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!