Effort And Success

“Success always demands a greater effort.” – Winston Churchill

I said in my last post that my next post was going to be about high intensity interval training (hiit) and steady state cardio but I changed my mind today. I will get to it but today I want to share and update everyone about my friend Karen ( I wrote about her weight loss journey a few posts back) and her progress. If you did not see the link to her blog a few posts back, I will share again here. Karen is on a great journey. In January she began an intense program to lose weight and change her lifestyle. She has been coming to my classes regularly plus putting extra time in the gym. The program she is on is like a college course. It requires discipline, accountability, tests, reading, learning, and prioritizing to complete. Karen is on a great journey to become her best self. It is not just about exercising and dieting. It takes a great effort.

Anyway, one requirement for this course is that she has to weigh in at different points and she has to be weighed by someone else and have it documented. I am that person for her 🙂  Today was her final weigh in for this portion of her course.I am smiling right now because it is so awesome and inspiring to see someone really go after what is important to them. To give it 110%. This is Karen. I am still smiling because she was the last person I was talking to when I left the gym last night and she was the first person I saw at the gym this morning. We laughed as I was weighing her because I told her she was here as much as I am now and that she should work here. I love her dedication and her determination. We talked a little after I weighed her about where she is in her  journey and how she gets through some of  the temptations. She has found ways that work for her to keep going and to keep moving forward. She will not stop.

After she left, I checked facebook to see what was going on in facebook world and I saw a link to her latest blog post  titled “Last Official Weigh In”.  Karen is on an amazing  journey and all along the way she is inspiring others including me to be my best self. She is a strong and beautiful person and I admire her strength, dedication, and effort she puts in every single day. Yes, there may be setbacks, struggles and obstacles here or there but  the effort and courage to continue is what counts and Karen has this. She will be successful. Check out her latest post.

http://www.mypointsintime.blogspot.com/2014/06/last-official-weigh-in.html

Keep moving forward 🙂

Workout at BodyBuilding.com

Hi, just a quick update on the new goals and workout happening at nthefitzone. Since I finished up my half marathons recently, I am shifting my focus to shorter more intense runs plus hitting the weight room more. Confession: since I finished my half in Utah, my nutrition has been terrible. I decided I would just eat whatever and I quickly began to feel awful, no energy and laziness kicked in. That has changed. I am very goal oriented. I now have a new focus. I want to get faster, stronger, and add  muscle. So I went to bodybuilding.com to see what is going on over there and it is full of info, workouts, nutrition plans etc.. One plan I found was by a trainer to celebrities, Ashley Conrad. She totally makes sense to me with her training and nutrition philosophy. I totally agree with how she trains her clients and herself.

So I started one of her workouts and nutrition plans about a week ago and I can already see a difference. I am so motivated to progress forward with this. Even trainers need trainers. Check out this video about how she trains her clients and how she gets them the results they are looking for. This is exactly how I like to train. If you want results, you have to commit to the work. You have to find the time and stay consistent, dedicated and focused on what you are doing and why you are doing it.

I will keep posting about my progress with this program. Have any of you done any of the workouts at bodybuilding.com?

 

WOW#2 Workout Warrior Challenge

Last week was a busy week with the fit test, the first workouts etc… It motivated and inspired me to hear that some of you are following along. I am excited for week #2. This is my workout for WOW#2

Day 1

First I will warm up with a 400m run (1/4 mile) or cycle 1 mile. I will set my timer for 20 minutes. In the 20 minutes I will do AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of the following exercises and reps:

• 10 burpees without the pushups
• 15 pushups
• 20 plank side toe taps
• 25 scissor abs
• 30 sumo squats

I will do AMRAP within that 20 minutes. I will write down how many rounds I did. I will finish with a 400m run (1/4 mile) or cycle 1 mile.

Day 2

I will be doing Tabata intervals meaning each exercise will be done as hard as I can for 20 seconds and then I will rest for 10 seconds and repeating. You will need a timer or a clock with second hand that is easy to see. A full Tabata is only 4 minutes but it is high intensity. I will do 2 Tabatas for a total of 8 minutes with 4 different exercises. I will also time myself and record the time it took me to finish with the warm up and the finish run.

I will warm up with an 800m run (1/2 mile) or cycle 2 miles. I have my timer ready for 20 seconds work 10 second rest intervals. I will do each exercise 4 times 20 seconds work 10 seconds rest then move to the next exercise.

• Mountain climbers – 4 times
• Kettlebell (KB) swing or Dumbbell (DB) swing – 4 times
• Plank spider knees – 4 times
• Lunge jumps or reverse lunge for the beginner – 4 times

I will finish this with an 800m run (1/2 mile) or cycle 2 miles.

Day 3 -repeat day 1

Day 4 – repeat day 2

Go to my youtube channel to view video of the workouts. Go to www.youtube.com and search nthefitzone. Video demos are labeled WOW#2. These are my first videos. Future videos will get better I promise:)

I will record my times, reps, exercises etc… Anything to help me keep track of my progress. I WILL SWEAT AND I WILL LOVE IT!

Are you ready for a new week of challenges? If you are following along, I love reading your comments, seeing your workout pics, etc. ARE YOU GOING TO SWEAT AND LOVE IT?

SUPERHERO PLANK CHALLENGE – I did this the other day to see how long I could hold it. This exercise challenge requires strength and mental focus. One side I did 35 seconds, the other 40 seconds.

Forearm plank lifting opposite arm/opposite leg and holding for as long as I can. The Supermodel in the background was not impressed:)

Disclaimer-This blog is written and managed by me. This blog is a journal of my experiences and my opinions. I am not a doctor. Consult your own doctor before beginning any exercise and/or nutrition program.