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!