Good morning folks!!
As most of you know, I recently did the Insanity workout. I've seen the infomercials on TV for years and have been curious about it. 2 of the doctors I work with completed the program and challenged me to try it. So I did.
I started at the end of May. I really enjoyed the first month. It was challenging but I didn't feel like it was too difficult. The workouts were about 40 minutes in length. They started with about a 10 minute warm-up and a 5 minute stretch. The actual workout part was about 25-30 minutes. The exercises consisted of plyometrics, cardio, and body weighted exercises with focus on core strengthening. The recovery stretches were very good and focused on balance.
After month 1, there is a recovery week which focuses on core strength and balance.
Month 2 was an entirely different story. The workouts were all about an hour in length. After the warm-up and stretch, there were about 45 minutes left for the workout. I'm not sure why, but that seemed like an eternity to me. The exercises were markedly more difficult. I felt very discouraged and definitely did not look forward to doing the workouts. They just seemed more inconvenient and tedious. So, consequently, I did not actually complete the workout. I completed about 6 weeks of the workout but that was really all I could muster.
I didn't see any outward results in my weight or body either. I think there are multiple reasons for this, primarily my diet. I didn't follow the meal plan. Secondly, I'm at a point where I want body sculpting. I want to build muscle and have definition. I'm at a point where I need to focus more on weight lifting vs cardio.
However, I did have results. My endurance and stamina has definitely increased. I feel like my core strength, flexibility and balance are all very much improved!
The bottom line here is I enjoyed it and I would do it again.
I have moved on to the newest Beachbody workout program, Focus T25. I'm enjoying it so far. The workouts are all 25 minutes in length. They are a mix of cardio and body weighted exercises. I find that it is much easier to find 25 minutes to workout each day. And I'll have time to incorporate more weight training so that I can build more muscle.
Have you done Insanity or any other Beachbody workouts??
What workouts are you currently doing??
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Workout Wednesday
Good morning folks!!
It's Wednesday and that means that we're halfway there!! It also means that it is workout Wednesday.
I survived the root canal yesterday. It was bad enough but wasn't a bad as I was imagining. It isn't something I'm eager to repeat anytime soon, however.
After I got home, I did week 2, day 2 of Focus T25, total body circuit and was dripping with sweat at the end of it.
I was discussing plank workouts with a friend yesterday. She has had some recent health problems. She wants to workout but wants low impact exercises that would help strengthen her core.
There are quite a few plank exercises in the T25 total body circuit and this got me thinking about how wildly effective planks are. They would be perfect for my friend.
So, I found a couple of plank workouts for you today:
How to get washboards abs and no more crunches
And:
So, there ya go!!
That's all I've got for you today!!
Have a great Wednesday!!
It's Wednesday and that means that we're halfway there!! It also means that it is workout Wednesday.
I survived the root canal yesterday. It was bad enough but wasn't a bad as I was imagining. It isn't something I'm eager to repeat anytime soon, however.
After I got home, I did week 2, day 2 of Focus T25, total body circuit and was dripping with sweat at the end of it.
I was discussing plank workouts with a friend yesterday. She has had some recent health problems. She wants to workout but wants low impact exercises that would help strengthen her core.
There are quite a few plank exercises in the T25 total body circuit and this got me thinking about how wildly effective planks are. They would be perfect for my friend.
So, I found a couple of plank workouts for you today:
How to get washboards abs and no more crunches
And:
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
New Day
Good morning y'all!
It's a beautiful day! I woke up to more much needed rainfall. Plus, we made it through Monday!!
And I'm so glad! That means that today is a new day. I love the fact that we get a new day every day and that we get to start over!!
A reply to my post yesterday really made me think about this and helped me put my food/drink transgressions from this past weekend into perspective.
I can't change the way I ate/drank with reckless abandon (even thought it didn't really seem like it at the time, but the scale says so) The only thing I can do is move on and try to do better.
I didn't meal plan over the weekend and that always leads to disaster. I had to eat whatever I could find in the hospital cafeteria. I chose the "Red, White, and blue salad" chicken breast with raspberries, blueberries and feta cheese so that was pretty healthy. But they had Macaroni and Cheese!! They have the BEST mac and cheese and haven't served it for months. So, of course I had to have some of that as well. And 2 peanut butter cookies happened to find their way onto my tray :/ Oops!
So I ate the cookies and the mac and cheese. Guess what?? It was pretty damn good too!!
Can I change it now?? No, I can't. It's a done deal now. But I can get my shi*t together and plan/prepare meals for the rest of the week so that I don't continue down the slippery slope of eating.all.the.things! I know that eating mac and cheese or cookies occasionally isn't a crime. But I also know that one thing leads to another for me and if I don't put the brakes on the garbage eating quickly, I'll never stop.
So, after work yesterday, I led the Pathways PW3 group on a 2.5 mile run. It was pretty humid but they did a great job. This is going to be a great session.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got some things to prepare for the rest of the week so hopefully, I will make better food choices.
I came home and did the Focus T25 cardio workout, which was pretty challenging for me last night. I was tired and it was really all I could muster. I wanted to start my weight training program that Erica @ Mom With Muscle designed for me but I was just too tired. Excuses, excuses......I know!! But it is very important with weight training that you use good form and if you're too tired, your form suffers. So I opted to wait until today to start weight training (hopefully)
After that, I spent about 30 minutes and prepared food for the whole week. Yep, that's all it took! 30 minutes!! I can't believe how easy it really is with a little bit of planning.
I put chicken breasts in the crock pot with McCormick garlic and herb seasoning. I bought 2 different bags of Bird's Eye Steamer vegetables. Each one takes about 5-6 minutes to prepare in the microwave. While those were cooking, I cut up some fresh asparagus and steamed that in 3 minutes. I still have brown rice and spaghetti squash in the refrigerator, so essentially I was done after cooking the veggies.
My crockpot goes to warm after the timer shuts off. I usually wake up at least once during the night for the restroom or drink of water and last night was no exception. My chicken was done when I got up so I put it in a container and went back to sleep.
So, voila!! With minimal effort, I have roasted chicken breasts, steamed veggies, rice, spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes for lunch this week.
NO MORE EXCUSES!!
I hope that you all have a fabulous day!! I'm having a root canal today :(
Hopefully that goes well. I hate the dentist with a passion but at least I've got a good one!
It's a beautiful day! I woke up to more much needed rainfall. Plus, we made it through Monday!!
And I'm so glad! That means that today is a new day. I love the fact that we get a new day every day and that we get to start over!!
A reply to my post yesterday really made me think about this and helped me put my food/drink transgressions from this past weekend into perspective.
I can't change the way I ate/drank with reckless abandon (even thought it didn't really seem like it at the time, but the scale says so) The only thing I can do is move on and try to do better.
I didn't meal plan over the weekend and that always leads to disaster. I had to eat whatever I could find in the hospital cafeteria. I chose the "Red, White, and blue salad" chicken breast with raspberries, blueberries and feta cheese so that was pretty healthy. But they had Macaroni and Cheese!! They have the BEST mac and cheese and haven't served it for months. So, of course I had to have some of that as well. And 2 peanut butter cookies happened to find their way onto my tray :/ Oops!
So I ate the cookies and the mac and cheese. Guess what?? It was pretty damn good too!!
Can I change it now?? No, I can't. It's a done deal now. But I can get my shi*t together and plan/prepare meals for the rest of the week so that I don't continue down the slippery slope of eating.all.the.things! I know that eating mac and cheese or cookies occasionally isn't a crime. But I also know that one thing leads to another for me and if I don't put the brakes on the garbage eating quickly, I'll never stop.
So, after work yesterday, I led the Pathways PW3 group on a 2.5 mile run. It was pretty humid but they did a great job. This is going to be a great session.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got some things to prepare for the rest of the week so hopefully, I will make better food choices.
I came home and did the Focus T25 cardio workout, which was pretty challenging for me last night. I was tired and it was really all I could muster. I wanted to start my weight training program that Erica @ Mom With Muscle designed for me but I was just too tired. Excuses, excuses......I know!! But it is very important with weight training that you use good form and if you're too tired, your form suffers. So I opted to wait until today to start weight training (hopefully)
After that, I spent about 30 minutes and prepared food for the whole week. Yep, that's all it took! 30 minutes!! I can't believe how easy it really is with a little bit of planning.
I put chicken breasts in the crock pot with McCormick garlic and herb seasoning. I bought 2 different bags of Bird's Eye Steamer vegetables. Each one takes about 5-6 minutes to prepare in the microwave. While those were cooking, I cut up some fresh asparagus and steamed that in 3 minutes. I still have brown rice and spaghetti squash in the refrigerator, so essentially I was done after cooking the veggies.
My crockpot goes to warm after the timer shuts off. I usually wake up at least once during the night for the restroom or drink of water and last night was no exception. My chicken was done when I got up so I put it in a container and went back to sleep.
So, voila!! With minimal effort, I have roasted chicken breasts, steamed veggies, rice, spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes for lunch this week.
NO MORE EXCUSES!!
I hope that you all have a fabulous day!! I'm having a root canal today :(
Hopefully that goes well. I hate the dentist with a passion but at least I've got a good one!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday, Monday
Good morning folks!!
Here we go again!
We had a great weekend soaking up sun and visiting with our friends!! I managed to get in a little run Saturday morning. It was humid and I felt like I was kind of struggling, so I cut it short but at least I got it done!!
I didn't pay too much attention to my eating/drinking and the scale shows it!! I'm going to have to work even harder this week to overcome that!!
We didn't get home early enough for me to meal prep for the week so I'm going to be at the mercy of the hospital cafeteria today. I'm hoping they have a decent salad or something remotely healthy. One would think that the hospital would serve healthy food but that is not the case.
My workouts for the week include--
Monday: Pathways 2.5 mile run; T25 Cardio
Tuesday: T25 Total Body circuit
Wednesday: Pathways 3 mile run; T25 speed 1.0
Thursday: T25 Cardio
Friday: T25 Lower focus (Leg day) and ab intervals
I'm also going to start a weight lifting program this week, I hope!! Maybe I'll finally start to see some results from my hard work and effort. And maybe, if I didn't blow it all on the weekends, I would see some more progress!!
Ok, that's all I've got for you now. Until next time....
Here we go again!
We had a great weekend soaking up sun and visiting with our friends!! I managed to get in a little run Saturday morning. It was humid and I felt like I was kind of struggling, so I cut it short but at least I got it done!!
I didn't pay too much attention to my eating/drinking and the scale shows it!! I'm going to have to work even harder this week to overcome that!!
We didn't get home early enough for me to meal prep for the week so I'm going to be at the mercy of the hospital cafeteria today. I'm hoping they have a decent salad or something remotely healthy. One would think that the hospital would serve healthy food but that is not the case.
My workouts for the week include--
Monday: Pathways 2.5 mile run; T25 Cardio
Tuesday: T25 Total Body circuit
Wednesday: Pathways 3 mile run; T25 speed 1.0
Thursday: T25 Cardio
Friday: T25 Lower focus (Leg day) and ab intervals
I'm also going to start a weight lifting program this week, I hope!! Maybe I'll finally start to see some results from my hard work and effort. And maybe, if I didn't blow it all on the weekends, I would see some more progress!!
Ok, that's all I've got for you now. Until next time....
Friday, August 9, 2013
TGIF
Good morning friends!!
TGIF
All in all, this has been a great week!!
I've been really trying hard to eat "clean" this week and have been successful for the most part.
It really helps when I have meals prepared. I always thought that meal prep and planning was too time consuming. But it was actually pretty easy this week and didn't take all that long really.
Wednesday night was my first run with my fall Pathways group. We're training for the Tulsa Run 15k. It was hot!! The actual temp was somewhere around 95 with a heat index over 100, so the coaches collectively decided to shorten the workout to help prevent any heat related issues. My group did very well despite not being acclimated to the heat yet. And it was a large group too!! I'm really excited to work with them! It is so satisfying to help other achieve their goals.
I've also been doing the new Focus T25 program from Team Beachbody. I really am liking this workout so far and will elaborate on that, as well as Insanity next week when I have a little more time! I wish I could get in the habit of preparing my blog posts ahead of time. Maybe I'll try that next week.
We're looking forward to some fun in the sun with good friends and family this weekend. I'm planning to get up early in the morning for a 3-5 mile run then we'll hit the lake to soak up some rays!
I hope that you all have a fabulous Friday and a great/safe weekend!!
What's on your schedule this weekend?
TGIF
All in all, this has been a great week!!
I've been really trying hard to eat "clean" this week and have been successful for the most part.
It really helps when I have meals prepared. I always thought that meal prep and planning was too time consuming. But it was actually pretty easy this week and didn't take all that long really.
Wednesday night was my first run with my fall Pathways group. We're training for the Tulsa Run 15k. It was hot!! The actual temp was somewhere around 95 with a heat index over 100, so the coaches collectively decided to shorten the workout to help prevent any heat related issues. My group did very well despite not being acclimated to the heat yet. And it was a large group too!! I'm really excited to work with them! It is so satisfying to help other achieve their goals.
I've also been doing the new Focus T25 program from Team Beachbody. I really am liking this workout so far and will elaborate on that, as well as Insanity next week when I have a little more time! I wish I could get in the habit of preparing my blog posts ahead of time. Maybe I'll try that next week.
We're looking forward to some fun in the sun with good friends and family this weekend. I'm planning to get up early in the morning for a 3-5 mile run then we'll hit the lake to soak up some rays!
I hope that you all have a fabulous Friday and a great/safe weekend!!
What's on your schedule this weekend?
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Workout Wednesday
Woohoo friends!! We're halfway there!!
I just have time for a quickie this morning TWSS so, I'm gonna share this workout that I found on Pinterest.
It looks like a good one and I can't wait to try it!!
I just have time for a quickie this morning TWSS so, I'm gonna share this workout that I found on Pinterest.
It looks like a good one and I can't wait to try it!!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!
Get up, get out and get moving!!
Be awesome today!!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Recap and weekly goals
Good morning folks!!
I'm back from my little hiatus aka vacation. We really didn't do much of anything but I feel rested, relaxed and accomplished. I think that's what time off is all about!!
We were scheduled to go to Iowa to visit family, but unfortunately, we were not able to make the trip. I had some tooth problems/dental work done and was in quite a bit of pain so we decided to postpone the Iowa trip. We stayed home and did some much needed, neglected house work including shampooing the carpets.
I finally started to get some pain relief Friday afternoon, so we decided to go ahead and salvage what we could of our time off. We packed up and headed for our little lake retreat.
We woke up to cloudy skies and rain on Saturday. We waited that out and finally got on the water about 2 pm. We explored some new areas of the lake and got sprinkled on a little bit, but it all in all, it was a good day.
Sunday looked like it would be a much better lake day. We had some sunshine and got some good floating time. We spent the better part of the afternoon/evening visiting with good friends that we don't get to see often enough.
We got up early yesterday morning for a sunrise boat ride. It was partly cloudy so we didn't actually see the sun come up, but we got treated to some awesome wildlife. We saw deer at the water's edge, a couple of foxes on one of the rock ledges and even an eagle perched in a tree.
After our boat ride, while we were cleaning up, I almost broke my knee trying to get off the boat in a hurry trying to get away from an aggressive bumble bee!! Then we packed up and headed home. We got home early enough to get the laundry caught up, get the grocery shopping done, had dinner, worked out and even had time to relax/catch up on a couple of our favorite TV shows.
I didn't really watch what I ate/drank too much over the weekend and haven't worked out or run for a week but the scale wasn't too hateful to me this morning, fortunately!!
The fall session of Pathways started last night. This session, we're training for the Tulsa Run 15k. I'm looking forward to working with them for the next few weeks. Tonight is Turkey Tuesday and if it isn't too hot, I'll run with my friends tonight and then run with Pathways tomorrow night.
I started the new Beachbody program Focus T25 last night and really enjoyed it. I like the shorter, more intense workout. I even got hubs to workout with me!!
Meal prep for the week included: lemon garlic chicken breast cooked in the crock pot, steamed yellow squash, steamed asparagus, and spaghetti squash.
I don't think I saw the results that I really wanted from Insanity because my eating was poor and that's mostly due to poor planning on my part. My fitness goals for this week include:
Monday: T25 Alpha cardio
Tuesday: 2-3 mile run, T25 Speed 1.0
Wednesday: 2-3 mile run, T25 Total Body Circuit
Thursday: T25 Ab intervals
Friday: T25 Lower focus and alpha cardio
Saturday: 2-3 mile run
Sunday: rest!!
Ok, folks.....that's enough recap for now.
Gotta go get busy! Have a wonderful day!
Be awesome today!
What are your fitness goals for the week?
Do you meal plan and prep??
I'm back from my little hiatus aka vacation. We really didn't do much of anything but I feel rested, relaxed and accomplished. I think that's what time off is all about!!
We were scheduled to go to Iowa to visit family, but unfortunately, we were not able to make the trip. I had some tooth problems/dental work done and was in quite a bit of pain so we decided to postpone the Iowa trip. We stayed home and did some much needed, neglected house work including shampooing the carpets.
I finally started to get some pain relief Friday afternoon, so we decided to go ahead and salvage what we could of our time off. We packed up and headed for our little lake retreat.
We woke up to cloudy skies and rain on Saturday. We waited that out and finally got on the water about 2 pm. We explored some new areas of the lake and got sprinkled on a little bit, but it all in all, it was a good day.
Sunday looked like it would be a much better lake day. We had some sunshine and got some good floating time. We spent the better part of the afternoon/evening visiting with good friends that we don't get to see often enough.
We got up early yesterday morning for a sunrise boat ride. It was partly cloudy so we didn't actually see the sun come up, but we got treated to some awesome wildlife. We saw deer at the water's edge, a couple of foxes on one of the rock ledges and even an eagle perched in a tree.
After our boat ride, while we were cleaning up, I almost broke my knee trying to get off the boat in a hurry trying to get away from an aggressive bumble bee!! Then we packed up and headed home. We got home early enough to get the laundry caught up, get the grocery shopping done, had dinner, worked out and even had time to relax/catch up on a couple of our favorite TV shows.
I didn't really watch what I ate/drank too much over the weekend and haven't worked out or run for a week but the scale wasn't too hateful to me this morning, fortunately!!
The fall session of Pathways started last night. This session, we're training for the Tulsa Run 15k. I'm looking forward to working with them for the next few weeks. Tonight is Turkey Tuesday and if it isn't too hot, I'll run with my friends tonight and then run with Pathways tomorrow night.
I started the new Beachbody program Focus T25 last night and really enjoyed it. I like the shorter, more intense workout. I even got hubs to workout with me!!
Meal prep for the week included: lemon garlic chicken breast cooked in the crock pot, steamed yellow squash, steamed asparagus, and spaghetti squash.
I don't think I saw the results that I really wanted from Insanity because my eating was poor and that's mostly due to poor planning on my part. My fitness goals for this week include:
Monday: T25 Alpha cardio
Tuesday: 2-3 mile run, T25 Speed 1.0
Wednesday: 2-3 mile run, T25 Total Body Circuit
Thursday: T25 Ab intervals
Friday: T25 Lower focus and alpha cardio
Saturday: 2-3 mile run
Sunday: rest!!
Ok, folks.....that's enough recap for now.
Gotta go get busy! Have a wonderful day!
Be awesome today!
What are your fitness goals for the week?
Do you meal plan and prep??
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