cafitchick’s BodyBlog

I have adapted some athletic track and field training into my workouts because it is so much closer than the gym. It was difficult! I found that while I can go on a stairmaster for 30 minutes, running bleachers for 5 rounds killed me! It is an EXCELLENT realization!

 So I am working on incorporating athletic based workout in 3 days a week. Any good pointers from people on good exercises? I have been doing 3 min round based workouts of bleachers, sprints with pushups/situps, suicides, bearwalks down the bleachers, ladder/hop-skotch, shadowboxing(of course that has to be worked in! )

Additions would be helpful so maybe I can do different things each time!

Diet needs to improve drastically. I feel 80% confidant in my abilities to eat right but the last 20% (usually between friday and monday!) kill me. I don’t end up cheating the whole weekend, but need to stick it to one meal ONLY.

With holidays coming around I think my goal is going to be to stick where I am and make gains in my abilities(ie improved cardio and weights), hopefully changes in my body will follow:

Following goals between now and 12/2009

1)Improve my time to run one mile by 3 mins (under 10 minute mile)

2) Increase weight ranges by 30-50%

3) Perform 10 sets of pull-ups

So in an effort to save 30 mins of driving time this weekend I worked on making my at-home gym. A friend may get me some kettlebells to work on, and I am going to get a better punching bag.

Still having trouble with cardio. I bike to work everyday about 25 mins roundtrip, and have gotten in about 3 additional 20 min sessions a week but I can’t get more in. I am going to start swimming one day a week and maybe hike another day to see if that helps.

Ithink if I could up the cardio I’ll start back in the direction I want to be. My lifting has increased dramatically, I’m now up to leg press 200lbs 3sets*8reps, deadlift 85lbs 3*8reps, bench press 60lbs 3*8reps, rows 3*75lbs. Hopefully these numbers will just keep going up! It feels so great to lift heavy and push myself each time I go in for weights!

Happy monday everyone!

As a full time graduate (Masters in Public Health) student AND full time employee (read 8-4 then 6-10 M-F) I have been trying to juggle my workouts in to keep myself both sane and healthy.

 What has been working for me so far is waking up at 5:30 am, downing a protein shake and driving to the gym for a good hour long workout of weights and cardio 3-4 days during the week and on saturday and sunday. I haven’t been losing very much because my diet is not on par (it’ not horrible but I tend to eat carbs in the evening just to keep my energy going through the schoolwork..)

 Some things I am going to try are to take lipo 6 in the erly afternoon or to have a small cup of coffee to keep me going. I am also realizing my emotional ties to eating and the strong connections I made to "snaking" during my undergraduate years. Changing this habit is important for me to make progress and I realize I need to step up and REALIZE i have an emotional eating problem and find ways around it. One thing I plan on trying this weekend is studying in the library, a place where I can not sit and snack. If this works then I will have to figure out a way to keep myself distracted and focused while working on schoolwork from home. Any suggestions? I was thinking of putting a lock on the fridge, but I think for now I’ll just post up pictures of people I want to look like so that WHEN i open the fridge, they are staring straight at me!

 :)

 Some of my BB accomplishments so far though is increasing my bicep curls to 20lbsx6reps, deadlifts to 80lbsx6reps, pull ups 5 sets of 3 unassisted, shoulder presses to 15lbs x6reps, and ham curls to 60lbsx 6 reps. I am definitely pushing the weights and each week I am able to increase the weight by atleast 1 increment!

 Happy Thursday!

Okay so sorry for the long hiatus, began dealing with fitness in my own way and dealing with some personal issues as well.

 I will add a pic tonight, but I have been able to hold steady at  125…My goal is 118 so we’ll see how much longer that takes!

 I have been focusing much more on my athleticism and kickboxing than lifting weights, but I realize that I will not look yoked or give someone a good headkick without the strength I need to build in the gym…So I am back at it with new motivation! I want to look and feel my best andknow that if I had to fight tomorrow, I would be ready to kick butt in the ring!

I need to add more cardio to drop fat but I am currently working on low carbing (and its actually not as miserable as I thought I think I am one of those people who are sensitive to carbs and taking the majority of them out has made me feel so much better!) Although I am missing yams….

I am lifting 3 days a week heavy, 3 sets of 6-8 reps and realizing that I am much stronger than I thought! Every week I am able to increase the pounds by atleast 5 and it’s a really good feeling to push myself! And my pullup skills are coming along!(Now able to do 3 sets of 6 pullups totally unassisted). I still kickbox everyday, or atleast 4 days a week. I work on athleticism drills on Saturdays/Sundays(I am trying to do both days but have been having troubles making it) and hiking or swimming any other day that I can fit it in.

 Anywho, HEY to all the people who follow my blog and I hope to show much more progress in the coming weeks/months!

Okay so I have been struggling with some comments I have recieved at work and the gym and need to vent on here for some advice and feedback. I will post pictures soon but the comments sound something like "you look very muscular" , "your arms look strong ca you lift this for me", "are you into (x sport) because you have big arms for a girl"

I would normally take this as a compliment but the looks and the wayit is said is making me think that my arms must be really big! I asked some guys at my gym for honest feedback and they both answered, "no you just have big shoulders and thick arms" GREAT! THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR! (NOT)

So then I asked a guy whose opinion I genuinely trust and he answered, "you have a square upper body with big shoulders, a tiny waist and then a round thick behind."

SO How the hell do I fix this!? My goal was to look toned and fit and like I could *potentially* be on stage one day, not to look out of whack. It’s probably my height that adds to the problem..but how do I fix this!?

This is the solution I came up with, any feedback is appreciated!!:

Stop all upper body work except for pull ups, pushups and back exercises(keep it to once or twice a week with high reps)

Start swimming more, 30 mins cardio every morning and continue pushing leg strength with reps in the 12-14 range and kickboxing 3-4 times a week.

Any feedback is appreciated. I want to look muscular and am happy my arms are strong, but I don’t like the fact that they look like they don’t belong on my body!

BTW Happy Wednesday!

I feel that my weight loss and training has halted partially from boredom and partially from a lack of discipline. So the month of April I am trying to stay committed to switching up my workouts and trying to push my body past the plateu. (I am up to 130.4, and my goal is 120 so I really need to push myself!)

I worked out this morning to a workout video at 6am, and actually had fun and was sweating! Tonght I’ll head to kickboxing and maybe go lift weights, but I might just stick to a three day push/pull/legs with 3-4 sets of 8-12 including drop sets so I don’t get bored.

My morning workouts will include either a workout video, plyometrics and jumping rope, or trying to make it to the 6am spin class at my gym. As well as biking about a mile to a different train station…This should hopefully jump start things a bit and keep me from being bored with my programs.

Night workouts will include kickboxing Mon-Thurs and the three day weightlifting split. I will probably lift weights Tues/Thurs/Saturday so my weekdays aren’t hectic and I prevent burnout.

Hopefully this kicks it up a notch and keeps me committed! I REFUSE to settle for my body now, I KNOW it can be better!!!!

**BTW, I did 4 sets of 6 pullups!!!***WOOHOO!

Happy Monday everyone, have a great day!

I went shopping this weekend hoping to find some nice new jeans to compliment my weight loss and improving figure…only to find that my figure is an inbetween shape that does not look good in size 6 or size 4 pants. I tried to keep my head up and tell myself that my thighs and hips will shrink enough to not look tight and my ass will tighten and raise so that it will fit in size 4’s…But size 6s were loose over the place and not worth the money.

Just gave me another reason to push more cardio to get the last few inches off…It’s frustrating for sure but hopefully by the time summer rolls around I will be comfortable with my lower half!

I didn’t make too much progress these last two weeks so I need to get back on the wagon and try harder. I know I have had too many carbs and that affected my progress today, as well as how I felt. I felt pretty crappy! Which was good because now I want to avoid the carbs, something the "old me" would have NEVER done. So, I haven’t made a lot of physical progress, but I made a mental breakthrough in my ability to recognize and realize when the heck to stop eating!

 I also had a great moment at the gym last night. I recognized a guy I have seen coming reguarly since about October or November. He has lost a great deal of weight and looked really strong, so I went up and introduced myself. I told him that I remember seeing him back in November working out of a Men’s Health magazine and I congradulated him on his progress. I said "It’s obvious you have been working very hard and I think it is always great to keep you motivated to hear so I wanted to tell you that I have noticed your changes and keep up the good work". He almost hugged me! It was nice to congradulate him on his 30lbs weight loss and he thanked me for keeping him motivated by telling him that. It was a nice moment for me because when I see people from years ago and they tell me how good I look now, I get motivated to keep working out, I knew it would feel good to do it for someone else. And he deserved it because he had lost a lot of weight! It was a greatmoment for us both

 I plan on relaxing and enjoying my birthday weekend. Getting my leg workout in today, do some shopping and just try to relax, eat healthy and in moderation, and enjoy the time I get to spend with friends and family.

 Happy Friday everyone and have a GERAT weekend! Keep training hard and trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel! I’ll pose my progress pics up soon but there wasn’t much of a change from the last set. Take care!

I felt a lil down when I took the pics thig morning, and they are from bad angles and fuzzy, but, there is progress! My butt/thighs have def shrunk and tightened up a ton. I still feel that from the front my hips and thighs are huge and nothing is tight or toned, but maybe it is the pics, IDK. I can see my upper body shrinking but my arms still feel huge.

 So I just tend to carry a lot more weight on my small frame, hopefully I can continue to build muscle and lose fat so the bottom half of my frame shrinks and my upper body has better definition and strength.

 My strength has progressed though: I am able to do 3 sets of 5 pullups fairly easily and 3 sets of 5 chin ups. Need to work on the wide grip pull ups now to build a V. Anyone want to help me build a new weight lifting program?

 Kickboxing is going great, I am finally landing kicks and feeling comfortable in my space and my punches! Just need to work on building more muscle mass!

 Happy Friday everyone! Back to work!

Outline of my current workout routine and diet:

Workout:

Mon:kickboxing 1 hour, Lift: 2 sets of 20 reps): dumbell squat ss w/ overhead press, leg extension ss with cable front raise, leg curl ss w/ lateral raise, cable lunge ss with reverse pec fly, wall squat ss w/ lateral raise 4/failure

Tues:1 hour KB, Lift: lat pulldown ss w/ overhead press2×12, cable front raise ss w/ straight arm pulldown 2×12, wide grip seated row w/ chest press 2×12, cable curl ss w/ rope pulldown 2×12, double crunch to failure

Wed: 1 hour KB,  no lifting

Thurs: 1 hour KB, Lift: pull up 1/20-30, leg curl 1/20-30, back extension 1/20-30, deadlift 3/8-10, hamstring raises 2/12-15, straight leg kickback 2/12-15, seated row 2/15-20, pull ups to failure

Fri: (**maybe I should do cardio here?)**Lift only:cable curl 3/6, triceps extension 3/6, preacher curl 3/8, cable kickback 3/8, curls 3/12, cable pressdown3/12, calf raises 1/100, hanging knee raises to failure

Sat: Yoga

Sun: Swim 1 mile

Thoughts on this program? Does it look solid or like I may have any holes or leaving areas out? THANKS!

**I feel like this lifting program is very shoulder heavy and I am trying to focus on building my back as well as my leg and hip flexor muscles, maybe I should make some adjustments?**

Diet:

Low carb 1-3:

same as below

Higher carb day 4:

same as below, add 1/2 cup of rice to meal 3

Start over day 1.

 Thoughts/feedback is appreciated! I am trying to keep my muscle while losing my fat!

Happy Monday everyone!