I am behind in my posts!

Oops—sometimes life gets the best of you and you don’t get things done as planned.  Stage 3 is almost complete (one more session) and I think I can safely move on to Stage 4 without a recovery week.  I am increasing my HIIT intervals each session and will be breaking the 8:00 minute mile barrier.  This is a big deal for me, even with intervals.  I will probably start trading out one of my running interval days to start increasing my steady-state pace.  This means I will need to begin intervals (1 day per week) with my stair climber.  This should work out and not affect my training significantly.  After I am done with this particular program, I think I can be more aggressive with the intervals by expanding the units (3 minutes/6 minutes versus 1 minute/minute) and then having a much faster time for all cardio work.  As the weather gets better I want to take some of my workout outside, which may mean doing some hills and or speed work that may be quite different than what I am used to on the treadmill.

Technorati Tags: Transitioning to next stage,outdoor activity,being more aggressive with intervals

Almost Through with Stage 3

Glad to see the workouts being shorter--I get bored!

Weekly Fitness Review March 28.mp3

A Different Approach to Clean Eating

Sometimes I get too detailed in what I eat when a bigger picture may be more helpful.  With that in mind, I am going to start an eight-week progressive plan to strip body fat.  Phase one will be “cleaning up” my eating.  Back to a food log so I get a good idea of my “true” calories, not just I think I ate.  After I calculate my baseline and maintenance needs, I will start some basic shifts in my eating habits.  So, I will keep my calorie intake at maintenance level (I will get back to you on this next week) while considering my worst dietary habits.  Since I eat fairly clean right now, I need to focus on the small tweaks--

• Fast food isn’t an issue but I do tend to eat extra protein bars that can add 250 calories without thought; I will substitute these with real food alternatives that will typically be only 150 calories
• I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables but I could stress the fiber content of all foods I eat to get some of the same results
• I don’t eat lots of sweets (usually ice cream 2 times a week) so this area is off limits for now
• I don’t skip meals, however, I can move to a 5 meal per day to keep from overeating at breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Although not officially part of the cleaning phase, removing alcohol is probably a necessity.  The added calories are empty and although it is enjoyable, I don’t need to have it nightly.  I will start with a no-alcohol Monday-Thursday and see how that goes.

I will check in next week with my baseline calories, my maintenance calories, highlights of my food journal as well as cleaning techniques I have developed during the week.

 

Technorati Tags: Eating clean

Life Tip #4 Set a Goal

As most things in life, if you don’t set a goal nothing gets done.  Even if you are consistent with a workout or health routine, periodically juicing your motivation by establishing a “visible” goal, such as a 10K, charitable event, or community competition can force you to continue improving when you lack motivation.  Unless there is something compelling you to strive for improvement, you are bound to get complacent; not only with your workouts but with your life.

 

Technorati Tags: Complacency,goal-setting

Stage 3 Workout B

Similar to Workout A, Workout B emphasizes smaller muscles and more difficult movements.  All through the program it is mentioned that if you don’t do “exactly” what is written, they can’t predict your results—well, that would apply anyway as this is not being developed specifically for you.  So, I take some of this with a grain of salt and make adjustments while trying to stay with the concept of the workout.  So, without further delay—here is Workout B.  Same sets/reps/rest as Workout A (3/6/105 seconds)

Barbell Romanian Dead lift/ Bent-over row

Alternating sets:  Partial single-leg squat/Wide-grip lat pull down

Alternating sets:  Back Extension/YTWL

Alternating sets:  Swiss-ball crunch/Hip flexion/Lateral flexion

Prone Cobra:  90 seconds

I have changed my HIIT this week to a 30 second/90 second interval at a faster pace – 10:00 / 8:00; and will work up to the 60 second/ 120 second intervals for next week while I try to develop an increase fast speed/decrease recovery speed into my intervals.

Although I was doubtful I could weigh 110 lbs earlier this week, I believe I can reach this goal by the end of the year if I am more diligent.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

Technorati Tags: Weight-loss,gain lean muscle

Keep on keeping on!

Lack of motivation, injury, and bites! What else could happen?

Weekly Fitness Review March 21.mp3

Not as Motivated as When I Started

Although I was very excited about the new program, I am beginning to think that it was geared for a more novice exerciser.  Don’t get me wrong, I am sure the exercises I am currently doing are building the necessary foundation for the future stages.  Despite knowing this, they don’t feel as difficult and because they require more balance and coordination, I can’t use the same amount of weight and sometimes I don’t feel like I am getting “a workout”.  My interval training has progressed along nicely and I do feel that I am constantly being challenged and now I need to increase some of the work to include longer intervals at a slightly lower rate.  On the other hand, I have sustained a number of injuries causing me to have to back-step some in the workout—meaning I am probably working harder than I think.  So, in the coming weeks I hope to gain a new, more enthusiastic perspective (maybe it’s what I am eating?) on this particular program.  Additionally, I hope my physical and health concerns are adequately addressed in the near future.

 

Technorati Tags: Lack of enthusiasm,over-training,injuries

Recovery Rule #5 Work out the soreness

Sometimes workouts produce "knots" or areas that hurt more than others. Take care by instituting some foam roller massage or schedule a periodic massage with a message specialist. Additional stretching for the area may be in order as well as focusing some workouts to address the weak area in a gradual fashion. If your workouts don't allow you to be pain free--what's the point? Rethink your current workout and get advice from a professional.

Life Tip #3 Have Passion for Something

Some folks are lucky enough to have a passion for the work they do, so it never seems difficult.  Most of us don’t have that luxury but we can be passionate about something.  Put some time and energy into a home project, a hobby, a community event, your physical health—anything you love.  If you don’t like your job, you can find other activities that keep you motivated.  If you are lucky, one of your passions may become your job; if not, you still will have accomplished something in an area you enjoy. 

Technorati Tags: Enjoy life!

Stage 3 Begins!

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to start Stage 3 with the pulled stomach muscle—but the exercises actually helped.  Here is Workout A (all exercises 3 sets, 6 repetitions):

One-armed dumbbell snatch

Alternate sets: Dumbbell single-leg Romanian dead lift / Barbell bent-over row

Alternate sets: Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat/Dumbbell incline bench press

Alternate sets: Plank (90 seconds)/Reverse wood chop

I was very careful on the reverse wood chop and kept the weight low and the movement slow.  This is followed by a body matrix – 24 lunges, 12 lunges, 12 lunge jumps, 24 squat jumps – recovery time is 2x circuit time – then do the circuit again.  I follow this with my 15 minute HIIT – treadmill 3 minute warm-up then 1:2 intervals, 4 rounds alternating between 10 minute mile and 8:12 minute mile.  I hope to break 8 minutes in a few weeks.  On my alternating days, I am doing longer, less intense intervals on the stair climber for 30 minutes followed by the following body movements for Men’s Health Book of Exercises—Jumping Jacks, walking high knees, Lateral duck under, Inverted hamstring, lunge with side bend, cat/camel, push-up plus, floor Y raises, side-lying thoracic rotation, clamshells, and supine hip internal rotation.  When I got home, I did a 20 minute yoga session and plan to walk and stretch later today. 

Thank Goodness for Recovery Week!

I have had some problems and hope the next stage doesn't exacerbate them.

Weekly Fitness Review March 14.mp3

What is going on?

The first quarter of 2010 has been very stressful physically.  I had a scare with my hypothyroidism, my blood pressure, as well as digestive issues.  Most of those have been addressed and now I seem to have been bitten by spiders (large welts on my stomach) which I think came from using a heating pad that I had been using.  The heating pad was necessary because I pulled a stomach muscle – the girdle part – and have had an ache in my side (similar to a stitch you get when you run) for about a week.  Luckily, I had a recovery week and with heat and pain reliever tylenol I have seen some reduction in symptoms.  I just don’t feel 100%.  As a result, I will start off Stage 3 more tentatively than the other stages and monitor my condition more closely taking time to increase resistance and/or increase HIIT speeds.

Technorati Tags: Injury,Health-Related

Recovery Rule #4 Pay attention to your body

Don't ignore pain during exercise, ignoring muscle soreness or tightness is setting you up for injury. If you have to stop your workout to stretch, do it; if the pain persists stop your workout completely. Attempt to figure out what the problem is and address it appropriately. Come back to working out gradually and focus on preparing the weakened area (if you are able) or work around the around it until you are healthy again. Make sure to research how to prevent the problem from reoccurring and integrate the solution into your future workouts.

Life Tip #2 Stay in the Here and Now

When setting goals it is very easy to think too far out. I encourage my clients to make long-term, intermediate, short-term, and immediate goals. The immediate goals force you to focus what you are doing in the present moment that will move you closer to your goal. Looking at the big picture can make goal attainment more daunting than it truly is--making sure your decisions and actions are predicated on goal attainment, you will push yourself into making and doing your best each step of the way.

HIIT for my recovery week

Rather than sticking with the same HIIT from the New Rules, I am doing a program from Men’s Health this week.  Workout A consists of the following:

1 interval at 50% effort 60 seconds/recover 60 seconds

1 interval at 75% effort 60 seconds/recover 60 seconds

6 intervals at 100% effort 30 seconds/recover 90 seconds

I am going a little faster, an 8:12 mile

Workout B consists of the following:

1 interval at 50% effort 60 seconds/recover 60 seconds

1 interval at 75% effort 60 seconds/recover 60 seconds

6 intervals at 100% effort 45 seconds/recover 90 seconds

I will do two of each of these workout (4 total) for the week so that I start with an 8:00 mile for the next stage of my workout.  The following exercises are done prior to each interval session:

Prisoner Squat (10)

Waiter’s Row (10)

Single-Leg Romanian Dead lift (10 each leg)

Lunge (10 each leg)

Leg Swing (10 each leg)

This will keep me limber; I will review my alternating day workouts later this week.

Recovery week is needed!

Weekly Fitness Review March 7.mp3

Started Improving Breathing Performance

An article in my ACE Certified News made me start thinking about my breathing performance again.  With higher blood pressure and a desire to integrate yoga into my routines, breathing is important.  So I decided to start doing breathing cycle exercises during my warm-up movements, stretching, and yoga.  The cycle is divided into three parts—2 counts inhale, 2 counts hold the breath, and 4 counts exhale.  I am up to 4 counts/4 counts/8 counts and this seems to work well with slower activities; I will work on applying an appropriate pace with my cardio activities during my “recovery” week.  Even if all I do is become more conscious of my breathing, I will have accomplished something that will increase my oxygen supply, improve my respiratory function, and improve my concentrating during training leading to improvements in performance.

Technorati Tags: Breathing Performance

Recovery Rule #3 Get smart about muscle nutrition

Experts state providing your muscles a certain ratio of carbs to protein within 30 minutes of your workout is the best way to offset muscle damage. Check any number of reputable websites (Women's Health, American Dietetic Association, Prevention, etc.) to get ideas of what is the right combination for your build and your eating preferences.

Life Tip #1 Welcome Change

If you are trying to make significant changes in your life, it may help to do these gradually.  Pick one area of your life and break it down into some smaller components and start making changes in each of those components.  Start with the easiest one and progressively move to more difficult items.  As you success and build on each success, the cumulative effect could be fairly dramatic.  It is the small, consistent changes that produce the best and long-lasting results.

Technorati Tags: Action gets results

Finishing Up Stage 2

I am glad that stages 2-5 are only 8 total workouts (3 weeks) because I get easily bored.  Luckily, some of the same moves (or slight variations) are included to help you transition and get continuity.  If I change all my exercises drastically, it becomes hard to know if I am actually progressing in my resistance.  I know I can reach my maximum by the end of each stage and unfortunately with some of the dumbbell/leg moves, my grip can’t handle the weight but my legs can.  So, I think I may have to considered working on forearm and wrist strength in future programs.  I can move from dumbbells to barbells but this changes the balance of the move but I may have to change to a barbell equivalent to make progress.  I am still struggling with staying “exactly” to the program because it seems too easy.  Maybe I am missing something!

Technorati Tags: Metabolic Resistance Training