Kickboxing Chic’s BodyBlog

I’m nearly halfway and still most people don’t know I’m pregnant unless I tell them. But I sure feel like it and my pictures show it for sure. I weighed myself the other day and I’ve gained about 6-7 pounds so far. I gained 22 lbs with my first, so I hope I end up around the same with this one. I’m now reaching the point where I’ll need to start breaking out the maternity pants… at least the early stage ones with a wide-stretching waistband. Since low-rise pants/jeans have been the fashion over the past few years, I’ve been able to make my regular pants last longer since they ride below my baby bump. As for gym attire, I’ve given up on tank-style tops as they don’t cover my belly and just ride up (very uncomfortable). And since I don’t complete a workout without being drench with sweat, baggy cotton t-shirts are not my thing either. I just go with sports bra style tops and let my protruding mid-riff show. In the gym, it is more obvious that I’m pregnant and I often get double-takes (mostly from guys) because people can’t believe this pregnant girl is doing bench press, BB deadlifts, squats, sprints on the treadmill, etc. I’m like ‘hey, I’m not disabled… just pregnant!’ It will be even more amusing when I’m closer to 7 months and still doing steps-ups w/ DBs.

Speaking of training… it is time for more modifications. I’ve transitioned to doing push-ups on my knees for the most part. It is also probably time to either maintain or lower the amount of weight I use for most exercises and work within a 12-15 rep range. When I use heavier weights and work in an 8-10 rep range, I engage too much core. Which contradicts with what I should be doing… relaxing my core so this kid doesn’t have to fight for space with hard abdominal muscles. Other than kneeling push-ups and lighter weights, I’m still following my usual routine while watching my intensity and not doing things that just don’t feel right.

I don’t have any new, good routines to share this time, except for some cardio intervals. Since I can’t push my HR into the 85%+ zone, I’m doing longer bouts of cardio. Here’s a couple I’ve come up with:

Treadmill – Jogging/Incline Walking
·         Warm-up with walking, light jogging, or a combination of both – 5-7 minutes

·         Incline walking @ 4 mph w/ the grade set to the max level or close to it – 5 minutes

·         Jogging @ 6 mph w/ a flat or low grade – 5 minutes

·         Repeat the incline walking/jogging interval 3 or 4 times for a total workout time of 35-45 minutes (including warm-up)

·         Cool-down

·         Note: You’ll find the incline walking more challenging and increases your HR more than the jogging. At least, that’s the case for me.

Elliptical – Pyramid
(Note: I used a resistance scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most difficult. Since resistance levels vary by machine, just use the 1-10 scale as a guide.)

·         Warm-up at a moderate pace/resistance – 5 minutes

·         Max effort on L7 – 1 minutes

·         Active recovery – 30 seconds

·         Max effort on L8 – 2 minutes

·         Active recovery – 30 seconds

·         Max effort on L9 – 3 minutes

·         Active recovery – 30 seconds or 1 minute if needed

·         Max effort on L9 – 4 minutes

·         Active recovery – 1 minute

·         Go back down the pyramid starting with max effort for 4 minutes

·         Cool-down

Be sure to have your music player of choice loaded with high energy tunes and a well-charged battery. I personally have been enjoying Disturbed, Seether, and Buckcherry during my cardio sessions lately. Enjoy!

There is this poster at one of my gyms that says “Cardio doesn’t have to be hard”. The poster is part of a series of posters for some supplement company (I won’t disclose the name as they should be embarrassed for making such a statement). When I first saw this poster, conveniently hung behind the row of treadmills, I’m like “what??!!” If cardio was easy and gave you the same results as “hard” cardio, then wouldn’t everyone be doing cardio all the time? I, personally, am not a big fan of cardio. But it is an unfortunate necessity to a lean body. I enjoy some group fitness classes (indoor cycling and bag/gloves kickboxing), but classes rarely align with my schedule. So I’m left to my own devices. In which case, I hit it hard and get it over with as quickly as I can without killing myself. As mentioned in previous posts, I’m a big proponent of HIIT. Meeting my sweat and calorie quota through a quick cardio HIIT session is usually not a problem. And with a warm-up and cool down, cardio is done and over with in about 25 minutes. Here are a few things I do to keep cardio interesting and challenging:

·         Endless versions HIIT cardio – I created several flavors of HIIT cardio. You can adjust the work/rest interval periods, resistance (stationary bikes, elliptical), incline (treadmill), and speed. There are so many factors to play with that the options are virtually endless.

·         Hit the pavement – Although I trained for and ran a marathon once, I no longer go out for a “run.” The primary reason being that I’m afraid of dogs (a dog took a bite out of the back of my hamstring several years ago while jogging). So what I do now is sprint up/down my street. We live in a cul de sac that takes a sharp incline about 2/3 of the way up. I sprint up and jog back; rinse and repeat about 10 times. There is also this very short, yet very steep hill around the corner from my house. I’ll also throw in a few sets of high knees or high skipping up this steep sucker (jog down). Now we’re talking lactic acid.

·         Vary the equipment – I alternate between the elliptical, treadmill, and stepmill. And sometimes I just put on my boxing gloves and hammer away at my punching bag. Before I know it, my hair is a sweaty mess.

·         Do plyometrics and BW exercises instead – I also get my cardio fill by putting together 5 or 6 high intensity exercises, such as box jumps, burpees, jump squats, jump lunges, jumping jacks, etc, into a circuit. Then repeat 3-4 times. I can easily maintain a 70-85% max HR, plus plyometrics can be used for strength training too (bonus!!)

With that, I completely disagree that “cardio doesn’t have to be hard.” If you want to see results and don’t have 3 hours to spend in the gym, cardio needs to be hard and challenging work.

A week or so ago a guy at the gym says to me “you sure don’t waste any time.” I don’t waste time because I don’t have time to waste. During the week, work and family consume most of the day. Then on the weekends, it’s all about cramming in laundry, household chores, errands, and preparing to do it all again next week. So in a 168 hour week, I don’t have a single hour to waste. I’ve gotta burn my 500 calories in 1 hour so I can attend to the other tasks that consume my day. Some women at the gym may perceive me as snobby and self-absorbed. The reality is I’m there for a specific reason and don’t have time for chit-chat. I crank my Zune and get to work. The guy who made this comment to me is not the first to share such an observation. In fact, some try to strike a conversation with me because they are impressed with my gym efficiency and want to get some tips. Some of the things I do to maximize my time:

·         Always go in with a plan. Whether you write it on paper or just sketch it out in your mind on the way to the gym, know what exercises you plan to do, how many reps, how many sets, cardio plan, etc.

·         Do super sets or giant sets. Keep your HR up, calorie furnace burning, and time maximized by doing your chosen exercises with minimal rest in between sets.

·         Do it circuit style. Identify about 10 exercises and do them one after the other. Do legs, upper body, core, repeat to allow rest for those areas since you aren’t resting between exercises.

·         Do plyos or calisthenics in between exercises. Spike your HR with a set of burpees, mt climbers, or jumping lunges in between sets to keep your HR up. You may find that your HR is maintained in the same HR zone as if you were doing cardio (or higher). Weight training with the benefits of cardio… who doesn’t want that???

·         HIIT Cardio… no exceptions. Unless you are training for something specific or have a medical condition that requires low intensity cardio, HIIT is the only way to get it done. The other cool thing about HIIT training is you never get bored or acclimated with this type of cardio. You can vary the intensity with incline, resistance, and/or speed on most cardio machines. You can also vary the interval periods. If you can read a book or magazine while doing cardio, then that’s exactly what you are doing… reading a book or magazine.

Calorie burn is all about how much oxygen your body processes. If you take the slow and steady approach to training, it will take you two hours to consume enough oxygen to burn 500 calories. Or you can up the intensity, which creates a greater demand for oxygen, and consume enough oxygen to burn 500 calories in half the time. It is a simple math equation.

As you can see, it is possible to get it done in less time and lots of options of doing so. For me, finding ways to get it done in an hour is what keeps it fun and challenging for me.