Workout Wednesday 5

Today I did back and biceps first, then some running, Stairmaster, and walking.

I find it really important to do weights first if you are serious about getting stronger.  You can't spend an hour doing cardio and then expect to get a good weight lifting session in.  That being said, there are times when it might be good to do cardio first, such as when you are doing sprints or some other high-intensity type of cardio.   And then you could do some sort of lower-intensity weight lifting afterwards, like shoulders or abs.  Or skip the weights on an intense cardio day.

Usually after weight lifting, I do my cardio on the elliptical.  It can be pretty high intensity if I want it to be, and it can also be pretty low if I've already pushed it really hard with the weights.  Lately, I've been doing a lot more sprinting or fast 1-miles on the treadmill, which I used to reserve for no weight days or shoulder days.  But I've been trying to push it a little harder and sprints are definitely a good way to do that.  So I'm trying to get them in 3-4 times a week.

Back and Biceps Workout (exercises listed in the order I did them)

Dumbbell Biceps Curls: 3 sets, 6-9 reps each (25 pound dumbbell)

Single Arm Dumbbell Row: 4 sets, 8-12 reps each (first with a 47.5 pounder, the last 3 sets with 50 pound dumbbell)

Dumbbell Biceps Curls: 3 sets, 8-12 reps each (20 pounders for the first two, 17.5 for the last)

Lat Pull Down (machine): 3 sets, 12 reps each (70 pounds)

Seated Row (machine): 3 sets, 11-12 reps each (70 pounds)

Reverse Fly (machine): 3 sets, ~15 reps each (25-40 pounds... the last set I put on 25 and held the fly for a few seconds each time)


And onto the Cardio!

I'm working on a goal of running a sub six minute mile, so today I one mile on the treadmill as fast as I could, reduced the speed for a minute or so to catch my breath, and then went back up to see how fast I could still get the mile and a half.  Then I jogged for a couple minutes to catch my breath and went back up to a (slower) run for the last couple.  This all took 15 minutes.

Then I went to the Stairmaster and did that for 30 minutes, switching up the levels a bit, but staying at or between 14 and 20 (max 20).

After that I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes.  The first 30 of this, I put the incline up (between 8 and 15 ) and the speed from 3.2-4.  Then I relaxed a bit for the last 15 minutes (low incline, 4.0 mph).

Love cardio!  I have been trying to switch it up more though.  I could go months at a time doing the same exact thing on my favorite elliptical, but that isn't really what my body needs.  What do you do to keep things fresh (even when you don't care about fresh, haha)?  I'd love to hear in the comments section!

Workout Wednesday 3

Here's yesterday's workout, since I forgot to post it yesterday.  I was at my parents' house for a few days and too busy hanging out to remember blogging.

But that doesn't mean I forgot to workout. :-)

When I don't have a gym to go to, I make sure to have a few different back-up workout plans.  Running is an easy one- you can do that almost anywhere.  I can't do too many 5 mile runs in a row because of leg issues, so I like to have other options as well.  I always bring exercise DVDs with me and light weights.  This time I had my TurboFire program with me and didn't bring the weights because I know there is a nice little set-up back home.

I started off by pumping up the music: Pandora's Top Hits Station.  Gotta have some music to get things going.

Then I did a modified chest and triceps workout, followed by some barbell squats.  I say modified because the equipment I had to work with wasn't quite as nice/extensive as being in the gym. So my weights and exercises are a little different and a little stunted. Sometimes you just have to make do.  I added the squats in because I wanted to practice doing them without being in the gym (if you read my last Workout Wednesday, I had just done my first real leg day then).

Chest:

4 sets of bench press (85 pounds, 12 reps each) I kept the weight the same because it is a pain in the butt to change on this bench

3 sets of dumbbell front raises, palms up (8 pound dumbbells, 12-15 reps each)

Triceps:

3 sets of overhead extensions (20 pound dumbbell, 12 reps each)

3 sets of triceps kickbacks (8 pound dumbbells, 12 reps each)

Squats:

3 sets of barbell squats (65 pounds, 12 reps each)


I followed this with two of the TurboFire videos: first the Low HIIT 20 and then the Fire 30.  That worked up quite the sweat.

Then I went for a 2.5 mile walk with my mom.

Strong is the New Skinny?

Ever Googled "Strong is the new skinny"?  Or just happened to come across those sorts of memes or captioned images that others have pinned on Pinterest?  Don't bother if you haven't already.

This sums it up:



What do you notice about her?

 Do you think, "Gosh, I don't need to bother getting thin anymore... strong is the new skinny!"

Or do you think,"Wow, guess I better work harder at the gym AND eat super lean."

Probably the latter.

Because according to these images, Strong is not the new Skinny.  It is not replacing Skinny.  It is just teaming up with Skinny to give us all even more to feel inadequate about.  And I'm not trying to hate on these beautiful fitness models at all.  They look wonderful and healthy and it does take a lot of work for them to achieve that look.  And they are inspirational for a lot of women, myself included.

I am hating on the phrase "strong is the new skinny" exclusively being paired with images of very lean (some might even say skinny) women who also happen to work out.

Where are the pictures of really large women lifting amazingly huge weights with "strong is the new skinny" on their t-shirts?  That would support the whole strong is the new skinny thing, right?  (Oh, right, that doesn't sell.  Sexy sells. That's a whole other issue with this catchphrase-image relationship that I'm not going into today...)

But, seriously, what if just pictures of very "normal" fit women lifting heavy with that caption existed equally among the fitness model type.  Women who aren't totally leaned out or cut, but who clearly lift, judging by the 30, 40, maybe even 50 pound dumbbells they're slugging around.  Women who you look at and think, "Wow, she looks strong/powerful/fit".  Instead of the usual,"Oh look, another thin, sexy model.  And she's must work out too!"

When we constantly pair a catchphrase like this with images of sexy, thin, beautiful women, we are not saying much at all about Strong.  Young girls aren't going to look at those women and redefine the impossible standards society has already started to ingrain in them.   Instead, those standards are being reinforced.

I think it'd be TOTALLY AWESOME for Strong to actually be the new Skinny.  If a thirteen year old girl could see images of fit women all over the place (the internet, of course, but also in magazines and on TV, on billboards) in all shapes and sizes, then maybe she'd see them as women to aspire after.  And she'd realize that building herself up, not leaning (or starving) herself out was the best way for her to achieve her potential.

Weight-lifting (and other strength exercise) is a great way to workout and totally empowering.  It is a workout that takes the focus off of burning calories and instead focuses on getting stronger, tracking your gains, and actually putting on muscle.  Instead of trying to take something off yourself (as is many people's intent with cardio) you are trying to put on the good stuff: muscle.

But Strong isn't going to replace Skinny if we never actually send out the proper message.  We cannot control the media, of course, but we can control what we post and what we choose to look at.  If we keep posting pictures of exclusively thin women as the cover picture for "Strong is the New Skinny" then all we do is perpetuate the message that thin is beautiful, or worse, create even higher standards that tell women and girls that only being thin AND fit is beautiful.

Just some food for thought.  Let me know what you think in comments.

Workout Wednesday 2

The more (often) I lift, the more (weight) I can lift, the more I like to lift!  There is something really awesome and empowering about getting lifting heavy weights.  Cardio doesn't really get you that same feeling. A really tough and sweaty cardio interval session makes me feel awesome- don't get me wrong- but just doesn't create that same feeling of empowerment.  It's no longer about burning calories, but instead all about getting strong.

And I'm really pumped about how much stronger I am getting.  As I've mentioned before, I have been "lifting" some for years now, but only recently have actually starting LIFTING.  About fifteen months ago I started to get into it more, but would superset everything I was doing to speed it up, and leave me with more time for cardio.  And I while I initially saw some improvement, I plateaued pretty quickly.  

Then, about 4-5 months ago, my husband convinced me to work out with him for a few days, therefore working out at his pace.  Which was sloooooow.  Annoyingly so.  But I put up with it for a bit, and actually came to enjoy it (well, sorta.  I still don't like waiting as long as he does between sets).  Now, he's busy and I always workout by myself, but I am sticking with the non-superset weightlifting and am seeing more and more improvements in my strength.

So much so that I finally decided to give a leg workout a try today.  I always skip leg workouts because I do cardio daily, which is completely leg based.  And I do sprint intervals when I do cardio, so I figure(d) I don't really need the extra leg work.  But I've been wanting to give it a try, and finally went for it (somewhat) today.  I took it a little easy so that I could ease into it.  And realized that my legs/butt are NOT as strong as I would have thought.  I could have squatted a little more than I did, but not much.  Sometime near the end I squatted down and for a second was wondering if I had put any more weight on if I'd be able to get back up... yikes.

And I did shoulders.  Usually on shoulder days, I do sprint intervals on the treadmill afterward or run a mile or two as fast as I can.  And then do some lower-key cardio on the elliptical.  Today I just went right for the elliptical after my strength training since I did the leg stuff.

I am posting the weights I do because I want all of you "light lifters" out there to know that YOU CAN go heavier.  I'm not recommending starting with a 32.5 pound dumbbell for a military press, you'll just hurt yourself.  But it does not take that long to get there.

Today's Workout: Shoulders and a "ease into it" Leg Day

Shoulders:

3 Sets: Seated Military Press, 10-12 reps each (32.5 pound dumbbells)

3 Sets: Upright Rows, 12 reps each (20 pound dumbbells)

3 Sets: Lateral Raises, 12 reps each (10 pound dumbbells)

2 Sets: Front Raises, 10-12 reps each (10 dumbbells)

Legs:

3 Sets: Squats with Barbell Only, 12 reps each

1 Set: Straight Leg Deadlift (42.5 pound dumbbell in each hand)

       *I only did one set of this because it slightly bothered my back.  Might try going lighter next time to help get used to it

3 Sets: Backwards Lunge to Single Leg Deadlift (20 pound dumbbells in each hand)

        * I really like this exercise.  It is great for your balance.  Simply do a backwards lunge, come up from it keeping the back leg lifted, and hinge to do a straight leg deadlift.  The leg that goes back in the lunge should stay off the ground the entire time.

Then I went on the elliptical for an hour.  The first twenty minutes I do little intervals and the rest I do more at a steady state.  Even when I'm doing my steady state, I do try to incorporate little "bursts of energy" as my music picks up.   I follow that with walking on the treadmill at an incline.  I vary the incline between 4 and 12 usually and the speed between 3.5 and 4.  The walking part of my workout is mostly because I want to watch some TV. :-)  

And that was today!  What are YOU doing to workout today?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Weighty Matters

A Facebook friend shared this  post on Facebook today.  Given that I gave up on my own scale some four years ago, it very much resonated with me.

image taken from Jen Picicci's post (same as referenced above)

I first started weighing myself when I was fourteen years old.  It was after I had already lost a bunch of weight (that first bout of dieting that I shared in my story).  I became immediately hooked on it, and with its influence, I managed to drop another 5-6 pounds that I really didn't need to lose.  I think my parents took it away after that and hid it somewhere for a while.  

It re-emerged a couple years later when other members of my family wanted it out for use.  At first I avoided it like the plague, knowing that I was heavier than I wanted to be at the time.  I'd see it sitting there, mocking me, but couldn't bring myself to witness the evidence of my "horrible" weight gain.  When I finally faced it, I was dully horrified.  And began the worst mission of my life: LOSE ALL OF THE WEIGHT.  I still have the diary entry I wrote after that weigh-in, where I frantically vow to quit eating.  I weighed myself daily for a couple months and lost way more weight than any person my size should ever lose.  

My parents intervened, the scale left again.  I stayed away from scales for a few years after that, by my own choice after the initial intervention.  Because I did gain weight and I didn't want to see it.  Some time in college, after I had been having too much fun and eating dining hall food for a couple years, I had actually gained a little more weight than I needed.  I forced myself to weigh myself for the first time in years and, once again, was completely horrified.  I started an intense diet again. This time around it was much healthier than my high school weight loss missions because I was much better informed about nutrition and was eating lots of vegetables and some lean protein.  But I was eating entirely too few calories.  The scale definitely approved.  And I became addicted to its approval once again.  I lost too much weight and had zero energy.  I knew that I needed to gain some weight and did so, to a certain point.

Sloppiness of the picture aside, my arm and shoulder are scary. But that scale was cheering me on.

But the scale remained.  I was at a healthy-enough weight, but on the thin side of what my body prefers.  I wasn't as obsessive about what I was eating, but I was still obsessive.  As in, I would allow myself to have chocolate or candy... in amounts like 5 chocolate chips per day.  The rest of my food was pretty much vegetables, lean protein, and maybe a carb serving like an oatmeal packet or 100 calorie bag of popcorn.  I kept an estimate of daily calories in my head at all times. That kept the scale happy.  And, honestly, at the time I felt like I was pretty happy.  I did eat a lot of low calorie food and generally wasn't hungry.  I was only responsible for my own meals and it was definitely manageable to live this way.

College ended and I spent my last summer living at home.  That fall I moved into my first apartment with my now husband.  I had already gained a little weight over the summer, as I tend to do when living at my parents' house.  And now I couldn't resort to usual micromanaging of my food intake.  I was cooking for the two of us and there was also food in the house that I didn't usually keep around.  I don't think the scale ever even made out in this apartment.  I planned on pulling it out at some point, once I had lost a little of my summer weight.  I simply didn't want to face it before that.  It took a while to lose that summer weight because of my newly sharing lifestyle, and by the time I did (I only did because I became so extremely busy with grad school and practically didn't eat all day when I was gone), I had gotten used to not needing the scale.  

And I haven't used one since.  I've gone up a good amount in weight since then, some of that is probably a good thing, and some of it I would like to lose.  I am not willing to obsess over those few pounds anymore; I'd rather be happy.  That said, I am working on cutting back on those tasty things that aren't doing anything for me nutrition-wise.  Everything in moderation.  

I don't really know how much I've gained, and I don't really care.  I have gotten a lot more into lifting weights since my "thin days" so at least some gain has been in muscle.  I eat wayyyyy more than I did in college and grad school (I'm talking double, maybe more).  Clearly, my metabolism is much happier now that I'm not as thin.  Which is A LOT more fun.  

Not the best quality pic, but it's recent. :-)

I get that sometimes we need something to measure fitness progress, but there are methods other than using a scale.  How are your jeans fitting?  How much more can you lift at the gym?  How much longer can you run?  How many more servings of vegetables are you eating?  

Of course, for some people, weigh in's are what gets them the life-changing results they need for their health.  And there are some people who manage a perfectly healthy relationship with the scale.  It lets them know when to scale back and doesn't tell them anything more than that.  

But if you hear any of those extra thoughts, the ones that tell you that you're not good enough unless you weigh ____ or that you shouldn't eat because the scale said you bad, then give it up.  It won't solve everything, but it is a good step in the direction of accepting yourself and removing a trigger for negative thinking.

Shakeology with Banana and PB2

Since becoming a BeachBody Coach, I have started using Shakeology in place of my usual protein powder in post-gym smoothies that double as my lunch.  I currently have chocolate Shakeology, but plan on trying vanilla next, mostly because I want to try it with pureed pumpkin and some cinnamon.

Speaking of pumpkin... I made some awesome Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies today to send to my niece for Halloween.  Check out the recipe here (that links to my separate recipe blog).

Alright, I'll get back on topic.  Shakeology tastes a lot like protein powder, but has a bunch of other nutrients in it.  It does smell a little... earthy maybe?  I think that comes from the phytonutrients and super greens that are part of the blend, including spirulina, spinach, and barley grass (and more!).   I think I remember spirulina tasting a little like this earthiness I'm smelling when I had it by itself before.  But you can barely taste that smell even when Shakeology is only mixed with water.  I usually have it blended with ice and extra ingredients, and then you really can't taste that extra "earthiness". Go here to learn anything else you want to know about Shakeology.

My favorite mixture so far is Banana and Peanut Butter Chocolate Shakeology.

Just blend together the following and enjoy:

4-6 cubes of ice
1/2 frozen banana
1-2 tablespoons PB2 (or use peanut butter.  I like PB2 because it is way lower in fat and calories but still delivers peanut buttery flavor)
Enough water or unsweetened almond milk to blend (~3/4-1 cup)

Enjoying my post-gym Shakeology.  Please excuse the sweat and lack of selfie taking skills.  I was really struggling with where to look.  Cheers!

Workout Wednesday 1

I'm going to try to do a "Workout Wednesday" post every week.  This week's will focus on yesterday's workout, since I haven't actually done today's yet.

I always work out in the morning when I'm not working.  If I am working, then I do something right after I get out of work.  I'm not big into getting up really early to work out, though I will when I have to... and I always feel great when I do (but reminding my mostly asleep self of that isn't usually enough to get me out of bed).

For the time being, I don't have a job.  My husband has recently starting his clinical rotations for medical school and we are moving every 6 weeks-3 months.   I am building my BeachBody coaching business online, but otherwise haven't figured out what to do for work yet.  Which means I get to spend my (not so early) mornings working out. :-)

SO, yesterday was chest and triceps day.  Followed by cardio.  I've been getting more and more into weight lifting recently.  In the past, I'd spend 10-20 minutes doing a few go-to exercises in a circuit,  such as bicep curls, upright rows, and overhead triceps extensions.  I didn't really like weight lifting and figured that was better than nothing.  Which it was.  Then I'd go through phases where I'd sort of try to "actually" lift, but I'd be inconsistent about it and do it after cardio when I was pretty tired.  Didn't work out for me.  Now I weight lift 4-5 times a week, rotating between chest/triceps, back/biceps, and shoulders.  I still haven't gotten behind the leg day thing, but maybe sometime.  For now, I work them with cardio intervals.  Since I started focusing more on weight lifting, I've definitely noticed more tone and have significantly been able to increase the amount of weight I'm lifting.  Love seeing improvement!


Breakdown of Yesterday's Chest and Triceps Workout:

Benchpress: 

1 warm-up set of just the bar (45 pounds): 12 reps

2 sets of 95 pounds: 8-10 reps each (I was going for twelve, but that didn't happen)

1 set of 85 pounds: 12 reps

Dumbbell Incline Press:

3 sets of 60 pounds (30 pound dumbbells)

Triceps Cable Extension (Standing, Both Arms):

3 sets of 35 pounds: 12 reps

Triceps Cable Extension (Standing, Single Arm, Half Diagonally Across Body, Half Straight Back):

2 set of 10 pounds: 10-12 reps

2 sets of 5 pounds: 16-20 reps

Seating Chest Fly Machine:

3 sets of 70 pounds: 12 reps


After that, I did my cardio.  I love using this elliptical:

It is my absolute favorite.  I do intervals on it for the first 25 minutes.  The rest of the hour is spent at a mostly consistent resistance, but I do monitor my heart rate to make sure it stays in the cardio range.