Week 2, Day 1 - Mon. January 9, 2012

SMART Quest:  Continue to be good with my eating.  I still find myself wanting things my body doesn't need.  I will keep my goal in sight and strive to reach a little farther each day!

     Let's face it, we all have such good intentions, right? We want to succeed but we are often our own worse enemies and saboteurs!  I just have to remind myself that I can have what I want...in small quantities on specific days.  I don't  have to eat like a rabbit, there are some terrific meals to be created using good simple foods.  My son is living proof of that.  He has been a vegetarian for over 1 year.  I have no plans to be a vegetarian but the recipes he comes up with are amazingly delicious, healthy and very satisfying!  Tonight he made "Black Bean Burgers".  I will try and post a photo of them with the recipe this week!  Good eats!

     I am currently enrolled in a terrific Personal Fitness Trainer program at the California Healing Arts College in West Los Angeles. I will be getting my NASM Certification.  It is a 1 year program with an extern-ship at a gym.  I didn't realize how difficult classes would be.  We have finished Anatomy & Exercise Physiology (that was really tough) and we will be starting Kineseology soon.  It is a long 9 hour day of classes, labs & training. 

     I am learning so much, a lot more than I had ever anticipated.  Most trainers get their certification on line, but I really couldn't see myself being a good and credible trainer without the knowledge and hands on experience I am getting at the school.  I will post about my experiences from time to time.

     Today is a tough workout by Scott Colby.  I like his style of workouts.  It looks easy on paper but I a sure this one will leave my body screaming as usual.

Upper Body Push Ladder

Round 1:
DB Squat with Rotational Press x 1 each,
Lizard Crawl Push Ups x 2,
DB Squat with Front Raise x 3

Round 2:
DB Squat with Rotational Press x 2 each,
Lizard Crawl Push Ups x 4,
DB Squat with Front Raise x 6
and so on for 10 rounds

So it will look like this:
R1: 1, 2, 3   reps
R2: 2, 4, 6   reps
R3: 3, 6, 9   reps
R4: 4, 8, 12 reps
R5: 5, 10, 15 reps
R6: 6, 12, 18 reps
R7: 7, 14, 21 reps
R8: 8, 16, 24 reps
R9: 9, 18, 27 reps
R10: 10, 20, 30 reps
(Round 10: DB Squat with Rotational Press x 10 each, Lizard Crawl Push Ups x 20,DB Squat with Front Raise x 30)

Each round, add 1 rep to the DB Squat with Rotational Press, 2 reps to the Lizard Crawl Push Ups and 3 reps to the DB Squat with Front Raise
there are 10 rounds total.

This was a tough workout!  I used 12 lb. Dumbbells and as the rounds progressed, they got heavier and heavier as my muscles fatigued.  I have an inflamed rotator cuff on my left shoulder so I used a hammerhead grip on the dumbbells for the DB Squat with Front Raise to keep the pain at bay.

It took me 34:00 to complete this workout.  A lot longer than I had anticipated.  Loved it!