Week 1 Day 1 workout

Today was weight training for chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. For me, it was intense enough, given the fact I haven't done much in the way of upper body weight training since I stopped working with my personal trainer. I'm also doing some extra stuff (*) for lower back strength and flexibility, to counteract the effects of OA in my SI joint on the right side. I've been getting "tweaks" there lately, and don't want to wait until I tear a muscle before trying to do something about it. Here's the workout I did:

5 minutes on treadmill to warm up
Dynamic Warm-up sequence
2 x 8 reps Db decline bench press (10# Dbs)
2 x 9 reps Db incline bench press (10# Dbs)
2 x 8 reps Db shoulder press - strict format (7# Dbs)
2 x 6 reps Db push press - staggered stance (8# and 10# Dbs)
2 x 9 reps Db close-grip bench press (10# Dbs)
2 x 8 reps Db standing French press (1-10# Db)
2 x 10 reps Bb kneeling roll-out
2 x Planks - alt leg lifts, 5 sec hold, 15 sec total
2 x Side planks l/r 15 sec hold
1 x 10 reps Swiss ball alt arm/leg lifts*
Stretches for muscles worked plus lower back/hip/glute

I realized after I did everything that I didn't do a warm-up set on each lifting exercise. Next time!

Tomorrow my workout will be at 5:45 a.m. New routine, and I'm sticking with it.

WORKOUT 28 Nov 08

Cardio Coach #8 on treadmill (did all hills as speed intervals @ 1% - 1.5% grade):

Challenge 1 - 3:00 to reach level 3 (3.5 - 4 mph) 2:00 @ level 3 (4 mph) 1:30 finish @ level 4 (5 mph)

Challenge 2 - first 8 minutes: alternating 1:00 4 mph walk/1:00 5 mph run 2:00 rest second 8 minutes: alternating 2:00 5 mph run/1:00 3.5 mph walk

Challenge 3 - 3:00 level 3 (4 mph) + 1:00 level 4 (5 mph) 2:00 recovery 2:00 level 3 (4 mph) + 1:00 level 4 (5.5 mph) 1:00 recovery 1:00 level 3 (4 mph) + 1:00 level 4 (5 mph) :30 recovery 1:00 level 4 (5.5 mph)

Totals: 60 minutes, 3.77 miles

I didn't do as good as I thought I would yesterday. Had turkey, stuffing, gravy, a glass of wine, and a slice of pumpkin custard pie that my SO spent almost 3 hours making in the morning (worth every minute of effort...). By last night, I was very uncomfortable and was wondering if I was going to be able to sleep. But that was yesterday, and today is a new day. I've been back on the PN program. I'm about to do some intervals on the treadmill, then I'll probably make a protein shake as my last meal of the day (#5)--I'm going to try including some oatmeal for carbs. Hopefully it'll taste good.

The exciting thing for me is that my SO is on board with eating healthy and is more or less eating what I eat. He'll probably be less compliant during the week at work, but as long as I have some influence over his meals at home, he's better off than he would be otherwise.

Our assignment for today is to do the measurements. We've been out and about all day and my SO is out for the evening, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to do the skinfold measurements.

We were going to try to go skiing to a local mountain on Sunday, but now it looks like rain is in the forecast. Oh well, it's still early in the season!

Okay, there's a treadmill downstairs that's calling out to me. Time to sweat!

Sue has a Level 1 nutritional age

Intellectually, I know what I need to do. But in practice, I'm a Level 1. I'm not yet adhering to the 10 Habits. What I really love about the PN program, and what's so different about it compared to what I've done previously, is that (especially) as a Level 1, I don't yet concern myself with measuring, weighing, or counting calories, carbs, proteins, fats. I don't have to worry about nutrient timing, macros, or any other details. All I have to do at this point is follow the 10 Habits the majority of the time, making sure I eat every 2-3 hours, and eat clean, whole foods at each meal. Just getting the habits going a little at a time.


Today is Thanksgiving. I'm focusing on getting meals in every 3 hours or so, and making sure I have a protein and a veggie with each meal. Maybe by the time dinner is ready, I won't be so overwhelmingly hungry that I'll stuff myself to the point of being uncomfortable. I'll indulge by having a glass or two of wine, and will allow myself a serving of stuffing and turkey gravy. After that meal, though, it's right back to the program.


Tomorrow will be measuring day--skin fold measurements, girth measurements, and a starting weigh-in. I'll take my first set of photos to post on the PN LE forum. Since I got into the habit of taking weekly photos over the summer when I was working with an online personal trainer, it won't be such a horrific experience for me to see pix of myself in a sports bra and fitness shorts. I found "before" photos that I took of myself the end of the summer 2007, when I started South Beach and was close to 200 pounds. I also found a photo of myself in a swimsuit, taken around the same time. Holy crap!!! What a difference 25 pounds makes on a 5'3" frame! Just imagine what I'll look like if I drop another 20-25!


To my guest readers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving!!

Lean Eating - one step at a time

So yesterday was our first lesson. We had to post a brief bio and our top 3 goals for the Lean Eating (LE) program. Here's mine:

1. Make cardio and strength training an integral part of my daily life--like taking a shower, brushing my teeth. I want to be at the point where it's part of my routine and that there's no decision to be made on a daily basis as to "do I" or "don't I" work out, which always gives me that chance to blow it off. I want it to be where I just get up in the morning and do it as part of my morning routine. I envy people who do that!
   
2. Get myself down to a healthy weight for me, with lower body fat and more lean muscle mass than I have now. Right now, my goal is 150 pounds by the end of this program. As soon as I know what my body fat percentage is, I can set a goal for that as well.
   
3. Get myself to the point where it doesn't matter what nutritional choices other people make, that I choose healthy foods and eat healthy meals automatically.

One of my biggest challenges is that I don't live alone, and my SO isn't exactly what I'd call a 100% healthy eater or regular exerciser (to his credit, he's on his feet, bending and lifting all day at his job). If I "lead by example" in my house and get my family to follow my lead with healthy eating and making time for exercise, it will foster a built-in support system for me at home--if I can get my SO to understand what I'm learning and practicing and see the benefits I'm reaping, it will be that much easier for us to keep the junk food out of the house and focus on preparing healthy meals, and to understand my need for a regular routine of exercise.

I'm committed to making good plans for each week, and want to make one or two "big meals" each Sunday, packaged in individual serving containers to grab on the go during the week. Eating 5 or 6 meals per day requires lots of forethought and planning!

I think my biggest challenge of all will be the amount of exercise required. A minimum of 5 hours per week of resistance, cardio, and recovery exercised will mean Sue has to get her ass out of bed an hour earlier each day to work out, otherwise it won't happen. If I can get up early 4 work days and do a long workout over the weekend, anything over and above that will be icing on the cake (lousy analogy...). I've got the fitness center at work where I can get a treadmill or elliptical workout in, so no doubt my morning workouts at home will be strength training.

We haven't gotten any info on eating yet, but I got the Precision Nutrition system the end of last week and have read through most of it. There are 10 "habits for success" in PN, and it involves having at least 5 or 6 "eating events" (EE) each day--every 2 to 4 hours, having both veggies and a complete protein at every EE, and only having non-veggie/non-fruit carbs in a post-workout (PW) meal. No workout, no carbs. There's a habit for fat intake, and one that requires zero-calorie beverages (except for protein shakes) in place of juice, soda, etc. We should target eating whole foods in as close-to-natural state as possible. The last habit is a fun one--break the rules 10% of the time. I'll be good at that one! :-)

So it looks like we'll be easing into the full program gradually, one step at a time. This will give us a day to digest (pun intended) each day's lesson before moving onto the next layer of the program. Today's lesson was an overview of exercise and what to expect with the program requirements. I'll probably start out with a mix of kettlebells and dumbells for resistance, and definitely treadmill intervals and possibly elliptical intervals for the high-intensity training (HIIT).

This is gonna shake up my world, for sure!!

Here I go again!

After a 6-week break, I'm going to be back at my quest for fitness and fat loss on November 24, when the PN Lean Eating for Women program starts. I'll be at it for 6 months this time.

Over the past year, I've had successes in fits and starts. About 8 weeks with South Beach yielded a 10-pound loss last fall, getting me down to 180. The weight bounced around a bit over the winter, getting back up to the high 190s, then back down to around 185. I became frustrated with my lack of self-discipline, so I signed on with an online personal trainer, and with her guidance, I lost 15 pounds over about 10 weeks, with a low of just under 170. I've maintained a 12-pound loss, gaining back about 3 since the end of September.

I got an email from Dr. John Berardi about the latest Lean Eating program launch, and decided that I'd sign up, to continue getting the weight down and the fitness level up. This blog will be part of my accountability, and I'll be reporting both the good and the not-so-good over the next 6 months. The biggest challenge will, no doubt, be getting through the holiday season unscathed.

I'm looking forward to getting started!