Archive | December 2011

Getting Ripped with Jillian

Dec30

I did it! I completed Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 Dvd!! For the longest time, I was very intimidated by Jillian – even a little scared. lol. She is tough! I’ve tried a few of her workouts onDemand and always got discouraged. Part of it was that I was expecting too much of myself. I really wanted to be able to do the workouts as perfectly as possible. I blamed how tough her workouts were as the reason that I didn’t do well.

The truth was, I wasn’t ready. Physically and most importantly, mentally. I let my self doubts and excuses keep me from giving my workouts everything I had. Once I learned that I was the one who had control over how my workouts went, I had more success with my workouts. I decided in November to challenge myself to completing an entire Jillian Michael’s DVD.  I was very lucky to have a friend who send me Ripped in 30.

I actually started to last week of October with Week 1. I did the workouts for 6 days – taking  one day off (from the DVD but I did do other toning workouts). In between Week 1 and Week 2, I took a break while I was on vacation.  I started right back up  with Week 2 when I got back. I think my body was worn out from intense workouts prior to my vacation so the break actually helped me do better with Week 2.

I  Love this DVD.  I definitely got stronger – especially in my arms. I always started with the modified version or copying Jillian and worked towards the advanced versions.  I didn’t always get to the advanced version by the end of the week but I did do better in all the exercises. Jillian was funny and of course tough, but she was also very inspiring. A lot of of her closing words after each workout really had an effect on me. I’ve gone from fearing her to being inspired by her. I definitely want to make sure that I Show Up in my Life Every Day and give Everything in my Life the same dedication and focus that I give my workouts. Thank You Jillian!

Overview: Here’s a few of my favorite moves and how I did. This is Not the entire workouts – just small bits.

Every workout started with a warm up – then 20 min workout with 3 Circuits – ended with a cool down.

Week 1 – Favorite warm up was the Half Squat with Knee grab. Stretching and stabilizing.

Circuit 1: I stuck with the modified pushups but did the Advanced version of the Skaters. The Hollow Man was pretty tough even the modified version. I think I was able to keep my shoulders for about half the time.

Circuit 2: Love the good morning exercise and the running man. She had me laughing when she called it an “80’s Throwback” and to “Bring out the leg warmers.” I was able to to do the Side Plank with both feet straight but stayed on my elbows.

Circuit 3: I was able to increase my weights on the chair pose with rear fly and do the advanced version of the Single Leg Hop – although I can’t get as high as the girl did. I was able to do the advanced version of the reverse crunch with a regular crunch.

Week2: Love the Toe Tap to the Center and Down for the warm up.

Circuit 1: Pendulum lunges with Serving Biceps was a lot of fun. I worked up to the advanced version. Also did the advanced version of the plank jacks. My goal was to stay in plank for the whole 2 minute cardio session and I did! The opposite leg to opposite arm crunch was great :-)

Circuit 2: Did the advanced version of the Side Lunge with Leg Raise – great booty workout. Crow PushUps were really hard for me to do so I did the modified version. The Ab Extension and Hold were also really hard and I stayed with the modified version.

Circuit 3: Loved the single leg with a curl. I don’t think I got my leg as high as the advanced version but I worked on keeping my leg up and off the ground. The sit-up move at the end was tough. It took me the whole week to finally get the move right.

Week3: It gets intense with week 3. Even the warm up was tough.  The leg raise to knee raise to quad stretch definitely worked my balance.

Circuit 1: The bear crawl and duck walk was killer on my legs! She hammers the legs even more with squat jacks. I was already sweating before this circuit was even over. The plank tucks at the end were tough.

Circuit 2: Even more stability work with single leg squats with curls. The roll ups were a lot of fun to do. I worked up to keeping up with the advanced version :-) My heart raced during the squat jacks. I started with the modified version of the opposite arm opposite leg crunch and leg raise. Adding the weight makes a difference!

Circuit 3: She beat up my arms in this circuit. Pike pushups and single leg dips! I had to stick to the modified version for the split jumps. Those are killer on my knee. Her modification worked great because I still got a good work out without stressing my knees out. The pike ups were pretty hard for me so I kept to the modified version.

Circuit 4: I personally think this is about the same intensity as week 3. They were both pretty  intense workouts. The warm up had my favorite waist line crunches :-)

Circuit 1: Loved the yoga moves in the beginning. Leave it to Jillian to use yoga for strength training :-) Felt like a cheerleader doing the kicking jacks. Plank walks definitely work the core.

Circuit 2: For the pushup and renegade rows, I did as many as I could in plank then dropped to my knees when my arms got tired. Of course there had to burpees! lol. I made myself do the advanced version. I had to stick to the modified version of the v-ups though.

Circuit 3: One of my favorite things is how she always works multiple muscle groups like Single leg bootylifter with chest flies :-) I really like the double jump rope. The ab workout for this circuit is my favorite. It works everything. Sit Up, lay down, leg lift, toe touch, then back down.  I do it all the time outside of this DVD.

Of all the motivational/inspirational things she says in this DVD, what she says at the end of Week 4 really impacted me the most. I would lie there after the workout and listen to what she said every time.  “Inhale the possibilities…” “Exhale the self doubt…”

She also has a meal plan you can follow for the 30 days. I stuck with Tone It Up’s meal plan.

So if you couldn’t tell, I would recommend this DVD for anyone looking to get into shape. I recommend Amazon.com for a good price but you can find it at Target and anywhere workout DVD’s are sold. It’s great for any fitness level. Don’t let her intimidate you. She knows what she’s doing :-)  It’s all about the effort you put in that determines your results.

Trying Tempeh Bacon

Dec5

I’m always looking for healthy alternatives to foods that I love that are not the healthiest – like bacon.  One of my fellow Tone It Up sisters on twitter (@FrancesGetsFit) posted a pic of a BLT using tempeh bacon.  I decided to look for it the next time I was in Whole Foods.  I didn’t see the brand she used (Fakin Bacon .. I think). But I did find some tempeh bacon.

Tempeh Bacon

It took me a week to get around to trying it.  Not because I didn’t want to. I don’t cook bacon that often to begin with so I had to think about using it.

When I opened the box and took out the package, it looked like thinly sliced tempeh so I was really curious to see what they tasted like.  I just used olive oil cooking spray and placed the pieces on there.  Cooked it a couple minutes on each side.  It was really very easy to prepare and it smelled just like bacon.

Cooking the Tempeh Baking

I served it with 2 egg whites on top of spinach.

Served with 2 Egg whites and Spinach

So now for the taste….. It had a really great flavor – definitely tasted like bacon. The thing is, the texture.  It wasn’t firm like bacon and it still felt like tempeh. It was a weird combo in my mouth.  It went well with the egg whites and spinach though.  I think that it would be great to crumble up and toss in a salad :-)

What I really liked was how healthy it was. 7 pieces of 1 serving!! I only had 4 and that was plenty. Only 1g of fat, 130 Calories, 3g of Sugar, and 5g of fiber!

Nutrition Facts

Tempeh isn’t my favorite but it is great for a change. I’ve really opened up my mind to trying out new foods. It never hurts to try something out and I have been very pleasantly surprised with a lot of my new discoveries. So don’t be afraid to try out new foods and recipes :-)

Pop Pilates Meet Up

Dec4

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Cassey’s Pop Pilates Meet Up this weekend. It was held in the city which is about a half hour away from me. I was nervous to go for several reasons – 1. I’ve never really done a pilates class before (besides Cassey’s videos at home), 2. I was going by myself, 3. It was in the city which always makes me anxious. I’m fine up until I get off the freeway. There’s just so many people in such a small area and I get lost very easily. I’m also not great a parallel parking.

I left a little later than I would have liked. I’m one of those people who like to be early in case anything happens. So I was rushing to get there on time. I actually passed the place and had to go around – which took some extra time. And then it came time to park. I was lucky to find a spot on the street. I was grateful that my car is compact and that the lady behind left as I was attempting to parallel park so I had more room :-) I got there about 10 minutes late. Luckily, they hadn’t started the class yet.

There was quite a few people there – mostly ladies, but a few guys too :-) I found a place to put my matt and waited. Cassey was there saying Hi to people and she came over to me. She is such a sweet person and gave me a hug. She asked where I was from and when I told her, she mentioned that her friend, Reina was from there too. Her friend and I talked while we waited for the class to start. It was so nice to meet someone from where I live that had the same interests as me. We run along the same trail and probably have passed each other. 5 minutes later, the class started and we went to our matts.

I really had no idea what to expect. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too advanced since I am very much a beginner with Pilates. I can’t remember the whole routine, but it was great! The workout was also broadcast live through BlogTV so people at home could join in :-) I’m camera shy so hopefully no one at home could see me. lol. After a stretching warm up, we went into ab and core. I remember that this was killer! I started sweating from the first move. lol. My whole mid section is extremely sore from this workout. Everything from my abs, to obliques and even my back. It hurts to stand up, sit down, and especially getting out of bed. I sneezed and it hurt. That’s how kick ass the workout was :-)

We also did some booty and arm exercises. I had a cramp during one of the booty exercises, but worked through it. My booty is very sore today too. I could feel it during my 4 mile run. The half cobra pushups worked my triceps. It’s hard to believe that such small movements can really work our muscles.

Cassey was great. She kicked our booties! She is a really good instructor and I would love to take any class she teaches. The music was great. Loved how we did the Wiggle during the LMFAO song. It was an hour workout that just flew by because it was a lot of fun. We ended by doing a few burpees and took a group picture. Cassey hung out to take pictures and talk with us. There was food and Miracle Noodles for us to enjoy. My parking meter was expired and I had to leave shortly after the workout ended to get home to my kids, but I did take the time to Thank Cassey and take a quick pic with her :-)

Cassey inspires and motivates me. It was such a wonderful experience meeting her. You never know what it’s going to be like meeting someone you look up to and watch on YouTube. You always wonder how they are in real life. Cassey is just as wonderful as I thought she’d be. Beautiful and very kind. I’m hoping she does more meet ups and that I’ll see her again soon :-)

Looking through some pics

With the Beautiful Cassey at her Pop Pilates Meet Up

December Goals

Dec3

Set Your Goals!

I love setting goals for myself.  It has really been the key to keeping me motivated to stay on track especially with my workouts.  I have long term goals, monthly, weekly, and daily goals I set for myself. I work better when I have something to work towards.

It’s that time of year when it’s a little bit harder to stay healthy and fit.  It’s a hectic time for me. I’ve got birthdays and the holidays to deal with. I never have enough time and I feel like I am always in a hurry.  I can get overwhelmed with all that I have to do and get stressed out. In the past, I would have just thrown out any hope of working out and eating healthy. But I don’t want to do that this year. I really want o stay on track with Nutrition Plan and continue to workout.

So I’m hoping that my recent practice with goal setting will help me out. I’ve done two 5K races and reached both personal goals on my time. A lot of my fellow Tone It Up team members have set up a challenge to run every day this month. I would have joined them but I knew that my schedule wouldn’t allow it.  I am currently finishing up my goal of completing a Jillian Michael’s workout DVD (Ripped in 30) – will have a post on my experience up soon. After looking over my new TIU calendar and my schedule for this month, I came up with two new  goals to focus for December:

1. Drink 100 oz. of water Every Day! This might seem like a pretty easy thing to accomplish, but for me, this is a big challenge. My Vegas trip threw me out of whack with staying hydrated and I have had a very hard time drinking enough water. So I’m hoping this gets me back on track and helps keep me from over eating during the holidays :-)

2. Lift Weights at Least Twice a Week! Now that I’ve pretty much reached my goal weight, I’ve decided that I wanted to put on some muscle, especially on my arms. I was lifting once a week with Ben.  We have one day a week where both boys are at school and he’s off of work so we can workout together.  I was shy about lifting because I don’t have much muscle and I was ignorant in thinking that weight lifting was going to make me too muscular. From ToneItUp and the many other fitness sources I’ve come across lately, I’ve learned that building muscle helps burn fat and women don’t get bulky like men without supplements. I’ve really come to enjoy lifting weights and want to really focus this month.

I started on Dec. 2nd and will end on Dec. 31st.  I will definitely let you all know how it goes :-)