♥ SMART Quest ♥ Sat. April 23, 2011

Week 6, Day 6
My SMART Quest for today is:  Be good today for tomorrow is Easter 7 my reward meal day!  I am looking forward to it as I have been so good with my eating.  actually I have not eaten as much as I should, so I plan to have a good meal but not over do it!
. 

SLEEP:   7  hours - I went to bed  at 12:30 am , awoke at 7:30 am
AWOKE: 7:30 am
WARM UP: 8:00 am
Push Ups x 12

Squats x 12
Spiderman Climbs x 12 total

Jumping Jacks x 20

Performed 2 rounds of this circuit

Today I am doing a series of  5 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  I am still adding extra time to the intervals and I continue to try and do more advanced moves.    Instead of doing 20 seconds on - 10 seconds rest, I am doing 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest.


5 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 30 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 5:20 minutes/seconds. 


Side to Side Ski  Jumps - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 95, 98, 97, 98, 98, 97, 97, 96 reps per round.  I felt like I was dragging a bit, but went as fast as I could.  Really got my heart rate up and running!
8 Count BOSU Body Builders - - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 5, 5.5, 5.5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5  reps per round! .  Still felt like I was a bit slower than last time! 
Jumping Jacks -  30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 44, 44, 46, 45, 45, 46, 45, 45 reps per round!  
Side Jump Kicks with Side Squats (with ankle weights)  - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4 rounds per leg. Left Leg: 19, 20, 20, 19 reps per round, Right Leg: 19, 17, 17, 17 reps per round!  Oh my goodness this was difficult.  Every round got harder and the weights felt heavier.
Knee Hugs (from Zuzana's BodyRock.tv, see photo below) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 14, 11, 10, 9, 10, 8, 9, 9 reps per round! I must like the punishment of doing these as a Tabata!  It was hard last 2 times and this time was still very difficult! Ouch!

 Knee Hugs (From Zuzana's Bodyrock.tv)

They look so Innocent!

I ate well this day.  I did not over do it and ate healthy!  Looking forward to tomorrow!  Happy Easter!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Sat. April 9. 2011

Week 4, Day 6
My SMART Quest for today is:  Well, so far so good!  Since my Reward day I only gained 1 pound!  That is good as I usually rack up 3 lbs before it goes away just from eating a reward meal, lol.  So today I will continue to try and stay on track.  My eating was sparse though out the day yesterday and ended with me eating a few fried shrimp (all that was available). It could have been worse.
For more about my Mindset & Meal Plan please scroll to the bottom of this entry. 

SLEEP:   6 1/2 hours - I went to bed again at 12:00 am , awoke at 7:30 am
AWOKE: 7:30 am
WARM UP: 8:00 am - since I am do9ing the HIIT workkout I needed to do 5 minutes of warming up so I incresed my reps in my normal workout and added an extra round.

Push Ups x 12

Squats x 12
Spiderman Climbs x 12 total

Jumping Jacks x 20

Performed 2 rounds of this circuit

Today I am doing a series of  5 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  I am still adding extra time to the intervals and I continue to try and do more advanced moves.    Instead of doing 20 seconds on - 10 seconds rest, I am doing 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest.



Metabolic Ignition Phase - Week  4


5 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 30 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 5:20 minutes/seconds. 



Side to Side Ski  Jumps - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 96, 97, 96, 96, 97, 98, 100, 99 reps per round.  I was cranking this out going as fast a I could!
Overhead One Legged Step ups -  30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4 round per leg - Left leg - 13, 13, 11, 13, Right leg - 12, 12, 13, 12 reps per round! 
Bowling Lunges  - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 67, 65, 66, 66, 66, 64, 66, 66 reps per round!  I was able to add a few more reps!
8 Count BOSU Body Builders 
Knee Hugs (from Zuzana's BodyRock.tv, see photo below) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 13, 10, 8, 10, 9, 9, 9, 10 reps per round! I don't know what I was thinking trying to do these again as a Tabata!  It was hard last time and this time was no better!  My abs were on Fire!  I was crying through this!  8 rounds could not come quick enough!
- 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5.5, 5.5  reps per round! .  It was a good challenge to add the BOSU to this move!  Something new to try!

 Knee Hugs (From Zuzana's Bodyrock.tv)

They look so Innocent!

I sure was glad when this was over!  I had that feeling of not wanting to work out agian, but once I got into it, I plowed along!
MEALS:

Meal #1:  10:30 am -  coffee & sugar free creamer
Meal #2:  11:30 am - 1 small banana, 2 slces of uncured bacon
Meal #3: 3:30 pm -  low cal,  low sugar , low carb chicken & couscous salad from Trader Joes, I added a few big handfuls of spinach to the salad as there werent' many greens in it.  It was very good.  1 slice of flatbread, 1 oz cheese
Meal #4: 0:00 pm -
Meal #5: 0:00 pm -
WATER: 4 glasses (so far)

MINDSET:  Having another good day!  My weight is still up that 1 lb from reward day, but I am sure by tis week it will go away and take more weight with it!  I am a bit worried about the coming dumbbell workouts.  I was actually enjoying the bodyweight exercises.  I remember last time being impatient to start the dumbbell weight workouts!  Then I realized how they got hader each week, and now I don't want to start, lol.  Oh well, I will just do it, I rememeber how defined my arms started looking after these workouts!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Tues. April 5, 2011

Week 4, Day 2
My SMART Quest for today is:  Remain positive, see the bigger picture!  The results are slower, but what I am doing for my body, my life is so good!
Sleep:   5 1/2 hours - Went to bed about 11:30 pm  - I know I should have gone to sleep earlier, I had such a busy day yesterday, but I stayed up.  I am sleepy today and have another busy day ahead of me.
Awoke:  5:00 am

Warm Up: 5:25 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:30 am

Today I am doing a series of  5 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  I am still adding extra time to the intervals and I continue to try and do more advanced moves.    Instead of doing 20 seconds on - 10 seconds rest, I am doing 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest.


Metabolic Ignition Phase - Weeks 3 and 4

5 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 30 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 5:20 minutes/seconds. 


Get Ups with Tuck Jumps - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 5.5, 5.5, 5.5, 5.5, 5.5, 5, 5, 5 reps per round.  These are so tough to do.  I don't enjoy them, lol.
Suicide Drills - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 24, 23, 23, 24, 23, 23, 22, 23  reps per round! .
Overhead One Legged Step ups with Squat Thrust Push Ups (from Zuzana's Bodyrock.tv See photo below) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4 round per leg - Left leg - 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.5, Right leg - 3.5, 3.5, 3.5, 3 reps per round!  These are sort of a crazy move.  Do the 1 legged overhead step up and then jump down into a squat thrust with a push up and then jump back up, repeat.  UGH!
Bowling Lunges  - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 65, 64, 63, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65 reps per round!
Side Kicks with Jump Squats with Ankle Weights - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds  - 4 rounds per leg - Rt leg - 17, 16, 16, 17 reps per round! Lt leg - 19, 19, 19, 18 reps per round! I decided to up the burn by adding ankle weights.  I could definitely feel it!

Burpee Step Up aka Overhead One Legged Step Ups with Squat Thrust Push Ups
 - from Zuzana's 400 Rep Burpee Workout

The one thing I did differently was to raise my arms up
straight over my head as I stepped up

Finish with a squat thrust with a push up
also know as a "Burpee"

MEALS: 

Meal #1: 7:00 am - 1 banana, coffee with sugar free creamer

Meal #2: 10:30 pm - egg white omlette with spinach & tomatoes

Meal #3: 1:30 pm -  3.5 ozs chicken breast, 6 raw walnut halves, 4 dried apricots

Meal #4: 5:30 pm - 2 slices Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread with 1 tbs of natural peanut butter.

Meal #5: 6:30 pm -  8 raw almonds 4 dried apricot halves.

WATER:  8 glasses

MINDSET: I have felt fairly good today.  I have been keeping myself really busy so I won't think about food or want to eat bad things.  I find that if I don't get started on the bad stuff I am okay, but once it crosses my lips, I am doomed, lol.

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Thurs. March 24, 2011

Week 2, Day 4
My SMART Quest for today is:  Well, had my reward meal yesterday and I feel good about it!  I was still able to eat healthy and enjoy some of the things I was missing!  So, today I want to stay on track and see if I can shed some of this blub for my next photo session.
Sleep:   6 hours - Went to bed about 11:00 pm  - I had an odd night, kept waking up, was restless.
Awoke:  5:10 am

Warm Up: 5:40 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:45 am

Today I am doing a series of  6 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  I am going to add extra time to the intervals like I did on Saturday and do more advanced moves.  I am adding 2 extra intervals from last week.  Instead of doing 20 seconds on - 10 seconds rest, I am doing 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest.

Metabolic Ignition Phase - Weeks 1 and 2

6 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 30 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 5:20 minutes/seconds.  32:00 minutes total!

Bowling Lunges - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 62, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 64, 62 reps per round.  These felt good on my lower back and obliques, sort of stretched them out.
Switch Kicks - (see photo Below) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 60, 60, 57, 56, 55, 54, 57, 52  reps per round!  These really whipped me.  You could see how my reps went down each round.  Exhausting!
Jumping Jack Squats - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 30, 31, 31, 31, 30, 30, 30, 30  reps per round!
Side to Side Squat Thrusts with Push Up x 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest  x 8 rounds - 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 reps per round!  I had to add the push ups.  I just realized my day isn't complete with out some sort of push ups. ☺Side to Side Ski Jump Ropes - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds  - 84, 90, 91, 92, 92, 92, 92, 92 reps per round!
Side Crunches - (see photo below) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4 rounds each side (ouch) 13, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7 1/2, 8 reps per round.  I could barely get through this.  I should know better than to use some of Zuzana's Bodyrock.tv workouts as Tabatas, lol..  This one also looked so innocent , but I knew right away this was going to be tough and it was!  My obliques and lower/mid back were really feeling it!   Glad to be done!

Beachbody's Insanity Switch Kicks

Zuzana's Side Crunch

MEALS: 

Meal #1: 7:00 am - Chocolate Whey protein Powder with 8 ozs Fat free Milk, ice (190 calories)

Meal #2: 11:00 am - 1 egg, 1 slice toasted Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, 2 slices of Applegate frams turkey bacon, 1/2 banana (250 calories)

Meal #3: 2:00 pm - 4 oz chicken breast, steamed broccoli, 1/2 cup wild rice

Meal #4: 4:40 pm - dried apricots, 2 dried figs, 12 raw almonds, cup of coffee (I felt I need a lift, I was dragging)

Meal#5: 8:00 pm - 2 ozs of lean top sirloin steak, butternut squash

WATER:  8 glasses

MINDSET: Today I woke up feeling like I didn't want to work out, but I dragged myself out of bed and once I got warmed up there was no turning back.  I just need to take each day one day at a time.  Try not to get overwhelmed.  My concentration is still shot, but I am able to focus on my workouts and clean eating and right now that is super important to me!  I would like to try to go to bed earlier, but for some reason I just can't seem to do it.  I think I am afraid that if I go to bed early I won't be able to sleep?  I will have to give it a try!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Sat. March 19, 2011

Week/ 1, Day 6
My SMART Quest for today is:  Try to have a Reward day, I was supposed to have it yesterday, but I have a book club meeting tonight and I wanted to save it.  Also I haven't really been craving anything, but I know I have to eat that bigger higher calorie meal for my metabolism.  I guess I am afraid to eat it, lol.
GREAT NEWS! My BOSU Ball came in yesterday so I got it ready last night for today's workouts!
I plan to keep adding as many advanced workouts to my routine as possible to kep my body fired up and working hard!
Sleep:   8 1/2 hours - Went to bed about 11:00 pm  -
Awoke:  7:30 am

Warm Up: 8:55 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  9:00 am

Today I am doing a series of 4 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  My Abs areno longer sore so I am going to mix it up today and try and work all areas with the Tabata's.
I am planing on adding extra time to the intervals and doing more advanced moves so I am only going to do 4 Intervals.  Instead of doing 20 seconds on - 10 seconds rest, I am doing 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest.

Metabolic Ignition Phase - Weeks 1 and 2

4 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 30 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 5:20 minutes/seconds. 

Side to Side Ski Jumps - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 92, 92, 91, 91, 91, 90, 91, 90 reps per round!  I was going as fast as I can to get my heart rate up! 
BOSU Mountain Jumpers - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 23, 22, 23, 23, 23, 25, 24, 24  reps per round!
Overhead One Legged Step Ups - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds -  4 rounds per leg - Left Leg: 13, 13, 11, 12 reps per round! Right leg: 12,13,12,12 reps per round.  I was groaning through this feeling like I just couldn't go on.  My Quads and glutes were on fire!
Squat Thrusts with Push Ups (Burpees) - 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5  reps per round!  I was dying by the time this was coming to an end.  I couldn't wait!

Finisher Abs:  Star Crunch x 20 Killer Reps - laying on ground, hands over head, lift torso up as you lift your legs up and open and reach through your legs, OUCH!

 Zuzana doing a Star Cruch

I have to say this was a tough workout.  I was amazed that just adding and extra 10 seconds to each round could really make such a difference.  Also adding the Bosu Ball to the Mountain Jumpers and the push up to the Squat Thrusts made it much more challenging. I felt the need to work mu abs more so I added the Star Crunch from Zuzana'a BodyRock.tv workouts.

MEALS:  P & C & R Day (Since I missed it)
Meal #1: 9:30 am - 8 ozs Fat free Milk with 1 scoop chocolate Whey Protein powder
Meal #2: 11:30 am - 1 egg, 2 slices uncured Applegate Farms turkey  bacon, 1 slice sprouted Ezekiel toast
Meal #3: 0:00 pm -
Meal #4: 0:00 pm -
Meal #5: 0:00 pm -
WATER: 4 glasses (so far)

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Thurs. March 17, 2011

Week 1, Day 4
My SMART Quest for today is:  Try and really keep track of the sugar in my foods.  After counting up everything yesterday it is shocking to see how it hides in just about everything even healthy foods and it sure adds up quickly!
Today I am working on tweaking my HIIT workouts a bit more to give myself a better workout!
Sleep:   5 3/4 hours - Went to bed about 11:30 pm  -
Awoke:  5:15 am

Warm Up: 5:30 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:35 am

My abs are still sore! Once again I will do moves that  work my legs or lower body and get my heart rate up!


Metabolic Ignition Phase - Weeks 1 and 2

5 High Intensity Interval Workouts
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 1:00 minute & 2:00 minutes and 5 rounds.  Each round is 3 minutes. 

In my case I am going to go until I have to stop.  I found that I was able to go about 80 - 90 seconds and then active recovery for the remainder of 90+ seconds.  This really worked for me much better.
Running (as fast as I can) - 0:90 on -  0:90 active recovery  of  Squats
Jumping Jack Squats - 0:90 on -  0:90 active recovery of boxing shuffles with punches
Jumping Rope (without rope as fast & powerful  as I can)  0:90 on -  0:90 active recovery of boxing shuffles with punches 
Switch Kicks -  0:90 on -  0:90 active recovery  of boxing shuffles with punches 
Running  - (as fast as I can) - 0:90 on -  0:90 active recovery of boxing shuffles with punches
Level 3 Recovery - 5 minutes (3 minutes squats, 1 minute slow jumping jacks, 1 minute moving my legs"out - out - in - in"

All in all this was a decent workout.  It is great to figuring out what I need to do to get my heart rate up!

MEALS:  P Day
Meal #1: 7:15 am - Green Smoothie! (yea me, I hate these).  1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder, Sincah, Strawberries, Blueberries, & water, coffee (sugar free creamer) (165 calories, 7.6 gms sugar)
Meal #2: 11:00 am - 1 egg, 2 small slices uncured organic bacon, 1/2 banana, 2 teaspoons peanut butter (256 calories, 7.1 gms. sugar)
Meal #3: 2:20 pm -  1 serving chinese chicken salad, ice tea (unsweetened), coffee, (dash of milk, stevia) (354 calories, 9 gms. sugar)
Meal #4: 4:00 pm - 1/2 serving light Tiramisu (don't know why I tasted this, but I did, it was good and I was low on calories, but it was a waste of sugars, lol)  (250 calories, 9 gms. sugar)
Meal #5: 7:30 pm - 3.5 ozs lean ground sirloin patty with 1 slice cheddar, 1/2 avocado, 1 serving steamed asparagus (411 calories, 3.0 gms. sugar)

1436 calories total, 28.6 grams sugar
If I had put the banana in my smoothie this morning then 6.6 gms of sugar would not have counted, sigh!  If I hadn't tasted the Tiramisu, then that would have saved me 9 gms of sugar which would have put me at 13 gms for the whole day!  I am giving myself a tiny kick, lol.

WATER: 9 glasses
MINDSET: I have been in a fairly good mindset today!  Had lunch with a friend and managed to behave until we had coffee and she ordered Tiramisu!  One of my favorites.  Thankfully this restaurant makes it on the lighter side without a lot of ladyfinger cake and no alcohol and a light whipped cream.  It was worth it, I can still taste it, yum

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Wed. March 16, 2011

Week, 1 Day 3
My SMART Goal for today is:  Think about my salt & fat intake.  I have been very good about eating cleanly and we are monitoring our sugar intake these next few weeks trying to stay at 15 grams (not including our morning green smoothie if we choose to have that).  5 grams is nothing!  There is sugar hiding in everything.  If you want ot know how much sugar just go to : http://www.calorieking.com/ , click on "food search" and type in the food you want to look up.  Not only will it give you calories, it will give you fat, carbs and sugars in that food.  You don't need to sign up, the search tool is free. I find this to be a great tool,  I use it every day!


Sleep:   less than 6 hours - Went to bed about 11:15 pm  - Why do I stay up so late?
Awoke:  5:05 am

Warm Up: 5:20 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:25 am

Today I am doing Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Weight Based Interval training #2.

Equipment:

Jungle Gym or Ultimate Body Press Dip Bar
Gymboss Interval Timer
Exercise Mat
Chair

Set your Gymboss Interval Timer to count down 1 Interval of 20:00 minutes

Weight Based Interval Training #2  
Bodyweight Row Wide Grip x 20  - I used an Ultimate Body Press Dip Bar! OMG it was hard.  Much more difficult to pull myself up on than the Jungle Gym
Overhead One Legged Step Ups x 20 each leg
Grasshoppers with Push Ups  x 20
Mountain Climbers  x 20 each leg

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.  Rest only as needed
I was able to complete 4 rounds in 24 minutes (3.3 rounds in 20 minutes)
Rd#1 - 5:22, Rd#2 - 5:36, Rd#3 - 6:35, Rd#4 - 2:27 (1/3 of a round) + 3:51 to finish  

Today I did 20 reps instead of 15.
I added Push Ups to the Grasshoppers and did 20 rounds total instead of each leg. 
Using the UBP Dip Bar for the Body Weight Rows was super challenging. 
After round 1 I found that I had to rest at 10 reps for the Bodyweight Row and in the 3rd & 4th rounds I had to rest at 10 reps, 5 reps & 5 reps, ouch!  My arms and abs were feeling like rubber!

I really feel successful in this workout today!  I feel I really worked myself hard.  I was worried about working out my abs again when they have been so sore from Monday's workout but once I got into it, by the second round I could actually feel my abs loosening up! 

Had my recovery protein shake within 50 minutes of my workout!

MEALS:  P & C Day
Meal#1: - 6:50 am - 8 ozs fat free milk with 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder. (200 calories, 2 gms sugar)
Meal #2: - 10:30 am - 2 small slices uncured organic bacon, Egg white omlette with spinach , mushroms, tomatoes ( 150 calories, 0.7 gms sugar)
Meal #3: - 2:00 pm - 8 grilled shrimp, 1/2 cup brown wild rice medley (with lentils & radish seeds) shredded carrot on a bed of napa cabbage (280 calories, 9.7 gms sugar)
Meal #4: -  5:00 pm - Sliced Jicama & hummus, 1 Tbls Natural Peanut Butter. 1/2 banana (316 calories, 12.2 gms sugar)
Meal #5: - 8:00 pm - 3 ozs grilled chicken breast, 1 serving steamed broccoli (197 calories, 2.2 gms sugar)

1143 calores total, 26.8 sugars for the whole day.  Did not have much sugar in my early meals and did not have a green smoothie so not bad as my smoothie would usually have about 12.8 grams of sugar that we don't count as part of the 15 grams total!

WATER: 9 glasses

MINDSET: It was a great day!  I am managing to stay on track all the way around.  If I start to feel hungry I really think about what it is that I am needing.  I keep myself busy, tell myself I can eat in a little while and drink some water.  It really works.  Every now and then I am craving sweets (I am a die hard chocoholic) but I tell myself that if I really want it I cn have it on Friday!  My first Reward Meal Day of this program! 

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Tues. March 15, 2011

Week 1, Day 2
My SMART Quest for today is:  Keep on track.  Things are going nicely.  Remember to eat EVERY 3 hours - no exceptions if possible!

Adding the advanced workouts has been good.  I can really feel it today!  Doing those Push Ups yesterday with my feet elevated on a chair was amazing!  Since I did 7 rounds of the push ups, that was 105 push ups and my Abs sure do feel it today! Ouch, but good stuff!

Sleep:   6 hours - Went to bed about 11:30 pm  -
Awoke:  4:55 am

Warm Up: 5:25 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:30 am

Today I am doing a series of 3 Tabata Intervals & 3 HIIT Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Program!  I am still figuring out how to do things more advanced and ramp it up to get a better workout!  I also need to add new moves to keep things fresh and keep my body guessing!  Scott has been great helping me figure out how to go about this.  Since my abs are sore I decided to do moves that would work my legs instead and get my heart rate up!


Metabolic Ignition Phase - Weeks 1 and 2

3 Tabata Intervals
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 20 seconds & 10 seconds and 8 rounds.  Each round is 4 minutes. 

Get Ups with Tuck Jump - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4 reps per round!
Bowling Lunges - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 44, 45, 44, 45, 45, 44, 44, 43  reps per round!
Overhead One Legged Step Ups - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds -  4 rounds per leg - Left Leg: 10, 9, 9, 9 reps per round! Right leg: 9,9,9,9 reps per round.

4 High Intensity Interval Workouts
These are timed Intervals:  Set your Gymboss Timer to 2 intervals of 1:00 minute & 2:00 minutes and 4 rounds.  Each round is 3 minutes.
Squat Thrusts with Push Ups - 1:00 on - 12 reps, 2:00 active recovery  of Squats 
Reverse Lunge into Front Kick Up Left Leg - 1:00 on - 28 reps, 2:00 active recovery of boxing shuffle with punches
Reverse Lunge into Front Kick Up Right Leg -  1:00 on - 25 reps, 2:00 active recovery of boxing shuffle with punches 
Touchdown Lunge to Side Kick -  1:00 on - 18 reps left side, 18 reps right side, 2:00 active recovery  of Squats 

I am still figuring out what to do, but I am getting the idea!  Next time I will do as Scott suggested and go until I can't do anymore and then rest the remainder of the time left.  I think that will work better for me.
Pretty good workout.  Looking forward to a good and healthy day of eating.  Yesterday was a P & C day for me and I didn't eat any carbs, oh well!

My daughter is home sick today, hope she feels better soon.  Poor thing is miserable.

MEALS:  P & C Day
Meal #1: 7:00 am - 8 ozs Fat free Milk with 1 scoop chocolate Whey Protein powder
Meal #2: 10:00 am - 1 small banana, 2 slices uncured organic bacon, 1 serving oatmeal
Meal #3: 1:30 pm - 8 grilled shrimp, 1/2 cup brown wild rice medley (with lentils,& radish seeds) shredded carrot on a bed of napa cabbage  
Meal #4: 4:30 pm - sliced Jicama with hummus, 1 small serving of raw trek trail mix
Meal #5: 8:00 pm - 4 oz extra lean ground sirloin patty, 1/2 avocado, 1 slice cheddar cheese, tomatoes, 1 serving steamed green beans with balsamic vinegar & ground pepper.
WATER: 8 glasses (so far)

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Mon. March 14, 2011

Day 1, Week 1 - A New Quest for a new me!

My SMART quest for today is:  I am excited and feel renewed as I once again start out on this 12 week journey with a new group of Ageless Abs 2 members!  It will be a wonderful quest for all of us to be the best we can be!

SLEEP:   5 hours (not so good). Well I was hoping to go to bed earlier with the time change and all, but it didn't happen.  Then at about 3:00 am my daughter woke me up.  She was in the bathroom dry heaving , nauseous from the pain of a severe sore throat!  Poor baby (she is 17).  Not the best way to start a new program, but I got her situated and back to bed by 3:30 am.
AWOKE: 5:00 am

WARM UP: 5:25 am

Push Ups x 8

Squats x 12

Spiderman Climbs x 10 total

Jumping Jacks x 20

Performed 2 rounds of this circuit

WORKOUT: 5:30 am - Weight Based Interval Training # 1 
 Squat Jumps x 15
Push Ups with Feet Elevated x 15

Suicide Planks x 15

Mountain Jumpers x 15

  

I was able to complete 6 1/2 rounds in 20 minutes!  R1 - 2:44, R2 - 2:55, R3 - 3:01, R4 - 3:12, R5 - 3:05, R6 - 3:31, R7 - 1/2 round - 1:26

I thought I was going to pass out!

I did Squat Jumps to make it more advanced and add extra cardio to the workout. 

I did the Push Ups with my feet elevated on a high step (used enough risers to make it as high as a chair).  The push ups were the most difficult exercise for me to do since I was doing them with my legs elevated!  Great suggestion Scott! 

By the time I got to the 5th round my arms felt like rubber!  I could barely breath.  I also think I rubbed a bit of skin off of my right elbow doing the suicide planks.  I was so sweaty and the mat was wet and since I am left handed I tended to push off first with the left arm leaving the right arm to slip a bit.  Next time I will use a towel and also try alternating which arm I push off with.

I rested only briefly between exercises or when I was failing and needed to stop.  This was a great workout!  I was wiped out and super sweaty!

I checked to see what my rounds were when I did week 1, day 1 of the Ageless Abs 1 program the first time and I had originally completed 4 rounds on a normal (not advanced) level with push ups on my toes.  I felt great knowing that because of this program I have been able to grow stronger and complete 6 1/2 rounds this time on an advanced level. 

I am going to see if I can figure out more advanced moves to make it even more challenging for me.  I am still waiting for my Bosu Ball to come in and then I will do some of those moves!

I was hoping to drink my recovery shake within an hour of working out but unfortunately with my daughter having been up during the night I had to take care of her this morning so I got behind, but better a little late than skipping it, but I know how important it is to have that shake within 30 - 60 mins!

MEALS:

Meal #1:  7:30 am - Green Smoothie with Spinach, Strawberries, Blueberries, 1 Scoop of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder, water & ice. (I made myself drink this as I am not a fan of the green smoothies, lol)
Meal #2:  10:30 am - Egg white omlette with spinach, tomatoes & mushrooms.  2 slices of organic uncured bacon.
Meal #3: 1:30 pm - 1 small banana, sliced jicama & hummus
Meal #4: 3:00 pm - Seafood cocktail containing, shrimp, abalone, octopus, tiny bit of avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lemon, & hot sauce.  So good!  Super high protein!
Meal #5: Extra lean ground sirloin patty, 1/2 avocado, 4 grape tomatoes & a nice serving of steamed broccoli with hot sauce!

WATER: 8 glasses 
 

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Tues. March 8, 2011

My SMART Quest for today:  Try and get back into the swing of things with Ageless Abs program!  We are starting up again and I feel so behind!  This is a busy month for me!  I hope I wont fall too far behind!

Sleep:  - Barely 6 hours - Went to bed after 11:00 pm  - I know I should have tried to go to sleep earlier, but I always have so much to do! Sigh!

Awoke:  5:00 am

Warm Up: 5:25 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  5:30 am

Today I am doing a series of 6 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs Program that I did several months ago!

6 Tabata Intervals:

Heismans - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60 reps per round!
Burpees - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4, 5, 4, 5, 4. 4, 4, 4 reps per round!
Side to Side Jump Ropes - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 63, 65, 65, 64, 64, 64, 65, 65 reps per round.
Mountain Jumpers - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 18, 18, 17, 17, 16, 15, 16, 15 reps per round.  Goodness this was hard.  I was really losing steam at this point!
Bowling Lunges - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 44, 43, 45, 43, 43, 44, 43, 43 reps per round!
High Low Punches -  (with 1 lb weighted gloves) - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 30 reps per round (15 reps per side)

Good workout.  I was really sweating and my heart rate was way up!  Super glad when this was over.  It was nice to be dong Tabata intervals again,  I was shocked that I was able to do even more reps than several months ago and I was even stronger.  Felt great!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Sat. March 5, 2011

My SMART Quest for today:  WORKOUT!!!!!  Just DO it! No excuses.  Things have been going very well!

Sleep was decent especially since most of last week I was tossing and turning a lot.  It was nice to sleep in a little too.

Awoke:  5:45 am

Warm Up: 6:15 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Today I will be doing 2 of Zuzana's Bodyrock.tv workouts.  The first workout is 60 High Knee Get Ups, it is a time challenge of 1 exercise.  The second workout is  Halo of Sweat workout and is a timed interval workout of 12 minutes.  I worked out for a total of 22+ minutes.  It was exhausting! 

　

Exercise Challenge – 60 High Knee Get Ups　
Workout Breakdown
Time: ? min.
Workout Type: Time Challenge
Exercises: 1
Instructions:

• Set your interval timer as a stop watch and get your exercise mat ready. 
• Start with 10 high knees as fast as you can.
• Drive your knees as high as possible while keeping your core tight, chest up and shoulders back and down. A very common mistake that I have seen people making is to shrug their shoulders so that they are almost touching their ears :) This throws off your form completely so please stay focused the entire time to get the most benefits from this challenge.
• As soon as you complete 10 high knees drop down onto your exercise mat so that your belly and chest touch down.
• Then power up into the standing position.

This is one round.

10 high knees

Get Down and Get Up

Complete 60 rounds as fast as you can while keeping proper form.
Zuzana’s time for this challenge was 7:54 :)
MY SCORE: 10:37 and I think I actually over 70 reps because I kept losing count.  This was very challenging.  I took a short rest and then on to the next workout!

Next workout:

Halo of Sweat Workout – Beating our personal bests.

Workout Breakdown

Time: 12min

Workout Type: Interval training

Exercises: 6

• Sumo Jump Knee Up x max.reps
• Sumo Pulse Calve Raise x max.reps
• Reptile on the run x max.reps
• Reptile Push Up - slow speed x max reps
• Knee Hugs x max.reps
• Ab Burn Out x max.reps

Instructions:

• Set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 6 rounds and two intervals – of 10 seconds and 30 seconds.
•  This workout has 3 parts x  4 minutes.
• Do 2 exercises back and forth with 10 seconds rest in between each set
• You will go through each part of this workout 3 times.

Part 1:
a) Sumo Jump Knee Up – go for maximum reps.
My score: 14, 12, 12
Zuzana's score: 13, 11, 11
b) Sumo Pulse Calve Raise
My score: 20, 19, 19
Zuzana's score:16, 16, 12
Part 2:
a) Reptile on the run – go for maximum reps
My score: 27, 29, 19
Zuzana's Score: 40, 20, 15
b) Reptile Push Up – try super slow speed
My score: 5, 6, 6
Zuzana's score: 5, 4, 4
Part 3:
a) Knee Hugs – go for maximum reps
My score:  12, 12, 12
Zuzana's score: 17, 15, 14
b) Ab Burn Out – do as many of these short pulses as possible
My score: 27, 33, 33
Zuzana's score: 38, 34, 33

I was really running out of steam by this time.  I was beat!  Great workout!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Fri. March 4. 2011

My SMART Quest for today is:  Keep doing what I am doing!  It is working.  My measurements are slowly going down and so is the scale!   I am looking forward to getting back to Ageless Abs with Scott Colby.  For now I decided to try Zuzana's BodyRock.tv 550 Rep Fat Massacre!

Awoke: 5:50 am - 6 hours, 30 minutes sleep!
Warm up: 6:10 am
Push ups x 8
Squats x 12
Spiderman Climbs x 10 total
Jumping Jacks x 20
Completed 2 rounds

550 Rep Fat Massacre

Workout Breakdown

Time: ? minutes
Workout Type: Time Challenge
Exercises: 11

• Backward Lunge Kick Up x 25 reps on each leg
• Walk Over Push Up x 50 reps
• Mountain Climbers x 50 reps
• Sumo Squats Knee Up x 50 reps
• One Leg Bridge Leg Lift x 25 reps on each leg
• Side to Side Squat & Leg Lift x 50 reps
• One Arm Tricep Push Up x 25 reps on each arm
• Star Crunch x 50 reps
• Diagonal Touch Downx x25 reps on each side
• Side Plank Lift x 25 reps on each side
• One Leg Wall Sit x 25 reps on each leg

Zuzana's Instructions:
Set your Gymboss Interval Timer to Stopwatch mode.
Complete all 11 exercises as fast as you can.
Do not sacrifice form!
Stay focused so that you get the most out of your workout.

Zuzana's scores: 32 minutes and 46 seconds 1 year ago and in November:  23 minutes and 3 seconds
MY SCORE: 25 minutes 49 seconds! I feel good about this!  The workout was very challenging.

I had trouble figuring out the side plank Lift so I ended up doing another round of the One Arm Tricep Push up so I wouldn't waste more time not getting any exercises done.  I felt exhausted but very good after this challenge!

♥ SMART Quest ♥ Tues, March 1, 2011

My SMART Quest for today: Believe that I WILL have a great week in mind, body & soul!

Scott Colby will be starting his Ageless Abs Program again.  I will sit through the tele seminar again and I think it will be very motivating!

 The Trainer Who Loved Me Workout – Beating Personal Best



Workout Breakdown

Time: ? min.

Workout Type: 300 rep Time Challenge

Exercises: 5

• Jump Up & Star Lift x 60 reps
• James Bond Lunges x60 reps (alternating legs)
• Monkey Business Exercise x 60 reps
• Side Crunch x 30 reps on each side
• Breakdance Push Up & Knee Tuck x 60 reps

This was a super hard challenge! 

It took me 30 minutes 41 seconds to complete all of the reps and rounds.

I felt pretty good about this as it took Zuzana 27 minutes and freddy 28 minutes, so not bad!  I did regular push ups on the toes rather than the knee tuck push ups.

I finished this workout with:

Ab Wheel - 22 full extension reps! Ouch!