Total Body Lift [TIU] + 2 mi. Walk

Lifting day today! I'll be doing a total body plus an ab workout from ToneItUp. The exercises look legit, my biggest concern is that I don't know whether I'm supposed to go through the workout once, twice, or a million times. My plan is to see how long it takes me and judge from there. Another minor concern is that they pair deadlifts with shoulder lifts, and my hamstrings can take on waaaay more weight than my poor shoulders. Maybe I'll just do so many that the weight doesn't matter. Plan!

It's also recommended that I do 20 minutes of cardio, so if I have time/energy I'm thinking about doing a ZCUT. We'll see...

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: none

Yesterday: cardio ride

Environment: indoors - raining outside :(

Workout
Equipment: dumbbells - 10lb
Work Time: 25:00

Total Body Lift:

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]
Pile Squats + Arm Circles	12/side	12/side
Warrior Lunge + Bicep Curl	15/side - 10 lbs	15/side
Dead Lift + Shoulder Raise	15 - 10 lbs	15
Bridge Chest Press + Situp + Punch	8/side - 10 lbs	8/side
Plank Jack + Opposite Knee Touch	15/side	15/side
Side Plank + Reach-Through	20/side	20/side
Total time	15:00?	15:00

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Ab Bonus!

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]
Back Lunge + Knee Lift + Twist	20/side	20/side
Tricep Dip + Kick	15/side	20 [on chair]
Side Plank + Dip (R)	10	10
Plank + Opposite Knee Touch	20/side	20/side
Side Plank + Dip (L)	10	10
V-Sit	20	20
Russian Twist	20	20
Crunch	20	20
Bicycle Crunch	20	20
'Tornado' Leg Lifts	2	2
Reverse Crunch	20	20
Superman Lifts	20	20
Total time	10:00?	8:00

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3? Not really energized. Time for burgers!
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 30:00-ish

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 0
Sore Areas: None. This is worrisome.

Comments
Oh balls. You know how I was curious about how this seemed really short? I finally found the (FINE PRINT RANDOMLY IN THE MIDDLE) bit that says 'repeat 1-3 times'. I guess I did it once, but I'm def not going to get anywhere doing that. Damnit. I hate wasting workouts... I'm just going to assume everything should be done 3x through from now on.

I didn't fit in any additional cardio because I got distracted by dinner, but I did walk the dog about 2 miles, which took forever - that counts right?

39:00 Bike + Toning [TIU]

Welp, April sucked on the blogging front. I accept that. Time to move onwards and upwards! I have t-minus 4 weeks until I shall be lounging around on the beach, and my awesome new bathing suit deserves some awesome muscles to go along with it. Bring on the Bikini Series!

Technically this challenge started last week, but last week I was a giant fail (don't go to baseball games on Monday nights -- they mess up your whole week!) so I'm really getting on board this week. My goal is to follow ToneItUp's plan as closely as I can for the next couple weeks and see what happens. So far the program has been fairly comprehensive -- lots of toning mixed with cardio. The only thing I can't quite figure out is this 'booty call' situation. They encourage you to do 20-30 minutes of something when you first get up in the morning to rev your metabolism or whatever, but they only mention it in, like, every once in awhile. But where it is mentioned, they're like 'today's booty call is this!'. What about the rest of the days? Am I supposed to do that last thing every day until you tell me otherwise? Or, like, is the booty call the same as the cardio workout for the day? I'm very confused. But at the same time, adding 20 minutes of cardio to my life won't hurt anything, so if I do too much so be it.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 

Sore Areas: Ankle is slightly messed up :(

Yesterday: Kickball! Because that's hard...?

Environment: Indoors

Workout
Equipment: Stationary Bike
Level: 15
Work Time: 50:00?

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Total Distance (mi)
0:00 - 3:00	~75 [lvl 16]
3:01 - 5:00	85 [lvl 16]
5:01 - 6:00	95 [lvl 16]
6:00 - 6:30	110+ [lvl 16]	2.05
<BREAK>	25 Squats 15 Pushups	✔
6:31 - 9:30	~75
9:31 - 11:30	85
11:31 - 12:30	95
12:31 - 13:00	110+	+ 1.97 = 4.02
<BREAK>	1:00 Plank 30 Opp-Knee Plank	✔
13:01 - 16:00	~75
16:01 - 18:00	85
18:01 - 19:00	95
19:01 - 19:30	110+	+ 2.02 = 6.04
<BREAK>	20 Lunge + Twist 20 Tricep Dips + Kick	✔
19:30 - 39:00	Repeat 0:00 - 19:30	+ 2.01 = 8.05 ✔ + 1.99 = 10.04 ✔ +2.00 = 12.04 ✔
Total: 39:00

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 75:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Nothing specifically caused by this workout.

Comments
Totally felt like I rocked this workout -- then I looked up my previous workouts with the 3/2/1/:30 intervals and realized I was about on par with them. Drat - thought I was improving! I've decided I like splitting the sets up with exercises though. Even though I feel a liiiiittle dorky doing squats next to the bike it gives me the sort of 'rest' that I usually take by slacking for the first 15-ish seconds of the next interval. Since I'm doing pushups or whatever instead, my legs get that few seconds recovery they need and I can hop back up and power through the entirety of the 6:30!

Core Workout [ToneItUp] + 2 mi. Jog

Such a gorgeous day today! Since I typically feel bad for romping around outdoors and leaving the pup to stew inside, but also I'm not up for a run today, I'm going to try something a little different: I'm going to take my (equipment-free!) workout outside, give the dog a squeeky ball, and hope he entertains himself long enough to get some reps in. We'll see how it works out, but I'm hoping this becomes a regular warm-weather thing. Everyone deserves some time in the sun!

Today's workout is day two of this week's Tone It Up schedule. I'm not going to lie, it doesn't look like much. There's an ab workout plus a short full-body workout. As far as I can tell I'm only supposed to go through each series once, and there don't seem to be TOO many reps involved. I might have to tack on something else as the end, but we'll see!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Biceps, Quads, Hamstrings

Yesterday: Workout! Biking!

Environment: Outside! WARM!

Workout
Equipment: None!
Work Time: 30:00?

Core workout:

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps	Set 1: Reps
Lunge + Knee Lift + Twist	15/side
Table Tricep Dip + Kick	15/side
Side Plank + Pulse (R)	15
Plank + Opposite Knee Touch	15/side
Side Plank + Pulse (L)	15
V-Sit	30
Russian Twist	30
Slow Crunch	15
Bicycle Crunch	15/side
Tornado	2
Reverse Crunch	15
Superman Swims	10
Total time	15:00?

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Full body workout:

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps	Set 1: Reps
Walking Plank Pushup + Cobra + Down Dog	10
Hip-Drop Plank Twists	15/side
Hands/Knees Leg Lifts	15/side
Table -> Lunge -> Leg Lift	10/side
Surfer Burpees	10/side
Total time	10:00?

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 
Stretch Time: 
Total Time: 

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments

Total Body Lift [ToneItUp] + 30:00 Bike

Whew! Been a seriously busy month so far -- between traveling to Arizona to cheer on my sister at the NCAA gymnastics regional meet and then prepping for slash being in a wedding this past Saturday there hasn't been a lot of down time. While I have been fitting in workouts, especially last week when I was hitting it extra hard to look good in the wedding photos, I haven't had a chance to track things as I should. It got to the point where I can't even remember if I worked out one of the days or not! Disaster. Today I'm going back to good habits! Hopefully over the course of the week I'll back-fill the workouts from earlier this month, but they'll be pretty bare-bones.

New workout source today: Tone It Up. I'm going to be trying several of their workouts this week to see if I want to jump on their bikini program that starts up next month. My first impression is that they're a little more commercial than I'm used to, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The website is run by two gorgeous woman - Karena and Katrina - and focuses on both fitness and healthy eating. I found them originally because Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny was jumping on their nutritional bandwagon, but then I learned that they're also this year's trainers for Self's annual 'Drop 10' program. I signed up for the program, but because I'm crap at following instructions I'll probably be just using it as 'inspiration'. Can never have too many sources of workouts or recipes in my book.

Unfortunately, clumsy me managed to step on some glass during the reception on Saturday, so I'm going to avoid running for a few days to let the wounds heel. And of course since I decided doing 20 minutes of jump rope on Friday followed by hours of jumping around the dance floor Saturday was good planning, my calves are still in recovery mode. That leaves me with few choices for today's workout, so I'm going with some low-impact lifting followed by some stationary biking if I'm feeling frisky. Lifting series is ToneItUp's 'TLC : Tone, Lift, Cinch' workout. Bikini body, here I come!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Calves!

Yesterday: Wedding recovery.

Environment: indoors

Workout
Equipment: dumbbells - 15lb, 10lb; stationary bike
Work Time: 57:00

Upper Body Lift:

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 3: Reps - Weight [type]
Side Lunge + Shoulder Press	15/side - 15lbs	15/side - 15lbs	15/side - 15lbs	15/side - 10lbs
Bicep Curl + Side Leg Lift	15/side - 10lbs	15/side - 10lbs	15/side - 10lbs	15/side - 10lbs
Table Tricep Dip + Leg Extension	15/side	15/side	15/side	15/side
V-Ups	30	30	30	30
Russian Twists	30	30	30	30
Total time	10:00?	8:00	10:00	9:00

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Stationary Bike
Level: 15

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Total Distance (mi)
0:00 - 3:00	~75
3:01 - 5:00	~87
5:01 - 6:00	~97
6:01 - 6:30	110+	1.83
6:31 - 26:00	Repeat 0:00 - 6:30 x3	3.7 5.62 7.53
26:01 - 30:00	~75 level 10	8.25
Total: 30:00	17.37 mph	8.25

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 75:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: biceps, quads, hamstrings

Comments
Those shoulder presses were killer! Which is a little disappointing, because I can totally lunge and row the heavier weight, but as soon as we start talking about 30 bicep curls PLUS the should presses it gets too difficult. I'm also a little surprised as to how hard this workout actually was -- didn't feel like much at the time, but I'm feeling it today!

20:00 Jump Rope + 20:00 Row

Last day to kill it before the wedding! Still trying to focus on my upper body/upper back, since everything else will be under the dress (abs? unnecessary!). I'm working out way earlier than usual today since I took the day off and I have a nail appointment at 11, so hopefully it won't have too much of an adverse effect. I never know what to eat when I work out first thing since I know I need something, but if I eat too much I feel weighed down. Think I'm gonna go with toast (I love toast!).

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: None

Yesterday: Kind of a failed total body lift

Environment: indoors

Workout
Equipment: Jump Rope, Rowing Machine
Work Time: 40:00

Jump Rope

Minutes	Jump Type	Speed
0:00 - 5:00	two-foot jump	Moderate
5:01 - 6:00	high knees	Moderate
6:01 - 7:00	butt kicks	Moderate
7:01 - 8:00	in-out 'jacks'	Moderate
8:01 - 9:00	side/side jumps	Moderate
9:01 - 10:00	two-foot jump	Fast
10:01 - 20:00	repeat 5:01 - 10:00 x2	Increased Every Round

Row
Level: 8

Minutes	Intensity: min/500m	Total Distance (m)
0:00 - 3:00	2:25
3:01 - 5:00	2:13
5:01 - 6:00	2:00
6:01 - 6:30	1:50	1435
6:31 - 19:30	Repeat 0:00 - 6:30 x2	2875 4325
19:30 - 21:00	3:00	4500
Total: 26:00		4500

Ab bonus!

Time	Exercise
0:00 - 0:50	Plank + Leg Lifts
1:00 - 1:50	Side Plank + Toe Touches (R)
2:00 - 2:50	Plank + Leg Lifts
3:00 - 3:50	Side Plank + Toe Touches (L)
4:00 - 4:50	Plank + Knee-to-Elbows

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 15:00
Total Time: 70:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Calves

Comments

Blogilates - Upper Body

Uggggh so it begins.... baseball season that is. Boyfriend has season tickets, which means we spend a lot of time at the park. And while I love a day at the ballpark as much as the next beer fan, according to last year the season tends to spell disaster for my workout schedule and my eating habits (and my wallet, but that's a whole other story). Which is a terrible one-two anti-health knockout. Especially on those days where we buy tickets 3 minutes before the game starts. So this year I'm trying to do things differently! By getting up early and working out and making sure to be extra-super healthy throughout the day.

Anyone that knows me even slightly will tell you that I am not really a morning person. Yes, I'm awake the second I get out of bed and ready to be productive about 8 seconds after that, but actually removing covers and putting feet on the floor is So Hard. It's always too cold out there, or I'm tired, or I've already overslept a little and now there clearly isn't enough time to do ANYTHING but sleep for another half hour, or one of a zillion other probably really good excuses. However, I also have to be in a wedding next week and actually look good in pictures, and that's motivation enough for the next dozen days or so. I'm hoping after that it'll just be no big thing.

Since this is pretty much my first (maybe third) time getting up and immediately attempting to sweat, I kept it on the easy side and did an upper body Blogilates routine. No jumping up and down, no fear of pulling a hamstring because I've been lying prone the 8 (ok like 6, so sure me) hours immediately previous, no gym shoes. Just some lying on the floor, a whole hell of a lot of pushups, and hopefully some calories burned.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3 - it's really far too early for this.

Sore Areas: Enh...my obliques I think.

Yesterday: Cardio!

Environment: Indoors. Barefoot.

Workout
Warmup: Some pike-down walking pushups, some squats and some lunges. Feel that blood flow!
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

Blogilates - Bikini Body 2 for Arms/Back
Blogilates - Primadonna Pushup Challenge
Blogilates - Back Attack!
Blogilates - BEBE SPORT Bridal Bootcamp for Sexy Shoulders
Blogilates - Backless Dress Workout

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total in-Gym Time: 0:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments
OK! That wasn't actually super horrible! I'm awake! Done with my workout for the day! Bring on the BEER! Wait, I have to go to work first? Lame.

Upper back is already tired and it's not even tomorrow yet. Maybe I DID actually do something!

40:00 Bike

My typical approach to working out is to look at the coming week and try to plan my workouts around what I've got going on. It will usually go something like this: I have <whatever event> (a wedding) coming up in <whatever amount of time> (12 days), so I really need to work out this week <some number> (5) times. Realistically, I'm only going to be able to get myself to the gym Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. I can work out Wednesday and Thursday, but it'll have to be at a weird time outside or at home. I'm hangin with the fam this weekend, so working out Saturday or Sunday is probably a no-go. I'd like to fit a long run in somewhere, according to the weather my best bets are Thursday or Friday. Yesterday I chose to jump up and down, and I'd ideally not do that more than twice in a row, which means if I also jump Tuesday I can't Wednesday. However, Wednesday jumping up and down might be a good idea since I can do it at home, so I should probably avoid it Tuesday. That leaves not-distance-running cardio or lifting, both of which are good gym options since they use equipment I don't have elsewhere. However, since my at-home options are kind of lifting-like, I think I'm going to opt to cardio on Tuesday, then I'll at-home jump/lift Wednesday, Thursday I'll either jump and lift a different muscle group or go for a run, and Friday I'll do whatever else I didn't get to this week.

Did you follow all that? No? Well, moral of the story is that I've chosen to do cardio today. According to my long-term calendar, the last couple cardio workouts have been running, rowing, walking, and stair stepping. Looks like I'm overdue for a bike ride!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Obliques.

Yesterday: Jumping! Kind of lame ab workout.

Environment: Indoors

Workout
Equipment: Stationary Bike
Level: 16
Work Time: 40:00

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Total Distance (mi)
0:00 - 5:00	60-75	[+1.6] 1.16
5:01 - 10:00	95+ [:20] 40- [:10] x10	[+1.62] 2.78
10:01 - 40:00	Repeat 0:00 - 10:00 x3	[+ 1.22] 4.0 [+1.51] 5.51 [+1.19] 6.7 [+1.49] 8.19 [+1.18] 9.37 [+1.43] 10.8
Total: 40:00	72.5 [avg]	10.8

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 60:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Obliques

Comments
I upped the resistance on the bike workout (mostly just for shiggles) and it definitely reflected in my distance -- I figure I'm about a mile short of where I should be to be on pace with the lighter resistance. I also could absolutely feel it in my quads -- workin hard! No lingering effects though, absolutely no next day soreness. Guess I need to work harder...

ZCUT #10 + Blogilates - Abs

As expected, a ridiculously over-the-top weekend with the pops. Happy hour (on a boat!), pizza, boozy brunch, ginormous pasta platters, slightly less boozy but infinitely more buttery buffet brunch, and then Easter ham and biscuits to top everything off. My body is literally pissed at me -- sleeping last night was a chore due to the intense stomachache. I think it was the pounds of butter I likely secretly consumed. Or salt poisoning. Probably both.

Funny story: dog is right there with me on the stomachache train. This weekend he managed to both steal and consume most of a costco-sized bag of turkey jerky AND the half-ham that was sitting on the counter waiting to be turned into leftovers. After the jerky he drank about 3 gallons of water because his tiny doggie brain was overwhelmed with salt. And then demanded to go outside at inconvenient hours. Naturally. And the ham? Neatly removed from the 2-inch deep roasting pan sitting on the counter WITHOUT KNOCKING OVER THE PAN. I swear that dog is part ninja. Or mountain goat. Probably both.

Regardless, it's all veggies and whole grains and workouts for me. Especially in these last two weeks before the wedding (first-time bridesmaid... I have no idea what's going on ever. But I WILL look good in this dress damnit. After I remember to pick it up. Which I WILL NOT FORGET to do!).

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Stomach. Uggggggh butter death.

Yesterday: Easter. Family weekend. Death by salt and buffet.

Environment: Indoors. It's cold outside! Still...

Workout
Warmup: dynamic 5:00 [squats, lunges, pushups, etc]
Equipment: None!
Work Time: ~45:00

ZCUT #10 : Time challenge: 180 Burpees, Low Jacks, Bicycles, Forward Lunge + Back Lunge + Jump Lunge, Side-to-Side Plank hops, Jump Lunges + Squat Jump [2 rounds] -- 12:34

Blogilates - Uh Oh Obliques
Blogilates - Good Time Abs Challenge

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total in-Gym Time: 45:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Obliques

Comments
Well. That was lame. My original plan was to do this entire Blogilates workout after my jumping around, but I failed. After jumping around I just didn't have the heart to keep going. ZCUT is getting progressively more difficult (I'm on to you, Zuzanna...) and it's taking more and more time and more and more effort to get through it. When I then tried to immediately go into the spring fling workout there was rampant failure. So I said fine, I'll move that to the end, I'll do the rest of the videos and come back to it! I did get through the obliques vid, then the ab challenge mostly killed my already aching quads (I have a real bad tendency to over-use my hip flexors and under-use my lower abs. I'm trying to work on it) and I mostly ended up flopping around. The final straw was the the total-body video didn't load to my phone properly (wrong video format or something). To add insult to injury, the inner thigh challenge involved panty flashing the gym for a solid 5 minutes. So I told myself I'd finish those two, plus the spring fling vid, at home with the computer. Clearly that didn't happen -- after stopping at the grocery store and remembering/tackling a literal mountain of Easter cooking dishes (our dishwasher is broken, kill me now) I just didn't have the energy. Yes, I'm full of excuses. Yes, I hate myself for it. But... tomorrow is another day!