Up to speed - week 4 recap

Yes, I missed a week of my routine. In my defense, I was doing some fairly labour intensive work around the house. I was cleaning and re-prepping the concrete in the living room and hallway all week long. My arms were so dead by the end of the week that I could feel my heartbeat in my muscles.

But I mostly got back on schedule last week, at least with my lifting. I completed upper, core, and lower (even after Grace got sick with the flu). However, I only did one HIIT session and one low-impact cardio (walking our 70 pound dog) throughout the course of the week.

I got hit last night with the fever, chills, aches, and coughing. But after taking some DayQuil this morning I hit the weights. My upper-body workout for week 5 is DONE! I probably won't do any cardio until tomorrow or Wednesday, I don't want to overdo it and then wear down my immune system response. Anyway, I have felt like a horrible slacker, but it really does feel good to strength train again and feel that soreness afterwards. It hurts so good!

Workout Challenge - Week Three

This week was a reminder that diet and sleep are a HUGE part of the success we see and feel from working out. I ate Five Guys for the first time ever two days ago, and I am STILL recovering from it. I had a small, plain burger and only ate one french fry, but MAN! I couldn't work out on Wednesday after I ate it, because my body was struggling to digest the food and all I wanted to do was nap. My workout yesterday was a real struggle because I was still playing catch-up with the proper fuel I needed to get a good workout. My workout today was even a little on the hard side, and today is the day I modify on my HIIT workout to take it easy on my knees. But, also, there were 4 days this week where I went to sleep close to midnight and got up before 7am. Lack of sleep coupled with 1-2 not-so-great meals threw off my entire week. I am still happy that I was able to do my full week of working out, and I just want to remind everyone that diet really is 80% of your weight-loss/toning program. It's okay to have a slip-day every now and then, but if you do it on a regular basis, you will feel sick, sluggish, moody, bloated, and well, basically, worthless.

Here's to eating healthy and getting enough sleep!

Workout Challenge - Week 2

I don't like Izumi Tabata. He is NOT my friend. He might have gotten the HIIT formula right, but he is still a total butthead in my book. In case you haven't figured it out yet, HIIT was brutal this week. But daily life made up for the brutality. There were a couple of humorous incidents this week that interrupted my workouts.

The first has to do with noise threshold and our home alarm system. As it now appears, the glass-break sensor on our alarm system interprets cymbal crashing as glass breaking. I learned this in the middle of a full sprint on the treadmill while the Cranberries were playing at an unusually loud volume. The alarm scared the crap out of me! I almost fell off of the treadmill while it was going at a pace of 8.5mph. Something tells me there would have been injury to me and damage to the wall behind me had I not caught myself and jumped off. The best part was when I had to answer a call from the alarm monitoring company and give them our verbal password (my sister and husband would appreciate the humor behind the story of the verbal password).

The second was a life lesson I guess Sam (our dog) just haaaaaad to learn. He came in and was curiously sniffing around during another HIIT treadmill workout, and decided to put his paw on the belt to steady himself so he could sniff the moving parts. I'm surprised he doesn't have tread burn now, but it's fun to watch him bark at the moving belt in stress and self-preservation now.

I am proud of myself for making it through all of my workouts this week. I hope it pays off!

On a side note, I made a healthy chili this week that is really delicious, and I wanted to share the recipe, so here it goes!

1 lb lean ground turkey, browned and seasoned with garlic salt and chili powder (brown it in a large pot, the same pot you will use to boil/simmer the chili)
2 cans pinto beans or 1 lb. bag dried pinto beans, soaked and cooked
1 can of corn, or 2 cups frozen corn or fresh corn
.75 cup of fresh diced onion
1 large can of garlic and herb spaghetti sauce (yes, spaghetti sauce) or diced tomatoes of your choosing
garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin for taste

Mix these all together and let them simmer on the stove top for 30 minutes to an hour, until it is thick. This is the mild version for families with small kids. If you want a mild spice, add a cut poblano pepper. If you want a hotter spice, add a jalapeno or habanero (good luck!).

I served it over rice (brown or white both work very well) and it was officially added to our "good leftovers" list.

Here's to week 2!

Exercise Challenge - Week One

Hello Everyone!

So this is not particularly "new", but I just started a workout program that I am really enjoying. It is my 2nd program (my first was 7 weeks long, and it ended last week). I just want to give a little background to everyone, that way if someone else wants to try this program, they can start at the beginning.

The first program was as follows:

Monday: upper body (bis, tris, shoulders, chest, etc.) 40-45 mins.
* I started off with 4 sets of 10 reps, then increased to 6 sets of 10 reps. I started off with 5 lb. dumbbells for the first 3 weeks, then used 10 lb. dumbbells for the remaining 4 weeks. Look up a beginner upper body workout to fit to your liking, but please make sure to include all muscles!

Tuesday: HIIT (treadmill, max out at 8 mph right now) 35 mins.

Wednesday: middle/core (abs and back) 40-45 mins.
* I started off with 4 sets of 10 reps the first 2 weeks, increased to 6 sets of 10 reps the next 2 weeks, then did 8 sets of 10 reps for the remaining 3 weeks. I did side plank crunches (those are AWESOME), crunches with weights, reverse crunches with weights or resistance bands, kneeling superman with resistance bands, alternating bicycle crunches, reverse crunches (for lower back strength), and a 1 minute plank between each exercise. TAKE YOUR TIME IF YOU DO THIS.

Thursday: HIIT (treadmill) 35 mins.

Friday: lower body (legs and glutes) 40-45 mins.
* I started off with 4 sets of 10 reps for the first 3 weeks, then increased to 6 sets of 10 reps for the remaining 4 weeks. I did lunges with weights (first 5 lb. dumbbells then 10 lb. dumbbells), squats with weights (same increase), woodchops, standing leg lifts with resistance band, seated leg press, glute press on a ball, and 1 minute wall sits between each exercise.

Saturday: HIIT (treadmill) 35 mins. (I skipped 2 Saturdays because of the holidays)

That is program number one.

My diet during this program consisted of daily protein shakes (whey protein), tuna, lean chicken, lots of apples and bananas, lots of raw nuts and seeds, brown rice, and of course, holiday food. :-) Yes, I still ate sushi. Mmmmmmmm.

My progress was losing 2 inches off of my natural waste, 1.5 inches off of my drop waste, and .5 inch off of each thigh. I also had noticeable increases in my muscle definition in my arms, abs, and legs.

THIS is my second program, week one:

Monday: Upper and HIIT
Pyramid and reverse pyramid weight increase. This is simply an increase in weight while decreasing reps per set, and then reversing it. So for me I did 20 reps of resistance band, 15 reps with 5 lb. dumbbells, 10 reps with 10 lb. dumbbells, 15 reps with 5 lb. dumbbells, and 20 reps with resistance bands for EACH EXERCISE listed below:

1. Chest press
2. Chest fly
3. One-armed row (do the pyramid on BOTH SIDES)
4. Pullover on ball (this was HARD)
5. Bent-arm lateral raise (standing or seated, doesn't matter)
6. Alternating overhead press (again, standing or seated, I prefer standing
7. Bicep curls
8. Tricep extensions

HIIT consisted of the following:
8 cycles of 20 seconds intense cardio with 10 seconds of rest in between, totalling about 4 minutes per exercise. There are 5 exercises:

1. High knees with jump rope (or without, just make sure you work hard)
2. Burpees (these are KILLER!)
3. Jump lunges
4. 1 big jump forward into a squat and 2 small jumps back
5. lunge ball-change

* this HIIT workout can be found in the archives of www.bodyrock.tv

Tuesday:
HIIT on treadmill (40 minutes at 7.5 for high and 3.5 for low, music helps!)

Wednesday:
Core workout consisting of 6 sets of 10 reps of the following:

1. Ball pass (feet to hands lying down)
2. Ball plank with leg lift (do a plank, but put your feet on the ball for balance, then slowly lift one leg, put it down, and lift the other, put it down. Do this for 6 sets. It. Is. Hard.)
3. Glute lift on ball
4. Roll-ups with ball (this is a pilates move, so do it slowly and controlled for optimum results)
5. Plank press ups on ball (do a plank, but position your elbows on the ball to support your weight, then drop to your knees, and lift up to a plank again. Do this for 6 sets)
6. Side plank crunch
7. Reverse crunch for lower back (on ball or on floor)
8. Dead lifts (my back still hurts from these, ouch)
9. Horizontal woodchops

HIIT workout from Monday (20 mins, 8 cycles of 20 seconds and 10 seconds of rest in between)

Thursday:
REST DAY. You are going to need it. If you must workout, do some low impact cardio (walking, slow jog, swim, low-impact step, etc.)

Friday:
I am starting with 4 sets of 10 reps of each of the following:

1. Box jumps (OUCH, but also WOOHOO!)
2. Squats with 10 lb. dumbbell in each hand
3. Lunges with 10 lb. dumbbell in each hand
4. Calf raises with 10 lb. dumbbell in each hand
5. Standing leg raise with resistance bands
6. Glute lift on ball (yes, I did this on Wednesday as well)
7. Hydrant lift (I always hated Billy Blanks for making this popular, and I still do)
8. Diagonal woodchops (you know, the original)
9. Seated leg press (I use a 10 lb. weight on each leg, secure onto my foot, and lift from a bent position. Do 4 sets of 10 on each side)
10. Lying inner-leg lift (a pilates move, you can do it with our without resistance bands)
I do a 1 minute long wall sit between the first 5 to 6 exercises, then drop it out of the rest of the routine.

HIIT from Monday and Wednesday, but instead of jump lunges I replace it with alternating high knees and jumping jacks since my legs are weak from my lower body routine. If you have a bad knee/bad knees, you should modify on this day as well for your own safety.

Saturday:
HIIT on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes (high 7.5 and low 3.5)

Sunday:
REST DAY. You are going to need it. Trust me.

My diet during this program is going to be similar to my diet during the first program, sans the holiday food. But I am still keeping the sushi! Mmmmmm. :-)

So tomorrow is the last day of week one for me, but I consider week one done, as the hardest parts of it are all over. I am sore, achy, and I have whined like a baby a few times, but I am really enjoying it so far.

2011 Resolutions!

2010 was a year to remember, and for good reasons. We accomplished quite a bit as a family, and we learned so much. I have no clue how we will top 2010 in terms of accomplishments, but I guess we can certainly try! Just as a recap, here is what we accomplished in 2010:

1. We paid off our car
2. I finished my degree
3. The kids learned how to swim
4. We read the scriptures as a family far more often
5. We did an FHE activity almost every week
6. I did better with visit teaching
7. We took a family vacation!
8. I added some more landscaping to the yard
9. We did some updates around the house
10. We paid off some small medical bills
11. Bryan got an awesome job!

For 2011, I/we resolve to:

1. Finish reading the Book of Mormon again with my family
2. Go through all of the New Testament lessons in the teaching manual for FHE
3. Make more time to go to the temple
4. Follow through with my new exercise program and not allow myself to stop
5. Help Bryan accomplish his goal of paying off more debt for our family
6. Plant a fruit tree or two in the backyard
7. Start learning a new language with the kids
8. Bryan wants to fix his truck up, we are already on our way
9. Stain our concrete floors and paint all the walls
10. Fix the damage Sam has done in the backyard (it's scary)

I think we should be able to accomplish it, and I hope 2011 is just as amazing as 2010 was. My farewell to 2010 is bittersweet. It was a wonderful year full of growth and blessings. But 2011 could be just as good, or better, than 2010. Here's to 2010, a year of blessings, and here's to 2011, a year full of potential.

Happy early new year!

My new challenge

Hey again!

I have been doing a fitness challenge, and I started week 5 yesterday. I want to blog about it a little bit to keep myself motivated and let other people know why I am always complaining about *insert muscle group here* being sore. The weekly routine is:

Monday: upper body (bis, tris, shoulders, chest, etc.) 40-45 mins.
Tuesday: HIIT (treadmill, max out at 8 mph right now) 35 mins.
Wednesday: middle/core (abs and back) 40-45 mins.
Thursday: HIIT (treadmill) 35 mins.
Friday: lower body (legs and glutes) 40-45 mins.
Saturday: HIIT (treadmill) 35 mins.

I am planning on doing this for a total of 6-8 weeks, and then changing up my routine a bit.

As for diet, right now I am focusing on eating every 2-3 hours, with meals being 300+ calories and snacks being 200- calories. I am focusing on whole grains, nuts, nut butters, lean protein, and lots of carbs from fruit/veggies.

When I change up my routine, I plan to follow the 5 week diet challenge advice of Zuzana at www.bodyrock.tv.

So far I have stayed around the same weight, but I have gained some muscle definition and lost a total of 5 inches of fat from all over (arms, hips, stomach, legs).

I will admit, I was concerned about the focus on lifting/strength training and the idea of "bulking up". I also got a little discouraged when I gained weight the first 3 weeks of the challenge. But after researching the reasons why it would happen that way (and seeing the definition look more like toning than bulking), and seeing the scale drop for the past week or so, I am a little hooked on it and I hope I can find what will work best for me.

This challenge has helped me focus on being active and eating healthy. It is hard to do with the holidays, but the fact that I have stayed below 160 lbs. during the holiday season is proof that what I am doing is actually working.

Also, the little two-pack I started at the top of my abs is really fun to look at and flex, so I think I will just have to keep going until I get a four-pack. :-)

Support my challenge! Comment on here or FB to let me know what you do and what motivates you. :-)

Simple Joy

I know it has been quite a while since I updated my blog..... I got just a little busy. Thanks to all of you who followed my blog challenge about trust and recommitting to yourself and others.

So.... updates:

*Note - if I have already updated everyone on these things, I'm sorry for the repetitiveness!

I decided to volunteer to be in charge of the silent auction for Grace's school in September. That was a fairly involved task! It started in mid-September and ended the first week of November, and it kept me BUSY. At the end of September our air conditioner stopped working. We had a large outpouring of support from friends (they offered fans, food, refuge, and one even fixed our air conditioner for an amazing price), and I want to say thanks again to everyone who helped us out! In October a water main busted under our driveway. Don't worry, it wasn't on our side, it was on the city's side (thank GOODNESS and everything else sweet). It took them about 10 days from start to finish to clamp the line and fix our driveway.

Grace's birthday came and went, and she had a wonderful birthday party with friends and a nice birthday celebration with family. I can't believe she is seven years old... it is exciting and terrifying at the same time. When did this happen??? She is doing very well in 1st grade. She is reading at a high 3rd grade/low 4th grade level and she is right on track with all of her other subjects. She is still enjoying her ballet class, and she has really gotten in to writing in her journals. I love her!

Andrew is still attending preschool, and he is starting to recognize more letters and small words (2-3 letter words right now). He has really enjoyed counting objects and making up his own stories to his books. He is a little engineer! He loves to build train tracks, car tracks, and block buildings all day long. He also loves to save the world with his super heroes. In fact, I spent over an hour last night resewing the chest seam on his Spiderman costume (my sewing machine is still on the fritz) because he has been wearing it so much recently that it is falling apart! He will be starting Sunbeams in January, and it is a bittersweet time for me. If this is our last child, there will be no more excitement of starting church nursery. Once he gets in to Primary he is going to quickly transform from a little preschooler to a little man. *sniff sniff*
I love him, too!

Bryan's job is still going very well. He is still with the same client he has been with for several months now, which gives him great utilization percentages and nice quarterly bonuses. We just attended a company Christmas party where I met all of the people he works with on a daily basis. Just as I suspected, they are all a bunch of kids trapped in men's bodies. :-)

I am still keeping busy with the kids, the house, my little projects, and my church calling. The holiday season is here, which means that the choir and other groups are preparing for the church Christmas program. I am excited about the music we have picked out this year. The choir members are lively and always in jovial moods, which makes practice very enjoyable. The songs that have been picked out sound wonderful when we get together and sing them. They touch my heart and make me feel the joy of this season.

Speaking of joy.... if you did not see the LDS First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night, you need to see it. It was amazing. The songs were gorgeous, and the spoken words were divinely inspired and so heart-warming and touching. It was just such a wonderful experience. We prepared for it by reading some scriptures by candlelight and making cocoa kiss cookies together. Grace said she was looking forward to the music, and Andrew was excited to play with his toys while we watched. Towards the end Grace crawled in my lap and fell asleep. It had been so long since that had happened, at least 3 years. The song the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing was "Silent Night", and my daughter fell asleep peacefully in my arms. I was so overwhelmed by the simple joy of that moment that I cried. I felt the Spirit so deeply, and I though to myself that there is no denying the Christ. If this joy is something that comes from the soul, and we can connect our souls to a reason for living, we can find the truth and feel so much happiness in it. The gospel really is very simple, and so comforting.

As I looked around our small computer room last night and saw my sleeping daughter, my playful son, and my happy husband, I realized that I have a chance to be with them forever after this life is over. And all of the thanks for that can be given to our savior, Jesus Christ. I am proud to be one of those who believes in his birth, because it gives me a chance to believe in his life, his teachings, his sacrifice, and our salvation. I want my simple joy to be your simple joy, can I share it with you? If I say "Merry Christmas" to you on the street, will you feel the genuine love behind that phrase? Will your heart be warmed by happiness while the bitter cold swirls outside? Will you remember on Christmas Day that we are receiving a gift that cannot be seen? We are receiving the reminder of Christ's birth; the time that came when he was received in to the cold world by a loving mother's arms, and was protected, nurtured, loved, and given the chance to do his father's work. Will you open your heart and feel the joy of that moment? I know I will, and I already do.

Merry Christmas to all of you!