How Have You Been Treating Your Workouts and Diet?

It's summertime and I've noticed I've become lax on my diet and have even skipped some workouts to go do other things instead. After all, living in Maine, summer lasts from June to September and of those months June is usually a wash out with rain and it starts cooling off by early- to mid-September. I am a summer person (I HATE winter with a passion). I enjoy my time at the beach as well as spending as much time outdoors as possible. Unfortunately, my diet and exercise sometimes suffer. I think I've gotten that out of my system in the past three weeks though.

I hit a funk and was only working out 3-4 times a week as opposed to the usual 6 times a week. My diet was actually pretty good during the week, but as soon as the weekends hit, I allowed myself one too many cheat meals and one too many Whipped vodka drinks. Mmmm, but who can resist? Well, I have to now. I have to get back on track and motivate myself to get to where I really want to be. If I don't, my body will suffer and in turn I'll feel like crap about myself and hide under sweatshirts and long pants. Who wants to live life that way? Not me!!

I think it helped not training as hard these past three weeks because it really gave my body time to recuperate and rest. I went into the gym tonight and trained shoulders and I was in beast mode - I killed it! I left the gym feeling so accomplished. I showed the weights who was boss tonight. Yeah buddy!!!!

First, I have to mention... I really was discouraged and didn't have any intentions of going to the gym after work (that's why I really need to get back into the routine of going in the mornings again). BUT I downed my Super Pump 250 and got the energy and motivation I needed. I showed up at World and the parking lot was FULL. Screw that! I drove over to Obie's instead. Thank God.

I started my warm up and then I got into it. I did 4 sets of 10-12 reps of seated dumbbell (DB) shoulder press. I made sure I chose a weight that I was struggling to get the last rep. I took about 30-45 seconds of rest in between each set. Then I superset 4 sets of 10-12 reps of the Arnold press and rear delt flye. My next exercise I superset 4 sets of 10-12 reps of lateral raise and alternating front raise. Finally, I did 4 heavy sets of 10 reps of the E-Z bar upright row.

In between the last three exercises, I would train my abs. I just did them all until failure - woodchop, decline sit up, russian twists, lemon squeezes, weighted crunch.

Finally, I moved on to HIIT cardio on the Arc Trainer. I put it to the highest level (10) and set the time for 20 minutes. At 17:30 I started my high intensity and just sprinted for 30 seconds. Back to low intensity for a full minute, then immediately to high intensity for another 30 seconds... I kept doing this until I hit the 2 minute mark. I stopped and cooled down. In only 20 minutes, I ended up burning 272 calories. Had I kept going at the low intensity pace for 30 minutes, I would have only burned about 300 calories, if that. I felt great! Awesome thing about HIIT is that even after I'm done my workout, I'm still burning fat and calories and will continue to do so into tomorrow. That's also another reason why I prefer HIIT to regular cardio.

My diet was ok today. I definitely did not drink nearly enough water and I didn't eat enough. I had tuna and two rice cakes, two cups of coffee with Stevia, chicken salad with eggs and cottage cheese and tomatoes and some light cheese and balsamic vinegar, almonds and gummy bears, protein shake post-workout, and about a cup of baked ziti with meat sauce. Definitely not ideal, but the morning started off on the wrong foot, so it threw my eating off. No excuses, I know! Tomorrow will be a much better day as far as diet goes.

All I know is that after tonight's workout, I feel amazing! I can't wait to hit the gym tomorrow morning with my trainer, Jamie. We'll be training legs! My other favorite body part train other than shoulders.

Get out there and train and eat well, and be sure to drink plenty of water!!!!

Not Comfortable Working Out At The Gym? Do It At Home!

After posting Monday’s blog regarding circuit training (CT), someone sent me a message asking me if I could provide her with a home-based CT routine. Based on research and lots of reading, here’s what I sent her (and this can be used by men, too!):
 
You can perform this circuit from the comfort of your own home! Try this routine for the next four weeks and perform it anywhere from 2 to 3 times each week. I wouldn’t do this routine any longer than that because your body will hit a plateau. All you’ll need is space; everything can be done with your bodyweight! This is a total-body workout. Depending on your levels of activity, aim to perform anywhere from 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps and rest about 30 to 60 seconds in between exercises. Here are the moves and their explanations:
 
Side Bridge with Abduction – you’ll lie on your left side with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder and legs stacked. Make sure your core is tight and lift your hips off the floor until you’re balancing on your forearm and feet and your body forms a diagonal line. Lift your right leg at least 6 inches, lower, and repeat. Complete all reps and then repeat on your right side – this will be one complete set.
 
Wraparound Touch Ankle - Stand with your legs together and bend your right knee 90 degrees so you're balancing on your left leg. As you squat, reach your right arm across your body and try to touch the outside of your left foot with your fingertips. Keep your back as straight as possible while reaching. Press back up to start. Complete all reps, and then repeat on your right leg. That's one set.
 
Double Stop Pushup - Get into a pushup position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your back straight. Keeping your neck in line with your spine, lower yourself halfway and hold for 1 second. Continue lowering until your chest is only a couple of inches from the floor. Pause, then push back up to the halfway point and pause again before finally pressing back up to start. If that’s too hard, start out doing the move with your knees on the floor.
 
Push Up Bird Dog – Get into another pushup position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your back straight. Get your core tight as you extend your right arm and left leg. Lower them both, but not your torso, and repeat, lifting your left arm and right leg. Continue alternating until you've completed 8 to 12 reps on each side. That's 1 set.
 
Windshield Wiper - Bend your knees and lift your legs until your thighs are above your hips. Press your palms into the floor and lower your legs to the left. Go as far as possible while keeping your right shoulder glued to the floor, then bring your legs back to center. Next, lower them to the right. Alternate until you've completed 8 to 12 reps on each side.
 
Supine Row - Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms at your sides with elbows bent 90 degrees. Pinch your shoulder blades together as you dig your elbows into the mat and lift your head and torso a few inches off the floor. Lower and repeat.
 
Let me know if you have any questions! Be sure you are doing your cardio, too! This will help get you better results. Make sure you are drinking LOTS of water and eating well! Good luck!