Baby Mama Got Back

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End of Six Week Goal

This past Monday marked the end of my New Year Resolution Six Week Goal. The final weigh in had me at two pounds lost. I consider this very good because I was very lacking in cardio. All the credit must go to my intense leg work-outs. I also noticed some tightening, therefore I am pleased but I know I could have done much better. I plan on continuing my workouts and trying to incorporate more cardio. We rearranged our gym equipment to be more conducive to working out. The new location is already motivating my husband and I. I am hoping this new arrangement plus my idea of buying a spinning dvd, will help me to do better going further.  Constant interruption from my two babies continues to be an obstacle.  What I have done so far, is made this a priority and a part of my weekly routine. Eventually my babies will be more independent and this will no longer be an issue.

Lets keep pressing forward together, never giving up on our fitness goals .

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Nearing end of week Four

Ok, to recap the past couple of weeks, I’ll start with week two. Crappy. Both of my girls were sick so I literally got no sleep during the night and was exhausted all day. It was so bad my husband had to stay home from work Friday. I may have gotten one cardio session in. Week three started and I was trying desperately not to feel defeated by week two and feeling PMS setting in. If you are not a woman and you are reading this blog, PMS means fatigue, headaches, cramps, among other symptoms.Even though I have been tired, I have done pretty good. No cardio for week three . It is now nearing the end of week four and I have managed to get in a couple good leg days in and therefore have started noticing a good deal of tightening going on and it may be too early to report, but I’m pretty sure a one pound drop on the scale. I’m going to try to run tonight when my husband gets home. My spin bike is great but I really need to get out of the house. Darnit, I need batteries for my mp3 player. Oh well. Probably too dangerous to run with it anyway. I only have two weeks and two days left of my six week goal. I don’t believe I will reach my five pound destination but I will certainly be tighter and stronger.

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Two more Pounds

That’s right, the scale is showing two more pounds lost. Not so much lost, as kicked to the curb on their ugly little butts, is more fitting. Take that plateau! I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but, my wonderful husband did bring home a used spin bike for me the other day. Actually, just two days ago. I used it for the first time yesterday. I got a good thirty minute work out in on it. I sweat more in that half hour then I can remember doing in a long time. Also. I had a vegetarian dinner last night, really out of necessity. I had spacers put in at the orthodontist, pre-braces maneuver, and that left my teeth pretty sore. Too sore to chomp down on meat. I ate a gigantic sweet potato instead.

Coincidence?, I don’t know. I think it was just the change my body needed. Three more pounds and I’ll be in a new tenth digit. Woot woot.

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Wednesday

Jogged two miles again with the kiddos in their stroller. Not adjusting well to the time change. We are leaving the house at the usual time in the morning, not taking into account the position of the sun after the time just changed and is now one hour back. Why is this an issue? Well, the sun is in the face of my infant almost the whole time. She is so small that her head doesn’t sit high enough in the stroller for the canopy to shield her. My only option to cure this will be to leave at least an hour earlier. I know from experience that the sun remains a problem for her for about four hours. Leading into the afternoon. I most likely will not feel like getting out after lunch time. This isn’t a big deal, it is just something that is happening right now. Just finished another leg work out:  squats w/barbell & two 10 lb plates= 65 lbs., hip hinges/dead lifts w/ same weights as squats, lunges two 15lb dumbbells, & leg extensions. All three sets each. I did an upper body workout two days ago, I just didn’t log it. For that, I did: shoulder press 15 lb dumbbells, side lateral raise 10 lb dumbbells, tricep kick backs 10 lb dumbbells, over head tricep dip with a 10 lb dumbbell single arm alternating, overhead tricep dip w/ 15 lb dumbbell dual arms, bicep curl, slow, w/ 10 lb dumbbells, & seated bicep hammer curls 10 lb dumbbells alternating.

Also, I am happy to brag, I am seeing a two pound loss on the scale today. I lost some initial baby weight to get stalled at 136lbs. For weeks I haven’t had any change. I know this is because I am strength training and therefore gaining muscle weight while losing fat weight and they are substituting each other out.  Even though I want to continue building muscle, I should still drop about 8-10 pounds. When I was in the best shape of my life so far, I had a lot more muscle and I weighed in at 125 lbs. I may have been slightly too thin, but not much. Still need to bump up my cardio.

I am pressing on to my life goal of aging gracefully. I have given birth to five children and I feel great and look pretty darn good too. I know, with out a doubt, this is true because of exercising. Not just cardio, but a big part is strength training. I could eat a lot “cleaner”, but I am conscious of how I eat. I tell you this to motivate you. It works. Keep going even when you don’t think you are seeing change. Change is happening. Some weeks you may not see it in your body, but you may be able to go a little longer or harder on your cardio of choice. This is heart health and proof your muscles are strengthening.

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Raising Motivators Not Monsters

Jogged my usual two miles.  Realized I have something more motivational than any playlist…a toddler. As we were starting out, I always walk first to warm up and my daughter kept asking me to go faster. So after warming up, I obliged. Next, I hear, “go mommy, go mommy…”. Lol, it really did work. I wanted so much to make her happy, it kept me running a little further until it burned. Later today, I could thank them again for motivating me. After trying desperately to get them down for their naps simultaneously to no avail, I gave up and decided to do a leg work-out. Wall squats with a ball, single leg squats, and some floor leg lifts. For the leg lifts on the floor, I got down on my elbows and knees. This bringing me face-to-face with my not-napping 3 month old daughter watching from her bouncer seat. So I used this time to try teaching her to count to my reps. Why not?

Moms, don’t give up. Whatever your obstacles, keep trying new things. You will find what works best  for you.

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Thursday

We just got home from a two and a half mile jog. Interval style, sprint for 30 seconds and walk for a minute or two. This is the only way I can finish a two mile jog while pushing a double jogging stroller. I really don’t mind, because in my opinion, interval training is the way to go. You have heard me state that before. I’m hoping to get an upper body work- out in some time today too. Right now I am toast.  As I type, I have a wet, cold wash cloth draped atop my head. Running is just not my thing. Maybe because I just haven’t experienced being able to jog any distance with out feeling like keeling over afterwards. I still look forward to the day, hopefully soon, that I can purchase my spin bike. I know if I had one of these right now, I would have seen some progress in dropping more baby weight and a lot more tightening. I can’t wait.

I made it a fun trip for my girls by stopping at the local 7-11 for some skittles and chocolate milk. Not for me, for my almost three year old. I got water and boy did I need it in this Florida heat. It is still summer here. Before I wrap up, I want to tell you about a web site I discovered yesterday where I was able to download some FREE work- out music on Vital Juice. I think I am going to love it. Most tracks seem to be re-mixed and sound to be 128 bpm (beats per minute) which I like for, not only aerobics, but for working out in general because you can easily count your reps to the beat. Check it out. It looks like there may be some other interesting information on there as well.

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Reminiscing

I really felt the need to add before I post any more of my personal workouts, that the weight I mention in my routines are NOT the weights I started with. Below you will find a rough list of exercises and the weights I believe I used when I first began strength training.

Back:  seated row 30 lbs  if I used dumbbells it may have been 12lbs.

Triceps & Biceps: anywhere from 5-10 lbs dumbbells.

Chest:  if I used a bar, it would have had No extra weight on it. The bar itself weighs 35-45 lbs.

Legs: leg press I used anywhere from 10-25 lbs weights each side, walking lunges start out with No weights ( you have your body weight) and if after a couple lengths you feel you could easily have held dumbbells then start w/ 10 lbs.

Above anything, just listen to your body. If you do 10 reps of something and after the tenth rep you feel like you could have went on forever, then you need to increase your weight. You should have to push through the last couple of reps. Always stretch afterwards to stretch those muscles you worked back out. During strength training, they tighten up into balls and you want to keep them flexible to prevent future injuries.

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Tuesday: Legs

If  you do a considerably intense lower body work out, it is close to a cardiovascular workout as well because your legs are the largest muscle group in your body with your Back following in second. As a women, I love doing legs and I am just now starting to recognize the old shape coming back. Have I done anything different?  Yes. I am getting more serious.  Working out each muscle group twice a week really helps. All I know it does, is it keeps that “pump” in your muscles. I have noticed in the last week my Bum lifting.  Hallelujah!

Here is what I do:

Leg press (free weight room):  1-2 sets w/ two 45 lb weights, follow up w/ 2-3 more sets adding a 10 lbs weight to each side. sets of 10-12.

Squats:  using the smith machine  3 of 10  25-35 lbs weights each side

Walking Lunges:  down a hallway, 2 round trips  12-15 lbs dumbbells

Hip Hinge: using a 60 lb bar 3 of 10

Leg extensions: free weights or machine. This is an exercise for definition not growth so go lighter on the weights. Too much weight can put strain on your knees. It does mine. 3 of 10-15

Leg Curls:  follow same instruction for extensions. Sometimes I change it up & workout my hamstrings on the “negative” which means you use a weight you can curl UP fast and then let DROP back down very slowly. This is also a good example how to change up an exercise to keep your muscles guessing to avoid that plateauing.  3 of 10-15.

Sometimes I’ll add in a machine that is very spot specific like those machines that target the outer &  inner thighs. Just remember, the leg press, squats, and lunges are hitting those areas. Unfortunately, we have no control over where our bodies tighten and tone more or first.

I forgot to mention, I only rest about 30-60 seconds between each set and move on to the next exercise immediately. I get bored and I like to be in and out quick.

Whew, this was tough. I like to go home and have protein shake after this one.

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Monday Back & Triceps

Back:

lat pull down  3 sets of 10  80 lbs

seated row       3 of 10 60 lbs

bent over row 1 arm w/dumbbell  3 of 10  15 lbs

Triceps:

alternating kick backs w/dumbbell  3 of 10  10-12 lbs

extensions  on machine 20-30 lbs  3 of 10

finished up with some basic crunches on a ball, about 3 sets of 15-20.

I also used the Smith machine w/the rope attachment. You stand on your knees hold the rope close to body or around your neck & crunch forward lowering your head to the floor. I dont know what these are called but if you ask a fitness attendent at your gym, they will know.  3 of 15  110 lbs.

No cardio today.

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Bad Girl

So, today is Saturday, Im not planning on working out and I have already eaten three slices of really greasy pizza.  I am going to start posting my daily workouts on here. I dont know if  I should do a weekly re-cap, or post them as I work out. If anybody is out there  and is following my blog, I would love your input on this.

Besides the fact that I have thrown watching my calorie intake out the window today, I did get my hair done and am looking HOT.  So, Im good.

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