Strong and Lean!

It is no secret that I love fitness. It is one of my favorite hobbies. This past winter/Spring I got certified to teach group exercise classes.

I learned a lot, and I also discovered that teaching a class is very different than exercising on your own or participating in a class. My hat is off to the excellent teachers I have had in the past. There is so much to think about and do while teaching. I am working on sharpening my skills as a teacher and hope to start teaching in the next 6 months to a year.

While trying to get my foot into the teaching scene, my own fitness was put on the back burner. I was focusing on studying and taking lots of classes. My fitness level has somewhat surpassed the strength training classes, so I decided to try out a strength training plan on my own.

This article has been my guide (please excuse the immodest pictures). There is a lot of great information packed into this article. They dispel the myth that lifting weight will cause females to get bulky. Thankfully, we don’t have the ability to get big and bulky without the help of added testosterone. No worries about looking like Arnold Schwarznegger. Weightlifting will lead to toned muscles. Who doesn’t want that!?!

It was intimidating to go out onto the floor with all of the muscle bound dudes. I put my headphones on, turned on Pandora, and went to work. Now I am not bothered at all.  Here is the schedule from the article:

Weeks 1-4

During weeks 1-4, you will be lifting in the 8-12 rep range. What this means is that you want to complete at least 8 reps but no more than 12 reps for each set. If you cannot complete 8 reps, then the weight is too heavy and you should decrease the load. If you can complete more than 12 reps, then the weight is too light and you should increase the load.

Weeks 5-8

During weeks 5-8, you will be lifting in the 6-8 rep range. What this means is that you want to complete at least 6 reps but no more than 8 reps for each set. If you cannot complete 6 reps, then the weight is too heavy and you should decrease the load. If you can complete more than 8 reps, then the weight is too light and you should increase the load.

Weeks 9-12

During weeks 9-12, you will be lifting in the 4-6 rep range. What this means is that you want to complete at least 4 reps but no more than 6 reps for each set. If you cannot complete 4 reps, then the weight is too heavy and you should decrease the load. If you can complete more than 6 reps, then the weight is too light and you should increase the load.

This phase of the 12-week program is going to be very challenging and produce accelerated results.

Here are a few thoughts about the program. I am in week four and I LOVE the workouts. The results have been pretty awesome. Each strength portion takes about 30-40 minutes. I don’t always take the full minute rest. I let my heart rate regulate a bit and get back to work. This saves some time. If you are beginning your fitness journey, you will probably need the full minute. I have been tracking my reps/weight on the notes app on my phone. This helps to see where I left off and track progress. I do the strength portion and then a 22 minute interval workout. With cardio, my workouts take about an hour. I do Upper and Lower A on Mondays and Tuesdays, Cardio Intervals at the gym on Wednesdays, and Upper and Lower B on Thursdays and Fridays. One tip for the Dips/Pull-ups portion of the Upper B workout. You will more than likely want/need an assisted pull-up/dips machine. These moves are very strenuous for even very fit people.

The recommended cardio workouts in the article are really great; however, I have been working off another schedule and taking my favorite class at the gym for my cardio.

I hate pictures of myself, but I will have to take some to track the progress. It is unfortunate I didn’t take them at the beginning. Better late than never. Hope others give this strength plan a whirl. You will not be disappointed!

New “toy”!

After shopping at few stores and trying a few different brands, I finally bit the bullet and purchased some new shoes for x-bike. We went to Mike’s Bikes downtown. We received great customer service. They even noticed our stroller tire was about to come off the wheel and fixed it for us. We probably could have found a better deal online, but it was nice to support a local store. If you are in the market for a bike or bike accessories or need a repair, head over to Mike’s Bikes.

Here are my new shoes, and I can’t wait to try them out next week.

Recovery Drink

A few weeks ago I did a post about exercise and adding a recovery drink to my diet. After some research, I decided to go with a different drink than I originally posted. My instructor recommended the p90x recovery drink. I took a look at the website, and found it to be very expensive.

A search on Amazon (we are doing a TON of shopping on Amazon lately) led me to Mike’s Mix.

 

I looked at the ingredients and the nutritional content. They are pretty much identical. The only difference was that the P90x drink had some creatine. I really don’t want to ingest creatine, so that is actually a good thing for me. The biggest difference between the 2 drinks is the price. Mike’s Mix is less than half the cost of the other brand. It received great reviews on Amazon about its effectiveness and that it tasted great as well.

We ordered some of the chocolate flavor, and the reviews were correct about the taste. It tastes like a huge glass of chocolate milk (you can mix it with water or milk and I choose fat free milk). I do a half serving after my workouts. My workouts are never longer than an hour, so the half serving is sufficient.

After using it for about 3 weeks, I can actually feel a difference during my workouts and throughout the day. I have noticed that I am able to work harder during my spin classes, and use heavier weights in my strength training. I also notice that I feel like a could workout twice in a day. Whereas before, I felt like I could hardly move after my workouts and felt very fatigued throughout my day.

I am sold! I was a tad skeptical at first, but after reading the science behind it and trying it out for myself I really believe it helps. It looks like it is cheaper to buy it through the actual Mike’s Mix website. Even with shipping you pay about $.86/serving as opposed to $1.20/serving when purchased from Amazon with free shipping.

Give it a whirl and see what you think

Exercise and Fueling the Body

Exercise has been a priority in my life for a long time. It started with playing sports a young person. I loved the feeling of using my body and expending energy. A few knee injuries really limited my involvement in sports, and I had to find a new outlet. That is when I began to workout. I took some breaks, but overall I have pretty regularly included some sort of exercise in my schedule. I actually have some guilt when I don’t get it done. My mom thinks I am a nut, but it is the way I am made. I crave it!

With each child that we added to our family, it has been harder to maintain an exercise routine. I bounced back pretty quickly after Chase. It took a little long with Parker, but I was back at it in about 8 weeks. I tried after Maggie to get back into it, but it was really hit or miss during her first year. I did some home workouts when I could, but often a nap would trump a workout. I would try to go to the gym, but I would come home feeling fatigued and exhausted. Not ready and able to tackle the task of mothering 3 active kids. It was just too much for quite a while. It was hard for me to accept, but I gave my body time. I started up about 2 months ago making a concerted effort to exercise 4-5 days a week. I was able to stick to it, and cope for the rest of the day with my other responsibilities. So happy to be back into the routine. It is so exciting to see some changes in my body and feeling more like my younger self.

With my exercise and workouts, I have a few goals to accomplish. Make my body strong so I can be the best wife, mother, daughter, etc. It takes a lot of strength to lift kids, install car seats, fold and unfold strollers.

I want to have energy. Exercise energizes me for the day. The endorphins give me a boost and a feeling of well-being. I miss that so much when I skip a workout.

Lastly, I want to be able to wear my clothes, have them fit properly, and feel good about the way I look in the mirror. After going through the ups and downs of weight gain and weight loss with every baby, I am ready to just find my normal. I am realizing that my “normal” might have to be a “new normal.” It is not as easy to whip myself back into shape as it was 10 years ago or even just 5 years ago. It is hard!

I love group exercise classes. You don’t have to think. You just show up and follow along. Perfect for a tired mommy at 6:00 in the morning. The instructor of my Tuesday morning Group Strength Training (GST) class is 5 feet tall and ALL muscle. She is one strong lady. There is no jiggle anywhere near this lady, but she has maintained a feminine look. She is not too bulky but long and thin. She is in her forties, a mother of 4, and a grandmother. Quite the inspiration!

This morning she suggested drinking a muscle recovery drink within 30-60 minutes. She said it has helped her body definition and energy levels immensely. I think I might incorporate this into my diet and routine and see what happens. Hopefully, I will start to look a little my instructor

Do I really look like that!?!?!

 

With all three of my pregnancies I have gained about 35 pounds. I lose the first 20 pounds really fast. Usually within a week or 2. The last 15 come off soooo slowly. It is hard work. It also has gotten more difficult to lose with each pregnancy.

For me it is always a shock to see a picture of myself when I am carrying extra weight. On an everyday basis it is difficult to see, but a picture sure makes it all clear . This week I saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit. Let me just say I hardly recognized myself. It is time to get to work.

My eating is decent. I could definitely cut back on some junk food, but overall my eating is pretty good. I need to get to exercising. I started yesterday, and I hope to get back into running. I hope to get back to my normal self. I refuse to be a person who lets themselves go after having babies. I have too many examples in my life of people who have returned to normal after many pregnancies. I know it can be done, and I have done it twice already. I am ready for round 3!

My goal is to be “normal” by Christmas. Hopefully, I can reach my goal