Wednesday Morning Workout

This morning I had my personal training workout and I thought I would share my workout.  I really enjoyed this workout and was good to mix things up a bit.


Body Wedge Workout

 Each exercise was continued for 45 seconds:

• Crunches
• Bridge
• One Leg Bridge
• Reverse Crunches

Cardio Exercise with Medicine Ball- Cross Body Chops

• Chest Press – 10lb weights
• Pullovers- 10lb weights• Skull Crushers- 10lb weights
• Chest Fly- 10lb weights

Cardio Exercise with Medicine Ball- Butt Blasters with Press

• Back Extensions
• Push-Ups over the wedge
• Rotating Crunches
• Leg Kicks

Cardio Exercise with Medicine Ball- Side Lunges with Press

• Leg Raise (each leg)- 10lb weight on outer thigh
• Quad Raise (each leg)- 10lb weight on outer thigh
• Inner Leg Raise (each leg)- 10lb weight on inner thigh

Cardio Exercise with Medicine Ball- Side Squats with Bicep Curl


Repeat entire set.



Tonight I plan on going home and either doing my new workout video or my new video game:

    

Well, Hello there!!

I'm back!

It's been a minute (ok 4 months) since I have posted anything. The last four months have been really busy for me, and something had to give...and unfortunately blogging was it. I was struggling to find time to work, be a mom, a wife, a student, a friend and still have time to work out and blog. The good news, is that I am still on track and in fact as of today I have lost 36 pounds!

2010 is going to be a great year for me. I have put together a list of goals for the year and thought I would share them. As I was writing my goals, I really wanted to break them into BIG goals and then smaller goals:

Main Goal: IMPROVE HEALTH AND FITNESS

Mini-goals:

• Continue weight loss journey
• Continue Personal Training 3 times a week
• Finish Beginning Runners Program
• Look into additional running programs
• Participate in Cherry Blossom 5K
• Participate in at least 4 more running events
• Cook more / Eat out Less
• Cardio at least 3 days a week
• Drink 120 ounces of water daily
• Take ZUMBA classes
• Try a cardio-kickboxing class
  
• Try yoga  

 Main Goal: SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 Mini-goals:

• Dedicate Saturdays to family fun with Lewis and Jaiden
• Trip to Disney World in fall
• Once a month do something my husband wants to do (it is important to do things that interest him)
• Quality time with Papa and Grandma
• Special Mommy and Jaiden time (my favorite)
• Monthly dates with Lewis
• Monthly girls night with my best girlfriends

Main Goal: FINISH SCHOOL

 Mini-goals:

• Winter- ACC403, MTH300, FIN230
• Spring- BUS340, ACC401, SOC300
• Summer- ACC410, HUM400, FIN215
• Fall- ACC499, ECO405
• Graduate- December 4, 2010
• Apply/Register for Grad School?? 

I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings for not only me, but my family and friends as well!!

First Mini-Goal

This week is my second week of my personal training sessions. I am LOVING it. The soreness isn’t half as bad as it was last week, and I am already moving up in weights which is so motivating to me. Linda definitely makes me work hard and I walk out feeling like jelly. Since I started working out and eating healthy, I am happy to say that I have lost 16 POUNDS!! Fifteen pounds was my first mini-goal….so I am very very excited.


This morning’s work out was a little hard. Yesterday, I received some sad news about a friend and it really weighed on my mind all night long and again this morning when I woke up. Ten minutes into my workout it really made me realize how important me getting healthy is and completely changed my thinking to really pushing myself. This made a world of difference. I finished my workout strong and really felt good about it. When I got home my hubby was standing at the door, welcomed me home with a big hug and whispered…. “I am soo proud of you”. It was just what I needed.

As we were leaving for work, the sun was peeking through the trees, reminding me once again how lucky I am to have a second chance.

Finals, Fair, Family, and Friends

Sorry, this is definitely on the longer side....

This past week has been a whirlwind and I am happy to say I survived.

Last week was finals week and three of the four classes were all writing finals… 2 papers, an essay final, and 1 multiple choice final. I was a little nervous, but was happy to see my grades:

It looks like my fall schedule is going to be tough.

I am extremely happy to have another quarter done. Only 4 more to go!! YAY!! Now, I have 3 weeks off to concentrate on me, and I couldn’t be happier!

Sunday, I took a break from my finals and we met up with Amber, Tony (Amber's husband) and Misty to take the kids to the fair. We had such a great time. It was really nice to get all the kids together; we definitely need to that more often. The day was full of pony rides, games, prizes, carnival rides, laughter, and l think there might have been some cotton candy purchased for the kiddos. (Jaiden, of course, wouldn’t eat any) I thought I would share a few of the pictures:

Once we got home, I still had one more final to do. After finishing, I was drained and all I wanted to do was just lay around. I called my mom and she had just finished with her 25,000 step work-out (10 miles) and then I got on the computer and read Brea’s and Jamie’s recap of their 5k from Sunday morning. They did soo awesome!!  The phone call with my mom, my daily phone conversation with my sister, and my firends' blogs was all the motivation I needed to get up and do a 45 minute work-out on the treadmill. Thanks ladies!  I am so lucky to have a great motivation and support system :)

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM

My mom sent this to me today....and it was just what I needed.   It's a little long, but totally worth reading if you want a good laugh :) THANKS MOM!

(I have a final to finish tonight, so I will probably recap today's training session after my final)

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 25 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Tyrone, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY:  Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Tyrone waiting for me. He is something of a man-with a natural curl in his hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Tyrone gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Tyrone was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

TUESDAY:  I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Tyrone made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile….
His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:  The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was ok as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Tyrone was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Tyrone put me on the stair monster. Why the heck would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Tyrone told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other stuff too.

THURSDAY:  Butthead was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late; it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny woman to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine--which I sank.

FRIDAY:  I hate that jerk Tyrone more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little aerobics instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Tyrone wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:  Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY:  I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds and chocolate bars!!!

My First Day of Training

Today was the big day!

I survived! (and to be honest….I think I could get addicted) I woke up at 3:57 am, before my alarm clock, and decided to lay there for the next 30 minutes. I got up at 4:30, brushed my teeth, got dressed, laced up my tennis shoes and jumped on the treadmill to warm up. I walked on the treadmill for an easy 20 minutes and then gathered the rest of my stuff and headed out the door.

Linda was already there (I was even 7 minutes early) with her clip board in hand. She had me warm up (again) for 10 minutes on the elliptical. The 10 minutes went by pretty quickly because we chit chatted about her vacation and about our trip to the fair. Today was just an evaluation of where I am at phsyical wise, so we did a mix of exercises, just to get a baseline. First, we started by doing squats, lunges, and push-ups. Can I tell you how much I despise push-ups? They suck, and I suck doing them.

Next, we worked on my arms by doing Lat pull downs, shoulder press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions. During these exercises I told her how my calves have been bothering me lately, so we detoured and we did calf raises. Finally, we ended by working with the stability ball. First we did crunches, and I really liked it, but then it got bad. She wanted me to roll over and do back extensions, and everything was fine and I got to the 6 rep and it hit me, that horrible nauseous feeling. Thinking it would just go away, I continued to try and finish my 15 reps. With each rep it got worse and worse.

Sooo…yes….I ran to the bathroom and gagged. I hadn’t eaten, so there was nothing to really come up, but still, it was just as nasty. I was so embarrassed…leave it to me….

All and all, it was a really great experience, when I was done I felt like jelly, and I can’t wait to back on Wednesday!

Early Birthday Present

I mentioned in my first post that I was thinking about investing in an elliptical machine. While we were shopping over the weekend at I asked my hubby if we could take a look at the different elliptical machines so I could start researching the different brands and styles. I really liked the Nordic Track CX1055 Elliptical, but the price tag was a little too high. I decided to look on craigslist just to see what they had available and I found one near us that is 2 years old and hardly ever used. Last night we made an appointment to go and take a look at the machine to make sure it was in good condition and that I like the way it felt. It’s perfect!! (And I liked the price too) Sooo.....we are going to pick it up tonight after work as an early birthday present! I cannot think of a better birthday gift.

My mom and sister have both recently asked me what I wanted for my birthday as well. I decided that whatever I asked for would aid me in my journey. I asked my sister for a water bottle and a cookbook and I gave my mom a list from my “Get Healthy Bag” to choose from. When I met with my trainer last Thursday night, she suggested I have a “Get Healthy Bag”. In the bag, I would carry with me (everywhere) my nutrition plan, a notebook and pen, my water bottle, emergency snacks (that are approved in my nutrition plan), my Calorie King book, my workout accessories (hair bands, pedometer, heart rate monitor, sports towel, socks), vitamins, and iPod. She also suggested that I leave a separate bag in the car with workout clothes and shoes. I made a list of things I didn’t already have and sent it to my mom to pick and choose (I might have added an iTunes and Wegman’s gift card in there as well).

Last night I did not work out….at all. I was pretty down about an appointment we had that afternoon and just really needed some quality family time to lift my spirits. So, Lewis, Jaiden and I all crawled into our bed and watched Dora, jumped in the bed, cuddled….and it involved lots and lots of Jaiden hugs and kisses!! It was just what I needed!

I did weigh in this morning and I have lost another 1.6 pounds. I was actually surprised since we have eaten late almost each night this week, which is never a good thing. This brings the total to 12.2 pounds. Today at lunch I made my workout schedule for the next three days and read over my newly received nutrition plan. It has everything broken out day by day and even has shopping lists (of course you don’t have to buy the items you already have).


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