Triple Fit!

Hiring a trainer paid off.   Even thought I have a fitness background, I felt I wanted to have someone else help me identify weaknesses I may have missed.  He really gave me some grueling exercises.  I noticed how one of my legs was stronger than the other.  He gave me some exercises to help balance them.  I’m not sure why the bodybuilding community is so against machines.  For isolating weak spots, they are awesome.   Even the often-made-fun-of abductor adductor machine is amazing for working one leg out at a time.  For all my leg exercises on the machines,  my trainer had me keep the leg I wasn’t using suspended while performing the movement with the other leg.   I couldn’t believe the difference.  The core is also being worked out this way.      
  
I also want to do full chin ups and pull ups, so he told me to focus on the negatives.    The next day, I woke up feeling pain in muscles I never felt pain in.   My hamstrings still hurt, but so did my inner and outer thighs and even my gluts!  I know I’m going to see some serious gains in the next twelve weeks.  

I’m going to continue my cardio for six days a week.  This will probably continue as I really enjoy it.  I’m going to run my first 5k in February.

Last night, I pieced together my program for the next twelve weeks.  I’m going to continue full body movements  as my muscles seem to  respond best  to that.   This time, I’m going low rep, between 8-10.   I set up three different workouts to alternate between as well.  

I’ve also incorporated some exercises from “The New Rules of Lifting for Women.”

Workout A -  three sets of ten

Front Squat Push Press with Barbell
Alternating sets between a Step up and One point Row –  Thigh  killer!
Alternating sets between Static lung with rear foot elevated and push ups
Alternating sets between downward plank and Cable horizontal wood chop
Chinups

Workout B – three sets of ten with major focus on legs

Leg Press sequence (one leg at a time with other leg suspended)
-toes facing up
-toes facing in
-toes facing out
-foot crossed over to opposite side – this one really is a tough one!

Single leg squat on to bench
Military Press
Chest Press
Double Cable lat pull downs
Pull ups

Workout C  - 10 reps three sets

Bulgarian Split Squat
Narrow grip Lat Pull Downs – palms facing me
Reverse Lunges from Box
Dumbell Prone Cuban Snatch
Bicep curls
Tricep Pushdown

I’ll tweak as needed.  Today is weight day, but I’m only going to do some cardio as I feel my muscles need some more recovery time.  

In my last weigh in on Friday, I didn’t lose any weight but I did lose a whole in in my abs.  This is great news to me.  I’m really starting to lean up.  This is my problem spot.  I’m going to make sure to keep up my core work.  What I believe is the reason for my recent results is my addition of Pranayama to my workout regime.

Since I’ve found success with light Pranayama work, I’ve started to incorporate tougher exercises.   I can literally break into a sweat within a minute.  I never knew breathing could be so challenging.   I also do Pranayamic style breathing when I do traditional abs work at the gym as well as with weights.  This adds a whole lot of intensity that wasn’t there before.  

I meet with my trainer today.  I’m going to ask for an intense program that will help me reach my new set of goals in three months.   I want to get ripped.  I’m at the weight now where I know it’s possible, and I’m seriously considering doing a figure competition in Spring.

I just ordered a new set of calipers because I kept dropping  my digital one, and it finally broke.  This time, I decided to get an old fashioned caliper.  I’m pretty sure I’ll drop this one as well.  LOL.

Next month I’m going to New Jersey to visit family.  I’m getting a month pass to the Bally’s I used to work at.  I wonder if I’ll see anyone I know.  It’s been a LONG time, so I’m not so sure about that.  But still, it will be cool to see how I’ll feel when I enter and have a look around. I’m sure I’ll be flooded with memories of the eighties along with my big poofy hair.  It should be interesting.

Wow…are my hams achy this morning!  I found two effective exercises that really engage them.  Lately, I’ve been feeling like they weren’t getting the workout they deserve.   My workouts have been feeling stale, and I knew it was time to shake things up a bit.  I’m meeting with a trainer this Monday.  I just don’t have the time to update my workouts every twelve weeks.  

In the meantime I’m reading the book "The New Rules Of Lifting For Women."  I’m not sure about the book as a whole, but there are some pretty creative…and challenging exercises included.   I was so impressed with doing whole body movements that I’ve asked my trainer to focus my routine on these types of exercises.  They are tough in that they also take some skill to execute properly.  For a person that gets bored easily, that’s a great thing!

Three I’ve tried yesterday:

1.  Step-up

With this exercise you bend forward at your hips and extend one of your legs staight behind you.  In other words, you end up with your chest parallel to floor.  I’ve done this exercise in yoga, so it wasn’t that difficult for me to maintain my balance. I just had to get used to holding dumbells while doing it!

2.  Dubmbell one point row

While you are balancing on one leg, chest parallel to floor, you do your rows.  Wow!  It’s pretty tough. I did okay when I used my left leg for support, but when I got to my right leg, I lost my balance on the fifth rep.  That didn’t really surprise me as my left leg is stronger.  Although I’ve discovered something interesting on the next exercise.

3.  Static lunge with rear foot elevated on step

While I’ve seen this one before, I’ve only just realized it’s importance.   I did fine when I was pushing up with the left leg; however, I struggled on the right side.    I felt a slight twinge on my left knee and realized I wasn’t pushing up full-force through my right heel.  I corrected my form and continued on pain free.  With traditional barbell lunges I didn’t notice this weakness in my leg.   Yesterday I discovered I’m quad dominant in my right leg which really explains why my hamstrings still ache a little when I’m on the elliptical.   I make sure to step up with my heel at all times. My knees already feel great.  I no longer worry about knee pain when I’m at the gym.  Yesterday was a small reminder of how importand form is.  

So yesterday’s workout offered me a lot of insight in that I know what weakness I need to overcome.  I’ve decided to hit my hamstrings hard from now on.  I already do that with my quads, but my hams really need to catch up!

When I’m done with the book.  I’ll give my review.   But I can already say this, I’m not interested in buying it.  It’s more a library checkout-typ of book.

I responded to a forum question and thought it would be helpful to sufferers of constipation:

After forty years of painful cramps and IBS symptoms, I am completely FREE of pain and constipation.  And…it doesn’t cost a dime!

I tried everything to get rid of constipation.  Nothing worked…until I discovered diaphragmatic breathing through the Indian practice of Pranayama.

You don’t have to learn Pranayama to reap its benefits. The truth is you can train your bowels to evacuate on command.

Try this: When you wake up in the morning, don’t eat. Just have a glass of water with some lemon…or even a cup of coffee.

The posture I’m about to describe should be done exactly in order for this to work. You can engage in another task, such as reading or surfing the net to keep your mind relaxed.

1. Stand with your knees and legs relaxed.
2. Torso should be straight, shoulders relaxed and back, head straight up.
3. Pelvis must be tilted forward.

If you have the correct stance, your diaphragm will naturally engage with each breath. The stance allows you to isolate and fully engage your breathing.

4. Take a deep breathe through your nose and make sure you feel the diaphragm working. You’ll feel your whole chest cavity expand. Make sure you don’t lose your posture in the process.  If you slouch at all, this won’t work.  

5. Exhale, long and deep with pursed lips. You should feel a downward movement in your lower abdomen.

Keep doing this breathing and don’t think about the outcome. Just focus on your breath and read a book, watch some tv or surf the net. Keep your mind from thinking why you’re doing this.

If after a couple of minutes you don’t feel anything you can do this pranayama sequence:

1. Take in a quick, fast, breathe through your nose and suspend the breath as long as you can….without getting dizzy. This increases pressure.

2. Release the breathe through your mouth quickly.

You can alternate this breathe with the smaller ones. Please be careful. Pranayama breathing can make you pretty dizzy. You’ll discover through this exercise that diaphragmatic breathing is quite an exercise in and of itself.

Not many people are aware of this, but one of the functions of the diaphragm is to push down on your intestines to keep things moving along.

If you get good at this technique, it can take less than a minute to do your business. This should be done daily and in the morning, to prevent constipation.

Do this…along with a diet high in fiber and you will be regular..

Eleni

I was surprised when I stepped on the scale and noticed I dropped three pounds.    The Warrior diet coupled with running has really helped A LOT.  I haven’t really lost that many inches.  I gained some mass in my forearms and calves.   My abdomen is starting to show a little definition.  It goes to show you…moderate to high carbs aren’t the villain.  I change it up between 45-50% throughout the week.  I eat whole grain pasta and bread, and my definition is really starting to show.  I also eat huge at night, thanks to the Warrior diet.  I can honestly say…I LOVE MY DIET.  Yes!  This one definitely is a keeper for me.  

I’m pretty accurate with the calipers.  I’m not sure how much bodyfat I’d have with a hydrostatic measurement, but it really doesn’t matter.  I can visually see the results and am pleased.

I will try to take some pictures this afternoon.  My computer crashed last week,  and I just had a new hard drive installed.  The plus is that I know have a 500 gig hard drive…up from a puny 150.  Poor me.   I lost my dauthers’s first couple of years photos; however, they’re all backed up on my photosite.  Problem is it will cost over $120 to get them on DVD.  

Here’s my present routine following the BODY CODE method…although I don’t follow it exactly.  My weight training is a little more intense.  Cooper recommends just one set; however, I feel I need three to get a good pump.

Weight training - Whole Body - 3x a week

I do a compound for each major muscle group for fifteen to 20 reps/2-3 sets until I feel a slight burn.   I make sure to switch excercises each day and keep the workout no longer than forty minutes.

Running:

Six days a week.

On weight training days:  35 minutes one either the elliptical or tred mill
Two days:  45 minutes on either the elliptical or tred mill
One day:   Long steady run for 50-55 minutes following the Galloway method of taking periodic walking breaks.

As I want to stay lean throughout the year, I’m going to continue to run.  I really love it.   I also don’t want to get too bulky, so this works for my type body-frame.  

Lesson learned this week:  How to isolate delts and pecs.  (I used too much arm and not enough of my delts and pecs).

I’ve often felt I wasn’t working my pecs out the right way…and I was correct.  I decided to really focus on squeezing my pecs and putting more force behind them, and I finally got them to engage.  The pecs are similar to the lats in that I had to visualize them working before I could get them to do so.  I had one of the trainers check my form out while doing rows.  He placed his hand in the middle of my shoulder blades while I did the exercise, and he said I was spot on.

The same can be said for delts.  I had to get use to isolating them.  When I did laterals yesterday, I really felt them burn.  Now that I get it, I’m sure I’ll start seeing more results in these areas.  

I really love running.  I’ve been reading up on the Jeff Galloway Method and can already see my time improving.  I now run six days a week with a long 50 minute run on the weekend. This past weekend I ran almost four miles.  I see the 5K as within my capabilities.   I can see why a lot of cardio helps with fat loss.  I’m starting to see the definition line in my mid-abs.  It’s great because I haven’t seen the pounds dropping on the scale.  I’m definitely starting to lean up.  

 Areas I still need to lean up on are my abs and thighs.  Everything else is flab free.  Yeah! 

I do my weight training three days a week and focus on whole body workouts with high reps.  I’m still waiting to hear form my trainer.  

I started to do six days of cardio a week last week.   I’ve really come to understand the meaning of intensity in cardio.  Although I don’t believe the calories lost in the digital readout, it’s a great way to guage my progress. 

I’m following the Body Code prescritption.  I’m currently at Level 5 of 6 which calls for 43-48 minutes of cardio with 5 bursts per session once a week.  I love HITTS so I do them three times weekly.   Once during the week, I do 50 minutes of endurance.  This week I actually went outside and jogged.  I really enjoyed being outside and am seriously considering running a 5K! But…it’s just a thought.  I don’t want to get ahead of myself here.  It’s only been two weeks!   I can’t believe how spot on Cooper is.  The adrenal types really do get a lot out of cardio. 

Another aspect of Adrenals is having a lot of restless energy.  With all the cardio I’m doing, I feel a lot calmer.  It’s a great contrast to my daily meditations, which are short sessions throughout the day.  At this point I don’t require long meditations as I can focus on the here and now about 60% of the day.

Yesterday was weight day, so I didn’t do a HITT.  Here are my results:

Elliptical Machine

Time:  45 minutes

Level: 7

Incline:   Two minutes on 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,  four minutes on 20 then two minutes on each again back down.l

 I then went back up to 20 and worked my way back down and then finished on a pace.

Calories burned:  436

Miles:  4:30

What I’m learning about this is that the more efficient the workout, the more calories burned.  I’m beginning to understand the more conditioned I am, the more calories I’ll burn.  When I first started cardio in February, I burned about HALF this amount.   It’s an incredible realization.  Couple that with an intense weight training session, then wow…that’s A LOT of energy spend in less than ninety minutes.  

I’m still going strong on the Warrior Diet.  Energy wise, I have a lot of it!  It’s like I’m a completely new person.  I don’t get tired in the afternoon and my cardio and weight training sessions are more intense.   Eating wise,   I’m shuffling the macros around trying to get the right ratios.  I have been doing a 45/30/25 for the last week, and I think this is ideal for me now.  I haven’t lost any inches on my waist until I upped my carbs a bit.  I understand the body gets used to certain macros.  I may try alternating between high fat and high protein if I plateau.   However, I really still believe that we all metabolize food differently.  When I read the Body Code, it was hard for me to identify my type because I fell almost in between the thyroidal and Adrenal type.   When I took the Ayurvedic body type test, I also fell in between two types:  Pitta and Vata.    After taking yet another
test yesterday, I discovered my metabolism was a mixed-type.  This explained why it took me a while to figure out my dominant gland, which is adrenal.  And it also explains why moderate carbs work best for my type.   I consider myself lucky because I can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Here’s something that I don’t usually  talk about in public, but I found it to be so beneficial  I had to mention it.  My IBS symptoms have been COMPLETELY eliminated since I’ve started this diet.  I no longer feel cramping or pain, and I’m completely regular.  I don’t need any supplements or additional aids, and my skin has really cleared up.   To get these type of results, the diet must be followed as close to what’s written as possible.    All processed foods must be eliminated, and don’t be afraid to eat fruit.  The undereating during the day, I believe, is the reason this diet works for me.    I’ve tried EVERYTHING, from fiber supplements to Intestinal cleansers and saw no relief.   This diet saved me.

As odd as this may sound,  I don’t leave the house until I do my business.  LOL.  I have a grapefruit with a glass of lemon water.  I then practice pranayama:  diaphragmatic breathing.   The diaphragm is important for elimination.  I noticed this by complete accident when I started pranayama in the morning.  When I finally put  two and two together, I knew I found my way of eating for life.

Since I’ve corrected my posture, my diaphragm has been involved in my daily breathing, not just during exercise or pranayama.    I get  in more oxygen in this way and feel great.   I incorporate it in my cardio and weight training as well .

Note:  If you decide to do pranayama, go slow…some of the exercises are pretty difficult, and you can become light-headed if you’re not careful.  Also, some people have gotten seriously injured, so if you have any health concerns, speak to your doctor before undertaking pranayama.  It’s quite an intense workout.

Pranayama book suggestion:   Little Book of Yoga Breathing; Pranayama Made Simple
By:  Scott Shaw