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Veggie Burgers And A Workout

March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Last night I really didn’t feel like eating the veggie burgers that we had lined up for dinner but Adam convinced me that we should…mostly by not really having another good idea.  Smile So, veggie burgers it was.  I also heated some vegetables and cooked some noodles to go with it.

veggie burger

After dinner, I snacked on another orange.  They were much better this time so now I am thinking about trying to squeeze one more box of oranges in before they go bad.

Orange

After dinner, I watched tv for a while and then headed to bed at 9 pm.  I’ve been pretty tired this week and I’ve been really trying to get more sleep.  I must have needed it, I ended up sleeping right until my alarm went off … and, this never happens to me!

I didn’t really have anything planned for my workout this morning (other than 90 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weights).

March 28th Workout

The cardio workouts have been seeming longer and longer … nothing has changed … I think I am just bored watching tv.  I used to watch shows on Netflix during my workouts but I took a break in favor of the morning news.  I think it may be time to switch back.

I got the 90 minutes of cardio in but only managed to get 15 minutes of weights in because I slept until my alarm went off.  Since I only had 15 minutes and I was breaking the strength training in two, I decided to do arms this morning and legs tonight.

What do you watch while you workout (if you workout inside)?  What helps your workouts go by faster?

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Getting Back on Track

March 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Not only did I go to bed later than I intended last night due to my snacking but I also didn’t sleep very well so getting up this morning was not much fun.

I managed to pull myself out of bed and get down to the basement for my workout.  I did 120 minutes of cardio but really didn’t focus on much other than just getting the workout done.  It wasn’t one of my best workouts but hey – at least I made it!  I am still using the lower inclines because of my groin and I am actually feeling it in different parts of my legs so it can’t all be bad … can it?

March 27th Workout

After my workout, I somehow miscalculated time and ended up having to book it to the train station.  This seems to be happening to me much more often recently – you’d think I’d catch a clue!  Anyway, I had a nice ride nap in this morning.  I just wish it had been 5 minutes longer, although, I am sure my fellow commuters wouldn’t have enjoyed that!

I wasn’t hungry when I got into work this morning but I forced myself to have my first snacks of the day to get myself back on track.  I am still working on getting more food during the day and I think that I need to get even better about that but this is a work in progress, people!  Today’s snack, like most other days, was string cheese.  I keep the cheese in the freezer and typically it is thawed yet still chilled by the time I get into the work.  This won’t work in the summer but for now I am still good.

String Cheese

When I am at work, I tend to eat small snacks (about 100 – 200 calories) every 1-1.5 hours rather than eating meals.  My goal is to eventually move away from that and into regular meals but like I said before… one step at a time!

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Sleep, sleep and more sleep

March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Despite getting 13+ hours of sleep between Saturday and Sunday, I was still extremely tired on Sunday evening and ended up in bed BEFORE 9 pm!  Can you believe it?  With all of that sleep, you’d think that I’d have been up all night but I slept straight through until this morning.

I got up at my normal time this morning and decided that I’d just go on the arc trainer… nothing crazy… no intervals.  I managed to pull my groin muscle while running in Florida so I am trying not to do anything too crazy so that it can heal.  It definitely felt much better after two full days of rest but I noticed that as I increased the incline on the arc trainer it definitely hurt a bit so I quickly lowered it back down to a manageable incline.

March 26th Workout

So, now that I realize that it still hurts, I am going to do some icing tonight for about 20 minutes. I am trying to avoid advil or any other anti-inflammatory because it is so much better than it was a few days ago but hopefully with a bit of icing it will be a speedier recovery.

After the cardio workout, I spent about 30 minutes lifting weights… I did a full body workout – legs, arms, back, abs, glutes, etc.  It felt good to lift again as I hadn’t really been doing to much strength work in Florida.  One of the best things about being home again is the routine!  It felt good to get up this morning and get started on my normal workout.

Do you like routine?

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Late Start & Too Salty

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

After last nights dinner, I was SOO thirsty.  I drank so much more than I typically drink and still woke up in the middle of the night needing a huge glass of water.  I guess last night’s dinner was a bit too salty?

It was a rough start to the day when I almost over slept and then completely rushed to get myself together for my workout.  I think I need another day off!

Today’s workout on the new leaf program was a constant intensity.  I was supposed to stay in zone 2 for the entire workout (my heart rate between 160 & 170).

feb 21 workout

I did better this week than I did last week.  I stayed in zone 2 for 43 minutes (an additional 5 minutes of last week) and my compliance grade also increased by 6% points.  From here on out, these workouts are going to get much harder.  I am going to continue to do the best that I can and look to improve on a week to week basis.  I don’t actually know if I’ll be able to hang in there for all of the “scripted” workout moving forward!

feb 21 workout results

I definitely felt like I got a good workout in this morning once I got off the  Arc Trainer.  I was running a few minutes late as I actually woke up to my alarm this morning so I had to really push myself to get ready and to the train on time!  Luckily we have only a 4 day week this week.

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Jello Legs

February 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

I know I didn’t share my food from yesterday – but it was really kinda boring and unsatisfying.  I had my typical daily snacks but when I got home for dinner I really didn’t want what I had planned.  I had planned to have a veggie burger, noodles, cauliflower, and fruit.  I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted so I ended up picking at a bit of this and that -> noodles, cauliflower, carrots, tortilla chips (definitely ate too many of those) and I am not even sure what else.  I am not too happy because I definitely over ate as a result BUT I am going to get back on track today!

 

As I was walking to work this morning I realized that my legs are just plain tired and they felt a bit like jello.  My new workouts this week from the New Leaf Assessment & their fitness program have definitely taken their toll.  I went from sore on Tuesday and Wednesday to feeling good but tired.  I don’t know that I’ve ever pushed myself this hard and I’ll be very interested to see what the results are at the end of the program.

I seriously wanted to hit snooze on my alarm clock this morning but I dutifully got myself up and did the final workout of the week week.  Today’s was a high intensity cardio day plus 30 minutes of strength training.  After a five minute warm up, I did intervals of 2 minutes with my heart rate between 160 and 170 and then 1 minute with my heart rate between 171 and 183.  The goal was to repeat that for a total of 60 minutes and then do a 5 minute cool down.  Here is the nifty workout chart, if you are interested in seeing it visually.  I do love the fact that the New Leaf program gives great visuals for the workouts and the progress against the workouts.

Workout February 3

And, here are the results.  You’ll see that I added an extra interval on the end and did a few extra minutes cool down.  The sharp drop at about 60 minutes in is where I stopped the arc trainer and changed my Netflix show as it ended. ;)  It took me a bit to get back up to the correct heart rates after it dropped that far.  I also had trouble on the last two intervals getting up to the 170+ interval as I was really tired by that point.

February 3 Workout Results

 

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My Cybex Arc Trainer

November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After I injured my heel, I had to give up running.  I couldn’t bear the idea of not exercising and I didn’t love the gyms in my area (either very expensive or they smelled like dead fish).  So, I decided to buy a piece of exercise equipment.  I was a bit nervous about working out in a basement; but, it seemed to be the best option for me.

Historically, my favorite cardio machine had always been the Precor Elliptical… so, we went to the closest Gym Source to see if they had one.  Gym Source didn’t happen to carry that brand of elliptical but pointed out several alternatives to us … including a Cybex Arc Trainer.  The sales associate explained to us that with an Arc Trainer your legs moved in an Arc (basically swinging forward and backward) vs. moving in an elliptical motion (around in a circle) which prevented your knees from “dropping” as you moved downward.  We must have spent close to 2 hours in the store that day debating and testing the various machines before we left empty handed but a bit closer to a decision.  Back we went two days later after concluding that the Arc Trainer was definitely the machine for us.  Now… we just had to narrow the model down – home model, light commercial model, or the full commercial model (750 AT).

Ultimately, we decided to invest (and, I do use the word invest – it was expensive) in the full blown commercial model and I have to say that it was probably the best decision that I ever made!  I have noticed a big difference in the toning of my quads and glutes.  I’ve also noticed that I tend to burn more calories on this machine than I do in other workouts that are of similar length.  Overall though – it is just plain fun.  I would stay on this machine all day if I could!

Features of the Arc Trainer:

  • Full body workout, not only are you moving your legs but the 750 AT also incorporates arms
  • Essentially three machines in one – depending upon the incline level – you can simulate cross country skiing, running or climbing
  • 21 Incline levels
  • 9 Programs with 10 levels plus a quick start / manual program
  • Wireless heart monitoring

If I didn’t say it already … I love my arc trainer.  I use it at least 5 days a week and have even managed to figure out how to stream movies to my computer in the basement to make working out more enjoyable.  So… for now… I continue to enjoy my break from running and I am very happy with our decision!  What is your favorite cardio machine?

Arc Trainer

Source: Cybex

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The Motivation to Trade Up

October 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ll admit it, I am a self proclaimed cardio junkie.  I love the feeling of a hard cardio workout and don’t typically need much motivation to push myself harder with my workouts but there is just something about weights that I just don’t love.  So, I try, to get a bit of the weight lifting in each day even if I don’t feel like it.

So, I’ve known for a bit that I could handle heavier weights but I was being lazy in making the move.   I made the switch today though.

I went to pick up my weights this am and I felt something weird.  I accidentally grabbed this…
ゲジ / House centipede

… a house centipede that was on the bottom of my weight.

 As soon as I felt it, I dropped the weight and  my creepy crawly friend.  UGH.  I could feel that I had accidentally squished it… it ended up on its back on the floor.  Yes … totally gross, disgusting, and any other awful word you can think of.  I high-tailed it upstairs to wash disinfect my hand and get something to clean up the mess.  When I finally picked up the weight to get back to my workout I realized that part of the bug had squished onto the weight. YUCK!  That was just the push that I needed to trade up with the weights.

What motivates you to work harder?

 

 

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