Day 1 of Day 90: Leg and Calf day

Day 1 of Day 90

Figured lets work with a 12 week program. Good start, doable and I am going to do it. I will stay on track by tracking y workouts more effectively and keeping in mind that you can not exercise a bad diet.

Today I started my day with a leg and calf training strength training program that I designed and got in a 20 minute workout after my gruelling workout. Been a while since I started my workout at 6am. I think I am going to do that this week, spruce things up a bit seeing as I have been training later in the morning.

Great pump!!

New Challenge

I am not stranger to the gym, no stranger to clean eating but I could do better in the blogging and tracking department. I like to switch up programs, but because I do not get keep track of weights/sets and reps on paper I know my progress is not effective as it should be.

So that is all about to change. Starting now, starting here. I got a new workout journal where not only can i track my exercises, sets, reps and weight but I can also track my nutrition and my macros. Tracking has just gotten easier, therefore more effective workouts and better use of my time spent working out.

Stay toned to more frequently blogging in my community journal. I see good things happening :)

Going to the Extreme

Today I am just dragging my feet. i was actually dragging my feet yesterday, but today feels worse. Not sure why, but I starting to think maybe I am overtaining. Not training for anything specific, just that I am not giving my body the rest it needs.

I took the whole weekend off, but was feeling not much like myself. That song blame it on the rain, well it sounded like "blame it on the hormones" all weekend. Monday I felt strong, but not as strong as I should have felt given two days off. Than yesterday, my afternoon workout was tough and I pushed myself through it. Even stretching was tough. This morning my hamstrings kill as does my glutes. Tiredness and soreness, sure indicator for me that I am overtraining.

I can't just sit on the couch. In fact as I blog, i am standing. So with some laundry to do and some cleaning up to do, I will keep myself busy. Busy enough so that I do not feel like I should be running on the treadmill and getting some HIIT. Insane right? Have to give my body a break. Will not see any gains if I push myself beyond my limits. I mean there is coming out of your comfort zone and than there is "overtraining". Fine line for me -- but I think I hit it.

So I will manipulate my diet and see how I feel later. Much later. Maybe curling up with a book and reading, sitting down is not such a bad idea. :)

Building

I have come along way in my journey and now feel like I am truly at a maintenance level with my weight but really want to see bigger gains in my strength and muscle definition. I'm no talking body building gains but nice leaner muscle. My glutes are coming along as are my abs, but I am still looking for a leaner physique. Of course it will take time, certainly not weeks, possibly way longer than months and hey I am ready to accept it could take years.
I am determine and ready to acknowledge that my physique now took years and every year it is getting better. So of course the tiny package is sure going to take a few more years to tweak and tackle.

But I got time :) I mean this is a life long commitment. I have my friends and attend my share of social events but I keep it clean and make it about the experience, the event not about the eats.

It took me a while to get to this place. I remember a time where attending family/friends events was a punishment for me. Certainly I could not get away from the situation. So I joined in and felt the price of uneasiness and guilt for days and felt on to the sluggish feeling for weeks.

Not any mote. I have learned to trick myself, my desired and foods.

Failing to Plan is Planning to FAIL

New week and I have the week planned out. I have 3 busy days this week is planning is pretty important. Planning with meals, workouts, when and what am i going to do. In between all this I make the time for my daughter and her needs, so planning is that more important. Every minutes counts.

Today was an awesome chest workout - 4 exercises for shoulder, 20 sets total. Yes 20, not a typo. I also did shoulders 3 exercises, 15 sets. And the cardio was intense. 25 minutes on the elliptical in the AM and 30 minutes on the stairmaster and I kicked it up a notch!! HIIT baby and was the sweat pouring. Even while I did abs, I could feel the sweat and boy did it feel great!!

Tomorrow I have a great back workout scheduled and HIIT to follow. Effective workout -- quality not quantity. ;)

A Link to my Progress Pictures

The following link is a place were i like to blog on Sparkpeople. It was a place that I could go to frequently and find people who also were on a journey to improving them self. It is where I went for motivatin and friendship.

I posed some picture of what I looked back in mid-November of 2007, about 20 months after my daughter was born. I weighed about 4 lbs more than I do today. I had more abdmonial fat which makes me look heavier than approximately 105lbs. Interesting to see the difference and I am glad I still had the pictures to show how far I have come.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3225091

START PCITURES: Day 1 and Day 2 of Sexy in 70

So I have decided to post some start pictures although keep in mind I have been working hard for months now. I will have to go through some of my old photos and find true start pictures. But for now, here are my progress pictures as of yesterday May 12th.

Stats do not seem to change much, but I will continue to track that along with my weight.

Yesterday I did legs and in co-operated some serious cardio on the treadmill. I did super sets for example of weighted squats and than went straight into jump squats. Did 4 sets of that none stop than jumped on the treadmill and jogged for 3 minutes and than went back to my next pair of 2 exercises which happened to be weighted walking lunges and hack squats -- 4 sets of reps ranging from 10-12 than back on the treadmill for 3 minutes. Quick stretching than did another pair of super sets and than ran, than one last weighted leg sets and finished off with 10 minutes of HIIT. I was sore. Feeling it today as well.

This AM I woke up early as I wanted to get in a strength training workout for biceps and triceps and once again added the interval cardio in between sets. Really way for me to switch it up considering this is my 4th week of doing the same exercises. I also did a circuit challenge for 7 minutes after I was done my 1 hour workout. That was the extra burn I needed. Shower and than breakfast immediately. I am addicted to oatmeal with 1 1/2 scoops of allmax protein. It almost feels like comfort food to me and sometimes I even have the same thing as a meal but I will have 1/4 c of oatmeal instead of 1/2 c and scale down the protein to just 1 scoop. Makes me feel like I am giving myself a treat but it is such a great refuel meal :)

Today is just housework day and catching up with stuff around the house. Monday thru Wednesday I have activities with Madison and programs that it all seems to fall at the waist side. I can keep the place tidy put getting a good cleaning is a Thursday morning thing.

I have some stuff to do to prep for my business. I am looking forward to getting full force into that. Just have to get going and be creative. This will be a good way to get out of my comfort zone. No pressure :)






Note: Close Butt pictures: 33 inches 101.6lbs as of May 12th
Measurments: Chest 32, Waist 23.5, Navel 24.75, Hips 33, Right Thigh 18.75, Left Thigh 18.5

Sexy in 70!!

I was checking out a Buff Mother's blog and she has this great contest in progress. Although I amlate tojoin the contest, I am not too late to join in the fun. Sexy in 70 is what I am going to do. What a cool concept right?

I was going through her blogs and looking at how great she looks. And she has had 4 children all via c-section I believe. I mean truly insipiration isn't it? Well i guess if you saw her photos you would think so, so don't be shy goggle her - buffmother and you will see exactly what I am talking about. So sexy in 70 starts for me tomorrow. Hopefully I am feeling better.

Been feeling sick and I took the day off in hopes of feeling better tomorrow. Today was leg day, powerful legs day and I wanted to make sure that I feel better. So today clean eating is on the agenda especially now that my immune system is not 100%.

Let the countdown begin :)

Back from Vaction

Vaction was great and sad but true it is over. I am thinking where to next?

We will be a little limited after September as Madison will be in school, so one more trip before September. We have our week in Vegas but we went last September so unsure. We could do a drive to SC again but DH was thinking maybe somewhere in Tennesse. I am thinking California. Maybe :) Well I am still releishing in how much fun we had in Pompano Beach, FL. The resort was great with tons of activitives even for Madison. Some of them we decided against like the BBQ lunches and the Sundae Supremes by the pool. Instead we were in the pool everyday, played mini golf which was on the resort, saw a couple of movies by the pool at night and hit the games room a couple of times. Ping pong is fun :)


I hit the gym 6 of the 7 days I was there and stuck to me routine to the "T".Eating was just as great as I was at home. I did enjoy some desert at TGIF in Miami and a shortstack of New York Cheesecake pancakes at Ihop but that was about it. We went to the Miami Zoo and I had a grilled chicken breast, no fries and loaded up on salad. The only down fault of the chicken was the white bun - but I know we walk enough that I burned that all off before we even left the zoo. I heard singing monkeys -- yes singing monkeys. I have a video of it on my blackberry that I will have to try to retrieve.


Well getting ready to enjoy some outdoor time. It is too nice to be indoors and I promised my daughter we would go out and she could ride her bike, while we take our dog for a walk.

AB BLOAT

Look at my abs -- and some of the things I do to eliminate the unwanted bloat. Besides the obvious of clean eating and working out ;)

In the past few weeks I have had a couple of people ask me about abdominal bloat. May have something to do with the warmer weather and the fear we women may have of exposing a less than flat midsection. Completely understandable.


The first step in figuring out the cause of abdominal bloating is determining whether it's associated with eating or drinking.

Bloating can be caused by diet especially if one consumes a diet high in salt eats a lot of gas-producing foods, such as dark leafy vegetables or beans. Calcium supplements can also cause gas in some people as it does me.

A simple reflex like inhaling can be the cause of bloating which can happen when even when we eat, chew gum or smoke which can aggravate the discomfort.

One of the main causes of bloating and gas are foods that doesn't get properly absorbed. Sorbitol for example, which is commonly contained in sugar-free gum, is not absorbed by the body. Milk (specifically milk sugar or lactose) is another culprit that our body isn't necessarily engineered to digest. Fructose -the sugar in fruit- is equally not well tolerated by some people.

Ceratin fruits and vegetables, especially when raw, like cauliflower and broccoli that, again, our body doesn't have the right enzymes to digest completely. This feeds bacteria and results in more gas.

In a nutshell our digestive system simply cannot process everything and ingesting ingredients that are harmful to you, will result in undigested food fermenting in the intestines, where bacteria will feed on it and produce more gas.

Bloating is very common in women. However if the problem is persistent, it’s advisable to seek medical advice, as it could be early symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

For pre-menopausal women, bloating is often related to the menstrual cycle and the level of hormones. When hormonal activity is high, stool and gas move more slowly through the intestines, often leading to constipation and bloating in the weeks before the period. Older women on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) also commonly suffer discomfort from bloating.

If abdominal bloating is persistent rather then cyclical, it might be due to a mass such as an ovarian cyst or uterine fibroid. Chronic bloating could also be a sign of an underlying, more serious, liver or pancreas disease.

Women over 50 need to be especially cautious and consult a doctor about any chronic bloating.

Here are some natural remedies for bloating that i suggest to women and I use myself:
Ginger tea
Peppermint tea
Clove oil
Eucalyptus oil
Boiled water with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (sweetened with honey, if desired)
Probiotics: Acidophilus and Bifidus (my favorite)
Bloating Dos and Don’ts

A few other pointer:
Drink plenty of water (non-carbonated)
Chew your food thoroughly
Don't talk and chew at the same time. This causes you to swallow air, which causes more gas
Avoid carbonated beverages, chewing gum, highly spiced foods, and too many sweets
Avoid/Minimize dairy products, a majority of people are lactose intolerant
Eat only peeled, cooked seedless fruits and vegetables. Strain the seeds out of tomatoes
Avoid beans, corn (including popcorn), and nuts. Vegetables in the cabbage and onion families, including broccoli and garlic

Here you go -- just a few things I generally recommend/suggest :)

Hope this helps you wonderful women out there. Certainly as noted before, be sure to rule out anything more serious with your doctor.

PICTURES

Just a couple of my most recent pictures. I figured it was long over due. I have to find some before pictureds. I almost forget how I look and the progress I have made so far.

New results since April 5th

New results since April 5th

Posted using ShareThis

MY NEW VENTURE

Time to find a little balance in my life and take a look at one of my goals, succeeding in the Mary Kay. Yes beuaty products. Just got my kit today and I have to admit I am very excited! I am looking forward to meeting new people, getting out and being around other adults, even mommies and growing my business. We will see how it turns out, but I figure it could be a win-win situation here.

Here is what my lovely kits looks like and the items featured in it. I am looking forward to getting people dolled up and excited about their new line and some of their new products. Just in time for the warmer weather including spring colours, suntanning lotion and firming lotion. Yes firming lotion. May even try some on myself. :)

NEW COUNTDOWN

So I have lost track of what day I am on, but I am still working hard and eating well so it is all good. But I do have to admit, I have a new countdown. 12 days til our family vacation to Florida. A week of no schedules, no real work, no commitments except for having fun. We do have a gym at the condo so I will surely be there and a full kitchen, so no excuses to not eat right but most importantly the vacation is all about spending quality time with my family. And we sooooo need it. My husband has been relocated to for the next 3-4 months and we are only on week 3.

The week for the most part go very quickly. I keep myself and Madison busy but it can get kind of lonely. So in the intern I have decided to become a consultant with Mary Kay cosmetics and work along side some great ladies and meet some more great ladies. Probably other moms who too are looking for an outlet. So I have officially started and ready to get underway with that. You will probably see blog pertaining to that as well.

And I joined a gym :) I have the equipment at home, but I figured why not. Once again a new atmosphere will be nice and meeting new people and just having more of a variety of equipment. Certainly all that can not hurt. Madison has a 2 hour program on Monday and Wednesday that gives me the time to go. Maybe I can get some extra cardio in on a different piece of equipment. Commit to doing my abs on a more regular basis and just have fun. Madison program run till the end of June and than she starts up in JK in September so that will leave me with every Monday and Wednesday and every alternate Friday to get in a workout. So it will be manageable and a routine I can stick too. I love routines.

Saturday was my recovery day. Did groceries, went to the coffee shop with DH and had sometime to catch up. Sunday I did legs before Madison Junior Sports class and got in an extra cardio session at night. This morning I slept in a bit but was working out shoulders, biceps and triceps before 7am. The plan after dropping Madison off today is to get in a cardio workout at the gym and some abs. So a nicely planned day.

And most importantly is keep the eating clean. I have bikini's to wear :) Hmmmm I wonder if I need another one? Probably not.

Day 17 & 18 - POWERFUL WORKOUTS

Day 17 - Stuck to my cardio routine and boy did I sweat. Eating was fantastic, despite the urge to eat everything in the house. Had some chamomile tea, had a piece of a protein bar and all seemed right with the world :) Of course taking a dosage of my supplement chroium did not hurt either. I love my supplements :)

Day 18- Today was back, chest and abs day and dd I just kill this workout!! mean I killed it. I feel so strong and lifted more weight than EVER. I increased the weight for bent over BB and for Underhand grip pulldown, my back is still tingling even after stretching. 35 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill and my whole body was just done! I mean done :) I slept in last this morning so I my workout did not happen til just after 10am but boy was it a good switch. I may have to do this every now and again. Later workouts -- maybe they will work for me. Who knew? :)

Day 16 - Importance of Eating Clean

In the first week of tracking my foods and being consistent with my clean eating despite a cheat meal of ice cream I lost almost 5 lbs and a full inch of the small of my waist and 1/2 inch around my navel. Coincidence? NOPE!! Smart eating, is the key. I looked at my macros, my quality of food and eating intervals. Eating every 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours help maintain my energy and keep my blood sugar levels stable. I did feel more energized and the variety and colours of my food was great. I did not feel deprived in any way although the first couple of days was tough. I was craving something sweet. So I stuck to the occasional sugar free jello and chewed sugar free gum. Just my body going through some withdrawal.

Now I can put that all behind me and keep going forward with the powerful workouts. Today was shoulder, biceps and triceps. I biked my way through 30 minutes of vigorous pedalling in my bike and worked up a good sweat.

The rest of the week plan is as follows:
Wednesday: Cardio 2 20 minutes HIIT OR 2 45 min steady cardio or a combination of the two
Thursday: Chest, Back, Abs
Friday: Shoulders
Saturday: Recovery
Sunday: Light Cardio

Thankfully we do not have anything planned for the weekend, although I do plan to visit my mom on Friday, but getting up early for that shoulder workout first :) I am enjoying this routine and more importantly I have the energy for it. Never under estimate the importance of a great diet. You can not exercise a BAD DIET!!

Days 13, 14, 15 - CATCH UP!!

So first weekend DH home and unfortuantely it went by so fast!!! He was home just after 10:30 Friday night and left Sunday around 6ish pm. We had a great weekend with family on Sunday for Easter Sunday, but the whole Saturday we were B-U-S-Y.

After loading a load of his work laundry for the week and having breakfast we went our for coffee. I stayed true to my tall black americano and enjoyed every sip. Do not drink much coffee and generally just limit it to one day on the weekend. Sometimes I enjoy a broscotti but I knew I had some chocolate chip cookies to bake so I had to save my calories for that. So I enjoyed 3 late Saturday night with a nice hot cup of tea. Very good and worth the wait. And of course Madison loves baking so it was an extra treat doing that with her. Clean eating all day even though we were out and about. I did not get in a traditional workout but we walked the trail with the dog for an hour at a local dog park, so that was nice. Very light walking, nothing streneous but it was great to enjoy the weather and time with the family.

Sunday morning I got up early for some intense cardio of 40 minutes on the elipitical and bike. Than it was off to my mom's for a visit and lunch at 1pm. I stuck to the safe grilled chicken, brown rice and salad and as for dessert I share my mom's piece of triamsu and had a coffee. I did not over due and quite honestly the rest of the day was clean eating. Even with the chocolate that my daughter got. I had a small piece of some sem-sweet chocolate and that was that. Just did not want it. I was full from lunch, especially with the rice. I generally do not have that large portion of rice in one sitting.

This morning, Day 15 I had an awesome leg workout and I felt pumped!!! Did a great 30 minutes run on the treadmill and felt like I could keep going. But I was hitting 75 minutes of working out and though I should just get in a great cooldown and stretching and get some much needed food in me. So workout is compltely out of the way for today. Awesome way to start of my Monday. The rest of the day is free to enjoy our outing with the dog is the rain holds off and a walk to the library.

Day 12 -- Burn baby burn

Who would have thought that a shoulders workout would take so much out of me. I also did biceps and started doing tricep kickbacks with very light weight. As I completed one workout I stretched them out and boy was it so hard to cradle my elbow. Than I moved on to set 2 and did the same stretch. I looked at what was planned and I figured I was just heading to a bad injury. So I went into my cardio workout and finished off strong on the elliptical. I have had a great week and my body is changing - I can see it.

Incredible how my cleaning has been. And I am seeing the difference in my abs region and I am loving it. I wish my mid-section could lean out quicker, but I have to have patience and continue to focus on my strength and how focused I am in. For now that will have to be enough, until I start seeing more of a 6 pack :)

Day 11 - Change of Plans

So after warming up and mentally preparing myself for shoulders, triceps and biceps -- I changed my mind. My triceps were sore, so so so sore. So I thought instead of isolating theses tiny muscle groups I would just do back, chest and abs with getting in shoulder work tomorrow. Even stretching my triceps in between chest sets were tough. just really stiff and I had to be sure to slowly ease into a triceps stretch. Not pretty. Well they kind of are :) I am really liking the shape of my arms. And my lower body is coming along nicely as well. not as quickly, but rather nicely :)

Eating has been great -- never better :)

Day 10 - Cardio

Today is day 10 and I woke up feeling broken. Like I slept with 100 lbs of concrete blocks on me. I felt stiffer than stiff, and stiffer than i ever felt before. So I hit the snooze button only to have my 4 year old daughter tell me it was time to get up an hour later. So my planned AM cardio did not happen right away -- but it did happen :) 45 minutes on the treadmill of at a steady pace and really cranked the inclines. Felt great and my glutes -- well they are sore. But tomorrow I will listen to my body. Tomorrow is my biceps, tricep, shoulder workout :) I think the triceps can handle it now. I hope. I will push through it but will not comprimse my form to lift heavy. I may lift sem-heavy and play around with the weights as I have a planned chest and back workout on Friday. Got to get those big muscle workouts in.

Eating is going well and tracking it all. Proud of myself. Very proud and even with Easter around the corner I am feeling completely in control :)