Friday 20091106

I had a PT appointment today. I've had a pretty horrific week, and I think my trainer could see I wasn't in the mood for a beasting.
After I'd done a warm-up of 7 minutes on the stepper, we did some TRX - first squats, then lunges pulling myself up with the TRX, then adding in a jump at the top and stuff. And then some abs stuff. It wasn't too taxing, but I felt better when I'd finished.

Wednesday 14th

I had a PT session this morning, went in early to warm up first.

Cross trainer 1-minute sprint intervals, 6 minutes level 5
Stepper, 6 minutes level 6

I ended up spending my whole PT session discussing where I'm going wrong with my food and everything, I've put on a bit more weight and I'm not sure why. I seem to have stopped making any sort of progress where that side of things is concerned. She's given me loads of tips and things, and is going to email me a bunch of stuff too. Fingers crossed I can get back into things.

I'm having another session on Friday morning to go through my new program. Am hoping that one will inspire me to kick some arse!

Wednesday 30th

I had a PT session this morning, wasn't sure what she was planning to do with me, so I got there early and did 15 minutes on the cross trainer first.

Then my trainer arrived, and I remembered I was due for a weigh in. Oh dear.

Basically, I've put on 3 pounds since the last time she weighed me, and a couple of inches in the waist/hips region, but my body fat is down 2% to 33% which is good. She thinks the extra weight/inches are partly due to increased muscle, and partly due to water retention caused by a bad diet and a couple of other things. Am currently toying with coming off the pill and all the other junk I'm taking, and just seeing what happens. Would like to think once I stop taking all this crap my body will know how to look after itself and I will lose the water retention etc and therefore weight. Watch this space...

Thursday 6th - 6-week weigh in with my PT

I was actually really nervous about this weigh-in, I think because for the first time I've been putting a real effort in with my food and planning, and filling in my food diaries which I normally forget about. I've been weighing and measuring myself weekly any way, but what if I got it wrong, or I put on weight over night or something?!

Well the fact is that I normally weigh myself first thing in the morning, without clothes. Obviously you can't really do that at the gym (!) so I was expecting a bit of difference in the weight.

The final scores are...

Weight - down 1 pound (could do better - and will!)
Measurements - down 4 inches (2 from my waist, 1 from my hips, 0.5 from each arm)
Body Fat Percentage - down 2% to 35%

The measurements are slightly different than mine - again, I'm being measured etc with clothes on so that distorts it slightly, also I think I've been measuring a different part of my arm.

I'm really pleased with the body fat percentage. I'm still not technically within the "healthy" category (that's 21-33%) but I'm heading in the right direction. I'm disappointed with the weight loss but now I know I can do it, I can work at it.

My goal for the next 6 weeks is to lose 5 pounds and another 2% body fat.

This week has been shocking, my food has been bad, I've not been planning or preparing meals, and I've generally just let it drop in a lot of places. That all changes tomorrow and I'm back on the straight and narrow. I know I can do this, I just need to focus!

Thursday 23rd

PT session this morning. No TRX, instead it was lunge intervals. Legs are all sorts of broken now...

cross trainer 1 min sprint intervals, 8 mins level 5
stepper interval program, 5 mins level 7
reclining bike 6 mins level 5, 4 mins level 3

leg swings
prisoner squats
step-back lunge/floor touch
side lunge/floor touch
windmills

Russian twist with 3kg ball
lunge & twist with 3kg ball
3 sets

wall angel

lunge & throw, lunge & catch with 3kg ball
lunge jumps with 3kg ball wood chop
3 sets

full press up on upturned BOSU x 6
crunches with legs raised x 12
3 sets

Full plank (on hands rather than elbows), lifting alternate hands. Owch!

Thursday 9th

I've had a really productive day, exercise-wise. My eating has been... well, it was good until I got home and remembered I had strawberry & cream cookies in the cupboard!

Any way, I've been to the gym twice today, and also did a little workout this evening (to make up for some of the cookie scandal)

I had a PT session this morning, but couldn't remember whether it was at 7 or 7:30. I didn't want to be late, so I got to the gym for 6:45. Then I remembered the session was at 7:30. I had time to kill, so I headed for the cardio machines...

cross trainer 5 mins level 5
reclining bike 5 mins level 5
stepper 5 mins on interval program, level 6
treadmill 5 mins on gradient interval program, level 7
cross trainer 6 mins of 1-minute intervals

When it came to my PT session, I had to admit that my balancing has left a lot to be desired... and I've mainly just chickened out of that side of my program! Cue a lesson in balance from the girl who can stand on a stability ball and dance!

reverse BOSU squats x 20 (this is where the BOSU is upside down. Half the battle is getting on the damn thing!)
front-side lunges x 10 each leg
stability ball balancing - I managed it in the end, a few times, on my own, nowhere near the wall. Need more practise tho!
stork stance

Then we ran through various parts of my program, putting my weights up as we went...

BOSU lunges x 12 each leg (8kg x 2)
single leg deadlifts x 12 each leg (14kg) (some idiot was using the 12kg dumbells, I could have killed him!)
split stance low row x 12 each arm (10kg)

I went back to the gym at lunch with a couple of buddies to do Gym Train. This is a circuit the trainer set up for us with the idea we time ourselves to do each exercise, improve over time, and compete against each other after 6 weeks to see who could complete the entire circuit in the shortest time. The 6 weeks finished a long time ago, but whenever we're free we'll try and get back into the gym to give it a go. I used to call it the Monster Class Of Doom. There's a reason for that...

treadmill - 500m in 3.06 mins
upright bike - 1.5km in 3.16 mins
shoulder press - 15 x 8kg
rowing - 500m in 2.26 mins
full sit-ups x 20
step-ups - 2 x 6kg, 5 steps x 20
bench jumps - 3 steps, x 20

Then, as mentioned before, I came home and found some cookies. I've been watching the Turbulence Training semiar on the website, and felt a bit more motivated after some of that, so I had a look on Gym Junkies to find some exercises I could do at home. I ended up finding the Man Maker so I thought I'd give that a go. I only did girlie press-ups cos, well, I'm a girl. And I used piddly 2kg weights, not the 20 pounders Vic recommends in the video - mainly because that's all I had.

The idea is that you do as many as you can in 8 minutes. So I set a timer. After 10 I thought I might pass out. Checked the time, only 3 minutes in. So on I ploughed. I managed 27, which I think is a good first attempt. Might try and keep track of these from time to time, see if I can get any better. Then I did some abs:

weighted side twists x 12 (2kg)
reverse crunch x 12
double heel tap (legs straight) x 12
vertical lifts x 12 (2kg)

3 sets - each set with no rest between exercises.

Thursday 25th

I had a PT session first thing, so I went in a little early to do a cardio warm up...

Cross Trainer 1 minute sprint intervals - 10 minutes (phew!)
Stepper - 10 minutes at level 6

Then my PT turned up and the pain started...

squats on an up-turned BOSU x 20
forward & side lunges x 10 each side
stork stance x 10 each side
stability ball balance & twist (balancing on the ball on your knees, arms out in front then twist from side to side without falling off!)
cross-over heel taps x 10

(that's just the warm up!)

up-turned BOSU squats - 12kg x 12
lunges with front foot on BOSU - 12 kg x 12 each leg

Box jumps x 12 (with 3 raisers)
single leg dead lifts - 10kg

Incline Dumbell Press - 4kg each arm
Split stance low row - 6.25kg x 12 each side

Reverse crunches x 12
straight leg heel taps x 12

All I can say is... ouch.
Also, when I woke up the next morning I wasn't in too much pain. Perhaps a sign I should increase some of the weights for this. *gulp*

Thursday 11th

Had a PT session this morning so went in early to wam up on the cross trainer.

5 minutes warm up at level 5 then 7.5 minutes of 1 minute sprint intervals.

Didn't do exercise in my PT session as we did measurements, goals etc. I have 37% body fat which is a bit above where it should be. We think I could stand to lose about a stone or so. Am starting to take fish oils and multivitamins. And I need to sort out my diet, which we all knew any way.