My Crossfit Experience

The crossfit gym, or the sanctuary as they call it

Thanks to groupon, I have 10 crossfit classes at the "local" crossfit gym. I use the word local, very loosely because its about 30 min from my house, assuming there's no traffic on 95.  But I live in Delaware, so that's actually relatively close. (sigh!)  Anywho, I did my first class on Saturday morning, it was a Crossfit bootcamp they call RivFit.

My initial impression is that I love it, and will probably be sad when my 10 classes are up!!  As a gym rat, one of my weaknesses is my lack of stamina.  I do maybe 20 min of cardio every time I'm in the gym and generally take longer breaks than I need to between reps. So the cool part about Crossfit  was I got all the strength training, my workouts usually include, with a VERY healthy dose of cardio from the fact that we never stopped moving. Okay there was a 3 min break between the AMRAP's (can some crossfitter explain what that stands for, I forgot to ask).

So I got the class, (late.. shh! I got lost!) And joined the group on the green astro-turf you see in the background of the photo above.  We started off with a warm-up which consisted of a 400m run. Then some squats, burpees (the first of MANY), lunges, scorpions, and some other things I've forgotten.  We then partnered off and did a 15 min AMRAP of more burpees, and some exercises with a medicine balls. We had a 3 minute break (which I spent cursing myself for forgetting my water and stretching out my sore shoulders) before launching into a 10 min AMRAP with 25lb plates and more burpees.  At the end of this workout my shoulders and lats were BURNING!  I was positive I was going to want to cut my arms off by now, especially since I didn't have time to stretch!!  Crossfit ended at 11:15, and I was supposed to be showered, dressed and in DC for a baby shower by 1:00pm... Did I mention the Cross-fit gym is 30 min from my house? Okay, needless to say I was late, but I had a really cool gift (or so I like to think!).  I found this website earlier in the week and gifted the happy couple one of my own.

I had a busy weekend filled with lots of St. Patty's fun and foolishness courtesy of a friend's 30th birthday party. But good lord and am paying for it!!! 36 hours later and I'm still not 100%.  My quest for health and fitness means I don't drink like I used to, so my tolerance has gone WAAAAY down.... The sacrifices you make for your health, eh?  Ah well, work hard, play hard!! Right?

So, all in all, I really like crossfit, and might even join when my Groupon deal is over. I am a little sad, that I'm not sore, but that means 2 things.
1. that I'm more fit than I thought,
and
2. I have to push myself even harder this Sunday!

 So have you tried Cross-fit?  If so, how did you like it?

Signing up for more Cross-fit classes,
Candydiva04

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Fitspiration: Misty Copeland and those legs!!

I have about 4 girl crushes; Michelle Obama (although I'm not a fan of her new bangs), Jane "FitKenyanGirl" Mukami, India Paulino and Misty Copeland.  Wait let me back up, girl crushes, for me are women who have already achieved the levels of success or fitness, that I hope to one day achieve as well, for the purposes of this blog I'm focusing on my 4 fitness girl crushes. My biggest girl crush at the moment is Misty Copeland.  Her physique is AMAZING, she's gorgeous and she's a professional ballerina, with a never ending cache of amazing photos showcasing her talent, as a ballerina, and her physique, like these. Additionally, her story is amazing. she started dancing at 13 at the recommendation of one of  (non-ballet) school teachers.  Within 3 months, she was dancing en-pointe, and 4 years after she ever started dancing, she was dancing at the American Ballet Theater. 

Obviously, as a ballerina her legs are amazing. Those legs are a definite source of envy for me. As I've stated before, that's where I carry most of my weight, and, sadly, seems to be the hardest area for me to get definition.

Loving her quads and hams in this pic! Werk boo!!

I've been taking ballet classes, in addition to trying to lift heavier on leg days in the gym., and have made great progress but still lack definition in my legs.  Again that's my problem area, there's still a lot of fat down there, that will probably benefit greatly from a good cardio day or 2.  However, if you already have great legs and just want to tone or add a little definition.   You can either do my leg day work out,

Exercise	Weight in lbs	Sets	Repitions
Leg press	270	1	15
	320	1	12
	360	2	11
V-squats	75	1	15
	90	2	12
Leg ext	35	3	12
Ham curls	35	3	12
Circuit
Lunges	20lb dumb bells	3	15
Step ups	n/a	3	15/each leg

or if weights aren't your thing yet (although if you're reading this blog you should already know I'm a strong advocate of weight lifting), but I understand how scary the weights section of the gym can be, so you can always try this ballet work out video until you're ready to find a ballet class or start lifting with weights.  However, if you're already gym rat and not afraid of the weights feel free to use this video to supplement your regular leg work out.

Day dreaming of professional ballerina legs,
Candydiva04

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My Journey: Why I lift weights and why you should too

A friend of mine, whom I'll call "JBoogie" has decided she needs to start working on her health and fitness and asked to workout with RR and I. Seeing her initial struggles this week, reminded me of where I started, and made me realize that I've never really discussed the importance of weight lifting here in my blog.  As you may or may not know, I believe in lifting and lifting heavy. I lift weights every day, I do more lifting than cardio (although I do need to do more cardio), but I did not start here, getting here was a loong process. Although, I bet it feels like dog years to RR, because I was... uh, how shall I put this... less than cooperative in the beginning. 

 Two years ago when I first started working out with RR, I fought him tooth and nail about not wanting to lift. I only wanted to do the elliptical, attend a few fitness classes and maybe run on the treadmill, while he lifted weights. Weights were not for girls, in my opinion.  I just knew that if I lifted weights, I'd wind up looking like this.  

What I was afraid of

The body I wanted

And I did NOT want to look anything like that.  So we fought, for a few months, and I don't remember how he got me to do it, but finally he convinced me to try it his way.  I actually think he bombarded me with info on how just doing cardio wouldn't get me the body I wanted, then he compromised with me, the main terms of my surrender being that if I tried it his way, I could quit whenever I felt I was getting too bodybuilder-esque.

So I started lifting with RR.  At first it hurt (a lot) and it was intimidating (as hell).  I'd go home sore, I'd be sore the next day and even though I didn't believe it was even possible, I was even more sore the 2nd day! I should have bought stock in Icy hot, epsom salt and Bengay I was so sore. I couldn't tell if it was killing me or making me stronger! When it finally started to get easy, he'd start adding more weight or more reps, or both.  Most days, I just thought RR was torturing me. 

After a few months, I noticed my clothes felt bigger, despite the fact that the number on the scale hadn't changed too dramatically. I complained to RR about not seeing a difference on the scale.  He bombarded me with info about the "myth" of muscle weighing more than fat. The myth stems from the fact that muscle is denser than fat and it takes less volume of muscle to be the same weight. 

 It took him a while to learn that if he gave me too much info, I'd just tune him out, but eventually he got it through my thick skull that technically, an equal volume (not mass) of muscle will weigh more than an equal volume of fat, but that's not how your body works.  It won't immediately replace 5lbs of fat with.. say 15lbs of muscle.  Unless, of course, you're on steroids, otherwise it takes a long time and a lot of hard work.  However, if we make the comparison solely on mass, (as shown) a 5lb piece of muscle looks smaller than the 5lbs of fat. Which is why two people can be the exact same height and weight and look completely different.  

Moral of the story, 

So

 So ladies, I implore you go pick up some weights, maybe skip the Zumba or Cardio kickboxing class a few days a week and pick up some weights instead.  Oh and learn to not only embrace the soreness, but learn how to work through it, as well!

Hoping my story will inspire you,

Candydiva04

P.S - RR insists I put emphasis on the fact that I do both cardio and weights.  Your workout routines should include both, because neither weights nor cardio alone, will get you where you want to be. Also, while I say I'm eating poorly, my "poor" dietary choices are sporadic, the majority of my diet isn't that bad.  I try not to eat too much sugar and focus on eating the right amount of Protein, Carbs and Fats everyday.  I generally don't eat processed food, and almost never eat fast food. But I'll get deeper into that another day, probably whenever I do my BMI post.  :)

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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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Working out while sick. :(

So despite not feeling well yesterday, I let RR drag me to the gym, mostly because I've heard working out is a great way to cure yourself.  I'm kinda mad at myself for falling for the "okie doke", especially because it makes me the biggest hypocrite ever! I hate when people workout while sick with the passion of a thousand suns!!  But in my defense I wasn't coughing, I was just bone tired, my nose was kinda runny and my throat hurt.  So I was a huge hypocrite, and went to the gym, and did shoulders and lats.  My back, delts, shoulders and lats are super sore so these past two days have been fairly light...

Exercise		Weight (lbs)	sets	reps
Shoulder press		20	1	15
		25	1	15
		27	1	12
Lateral Raises		15	3	15
Inclined barbell bench press		55	3	12
Dumbell Flies		10	3	12
Leg raises		body weight	4	15
ab machine		50	3	15

Throughout my workouts these past two days, I've been sore, but trying not to complain. So, generally, I've just been giving RR an eye roll or the stink face when he tells me what we're going to do next.  However, today he tried to get me to do some rear deltoid flies, I made THIS face at him, before I could catch myself.

Followed by a VERY melodramatic

Thankfully, he just laughed at me and let me skip. (whew!)

In other news, I love buying new workout clothes. I feel like I buy more workout clothes than anything else.  So when my BFF, TdotC shared the following link with me for Ellie, I nearly wet myself (okay, not really).

Ellie is a Fitness Fashionista Club, in layman's terms its a new athletic apparel service, where you’ll get two pieces of fitness apparel sent to your doorstep each month for $49.95. You can choose which items you want, or let them decide for you. They do ask you to take a survey, so they know your your workout habits, size, style and color preference.  Below are some of the options they gave me based on my preferences...

LOVE this tank!

and all of this!

Seriously considering joining Ellie,
Candydiva04

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Alternative fitness, part 2.

Just a few more of my experiences in the never ending quest to keep myself motivated to continue lifting and working towards getting fit, instead of being one of those girls on the treadmill or elliptical focused solely on being skinny.

You'll notice that the activities I seek out are generally physical activities.  I do other stuff, like go to the movies, archery range, hit happy hours with friends and go to the gun range. Not in that order, but you get my drift, right?  These are my fitness related activities.

1. Rock Climbing -  I love Rock Climbing, but its pretty rough on the hands.  Supposedly, a lot of women stay away from rock climbing because they think they lack the upper body strength needed for it.  However, according to the guy who taught me how to belay, women are better rock climbers because they use their legs, which what you're supposed to do.  Unfortunately, I rock climb like a guy... all upper body.  I typically leave the rock gym with sore biceps, triceps, shoulders and back. 

2.  Pole Fitness - Pole is a lot of fun, once you get past the pole burn, which is not fun.  However, this turned out to be a better workout than I expected.  Pole is actually a full body workout,  I left my first class feeling sore from head to toe.  The focus on improved flexibility is also a nice plus.  Unfortunately, the school I was attending didn't really seem to have a curriculum, and all class were drop ins.  So one week I might be the most inexperienced girl in the class, which meant I learned a TON of stuff, and the next weeks, I might be the most experienced girl in class which meant I spent the class working on basics moves I already know.  Couple that with the pole studio being about 40 min away, and I haven't been pole-ed in a while.

Since its only a matter of time before someone asks me about Zumba, I guess I should take a moment to address Zumba.  I, personally, am not a fan of Zumba  for *ME*, I don't find it challenging and have never so much as broken a sweat in Zumba.  I think Zumba is a great place to start if you don't already have a fitness routine.  For the first year or so of your workout, I think its a great cardio workout to supplement a lifting routine.  However, as far as I know Zumba doesn't have levels, and at some point you're going to need to switch it up, or leave Zumba behind because it won't be as much of challenge, for you.  

For those of you who are hard core Zumba lovers, I want you to look around the next time you're in class.  You'll see a lot of the same women who've been coming to Zumba week after week. How much of a difference do you see in their bodies? Do you see any women who look the way you want to? If so, ask them about their workout routines, I guarantee they do a lot more than just attend a few Zumba classes.  The same goes for all fitness classes.  Your workout needs to be dynamic and well rounded.  Don't just rely on a class for your fitness needs, and don't be afraid to try something harder.

On the list still to try (but not available locally that I know of) are Parkour, Flying trapeze, Adult gymnastics, Salsa dance, and maybe a martial arts class, but I want to find one that's practical for a short woman.  I'm thinking about trying Krav, Muy Thai, or Ninpo, but at the moment my schedule's a little too full.  So we'll see...

The quest continues,
Candydiva04

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One day soon this will be me!

Putting you ladies on notice, some day soon I *will* be on your level!

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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Goldilocks and the 3 (more) Gyms

So the gym search is still on going... Who knew picking a gym would be this hard!! We hit Gym #3 earlier this week, this gym is probably the newest one around so I had high hopes for it.  We walked in and it was... small.  Very nice and clean, but..teeny tiny, so tiny, it didn't even have a dedicated locker room.  Small wouldn't be this big of a problem except in this case small meant limited options for working out muscle groups.  The pros, it wasn't crowded, even right after work, is open 24 hours, and has state of the art equipment (treadmills with built in TV's!).  The cons,it was small,  it had no pull up/dip assist machine, and did I mention that this gym was small?!?!?  RR and I quickly realized this gym, is NOT going to work for us.

We tried to hit Gyms 4 and 5 this week, but they're also 24 hour gyms that only have staff during certain times, which unfortunately were not the times we tried to visit.  I'm pretty sure gym#4 is off the list since it seems both locations are pretty inconvenient for us.  I have high hopes for gym #5,  since  it seems a good chunk of the people from our gym are either joining Gym #5 or Gym #2...  But we'll have to hold off on making a decision for another week or so.  :(

I attended  a Fit Body Boot Camp Class this morning, had a great experience with it, but I'll have to tell you about it another day.  Its time to stretch!!

Hoping to make a Gym decision soon,
Candydiva04

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The Gym Search

So I am such a slacker. It took RR asking about the blog to make me remember that I haven't posted in ages. Basically, I fell off the wagon and stopped posting, and it took me such a long time to catch up with the wagon and get back on that I forgot I even had a blog! SMH

So I'm back, as is some of my weight. I buckled down on my diet before my birthday and dropped down to 135lbs then went on vacation to an all inclusive resort and lost my mind. I was 148 when I got back on my scale. I've been yo-yo-ing ever since, but I haven't had the will power to get my diet in order, either.

The fact that my gym is closing and RR and I have been shopping for a new gym doesn't help. Finding the right gym feels a little like being Goldie locks from Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears.  There are no franchise gyms like Golds or Bally's near by, not that I have any interest, but RR likes the idea. The Y(MCA) is popular here but overpriced and chock full of people in there for social reasons so that's out. We've narrowed down the search to about 5 gyms, RR made a spreadsheet, lol.

Gym#1 - we both hated. Its past our neighborhood so we'd have to fight the urge to just go home after work. But it was small and had a weird layout. Not mention the creepy guy who oogled me, and the crappy treadmills.  RR liked some of the equipment they had that our gym didn't, like the laying down ham curl machine, which left my hams SUPER sore for 4 days. I literally couldn't straighten my legs! RR liked the power squat machine. But one day of working out there was enough to rule it out.

Gym#2- My fave. The clientele is nothing but serious fitness folk, no annoying resolutioners. There are several competitive bodybuilders/fitness/figure athletes who train there, plus some of my fave ppl from my old gym are also transitioning there. Its semi close to the house and I like the vibe/atmosphere. RR's biggest complaint was a lack water fountain, and he had a bad dumb bell experience. And it had "less equipment" than our old gym. I disagree.. I think it just had different equipment but that's his opinion.

That's all we've checked out thus far, we have 2, maybe 3 more to go. The 3rd one might get skipped because they haven't returned a single call, email or fb message RR has sent...

We'll keep you posted!!!

Candydiva04

P.S- that last post about spiking my protein shakes made me literally laugh out loud and shake my head.  Oh the mistakes we make!

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Kicking and Screaming

The security guard at work who sees RR and I entering and leaving the building together everyday, made a comment to me about how I'm losing weight and looking good. True to form, I jokingly responded along the lines of "Well you know... I do what I can..." He laughed at me and almost immediate turned to RR and said "Its clear you're taking good care of her, keep it up". After some ribbing about why he attributed my weight loss success to RR and not my own hard work, we parted ways.

Later in the car, I realized that I really can't take too much credit for my fitness success/progress. I mean I can but... to do so would downplay AAAALLLLL of the the hard work and effort RR puts into helping me achieve my fitness goals. And that wouldn't be fair to the man who drags me (occasionally) kicking and screaming to the gym everyday, and (usually) refrains from rolling his eyes at me when I say things like "Man, I feel soo much better now that we've worked out, aren't you glad I made you come?" as we leave the gym. It goes without saying that, I'm a horrible workout partner, I complain about everything from his weight choices and constantly pushing me to do a seemingly infinite number of "just one more rep", to trying to get me to making healthier food choices (more protein, less cupcakes). He really does take great care of me, and I'm lucky to have him as a work out buddy/personal trainer/boyfriend.

So loyal readers do you have an RR in your life? Someone who will push you to reach your goals even when all you want to do is go home and pour yourself a glass of wine. If not, I sincerely urge you to go find one!! Because you won't make any progress at home on your couch, regardless of what those diet pills tell you!! Trust me, I've tried almost all of them! ;)

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Backsliding

So a few weeks ago I made real progress, finally broke my plateau and saw numbers on my scale as low as 138.6.

Then the bakery got kick started and the weekend hit, and I didn't work out, ate greasy and sugary (yet delicious) "fake" Thai food from the mall food court, honey mustard chicken wings and fries from wings to go, had a market fresh sandwich from Arby's and Vanilla shake from McDonalds. Since then there's been a steady breakfast of grands butter tastin' biscuits, turkey sausage and egg sandwichs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and Madelienes! Fortunately, I'm back in the gym, but unfortunately its all soo much harder and the fact that RR is making me lift heavier than normal and do super sets isn't making it seem any easier either. :-/ Ah well, I gotta get these 3 lbs back off and keep them off.

Meanwhile, I'm picking up a yoga class on Saturdays to help improve my flexibility, as my increased muscle mass seems to be decreasing my flexibility. Plus, it'll count as a weekend workout. :)

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Food dairy 2/23

Breakfast: Protein shake (1 scoop Banana Cream flavor Muscle Milk, a whole banana, and approximately 10 oz of water - 255 calories) - Total 255 Calories

Morning Snack: Yoplait Thick and creamy Vanilla low fat yogurt - 180 calories

Lunch: Lean Cusine Chicken, spinach and mushroom panini- 310 calories; Safeway Organic Creamy Garden Tomato Soup ~3/4cup - 239 calories; TOTAL - 549

Took my vitamins and allergy meds at lunch. (60 mg Ginko Biloba, 1200mg Fish Oil, Nature's way Alive! Women's energy Vitamin) - TOTAL 12.5 calories

Dinner: Homemade Chicken Wrap - Chicken marinated in McCormick's Mesquite Marinade mix (baked) - 290 calories, Sargento Low fat Mexican cheese 1/8 cup - 40 calories, Canola Oil Mayo - 40 calories, Mission 100% Whole Wheat Tortilla 0 130 calories TOTAL - 500 calories

After Dinner I took a Fish Oil pill and another Ginko Biloba - 12.5 Calories

For a Grand total of 1534 calories

I normally drink a protein shake after the gym but I got distracted by stinky trash (don't you hate that?!?!?) and forgot.

Workout

Superset
*Hamstring curls (done on a leg lift machine. Stand facing the back of the chair, and kick your leg back towards your butt) 15 reps @30-40lbs (3 sets total) then
*Leg Raises (on "machine") 15 reps, no weight (3 sets total) then
*Forearm Curls 15 reps, 10lbs (3 sets total), 30 seconds to stretch as needed then back to hamstring curls.

Superset
Hamstring curls (1 set of each back to back)
15 reps @80lbs (3 sets total) then
12 reps @95lbs (3 sets total)
in between sets of hamstring curls did 2 sets of Glute/ham/raises (not sure hat its really called but its a machine here your standing and one leg at a time you lift your leg, like a one legged march, and as you lift that leg you push up the bar and weight) 15 reps, 90lbs (3 sets of 2 sets)
then back to Hamstring curls.

Deadlifts- 3 sets of 15 reps with bar (then RR decided I needed a 5lb weight on each side) so 1.5 reps with just the bar, and 1.5 reps with 10 lbs.

Calf raises machine (RR is gonna have to chime in in the comments and tell you guys how much weight was actually on there)
15 reps, 40 lbs (guestimating) 3 sets total after each set he increased the weight
15 reps, 50 lbs (still guesstimating) 3 sets total, then
15 reps, 70 lbs, (still guesstimating) 3 sets total, after this set he decreased to 50lbs, then 40 lbs, then added weight back to 50, and 70, and then decreased it again.


After this Double R had something else planned but I was already kinda pissed that since tommorow is hair day, which as every black woman knows means that today should have been hardcore cardio day and NOT hardcore leg day. So I said eff that and hit the treadmill. Ran/walked for 34min and burnt ~234 calories (Feel free to either tell RR or leave a comment about how wrong he was for today's workout)

Here's hoping I can drive my (stick shift) car to hair salon tomorrow. If not, RR is gonna have one ANGRY black woman on his hands. :/

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Workouts, Music and Motivation?

Soooo... its been less than a week and I've already fallen off on my blogging. SMH Anywho, I've been eating poorly and haven't kept track of everything I've eathen, but think bacon cheese burgers, lobster and crab bisque, chicken fingers, fried catfish, buffalo wings, cupcakes, and lots of alcohol. On the upside I did spend a whole day running around in the woods shooting people. I'm pretty sure playing paintball counts as a workout. :-)

Weigh in: 145.6lbs (9/20/2011 @ 5:54 am) That's surprisingly good progress considering the way I've been eating.

Work outs: I've switched up my work out schedule again. For the most part I've been doing a lot of strength training, and a few weeks ago I went on a Cardio kick. Last week I decided to find a happy medium. So I alternate strength training and cardio. Yesterday was a strength training day and it was leg day. Which goes as follows

Leg Press
4 sets of 15 reps at 160lbs

Lounges
4 sets of 10reps at 40lbs

Squats
3 sets of 12 reps @90lbs

Leg Curl
3 sets of 10 reps @90lbs

Leg Extension
3 sets of 12 reps, two at 75lbs and one at 90lbs

Aductors
3 sets of 40 reps at 80lbs

Abductors
3 sets of 40 reps at 90lbs

Ended with a little light cardio on the ArcTrainer while I waited on RR to finish his cardio.

Today will be a Cardio day, so I'm working on my Cardio playlist. So far Kanye's Power has earned a permanent spot on my gym playlist. Other songs on the playlist are Rihanna's Rockstar 101, Jamie Foxx - I don't need it, Gym Class Heroes - To Bob Ross with Love, Nelly Furtado - Maneater, Janelle Monet - Tightrope, Delta Spirit - People C'mon, etc. What's on your workout playlist?


So while I haven't been blogging, I have been hitting the gym despite how much the changing weather makes me want to go home an curl up with a cup a tea. I am not a fun trainee when I'm not motivated, and lately the only thing I've been motivated to do is go home and sleep. However for some reason RR keeps dragging me to the gym and taking my abuse (read: whining and complaining) everyday with an endless supply of patience and only the occasional eye roll. So currently, my gym motivation is RR, mostly because he drags me kicking and screaming. But what do you do when your inspiration photos and body role models, aren't enough anymore?

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