Setting New Fitness Goals

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few days and I finally decided to get serious and set some new fitness goals. Several years ago I taught a first term class to students, and one of the topics we covered was goal setting. We talked about S.M.A.R.T goals.

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Targeted

Those that know me, know that I have been working out using various Beachbody workout programs for over two years now. I lost 30 pounds and have been successful at keeping it off. However, I am not where I ultimately would like to be. I have decided that it is time to get serious and commit to taking my fitness to a new level. To do this I am committing to working out 5 days a week. I plan to start the Chalene Extreme workout program to help with strength training in addition to running for an additional cardio workout. I will track my weight, measurements and activity in my free WOWY online account. I will know that I am achieving my goal as the weight continues to drop and inches fall off, especially in my waist area. My ultimate goal is to have a flat stomach. I would love to be able to wear a cute sports bra and workout shorts. I will set the timeline for the cute outfit for next spring. One of my first short term goals will be to lose an additional 10 pounds by Christmas 2013. That gives me 4 1/2 months to reach my first goal. In addition to working out I plan to post regular blogs, to share my ups and downs. I hope that others will join me on my journey for better overall health and fitness.

Couch to 5K

I need to work on being more consistent with my blogging. Last night when I was out running I had time to think and blogging is one of the thoughts that went through my head. I was thinking that I need to share with others the experience that I am having with the Couch to 5K running program. Four weeks ago my daughter, Alicia asked me if I wanted to try the Couch to 5K running program. I had heard of it before but really had no idea what it involved. She shared the Cool Running web site with me and I thought, why not. I remember saying to her in the past, while watching a 5K race, that I needed to start running because there were no fat runners.

So four weeks ago I put on my Nike cross trainers, downloaded a C25K app on my Android phone and started the program. The first week wasn't bad at all. Heck, anyone can jog for 60 seconds followed by 90 seconds of walking. Together, Alicia and I completed the first week of the program. We started to involve others and created a private group on Facebook for friends that expressed an interest in the Couch to 5K program. We have been using the group to encourage and motivate each other. Most of us agree that the first two weeks were not bad, but when we reached week three it got a little more difficult. Some people opted to repeat week two because they didn't feel they were ready to tackle week three. I however was determined to keep going. Week three involves three minutes straight of jogging. At first I wasn't sure if I would be able to go three minutes straight without walking but I was determined and made it happen. I felt so proud of myself, after all I am 52 years old and have never been a runner. I am proud to say that I survived week three and I'm almost done with week four which involves three minutes AND five minutes of straight jogging.

Each time I complete a workout I feel stronger. I am determined to complete the 9 week program. My friend Rachel and I have signed up for the Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race on October 6th. I am training for this race by running and riding my bike. I haven't decided what 5K Race I will run in the fall, but plan to complete the Couch to 5K program and run in at least one 5K Race.

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM™

This week I started a new 30 day workout program called INSANITY: THE ASYLUM. This program is recommended for people that have completed THE INSANITY program. I completed INSANITY several months ago and have since been doing ChaLEAN Extreme. So when my daughter, Alicia purchased INSANITY: THE ASYLUM and asked if I wanted to start it with her after we returned for the Beachbody Summit I said sure. We both started on Sunday by doing the Fit Test. The Fit Test is about 25 minutes of Agility Heisman's, In and Outs, Pull ups/Push ups, Mountain Climbers, Agility should taps, X jumps, moving pushups, agility lateral shuffle and agility bear crawl. The program comes with a plastic/strapped ladder that you lay on the floor and use to jump and crawl between the rungs of the ladder. We completed the fit test and I thought if this is a preview of what's to come, I'm in trouble.

DAY 1 - Speed and Agility. I thought I was going to die! I have not worked up a sweat like that in a very long time. I have this love/hate relationship with Shaun T. He pushes you to dig deeper and not give up. I gave the workout 100% although I was not able to keep up. But being 52 years old, I felt very proud of myself when the workout was over.

DAY 2 - Strength. I liked this workout because it involved weights and strength training. I was able to keep up with most of the workout until the end where the pushups started to get the best of me. I ended up doing pushups on my knees but again stuck with it and did my very best.

DAY 3 - Back to Core. I was so sore in the morning that I could hardly move. I put the workout off until later in the day when my body had time to loosen up some. My shoulders were so sore from all of the pushups in Day 2. This workout works your back and would not be bad if my shoulders weren't already so sore.

DAY 4 - Vertical Plyo. OMG! Another hard workout. I'm going to be honest, I could not keep up with this workout. There is a lot of jumping moves and my heart was beating hard. I again worked up a sweat like never before.

So far I would have to say this is the hardest workout I have ever done.The program is advertised as, "With INSANITY you focused on improving your cardiovascular endurance and on total body conditioning. So, what's left? How about improving your balance, agility, power, strength, and coordination? Jump higher. Run faster. If you want to become an elite athlete or just improve your game, THE ASYLUM is your winning strategy." It definitely stands up to its advertisements. I haven't given up yet, it's only a 30 day program so I will stick with it and give it my best.

Accountability

Accountability

–noun

1.

the state of being accountable,  liable, or answerable.

I have found that one of the things that keeps me working toward my weight loss goal is accountability. I have an accountability partner, my daughter, Alicia. Together we have been working out and changing our eating habits for the past year. We often workout together and when we are not working out together, we are watching to make sure the other person is getting their daily workout in. Facebook is also another great source for accountability. I started posting over a year ago that I was working out and losing weight. If one day I stopped working out and started to gain back my weight, I would feel like I had failed in front of all of my family and friends.

Another thing that I do to stay accountable is to use my Bodybugg. I first heard of Bodybugg on The Biggest Loser show. All of the contestants wear them on  their upper left arm. Bodybugg is a calorie management system that uses specialized sensors to track calories burned. It also has a built in pedometer for tracking your steps. It keeps accurate daily records of calories consumed vs. burned. At least once a day I use an USB cord to upload the data to a web based program. It shows me how many calories I have burned minute by minute. I then have to input everything that I eat. The web based program already has information about many foods including restaurant foods. If you can't find it in the program you can input the information from food labels.  The trick is to be HONEST about food consumed. To lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit. The program allows you to set up weight loss goals. My first goal was to lose 20 pounds by my wedding. I told the program my target date, starting weight and goal weight. It then told me that I needed to have a 550 calorie deficit each day to reach my goal. This helped me to figure out how many calories I could eat in a day and how much physical activity I needed each day in order to create the deficit. It was funny when I first started to use the Bodybugg, I would upload the data and input my calorie intake, if I hadn't reached my 550 calorie deficit for the day, I would do another workout or go for a walk. With the help of my Bodybugg I was able to reach my goal weight for my wedding. Now I have set a new goal for bikini season!

If you do not have an accountability buddy, I would love to be one for you. Send me an email, sally@homefitness4u.com. Start your journey to better health and fitness today.

Western Caribbean Cruise

A week ago I returned from a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Legend. It was the most relaxing vacation I have taken in a very long time. My husband and I married on 1-1-11 and decided to take the cruise for our honeymoon. We flew to Tampa Florida and cruised to Cozumel Mexico, Belize, Roatan Honduras and Caymen Islands. We spent one day at each of the ports and had two days at sea. If you have never been on a cruise before you really should try it. This was my sixth cruise and most certainly not my last.

Before I went on the cruise one of the things I worried about was my diet. Having been on several cruises before I knew that you spent a lot of time eating things you would normally not eat at home. When we cruise, every night we go to the formal dining room and have the appetizer, main entree and dessert.  To the left are pictures of the Maine Lobster and Prime Rib, followed by the Chocolate Melting Cake, just an example of one nights dinner. I never eat that much when at home.

I had been working so hard to lose weight for my wedding in January and had been doing a good job of keeping the weight off. What was going to happen the week of the cruise? I tried really hard to limit the amount of food I ate but I did splurge and try new things like the Chocolate Melting Cake. Oh my, is that ever the best dessert and I don't even really care for chocolate.

I had ever intention of working out while on the cruise. I took my workout clothes with me and on the first day made a point of finding out where the gym was on the boat. Well guess what? I NEVER worked out in the gym all week long. I was so busy doing other activities, and spent a lot of time walking each day that we were at a port that I just never made it to the gym. When I got home I was afraid to step on the scale for two days. When I finally got up the courage to step on the scale I had put on ONE pound! I was happy with that one pound because I knew it wouldn't take much to get rid of it.

Now that I'm back home I'm back to my normal routine. While I was gone the new BowFlex SelectTech weights arrived so I started doing the ChaLEAN Extreme 90 day program. Chalene says that because I'm getting older, it's not my metabolism that is slowing down. It's that I've lost muscle and muscle burns fat. I've been busy building muscle this past week. I'll talk more about my progress in a future blog.

I want everyone to know that there will be times when you are tempted to eat the wrong things and will not be able to follow your strict diet. Enjoy those moments and then get back on track to eating healthy and regular exercise. You can do it!