2 week challenge
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Lamb, I used to struggle with pushups too. My advice first would be stick with them. I can now do 3 sets of 15 boy pushups. My chest is not on the floor, but close. Kate (chuisle) gave me a good piece of advice a while back: instead of doing girl pushups, use a bench to do "high incline" pushpups. It is closer to the movement of a boy pushup. Helped me. Good luck! You'll get there.
I did "Endurance and Fat Loss" of KISS today. I should have done it to finish out my week last week but did not. It was good, took me about 23 minutes.
I did (all 2 sets of 20 reps):
1 legged squats: I got down about 1/3 of the way to the floor with no weight. My goodness these are hard....
high incline back rows
steep incline pushups
single leg hip pop ups: first time i"ve ever done these and they will become part of my regular schedule....good stuff
stability ball crunches supersetted with ball V-ups
Great quick total body workout. I am really liking the kiss program. I just need to stick with it and get it done each week.
Had a pretty good food day yesterday and hope to eat well and stay away from the booze today and tomorrow. Thursday we're having people over for the 4th. I'm off Friday. Have a great day ladies!0 -
Forgot to mention that I posted some progress pics in my profile, if anyone is curious from the last 5 months. I have mostly lowered my body fat in the last 6 months by 7-8% and lost about 7 lbs. I removed my face pics as I don't know who might be on here from my work. I am in management, so don't need any underlings finding pics of me scantily clad!!
Better, thanks for the pushup suggestion.
Have a great day all!0 -
Hi all! Thanks for the "kind" words about my "transformation".
I'm kind of hoping nobody will EVER *remember* what I USED to look like (and, nobody will - in clothes, I still looked very good!) and will ONLY think this is what I've always looked like (in clothes, I look pretty good!).
I don't walk around in my scivvies very often!
My weekly challenge goals:
1. eat <1,400 calories per day;
2. drink tons and tons of water;
3. sleep more (ugh, WHY am I waking up at 5 am??!!?!?)
4. get in 3 x weight work-outs - I've done one already, will get one done today and then, likely, Friday.
I also have my appt with eye surgeon on Friday - am kind of nervous about that - it's just the "consult".0 -
lamb--on pushups, my suggestion would be to do as many as you can of regular pushups and then switch to some kind of modified (either on a high incline as Ashely suggested or girl puships) to complete your set. So if your goal is to do 6 pushups x2, do 3-4 regular pushups and 2-3 modified pushups, rest, then do 2-3 regular pushups and 3-4 modified pushups. Try to improve your ratio of regular pushups to modified pushups every time you do them until you don't need to do modified pushups anymore. Also, keep in mind that you can do pushup anywhere. Whenever I get sleepy at work, rather than reach for the coffee I get down on the floor and do 20-30 pushups. Others may disagree with me on this, but I've found that I don't really need "rest days" from pushups but can do them every day (sometimes a few times a day).
Beeps--Good luck with your eye consult! Is it for corrective surgery? Everyone I know who has done it has loved the results and had no complications, so if that's what it's for I'm sure it'll be fine!0 -
IT'S CATARACT SURGERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!0
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...everybody's weighing in on push-ups.
(lambentjewel - I went and looked at your profile pics - MUSCLES are coming along NICELY!!!)
Here's my $0.02 on push-ups:
1. don't ever do "girl push-ups".
2. Make sure you are in full plank position - meaning: TIGHT throughout - NO sagging.
3. If you cannot do full-plank position push-ups from the floor, NO problem. Start at counter height. Too easy? move down to chair/couch height. Too easy? Move down to 2nd or 1st stair. Just make sure you are in FULL plank position and that your NOSE is basically touching the floor (or surface area) when you are in the "down" position.
4. Try some push-ups with your elbows flared out to the side (more bicep work), and some push-ups with your elbows tucked tight into your side (more tricep work).
5. BREATHE through your push-ups!
I won't lie, it took me A LONG FRIGGIN' TIME to get from where I started (nearly counter-top level) to where I am now (floor), and I bet I still couldn't do 12 push-ups, in a row, from the floor. (I'm doing 3 sets of 8 right now.)
My upper body strength is not that great - that's all that says to me.0 -
I absolutely hate push-ups & I am terrible at them. Not only do I lack upper body strength I have crazy long arms which makes it way harder for me & almost impossible to get down to the floor. I really like the idea of doing them on an incline - I will definitely start doing that next time they come up in a workout. Thanks for the advice ladies!0
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Agreed, Beeps, your transformation is impressive but we also know how hard you worked!
I did Spartacus again last night and I am a little better. I do the pushups inclined at the moment, also.
We are going to South Dakota with my husband's family. We are driving to North Platte tonight, so I probably won't be checking in much. I do hope I can squeeze in some workouts. My B-I-L is into crossfit these days so maybe we can do some WODs with him!
My friend is talking about doing the Las Vegas half marathon down the strip, she says we can walk it! Has anyone done it? It looks like fun, lots of entertainment and stuff. It's a Sunday. I don't know, I kinda want to get out of running more and get into the strength and all come fall...0 -
I love this conversation! I need to do more push-ups! They are awesome for your core too. I like to flip the bosu upside down to do them. Makes you stabilize the core more.0
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Push ups are tough, but man when you can pull out 8 in a row it feels pretty awesome!0
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Amy--I did the Las Vegas marathon a few years ago. I ran with some friends and it was a lot of fun. There were tons of people dressed up (I wore an Elvis costume) and it was fun to run along the strip--it was fun to see all the hotels and the crowd definitely had a party atmosphere (and that was when the race started at like 5 am, so I'm guessing it'll be even more lively now that it's starting later in the day).0
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I absolutely hate push-ups & I am terrible at them. Not only do I lack upper body strength I have crazy long arms which makes it way harder for me & almost impossible to get down to the floor.
I was going to say the fact that I'm 5'2" makes it easier I think.....0 -
Abigail - I'm long-legged AND long-armed - there is NO doubt that the "longer" that LEVER is, the harder it is. Plus, I'm tall and weigh more, so it isn't ANY wonder it took me FOREVER to get down to floor level. As in F-O-R-E-V-E-R!
Amy - totally do the cross-fit work-outs, please - but ONLY if you're going to report back here!
ramalem - push-ups are tough, pull-ups are tough, chin-ups are tough....oh my, have I just listed all the UPPER BODY work that I still have (yet!) to do?!?!?!?
RisOntheRun - I totally don't ever want to do a marathon - but I do want to participate in one as a spectator, or maybe as a volunteer....just not in the USA. But, Vegas sounds like it would be a good-er one.
Better - shorties have it good for some exercises, but not for all! Everybody gets some stuff "easier" depending on their body part - the converse of that is that each of us gets some stuff "harder", too.
Got my lifting in-and-done. Not gonna lie, after the (weighted) glute bridges, the T-bends and the deadlifts, I BAILED on the single-leg back extensions. My rear end had had enough by then....0 -
I think I have you all beat (except for Ris maybe)....try doing a push up when your belly hits the floor long before your chest does :laugh: I am still doing them though, I really think they do amazing things for the core, especially when pregnant when exercises are limited.0
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I actually think it's pretty SPECTACULAR, Chloe, that you are still doing "strength-work" - by the middle of my pregnancy, EVERYTHING I did (exercise-wise) was "in the pool". I just LOVED the "weight-less" feeling. Now, believe me, I worked my cardio HARD in those aqua-cize classes and those "deep-water running" classes, lol, but I *know* it is NOTHING next to what strength-training must be like!
My hat is TOTALLY OFF TO YOU!0 -
Thanks...I have just been having the mentality of "I am training for the biggest marathon of my life"....that being labor of course. And that is keeping me going. I keep telling myself the more in shape I am the easier labor will be and easier it will be to get my body back. But, don't get me wrong when my alarm goes off at 5:30 there are many mornings I want to just turn it off and go back to bed because lets face it.....I am still getting fatter by the day anyways! Also seeing my dog stare at me and hearing her tail hit the dresser motivates me as well
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Chloe--Ha ha yeah pushups are definitely a lot harder with a belly! And they (along with planks) really are great for the core. I pretty much stopped doing the rest of my core exercises because they've started to feel funny.
Beeps--You should definitely watch or volunteer at a marathon sometime, even if you have no desire to run one it can be pretty inspiring. And having people cheering along the course makes a huge difference for those who are running--the best races I've done have been those with the most crowd support.0 -
....must be mostly Americans on this thread because it GOT QUIET!
Happy 4th of July to USA-ladies!!0 -
Thanks to everyone for your input on the pushups! My goal is to be able to do eight in a row on the floor at the end of NROL4W - that is double what I can do now :-) I am doing then on an incline, so getting to all 15 per set, which is a good feeling.
Beeps - I hope all goes well with your cataracts.
Chloe - hats off to you and your strength training. I stuck to mostly yoga during my pregnancies :-)
Ris - I must admit that I feel a small twinge of jealousy seeing your running picture. My NROL4W recommends not doing endurance training while doing heavy lifting, so I have stopped my occasional jog and miss it. Frankly I don't feel like I am getting enough exercise with NROL4W stage 1 only 3x per week, but he emphasizes allowing the recovery time. Did anyone else feel this way? I was previously exercising 5x per week and doing both strength training and some cardio.
Enjoy your Sunday Ladies!!0 -
Another week of great workouts and not so great food and beverage choices..... I even skipped my regular Thursday weigh in. I need to find a happy place with all this. It's not eating baked chicken and sweet potatoes everyday. It's not eating crap and drinking whatever I want most days.... I was looking at a pic from Bonnaroo, and I do have to say, my midsection looked quite good (for me). Granted I was sucking it in a bit for picture time, but sucking in only does so much. My midsection looks nothing like that now several weeks later. So clearly I need to tighten the reigns a bit.
I'm enjoying my new program and getting plenty of activity in. I feel a slight shift in mindset maybe. Yesterday we had a friend in for the afternoon. I made a fritatta, some fruit and picked up a couple pastries from our local bakery to split. We had mimosas and then switched to beers and had some snacks and then she left and I took a walk and chugged water the rest of the night. Typically I'd just have kept drinking. So success for me.
Is it time for goals? I need to set some and actually stick with them.
1. 2 days of cardio
2. 3 day of KISS strength
3. 12 alcoholic drinks or less a week :drinker:
4. do my therapy, at least some every day
5. IF 9pm - 12pm (15 hours) most days
6. don't go overboard on the weekend
7. enjoy life 0 -
lambentjewel - I found it REALLY tough to give up "daily" work-outs when I started focusing on free-weight training. REALLY hard. Now, I'm down to 3 x week weight-training and 1 x week (scheduled) cardio and I wonder HOW I used to get MORE WORK-OUTS IN!!! It's crazy how the time I USED to carve out for exercise (daily) has just been consumed by "other" stuff. Mostly work.
I do still miss my cardio. I am trying to get out walking more in the evenings, right now, but I must say it's about 75% NOT doing it, and only 25% doing it. Booooo.
Better - I look totally different ONE WEEK away from my last photos....it's disgraceful!
But, I have been pretty loose and fast with my tracking and I did hop on the scale and am only up 0.4 lbs. So, that's interesting.
I have upped my calories....the "new" protocol is as follows:
eat at a deficit for 5 days, eat at maintenance for 1 day, eat at a deficit for 2 days, eat at maintenance for 1 day, then repeat (starting with the 5 day's of deficits)
I can't seem to go 5 days straight at a deficit, so I'm going to try 4 + 1, 3 +1, which still gives me 7 days deficit for 2 days maintenance.
I guess here's my 2 week challenge:
1. eat at deficit today (starts my 4 + 1, 3 + 1);
2. when eating "up", make sure it's only to MAINTENANCE (this is WAY TOUGH for me!)
3. drink more hot fluids - they seem to satiate me more than cool fluids
4. get in 3 x weight-lifting.
5. walk more in the evenings.
I also need to work on #5....weather looks good this week to do this!0 -
Well long story short, I fell off the wagon BIG time last week. Hardly logged, didn't workout etc. Pulling myself OUT of that starting today, new day = new attitude!
My goals are:
1. Up and at 'em early to take the pup for at least a 45 minute AM walk everyday during the week
2. Start NROL4W stage 6
3. Get three strength training workouts in
4. Get 1-2 cardio sessions in
5. Be active on my camping trip this weekend
6. Water WATER water!
Hope everyone had a great weekend/4th/Canada Day and has a great Monday!0 -
Lamb--I would go crazy if I had to give up running all together! I've never done NROL4W (I lift but just kind of do my own thing rather than follow a program), so I'm no expert, but I don't think that an occasional jog or other cardio would get in the way of your training as long as you're not doing a super long run or hills or something that is likely to result in sore legs. I find that doing an easy couple of miles (like 1-3) or other light cardio like walking actually helps with recovery (it flushes out the lactic acid or something like that). A lot of people on MFP swear that heavy lifting is the only way to improve your body composition, and they may be right, but that doesn't mean that there aren't still huge benefits to your health of doing cardio, particularly to your heart (and your sanity, at least for me).
Ashley--Great job yesterday! I know how easy days like that can turn into entire days of drinking. It's important to enjoy eating and drinking, but it's just as important to know when to stop.
Beeps--Sounds like a good plan!
My long weekend was pretty good. I was very happy with my exercise--in the four days I was away, I exercised for over an hour a day. I ran, swam, and kayaked three times each. Food was so so. My mom always buys a ton of vegetables for me (because I'm a vegetarian she thinks I'll starve if I don't have a pound of veggies at each meal), which I feel obligated to eat since I know no one else will. So I ate lots of veggies, which is good, but I also ate a good amount of cookies, cherry pie, cake, and peanut butter, which is not so good. I didn't think I was that bad, as I just had little bits of dessert here and there, but looking back I can see that it adds up, and the scale wasn't so forgiving this morning. So it's back to logging for me. Luckily I'm much better with sweets when I don't have any in the house, and I don't right now, so it shouldn't be too hard for me to be good this week. So here are my two week goals:
1. Log everything--even this weekend.
2. No desserts at home (I'd be kidding myself to say that I won't have any when I'm out).
3. Do some sort of exercise every day.0 -
Oh, I meant to say that I can't see how doing a day of "light" cardio could interfere with strength training. I think mixing it up, if only for boredom sake, is a good thing. When I started my mini training last winter I was doing 4 days of running and hardly any strength training and not only was I bored, I felt all squishy. Conversely, if I only lift, I feel bloated. My balance seems to be 3 days of strength, 2 days of "hard" cardio, and whatever else I may get as a bonus.0
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60 minutes of circuit training at least 3 times per week
log all my food
stay as close to 1200 calories as I can
cut back my carbohydrates
lose 1lb per week (hopefully)
stay motivated0 -
I'm back again! Sorry, was on vacation last week! You guys look like you're doing great!! Too much to respond to, but the push up talk made me want to do some! I have to wait a while to do those though.
For me, I'm on a little bit of a set back with exercise.. no lifting for me for a little while. At the beginning of vacation I fell and sprained my elbow, so I have to wait until that heals up to lift, put too much pressure on it, etc.. which stinks since I was just getting back into it! I suppose for now it will be cardio.. bleh! I'm also doing a diet cleanse this week. So far it's good! I'm seeing good results. I get to eat as much as I want of certain foods each day for 7 days, so it's not one of those starve yourself diets. Although, today is quite boring.. bananas and skim milk (and the "wonder soup" of course) Yesterday was my favorite day of it though.. Fruit, veggie & soup!! yum!! I'm doing this to counteract my VERY indulgent vacation! (ie. fried food, tons of alcohol, mac & cheese, more alcohol, etc..) So far I have lost about 5lbs, and of course that includes losing the water weight from vacation too. Hopefully this will kick start my metabolism though!
Anyways! Here is my challenge:
1. Finish cleanse with NO CHEATING
2. Work out 3-4 times/week
3. Don't over indulge on the weekends
How are you all doing on this lovely Tuesday?0 -
Hey ladies. I had a good day yesterday for the most part. I got a workout in even though thought I wouldn't; snuck it in after work as my husband picked the baby up from day care. I got up this morning and ran in the nasty, sticky, Kentucky summer humidity. Between that and my allergies, I felt like crap after. Still feeling extremely bloated and chubby which is putting me in a bad mood. TOM may be contributing some. I've got tomorrow off and plans with 2 friends to have lunch and then go to the spa. One of the friends is getting married Saturday. Hopefully that will make me feel better. I havne't had a full body massage since I was pregnant. So I hope to get my long lift day in tomorrow before lunch with the girls. Have a great Tuesday ladies. Great goals!0
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Hey ladies!
I had an ok week last week considering all the holiday craziness. I got in 5.5 of my walks, which is .5 over my goal. And I did my PP DVD 3 times and Jillian once, so 4 DVD workouts which was my goal. I went over cals by about 700, which seems to be the norm lately. So I am averaging about 1900 net cals a day. My weight has been pretty steady over the past few weeks. I am up about 25 pounds total at 24 weeks, definitely more than I would have liked, but what can I do.
Keeping the same goals this week. I have a work dinner out tonight that I am not looking forward to. But, I have my meal planned out so I should be keeping it healthy!
Better- It is sooo humid and gross here today too! My walk this morning was miserable, both the dog and I couldn't wait to be back in the AC!0 -
Probably my last quick check in for a while...move is a week from Thursday! (To jewel, from earlier, I am going from Kansas City to Durham, North Carolina, so pretty big!)
Good luck with everything and I'll get back to yall/MFP when I am more settled!0 -
Hope you have a safe move, Kate!
Shannon - what is the cleanse you are doing?
Chloe- great job on making good choices over the holiday weekend. I did not.
Ashley- enjoy your girls day. That sounds nice!
I cannot get motivated. I'm not logging and I'm not working out. If I don't shake it up soon, I'm not gong to to fit in my work clothes next month! I skipped my weigh in yesterday. I didn't want to depress myself! Oh, and the glow run in Sat and I am not prepared!!! It's been so hot, I don't want to run outside.0
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