Kickboxing Chic’s BodyBlog

I had a solid plan in place for last week, both nutrition-wise and training-wise. I was fully stocked on fruits, veggies, and lean protein ready for lunches and dinners. But I had a hard time digesting pretty much everything last week except oatmeal. I’ve gradually been able to eat less and less in one sitting, but now what I eat is starting to matter. Unfortunately, veggies need to be small portions and ones that are easier to digest. So a lot of the food I had prepped for the week sat in the fridge. It was very frustrating, not to mention the fact that I was uncomfortable. Mornings are usually good, so at least I was still able to get my training in each day. I’m doing more ad hoc workouts these days because what I can do depends on how I feel that day. So far it is working out and I feel like I’m coving all my bases in terms of cardio and hitting all major body parts with weight training. And I’m still training 6 days/week. I relish my one rest/recovery day though.

I’m getting in some good workouts this week too, and so far I’m able to stick to my normal eating habits. I just need to keep portions small and stay away from stuff that I know is problematic. Thanksgiving should be a relatively guilt-free day since I can only eat such small portions. Although, I may have to eat dinner twice since I’m hungry every 1.5-2 hours with such small portions. And I’m already looking forward to Friday’s indoor cycling class.

Here’s a pic of my tummy at 31 weeks. I am all baby. So far I’ve gained about 14 pounds.

And here’s a fun workout I did last week:

·         Warm-up: Walking/light jogging on treadmill for 5 minutes

·         Treadmill speed intervals – increase speed every minute for 7 minutes

·         Super Set: Bulgarian split squats and rear delt lifts w/ cables – 3 sets

·         Treadmill 90/30 second intervals – 90 sec high intensity/30 sec recovery x4

·         Super Set: DB step-ups and lat pull-downs – 3 sets

·         Treadmill incline intervals – increase incline every minute for 5 minutes

·         (Machine) Hamstring curls – Stripping set

·         (Machine) Leg extension – Stripping set

My legs were pretty hosed after this. My reps were in the 12-15 range. It took me about 70 minutes and a burned 460 calories. The constant change up sure makes the time go by fast.

I really enjoyed my first pregnancy, but I’m anxious to get this one wrapped up and get back to my normal self. I want to wear my normal jeans again and get back to higher intensity, challenging workouts. I was watching some Cross Fit videos on YouTube this past weekend, which made me very envious and anxious about getting through the final stretch of pregnancy. Admittedly, I’m already thinking about my post-pregnancy plan. Hopefully my delivery will be uneventful so I can keep my recovery period to about 3 weeks. In the meantime, I keep doing what I can. And yes, I can still do burpees (albeit modified). Here’ my game plan for this week:

Training
Monday: BW/Weight Circuit (similar to what I did last week)
·         Fast step-ups onto a bench step (1 minute/side)

·         Lateral hops over bench (2 minutes)

·         Lunge switches with a DB shoulder press x20 (big HR booster)

·         Curtsy squat/squat x10 sets (curtsy squat on each side with a squat in the middle = 1 set)

·         DB chest press/fly combo x10 sets

·         1-leg deadlifts x15/leg

·         DB Tricep overhead press x15

·         Kneeling kick-backs w/ band x30/leg

·         DB Bicep curls x15

·         Repeat circuit 3x

Tuesday: HIIT Cardio (Elliptical) and Stretching
Wednesday: Treadmill/Superset Intervals

·         Treadmill warm-up followed by speed intervals (increase speed every 1 minute for 5-8 minutes)

·         Bulgarian split squats and rear delt lifts w/ cables – 3 sets

·         Treadmill 90/30 sec intervals x4

·         Step-ups and lat pulldowns – 3 sets

·         Treadmill incline intervals (increase incline every 1 minute for 5 minutes)

·         Hamstring curls and leg extensions – 3 sets

·         Another round on the treadmill if time permits

Thursday: HIIT Cardio (Treadmill) and Stretching
Friday: BW/Weight Circuit
Something similar to Monday, but the upper body work will be more delt focused.

Saturday: Boot Camp
Sunday: Rest, recovery, plan, and prep day
Nutrition
Rather than plan a full week in advance, here are some things I’ve done to prepare for the week.

·         Cut up lots of carrots, celery, and bell peppers for snacks

·         Made a flaxseed oil based dressing for salads

·         Threw some turkey breasts on the grill Sunday night while we were grilling steaks for dinner

·         Made a 3-4 serving batch of quinoa

·         Made turkey meatballs on Monday for spaghetti with meatballs; the leftover meatballs can be used for lunches and snacks throughout the week

·         Stocked up on apples from the fruit stand (lots of good ones on sale) and salad stuff so I can have salads for lunches and dinners

·         Chopped up mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers for egg while omelets

As you can see, I am well stocked with healthy options for the week. Easy to just grab and go.

Now it is just time for execution… so far so good! What your game plan for this week?

I’m almost 30 weeks along, which means only about 10 to go!  I’m still trying to keep up my “fit” lifestyle as much as possible. But mentally, I’ve decided to give myself a break during pregnancy and not be so hard core. I know I can get back to my normal strict, regimented routine, so I’m not too worried about it. I weighed in at 139 today. Which means I’ve gained about 13 lbs so far. I want to keep my weight gain around 20-23 lbs by the end, so still need to keep up many of my good habits. Here is my game plan for the coming week:

Training
Monday and Wednesday: Cardio/Weight Training Circuit
A mix of upper body exercises w/DBs, lower body exercises w/DBs, and BW cardio exercises (i.e. burpees, jumping jacks) for a HR boost. These types of workouts make the time go by so fast! These will be at-home workouts.

Tuesday and Thursday: HIIT Cardio and Stretching
30-40 minutes of high intensity interval training using my elliptical; followed by a good 10-15 minutes of stretching. These will be at-home workouts.

Friday: Indoor Cycling and Weight Training
My favorite workout of the week. A 60 minute indoor cycling class (easy 400-500 calorie burner); followed by some upper body work. I’ll be going to the gym this day so will do exercises I can’t do at home.

Saturday: Boot Camp
Sunday: Rest, recovery, plan, and prep day.
Nutrition
Monday
·         Breakfast: egg white, veggie omelet; oatmeal w/ half scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 tbsp walnuts, and ¼ cup blueberries

·         AM Snack: 1 cup plain yogurt w/ half scoop of protein powder; apple w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter

·         Lunch: turkey tenderloin, mashed yams, and sautéed collard greens

·         PM Snack: ½ can tuna mixed with a little mayo and curry powder; 5 flax seed crackers; celery and carrots; 1 wedge of lite Laughing Cow cheese (these things are only 35 calories!!)

·         Dinner: Chicken breast stuffed with asparagus, roasted garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes; large salad

·         Evening Snack: ½ cup cottage cheese with Splenda, a few slices of banana and a sprinkle of oatmeal

Tuesday
·         Same for all meals except dinner

·         Dinner: Tofu tacos

Wednesday
·         Breakfast: Same

·         AM Snack: 1 cup plain yogurt w/ half scoop of protein powder; red grapes; raw nuts

·         Lunch: We have a lunch meeting this day with lunch being provided. Depending on what it is, I may just eat the salad portion and supplement with something from home. In which case, I still have turkey tenderloin, mashed yams, and the collard greens on hand.

·         PM Snack: Salmon burger and some instant grits

·         Dinner: Grill night; not sure if I’ll have chicken or lean steak; large salad regardless

·         Evening Snack: Same

Thursday
·         Breakfast: Same

·         AM Snack: Light yogurt, rice cake w/ peanut butter

·         Lunch: TBD – Will depend on what I have for leftovers from dinners during the week.

·         PM Snack: TBD – Will depend on what leftovers I have

·         Dinner: TBD – Leftovers or an egg white omelet; large salad

·         Evening Snack – Same

Friday
·         Pre-workout: 1 piece of Ezekiel toast w/ cashew butter

·         Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ one full scoop vanilla protein powder, walnuts, and mixed berries

·         AM Snack: Yogurt and fruit

·         Lunch: Sandwich with grilled chicken, mustard, and lots of veggies

·         PM Snack: TBD – Will depend on what leftovers I have

·         Dinner: BBQ chicken pita pizzas

I can plan the first 2-3 days pretty good, but the rest of the week is subject to whatever is available for leftovers. I always cook extra so my meals are pretty similar throughout the week. Whenever we grill (usually 1-3 nights a week), we always throw on a bunch of stuff to use for lunches and dinners the rest of the week. If I don’t have any leftover protein (chicken, turkey, salmon, etc), I always have canned tuna and eggs on hand as a fall back plan. The cottage cheese w/ Splenda and a little banana at night takes care of my sweet cravings; sounds like a weird combo, but I love it! Since I’m pregnant, I incorporate more dairy than usual, which is another reason why I have cottage cheese in my plan.

It’s week 29 and I’m still trying to keep up training regime. Although, I debated to start scaling back more this month. This pregnancy is wearing me out more than my first. And I have more aches and pains than I did the first time around. Mentally, it has been difficult to scale back from my usual training methods. But it makes me excited for my post-pregnancy training & nutrition plan. Scary that I’m already thinking about it!

Here’s a workout I created for my October program. I did it every other week since stripping sets are pretty intense and should only be done every once in a while (pregnant or not).

HIIT Cardio
I used my elliptical for this and the resistance levels are 1-10.

·         Warm-up – 7 minutes

·         1 min max effort/30 sec recovery – Level 8

·         2 min max effort/30 sec recovery – Level 8

·         3 min max effort/30 sec recover– Level 8

·         Repeat this same interval sequence on Levels 9 and 10

·         Total ~30 minutes

Weight Training
I did this routine using stripping sets, which works like this:

1.       Start each exercise with a warm-up set of 25 reps

2.       Go heavy and do 10-15 reps, no rest

3.       Strip off some weight and immediately do 10-15 more, no rest

4.       Strip off more weight and do a third set of 10-15 reps

5.       If you want to do a fourth set, go for it. But 3 is good.

Here’s the upper body routine I did using the stripping set method:

1.       DB Shoulder Press

2.       DB Chest Flies (you can also do chest press)

3.       DB Lateral Raises

4.       DB Tricep Overhead Press

My arms were hosed after doing this routine. And were still a bit fatigued even a few hours later. With the HIIT cardio and weight training, I got this workout done in about 1 hour and burned 420 calories. Not bad! I like the stripping set method because the warm-up is part of the set. I normally don’t do that extensive of a warm-up. It is also quick because there is no rest in between sets. I’m always on a schedule so this is an efficient, yet effective workout. Maybe it will work for you too. Enjoy!