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.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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 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! ;)
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.
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| I produce A LOT of sweat during HIIT! If you like my top and sports bra (love them), check out www.bodyrocksport.com! |
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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?
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?
Sunday, September 2, 2012
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:
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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!
Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein
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:
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- Mrs Dash
- Pepper
- Pinch of salt
- Lime juice
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!
.JPG) |
| 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)
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
- Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
- Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
- Makes 24 squares.
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!
Friday, August 24, 2012
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!
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!
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| 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.... :-/ |
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| 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... |
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| First race on my new bike, Trek Madone 3.1. Love her! |
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| 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! |
Sunday, August 5, 2012
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!
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!!!!
Next up, the West Point Tri on August 19!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
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.
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!
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!! |
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!
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