Tag Archives: fitness

Best Body Bootcamp

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I talk a whole lot about food on the blog, but not a lot about fitness.. or not lately at least.

So let’s chat. About sweat.

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Back in June one of my friends put together a little workout routine for me because I had told him that I was in a rut. That lasted about a month, which was good, and then I went on vacation and ditched all routine. I did yoga with my mom and went on 2-3 mile runs whenever I felt like it, but that was the extent.

Then I was back in Florida, and all I wanted to do was run. Well hello I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s hot here (and yes, I mention it all the time, are you annoyed yet?). It’s not even cool enough to go running before dawn (not for me anyway), and I had no intention of using the hamster-wheel, so any hopes of busting out a few miles went out the window. The only other workout that sounded appealing was yoga. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Yoga, like everyday.

After a couple of weeks with little-to-no cardio, I decided I should probably start adding in some circuit workouts to get my blood pumping again. All it took was one good circuit to get me back in the game. So in an attempt to keep my motivation high, I was looking for some inspiration for my next circuit when I came across a few mentions of Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp throughout the blogworld.

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Instead of completely botching my explanation of what this bootcamp entails, if you’re curious about the complete details, click on the link above! But, in a nutshell, it’s an 8 week exercise program that is completely customizable to your needs. The overarching goal is to engage in physical activity 5 days per week. Tina provides various workouts for you to complete, but you can do as many or as little of her workouts as you’d like. For instance if you’re training for a marathon and you have 3 training runs per week, you could still do 2 of her workouts. The whole concept completely roped me in.

The best part is, in my opinion, the level of motivation. There are multiple group website where all participants are able to chat, and Tina sends out multiple e-mails per week with the workouts, weekly newsletters, and other info like cash prize winners (yes.. I said cash WINNERS!). You can also e-mail Tina with questions or concerns if you ever need direct contact with her. There are lots of participants so I don’t know how she does it, but apparently she’s some kind of wonder woman or something ;)

Yesterday, I completed the pre-fit test to see where I’m at, so that throughout the program and at the end of the 8 weeks I can see how my fitness level has improved. Here were my results:

Mile run - 9:54 (It’s been a while… obviously)

Timed wallsit - 2 min 10 sec

Timed plank - 2 min 15 sec

Pushups in 1 min - 29 (on my knees)

Burpees in 1 min - 21 woof

 

I tried to hold the wallsit and plank until I was completely shaking, but that wallsit burned. Maybe I should have done that before the run? Oh well, when I complete my benchmark tests I’ll make sure to do everything in the same order for a more accurate depiction of my progress.

I’m not sure how diligently I will follow the provided workouts just yet. The past few days I’ve actually forced myself outside for a run, despite my distaste for the heat. It’s been cloudy and rainy so at least the sun hasn’t been baking everything, but it’s the humidity that is still killing me. I hope to see myself running a couple days a week, but either way I’m excited to see how the Best Body Bootcamp goes! It officially starts tomorrow, so I’ll keep ya updated each week. Oh and it’s not too late to sign-up, you still can here.

 

Now if only personal training sessions with Chris Powell would be included….

 

Are you doing Best Body Bootcamp? Do you love Chris Powell as much as I do?

New Workout Plan

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This week I’ve been at my rotation with another intern, and it’s been fun.

The best part? He is a personal trainer. And when we had some downtime the other day, he made me a workout plan.

I told him that I had been in a workout rut for a while, even though I’d recently found the motivation again with those morning workouts. We incorporated exercises that I like (running), but also made it something completely new to me: progressive.

Even though I’ve done progressive training with running (i.e. running 2 miles one week, 3 miles the next, and so on), I’ve honestly never done that with strength/weight training. I typically just stick to the weights or exercises I know until I get bored.

So here’s the plan:

Week one and two:

  • 3 days of aerobic cardio for 1 hour (70% capacity)
  • 2 days of strength circuit (full body) with only bodyweight or light 3-5 lb weights - key here is focusing on posture and form (hips forward, shoulders back, core engaged)

Week three and four:

  • 2 days cardio intervals for 45 minutes (80% capacity)
  • 3 days strength (push, pull, legs) with moderate weights - 4 sets of 8 reps

Week five (“power” week):

  • 2 days cardio intervals for 30 minutes (full/sprint capacity)
  • 3 days strength (full body) with peak weight - 4 sets of 4 reps

He made me a circuit for the first two weeks of bodyweight training, and gave me a list of workouts to include in the other weeks with strength training.

And for the cardio, if you hadn’t already guessed it, I’ll be running.

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What I’m hoping to accomplish with this is to 1) whip me into shape for summer and 2) give me something to focus on for the next month until my internship is over. Once I have the ability to breath and have a life again, I’ll be able to give exercise the attention it needs. But for now I needed a little guidance.

Does that make any sense to anyone? Eh?

 

Do you have a personal trainer?

March Goals

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So I’m a few days late on this but I look forward to these posts every month. These goals are inspired by things just randomly popping up into my head throughout the month that I tell myself I need to do. But by writing them down and publishing them I’ve been much more successful at actually accomplishing these random thoughts.

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February Goal Recap…

1) NO RED MEAT!

Accomplished this with zero issue. I don’t feel any different but I am proud of myself! Then again I was only eating beef a few times a week to begin with. I doubt I could go further by not eating meat at all… but maybe going pescetarian could be a goal for one of the summer months? We shall see.

2) Keep a budget

Err.. well, no. You see, it’s like I have this aversion to Excel. I tried for the first week and then every time I would think to myself “I need to add this to my spreadsheet”, I would die a little inside each time. But hey I seem to be staying afloat so my mental budget is working just fine!

3) Take more pictures

Again, no. To be honest I find it incredibly awkward to whip out my phone or camera and take pictures all the time. Plus, Andrew hates getting his picture taken so he’s kind of a buzzkill whenever I even try to take pictures of us as opposed to just my food.

4) Turn “off” for the night by 9:30p

Another great success. There were some nights where I looked at the clock a few minutes past 9:30 and thought “oh shit!”, so I was pretty consistent with it. This definitely made getting to bed at a decent hour an easier task.

5) Run a 10k

I did run 6.2 miles the first weekend of February, but unfortunately never followed through with signing up for a race. This is still a goal for the near future, that’s for sure.

 

New March Goals…

1) Give up Diet Coke

My one true vice in this world. I must say that in the past year or so I’ve tamed this addiction quite a bit, but I shouldn’t drink this stuff at all. And let’s be honest I drink enough coffee, I don’t need any more caffeine in my day.

2) Drink more water

This is a goal I had back in December, and I really need to bring it back. You know how some people just naturally tend to drink a lot of water? Yea I’m not one of those people, it takes a conscious effort on my part. This goal goes along nicely with giving up Diet Coke.

3) Organize the apartment

I’m excited to say that we found a new apartment! Bigger. Two bathrooms. Balcony with a fabulous view. Absolutely perfect. We won’t be moving until the middle of April but it will help the moving process tremendously if I start now by sorting through clutter and tossing out random nick-knacks.

4) Sweat every day

I’ve officially fallen off the horse of fitness. But getting my Sweat Pink tank top in the mail last week gave me the motivation I need to get back at it! Having to do something active everyday will keep me in check. It could be running miles and lifting weights, or simply taking Annie on a long walk or doing an ab workout.

5) Make two items from my Food Bucket List

Another repeat goal, but I like it! This forces me to think outside of the box when it comes to my weekly meal planning. Also, red velvet cake is on the list and since it just so happens to be my birthday month, I may have to treat myself!

 

What are your goals for March?