Cue the Insanity...

After a weekend of running, relaxing, and Richmond, I am back on the grind today.  Oh yeah... I ran a 5K this weekend in Richmond, Virginia.  But not just any 5K.  It was "the happiest 5K on the planet":  The Color Run. 

I had a blast!  I had paint tossed at me at several points during the race.  I guess I shouldn't call it a race--there were no timing chips and I certainly didn't time myself.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

After my race, I was plum out of fitness goals.  This is not a good thing.  Without a goal, I become hapless and complacent, trudging through each day without purpose or any kind of caring.  So, I set another goal.

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And as long as I'm scaring the crap out of myself here, I thought about the one program I've always wanted to try, but assumed I didn't have the guts to complete:  Insanity.

Insanity is a 60-day conditioning program, full of high intensity cardio and resistance exercises.  I'm trying to make this lifelong fitness journey less about aesthetics and more about my total health.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm secretly hoping Insanity will help me get ready for my birthday "freakum dress."   Just sayin...

I've heard that Insanity is tough, but I've seen people get ridiculous results from it.  So I'm giving it a whirl.  Why?  Just because right now I think I can't, and I really want to change my mind. But in order to do it, I have to start thinking that I can.  I can and I will.

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As far as my diet is concerned, of course I'll be keeping better track of it.  My primary concern is getting enough calories, so I will likely use My Fitness Pal to track my diet.  There is a handy dandy nutrition guide (with recipes) that comes along with the Insanity package, so I'll utilize that to plan my meals.  We're talking lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies, and 5 meals a day.  I have a basic idea of how I want to structure my meals, so I'm excited to hit the grocery store and stock up!

I'll take before, 30-day, and 60-day progress pics.  I would take measurements, but I never seem to do those right. I will post before pics in the next post, along with my results from the Fit Test. 

Stay tuned!

ETA:  So I didn't post pics on the next post, but they are coming soon!

And then I hired a personal trainer...

By the time I finished my last workout program,  I was ready to try something new.  One of my friends on Facebook was friends with The Get in Shape Girl, and I admit--I did a little Facebook creeping to find out what she was all about.  I perused her website, which is an excellent resource for exercise tutorials and clean recipes.  I read her personal story, and how she struggled with her weight until she eventually did something about it.  She became a personal trainer, and a bikini competitior.  I was totally inspired by her story and was excited to discover that she offered virtual training.  I had always wanted to work with a trainer, but couldn't justify the expense.  I had no idea how much it would cost, so I decided not to entertain the idea at all.

One day, the GISG (as she will now and evermore be deemed as I do not feel like typing the whole name out) advertised a special on virtual training--just $30 a month, plus a free copy of her Bikini Competitors' Cookbook.  How could I resist such a deal?  I signed up that very same day.  She asked me questions about my workouts and diet, and checks in with me regularly.  I often feel like she is right here with me.  The workouts are challenging without consuming too much time, and I can do them at home or at the gym at work.  She even customized my routine so that I can train for the Warrior Dash (which is next weekend---eek!).  She's an awesome motivator, and I'm so glad I made the investment.  I have the accountability I need to keep me straight.  I'm eating cleaner and better than I ever have, and I'm confident that I will reach my goal.  Like, this year, finally.

In the past month, I've lost about 5 pounds.  I've gained much better eating habits.  I'm excited about working out again.  I'm ready to challenge myself, pushing to my limits.  In fact, the GISG just released a bikini workout plan that [I'm definitely going to grab, and] I'm sure will pair well with her cookbook.

Speaking of recipes, I'm working on some new stuff so stay tuned... :)

All about the Female Body Breakthrough

I admit, I've been hiding from everyone/the blog/my life.  Sometimes I feel like a multitasking ninja, managing family, work, fitness, recreation, whatever without breaking a sweat.  Occasionally, I freak out and let the madness consume me.  I get tired, become emotional, get stressed... and work myself into a funk.  And then, I'm paralyzed.  I usually snap out of it after a few nights of good sleep and get back on top.

So, I said I was going to dish on the workout program I've been doing for the past 9 weeks.  The Female Body Breakthrough is a 16-week strength training program, designed to help build muscle mass and lose fat in a reasonable amount of time.  I know a lot of women think that lifting heavy weights will make them beefy, but the truth is that we don't nearly as much testosterone as men do.  So, it's much harder for us to build significant muscle mass.  As you build muscle, your metabolism increases, allowing you to burn fat at a faster rate and burn more calories even when you're not doing anything at all. 

There are four 4-week phases, all with different workouts.  You can also improve your nutrition in four phases for optimal fat loss.  Basically there are 3 major components of fat loss, in order of priority:

1. Nutrition
2. Strength training
3. Cardio

The first phase (Base Phase) has you doing 2-3 strength workouts per week, and no cardio at all until the third week. You focus on cleaning up your eating by eliminating processed and fried foods from your diet. 

Each phase has two strength workouts (A & B) which are alternated each week. There is one day of rest or stretching between workouts, in order to give your body ample time to recover.  For example, if you do 3 strength workouts each week, your schedule looks like this:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
WEEK 1	Workout A	stretch	Workout B	stretch	Workout A	REST	REST
WEEK 2	Workout B	stretch	Workout A	stretch	Workout B	REST	REST

In each following phase, the workouts change again.  You lift heavier weights for fewer reps, and do more challenging exercises. You gradually add 1-2 highly intense cardio interval workouts (HIIT or metabolic circuits as they are called in the book), and by the third phase, you can add 1 more day of cardio-of-choice.  By then, your workout schedule may look like this:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
WEEK 1	Workout A	HIIT cardio	Workout B	Stretch	Workout A	HIIT cardio	Opt. cardio
WEEK 2	Workout B	HIIT	Workout A	Stretch	Workout B	HIIT	cardio

This may look like a lot of exercise, but each strength workout is really only 30-45 minutes long, maybe as long as an hour, depending on your pace.  The HIIT cardio takes only 20-30 minutes.  In the book, author Rachel Cosgrove recommends that you only do 30 minutes on your day of optional cardio.  At most, you may be working out up to 6 hours each week.  Considering that there are 168 hours in a week, that's really not a lot of time at all.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to "tone up" or build strength.  I'm sure you'll get excellent results with consistency and patience.  To be honest, I've struggled with my nutrition.  In the book, Rachel has you eating clean and not counting calories until the final four weeks.  For me, counting calories is much easier.  When I can see the numbers, it motivates me to up my protein intake.  I know what to eat to manipulate the numbers, so I trick myself into eating more veggies, less starchy carbs, etc.  I don't eat a lot of processed food, but I do have a tendency to eat too much food, period.  Especially carbs.  Carbs are not forbidden, but you must eat the right kind of carbs (complex, full of fiber--sweet potatoes, green veggies, fruits) at the right times (in the morning or before and after a workout).  I still struggle with carb timing, but I am giving myself time to improve.

My results so far have not been dramatic, and I know it is because of my eating habits. But I am figuring out what works best for me, and sticking with that.  Consistency is what will lead to success.

Random Thursday: Does this butt make my jeans look small???

Oh.
Em.
Goodness gracious, sweet Baby Jesus. 

That is what ran through my brain as I tried to figure out WHYYYYY I could not get my jeans (the same size 10 skinnies that fit so great, a mere 3 weeks ago) up over my tail this morning.  The Hubs reassured me that I was looking "much better" than when I started this new workout program four weeks ago.  He observed that my waist looks smaller, and my booty is rounder.  Of course, he's got no complaints.  Who am I mad at???

Voice of Reason says:  Why you trippin?  You know you are sore as crap today.  Yesterday, you were whining that it hurt to sit down.  So there is quite possibly a whole lotta water being retained in your glutes and thighs, thanks to DOMS.  Or else you are building muscle, and it's probably pushing out the fat before burning that biznatch. And don't forget that your body composition is changing.  You are eating well, working out HARD and generally doing the gollygoshdarn thing.  Either way, there's no need to panic.  Chill out...

I'll admit it.  I was tempted, for a minute, to give up.  But that is sooo Old Me, and I'm trying to find a New Me.  So I'll just press on and see what happens. 


In other news, remember when everyone was cised over these friendship bracelets?

I remember making tons of these in middle school, and selling them for 50 cents a pop.

Target is charging $4.00 a pop.  Maybe I should start my bracelet business back up!  Whatchu think?