Beachbody Beach Bum

My love for Beachbody's Turbo Fire is not a secret as I have been working out to Chalean since last spring. Throughout the warmer months, I continued to run 4 miles a few days a week. I tend to make sure I get in 1 hour of cardio 5 times a week, and I get in some cardio (but not an hour) on weekends. When I work, I tend to get in little if any cardio as I don't sleep much between Friday morning and Sunday night. My cardio energy is reserved to help me stay awake for that long of a stretch.

Anyway, I started doing Bodyrock.tv a little bit more and more as the months have passed. I love their workouts. They are typically short bursts yet high intensity. Some workouts are only 12 minutes. But, I am dead following them. I even splurged a little and purchased a Lebert Equalizer using my gift cards earned from wearing my pedometer. The equalizer is used all sorts of way in the Bodyrock workouts, but I like to used it for dips, aguility, abdominal pull ups, used as a weight and more. It is amazing! Bodyrock is like a 12 minute burst of Beachbody's Insanity (and I will get to that) without Shawn T yelling at you all the time, "Let's GO!!!!" and "DIG DEEPER!!!" And, instead of Shawn T, there is a quite skinny, fit girl named Lisa. Gotta love her toned body, and you get used to seeing a lot of her body in the images along with the workouts. There is a Sean in Bodyrock, too, but he does not yell (thank goodness). Can you tell I just love Bodyrock?! I would recommend anyone to try their workouts. I do not have all their equipment, but I exchange the Ugi Ball with a plain old weight, etc. No big deal. It is workable. Oh, and I even can get Chris to do it with me on weekends. Yeah! I have learned to jump rope, which is a great all around cardio exercise. With that said, it is very important to have the right jump rope. I whipped myself using my jump rope and had to switch to Chris' (and never missed!).  Believe me, you do not want to make that mistake! Anyway, I just finished their 30 day challenge, and I feel like I am in the best shape since my honeymoon. I may not weigh the same, but I have 4 pack abs (I'm still looking for the lower 2). Bodyrock Works!

My back is at least whipped into shape!

Next, Chris who has been a sedentary hermit for nearly a year (LOL) decided to step it up and do Insanity again, starting last week. To push him, I have been doing the workouts with him in the afternoons generally. I forgot how insane they are, how much I dislike the yelling to dig deeper, etc. With all of that said, Insanity is a killer workout. I am in much better shape after Bodyrocking and doing Turbo Fire for months, so I am actually able to do push ups! I know, amazing for this girl!

And, just for fun, on the weekends, I try something else to go along with my Bodyrock workout on my "day off." I have done just a few of Zuzana Light's workouts. Let me give you a little background story, although I do not know much. From what I have found, Zuzana and her husband started Bodyrock. Last Janurary, they separated (now divorced). Zuzana moved away and started her own web site and her husband continued Bodyrock with Lisa. Anyway, Zuzana's workouts seem tough, too, but different than Bodyrocks workouts now. I did not follow them when they were together, so all I know is what it is like today. Zuzana seems more real with a more real woman's figure (but she has killer abs and muscle tone,too). Her workouts are intense yet short, like Bodyrocks. I guess since I started with Bodyrock, it is more difficult for me to get used to. I will continue to try her workouts on weekend and TRY to do one when I work, too.

As Chris and I work out, the kids get into it. Addison likes the Insanity stretches, Asher likes the weights with Daddy and tries to do push ups. I think he just likes to pretend with Daddy. He does not really do much. But, he is learning the importance of exercise. Alivia, who is about to begin girls on the run, went running with me on Saturday afternoon. She did great! It was weird for me to run with someone who did not sound winded and never asked to stop. Not wanting to push her too hard, I would stop at given points to give her a rest. She did amazing! We are teaching the importance of keeping fit, to say the least.

Last but not least, Chris started using an app on the iPad to keep track of his exercise and food intake. So, I did as well. I hate keeping track of what I eat. We did this last year and lasted 3 weeks, so we will see. We are using the same app from last year, myfitnesspal, and find it easy to use. I have been trying not to eat after 8 pm, drink within an hour of bed (both of which are extremely difficult). I am a big snacker and love to eat at night. Drinking at night disrupts my sleep, so it is best to cut it off early. Eating at night disrupts my workout in the early morning, so I need to get better with that, too. I eat a lot of sugar, too, so that is next on my list to improve upon. I have my work cut out for myself, but want to take tiny steps. I am not going to give up my snacks, but hopefully find better snacks to eat (apples and plain almonds versus chocolate covered almonds for example. :) ). Chris is doing great, having given up Coke last week cold turkey! I'm sure that is hard. He is now drinking water. Amazing! I have started to drink some water along with my green tea and one cocoa a day.

So, that is how we are working it to become beach bums. :) I can't wait for summer. Okay, I can't wait to go outside without freezing! Please! Bring it! I want to run again!

Fitness in 2013

Happy New Year! As with every year, fitness is a continued goal in our house. Last year we completed a second round of Insanity, biked, ran, I started Turbo Fire and body rock TV, zumba, swimming, etc, etc. We are always trying to try new ways to stay fit. As I found, it I stick to one thing (Running), my body adjusts to it and I stop seeing results. That is no fun.

Motivation. What is my motivation? I want to stay fit. Staying fit keeps one younger, looking and feeling stronger, and feeling better about yourself, right? Right. No antidepressant needed...working out it my drug. :)

I try to stick to an hour every day with 1-2 days off a week. Really, I work out daily unless I am working...then I do not work after I work the first night at least. In 2013, I will continue with what I am doing now, turbo fire and Bodyrock.tv aka the dailyhitt as well as running when the weather permits. I am sure we will come up with something new, different and fun to try in the new year, too.

The dailyhiit (Body rock) has undergone some changes. Their website is new and updated, now called the daily hitt, and I am having problems following all of their changes. However, I am going to TRY to step in up with 5 workouts a week of bodyrock. Seriously, it is 15 minutes of challenging bodyrock high intensity interval training. I'm in love. Will show updates or results as I see any.

So, what are your fitness goals? Anything you want to share?

The Daily Grind

Another day, another season, another work out, right?

Well, my workouts continue to be running (Now on Tuesdays, Thursdays while Asher is in school and on Saturdays and Sundays. So, I am down to running 3-4 days a week now), turbo fire average of 6 days a week and now bodyrock workouts whenever I can work one in.

First, my run continues to be the 4-4 1/2 miles I have been running for a while. It is seriously boring. If I had time, I would edit the run a bit. Humm, perhaps I will do that tomorrow before Saturdays run. I run it one way, then do it the opposite way the next time I run. I sold my dreadmill (aka the treadmill) because I hated it. Seriously, if the weather is bad, I will do a Turbo workout plus a body rock work out and just skip my run. Usually, however, unless it is too snowy, too windy or just too damn cold...I RUN OUTSIDE! There are hills, sights and things to look at to keep me going. Running on the dreadmill staring at the wall (or the mess I need to clean or hearing the kids get up and want breakfast, or...you get it) is just not worth my time. Oh, and I love my new space in the basement where the dreadmill sat. Good riddance! ANYWAY...that is my run. I thought about running a 1/2 or full marathon in Florida while Chris was there in February, but I decided against it. I mean, I would cruise through a Florida marathon with there NO HILLS and all. But, with the uncertainty of our life at the moment, I could not be sure Chris would even be there to cheer me on. So, I am sitting it out.

TurboFire. I am still loving it. Mondays and Fridays I do the turbo 55 (55 minutes of fun), Wednesday I do the Turbo 60 (meaning 60 minutes of fun!), Tuesdays I do Turbo 30 plus my run, Thursday I do a hiit workout plus my run, weekends I run plus do a Hiit workout generally (either 20 or 25 minutes high intensity interval training). On the days I skip my run because I have other plans (like today) or the weather is blustery and cold, I throw in the Fire 45 plus a 20 minute hiit workout. Love these workouts. After six months of doing them nearly daily, I have yet to get sick of them. Try Turbo Fire and you will not be disappointed.

Body Rock TV. I just started doing these workouts occasionally over the summer. I like to do them on weekends after my runs. I did it this afternoon since I did the Turbo Fire 45 minute workout and then ran out of time. The Body Rock work outs are short but INTENSE! I can feel my muscles BURNING! I am familiar with all the moves (burpees, side push ups, around the world, etc) and I love their ab workouts. They are amazing. I wish I could do them every day. But, you know, there is life and the fact that I tire easily lately (don't ask as I have no idea the answer). I would recommend trying a body rock workout once. You won't be disappointed.

So, that is my daily grind for the moment. My knee injury heeled quickly by dropping my mileage down running. I continued Turbo through most of it. At least I have not broken any bones this year (KNOCK ON WOOD!!).

Have a fun work out you would recommend? Okay, a good one? (Insanity is good but I am not saying you will have fun).

Turbo Fire, The Fire Continues

I started Turbo Fire in May with the 5 day Inferno. I have continued to do some sort of Turbo exercise nearly daily ever since that time.

I now run 4 days a week and do a high intensity turbo workout after my 40 minute run outside. I try to run every other day. On my off running days, I do a turbo fire workout to make it at least a hour long, so Fire 55, 60, 45 plus a hiit, etc. I am still not bored, and I am not tired (Chalene always says, "You are not tired!).

I love the longer workouts, the HIIT workouts and the ab workout. I have to be careful with the ab workout as I have pulled my neck bad once and had a minor strain another time. So, I try to only do the ab workout 1-2 times a week.

As far as nutrition, I continue to watch what I eat, but I do eat what I want in smaller quantities. I learned things from the 5 day inferno nutrition plan that I use even now, but I could not survive without chocolate or ice cream or on so few of calories.

So, after a few months, I do see a major difference in my body. My abs and arms are tones. I see a big difference in my upper body as I was pretty weak before. I like the high impact workouts. Having done Insanity, I find Turbo Fire to be higher impact. I wear a pediameter daily, and sometimes I can get up to 7000 steps in one Turbo Tire workout. That is almost as many steps as I get running (and I run about 4 1/2 miles!).

As far as injuries, I have had a couple. I strained my neck twice, as I mentioned. Now, I have a knee injury. Since I run, too, I am not certain the knee injury is from the Turbo Fire or from running, but I happened to notice it during Turbo Fire. I now walk/run with a limp, and I am really favoring it during my Turbo Fire workouts. With that said, it is nothing like the broken foot I got while doing Insanity.

Results:
Weight: Maintained (which was the goal).

So get ready and go for it! This is the most fun I have had working out!!

Turbo Fire Workout Review

As I have written, I started Turbo Fire on Chris' first trip out of town since I could not go on my daily 5am runs. I started with the 5 Day Inferno, and I fell in love with it.
The first of June, I dropped the YMCA. Cold Turkey. I loved Zumba. But, I found it fun to go to and a great way to burn extra calories, but I did not see that it sculpted my body at all.
Since the first of the year, I have done several things to get and stay in shape. Chris and I started the year off doing Insanity a second time (he is now doing it a third time). It is a killer workout, and I thought I could do anything while and after doing it. I did see some results, too, but I found myself dreading the workouts. I also felt like I still needed to run along with the workouts, at least for the first 5 weeks. So, it was a huge time commitment, one that I was no longer willing to put in. Keep in mind, some days I was running, doing Insanity, and then going to Zumba. Gees! That is just, well, insane!
We completed Insanity in March and Chris hopped on his career roller coaster in the end of March, still taking us on daily fun rides. Our plans to go on and do the Asylum were put on hold until we could do the workout in its entirety. Considering he is gone for 2 weeks every few weeks, the workout just was not going to happen.
Chris gave me Turbo Fire for Mother's Day. I believe I started it the next day with the Inferno. Since completing the 5 day Inferno, I have gone to running every other day and doing a piece of Turbo Fire every day (taking off the 1-2 times a month that I work an overnight shift. I just want to sleep, for some reason, after staying up all night working. Crazy, right?!).
I have not been following the Turbo Fire Schedule (again, Chalene, the innovator, keeps saying, "follow the schedule." And, I just chose to do it my own way. Bad, I know. I may go through the official schedule come winter, only time will tell).
I get up every at 5:40 and either run then turbo or just go downstairs, fan blasting, and do Turbo Fire. My schedule looks something like this:
Monday Fire 60 (which is a turbo fire workout for 60 minutes. The length of the workout is in the title, which is nice), Tuesday, Fire 45, Hiit 15, Wednesday: 55ez, Thursday Fire 30, Hiit 20, Friday Fire 55ez. Now Chris returned from his trip so I could start working in my running.
Saturday, Run, Core 20 (work 12 hour overnight), Sunday Hiit (high intensity interval training) 30), Monday, Memorial Day, Run 40, Hiit 25, Tuesday, Run, Hiit 20, Wednesday, Fire 55ez, Thursday Hiit 30 Core 20 Friday Fire 45, Saturday 45, Hiit 20, Sunday Run, abs 10; Monday Fire 60, Tuesday Run 40, hiit 20, Wednesday Fire 45, hiit 15, Thursday Run 40, hiit 20, Friday Hiit 30 Turbo 30, Abs 10...
...you get the point. Run with a small hiit or short Turbo and then the next day do a longer Turbo workout. I always workout 1hr total, or at least close to that. My runs are 40 minutes long, approximately, and just under 5 miles (really, I am usually done at 36-37 minutes, but I round up and call it close enough).
I did get somewhat of an injury this week following the ab workout, which is only 10 minutes, and I try to do this 3 times a week. It is a great workout, but it clearly was straining my neck. Chris was doing this portion with me (he does no other turbo with me) when I pulled the right side of my neck. I was practically immobilized on the floor.Chris helped me to my feet and I got through the day with 800mg Motrin every 8 hours. I still have the pain in my neck, but it was not back enough from keeping me from working out today, 2 mornings after the injury. Whew!

I love Turbo Fire and would recommend it to anyone. It is a mix of body combat, Insanity, running, zumba (a little), sculpting your body with the movements, all to music. I am not sick of the workouts and look forward to doing them. I actually am now dreading my morning runs, mostly because I have to contend with the elements (the heat!) and have to find something appropriate to wear outside. I typically wear my sports bra and shorts to do Turbo Fire. Now I am finding I can only wear that to run or I am too hot.

As for nutrition, I have been trying really hard to eat healthier in order to build more muscle and tone up. This is really difficult for me to do! I am back to oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast, almonds at AM stack, generally, lunch with tuna salad or greek yogurt and fruit and veges, dinner with salmon, turkey wrap (my new addiction!) or the rare chicken breast. I am really trying to increase the protein, but since I was a vegetarian for so long...this is really difficult to do. The taste is coming...slowly. But, I will not give up M&Ms, but I am eating plain frozen ones, at the moment. I can not give up chocolate!

I am seeing results, too! I am seeing my arms toned and, do I say, defined. I am seeing my upper ab muscles (those lower ones have to be there somewhere, right?!). My weight has maintained, but that is what the goal is. With that said, I had a friend ask how much weight I had lost...so I am clearly looking leaner. But, I am a pound or 2 away from where I always am. So far, I am happy with the results, the high impact intensity of the workouts and how fun the workouts are.

Here is a video I found of someone doing a short section of the Fire 45 Class (one that I like doing alone with the Hiit 20). It is a fun one, but I find all of them to be fun. And, I am starting to see results. Now...watch and want to work out!
Turbo Fire Video Example

I know, in this outfit again. It was clean and ready to go to my parents house (where this was taken).

Abdominal view: After having pizza for dinner (and take note that I am STILL wearing my pedometer!).

I have arm muscles somewhere.