No Pain No Gain

Or so that's what I've heard.  Yesterday I went to the gym.  I did the walk to jog treadmill program and then I did strength training on my lower body.  I HATE training the lower body, but I can't stand those people that will only train half their body, and then walk around looking lopsided, this is more so for men, so I try to make it a point to train equally.  Top vs. Bottom.  Front vs. Back.

Anywho, my routine looked like this.

30 minutes Treadmill
5min warm up walk 4.0 incline 3.4 mph
30 sec jog/run 4.1 mph
90 sec walk 3.4 mph
Repeat 10x's
5 minute cool down walk 3.4 mph
Distances Travelled: 1.66 miles
Calories Burned is unknown

I have 1 more day of this 30sec jog/90 sec walk routine.  Come next week, it gets kicked up a notch and I do 60/60.  Oh goodie.  It takes, damn near a full minute to recover now AS IS.  But, I will stick with it.

The strength routine went as follows:

Barbell Front Squat 20/12 20/12 20/12
Barbell Dead Lift 30/12 30/12 30/12
DB Lunge 10/12 10/12 10/12 (I hate these!)
Seated Leg Curl Machine 25/12 40/12 40/12
Seated Hip Abduction Machine 50/12 50/12 50/12
Standing Calf Raise 15/12 15/12 15/12 super set with
DB Side Bends 15/12 15/12 15/12
Decine Sit Ups 12 reps,  8reps (these kicked my arse, nuff said)
Crunches 25 reps, 20 reps, 20 reps (hmnnnnnnnnnnnn my total count is down, I wonder why, lol)

Now today Im walking around barely if you can call it that.  Im straight up hobbling.  Oh well.  I know the soreness is temporary, and by the time it subsides, I should be ready to work at it again.  Ay vey.

On an entirely different subject, I've been eating pretty well if I do say so myself. My diet is not sewn SUPER TIGHT, but Im satisfied with it. If I want a cookie, damn it, I have a cookie.  I just won't eat a whole box/container.  I am eating ALOT of salad, and for those who have eaten salads day in and day out, you know that can get boring FAST. What I"ve found that is working for me, is adding various fruits to my otherwise boring veggie salad.  Last week, I tossed in a couple of grapes, DELISH.  Today, I tossed in a couple of strawberries, FANTASTIC.  So, fruits mixed with veggies can make a very happy Necia.

So, what's making you happy these days?

Saturday's Workout

Day 2 of the Walk to Jog Program
5 minute walk warm-up
3.5 Incline
3.5 mph
30 sec jog
4.0 Incline
4.1 mph
90 sec walk/recovery
4.0 Incline
3.5 mph
Repeated the jog/walk 10 times for a total of 20 minutes
5 minute walk cool-down
4.0 Incline
3.5 mph and I decreased the mileage every minute.
Total Workout: 30 minutes
Calories Burned: 296
Distance Travelled: 1.64 miles

Upper Body Strength Training Routine(the # on top represents the weight used, and the bottom # represents the repetitions.)
DB Bench Press - 5/30 10/12 10/12 10/12
DB Bent over Row - 10/12 15/11 15/8
DB Incline Press - 10/12 10/12 10/12
Alternating DB Front Raise superset with DB 1 Arm Lateral Raise
5/12 5/12 5/12                                                   5/12 5/11 5/8
DB Bicep Curl(standing up)  10/12 10/12 10/12
DB Extensions (1arm at a time)  5/20 10/12 10/12
Crnches: 4*25


Comments:  All exercise was done on an empty stomach.  After working out, it was important to me that I eat within an hour, to force my body into an anabolic state.  I immediately went home and prepared a protein shake, using reduced fat milk mixed with water, 2 scoops of powder, and 1T of raw oats. I've been eating pretty much every 4 hrs since then.  Small meals/snacks.  Im trying to keep it clean. Low carbs.  High protein and veggies.
Regarding the exercises - my left side of my body is way weaker then my right.  I need to research how to go about mending that. I also want to shake up the way I work my abdominals.  I have some exercises in mind for when I do my lower body workout on Monday, that will attack other angles of my abs.  We shall see.
I fully intend on going to the gym tomorrow, but Im unsure if I want to do the walk to jog program, or something else.  Either way, the plan is for 60mins of cardio broken up on at least 2 machines.  Maybe 3.  God willing.

Signing Out for Now
 

Convenience Foods

Today I thought I would touch on the subject of convenience foods and what that term means to me as I embark on the building a better me journey.

• Chicken Cutlets - Cannot live without.  I buy these by the lb, and every few days I grill a few up at a time, and dice them.  I always have chicken cutlets available to either munch on or throw in a salad.  Speaking of which.
• Spinach/Mixed Greens - I scour the supermarket sales periodicals, for who has these PRE-WASHED, PRE-BAGGED veggies on sale.  I then go and buy at least 2 a week
• Egg whites - are the bane of my existence.  However, I can't afford to constantly buy the container of egg whites, so enter my carton of eggs.  I search the sales, again, and then I go buy at least 4 cartons a week.  At any given moment, you can find me separating eggs for either a simple egg white omelet, my protein pancake, or any other countless recipe I find.  I need my protein and I need it in a way that doesn't introduce a lot of calories, fat, or simple carbohydrates.
• Baby Carrots - for those days I want potato chips or a cookie, or both.  Or simply to have something in my mouth.
• Cucumbers - to add bulk to my salad.
• Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese - for adding additional flavor to the above otherwise boring foods.
• Whey Protein Powder - I use Designer Whey.  Low in calories and carbs, and high in protein.  Depending on when I drink it, I decide whether to mix with water or reduced fat milk.
• Old Fashioned Oats - Great for when I need a complex, filling carb.  A spoonful also goes good in my protein shake
• Natural Peanut Butter - awesome snack. High in protein.  
• Fat Free Cottage Cheese - same as above.  I use the pineapple flavored.
• Almonds - quick snack.  High in protein.
• Frozen Veggies - easily microwaveable/steamable.  Any leftovers can be tossed in a salad, or munched on as a snack.

So, that's what my list of convenience foods look like.  I tend to keep the above on hand.  I like also buying gallon sized zip loc bags.  My mixed greens and spinach gets  tossed into the bag, and every morning (I really should switch to nights), I toss a couple of handfuls in a bowl.  Throw in my extras, and Im good to go.  And, I really pack it in. 

Im striving to really ensure, that I ALWAYS have food on hand so that I wont have to make HARD choices.  There are times, when I just can't get it together, but I won't beat myself up too hard, Im just trying to stay focused, and I know in the long run it will pay off.  Been there, done that, so I know it's possible.

If you're reading this (Rosa), I hope some of my suggestions can be utilized to help make YOUR life a little easier.  After awhile, it'll become second nature, and it'll be easier to make sure you are giving yourself a fair chance.  And, for days, where things don't work out as planned, just try again tomorrow.  Remember, results are always forthcoming.

Cardio Tuesday

Well, I did what I had to do today, and rolled out of bed at around 5:15am.  Crooked neck and all.  I was determined to make it to the gym.  I made it, I banged through my walk to jog workout, did some abdominals, and bought myself home.

My routine today consisted of:

3.5 Incline
3.2 mph
10 minute walking warm-up

Increased to 4.1 mph jogged for 30 sec
Walked at 3.2 mph for 90 sec
Repeated 10 times

3.5 Incline
3.2 mph
10 minute walk cool-down

2.13 miles travelled
40 minutes

So far, my eating has been on point today.  Let's hope that this carries over into tomorrow.  My neck is really bothering me, but I need to try to get up in there, and do my LEG Strength training routine.

Until tomorrow.

Trucking Along

Hey world,

Im still here!  Still determined to build a better me.  I haven't made it to the gym, quite as often as I would've liked the past week, but I did go my minimum 3.  I plan on doing way better this week.  Once I get this damn crook out my neck.  Ay vey, it's always something.

In any event, I tried doing a total body workout, and it kicked my arse.  So, now Im on the quest for a split routine.  My friend Rosa, has a great upper body split on her blog, and once I get her permission, I plan on incorporating that into my routine.  Now, to get a lower routine on paper. 

For me, once it's on paper, I have a PLAN.  It's easier for me to go in to the gym with a plan.  It allows for me to be very focused on the job at hand.  Im able to simply shut up and train.

Here's a site that is proving itself, to be very helpful to me http://www.exrx.net/index.html

Ok, so I'll be back later hopefully to log in what Ive accomplished.

Missing That Hour

So the title should lead you to possibly come to the conclusion that I didn't make it to the gym today.  Treasure, decided she wanted to be up most of the night.  By the time I finally got her in a good sleep, hubby came in wanting some attention, if you do know what I mean.  So, I'm wondering if I can count sexercise/ghetto pilates as a part of my physical fitness regimin.

Moving on, I was just lost today.  Got out the house late today, but I didn't let it start my day off wrong.  I had my protein pancake for breakfast.  I snacked on some almonds for my mid-morning snack, and I was forced to buy lunch today. 

I went the cheapest route I could go, and I bought a small spinach salad with sprouts, carrots, red onion, cuke's and grilled chicken.  I do splurge and use FF salad dressing, with sesame ginger being my favorite these days.  I have a large bottle of water to wash it all down.

Now, the salad I made yesterday, was MUCH larger.  I plan on cleaning this bowl out, and putting it to further use.  I will be bringing in my own salad again tomorrow, even if it means, that I have to run up in the supermarket after the gym.  I can always grill the chicken as I make breakfast.  How hard can that be?  Hmn, only time will tell.

Im thisclose to having my Total Body routine figured out.  I will post it as soon as I put the finishing touches on it.  Keep in mind that it will forever, constantly be tweaked to keep things new and interesting.

Before, I officially sign off, how many of ya'll have Exercise Tv?  Well I have it as part of the free on demand programs with my cable service.  I was watching 1 last night, that was fantastic.  I know Im strange because I watch exercise shows without exercising, but consider it one of my quirks.  I have no desire or space to be exercising at home.  Anyway, if memory serves correctly It was a Body by Jake, with an instructor named Marcos.  It consisted of all strength/resistance training using dumbells.  He focused on super sets, and each exercise was performed for 45 seconds.  Not a lot of jumping around like cardio, but you can definitely tell it was a routine designed to get that heart rate up!  My kind of exercise.  I will definitely be incorporating some of his moves into my own routine.

Ok, that be about it now!  Planning a nice early night, to ensure Im up for tomorrow's workout.

Manic Mondays

I think it's fair to say that Monday's can be quite manical for many.  For me, today was no different.  I got to a late start this morning and didn't arrive at the gym until 6am.  I actually prefer to arrive like around 5:30 or a quarter to 6 at the latest, but today, that just wasn't in the cards. My baby girl has been uber cranky this past weekend, and I DID contemplate not going, but I decided it's way to early in my routine, that's not even a routine to consider NOT GOING.  I figured I would probably be able to deal with her better, if I wasn't agitated from missing a workout, so off I went.

I'm glad yesterday I spent some time researching treadmill routines. Walking is not something I do because it's fun and I enjoy it. Factor in a non scenic treadmill, and walking becomes outright torture.  Good things I have goals, and aspirations.  I actually want to become a runner.  Why?  Why not?

So to help me reach that goal, I figured I need to at the very least learn how to LIKE the treadmill.  So I did this routine which is a BEGINNER routine.  It's timed at 30 minutes, but I ended up doing like 40 because I felt I needed an actual warm-up AND cool-down period.  I didnt think that should've been included as part of the 30 minute work out, at least for me.

Wow, what a blast of fun.  I cant' believe it, even as I type this.  Do, check out the workout page if you want specifics.  I fiddled with the treadmill so much, so constantly, that the routine flew by. I can totally see myself doing this again and again with mods of course, and incorporating the same concept into other machines like the Eliptical and Cross Country Skier.

As far as food goes, I think I did fairly well.  If I have to be completely honest, then I definitely need to address my Evening eating habits.  I used to eat about 6 meals a day back in 2005.  That took commitment, organization, and careful planning.  It was a lot of WORK but it truly WORKED. I said all of this to say, that I need to work in another meal/snack right after work.  Something fast and portable that I can consume maybe around 4pm or so.  By the time I reached home at 6 today I was famished.  I can also honestly say, I didn't think my spinach salad would fill me up, but it did.  Had, I added in that other meal/snack following it, I probably could've avoided eating those 4 cheese doodles, a coupla bites of a hot pocket, diced chicken, and a couple of my kitchen sink mini quiche's.

That was too sporadic, and I didn't feel at all in control, so that is something I will pay careful attention to and strive to do better. In the meanwhile, Im also thinking about a total body strength training routine I want to incorporate into my cardio sessions.  Im thinking 3xs a week, and something that works multiple muscles at a time.  So I plan to have a plan within the next day or 2.

And if the above isn't enough for me to ponder about, today my high blood pressure reared it's ugly head.  I went from feeling GREAT post workout, to standing on the train, feeling like DEATH out of nowhere.  Im talking headache to the point of combustion, total all over body sweat, and heavy feet even though I had on light as air moon boots.  I don't know how I didn't pass out, but I was damn sure close to losing control.

That experience was scary as hell, but it just confirmed I need to continue exercising and taking my medication as prescribed. Im just glad I get to live another day to take my medicine and exercise.

With that said, I'll be around.  Either on the workout page, or as a post, if I have lots to say.