a coffee shop) and most don't have Stevia, I will have Splenda.  Although I do try to keep a few packs in my purse for this exact reason.  I also have a big bag of Stevia in my pantry all the time for cooking.  It is substituted equally for sugar.

Stevia I use in my coffee

Stevia I use for cooking.  For some reason the commissary doesn't carry this size bag.  I find them at Target.

I didn't mention this above, but instead of Stevia I like to use Truvia in my yogurt, Chobani plain.  I add this and fresh berries.  Don't buy the already mixed kinds...the sugar is too high.  

Flax seed can be found in the 'organic' section of the commissary or grocery stores.  I buy the whole seeds and grind my myself.  I find they stay fresher longer this way.  I keep them in a ziplock baggy in the frig and use as needed.  I put ground flax seed in my post-workout protein shakes.

I hope this helps.  Last but very not least, if you need a workout program to follow and don't know what to do I recommend the one associated with this website.  It is dumby proof.  On day 1, you will do push ups.  If you can't do them yet, try them on your knees and work up.  Don't get defeated.  Everything is scaled down if you need it to be.  Challenge yourself.

I love pushups.  You can take the girl out of the Army, but can't take the Army out of the girl!  

It's been a while...

Oh boy, I have been absent from blogging in what seems like forever.  October was/is the month of midterms in school and they smacked me in the face.  Everything got put on the back burner for these tests, to include fitness and eating.  I was lucky if I got in one workout a week and some weeks I didn't get any in.  It should seem simple, get up early to work out, right?  Or go later?  Not exactly with a two hour commute [one way] to school and two precious babies that I would choose ANY day over anything.  So in order to preserve limited time with them the gym time had to go.

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, this week I'll actually be able to work out consistently for 5 days!  Ahhh, it feels so good.

I'm only human so during midterms I ate like flat out crap.  Meal 1, M2, M3, M4 and M6 were usually still consistent with what I eat every day, however I indulged almost every day at dinner.  Especially when I would stay late at school and not have a dinner plan in place.  Add on top of that the amount of candy and cookies we ate while we were studying.  But according to our Histology professors this summer, it's okay b/c your brain uses up the glucose with intense studying.  So I'll just keep telling myself that it didn't go to my belly.

Really though, excess sugar in the diet goes straight to your belly.  So if you want to slim your stomach down abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym.  I would recommend hitting the gym too though in addition.

Luckily though I didn't fall completely off the deep end.  When I first changed my fitness focus almost a year ago from distance running to resistance training and high intensity interval training, I went hard for 12 weeks with minimal slip ups.  I find now that when I do slip up, I'm able to not entirely lose everything I worked so hard for.  The best advice I can give is to tell you to NOT keep falling off the deep end.  Don't dwell on what you did before today, and now it's time to get back in the game.

I'm sorry this post doesn't have any delicious meal ideas or fitness photos.  Take this as your motivation to start eating right and find some sort of physical fitness to take part in.  Oh and this post is to let you all know I'm definitely human.

The next four weeks

I totally meant to write this post on Sunday, but the weekend [and Monday and Tuesday] got away from me.

Sunday kicked off the next four weeks for me.  I like to set small goals, something to work towards.  It keeps my motivation up.  So I picked an event we have in 4 weeks that I want to lean out for.  Pick a date with a reason and go for it.  Be it a friend's wedding, your wedding, a class reunion, a vacation, whatever.  Find your motivation.  We all want to look our best and feel our best.  Every one's best is different.  Remember.  So I picked my aim and am gearing for that.  4 weeks.  What will I be doing?  Who will join me????

Since I'm already accustomed to Jamie Eason's Livefit trainer, I'm going to be doing phase 3 in the next four weeks. (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-phase-3.html)  If you are unfamiliar, the 12-week program is designed in three phases.  Phase 1 is the muscle building phase.  Phase 2 is the fat burning phase.  Phase 3 is the leaning out phase.  Phase 3 of this program isn't meant to last a lifetime.  It's just not realistic as far as tempo and nutrition.  It is great for a little bit of tweaking here and there and for doing some extra leaning out, which is my goal.

With my current school load I won't be able to do this phase exactly as scheduled.  My current life just doesn't allow for 6 workout days per week, given that I commute to NYC and I love my kids and cherish my minimal time with them.  I will tell you that I will still always have one cheat meal per week, usually Fridays.

This will be my third time doing Phase 3.  The first time was when I did the trainer all the way through.  The second time was in prep for my girlfriends wedding, and now this time.  I like the results it gives me in the way of tone and definition.  I will probably lose some muscle mass, but I'm not worried about that.  Leaning is my goal.

As far as nutrition, for the next two weeks I will eat my typical meals (see posts on my facebook wall or previous blog posts).  I will move the complex carb I usually ate at dinner to meal 4 and not have carbs after that meal on a daily basis.  The last two weeks, I will loosely carb cycle.  Meaning I will have low carb days and high carb days.  I don't count calories or macronutrients.  The great thing about this program is it's dumby proof.  Jamie Eason gives meal suggestions and I will follow those without counting calories.  I just don't have the patience for that.  On days I work large muscle groups - chest, back, legs, I will have high carbs.  On days I work smaller muscle groups, I will have low carb days.  Carb cycling can be rough if you really stick to it.  I have yet to REALLY stick to carb cycling.  And it is NOT meant to be a permanent way of eating.

Cardio will consist of 30 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill of 30 second sprints on and off.  You straddle the sides during your rest time.  Cardio will be every day I do not do legs and generally be 4 days per week.

So who's with me?  Who wants to join me?  It doesn't have to be phase 3.  But pick something.  You can do it, I promise.  Set smalls goals.  Commit to a permanent lifestyle change.

I produce A LOT of sweat during HIIT!  If you like my top and sports bra (love them), check out www.bodyrocksport.com!  

I suppose I should take a before and after so we can see the difference over the next four weeks.  Remind me tomorrow before I workout!  ;)

Do you need a workout idea? Try this on for size...

Did you work out today?  Did you want to workout today but didn't know what to do?  Lacking creativity and intensity?  Try this:

This morning I did a HIIT on my treadmill at 5am in order to get my cardio in before I went to school.

After warming up,

3.5 mph @ 9% incline for 5 min
6.5 mph @ 0% incline for 5 min
3.5 mph @ 12% incline for 5 min
7.5 mph @ 0% incline for 5 min
3.5 mph @ 15% incline for 5 min
Run a mile as fast as you can.  I was in b/w speeds 8.0-9.0.

This afternoon after class I did:

100 thrusters @ 65lbs for time.  If you are a male, you can do this at 95lbs or more.  My time was not impressive at 14:23, so you can surely beat that.

After the thrusters, I lifted chest with some standard exercises.

Bench press 5 sets of 8 reps
Cable crossover 3 sets of 10 reps
Smith machine incline press 3 sets of 10 reps

Ab workout:
3 supersets of 20 toe touches followed immediately by 20 crunches.  Rest one minute b/w sets.
Cable crunch 3 sets of 10 reps
Hip raise on parallel bar 3 sets of 10 reps

Jot this down on a piece of paper or pull it up on your smart phone.  Get to the gym and workout!!  What are you waiting for?

Pumpkin Protein Bars and getting back to food prep

Well my 10-day stay-cation from school is almost coming to a close.  It was an amazingly stress free time that I thoroughly needed to decompress.  I accomplished almost everything on my to-do list:

I got my hair done.  Matt and I had a couple's massage followed by Hibachi Grill for lunch and dessert at Chili's (a complete cheat day!).  We went on a little mountain bike ride and both got our fleur de lys tattoos.  For anyone who really knows us, knows this has nothing to do with the Saints or NOLA.  We took the kids to the local carnival in Highland Falls and it was perfect for Brody.  We opted to not see a Broadway show or go to the city b/c well I go to the city every day for school so staying home sounded like much more fun.  I spent that day instead cleaning the house, and it was a blast!!!  We visited some extended family in NJ and went to the Jersey Shore.  Brody collected huge sea shells and Bryn loved the water.  So all in all, successful stay-cation.

Oh, and I did workout a lot.  Almost every day (by every day I mean week day, I don't usually workout on the weekends).  Working out consisted of standard lifting, a Crossfit workout or two, some olympic lifting, a sprint triathlon (PR'd my 5K @ 22:48!), and some interval training. My eating was awful.

So now it's time to get back on track.  A new semester starts on Tuesday and I have to start with a bang.  I have to have meals planned and ready to go.  That is the only way I will stay on track.  So today I meal prepped after grocery shopping.  It's so easy to grocery shop now that I really only shop from the perimeter.  I'm in and out in no time.  My cart usually consists of meats, fruits (only to be eaten early in the morning or post-workout), veggies, almond milk, regular milk for the kids, greek yogurt, egg, egg whites, just to name a few.

I baked chicken in bulk for lunches this week.  I seasoned it with:

• Mrs Dash
• Pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Lime juice

Bake on 350 for about 50 minutes.  After it was cooked, I weighed out portions: 6 ounces for me and 8 ounces for Matt, cut up and packaged in containers for the week.  More than likely I will take mine to school with me to throw on top of a salad that I will have packed with me too.  If all else fails, I will at least eat the chicken by itself, although I hate to eat it like that.  I DO NOT use 'salad dressing.' I use either lime juice, balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar and season with Mrs. Dash.  I also like to put avocados and mild banana peppers on my salad.  Mmmmm.  I need to keep my carbs lower and eat them earlier in the day.

One of my six meals each day is always some form of homemade protein bars (none of the recipes I make myself...I cannot take the credit).  Since Fall is upon us, I made Pumpkin Protein bars today.  These are sinfully delicious.  You must must must must make these.  So delicious and so good for you.  Baked with NO sugar!!!!  I promise you will love them!

Pumpkin Protein Bars http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html

• ½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal)
• 1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground clove
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin
• 2 C oat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
• ½ cup almond milk
• ½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
3. Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
5. Makes 24 squares.

Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

I consume 4 bars as a meal option.  I always eat meals 2-4 with a bag of raw veggies.  I aim to have around 20 grams of protein each meal.  These are higher in carbs, so I will keep this meal earlier in the day and it will likely be my M2 (meal 2).  

Eat clean, train dirty.  Time to lean out!

Getting back on track and the West Point Tri

Well guys now that summer school is over, I'm determined to get back on track.  I didn't completely go by the way side during the past 8 weeks, but I will admit my working out and eating were not on point. I decided to set aside my working out for the sake of NEEDING to get through the first semester of Physical Therapy school.  I made sure to at least get in one workout a week but it was never consistent. It was enough to maintain a tiny bit and that's it.

Eating on the other hand suffered immensely.  I'm not perfect, I'll admit.  I emotionally ate.  I munched when I studied...(according to my histology professor it's okay to eat sugary foods while studying b/c the thinking process burns glucose!).  I might have taken that to heart a bit too much.  :-/  It's easy to go down in a spiral with food once you start eating bad.  I even stopped by the shopette the night before a test and purchased a Snickers bar, a bag of Reesens, a bag of Haribo sour spaghetti candy, and a bag of Laffy Taffy.  Ugh.  I ate the Snickers bar before I even made it home...and it's only a 60 second drive to my house.

To get my eating back on track my meals will look like:
*This is a very broad menu.  I will add things here and there, but this is the general gist...

M1:  1 cup non-fat greek yogurt sweetened with 1tsp of Truvia and berries; 1 slice cinnamon raisin Ezekial brand whole grain bread with coconut oil and a pinch of honey; coffee with one packet of Stevia and unsweetened almond milk
M2:  4 homemade protein bars and a bag of raw veggies
M3:  6oz of meat (either beef or chicken) and veggies.  We always grill/cook more at the beginning of the week for lunches.
M4:  Two 4-oz low fat cottage cheese containers and veggies
M5:  6oz of meat with veggies.  Occasionally a health carb, but not every night.
M6:  (before bed) Protein shake.

Of course drink water, water, water.
On days I workout, post workout shake with all natural whey protein, banana, and ground flax seed.

I need my workout schedule to be on track because then my eating will be on track.  With something to focus on, it makes me stronger to the food temptations.  I knew every time I put that sugar in my mouth that my tone would suffer, but I didn't it anyway!  So now it's time.  It's time to get back on track.  And you can too!!!!  Eat clean and train dirty.  Like I have always said, 80% of your results are from what you put in your body and the other 20% is from working out.  Don't be afraid of the weight room.  Muscle is beautiful.

Last weekend I participated in the West Point sprint triathlon.  It was a great race.  800m swim, 14 mile bike, and a 5K run.  I haven't been practicing my swim (or run for that matter) so 800m felt like a life time of a swim.  Every time I pulled my head up to check my direction I swore that buoy was getting further away.  Next time for long(er) swim distances, I must practice ahead of time.  I thought I would pull out a 17 minute swim or so.  I was surprised when I was in the 15 minutes range!  Great work Lar!  The bike course is the road I always ride.  I know the hills and everything about that road.  I felt like that was my advantage.  I had a good ride and finished in the length of time I typically always do that ride in.  There was another female on the ride that kept going back and forth with me.  I eventually left her behind me.  However, she caught me the last 1/2 on the run and beat me.  That was frustrating!!!  My 5k run was 24:28.  A decent time, but nothing spectacular.  After reviewing the results, I know I need to get my run time down in order to be more competitive.  Unfortunately, I know me and I know I'm probably not going to go out and 'run.'  I always pick weights and HIIT over just going out for a long(er) run.  I finished number 21 for overall females and number 144 overall males and females.  There were some 900 participants.  Going into the race my goal was to finish in the 1 hour and 30 minute time range (so if I crossed the finish at 1 hour and 39 minutes, than I was happy).  I finished in 1:29!!!!  Yahoooo!

Race set up.  I love my new Nike Free running shoes.  They are so amazingly comfy...and the color makes me very happy!

Pre-race.  This picture really visualized for me how much of my muscle tone I lost over the summer.... :-/

Coming out from the swim.  This was my first race trying out the swim suit and tri shorts for my race attire.  I actually really like it.  Until I find something more fashionable to wear that is...

First race on my new bike, Trek Madone 3.1.  Love her!

5K run.  You can see the girl behind me who I kept going back and forth with and she eventually beat me.  There is 1/2 mile left in the run at this point. I'm still mad at myself that she beat me!

Jersey Girl Triathlon

Let me start this blog by making two statements:
1) I have a midterm tomorrow morning that consists of a two fold test, practical and written in anatomy and clearly I should be studying, but instead am blogging.
2) My train up for the triathlon was 1% due to school.  So keep that in mind.

On July 29 my good friend and I competed in the Jersey Girl sprint triathlon in Long Branch, NJ.  This was my 4th triathlon ever and my last one was two years ago.  The Jersey Girl is all females (much more gentle of a race) and was a 300m swim in the ocean, 10.5 mile bike, and 3 mile run.  Short and fun!

If anyone wants to do a tri and lives in this part of the country this is a GREAT starter tri.  It is so user friendly and makes you feel very comfortable.

Generally speaking, I'm a strong swimmer, okay biker, and strong-ish runner.  I don't really do any of those on a regular basis any more.  When I do find time to workout now that I'm in school, I lift.  I love lifting and what it does for my body.  I get in an occasional ride, but nothing too crazy fast or long.  I rarely run.  I swam twice in a pool prior to this race and before I started school, so in May.

I never know if I'm going to just do a tri for fun or really go at it to be competitive before I start.  It probably wouldn't have been fair in this race to really try to crush people considering out of the about 2000 females racing, a little less than half this was their first tri.

The swim was fun.  Always when I race the swim plays games with my head.  Not being able to see, racing, breathing, other people around.  I have to mentally pep talk myself.  This pep talk this time wasn't as bad and the swim was actually relaxing.  I probably could have pushed harder as my heart wasn't pounding out of my chest when I exited the water.  I was 1st or 2nd in my heat in the swim and had caught up to the majority of the heat in front of me.  When I exited the water, I decided to be competitive.  Especially when a lot of the ladies were walking out of the water.  Oh hell no!!!!

I took off on the bike.  A relatively flat course and just started passing people one by one and decided to not let anyone pass me.  A small group of girls caught up to me with about 2-3 miles left, so I was determined to stay with.  I rode aggressive [for me].  Remember, biking is not my strongest event.  By the looks of the girls in my pack I was going to leave them on the run.  Just saying.

My run time was not impressive at all, three miles in 25 minutes.  I finished the race in the top 20 of finishers, but since we started in heats there were people behind me with faster times.  I ended up 47 overall out of almost 2000 athletes and 8 out of 154 in my age group.  That is the one that kills me.  I always try to place in my age group.  I'm trying to not complain too much considering I DID NOT train for the race.  My swim and bike were competitive with the other 7 in my age group, I would need to shave 3-ish minutes off my run to really get up there.  And since I now prefer lifting for working out, I probably won't practice on that run for the next race in a couple weeks.

I enjoyed standing at the finish line watching ladies finish.  So many were filled with such great emotion to now become "triathletes."  Despite body shape, body size, age, race, athletic ability.  I loved seeing the smiles on ladies' faces.

If you are thinking about doing a tri, give it a try.  I promise you can do it.  Pick a low key sprint triathlon.  The reason I love them so much is b/c as soon as you get bored with a sport, it's time to change to the next event.  I would NEVER chose to run a marathon again when I find this so much more thrilling.  You don't need to have the best equipment.  You can simply do it just for you and crossing the finish line.

Next up, the West Point Tri on August 19!

I've been gone for a while

My apologies for being MIA for about the past month.  A thing called school has gotten in the way.  One word, intense.

Anywho, unfortunately working out [for me] has been put on the back burner during summer courses.  Every week is different and I do get in a work out here and there.  Last week, no workouts.  :(  This week however, we have a bit of breathing room and I should be able to get in 4 (!) days worth of consecutive workouts.  Needless to say, I'm thrilled.  Commuting to NYC doesn't help my working out cause, at least not during the summer semester when we are sitting in class for 8 hours, add to that 2 hours of commute time before AND 2 hours of commute time after class.  If only they would make one of the train cars into a gym.  Then of course there are these two wonderful kids I want to spend time with.  By the time they go to bed, I need to hit the books for at least 3 hours of studying [and usually that isn't even enough].  Rough.

Okay, enough there.  I went to the gym today and threw some weights around.  My arms/upper body is queasy, and I love it.  Before school this summer, I pulled back from working out my chest for a month or so b/c I honestly thought it was looking a little too cut.  So, today I started back with chest.  My strength has suffered!!!  But I will return, no doubt.  I started back with Day 1, Week 1, Phase 1 of the LiveFit Jamie Eason 12-week trainer from www.bodybuilding.com.  (www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html)

I've had some fabulous old friends (by old I mean from high school days) start the LiveFit program themselves recently and I'm so excited to see their progress.  If you want proof this program works, check out the progress pictures below.  Helen has been gracious enough to allow me to share these on the blog.  She looks amazing!  She began a couple months post-partum.  She was skeptical b/c the scale wasn't moving for her.  We all told her to ditch the scale and trust the program.  I never weigh myself.  I gage my body on how the tone and definition looks.  And in case you didn't know, I like muscles.

Helen's LiveFit 12-week progress pics...SO PROUD!!

Despite not keeping up with my workouts, I am trying to maintain the clean eating. Occasionally, I do stress/emotional eat, and I will admit I have had a Chipotle Burrito, more carbs then usual, and some S'mores.  Now I know why people gain weight in college.  Just saying.  However, for the most part I'm doing okay in the eating arena.  I am sticking to the simple rules:

1.  Eating every 3 hours
2.  Protein every meal
3.  Limit your carbs
4.  Eating complex carbs only every other meal
5.  Limit fruits to breakfast
6.  Watching my sugar intake
7.  No carbs after 7pm
8.  Limit alcohol intake (I have had a few glasses of wine)

Clean eating works.  Lifting burns fat.  Don't be afraid of the weight room.  Walk in there like you own it!

How to get IT (the workout that is) all in

Oh my gosh, I've been completely MIA.  I apologize.  Life just got really REALLY crazy.  I'm going to attempt to have this be an organized post, however my brain is pretty much near mush at the moment.  So if this seems disorganized, I'm sorry.

So I started school on Monday.  My world has been turned upside down.  How am I going to fit it all in?  That is the million dollar question.  Not only is my program intense, I commute an hour via train (really a blessing more than anything b/c I can study on the train), and I'm far away from my babies.  So while my 'duty' day length wise hasn't really gotten too much longer [yet], when I arrive back to West Point after class to pick up my kids from daycare I feel like it's been FOREVER.  Other than the fact that this first class we are taking is hard and a ton of information, the other mental issue I'm trying to come to grips with is my time management with the kids.  The 'study' hours of 1700-2100 are lost time for m b/c I'm with my kids.  Hence why I need to study on the train as much as possible.  After they go to bed, I plop down to study, but it can only last so long until I need to turn the lights out and hit the bed.

On day one, my biggest stress was figuring out when to workout.  Thankfully, Matt built a nice home gym in our garage.  Do I get up and exercise at 0430 in the morning?  Do I do it late at night when I should be studying?  I ended up not finding time to workout on Monday and this stressed me for Tuesday.  Now I've missed a workout...not a good way to start!  I made it a point to come straight home after class and workout right away.  This made picking up the kids not so stressful, thus my evening not so stressful b/c that was already checked off my list.

What did I workout yesterday?

I needed something quick, so I chose a Crossfit metcon.

Warm up 1-mile slow pace 8:30
WOD:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes of
18 box jumps
15 toes to bar
12 pull ups

I completed 4 1/2 rounds.

After the WOD, I worked on my dead lift.  I didn't focus on heavy weight as it has been a good minute since I worked on dead lift (maybe a couple weeks).  So I did:
3 sets x 5 reps @ 135lbs

Next, I hopped on our rings to practice muscle ups.  I am nowhere near able to do an actual muscle up yet.  However, Matt recently showed me how to start practicing them using a resistance band to get the muscle memory and motion down.  Some day....

Total workout time was only 40 minutes.  I was able to hop in the shower, change, and get the kids by 1630, which was my goal!  We enjoyed a late afternoon/early evening of kicking the ball in the backyard and eating spaghetti for dinner.  Love my babies!

This morning I hit the road on my road bike for a decent length ride (not sure distance as my little machine is broken, but we rode for 90 minutes on some hills) with a friend at 0600.  Since I have the West Point triathlon in August, and hopefully at least one more before then, I like to attempt to get in a ride once per week and hopefully a swim.  But the swimming might have to start next week.  Baby steps.  

Bottom line is, I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in.  I HAVE TO WORKOUT!  There are just no other options in life.  I might have to shift my workout days.  Typically in my old life, I always took off Saturday and Sunday.  Now those might have to be guaranteed workout days given my schedule.

My pictures don't have much to do with fitness and everything to do with the two extensions of my heart that live outside my body...

Bear with me as I adjust.  I usually take my time writing blog posts.  I like no distractions, no kids, and no rushing.  I think I need to learn to become a speed blogger, otherwise it probably just won't happen.

If any of you are starting the Jamie Eason Livefit program through www.bodybuilding.com, let me know!  If you have questions, please ask. 

Why I think the Jamie Eason 12-week LiveFit trainer works

I've been meaning to write this blog for a while now.  I want to give a detailed and honest explanation why I think the Jamie Eason 12-week trainer from www.bodybuilding.com works (www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html).  If you don't know who Jamie Eason is, look her up.  I think her physique is amazing.

Do you want to lose weight but aren't sure where to start?  Have you been doing cardio [only] and aren't seeing the results you want?  Do you think you eat healthy?  Do you avoid the weight section of the gym b/c you don't know what to do in there?  Do you need someone else to design a program for you?  Do you need a detailed meal plan? 

I like this program b/c I feel like no matter if your goals are weight loss, weight gain, definition, tone, lean out, this program can help you get there. 

I have had female friends tell me all the time that they just don't know what to do in the weight room.  You probably just end up doing cardio session after cardio session and really aren't getting anywhere.  In case you were wondering, weight training promotes the burning of fat far better and quicker than cardio.  So what does this mean to you?  If you have some sort of goal you aren't reaching by doing whatever it is you are doing, it's probably time to try something else. 

I'm going to try to make my thoughts on this program as simple as possible with a list.  We all like lists.

1) The program is already designed for you.  All 90 days. 
2) It's free.
3) There are exercise descriptions through photos AND if you still don't get it.  Watch the video.  Dumby proof!  If you still don't understand an exercise, ask a gym worker.  They will NOT think you are dumb. 
4) If your gym doesn't have a certain machine, there are alternate exercises listed.
5) You don't like cardio?  Well, terrific there is NO cardio in the first 30 days.
6) You get bored with the same old routine.  Terrific again.  You only stick in a similar routine for two weeks at most before you move on and every day is different.
7) You have no clue what to eat.  Lucky you, the program has a detailed shopping list and meal plan.
8) You aren't creative with recipes.  Luck strikes again, there is a recipe section for the trainer.  (www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-recipes-main-page.html).  Once you get the hang of clean eating, you will find picking things out and meal planning to be so much easier.
9) I think this is a perfect beginner program for people who want to get fit.  After the program you will feel stronger and have the foundation to continue weight lifting, working out, and living healthy.  It doesn't mean that you have to continue doing the program over and over.  You can now probably start to try new things b/c of your new found strength.  But remember, this is just the beginning.  You can still get EVEN stronger!
10) You don't need a workout partner or personal trainer to do this!  Think of the website as your workout partner/trainer.  Due to my schedule, I workout by myself.  I don't dislike working out with others, but this is what fit with my life.  This is completely doable alone.  If you need support and motivation, I'll add you to my LiveFit facebook page where you will find ladies all throughout the program.  We share recipes, good days, bad days, soreness, you name it.  We can be your workout partners.  :)

If after all this, you do the trainer, and aren't satisfied with your results, my first question to you will be....

• Did you really follow the meal plan to a "T?"

My next question would be....

• Did you challenge yourself when you lifted?  

Meaning, how hard did you push yourself?  Was the weight you lifted easy or hard?  B/c it should be hard, or challenging rather, if you want to see results.  You should feel sore after each workout.  There are rest days built into each week for recovery.  

I get a lot of the same questions about the trainer.  Do I take the supplements?  Can I still do cardio in phase 1?  Did you really follow the meal plan?  If I get a lot of those same questions after I post this and there are people interested, then I'll write posts on those topics.

If you already workout and like your workout plan but have been wanting to change your diet, the meal plan and grocery list from the trainer are a great place to start.  I have been done with the trainer since April, but I continue with the meal plan on a daily basis and probably will forever.  

Why not start living a healthier life?  I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Can't shake my sweet tooth

I'm going to give you my deep and profound philosophy on sugar....it causes belly fat (and other fat too, but people [women especially] don't like fat bellies.

Now that I've said that, I had some issues over the weekend shaking my sweet tooth.  I always do well during the week because it's a structured setting.  However, with work coming to a close for me after today, this is going to be an uphill battle.  Once I start school full time in mid-June I'll be back to a schedule, but until then I must stay strong.

Once I started monitoring and being conscious of my sugar intake, I really saw a difference in my overall physique.  I truly believe 80% of your results come from diet and the other 20% from working out.  So go get in the kitchen where your abs are made, not in the gym.  If you want a cut stomach, limit your sugars (and of course workout too, it does help).  But by merely going to the gym and doing ab exercises for an hour every day and then coming home and eating whatever you want that is bad for you, is not going to get you where you want to be.  Read labels people!  You would be surprised what has more sugar in it than you think.  If you don't care about your physique, then by all means eat whatever you would like. 

Yesterday, I wanted to make something to feed sweet tooth and make it as healthy as possible with the ingredients I had.  I found a cinnamon chocolate chip protein bar recipe on The Gracious Pantry (www.thegraciouspantry.com) that pretty much did the trick.  And yes, I ate more than the prescribed serving size, oops.  They are pretty tasty.  Both Matt and I agreed that they kind of have a store bought protein bar consistency, but we both give them a positive review.  Click on the link below the picture for the recipe and other great recipes from the website.

Clean Eating Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Protein Bars http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-cinnamon-chocolate-chip-protein-bars/

Often I will video tape myself performing an exercise so I can review it to see if I'm doing it correctly, getting low enough, etc.  For squats, I have been notorious for not going low enough.  So lately I have been really focusing on depth as opposed to heavy weight.  So a video for you viewing pleasure.  If you don't think I'm going low enough, here is where you are allowed to constructively critique.  Especially if your name is Joe S.

The next video is just for fun and for those of my friends who aren't in to fitness will think I'm crazy.  For everyone else, you will understand.  The WOD I was doing today had handstand pushups in it.  I can't do them by myself so I use resistance bands.  This is my first time attempting them ever and I was by myself.  Fairly successful.  You can see around rep 20 my necklace started irritating me as it was caught on my nose.

 

What I did today:

Squat:  5 repetitions x 5 sets @ 130lbs (focusing on getting low)

30 handstand pushups (band assist)
40 pullups (band assist)
50 kettlebell swings
60 situps
70 burpees (Shoot me now, I hate burpees.  Then again, who actually likes them?)

New Benchmarks

So I'm giving you guys/gals some new benchmarks.  Two reasons:

1. To keep myself accountable.
2. To give you something to challenge yourself with.

You should take a look at what I lifted and think "she didn't lift that much at all!"  Set out to lift heavier.  Really I did not lift that much, so you can do it and more.  Compared to some pretty bad @$$ fitness ladies I like to follow, what I have lifted is NOT heavy whatsoever.  What this gives me is a visual of where I am now.  Next month when we do one repetition maximum limits again, I will strive to increase these benchmarks once again.  So take what I give you and hit the gym.  Show me that you can lift heavier and I'm just a little weakling.

May 14 1RM

Squat 190lbs...I need to work on getting lower.  


Bench press 130lbs...I can lift MYSELF!

Dead lift 205lbs

If you are a fan of sweet-n-sour chicken, I made a clean version last night.  I got the recipe from the blog Little B's Healthy Habits.  (http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/2011/12/two-clean-crock-pot-meals.html) I don't claim, nor will I ever, that I make these up on my own.  I'm not a huge fan of sweet-n-sour sauce, I never have been, but I still wanted to give this a whirl.  I think next time around I won't put in as much tomato sauce. 

Sweet-n-Sour Chicken (see link above).  The recipe calls for it to be made in the slow cooker, however, I baked mine.

 

I forgot to add a picture in my last post of my before bedtime meal that I make.  It's a treat for me and I look forward to this every day.  It's my version of 'ice cream' and it really helps with my late night sweet tooth cravings. 

• 1 scoop all natural whey protein (chocolate or vanilla)
• 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa
• few dashes of almond milk
• 1 heaping spoonful of all natural peanut butter
• Mix ingredients in all together and put in freezer for about 30 minutes
• ENJOY!

If you are eating ice cream before bed stop!  It's contributing to belly fat.

What I Ate Friday

I can finally write another WIA_ (What I Ate insert day) because I actually changed up my daily eating today.  Not really on purpose, but rather because I ran out of some typical items that I usually eat.  So you saw on my first WIAToday post an example of what I usually always eat.  I'm not a creature of change.  I found what I like and what is easiest for my crazy busy life and stick with that.  Until I run out of something(s). 

Both Matt and I eat a cup of plain greek yogurt for breakfast every day.  This was the first change in the day because I need to go grocery shopping for our usual items.  I changed my typical meal one from ezekial toast and yogurt to a protein shake and oatmeal.  We don't use the packaged kind of oatmeal.  We use Old Fashioned Quaker oats flavored with truvia and fresh berries.  A lot of people who follow my same meal plan from the LiveFit trainer (www.bodybuilding.com) eat the prescribed 5 egg whites for meal 1.  For the life of me and my entire life, I can't bring myself to eat eggs.  Yuck.  Therefore when in doubt for my meal 1 protein source, I default to a whey protein shake with almond milk.  Remember why we use almond milk instead of cow's milk?

Meal 1, protein shake and oatmeal

I ate a ton more carbs last week than usual due to the 1/2 marathon I was supposed to run.  Long story, but I didn't end up running it due to child care coverage.  Thus Matt ran and the kids and I cheered him on.  I was feeling more bloated than usual, so this week I really wanted to keep my carbs low and to the earlier part of the day.  Usually I have homemade protein bars made with oat flour for meal 4, but this week I moved that to meal 2 and made a strawberry banana oatmeal bake (https://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=230337487043980&id=201928239884905) from Natalie Hodson's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NatalieHodsonOfficial).  If you don't know Natalie, check out her facebook page.  She is amazing inspiration and I get a lot of meal ideas from her page.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal bake fresh out of the oven (see link above)

Meal 2, Strawberry Banana Oatmeal bake and veggies

I always have chicken for meal 3 (normal people's lunch meal).  We already ran out from the bulk I made over the weekend, so today I ate 3-bean turkey chili from the LiveFit trainer (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-3-bean-turkey-chili.html).  I omitted the beans this time around because I didn't want the extra carbs.  So basically I made the same recipe linked above and just did not add the beans.  We love this chili recipe.  It's the perfect amount of spices and sweet all rolled into one healthy recipe.   

Meal 3, 3-bean chili, minus the beans, veggies, and rice cakes

Meal 4 was a post-workout protein shake.  On most days I don't count this as one of my meals, but due to timing and having to pick the kids up from daycare, it just became a meal today.  


Now to my favorite, it's FRIDAY!!!  That means pizza cheat day for us.  We had the USMA Nordic Ski team over for an end of the year celebration and ate our favorite pizza.  I always cheat once a week and when I cheat, I cheat.  So of course I had a few dessert treats as well.  :)

Meal 5, pizza, wings, and dessert!

The point of telling you guys that I cheat once per week is to let every know that you have to indulge.  You have to live.  I chose for us to do this once per week.  I don't feel like it is hindering my results.  If I stuck to the diet 100%, I'm actually quite nervous of what I would look like.  I'm happy with what I look like, so this cheating NEVER makes me feel guilty.  Oh, and I also don't have just one slice of pizza either (usually 3-4).


Meal 6 is my version of pudding.  I mixed a scoop of whey protein and a tablespoon of cocoa with a few dashes of almond milk and mix until it is the consistency of pudding.  I add a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter and mix it all up.  Stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  I eat this before bed so my muscles can have something to build on while I'm sleeping for 8 hours [yeah right, 8 hours!].   I look forward to this meal every day.  It's so good!


So today I had a lot of whey protein, which I usually don't like to do.  Although it's nice to know in a pinch, I have something to turn to other than candy, chips, soda, etc.  


Cardio I accomplished this week:
*Remember I no longer focus my 'working out' on cardio.  You can run, stair climb, elliptical train, etc. all day long, but you won't achieve muscle definition.  Not the kind I like at least.

Monday:  30 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on the treadmill.  Warm up for 5 minutes.  Then sprint for 30 seconds on then 30 seconds off b/w the speeds 10.0 and 12.0

Wednesday: HIIT on the treadmill
9% incline at 3.5 mph for 5 min
6.5 mph for 5 min
12% incline at 3.5 mph for 5 min
7.5 mph for 5 min
15% incline at 3.5 mph for 5 min
9.0 mph for 6 min
Walk 3.5 mph for 4 min

Thursday: 14-mile road bike ride with an old high school/Army friend of ours, Micah Rue.

Today's workout:

Arms:
Narrow pushups  4 sets x 15 repetitions
Seated tricep extension 4 sets x 8 repetitions @ 40lbs last set 35lbs

Super Set: 3 sets x 8 repetitions
Cable one are tricep extension@10lbs
One are reverse grip tricep push down @10lbs

Super set: 3 sets x 8 repetitions
Skull crushers @ 40lbs
Close grip bench @ 40lbs

Incline dumbbell curl 4 sets x 8 repetitions @ 15lbs 20lbs 20lbs 15lbs
Alternate dumbbell curl 4 sets x 8 repetitions 20-25lbs last set drop set to 10lbs
Barbell curl 21's (2sets)  @ 30lbs

Arm day, one of my favs.  Do you prefer the muscle look or no muscle look? (hint, if you disagree with me, keep your comments to yourself)  This is immediately following a workout so I still have the muscle pump look.  My arms don't look like this on a regular non-flexed, non-workout basis.