Lazy weekend? Not round these parts!

Weekly Fitness Update:

Weight: 143.0lbs

Height: 5'1

Variance: +0.4 lbs (doh!)

On instagram straight flexin'!

This is me after my bootcamp class and breakfast this morning. I still haven't made the necessary improvements to my diet.  I'm still eating junk, and swearing I'm gonna do better.  Hopefully the fact that my 4.5 pack has run off and left me, will be the motivation I need to start eating right again. I'm flexing hard in the photo and my abs are still non-existent.  I also need to step up my cardio game, I haven't run more than a few min at a time since summer.  Anywho, this is where I'm at, I like it but I'd love to be a little leaner, especially in my thighs (there's a reason those are rarely photographed, lol) I carry most of my weight in my hips and thighs.  One day!  Meanwhile here are the rest of my workouts for the week.

Wednesday's workout 

I think, with the exception of the leg press (which I recorded) some of these weights are just the amount on one side of the machine.  They look a little light to me, and I know RR records that way in his log.

Leg day
Exercise		weight	sets	reps
Leg press	Warm up	90lbs	1	20
		180lbs	1	15
		270lbs	1	15
		360lbs	1	15
		410lbs	2	15
V-Squats		25lbs	1	15
		60lbs	1	15
		75lbs	2	12
leg extensions		25lbs	3	15
hamstring curls		25lbs	3	15
Circuit (no weights)
Standing Lunges with straight bar
			3	15
Squats			4	20
Step ups on bench			4	15/leg

Friday's workout 

Some weights have a plus next to it, because some of the dumbbells at the new gym don't factor in the weight of the bar so they're a little heavier than what they say on the side.

Biceps and triceps
Exercise		weight	sets	reps
DB curls		15+	3	10
Straight bar curls		20	3	15
		15	1	10
		10	2	10
Inclined DB curls		10+	3	15
Preacher curls		7lbs	3	15
Tricep pushdowns		50	1	15
		60	2	15
Rope Overheads		45lbs	3	15
Kickbacks		12lbs	3	20

I strongly recommend anyone who lifts get a workout log, I use and highly reccomend this workout log.  Its great the front page is a list of goals and measurements.  The last page is the same so you can see your progress.  All the pages in between look like this. Its awesome.

So now that you know what I've been doing, I hope you all aren't sitting around slacking just because its the weekend!!! Get out there and do something! As for me,  I already got my workout in today.  Tomorrow I'll be putting these guns to work, helping one of my favorite couples paint their new home and then on Monday I'll be doing some more aerials and some flying trapeze!

Be Happy, Be healthy,

Candydiva04

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Fitness Alternatives part 1

I can't be the only one who gets bored in the gym? I can only do so many bicep curls or squats before I start thinking isn't there a better way to get fit without doing this!?!?!?  By now I know the answer, more or less, is not really.  At least not for the type of results I want.  


So to help combat that boredom, I've been exploring alternative workout options for the past year or so and listed below are some of my favorites. As this is a never ending pursit with me, I'll keep chronicaling them for you all.  I should probably point out that the goal here is to supplement my current workouts not replace them, although RR will tell you I occasionally get that backwards....  So the most recent supplemental exercise was a boot camp class that I found on Groupon.com.  

1. Fit Body Boot Camp  -     An hour-long, high intensity workout.  This particular boot camp was very much like doing an Insanity with a group of friends, in a gym.  Which I prefer to the actual Insanity workouts.  When I do workout videos, I generally get tired or fatigued and either sit down and watch them, or meander into the kitchen for a glass of water, and then stand in the doorway to kitchen watching the video.  In class, there's an actual person, who will get in my face (in a nice way) and motivate me to keep going.  Apparently, if done correctly, I can expect to burn about 1,000 calories during the hour, with a good amount of after burn.  The workout is mostly things like burpees, planks, sprints,squats, etc.  but done in short bursts, with even shorter breaks in between, which IMO made it a great cardio workout.  So far I don't feel sore, I feel really good, however  I did feel like I ran a marathon afterwards.  The next day my lats my were sore, but that was the only soreness I experienced. 

2. Circus Aerials - Hands down my favorite workout, its a AMAZING full body workout.  However, its also a *GREAT* and girlie way to develop upper body strength.  I took an 8 week session of classes last summer, thinking "I lift 5 days a week, this will be cake!"  I soon realized that my current workout had some serious holes in it, and knew that if I didn't start to address those holes, I'd not only continue being insanely sore, but also not be able to do all the cool tricks I wanted to do.  Unfortunately, the only place near Delaware that teaches Circus Aerials is about an hour and a half from me and that's not a commute I want to make during the winter, so this is currently a spring-fall workout for me... well obsession is probably a better word for it.  I am obsessed with Aerials, and recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and unique workout that will actually help you to get stronger.

3. Ballet - inspired by my love of Circus Aerials.  The good Aerialists look like ballerinas who've learned to defy the laws of gravity.  So in the interest of being a better aerialist when I begin classes again, I've begun taking ballet classes.  So far ballet has never made me sore, or even feel like I'm getting a serious workout, but I'm pretty sure, my legs are starting to look better and more defined.  Either that or running around in tights and a leotard has made me more comfortable with my body, especially my legs.  Before ballet class, I was staunchly anti-tights and leggings unless I was going to Ballet or Aerials.  Then I started wearing leggings to workout, now I've started wearing them out in the world as part of an outfit.  I'm clearly  starting to enjoy the way I look in and out of clothes.   

I've found that now that I'm starting to like the way I look,  I  take more pride in how I look. During the "fat" years,  I found that I focused a lot on just my hair and shoes, everything in between kinda got left up to chance.  Now,  I've started painting my nails again, accessorizing, and putting more time and thought into wearing a COMPLETE (head to toe) look, which occasionally includes leggings, lol.  But I've noticed similar changes in some of the my colleagues at the gym.  Everyone starts off working out in baggy (sometimes ratty) sweats and t-shirts,  and as they lose weight their work out clothes become nicer, more fitted, and better coordinated.

Besides lifting and cardio what other activities do you do? Also, have you noticed that you pay more attention to your appearance as you begin (and hopefully continue)  to make progress, or is that just me?
Fighting the war on boredom, one activity at a time,

Candydiva04

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