~~BuffMother! GET BUFF~~

Well HELLO!!

This morning I went on a fasted run~I planned on doing a basic out an back of 3 miles total….well not even half way through I felt like cutting it short. Over and over again I had to talk myself into going the entire way…my thoughts of YOU kept me going!! THANK YOU!

Yesterday was a "active" rest day for me…I had a fun day! I cleaned in the morning, sun bathed in the early afternoon while listening to a few good Biblical messages on my Iphone, went for a couple little bike rides around the block with my DD Tia, then I messed around in my flower bed: weeding, transplanting, watering, etc…, then my DH and I played some "redneck golf’, and some1 on 1 basketball, then we painted a couple walls in the front room of our house and I finished off my day watching "under the tuscan sun"

It was a good day!

My POA for this week is to get a ton of work done before the 4th!!

M-run (done!), pay bills, work
T- legs, laundry
W- run and upper body
Th-photos, stats, final entry for contest…I am doing them on Thursday because I want to workout on Wednesday
F-Legs
Sa-run
Su-off

Hope that thinking of me can help you get through your workout as much as thinking of you helped me! Thanks again!!

-Michelle

Now I am getting ready to go on a date with my littlest lady, LAYLA~ we’ll go to the store and maybe Cold Stone Creamery (I’ve never been there before!) After I get back I’ll do my upperbody workout… 

Here’s the photo shoot prep for the last 4 days of the FCH contest!!! FCH
Photoshoot - 4 day prep
 
Sat - PREP

Sunday -Cut your carbs to only 2.
-Eat very salty foods. And if you find this to be a problem, drink a couple of cups of chicken bouillon. It is very important that you have a salt overload on this day

Monday -No carbs, protein veggies and fat only.
-NO SALT
-Put a coat of tanner on b4 bed- Banana Boat tanner with bronzer in it is the best!

Tuesday -No Carbs
-NO Salt
-No gas causing foods
-Take a water pill(diruex) B4 bed and -no water after 8(time so you have 12-16 hours without water b4 shoot)
-Put another coat of Tanner on

Wednesday ~ Photoshoot day
-NO Workout
-Do your measurments and stats in the am
-you can have a cup of coffee
-No water or carbs until after the shoot
-Put another coat of tanner on
-Do your hair
-Over do your make up make sure you have some that will make your face a little tanner looking. What I use is a face bronzer, and 1 shade darker makeup for photoshoots. You may want to practice with this before hand.
Have fun!!
Bring music
(have a glass of wine)
Afterward
Eat and drink a lot!!!

Thursday ~ Eat, drink, and if you want, begin the 4th of July PARTY!
With your FIRE Crackin’HOT Body!

Photoshoot - 4 day prep   

TGIF~!! and I really mean that!

What a week it has been for me…a GREAT one for workouts, a medium one for eats and a poor one for my website, lol! I’ve spent 60+hours this week working on my websites and I am so glad it’s the weekend! I need a BREAK from it!

Tonight we are having FAMILY MOVIE time~ we’ll be watching "Princess Protection" on Disney…with my 3 princesses~ and our prince and the KING~ BergerKING, lol!

I had another day "off" of workouts today, tomorrow will be upper body and sprints!! It’s been so hot outside that I MUST get my sprints done early in the morning…summer is here for sure!

I talked to my photographer today and she’s just bought a house so doing a shoot next week won’t work, but I did set it up for the 10th~ that’ll be perfect! So, I’m going to a little extra time to get extra buff!! I’ll still take my photos and do a tiny photo prep for the end of our contest next wed!!!

Okay~ so I am starving…but I’ll be back tomorrow to post a bunch more about the final week of the FCH! so stay tuned!!!!

Love ya’s!!

-Michelle

TGIF~!! and I really mean that!

What a week it has been for me…a GREAT one for workouts, a medium one for eats and a poor one for my website, lol! I’ve spent 60+hours this week working on my websites and I am so glad it’s the weekend! I need a BREAK from it!

Tonight we are having FAMILY MOVIE time~ we’ll be watching "Princess Protection" on Disney…with my 3 princesses~ and our prince and the KING~ BergerKING, lol!

I had another day "off" of workouts today, tomorrow will be upper body and sprints!! It’s been so hot outside that I MUST get my sprints done early in the morning…summer is here for sure!

I talked to my photographer today and she’s just bought a house so doing a shoot next week won’t work, but I did set it up for the 10th~ that’ll be perfect! So, I’m going to a little extra time to get extra buff!! I’ll still take my photos and do a tiny photo prep for the end of our contest next wed!!!

Okay~ so I am starving…but I’ll be back tomorrow to post a bunch more about the final week of the FCH! so stay tuned!!!!

Love ya’s!!

-Michelle

I did a SWITCH-A -ROO with my workouts for the past 2 days~

My plan was:
Tues- Day 20~FCHupper body/abs/intervals(run outside)…c-day 3
Wed- Day 21~FCHOFF (errand day and KIDS activity day- the park?)

But since I spent 18hours straight working on my webiste yesterday I didn’t get in a workout~ I did have a little walk around the block with the family before the kids went to bed…it was nice! So I made up for it today with a GREAT workout!!!!!!!!!

Upper body/ABS/Intervals/extra cardio

Warm up- raced on the Expresso bike for 5:30 mins

Push ups 15×2sets

Seated rows
80×15
90×8x2
100×8
knee ups between sets- 2 sets of 20 (10 front; 5 ea side)

Assisted pull ups
30×10
20×8
20×8
roman chair knee ups- 20repsx2sets

Incline flys
35’sx7×3sets
ab machine between 2 sets until boredom

Bench Press
45×15 warm uo
95×10
105×8x2sets

Crunches and leg raises between sets

Intervals on the tredmill- 8 hard mins total

18 extra mins on the r-bike at the end I was good and sweaty!…I should sleep good tonight!!

Hope you sleep good too,

Michelle

Hey Ya’ll I am excited!!! I am getting all sorts of stuff accomplished on my website and soon I will once again have the time to take on personal training clients!!! My “sold out’ status has been up way too long!! I am very exctied about it…my goal is to start August 1st!

today is an officail DAY off~ so enjoy it!!

I had to “make up” a leg workout ….here’s how it went:

warm up 7mins on the Expresso*** r-bike at the gym;***Has anyone tried one of these before? they are an interactive/vidoe game like bike that you steer with handles and watch as you ride up and down hills on various courses against other riders. It’s really cool!

Leg press no weight…just for more warm up
15reps
single leg 6 reps x4 sets alteranting legs no rest between sets

walking lunges
30# bar on back x15
40# bar on back x15

leg extensions
90×10- quit these, the shin pad was messed up on the machine, OUCH!

leg curls- bent over singles
50×10
60×6x2sets

Sit ups between sets 30; 20

calves
90×10x2sets

Smith lunges
50×10x4sets

hip adductioins
40×20
50×20
knee ups
3sets of 20

Squats
45×15…just 1 set, my back was being a bit weird. Better safe than sorry

Dead Lifts
45×5stiff legged+10conventional x 2sets

ran 6 mins slow…just for a little cool down

Day 19~ FCH…Plan to Succeed!!

That’s my plan! I am going to have a killer next 10 days and I will reach my goal for this contest!!! Today, I’m planing to get my photoshoot schedueled for July 1…so that’ll turn up my RELENTLESSNESS

My POA for the final 10 days of the contest looks like this:

Mon-Day 19~FCH legs/abs/extra cardio…c-day 2
Tues- Day 20~FCHupper body/abs/intervals(run outside)…c-day 3
Wed- Day 21~FCHOFF (errand day and KIDS activity day- the park?)
Thurs-Day 22~FCHSTART BUFFING!! legs/abs/extra cardio…c-day 5
Fri- Day 23~FCHupper body/abs/intervals(sprintsoutside)…c-day 6
Sat- Day 24~FCHlong cardio day…I’ll shoot for 40mins total (10warm up; 20intervals; 10 cool down)
Sun- Day 25~FCH off…but start photoshoot prep

Mon-Day 26~FCH…photo prep…LEGS/ABS/extra cardio
Tue-Day 27~FCH…photo prep…Upper body/abs/intervals
Wed-Day 28~FCH…photoshoot; measurements; write up final entry

Let’s all plan to kick it hard this week~ you will see great results if you work it!!

Upper Body/Interval day–why intervals ROCK!! Quality over Quantity You DO NOT have to spend much time working out to get results. If you work hard, even 11 minutes can make a big impact. HOURS of cardio are often a waste of time. Choose the most effective exercises and PUSH your body. Focus on your BIG MUSCLES (Legs, Back and Chest) and on using BIG MOVEMENTS. If you focus on HIGH quality exercise and keep active in life, you don’t need much quantity. Quality over Quantity is why… I recommend doing most cardio in the form of interval training. A simple 2O-minute interval workout will provide optimal results in minimal time. It’s perfect for those of us who have no time or desire to spend hours doing cardio. Science has proven that interval training gives the following results: 1. INCREASES FITNESS- Interval training increases overall fitness (both Aerobic and Anaerobic capacity) and efficiency of cardiac and lung function. 2. BURNS CALORIES- Interval training increases energy production (increased metabolic rate) for up to 72 hours after a single session. 3. BURNS FAT- Interval training increases your body’s efficiency of using fat for fuel (you will burn the fat off your butt and gut!) 4. INCREASE CONTRACTION- Interval training increases ability of muscle contraction (great news for being able to build a great metabolism and move with controlled ease). 5. BOOSTS BRAIN FUNCTION- Interval training causes an increase in mental sharpness and clarity. Interval Training "BuffMotherobics!" VS. Cardio - low intensity steady aerobics Intervals: *Stimulating and Quick (20 min.) *In the long term and short term increases your metabolism (Anabolic "Building up") *Less wear and tear on joints and muscles due to shorter duration and less volume *Increases muscle building/sparing hormone levels following session *The best method for lowering body fat Low Intensity: *Boring and Lengthy (45-60 min.) *In the long term decreases metabolism (Catabolic "Tearing down") *Energy Drain - uses up your extra energy stores *Leads to wear and tear on joints and muscles resulting in injuries *Does not raise muscle building hormone levels *Not the best method of lowering your body fat I choose intense BuffMotherobics! over traditional cardio for the following reasons: • Time- I am busy and don’t feel I can commit more than 20 mins to my cardio. •Results- I get better and faster results from a focused, 20-min session of BuffMotherobics! than traditional long duration steady cardio. It energizes me versus draining me. • Fun factor- time goes by faster when I play "games" with myself during my session. Moving from one speed to another often adds a dimension that keeps me from being bored. • Injury Prevention-I have had "overuse" injuries and joint pain in the past from running too far, too long and too often. POUNDING adds up on joints. I like intervals because in 20 mins only so much pounding can happen and I can get great results with as little as 3 sessions a week. It is short and sweet, allowing my joints to rest the other 23 hours and 40 mins of the day.

I believe in the power of your hormones! I am actually obsessed with HORMONES, lol! HORMONES control EVERYTHING!! I track mine daily, I analyze other’s daily, I research them constantly and I believe hormones can make you fat and have the power to make you thin. This belief is what has led me to build the body that won 5 figure titles the year after having my 3 and 4 children after a c-section and what has keep me buff ever since! This belief is how my client gain GREAT results so very quickly, and this belief is what the HORMONAL TIMING program is all about. 

Many of you here in the RR know some about what I am talking about, but for those of you who do not, I encourage you to start by simply tracking your hormonal cycle. Day 1 is the first day of your period. Things you should note daily include your mood, appetite, energy level, motivation level, focus, stress level, strength, soreness, water retention (weight), pain, libido, etc… Even tracking for as little as one month WILL open your eyes to the affects your hormones have on EVERY aspect of your life.
As you track for 2 to 3 months patterns will emerge…you will see when you are just “off” or when you are “ON”, when you feel confident and days when you just want to hide in a cave, you will notice what days are GREAT for sex and what days you typically say NO WAY! KNOWING all of these things about yourself will open up a whole new understanding of how to plan your life, allow you to set realistic expectations for yourself on a day by day basis. WE as women are NOT the same on monthly cycle day 5 and cycle day 25! You must realize that!! And account for it in your life, your fitness, your diet and your supplementation. 

So I implore you to start to chart NOW!!
And ladies that don’t have monthly periods~ if you have ovaries you still have a cycle~ chart your symptoms and you will “see” when your hormones are being nice and when they are being naughty  

On to today~ Woohoo only 17 days left of our contest!!
And I am totally impressed with so many of YOUR Workouts!!  YOU ROCK!!! 

Today is another LEG WORKOUT~ LET’s work it hard!! It’s the last Leg workotu in PHASE 1…On Thursday the workout will change.  So give this one your all!! 

and don’t forget to start tracking your HORMONES!! 

Your soon to be FireCrackin’ HOT friend, 

xoxo~
Michelle 

I just love, love, love Fridays!!! Friday was an exciting day in the Berger home.

2 of my daughters, the twins, had a "Sock HOP’ at school, so they dressed in cute polkadot dresses, I gave them SIDE PONYTAILS and painted their fingernails.

My other daughter had a field trip…to the SPANISH CAVES. She told me she was going to bring home a bat!

And my son, is going to Branson for the weekend with his BEST Friend, Max. Max and Gunner have been buddies since they were 4 and today is Max’s 10th Birthday! Gunner skipped school today so he could go~ aren’t I a good mom, lol?

Anyhow and for me, my excitement lies in getting in a good workout and getting my house clean.

On tap for this 9th day of the FCH is another upper body workout~ I re-ingnited my desire to lift heavy yesterday from my own post about muscle!! I am excited to build up my fat furnaces!!! AND I am now heading into my Boosting phase~ it’s cycle day 19 for me. So my workouts are now going to be HEAVIER weights for lower reps. 3 sets of 6 and more rest between sets!

BTW- next Thursday we’ll start with the Phase 2 Workouts. So you only have 3 workouts left in Phase 1- today’s upper body, monday’s lower body and tuesday’s upper body. Let’s make the most of them!!!

Let’s all have an AWESOME DAY!!
-Michelle