Fitness – Week 2

It probably would have been wise for me to do a little research before announcing to the Internet that I was planning to compete in a Women’s Figure Competition. 

It turns out that in the years since the huz was involved in the bodybuilding community, figure competitions have become pretty hardcore, resembling women’s bodybuilding a little too much for my taste (click to see up-to-date Women’s Figure Competition Photos).  There is a new category now, called the bikini competition, which is more my style (click to see Women’s Bikini Competition Photos) .   Unfortunately, though, the competition coming up in October doesn’t actually include that category.  Of course, right?

So…. what I’m going to do is follow the 8 week training regimen for the Bikini Competition just for the hell of it, and that twenty-something blonde can go ahead and have the figure competition to herself.  I am just not interested in having 10% body fat.  Ick.

This week was really hectic, so unfortunately I missed a few workouts.  Such is life! 

Questions & Answers:

A couple of questions came in this week, and I’ll do my best to answer them without putting the interwebs to sleep in the process.  If you’d like more details, let me know and I can either elaborate in next weekend’s post, or we can carry on a private conversation.

disclaimer: I am not a doctor.  I cannot tell you what is healthy or appropriate for your unique situation.  Always check with your physician before starting a diet or fitness regimen. 

Erin asked:  I know back then you mentioned a site….what else is your secret?!?!

The site I mentioned in a previous post is Fitday.com, and I highly recommend checking it out if you need help figuring out how to reach your fitness and/or weight loss goals.  You plug in your information and it calculates everything for you, and keeps track of your food intake, exercise and progress, all in one place.  It’s completely free and easy to navigate, so why not take advantage of a great fitness tool?

I have several “secrets” that I am more than happy to share with anyone who is willing to listen to me talk about them.  Today I’ll share the three I consider to be the most important.

#1:  Engage your large muscles.  A lot of people stick to a cardio-only exercise routine when trying to achieve weight loss, and that is a huge mistake.  When you prod your back and leg muscles (and chest muscles if you like working them – personally, I don’t) into “production” mode, rather than “idle” mode, your metabolism will speed up.  Any cardio you do, once your large muscles have been engaged, will be two to three times as effective. 

#2:  Take your vitamins.  Because of my complicated medical history, I take nearly 30 vitamins every day in order to keep my body functioning at its best.  This is fairly extreme, but if I skip my vitamins I feel it within twelve hours – they are that important.  Take at least a daily multivitamin formulated for your gender and age, and talk to your doctor or nutritionist about adding any other vitamins to help you feel your best.

#3:  Clean up your diet.  This is huge, my friends.  A clean diet is rich in lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and gallons of water.  I realize that this is easier said than done, and a complete change in eating habits can take time.  Start small by just asking yourself, every time you think about putting something in your mouth, whether it’s helping or hurting you.

Please note: I do not mean that you should consume “diet” foods that seem to fly off the shelves at every store in the country.  A clean diet is (at least relatively) free of preservatives, and if you look at the nutrition information on those “diet” foods, you are consuming a bunch of shit, pardon my language. 

Think about it.  Preservatives were created for the sole purpose of preserving.  You eat them, and they don’t just forget about their job.  They just change their focus.  Instead of preserving whatever food they were put into, they go looking for something to preserve inside your body.  Namely, fat.  A fat cell surrounded by preservatives is going to be ten times harder to lose than a free-floating fat cell. 

As a side note, if you’re serious about getting rid of the preservatives and toxins that are holed up in your system, a cleanse is a good place to start.  Trader Joe’s has a great one that is pretty inexpensive, and all natural to boot!

Ellie asked:  What is your workout schedule?  I am ready to start toning.

I try to work out for a minimum of twenty minutes every day, with one hour-long, full-body work out once a week.  I call these my “marathon workouts” and they seriously kick my ass.  Working from home, my schedule changes not only by the day, but by the hour.  So I squeeze in my workouts whenever and wherever I can.  

I plan my rotation based on when I have the time to do my marathon session.  The next day I will do low-impact cardio and a good long stretching session.  The next work out will be abs plus cardio, followed by upper body plus cardio and lastly legs plus cardio, lather, rinse, repeat. 

I love going to the gym.  I walk in the door and I’m like a kid in a candy store: so many options!  But the fact is, I rarely have time to get in there.  So, I work out at home 98% of the time.  I have a mat, hand weights in 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 25 pounds, and several DVDs that are incredibly effective – for me, anyway.  The one I recommend the most often, because I use it the most often, is Jackie Warner’s Power Circuit Training DVD.  It’s great for beginners, because you can start out doing everything without weights and add them as you’re ready.

I also just want to add that you don’t have to work out every day to see results.  Doing something is always better than doing nothing.  Set a reasonable goal, start small and work your way up.  You’ll be glad you did!

Any other questions?  Bring ’em!

You can find Week One *here*