February Intentions

One of my clients is a personal trainer, and a very, very good one. He & his wife have multiple trainers who work under them, they work 6-7 days per week and they have a huge client base. I mean, they are super legit.

They shared this article on FB today and it was just what I needed to read. I even bookmarked it to read often when I need a swift kick in the rear. It's "The Brutally Honest 6 Reasons You're Still Overfat." And it really is brutally honest but I hate sugar-coating stuff. I have always responded best to a bit of tough love and it's simply the way I tend to communicate as well. Direct and Honest but also Compassionate and most importantly, coming from a place of caring and that's why I'm saying things. That's how I read that article & it was just what I needed to read.

I am ready to stop making excuses of putting my health & fitness on the back burner. I'm ready to do this and do it consistently. I want my body to be as healthy as possible going into a pregnancy but mainly because I want to be able to continue that into the pregnancy. I don't expect to quit then, but I don't want to start then either. I have to start now, once and for all! LOL

I want to lose 6 pounds in February. That's my ultimate goal and here's how I can accomplish that (plus a few other things):

Here are the things I WILL DO in February:
1. Meal Plan & Prep each week
2. Fitness & Workout Plan each week
3. Have IUD removed (Eeeek!)
4. Switch over health insurance (one that has maternity coverage)
5. Register for a triathlon in April
6. Exercise 20 times
7. Bike to work 3 times
8. Buy a heart rate monitor/Garmin triathlon watch and begin using it
9. Make smart decisions over lunch meetings for work
10. I will not cheat and I will make good decisions on Super Bowl Sunday.
11. In February, I will enjoy the Wine Tasting party we're having at our house, but THAT IS IT!!
12. I will not cheat & I will make good decisions at the party I was invited to on February 13th.

Looking at my calendar and planning ahead, I am noticing that I attend a lot of parties. Those are fun but they're also really challenging when trying to make good decisions. Hence the reason I plan to read that article above over & over again in February!!

Cheers!

Toughest Workout in a Looong Time

I didn't post yesterday but I actually went to the gym BEFORE work! Yay- score one for this gal!! I should be able to go every morning but I tend to sip my morning coffee & just relax instead.

I did an arm workout with a bunch of supersets.

Hammer Curls (15#) w/
Overhead Tricep Extension (20#) w/
Bentover Flies (10#)

Skull crushers (10#?? I think) w/
DB Chest Press (15#)

Cable Rows (60# x 10) 3 sets

Pull-ups (assisted, maybe 56#) 10 reps x 3

I *think* I did that 3 times through.

Then today I went to the gym because I found this workout here and wanted to do it. Boy oh boy was it ever hard!! By far the hardest I've pushed myself in a long time!! (and I didn't even do the row part because our gym doesn't have a rower). Here's how I tweaked the workout:

START: Treadmill workout
Minutes     Speed
3 warm-up     5
2 base           5.5
3 push          6.5
2 base           5.5
1 all-out        7.5
1 walk           3.5
________________________
1 base           5.5
2 push          6.5
1 base           5.5
2 push          6.5 *walked for 10 seconds
1 base           5.5*walked for 10 seconds
1 all-out       7.5
1 walk          3
________________________
1 all-out       7.5
1 walk          3
1 all-out       7.5
1 walk          3
1 all-out       8
1 walk          3

Total time = 27 minutes
Total calories = 283
Total Distance 2.53 miles

Then I did the following circuit training WOD:

Block 1 (5 minutes total, circle through as many times as possible):
Squat to hammer curls 15 reps (12# dumbbells)
Burpees 10 reps
1-minute sprint on treadmill (6.5mph)
***In 5 minutes, I completed one full round then a bunch of hammer curls & squats.

Block 2
Overhead tricep extension 12 reps (12# dumbbells)
Reverse lunge hop 10 each side
1-minute sprint on treadmill (6.5mph)
***In 5 minutes, I completed one full round then all the tricep extensions & lunge hops and about 20 seconds of the sprint.

Block 3
Side lunge to shoulder press 12 reps (12# dumbbells)
Single arm row 12 reps each side (12# dumbbells)
Side plank dips 5 each side
***In 5 minutes, I completed one full round then 6 more side lunges.

Block 4
Deadlift to row 15 reps (12# dumbbells)
Plank punch 10 punches each arm
Superman extensions 15 reps
***In 5 minutes, I completed one full round then all the deadlift rows & plank punches.

I was one drenched, nasty mess by the end of it. I am definitely a sweater when I workout. I wish I wasn't but oh well, I don't think there's anything I can do about it. My triceps are so sore from yesterday's WOD and now today's. But boy am I ever feeling great!!!

***Will post again with my plan, intentions, thoughts going into February.

Another perfect day

Yes I'm on a roll!! Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but I had another great day so I'm feeling good.

Woke up and had a couple of meetings first thing. Then stopped by the office for a couple hours, ate lunch and got a bit of work done. Then left and met a girlfriend for a quick coffee date.

I quickly headed home and changed into workout clothes then went to the gym. Had I not gone right then, I knew darn well I wouldn't have gone at all. So I got 'er done!

Then I went shopping and bought a few new workout clothes!! :P  That's always fun!!

Here's my workout:
Leg press
90# x 10
110# x 10
130# x 10
150# x 10
170# x 10

Dumbbell deadlifts with 2- 20# dumbbells. 30 reps.

40# short straight bar walking lunges x 30 steps.

Then this timed workout:
10 burpees (with pushup)
Plank hold on bosu ball (thumbs touching, legs/body straight) - hold as long as possible (maybe 20 seconds)?
10 KB Swings w/ Fuschia KB - I don't know the weight of that one, just the color ; )

Time = 7:56

Then I ended with 3 plank holds on the bosu ball, each one was 30 seconds each. I'd really like to focus on my core strength, I know it's something I need to improve.

ALMOST perfect weekend!!

This weekend was just about perfect and it's not over yet. Here's my original list w/ the things I accomplished crossed off:

Go hiking
Go for a bike ride*We biked the Usery Pass loop through a regional park so I got my outdoor fix of hiking along w/ a bike ride so I'm counting both. We also went for a long walk around our neighborhood Saturday night.

The bike ride was HELLA HARD! Oh my gosh, but I loved it. I love doing something where you can't quit (because we're 10 miles away from our car)- I am a little brat and start cursing like crazy but I also LOVE challenging myself physically. The ride was 22.5 miles long and we climbed 1,000 feet in elevation. My phone said I also burned about 1,000 calories so that's good!! Wahoo!! 

Go out Saturday night w/ Michael just the 2 of us*I invited friends but they couldn't join us-luckily. As soon as I asked I thought to myself, "Why did I just do that?" I do that all the time- I'm more worried about making sure everyone else is happy, having a good time, enjoying themselves than I am myself sometimes!!

Go to the gym 1xNope! No gym trip for us :(

Pick fruit from my citrus treesPick up yard then relax in my hammock chair*I went to a used bookstore near my house & bought "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed which really just seemed to be the perfect book for me right now. We picked up the backyard and then I read for about 30 minutes in my hammock chairs- until I got sleepy then I went upstairs & took a nap!

Make a fire
Nope! But honestly, it was just too warm and not really necessary this weekend.

Call my girlfriends
Nope! They're on my list though! Just no time.

For next week---Meal plan & grocery shop
DONE!!! We cooked a bunch of meat on the grill along with a HUGE bowl of veggies. We also steamed some broccoli and then I pre-made a bunch of salads too! Oh, I also cut up some fruit & broke that up into serving size baggies for the week. I wish I would have timed myself because between the two of us, I'm sure it took an hour tops. But BOY DOES IT FEEL GREAT to have that done. I know I'll make good decisions this week because I can quickly grab and go!

Exercise plan
I'm working on this now so it will be done!! I was going to bike to the office tomorrow but I have a feeling I'm barely going to be able to walk, let along bike 15 miles. So, not happening. 

Overall, I feel like it was such an amazing weekend. Productive, Health-focused, Relaxing, etc. A HUGE part of this was because I didn't work at all. That is so crucial and I realize it so clearly. 

So, let's hope for a productive week at the office so I can continue to make the most of my weekends and non-work hours!

My Weekend Intentions

With the exception of a hair appointment Sunday morning, I don't have any plans which is SO VERY AWESOME!!! There are a few things I really want to make sure I achieve this weekend:

Go hiking
Go for a bike ride
Go out Saturday night w/ Michael just the 2 of us
Go to the gym 1x
Pick fruit from my citrus trees
Pick up yard then relax in my hammock chair
Make a fire
Call my girlfriends

For next week---
Meal plan & grocery shop
Exercise plan

MOST IMPORTANTLY and this is going to be tough... I have a perfectly scheduled week next week. That means I have appointments but it's not JAM PACKED FULL like some weeks. Because of that, there is NO REASON why I should work this weekend.

My goal, and this may not be realistic, is to NOT work at all this weekend. Oh boy, can I do it? We'll see!!

Intentions & Honesty

I was going to write about my "goals" but a girlfriend of mine has been using "intentions" which I really like better...

I used to be SUPER INTO GOALS. I've always been really goal-oriented and would set them then achieve them. It always felt really great but lately (the past year?) I have not been able to set a goal that I find motivating.

I think it's due to contentment. It's not complacency, which implies unhappiness or laziness. It's true contentment. I'm satisfied with how things currently are so I don't have this drive to change things, although at the same time, I think things could stand to be just a bit better and there's things I want to work on, they're not crucial. And that makes it so hard to push myself or stick to something consistently because if I don't, is it really a big deal? Probably not.

The truth is, my husband and I are finally talking about starting a family. We've been married 9.5 years and we finally feel like we're ready. I want to be my healthiest self once we do start trying. I'm 33 years old so I want to make sure my body is healthy & I've been taking care of it. I'm also acutely aware of the fact that if I am unable to make my health a priority now, I definitely won't be able to do it when a baby enters the picture. And call it vanity, selfishness or naivety but that's just not okay with me. I grew up with parents who were not healthy and didn't take care of themselves and I want my child to see the opposite. Don't we always duplicate what we saw as children OR overcompensate? Haha!

MY BEST SELF
When I imagine who my best self is, it's this person who is active, loves to be outdoors, barely sits at the computer or the TV outside of work hours and makes the most of being productive & active. That's definitely not me right now... but I want it to be! I work a lot. I sit at a computer all day then go home and grab my laptop and resume working while watching TV. I think this may surprise people b/c I hear all the time "Kelsa, you're so productive, how do you get it all done?" HA! Sometimes I feel like I'm living a lie or representing something that's not accurate. I don't mean to do it but I don't want anyone to feel like I've got this shit figured out when I don't. Or most importantly, I want to be outdoors more, I want to soak up the sun and keep my body and mind fresh & moving. It's important to me and I don't want to just be this person "sometimes" or when it's convenient with my work load, I want to be this person first and a business person 2nd.

MY INTENTIONS:
1. Eat clean & drink lots of water: I'd like to introduce a cheat day once a week otherwise I'd like to eat clean- meat, fruits, veggies, etc. And I need to make sure I'm not getting too many calories from liquids which can be a weakness for me. It's not pop thankfully, but I drink a lot of coffee & coconut water or tea before water. I need to drink more water FIRST then those things can follow. Things will help me achieve this include meal prepping & planning ahead.

2. Take my vitamins: I am deficient in a few things due to a genetic disorder in my family. Normally I do not even notice it like some other family members because of my healthy diet for the most part (they eat out fast food like every meal). But, I need to take my vitamins every day, no exceptions.

3. Do my hip exercises 3x per week. My husband shares an office with me now so he has all his fitness equipment here. If I have 20 minutes in between clients, there's really no excuse for me to do my hip exercises. I've had hip issues for a really long time and I can only imagine how bad this could get during pregnancy or while giving labor. I need to stay on top of it and take care of myself because I feel soooo much more limber and terrific when I do them.

4. Go to yoga 1x per week. Same as #3- I feel incredible after I go so I just need to do it.

5. Workout at the gym 2x per week.

6. Walk/Jog, swim or bike 2x per week. I'm a wuss and although I live in Phoenix, it's too cold to go to the community pool for me right now but soon it will be perfect so I can't wait. Until then, I need to get on my bike (even if that means biking to/from work) or go for a jog or long walk.

Things that will help me to accomplish all the fitness & active intentions I have are to plan my schedule for the week in advance. Block out time to do each of those things and then follow through on them.

7. Attempt to change my biological clock. I currently stay up until midnight and get up around 7AM. I'd like to go to bed a little earlier & get up earlier. I'm lucky enough to be able to set my own schedule and I usually start seeing clients at 9AM or 9:30AM. There's no reason why I can't accomplish the above things first thing in the morning. In my head, I could workout at 6 or 7AM but I never see myself working out late at night so I need to shift my schedule a bit.

8. I'd like to go hiking a couple times each month. Gosh, I LOVE the outdoors- it just does something for me- my attitude, my perspective, my confidence, everything! Again, I need to schedule these for weekends we have coming up & make it a priority. Otherwise, the weekend comes and goes and we never get on a trail.

Rebound Day

So yesterday was kinda a mess but today is shaping up to be better.

I had someone who was scheduled for first thing this morning cancel. It's the 2nd time she's cancelled the day before which really ticks me off but I've decided it was for the best. I slept in an hour later than normal, cleaned a bit this morning when I got up and took time to pack my lunch and dinner. I have another really long day but an exciting day. I have a new group coaching program starting tonight that goes from 7:30-8:30 so I'm expecting to be at the office 'til at least 9.

So I'm proud of my self for packing a healthy lunch & dinner. I also swung by the grocery store on my way to the office & picked up cucumber, mint leaves and lemon for my water. I do so much better with water consumption when I put something in it!

I have a 2-hour block of time this afternoon between clients and my goal is to go walk around outside, even if for 10 minutes. The Vitamin D and just moving around will really help I think because sitting at my desk & computer for 12+ hours today is not smart.

I'm going to take a minute to post about my goals & challenges here too soon... Here we go!

Hump Day

It is FOR SURE a hump day! Gosh, what a crazy day. Next week looks sooo much better, I just have to power through.

I was up late working last night to get ready for today. Woke up early & had to drive an hour north to give a presentation. Got back to the office 3 minutes AFTER my next meeting was supposed to start and it's been nonstop since.

That's why I haven't really eaten since breakfast. I had a smoothie really early but it's now 5:20 and here's what I've had in between:

1 Protein Bar

Yup. That's it. I am about to have an orange and some lunch meat before heading to another networking meeting starting at 7PM.

Few more days, few more days, I can do it!!

Ending the weekend right

Despite a bad couple of days, I feel like I ended the weekend strong or at least rebounded a bit!

Well, w/ the exception of that one slice of cake. But, it was a slice of Jane Dickey cake... you can't pass up her cake. It's divine. I don't know how she does it.

Otherwise I had a good breakfast of eggs, bacon & coffee. I had chicken salad for lunch and drank lots of water & made sure to take my vitamins. I got a couple of hours of work done & even snuck in an hour nap.

Then we went to the gym.

I did some bis & tris dumbbell work.
Hammer curls 2- sets of 15 with 15 pound weights - nice & slow
Concentrated bicep curls 2 sets of 10 with 15 pound weights
Tricep dips on the edge of the bench
Tricep press (overhead) w/ a 15 pound dumbbell

Then I did a quick workout
5 rounds of
5 overhead squats w/ the yellow kb (I think they're 10kg each)
20 mountain climbers (10 w/ each leg)
10 captain's chair knee raises
Time was 7:39

Then I ran home from the gym. Total distance was 3 miles, time was 34:52 but I felt really good the whole time. I wasn't going for any speed medals or anything, just a nice jog home from the gym. And it felt great.

Now I have A TON of work to do so I'm back at it. Michael is thankfully out doing the grocery shopping.

This week is going to be nuts. I have no idea how I'm going to fit working out into the mix. I am so completely bombarded with work I have to do for my business & it's likely to consume all my time. My goal is not necessarily to workout often but to make really good, healthy decisions with my diet. I want to eat really clean because I need the energy and focus to get all this work done.

Michael is home now so I'm going to prep a bunch of veggies and salads for the week and hopefully stick to my game plan of healthy eating.

Umm... Oops

Not.a.Good.Day.at.ALL

Oopsy-daisy.

Today was an extremely stressful day. I didn't eat lunch until almost 3PM and even then I scarfed it really fast in between appointments.

I was a stressed out mess today.

My husband got home from work around 1 and I was running around like a crazy woman. I said, "I'm overwhelmed, I'm stressed, and I'm hungry- that's a horrible combination."

I leave home in a frantic to get to the office in time and as I leave he says, "Don't worry about stopping for lunch, I'll take care of it." (Yes, I realize very much how lucky I am at this moment to have such an amazing husband who spoils me ridiculously...)

I get to the office and 2 minutes later, Jimmy John's delivery arrives. My husband ordered me a sub, a bag of chips, and a cookie. The cookie, I can tell you, was his very thoughtful gesture b/c I never would have ordered that for myself but he knew a little treat would make me smile. And it did.

So of course I HAD to eat all that stuff!! :)

For dinner I had a burger from Carl's Jr but it was bunless so that's something right? Right?

We leave and head to his parents' house for the weekend and arrive close to 9PM. Now I've eaten another cookie and a pop. WTF. No idea. It's because I'm exhausted, pooped, don't feel like caring right now and my will power is in the pooper.

Tomorrow I'll do better. Yeah...tomorrow.

Biking to work

I've had such a great day! I woke up early and went for a walk with a girlfriend who lives just down the street. We went about 2.5 miles and it felt great. It got me out of bed and moving early!

Then I looked at my calendar and realized I could bike to work today. My office is about 6.5 miles (one-way) from my home and I'd like to bike more often but it's not always possible. It really depends on what time I start with appointments, who I have that day, and what time I get done. I really do not like biking after dark here in Phoenix. Drivers are crazy here, especially during rush-hour. Today, I had meetings until 3:30 then an hour break before phone appointments at 4:30 and 5:30 (which I could do from home). So, I was able to get to & from the office before dark & before rush-hour starts. Wahoo!!

It feels soooo good to get a bike ride in! It takes me about 30-35 minutes to go the 6.5 miles depending on intersections & whether or not I catch the lights. It's a fairly flat ride but I am definitely huffing & puffing toward the end because I try to keep a nice pace.

Since I'm writing this post from home, 13 mile bike ride in the books for today!! Yay!

I also ate really well today- smoothie in the morning, leftover steak & salad for lunch, afternoon snack of blueberries & grapefruit (have I mentioned I love fruit?) and dinner we're having chicken & veggies.

The salads I premade on Sunday night was certainly really handy today. I grabbed one then put a bit of dressing in a container and voila. So tasty & easy! I was glad I already had it prepped because I can tell you I would not have taken the time to make it this morning otherwise.

So another good day... nothing extreme, just healthy decisions throughout my day!!

A little bit of yoga

Monday I did not workout, hence no post. But, I did pack my lunch & I stuck to healthy snacks throughout the day so I'm happy about that. Also, I drank a shit-ton of water! It's the little things that make or break my health streak so although I didn't workout, I feel I didn't take any steps backward either.

For lunch I had the roasted veggies I made up on Sunday night and a chicken breast. For dinner I had a chicken bratwurst plus the roasted veggies and some white rice & for evening "dessert" I had a grapefruit & some strawberries.

I usually eat something after dinner but before I go to bed. One of my goals is to make sure this is healthy and not something like ice cream or cookies! I know fruit has a lot of sugar and yada, yada, but I also know that if the worst thing I do is eat a lot of fruit, I'm totally good with that as my vice! I looooove fruit!!

I also took all my vitamins yesterday!! Wahoo... but today I haven't taken any and I'm halfway through the day so I'm going to be chugging them tonight I suppose.

This morning I made it to yoga for the 9AM class. It's a 90-minute flow class & boy was I ever sweaty-McSweaterson today. It was a great workout and I feel so limber afterward.

I'm heading to have lunch w/ an old friend and my goal is to choose something healthy from the menu. Since I eat out a lot for my job, I find this the most challenging part of being healthy. The temptations are simply too much on days where my will power isn't strong. I'm hoping this blog helps to document what choices I make and how I feel about them afterward.

PS: I'm super sore from the leg workout on Sunday-- yoga was tough at first but also really helped!

PSS: One of these days I'll get around to blogging about what my goals actually are, just haven't had time yet. It's coming!

Sunday Funday

Oh man, went to brunch with some friends and the pancakes were delicious, worth every sit up, a bad idea.

But I hit the gym today so at least that's good.

Here's what I did:
Leg Press
50# 20 reps
70# 20 reps
90# 20 reps

Dumbbell Deadlifts
20# dumbbells 3 sets of 10 reps

Lunges holding 20# dumbbells 2 sets of 10

Then I did the following WOD from CrossFit Endurance
2 rounds of:
40 sit-ups
30 knees to elbows
20 thrusters
10 kb swings

Time = 9:56

Boy did I ever feel out of shape. I kept repeating it to myself the whole time :)

Tonight for dinner we had Butter Chicken w/ white rice and a huge spinach salad w/ red pepper, tomato, celery, almonds, etc.

Since this blog is all about me fitting working out into my life, I should also note the other things we got done today.

We went grocery shopping & Michael cooked all the meat for the coming week so it's already done. Before I go to bed, I'm going to cook up a bunch of veggies and I already created a few salads for the week.

We also got our house ready for the rental we're hosting this coming weekend. We put up blinds and curtains, took things to Goodwill, organized closets, cleaned the backyard, hung up wall decor, etc. It's been a perfectly balanced day!! If only EVERY day was like today!

The Beginning

We all have those things we're good at it...and the things we're not so good at. I'm good at a number of things but there's one big thing I kinda suck at - putting my health first consistently.

I do it once in a while. Like years ago when I did CrossFit and worked out religiously, pushing myself to the limits every time. Like the last quarter of 2014 when I trained for a triathlon. I fit running, biking, swimming, yoga & strength training into my schedule and I LOVED it!! I eat super healthy and clean for a few months then suddenly stop.

The kicker is that I'm sooo much happier when I'm exercising and eating right. But I continuously push it to the back burner because of other things going on in my life. I've decided to keep this blog for accountability purposes but also to track my progress on some fitness goals I have. I used to keep a blog that was YEARS in the making. It really helped so I'd like to get back to that.

Here's to training to my best self!