Archive | April 2014

Bikini Series Day2

April 29, 2014 –

Today was tough. Gio woke up in the middle of the night sick. Cleaned up the mess and had a couple hours to get back to sleep. I didn’t want to get up when the alarm went off but I did. I wasn’t feeling that great. Went on my walk and did a loop around the neighborhood. I felt better after the walk. But Gio had a fever and had to stay home so my plan to go to spinning didn’t work out. Took care of him and Ben most of the day – Ben came home early from work because he wasn’t feeling well either :-/ Gio tried to go play his baseball game but we were glad they had enough players that he could sit out. He stayed and cheered on his team and Ben helped coach. I didn’t get a chance to workout until after the boys went to bed.

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I followed along with the new Bikini Body Workout. I used 8lb dumbbells for everything except the first move. I love this new workout. K&K never fail to make great workouts for the bikini series. Followed it with 30 push-ups and a 2 min plank. I ended with the Sunset Stretch yoga routine. I really need to do yoga more often. It felt so great to stretch out my legs.

I didn’t get a chance to take pics of my M2 and M4. My m2 was mango and m4: was a Luna bar. I did have a handful of m&m’s at Gio’s game though :-/ I need to pack better for his games because it’s easy to go the whole 2-3 hours without eating or drinking anything. Dinner was a Greek Chicken Salad from Panera with no dressing. I love Greek salads and with all the flavors from the olives and feta, I didn’t need dressing. I didn’t quite reach my water goal. I still got 60 oz in but I want to drink more because it helps me feel better throughout the day. Baseball game days are hard. I’m usually so tired that we just pick up dinner or order pizza for the kids. I have to start having dinner already made before the game so we can just come home and eat.

I showered and then took my before pics for the bikini series:

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I am always hesitant about posting my before pics. I’ve got some toning to do on my midsection. But that will come with a cleaner diet. I’m not too concerned about getting smaller. In fact, I’m trying to get bigger in my legs and arms. I wish I could make my chest grow :-( But I’ve come to accept that this is my body. I have to learn to love my body. I don’t weigh myself so I don’t have a starting weight. I did measure though because I want to put on muscle in certain areas.
Waist – 26″
Hips – 34″
Thighs – 16″
I’m looking forward to seeing the changes in 8 weeks.

Bikini Series Day1

April 28, 2014 –

Today was the first day of this year’s Bikini series :-) It was tough but I got up early and went out for a 20min walk for my bootycall. I walked around the neighborhood. There are lots of steep hills so it gets the heart pumping. It’s been a while since I’ve done a bcwo. I stopped shortly after I learned I had high blood pressure last year. I decided that I needed more rest to help my body. I cut back on my workouts and tried to not stress out as much. But I really want to give this Bikini Series my all so I am making a goal of doing a bcwo 5x a week. I will keep it to a walk or jog and I will be making a huge effort to get to bed earlier so I can make sure I am well rested.

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Seppe was still sick today so I stayed home with him. After dropping Gio off at school, I did a short upper body workout with my equipment at home:
Pull-Ups (Wide, Narrow, Reverse) 5×2
Band Pull-Downs (Wide, Narrow) 10×2
Upright Row to Deadlift 10, 8, 6 with 15lb DB

I went to the gym after Ben got home from work and did a short leg workout and the new Spring into Summer cardio. I started with a 1mile warmup on the treadmill. Then hit the weight room:
Leg Extensions 65lbs 10×3 Plus a 4th round was a drop set that I started at 75lbs down to 25lbs. I did at least 6reps at each weight.
Deadlift 80lbs 10×3
Leg Press Machine 175lbs 10×3
Seated Leg Curl 55lbs 10×3
I wanted to hit the squat rack but it was taken and I ran out of time.

I did the Spring Into Cardio routine on the stairmill. Wow! What a sweat session!! The stairmaster is probably least favorite cardio machine and is tough for me but it’s so great for the legs!

Did the 3 Moves for Sexy Upper Back 10 x 3, Day28 of 30pushups for 30daya, and 2min plank after putting the boys to bed.

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Meals were pretty good today. I didn’t have a single piece of candy :-) Lunch was my not so great meal. Ben brought home some L&L. Usually it’s really good but today it wasn’t that great. My favorite meal was dinner with Panko Tilapia, broccoli and roasted Brussel sprouts. I also has some frozen grapes after dinner. I also made my water goal today.

I felt pretty good most of the day. Got a little tired after my morning workout. Took a nap with Seppe on the couch. He started to feel better today and his happy personality is starting to come back. I miss him smiling and being goofy. Glad this was a short sickness even though it was pretty rough for him – and me.

Made my Vision Board for the Sunset Challenge:

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The 3 Things I really to Accomplish at the end of 8 weeks:
1. Making Clean, Lean and Green my Lifestyle again
2. Become better at swimming
3. Lift heavier weights

I set out my clothes for tomorrow last night so I’m ready for Day2 :-) Time to get to bed!

2104 Bikini Series #CreateYourSummer

I’ve been horrible about my resolution to blog more :-( So I’ve decided to use this year’s Tone It Up’s Bikini Series to get me writing again. I always get motivated/inspired during the Bikini Series.

Part of my problem was that I didn’t know what to write. I’d have so many ideas but I could never decide which one to write about. With the Bikini Series, I’ll have a focus for my posts. I will be posting my workouts, meals, and how my day went during the week and on Sunday.

The first challenge for the series was to “Create Your Summer” – a list of what would make this My Perfect Summer. This was fun to do because it allowed to me day dream about how awesome this summer is going to be. I have so much to look forward to:

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The highlight of my summer is going to be the TIU Retreat! When K&K first mentioned it last year, I was soooo excited. I was determined to go. I waited in front of my computer all day during registration to make sure I would be able to get in. There are no words to truly describe how excited I was when I was able to register! A weekend with my trainers and fellow TIU sisters working out, hanging on the beach, and dancing at night – I honestly can’t think of a more perfect vacation! I plan on playing lots of beach volleyball, paddle boarding, soaking up the sun, beach runs and everything that will be going on at the retreat. Thinking about it just makes so happy :-)

In preparation for all the fun, I will be working on my swimming at the pool and hoping to do paddle boarding with my sis or Ben. I’ll also be training to PR for my half in October. I’ve cut back on my running but training will start back up in July.

Of course, my summer wouldn’t be perfect if I didn’t spend time with my family. We won’t be doing a big vacation this year so I want to do lots of fun things locally. Camping at our family camp grounds is something we all love. I want to take the boys to the Santa Cruz boardwalk and to amusement parks to ride roller coasters. We’ll be working around Gio’s summer baseball schedule but we should have plenty of time to enjoy their long break.

Part of Creating My Summer was to also write down my goals for the Bikini Series:
This year, I really want to focus on getting back to my healthy eating habits. I’ve been good about working out but slacked on keeping things clean, lean and green the past couple months. I’ve had a bit too much chocolate and sweets so I need to get back on track. I want to feel confident, healthy and strong for the TIU Retreat. My biggest challenge will be adjusting to having the boys home but I’ll be adding them to my gym membership so I’ll have no excuses to get my workouts in. My goal is to weight train 3-4x a week, yoga/stretch 3x a week, and to run 3-4x a week. I want to try out Zumba since I’ve always been hesitant to. Of course, I’ll be following the TIU workout schedule. I’ll be doing a 2min plank every night and drinking 80-100 oz of water daily.

Another part of the challenge was to journal 5 Things that I’ve Successfully Accomplished over the last 3 months:
1. Finishing the SF Rock N Roll Half Marathon
2. Lifting weights consistently for 2 months
3. Tried out Spinning
4. Volunteering in my son’s class every week
5. Getting Ben to come to the gym with me 3x a week

I’m really proud of Ben. The last few weeks, he’s been going to the gym consistently. He does cardio and lifts weights. I’ve been doing my lifting and then picking him up and doing cardio while he does his workout. I hope he will keep it up.

Tonight I’ll be planning workouts and meals. I will be logging workouts on my calendar. My plan is to blog my day at night before bed. Fingers crossed I can stick to it. I will also post on Instagram and Twitter : @msmammamia.

Looking forward to the Bikini Series and to an amazing Summer :-)