Message for day 13:

If we were racing cars, today would be another pit stop! Give your body some R&R as well as a pat on the back for a job well done. But if you're looking for a good brain buster to pass time, I'll school you a little bit on almonds!

So delicious and nutritious! Almonds contain a beautiful combination of healthy fats (yes, they exist) and protein.

My favorite almond foods include almond butter, almond milk (minus the sweeteners and additives), or even just a plain old bag of almonds - it's the ultimate convenient and healthy snack.

When it comes to nutrition, being a little "nutty" is just what the doctor ordered!

Message for day 14:

If I had a whistle, I'd blow it. Time out! Relax, stretch, eat some healthy food and get ready to learn about an awesome sweetener most people don't know about - xylitol.

This sugar alcohol is a completely natural, low-calorie option that comes from many fruits and vegetables. It works great for baking, or use it to sweeten a meal without added guilt.

It can be a little tough to find, but is often stocked in the organic section. It's definitely worth the search.


Your diet can be as smart as it is sweet!

** Yes I am a bit off posting this message but I think better late than never

Last Night was the back & bicep workout... I was alone and somewhat intimadated by the two new exercises I had no clue what they were: Hammer Strength Lat and the Bent over barbell row!

I did the exercises in order this time because the weight side of the gym was just flowing that way I did the hammer strength lat pull after I asked which machine it was. I did a couple of test pulls to get the right weight on it and it is possible that I could go up next week. I did the first set with 50 pounds and then moved up to 60 pounds the last two sets. Next was the wide grip lat pulldown and I did those at 55 pounds but made sure that I pulled all the way down to get a good workout in. Following that was the seated narrow grip cable rows and I stuck to the 55 pounds for that one as well. I really wish these machines went up in 5 or 10 pound amounts instead of 15!? Continued on to the bent over barbell row which I got explained to me when I asked about the hammer strength machine. I did these with a 25 pound weight on the barbell and know that was a good choice! :bigsmile: After that came the back extensions and I did those alright too. I did make sure that I did a full range of motion so that I got a good workout. I might add a 10 pound weight disk next week if I am feeling brave :blushing: A tricky move for me was the barbell curl. I put on a total of 20 pounds and the first set was just how it should be with the last two reps kind of difficult. The second set I did them in sets of 4/3/3 to get in the ten and the last set was in sets of 2 for the 10 reps :grumble: I think that means I need to lighten up next week to 15 pounds. Then I grabbed 12 pound dumbbells and went to the incline bench doing all three sets! Finally I kept those 12 pound dumbbells and started to crank out the alternating hammer curls. I did the first set just fine with the last two reps being difficult. The second set I did 8 reps and those were killer so I traded for 10 pound dumbbells on the last two reps. The third set I did with the 10 pound weights and cranked them all out (even threw in an extra rep on my left arm since that is really weak and it was always doing the VERY LAST rep which was a struggle!!!)

All in all the workout was a sucess because I did it all by myself and I pushed myself (for the most part) with my weights. I though that doing it without my cousin I might slack on the weights but I didn't :glasses: I am not really sore in my back or biceps this morning though last night after the workout I couldn't lift my arms!? LOL My hamstrings are still sore this morning even after I took a few minutes to stretch them last night. I will have to stretch again tonight and hope that bowling goes well :ohwell:

Thursday will be legs again and probably shoulders & abs.... I might be scare of that captians chair!!!!!! :noway:

Jamie's message for day 21 (todays actual message)

Another day of rest? Life's simple luxuries tend to be the sweetest! Yesterday we talked about some great cooking methods. Today, let's spend a bit more time in the grocery store with these helpful tips.

1.Read nutrition labels carefully! Like we talked about, watch out for crazy ingredients that don't come from a farm or garden. Look out for high saturated fat, and especially watch out for hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils!


2.Fat-Free doesn't always mean good for you. Even fat-free foods can be loaded with sugar, so don't be swayed by popular marketing buzzwords. Be careful with Fat-Free, 100% Natural, No Added Sugar and other catch-phrases. While these options are sometimes healthful, it's always best to check for strange ingredients and high sugar or fat content.


3.Limit packaged food. Sometimes we need to buy from a box or a wrapper. Whenever possible, try to avoid packaged foods and opt for fresh. Not all boxed food is bad, but it can easily be over-processed, drained of nutrients and packed with sugar. Stick to the land: produce and fresh meats will be the best for your body.

I am a little behind in posting so I will put it all in one post!?

On Thursday I did Shoulders & Abs plus the second Leg day.

I started with Shoulders & Abs so taht I knew I lifted the most for my shoulders. I started with the seated dumbbell press and used 12 pounds for all three sets. Next came the rear delt cable flyes and for this one I looked up the alternative moves and found that I could do a dumbbell lying rear lateral so I did that since I couldn't use the cable machine.:grumble: I did these with 8 pounds for all three sets. Following that were the dumbbell front raises and I used 8 pounds for all three sets. Continuing I moved onto the seated arnold press and I was glad that I looked up what this move was!? I did these with the 8 pounds again for all three sets ... see a theme? :laugh: Moving on to the dumbbell lateral raise I used 5 pounds for all three sets. Those 5 pound weights were used again for the seated bent-over rear delt raise for all three sets. Finally it was time to move on with the Ab part... this week it was three exercises!? Started with the everyday crunch and cranked those out. I had never tried the captians chair and I must say it hurt my shoulders and my body weight pulled me down. I understand that you are suppose to focus on staying up as you lift your legs, but I needed all my focus to pull my legs up. I did the first two sets just fine (though it got tougher as the count went up) the third set I had to stop at five for a quick second and then continue on. Last move of the workout were the oblique crunches and I was able to do those fairly easy for all three sets.

The leg workout was the second of the week and the second of the night. I was still feeling the soreness in my hamstrings from the new moves in the first leg workout. I was determined to do the legs and make the "juices flow" so that the soreness went away. The exercises started with the leg extensions and those were at 110 pounds each. Moved on to the wide stance babell squat and made sure I found that foam pad again.:flowerforyou: Those were all done at the 70 pounds again. Next I moved onto the lying leg curls because someone was in the area for the walking barbell lunges. The local YMCA doesn't have the lying machine so I just did the seated leg curls again at 80 pounds. For week 4 I will look at the alternative moves just to make sure I am working the right muscle group. The single leg barbell deadlifts were done using a dumbbell at 25 pounds for the first two sets and then I had to taper down to 20 pounds for the last set. I started to have some pain when I did the right leg at rep 8 with the 25 pounds and need to figure out if I was twisting while doing the move :huh: After that I did the seated calf raises and increased my weight to 70 pounds for all three sets! I went to do the standing calf raises and wanted to use the weighted bar but I wasn't able to balance and to the move properly so I just did them with my body weight (but while at the gym today I saw someone on the leg extension machine where you push the "chair" away from your feet doing it as a calf raise so I will be trying that next leg workout!). Finally came the walking lunges.... I was worried about this because I was still feeling it in my hammies and it wasn't feeling really good. I went to start and moved my right leg out to put it on the ground and I almost hit the floor!!! :sad: I had the WORSE cramp/charlie house EVER!! I calmed myself down after a minute and went ahead with my left leg forward. That worked fine so I did 10 reps without any weight. I thought I should try the right again and I had my knee up and the "pain" was there so I put it down and did the leg leg without weights for 10 reps again. I waited a minute and did the left leg again without even trying my right. I then limped my way to the pool to tell my son to get out of the pool so we could go home. I then sat down with a foam roller to see if I could stretch it out. Did some static streching but it still hurt.:grumble: I went home and sat on the couch for the rest of the night. Went to bed and made sure I laid straight for my leg to "heal". When I got up in the morning I was amazed that I was not limping or in pain. I was only the tiniest bit sore (the real sore)! I now know that I pulled or caused a cramp when I did the first leg day and I finished the cramp when I went to do the lunges.... I am all better now!! :bigsmile:

I know that I am a day off but this morning I went to the YMCA to get in the Chest & Tricep day. I did the wide pushups and I did all TEN in each three sets!!!!! :glasses: I was super proud of myself for that!! It is the first time every I have done ten pushups in a row.... yes I could have gone down farther but I did them none the less.:bigsmile: Next were the incline dumbbell press and I did 15 pounds for all three sets. Following that were the flat bench flys and I started with 10 pounds and realized that I could do them with 12 pounds for the last two sets. The decline flys were ackward for the first time and I started with 10 pounds again but moved to the 12 pounds for the last two sets. After that were the mench dips and I did actually put my feet up on another bench for all three sets! Continueing were the lying ez bar triceps and those were tricky. I started with 12 pound dumbbells but then moved to the bent bar with two 10 pound weights (total of 20) and those felt much better... like what I should be doing. So I did three sets with the bar and 20 pounds. I did all three and only had some trouble when I hit rep 8 on the last set. The dumbbell kickbacks were all done with the 12 pound weights since I was starting to feel it. Again I moved on and did the overhead two handed extensions managing 15 pounds for all three sets though the last set I had to pause at rep 6 and then again at rep 8 :embarassed:

So that ended week three for me and I plan on getting to the gym again tonight to do Back & Biceps!! I will update everyone tomorrow :wink

So last night I did the Shoulders & Abs workout. I did pretty well if I can say so. I started with the seated dumbbell press and did 12 pounds for all three sets. After that I did the dumbbell laying rear lateral raise and used 8 pounds for all three sets. Next was the dumbbell front raise and I completed all three sets with 8 pounds. Following that move was the seated Arnold press and I stuck with the 8 pound weights for all three sets again. Finally I showed some improvement and did the last two shoulder moves up 3 pounds from previous workouts. I used 8 pound weights for the dumbbell lateral raises and the seated bent over rear delt raises! Moved on to the Ab exercises and I started in the roman chair and did all three sets without having to break them up like last week. Next were the normal crunches and I busted those out. Last but not least were the oblique crunches and I made it through three sets of those too!!

Happy Week FOUR everyone!!!!!

Jamie's message for day 27

Recovery, rest and repair are the name of the game for today, so give yourself some "me" time. For starters, take time to learn about a little thing called casein protein!

Casein protein is usually derived from milk, as is whey. The main difference between the two is that, whereas whey is a fast-absorbing protein great for post-workout, casein is your save-the-day protein for long-term muscle repair.

Casein is slow-digesting and great for continuous muscle support for roughly 7-8 hours. Isn't it convenient that bed-time usually lasts 8 hours, and that one of the most important periods for effective recovery and repair occurs during sleep?

Whether right before bed or during long stretches without solid food, casein is your protein for the long-haul!