Today's Workout (9/30/08)

Because of the fact that I will be in Miami for the weekend, I did a lot today. It was the only way I could fit in my 3 training sessions this week and not give up any of my classes.

1. 30 minute personal training session--legs, legs, legs, legs, legs, oh, and a little abs mixed in
2. 30 minute cardio class--basic circuits...jump rope, bike, ladder, boxing...
3. 15 minutes treadmill--6.5mph Total--1.42 miles
4. 30 minute bootcamp

New Plan

I honestly think my trainer has lost his mind. He has been working on how to change my workouts, mainly my cardio. I go in there today and he tells me that he wants me to do no cardio! None! WTF--right now I do an hour of cardio a day, if I stop doing that won't I gain weight? Anyway, his reasoning, and it makes perfect sense, is that I need to make my body inefficient again. I have gotten so good at everything that I need to stop doing it for a bit so that my body has to work harder when I start doing it again. I get that, but I am so used to doing a ton of cardio I just don't know how I'm going to not do it. I will be lifting during the times that I usually run, but still. He said a week of no cardio, then the next week only the elliptical and building on that. I guess I'll be fine, I know my body could use the break. It is just much more of a change then I was expecting. I was expecting him to say do intervals on Monday, run on an incline on Tuesday, intervals Wednesday...I completely trust him though, so I know he knows what he is talking about so I'll do it. I'll be updating about how it is going and how I am feeling as I am doing it. Right now I feel nervous about it all!

Today's Workout (9/29/08)

Well, it is Monday again. I stayed true to my word (my hubby is very proud of me) and I didn't run at all today. Well, except for when my trainer made me sprint on the treadmill for a minute, but I didn't do one of my long runs! I didn't do anything other then my training appointment. It feels kinda weird, like I didn't do enough, but I plan on doing all my normal workouts for the rest of the week. Hopefully they will be better then last weeks!

1. 30 minute personal trainer appointment--back & cardio

Rest Day

So, after deciding that I was exhausted and on the verge of getting burnt out and losing my mind (actually, I think I lost my mind on Thursday, but that is a whole different story!), I rested today. It is a well needed/earned rest. I plan on taking it easy tomorrow too, so that starting Tuesday I should be good as new. I just wish my legs weren't so sore today so that I could have enjoyed the rest! Too many damn squats yesterday! Well, new week, new attitude. Lets see how it goes :)

Today's Workout (9/27/08)

Bootcamp Saturday! But not my normal bootcamp. That class was cancelled so I went back to a bootcamp I used to go to. It was nice to be back there, but now I remember why I stopped going there...It isn't hard enough for me. and it isn't enough cardio, they mix in strength stuff too. I don't need that because I do all that 3 times a week with my trainer. But it was better then just running or doing nothing. And I got to see one of my friends that go there. And the trainer there said that I looked thinner, which brightened my spirits a little bit. I'm going to try to remember what we did, but we did a ton, so I'm sure I'll miss something...

• Ladder--several different drills
• chest press w/ partners using bands
• 8 min--10 reps each--kettle bell swing, push ups, kettle bell swing high pull, lat lunges, kettle bell swing tap, spiderman. repeat until 8 minutes is up
• 30 sec of each--squat jumps, running lunges, step back touch, frog jumps, side plank
• stations--30 sec of each--push/press, sit ups, burpees along a row of hurdles, plank, jump rope

I know that doesn't sound easy, but everything was too quick, 30 seconds isn't very long. I resisted the urge to run on the treadmill after this. I'm trying to take it all down a notch, I might even take tomorrow off and rest! Once I get a new routine in place I'm sure I'll feel better.

Today's Workout (9/26/08)

Another workout update in my crazy world. I'm tired and beat up. Something needs to give and I'm not sure what. I have asked for help to figure out where I can cut back a little, but it scares me to cut back. I'm nervous that if I don't burn enough calories I'm going to gain weight. But I also know that I am doing way too much and I can't keep this up for very long. Along with some other personal crap that I have going on, I am very stressed and I am breaking down and losing it. I usually somewhat enjoy going to the gym, but this week it wasn't fun at all. I still went, but after Tuesday or Wednesday my body was there going through the motions but my heart wasn't in it at all. Hopefully I will get a revised plan for my workouts and I will start to feel a little better.

1. 20 minutes Elliptical--level 4. Total 2.54 miles
2. 30 minute cardio class
3. 11 minutes treadmill--6.5mph. Total 1.14 miles
4. 30 minute personal training session--stuff. I don't really remember, I was there but my head wasn't really in it.

Today's Workout (9/25/08)

I'm still struggling this week. Every day seems to get harder. I found myself laying on the floor doing nothing when I should have been doing situps during my bootcamp class. Usually I can suck it up and do anything for a minute portion of a circuit but I found myself stopping in the middle of everything. Not to mention, my right foot has been hurting me on and off when I run, now today my right knee was bothering me when I was running. It didn't stop me though. Hopefully next week will be better.

1. 15 minutes elliptical--level 6 Total--2.2 miles
2. 30 minute cardio class--all different circuits, the trainer made sure that I did a ton of cardio even though the other two people were doing less
3. 5 minutes treadmill--6.5/7 mph--0.55 miles (just wanted to get my burned calories up to 300)
4. 20 minutes Treadmill--6.5mph Total--2.09 miles
5. 30 minute Bootcamp--all different crap. I tried to lay on the floor and do nothing as much as I could.

How to annoy me

Before I start my bitching, let me explain a bit. The gym I go to is in a building in the corporate park that I work in. It is rather small, and you need to work in one of the buildings in order to use it. Oh yeah, and it doesn't take much to annoy me.

1. come to the gym and workout in your work clothes. WTF--are you going to go back to work all sweaty??????? and you look pretty stupid too! I mean , really, who gets on a treadmill in dockers, a button down shirt & sneakers???
2. commenting out loud about something on the TV, loud enough that I hear you say something over my ipod and I think you are talking to me. Shut up!
3. Using the cardio machines with flip flops or no shoes on at all, BUT leaving you sneakers on the floor next to it. Put your damn sneakers on!
4. You don't work, but you come to an OFFICE gym at lunch time and around 5PM.
5. Working out in just a sports bra. Did you forget your shirt at home????? Did I mention that this is an office gym? Your boss could walk by and see you!

Not the best week

Well, I haven't been having the best week so far. I know I have a lot going on in my life right now that is stressfull and not fun to deal with, but for some reason working out this week has been particularly hard. I usually use my running to work off some of the stress but it isn't working. I feel particularly bad tonight. I was tired and my legs were sore and my trainer kept making me do these insane things with the ball. I don't think I have ever whined and bitched so much in 30 minutes. I actually at one point kicked the ball across the room and said I didn't want to do that anymore. I honestly wanted to cry, and I did, but I waited until I got home. I think this is all taking a toll on me. I actually told my hubby last night that I didn't want to work out anymore. His response "don't be silly, you LOVE working out". But, I don't. I just do it because I have to. And I think the combination of upping my workout time and still limiting my calories is making me extra crabby. I know I'll get through it and be fine, but it sucks right now.

On a different note, I have been asked by several people, especially people who do workout classes with me, where do I get all my energy from. My answer...I have no idea. I have the attitude that when I go to workout it is only 30-45 minutes, and no matter how tired I am at the time, I can just suck it up and do a good workout. I usually just give it my all knowing that after that 45 minutes is done I can go home and lay on the couch for the rest of the night. I definately do have my off days, but most days I can get through any workout pretty easily. Also, I am in very good cardio shape, which may make me appear to have a ton of energy where, really, it just takes a lot more to challenge my body then the average person. (this is why I have been torturing myself by doing intervals).

I actually feel a bit better now that I got some of this out. I think I need to apologize to my trainer for being such a brat tonight...

And just for fun, I wrote this poem the other day just for my trainer, I think he appreciated it :P

Intervals suck,
They make me want to die;
Intervals suck,
They make me want to cry;
Intervals suck,
I really can not lie;
Intervals suck,
I’d rather stick a fork in my eye.

Today's Workout (9/24/08)

For some insane reason, I did another interval day today. I made them a little easier then yesterdays so that I wouldn't completely kill myself. It sounded like a good idea when I went to the gym during lunch, then after work I realized that it was a very bad idea. My legs are now exhausted and I had to go through a half hour torture session...wait, I meant personal training session, where we did legs. I whined, bitched, and moaned the entire way through it. My legs hurt so bad I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I have been through a lot since I have started working with my trainer but that is one thing he has never seen, me cry. Anyway, now I am tired and cranky and I really just want to go out to dinner, but I am waiting for my hubby to hurry up with his work stuff. Doesn't he know how much I worked out today and that I am starving to death??? Anyway, here is today's workout.

1. 45 minutes treadmill--30 minutes intervals--1 minute 8.0mph/2 minutes 6.5mph, 13 minutes 7.0mph, 2 min cool down. Total--5.14 miles
2. 20 minutes treadmill--15 min @ 6.5 mph, 5 minute cool down. Total--1.94 miles
3. 30 minute personal training session--torture with the big ball--legs (and abs) I couldn't even begin to describe the insane things he made me do with that ball.

Before and After

Here are a couple before and after pictures so that you can see the progress I have made:

April 2007


November 2007




June 2007 July 2008



One of these days I will put that green shirt back on and take a new set of after pictures.

Today's Workout (9/23/08)

Tuesday is interval day!! Do I sound excited about this? Because I am NOT! But I do it because I know I have to, even if it does kick my ass.

1. 45 minutes Treadmill--Intervals 90 sec 6.5/90 sec 8.5 for 30 minutes, 10 minutes @ 6.5, 5 minute cool down. Total--5.15 ass kicking miles.
2. 15 minute outside run--Total 1.83 miles
3. 30 minute Bootcamp--ab/cardio circuits

I really dislike doing intervals, I do them because I need to in order to increase the intensity of my workouts. When I do intervals, I am starving when I finish and end up eating more calories then I should. It also causes me to have a horrible workout day the day after since my legs are really tired. We will see what happens tomorrow!

Today's Workout (9/22/08)

Today I decided that I needed to go back to counting calories. After my 2 months of 900 calorie days, I completely stopped counting and have watched several pounds add themselves right to my stomach. So back to counting. I'm going for 1200 this time, not 900, but it is still hard! I forgot how hungry I was all the time! I'm still trying to figure out what I can reasonably eat so that I am not starving, but I still lose weight. I work out a lot, so you would think that I would be able to eat a ton, but I think my body has gotten so used to running that it doesn't burn a ton of calories anymore. Anyway, on to today's workout.

1. 20 minutes Treadmill-- @ 6.5mph. Total--2.16 miles
2. 30 minute personal training session--30 jump squats/20 push ups/10 pull ups x 3, 20 pukies (w/ the pushup)/15 hanging abs x3
3. 40 minute outside run--home 4 mile loop. Total--4.08 miles

Today's Workout (9/21/08)

I actually did more today then I usually do on a Sunday. I ate a lot Friday & Saturday, so I was trying to make up for it!

1. 40 minute outside run with the hubby--4.08 miles around our neighborhood
2. 54 minutes Treadmill--6.5 mph, upped it to 7.0mph for 10 minutes, 7.5 for 5 minutes, 8.0 for 5 minutes. Total--4.87 miles
3. 10 minutes misc--jump rope, push ups, leg extension, leg press, chest press

Today's Workout (9/20/08)

Bootcamp day!!

1. 60 minute bootcamp--2.4 mile run (mostly uphill!), 20 minutes circuits, 12 minutes stairmaster.

Today's Workout (9/19/08)

1. 5 minutes Treadmill--6.5 mph, Total--0.52 miles
2. 30 Minute personal training session--all rotations
3. 30 minutes Cardio class--circuits
4. 16 minute outside run--ran as fast as I could handle, 2 miles in 15:33. Not too bad!

Today's Workout (9/18/08)

I was exhausted this morning, then once I got to the gym and started running I perked up a bit. Then later I got to my bootcamp class and no one else showed up! So I got my butt kicked all by myself. This has been a hard week for me so far...

1. 30 minutes treadmill--10 min @ 6.5mph, 5 min @ 7 mph, 5 min @ 7.5 mph, 5 min @ 7 mph, 5 min @ 6.5 mph. Total--3.41 miles
2. 30 minute Cardio Class--basic circuits including spinning bike, jump rope, boxing, abs...
3. 20 minutes treadmill---6.5 mph for 15 min, 5 min cool down--total 1.81 miles
4. 30 minute bootcamp---drills on the basket ball court w/ medicine balls

Things I have learned

Part of the point of this blog is to help motivate others as well as keep myself motivated and reflect on all that I have done over the last year and a half. Losing weight/getting in shape takes a ton of time, effort, motivation, & commitment. I would like to reflect on what I have learned about myself over the last year and a half as well as some general things I have learned (in no particular order).

1. I can do anything I put my mind to. It may take some effort on my part to get into the right mindset, but once I do there is no stopping me.
2. I function best with a scheduled routine. I go to the gym every day during lunch and right after work. I actually don't feel fulfilled if I have skipped one of my workouts.
3. Losing weight takes a lot of time and patience. A couple pounds a month would come off and I would always wish it was more.
4. Nutrition is very important. I wanted to do all this without changing what I ate at all, but after losing 20lbs I realized that I needed to change my diet. A few small changes and the last 10lbs came off.
5. Weight training is also very important! I always thought that I just needed to do cardio to burn the most calories, but adding weights in helps tremendously.
6. I love having a personal trainer. It gives me someone that I have to report to every week. Also, he has provided me the guidance that I have needed all along the way.
7. I whine and complain about EVERYTHING that my trainer has me do. For some reason this makes me feel better and gets me through my workouts. My trainer deals with it pretty well, just shakes his head and ignores it. I have heard "quit whining and just do it!" a ton. The ironic thing is...I really enjoy my workouts with him. He pushes me to do things that I would NEVER do, and sometimes I am surprised that I can actually do it!
8. I really enjoy taking classes. My gym is really small and they only offer a few classes so I do as many as I can. It provides variety for my workouts, and I enjoy have the other people there working hard and sweating with me. Our classes are fairly small, the most is 10 people.
9. You need to keep yourself motivated any way that you can. One of the things I do is I take before/after pictures. It is amazing to see the difference and is something that I don't notice when I look in the mirror, but when I put the pictures side by side I am always floored by the difference. Eventually I will post some of my before/after pics.
10. Anyone can do all this! All it takes is commitment. I know my workouts look like I am crazy workout girl, but this is what I have built up to. I started out much slower, and as I got in better and better shape I have had to add time/intensity to my workouts in order to keep them effective.

Today's Workout (9/17/08)

1. 40 minute outside run--some hills. Total--4 miles
2. 15 minutes Elliptical @ level 6. total--1.86 miles
3. 30 minute personal trainer session. Slide board 1 leg stuff. I hated it.

Today was a hard day for me. I was extra tired and my run was pathetic. I think it was because I did intervals yesterday, but who knows. My trainer said it is ok to have a pathetic workout day after doing intervals. I don't like to have any bad workout day though.

Today's Workout (9/16/08)

Interval day

1. 40 minutes Treadmill--30 minutes of intervales, 6.5mph/8.5mph one minute on, one minute off, 5 minutes @ 6.5mph, 5 minutes cool down. Total-4.59 miles
2. 20 minutes Treadmill--6.5 mph. Total--2.09 miles
3. 30 minutes Bootcamp--circuits

Today's Workout (9/15/08)

I tried to take it easy today, but Mr. mean trainer worked my butt off!

1. 10 minutes Elliptical @ level 6--total 1.1 miles
2. 30 minute personal training appt--15 hanging abs, 20 burpee's w/ pushup x 3, 3 pull ups, 10 push ups, 20 jump squats x 3, 15 deadlifts, 15 knee raises, 15 reverse crunches x 3.

My trainer is changing up my workouts. for the last two months we have been working on mainly lifting to make sure that I wasn't losing muscle while I was cutting my calories back to 900. Now, from what I can tell so far, we are adding the cardio bursts back in. Guess we will see what happens!

Today's Workout (9/14/08)

Today's workout was non-existant! I actually took a day off and rested. I usually do an easy 4 mile run, but I knew I needed the rest, so I sent my husband out to run on his own. I hate taking a day off, I feel very restless when I don't workout all day. Right now I feel like I want to jump off the couch and go run on the treadmill. But I'm not going to. I think tomorrow will be an easy day too, then Tuesday I'll get back into it.

Today's Workout (9/13/08)

Saturday Bootcamp Day!!

1. 60 minute bootcamp class--10 min warm up on the treadmill at 6.5mph for 5 minutes, then 7.5 mph for 5 minutes. Building 1 stairs (10 flights), parking garage run, jog the levels, sprint the ramps (6 levels), Building 2 stairs (10 flights), sprints & drills on the basketball court, 11 minutes stairmaster (100 floors), sit-ups.
2. 35 minutes Treadmill--switched off between 6.5mph & 7mph. Total 3.86 miles

Today's Workout (9/12/08)

This is technically yesterdays workout...
Yesterday was a hard day for me. Friday's always are, I think i do so much all week that I exhaust myself by Friday. I was tired and didn't feel like doing anything.

1. 15 minutes Elliptical @ level 6. Total 1.92 miles
2. 30 minutes Cardio Class. Several different circuits.
3. 5 minutes Treadmill walking. Total 0.3 miles
4. 30 minute Personal Training session--easy chest workout.

Today's Workout (9/11/08)

1. 16 minutes Treadmill @ 6.5mph. Total =1.68 miles
2. 30 minute cardio class--quick cardio circuits including jump rope, punching, run in place, sit ups, burpees, spin bike...
3. 13 minutes stairs & jog. 5 flights of stairs x 7 times, quick short jog to cool down
4. 30 minute bootcamp--push up walks across hill at all 4 angles, hill runs, hill sprints...very high intensity

Struggles

I have had a lot of struggles over the last year and a half. My biggest struggle is with food. When I first started I said that I wasn't going to change how I ate at all. A few months later I made the switch from regular soda to diet soda, and shortly after that I became really conscious of what I ate. I have learned that nutrition is also a big part of weight loss and you can only get so far with exercise itself.

About 2 months ago my trainer put me on a 900 calorie a day diet. I gave it my best shot and was starving for the first week, then after that my body got used to it and I wasn't starving anymore. But it was really hard to stick to and I know I went over 900 calories pretty often, but even if I did go over I was still not eating a lot, so I was still losing weight. It helped me to lose the 5lbs I had put back on plus a few more and now I have been hovering just below my original goal weight for the last month.

I have recently given up on the 900 calories diet. It is just way too hard and I enjoy food way too much to limit myself that much. Now I need to find a happy medium. This whole week has been bad for me, I have been eating everything in sight! I am working on a way to motivate myself to get me back on track. I am more into my workouts then ever, but that is because I have been feeling guilty about what I have been eating. I'll get back on track eventually.

Today's Workout (9/10/08)

Today was a typical Wednesday workout for me. I ran a different route then normal though, which was nice to do something different.

1. 40 minute Outside Run--Hills! Down and up the Commerce Drive hill (top to bottom) twice as well as the Corporate Drive Loop. Total of 4.18 miles.
2. 22 minutes treadmill. Easy jog at 6.5mph. Total of 2.28 miles.
3. 30 minute personal training appointment. Legs--30 per leg step-ups on the high platform, 30 per leg step-up hops on medium platform, 30 per leg sit/stand on low platform. Up and over on small platform & medium platform x2. Mountain climbers & frog jumps. One leg step ups w/ weights.

Today's Workout (9/9/08)

Today's workout was a ton of cardio.

1. 40 minutes on the treadmill doing intervals--2 minutes @ 6.5mph/1 minute @ 8.5 mph for the first 30 minutes followed by 5 minutes @ 6.5 then a 5 minute cool down. Total of 4.44 miles.
2. 30 minutes on the elliptical, level 6, tried to keep the speed around 8.5-9. Total of 4.34 miles.
3. 30 minute Bootcamp Class--mainly cardio & abs. Alternating between calisthenics and different types of crunches.

My Story--The Beginning

My intention with this blog is to try to motivate myself and others. I will be writing about my story and my workouts including successes and frustrations. I'll start with a little background information about myself. I never had a weight problem until college. In high school I was tiny, 5 feet tall, barely 100lbs. Then in college I started drinking and eating pizza at midnight and the pounds crept up on me. A few years after college I started running, which helped me lose some weight but then my body got used to the same old thing and it stopped working. About a year and a half ago I reached my heaviest--146lbs. Being short and weighing that much is not a good combination! The thing that really opened my eyes and got me motivated was a snowboarding trip. The resort that my husband and I were staying at had a heated indoor/outdoor pool & hot tub. As I packed for the weekend I tried on my bikini, and I was horrified. I ended up wearing a one-piece swimsuit and I was still mortified. I cried and decided that I really needed to do something about it.

That was the end of March 2007. I had been working with a personal trainer one day a week since November 2006 with very minimal results. In February 2007, she left my gym and I was assigned a new trainer. This was the best thing that could have possible happened to me. He kicked my butt in ways I didn't even know was possible! In March, after my swimsuit breakdown, I immediately added a 2nd session each week. On top of each session I also ran 3 miles on the treadmill every day. We weighed and measured once a month and I was quickly losing pounds and inches. The more I lost, the more motivated I got. I added a 3rd day each with with him. In August I slowly started to change my eating habits. The biggest change I made was swapping regular soda for diet soda. I lost 3lbs in one week! I was down to 116 by December (30lbs in 9 months!). I have come to love the gym and working out. I have made it a regular part of my day. I am lucky enough that my gym is in the office park where I work so I am able to do at least a half hour during lunch and at least a half hour after work. My basic routine is weights with my trainer 3 days a week, running 3-4 miles 4-5 days a week, 2 30-min cardio classes a week, 2 30-min bootcamp classes a week, and an hour bootcamp class on saturdays. I love doing classes, it is much more motivating to have other people getting their butt kicked at the same time!

I have been able to keep off the weight for 8 months now, but it is very hard. I could never have done all this on my own and I owe my trainer the world for what he has done to help me. I feel amazing and I feel like I look amazing too! I definately have my ups and downs, but somehow have been able to work through them. I plan to write about these ups and downs as well as document some of my workouts and what I think works and doesn't work (although I really am no expert!!) Hopefully this blog will help me to get through frustrating periods as well as motivate others.