Up The Ante

Good morning!

Good “sore” morning for me! I was with Leah this morning, my lovely trainer (can you hear me gritting my teeth when I say that?!). She is catching onto me, and today proved how far she is willing to push me. She definitely upped the intensity today, and my body is tired tired tired!

I forgot to post last week’s workout, I think it’s because it was a toughie and I couldn’t do it on my own. It involved a tractor tire, flipping it across the gym, and a large rope...and a skipping rope. It was the first time I was SORE the day after. Leah’s caught on to my limits, and she’s pushing them.

Today:
Warm up on the track:
Jog ¾ of a lap, sprint the last ¼.
Do v-sits for 1 minute.
Repeat Twice.

Into the gym
Shoulder presses with 15 pounds. 15 reps
Arms at your sides, keeping them straight lift them straight up to the side. 10 pounds. 15 reps
Repeat both twice
(This was super hard and I was SHAKING!)

Onto the Bench Press
65 pounds today!
1st set I did 10 reps (BARELY!)
2nd set I did 8 reps (Barely!)
In between I did twenty leg raises while lying down, raising them from side to side (ab workout)

Then onto Legs
50 squats with the yellow kettle bell. Do as many as possible at a time, take as few breaks as possible.
Walking lunges around the combative room.

Back to arms. She lined up 3 bosu balls in a row. I went in front of them
1 push up, then hand walk to the side to the next one.
2 push ups, then hand walk to the side to the third one.
3 push ups, then hand walk to the side back to the second one.
4 push ups, then back to the first
5 push ups.

Took a break (OBVIOUSLY, I was dying!) then back to it. This time, I did the push ups ON the bosu ball, and did:
1, 2, 1, hand walking in between them.

Leah then had me sit on the bosu ball for 1 min, with my legs up, for abs. Twice. Then I was DONE!
Thank goodness. It was a really hard day. But I’m startin to get me some muscle definition, which is always awwwwwesome!

I’ll be back in a bit to let you know how my clean eating is going.

Shauna xox

15s!

Hello lovelies!

Once again I'm tired today from my workout yesterday. It was a little different than most Tuesdays. My trainer had to work the desk at the gym so she wrote me up a workout, and I did it by myself.

It was great!

I pushed myself hard, and I'm feeling the effects today. I'm down 2 pounds, I'm eating better again, and I'm feeling great! It's amazing what a few healthy choices can do for you.

One thing I can say for sure, I am DESPERATE for summer! I can't wait. Seriously. I might self-combust if the snow doesn't melt and the temperature shoots up soon...and I get to play outside again.




Here is my workout from yesterday.

15s!

15 minutes on the stair machine @ 75 steps per minute

1)
15 walking lunges along track with 30lb bar behind head
15 squats with 30lb bar behind head
15 Clean and Presses with 30lb bar
15 Bicep Curls with 30lb bar
15 Tricep Extensions with 30lb bar

2)
15 walking lunges along track with 30lb bar behind head
15 squats with 30lb bar behind head
15 Clean and Presses with 30lb bar
15 Bicep Curls with 30lb bar
15 Tricep Extensions with 30lb bar

15 V-Sit with Medicine Ball toss
15 Santana Push ups (no weight)
15 minutes on Eliptical

It was great! I was exhausted by the time I got the eliptical. Maybe because I had to use the 35lb because the 30lb bar was being used.

I went back at lunch and did 30 minutes on the eliptical.

Today I did 1 hour on the eliptical this morning, and I'm just heading back at lunch to do weights-the program my trainer made me. Not sure how well that will go since my body is tired.

I know a lot of people think I'm crazy for going twice a day, but it's 2 shorter workouts instead of 1 long one. And this way, I can eat right after my cardio as I'm usually STARVING! And then I get to eat before I go do weights. This works well for me because I have the most energy possible. AND, I think the best thing is I get out of the office at lunch, and I don't spend money going out for lunch all the time. All around good things.

Have a great day!

Shauna xox

Another Workout

Hey friends!

Hope you didn't miss me too much last week. I didn't go see my trainer. A very lovely lady in my family passed away and I took the week to deal with that. Things went well, and I'm feeling better about everything. I gave myself a week to grieve, and sort thigns out. I didn't stress about the gym, I ate some comfort food, and I slept a lot. My week is up! So of course, I was back to my trainer this morning!

The more time I spend with her, the more I love her! She's fun to be around, and she keeps me occupied while I feel like I'm dying during the crazy workouts she has me to, with stories.

Today was 1 minute of hell...again and again and again! Every exercise I did below for 1 minute, rested for as little time as possible, then went onto the next workout. I'll put descriptions of the exercises below. I used 10 pound weights for all of the exercises that required weights.

Leah had me warm up with 10 minutes on the elliptical to start out.

1 minute Goblet Squats
1 minute Mountain Climber
1 minute Single Arm Swing (left)
1 minute Single Arm Swing (Right)
1 minute santana push up
1 minute Split Jump
1 minute Bent overrow
1 minute Pushup Row
1 minute Lunge & Twist
1 minute Shoulder Press

After all these, we did some core work, with the 6 pound medicine ball. Leah threw me the medicine ball, I leaned back but didn't quite touch the ground, and came back up...while holding my legs up. Did that twice.

Went over to the TRX, did the ab move where I was in pushup position, then brought my knees to my right side then my left. 10 on each side, repeat twice.
One we were done that she grabbed me a 25 pound weight. I held onto that out in front of me, and ran 3 laps on the stairs. Hard!!

So that was my workout! I'm def hoping I'm sore tomorrow! My next step...stop eating crap! I'm working on it.

Alright, the descriptions for those workouts are below. Have a great day!

Shauna
xox

1 minute Goblet Squats: Held onto the 10 lb weight the same way I hold onto it to do a tricep extension, except out in front of me (so my elbows are sticking out to each side). Squat.
1 minute Mountain Climber: Bring knee up to chest area. Back and forth. Not a "running" one, more of a "walk".
1 minute Single Arm Swing (left): Stand in squat position. Hold the 10 lb weight out straight in front of you. Squat down, bring the weight down in between your legs. When you come out of your squat, bring the weight back up in front of you. You will have to use some momentum from your squat to get the weight back up.
1 minute Single Arm Swing (Right): Same as above, switch arms.
1 minute Santana Pushup: Push up, then raise on hand to the ceiling, twisting your body to the side as you do so. No weight.
1 minute Split Jump: Lunge, then jump to put the other leg forward. Lunge, jump again.
1 minute Bent Overrow: Bend knees slightly, bend over, keeping back straight. Have a 10 lb weight in each hand. Lift straight up, then lower. Alternate arms.
1 minute Pushup Row. With 10 lb weights in each hand, go into pushup position. Do a pushup, then raise 1 arm straight up to shoulder. Alternate arms.
1 minute Lunge & Twist: Hold 10 lb weights in each hand. hold out in front of you. Lunge, twist to the right. Lunge, twist to the left. Repeat.
1 minute Shoulder Press: Shoulder press for 1 minute! Yikes!

Work it!

2nd Trainer Workout

Alright, so my plan is to record my workouts on here, so that if/when I no longer have a trainer, I can pull these out, and still have great workouts to do. Sound good? One thing...I'm really bad for knowing the names of things, so I think I will try to describe the workout instead of naming it...or name it something stupid, that's so obivously not the name!

2nd session with trainer

Grabbed a 20 pound bar, the rubber kinds with no weights actually on it. Mine was pink! Headed out to the track. Upper body first (Leah said most of the time she likes full-body workouts)

1. Hold bar in front of you, palms facing toward you. Do a bicep curl, then raise it over your head. Back down. That's 1. Did 20!
2. keep palms facing in. Lower bar, arms straight. Raise bar straight up in front of you, squeezing your shoulder muscles as you raise the bar. The bar stays straight, you just move it up and down. 20 times
3. 20 women's pushups.

Run 3 laps on the track as fast as you can. Last 1/4, SPRINT!

Now onto lower body

1. Wall sit for 1 minute. Feeeeel the burn!
2. Modified burpies. Jump up, squat and touch the ground. Repeat 15 times
3. That's it for lower body! Some core now-Partner Leg throws. Lie down, with your partner standing with one foot on either side of your head. Grab their ankles. Lift your legs straight up, soles of your shoes paralel to the ceiling. Your partner will push your feet back to the ground. Dont't let your feet touch the ground! Repeat 15 times. (This is awesome if your partner pushes your feet in different directions, it works different parts of your abs then).

Run 2 laps as fast as you can.

Back to upper body.

1. 15 bicep curl/pole to the ceiling (see above for directions).
2. 20 bar raises
3. 15 women's pushups. This time, push yourself up and bring your hands off the mat. Hard!

Sprint 1 lap

1. Wall sit for 1 minute. (my legs were shaking!!)
2. Modified burpies. 15 times.
3. Partner Leg throws. 15 times.

Walk 2 laps to get heartrate down.

Onto some core.
1. Sit down on a mat with your partner standing in front of you with a 6 pound medicine ball. Lean back and lift your feet off the ground, creating a V-seat. Your partner will gently toss the ball to you. Toss it back. That's 1. Repeat 15 times (keep those feet up!)
2. Create the V-seat again, while holding the medicine ball in front of you. Move ball from side to side. Repeat 20 times. (try to keep your legs off the ground for the majority of this, it's difficult).

Stretch...and you're done!

Phew!

Confession Time

I have a confession to make. I have to go to the gym. I tried this whole going every once in a while thing, and it didn't work. I have gained a bit more weight back, and I am not happy. So back to the grind, back to the gym, back to the early mornings.

I have to do it. I feel so much better when I start my day off there. I know the exercise is part of it, but I also think it's because I'm surrounding myself with people that are trying to better themselves. Whether they are 110 pounds or 200 pounds, they are there for their health and to make their lives better. So it only makes sense that when I start my day off there, then I eat better all day, I drink more water, I am more concious of myself, of my body, and how I feel.

So back I go, back into the routine, back into the early mornings.

On a good note, I went for a run this morning! I haven't been for a run in months and months because of a foot/ankle problem. Got the go ahead from my doc, and I was out there this morning, like a bullet!!

Ok...not like a bullet. It hurt, and it was slow. We stopped every 10 minutes so I could stretch it out, as that is what will keep it strong. So stretch I did!

I ran about 4km this morning. I'm hoping to get back up to 6 in a few weeks. It will take some patience, so we shall see.

I just need to get back into a routine and get to bed early enough that I have enough sleep to sustain the early morning workouts. Otherwise I look like this:

I was just writing this blog while cruising some sights and I bumped into this article from Women's Health Magazine. It says that people work out more when they go to a gym. I knew I was onto something! (there is some other cool stuff in the article too!)

My eating the last couple days hasn't been the best either (hormones anyone?!). So I'm aiming to do better today and forever! Already doin better.

My friend from work and I even walked at lunch for 5km. Yay us! (Go Joc!)


As always, here's to health!

Shauna