♥ SMART Quest ♥ Fri. March 18,2011

Week, 1 Day 5 - Reward Day!
My SMART Goal for today is:  Thank God it is a new day!  I feel I have really had a great week so far.  I only had the minor setback of eating that small portion of dessert, but amazingly, I lost 1 lb from yesterday!  Yes, I am a scale junkie and I said I wouldn't weigh myself, but I was starting to feel down about my abs being so bloated!  Along with that 1 lb of weight loss the bloating went down so it must have been water in the tissue trying to help heal it?  So weighing myself gave me that peace of mind I needed.  This time it worked in my favor but I know often times it can work against us! 

It is our reward meal day, but I am not sure if I will have it tonight or save it for tomorrow!  I have book club on Saturday and I think that would be a better choice (we have dinner) and then just get back on the rotation with everyone else and have another Reward Day in 4 days, but I am not sure yet what I will do!

Sleep:    8 1/2 hours  (finally) - Went to bed about 10:45 pm  - My daughter had no school today so I could sleep in!
Awoke:  7:15 am

Warm Up: 7:45 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  7:50 am

Today I am doing Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 2 Weight Based Interval training #3.
My abs also don't hurt today and I am greatful for that!  My triceps are still a bit sore, so doing the close grip push ups today might be a challenge!

Equipment:

The Step
Gymboss Interval Timer
Exercise Mat

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

Weight Based Interval Training #3 

Close Grip Push Ups x 20
Step Jumps with Squats Jumps with Squats x 20
T-Stabilizations with dumbbells x 20 total
Squat Thrusts x 20
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.  Rest only as needed

I was able to complete 4 rounds in 23:15 minutes (3 1/2 rounds in 20 minutes)

Rd#1 - 6:47, Rd#2 - 5:39, Rd#3 - 5:24, Rd#4 - 2:38 (1/2 of a round) + 3:15 to finish  
You will notice that my first round took the longest because I added 10 extra push ups to the Squat Thrusts before I realized that my arms would fatigue too quickly and compromise my workout, but this is something to definitley work up to!
Today I did 20 reps on all exercises instead of 15.
The Close Grip Push Ups were super chalenging for me.  I Love push ups, but these are very hard to do.

I used a high step and did Step Jumps with Squats  to make it more challenging.  Still waiting for that d@#! BOSU Ball, lol.

I did Squat Thrusts with push ups  in round 1 for 10 of the reps but soon realized that I would not be able to do the Close Grip Push Ups right after so I just switched back to Squat Thrusts.

I added 8 lb dumbbells to each hand for the T-Stabilizations for 20 reps.  I also had wanted to add Push Ups in between each rep, but again, if I had added Push Ups to 3 of these exercises that would have been over 120 Push Ups  and my Triceps were already feeling challenged.

I have to say this workout really exhausted me.  I think  working out later played with my head a bit too.  I am so used to working out when it is still dark.  I almost found myself getting side tracked but I pushed through and challenged myself to complete this workout and try to have great form but move quickly!  I was grunting through those Close Grip Push UPs (kept wishing I had only decided to do 15, lol).  It was a good feeling of accomplishment to get  through the workout!  Thank so much Scott for pushing me and inspiring me to work harder!

Had my recovery Green Smoothie within 55 minutes of my workout!

MEALS:  P & C & R Day
Meal#1: - 9:20 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: - 12:00 am - 1 small serving of Oatmeal,  Egg white omlette with spinach , mushroms, onion ( 150 calories, 0.7 gms sugar)
Meal #3: - 2:30 pm -  2 slices Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread, Tuna with touch of olive oil, oregano, vinegar & stevia. 1/2 avocado, 1 cup Jicama slices 1 Tbs Hummus (calories, gms sugar)
Meal #4: -  5:30 pm -  1 1/2 Tbs Peanut Butter, 1 small apple (calories, gms sugar)
Meal #5: - 8:30 pm -  Grilled Shrimp , Broccoli (calories, gms sugar)

 _calores total, _sugars for the whole day. 
WATER: 9 glasses (so far)

MINDSET: Today has been a good day.  I have felt positive about my program and what I am doing!  I feel in control today and that is a good thing.  I have kept myself very busy but I have made sure that i didn't miss any of my meals.  I hope to continue on in this path!

♥ 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 ♥ Sat. March 12, 2011

My SMART Quest for today is:  Try to behave today, as I have a party to go to!  I went out last night and well, sorta had some wine and such!  It was a wine tasting!  Fun night, but foud myself "mindlessly snacking" even though I designated it as a reward meal day! 

I am really looking forward to our new start with Ageless Abs 2!  I find that I need the group support to do my best!  We have a really great group this time that seems really fired up and ready to rock!  Can't wait!

Sleep:   6 hours - Went to bed after 12:45 pm  - That's what I get for going out, sigh!
Awoke:  7:00 am

Warm Up: 7:25 am 

8 push ups

12 squats

10 spiderman climbs

20 jumping jacks

Completed 2 rounds!

Workout:  7:30 am

Today I am doing a series of 6 Tabata Intervals based on Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 1 Program that I did several months ago!

6 Tabata Intervals:

Heismans - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 61, 60, 59, 59, 60, 59, 60, 61 reps per round! (This is running in place, side to side, as you land on one leg you bring the opposite knee up into your chest
8 count Body Builders - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 4, 3, 3, 4, 3. 3, 3, 3 reps per round! Bowling Lunges - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 45, 44, 44, 43, 43, 44, 43, 42 reps per round!
Side to Side Jump Ropes - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 65, 64, 65, 64, 64, 64, 63, 65 reps per round.
Suicide Drills - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest x 8 rounds - 18, 17, 17, 17, 16, 17, 16, 17 reps per round.  (This is running 3 steps to the side, touch down, 3 steps to the other side touch down.
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)

Pretty good workout.  I was a bit tired from last night, could feel the negative effects of the alcohol on my system.  Glad it is over!

Ageless Abs 2 - My "WHY"

1.  List 3 things you want to change about your body.

1. I  want to lose the extra bodyfat I have hanging around my thighs, abs, hips, arms, etc.
2. I want to see more muscle definition in arms. abs, back & legs
3. I want to firm up and feel stronger  

2.  Why is this so important to you? What is your reason?

1. I want to be healthy & strong.  I want to age gracefully knowing that I am doing the best for my body so that I can stay healthy and not succumb to things that I have the power to change.  I don't want to regret "not doing something" that I could have that would hekp to prevent an illness or injury as I continue to get older. I want to be here for as long as I can for my children.  They are my life!  I don't want to miss anything in their lives.

3.   List the habits or actions that have contributed to why your body is the way it is today.

1. Giving up after working so hard.  Getting to my goals and then just quitting!
2. Mindless eating with the thought that "hey, there is always tomorrow"
3. Stress - letting other people make me feel like I am selfish for wanting to take care of myself, worrying about what people think!

4.   List 3 things you could do right now that will make a difference
today (an action, no matter how small, that will bring you closer to your goal).

1. Realize that "I am worth it" , I am in control, I can do this.
2. Stay away from negative people that are out to undermine my success
3. Think before I eat!  Don't let my emotions guide my "hunger".

5.  List at least 2 things that you are giving up by not being more fit.

1. I give up the chance of ever really getting to my true potential - my
2. I risk the chance of being unhealthy and therefore not being there for my children & family!
3. Happiness!  Gina not fit = unhappiness for me!

6.    What is it costing you?

1. Again, happiness - not being happy = depression = low self esteem = stress = being unhealthy and fat!
2. Missing out on life while worrying about something I CAN CHANGE!

7.     What do you gain by keeping things the way they are?

1. Nothing really, my fears of failure won't get me in shape.  The only place to go from here if I don't step it up is "down" and that is not healthy or productive to the life style I want to have!