lift, don't lift??

My husband instructed me NOT to lift weights this morning.

Actually, he said, "You aren't going to lift weights today, are you?"

ME: ".......uhhhh"

HIM: "You aren't going to.....are you?"

ME: ".......uhhhh"

HIM: [stares at me]

I didn't know what to say. My wrist is definitely not 100% but it feels better and there is no swelling. Today is just legs day so I'm not going to be straining it, just using it as a little "helper".

I would not be good in a serious injury situation. I just don't think I could handle the waiting. I know that is probably really stupid.

But on the upside, he DID give me permission to run. Oh joy.

Holy hiatus!

I've really been slacking with the posting! The last 4 workouts, actually! My, my...I need to be punished for this. Something along the lines of being sprayed with mud and forced to stand in soaking wet shoes for hours. Oh wait, I did that yesterday!

HAHA...

OK, OK, so it wasn't forced upon me, but it did happen. Our community just happens to be fighting a flood right now so I was helping with the sandbagging efforts yesterday. Of course that didn't stand in the way of my posting, I just thought I would throw that out there.

I still need to post my last four workouts.

I will also mention that I did NOT do my weight training sessions scheduled for Monday or Tuesday. I won't tell you why I didn't since it will just sound like excuses, and it would be true that my reasons ARE excuses. I feel a tad guilty about it because I have done extremely well being consistent with it up until this point. And I sort of don't feel guilty....because I've been consistent up until this point. Make sense?

Excuses: so I was intending on working out Monday evening since my day was busier than usual, but it just so happened that I was exhausted by evening and it didn't get done. I was going to workout yesterday, before sushi with my sister, but then my sister called and cancelled (again), so I was a little bummed and just didn't feel like it. Plus, I knew I was sandbagging later in the day and wanted to save my energy.

Now, today I'm a tad sore (but not terrible). And as I tell my mom, I'm no stranger to being sore (because I lift weights), so it won't affect me really. The worst is my wrist, which I have wrapped up right now. I had gotten my hand bent way back a few too many times yesterday. It hurts to twist and there is a funny popping noise. I'm hoping it's nothing serious. But I'll baby it for a day just to be sure.

Let's get on with it...

Lower body #1 - Monday March 8th
bb squat 3 x 12 @ 60lbs
stiff dead 3 x 12 @ 60lbs
leg ext. 3 x 12 @ 60lbs
standing calf 3 x 12 @ 60lbs
lying ball raise 3 x 12
ball crunch 3 x 10

Upper body #1- Tuesday March 9th
bench press 3 x 12 @ 50lbs
bent over row 3 x 12 @ 44lbs - 22lbs each arm
db shoulder press 3 x 10 @ 30lbs
skull crushers 3 x 10 @ 20lbs
bb bicep curl 3 x 10 @ 30lbs

Lower body #2 - Thursday March 11th
deadlift 3 x 12 @ 80lbs
ham curl 3 x 10 @ 42.5lbs
lunges 3 x 10 @ 60lbs - each leg
seated calf 3 x 12 @ 60lbs - each leg
db shrugs 3 x 12 @ 40lbs
decline crunch 3 x 12

Upper body #2 - Friday March 12th
dips 3 x 10
bb pullovers 3 x 12 @ 20lbs (and here is where I first messed up my left wrist)
lat raise 3 x 10 @ 24lbs
tricep ext. 3 x 10 @ 20lbs
conentration curls 3 x 12 @ 15lbs - each arm

And so that was last week. I was scheduled to take Saturday and Sunday off, which was a nice break (and perfect timing), then I had to screw up my rhythm this week. Oh well, stuff happens. Moving on...

I'm going to try and get back into it today. NO, I'm not going to TRY, I WILL!

OH NO PLATEAU

Well, I knew it was inevitable, I have officially hit a plateau. What that means (if you don't already know) is that I am not really progressing anymore in my strength gains and in some cases I find myself even going backwards. To give an example, I seemed to have been stuck on 35lb bicep curls for a long time but FINALLY powered thru on a really good day, got all ten reps and moved on up to 40lbs....where I am perpetually stuck. Usually getting 3-5 reps, or more if I use the rest-pause method (which is how I was able to get past 35lbs). Anyway, I used the rest-pause to get up to seven reps but without doing that, I could only get 4. Then the next workout, I could only get 3. Are you kidding me? I'm actually going backwards here??? SO NOT FAIR!!

But you know what? I'm not going to get frustrated. I am NOT going to get all pouty and whiny about it and sit on the floor in my workout clothes and just cry. (not anymore) I'm going to use the fact that I've plateaued in a positive way. Here's how:

Our bodies are efficient machines. They adapt to stress very quickly. Once you have adapted to a workout, you stop making progress with it as your body becomes used to the same old moves. A plateau is just an alarm, so to speak, a mechanism your body has to let you know "hey, I'm bored here! Let's move on to something else, change it up a bit!". So I'm going to look at hitting a plateau as a good thing, at least my body is telling me it's time to change. It's giving me the opportunity to break the monotony and implement something new, to prevent bordem, and to take my gains to new heights.

So that's what I'm going to do, starting with my next workout. I can change it up many ways: I can either change exercise moves, I can change number of reps and/or sets, I can incorporate super sets or drops sets....it's all about getting creative. And having fun!

And here is my workout from last night:

Squats - 100lbs (wasn't feeling very strong, could barely get started but once in a groove I was able to get 8, although I'm pretty sure I didn't go as low as I should have.
Leg curl - 40lbs
Stiff-Legged Deadlift - 75lbs
BB Incline Press 50lbs
BB Row 50lbs
BB Shoulder Press 45lbs
BB Bicep Curl 40lbs
Skull Crushers
Abs - crunches, hip lifts, bicycle

What if I didn't lift weights??

I was thinking about this last night before drifting off to sleep. It's a logical question to be asking myself. A lot of the time I find myself wondering WHY I do this, why is lifting become SO important to me? Why is it so important to me to eat healthy food. What is the REAL honest to God answer? And could I be happy if I didn't do it?

What if I were to give it up and not be fanatical fitness? I could eat cake whenever I wanted, drink more wine, eat more pizza. But I don't think it would make me happy. I've tried it. I feel immensely guilty when I indulge too much, when I act like I don't give a crap.

Because I do care. I care about taking care of my body. I care about setting a good example for my kids. I care about enjoying myself as I age instead of dealing with health issues (that can be avoided).

I love cake, and french fries, and greasy cheeseburgers and pizza. But is it worth eating it ALL the time without regard to my health? Is the 15 minutes of pleasure I get from eating these things worth it, if the rest of the day I feel guilty and sluggish and horrible? The answer is NO! I can still enjoy wonderful tasting food, healthy food doesn't have to mean tasteless! And I can have a cheat meal now and then. We all could benefit from moderation.

The truth is, it has become so ingrained into my life, it's become habit to eat healthfully and to exercise my body. Not only do I know that it is good for me, but I ENJOY it! I enjoy seeing my strength increase, I enjoy watching my body change, I enjoy knowing that the food I put into my mouth will decrease my chances of getting certain disease and illness.

I am healthy and proud!

I try to spread the passion and excitement I feel for taking care of myself and my family. Most of the time, I probably just annoy people with it. But if I can inspire just one person, make a difference to someone, it's worth it. Yeah, I've heard the phrase "Eat right, exercise, die anyway" but that's just the wrong attitude to have, in my opinion. That's the lazy pessimist view. You only get one body, one chance at life. It's a gift. We should all do the best with what we've been given. Plus, we have a responsibility to our children, to make sure they know what's going to make their body (and by extension, their lives) thrive.

I'm no better than the next person. If you choose to live your life without the joy of exercise, that's your journey, your choice. But if you feel like your life is missing something, if you aren't completely happy, if you want to feel great, look great, and boost your mood naturally (and by extension, make everyone around you happy too)....pick up a dumbbell! Give it a try! It might just be the best thing you ever did!

love of weight training

Workout A - Tuesday, February 9Th 2010

My workouts got a little screwed up somehow the past week. I left out an exercise on my last workout I think. Anyway, no big deal. Let's get to the moves.

Squats 80lbs - did 8, I'm on my way to my goal! (which, incidentally, is 8 reps at 100lbs. That will be one sweet day!
Leg Curl 55lbs - did 9 but was guilty the whole time. I noticed that my hips move up off the bench as I'm curling up (which, you probably know, is not correct form). So, I took the hit and lowered the weight. I figured 35lbs was a good place to start. I pounded out 10 reps, with nice slow controlled movement while concentrating on keeping my hips planted firmly on the bench. If I felt my butt raising a little, I slowed it down and concentrated EVEN MORE, to ensure I was only using my hamstrings to lift this weight.
Stiff-legged Deadlift 65lbs - My hams are tight so I did a warm up set with 15lb dumbbells first. The 65lbs was easy of course, but I'm really careful, I don't need an injury!
BB Incline Press 45lbs - this is one I was supposed to do last week. Did all 10.
BB Row 55lbs - got 8, finally I'm at a weight that is getting difficult!
BB Shoulder Press 40lbs - these are still so hard for me. But I continue to inch along every time I workout, getting that one or two more reps. I'm up to 7 now.
BB Bicep Curl 35lb - another hard one for me. Been at 35lbs for a long time. Going at it slow, pushing one more rep every time WITH CORRECT FORM! Got 9 (I remember it wasn't long ago I was pushing to get at 9-10reps using momentum and arching my back - BAD! Now I am doing it the RIGHT way and getting up there in reps!)
BB Lying Tricep Extension 20lbs - these were hurting my elbow a bit, but I widened my grip a bit and THEN I could do them better, really felt it in the triceps this time! Got all 10.
BB Calf Raises 65lbs - calf exercises are easy. Got 20
Abs - 25lb weighted crunches, hip lifts & bicycle

Actually, this was supposed to be a rest day. I was scheduled to do this workout Monday but I had a killer headache so I postponed it. I noticed I was yawning a bit in the beginning of the workout. But I powered thru it anyway.

Saturday 2/6/10

WORKOUT B

Squats 75lbs - got all 10 here, will move up to 80lbs
Lunges 60lbs - got 5 each leg
Romanian Deadlifts 95lbs - got 8 YESSSSSS!!!!
BB Bench Press 50lbs - got 10, moving up to 55lbs
BB Row 50lbs - got 10, moving up to 55lbs
BB Shoulder Press 40lbs - beat my last rep count by 2!!
BB Bicep Curl 35lbs - beat my last rep count by 3!!
Lying Tricep Extensions 20lbs - despite shaking like crazy, I beat my last rep count by 3!!
BB Calf Raises 60lbs - got an easy twenty, moving up to 70lbs
Abs - side bends at 25lbs - got an easy 10 each side

I really kicked butt tonight. I get so worried sometimes at how hard a workout is and wonder if it's possible that I will be able to get even one more rep next time. But I surpassed just one extra rep on every exercise. I ended up pounding out 2-3 MORE on each one! I think it was because I was really into a mental zone, concentrating hard and telling my body before each lift that it WILL lift this weight to such and such a rep and BAM!

I have been practicing "mind exercises" as well and it's really paying off!

I haven't been listing my food log at all these days. Probably due to the fact that since I'm not "dieting" or trying to cut back on any one particular thing, eating right just comes a lot easier. I have been trying to stick to the same foods every day though, just to make it easier. The only thing I need to improve on is getting my veggies in. I'm basically eating carbs and protein but omitting the veggies. That needs improvement. I found a formula that really keeps me energized and satisfied all day long so I'll keep on it until I get sick of it. Here it is:

Breakfast: Egg white, turkey sausage, cheese, english muffin sandwich (Jimmy Dean LIGHT - 260 calories)

Snack: plain oatmeal with cinnamon and stevia to taste and ground flax seed and wheat germ added for health

Lunch: 2 slices 100% whole wheat natural bread, with natural peanut butter and jelly

Snack: FiberOne cereal, skim milk

Dinner: This is what changes every day. Obviously I can't feed the family the same thing day after day! But it's always healthy, fajitas, low fat chili with lots of legumes, salmon, chicken, etc. I find some of the best recipes from the following books:

The Abs Diet
Eat Up, Slim Down
YOU on a Diet
Flip the Switch

And because of the way I've kept myself full of fiber and protein during the day, I am only hungry enough at night for one small serving of dinner! Big servings and seconds were always my weakness before. But now, I even can keep spaghetti to a 1 cup serving! And then if it's a non-workout day I'll have a slow digesting protein before bed (like cottage cheese) and if it's a workout day, (I do weights in the evening so Andreas can be my spotter with squats) I have a protein shake or a protein bar.

I haven't even felt the URGE to cheat the past couple weeks. It's weird! Even if the whole family is porking down chocolate and donuts, I don't bat an eye! I have an 80% cocao chocolate bar in the cupboard if I need something with my after dinner coffee (and it's full of antioxidants so bonus bonus!)

Thursday 2/4/10

Workout A - (modified a bit)

Squats 75lbs
(skipped extensions today - I read yesterday that this is an exercise that can cause injury? And since I'm so paranoid of injuring myself, especially my knees, I decided that I could build my quads just fine with squats)
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - decided to give these a whirl. I usually do Romanian Deadlifts, where the knees are bent, simply because I have tight hams. But, I did a good warm up set with light weight and them attempted them. I used 60lbs for my "actual" set and it was doable. I do really need to work on stretching EVERY day so that I'm not so tight. Anyway, the reason for the change was that I read (again with the reading LOL) stiff deads build the hamstrings better. Plus, I'm getting up to some pretty heavy weight on Romanians and I was starting to get worried (again with the worrying LOL) about sacrificing form. Slow and steady wins the race!
BB Bench Press 50lbs (seriously, I canNOT believe I'm benching 50 pounds! Remember...I'm fairly little)
No chest flyes either, sticking with bread and butter moves.
BB Row 50lbs
BB Shoulder Press 40lbs - this is where I'm a wuss, could only do 4
BB Bicep Curl - didn't move the weight up to 40 even though I got 10 reps out of 35lbs last time. See, the thing is, to get all ten reps, I had to go fast and furious, arching my back to get those last few reps up. And in those cases, where form was sacrificed, it doesn't count. I read that it is easy to over train biceps so you should build up the weight slowly and gradually, or you will see very limited gains in size and strength. The frustrating thing is that it seems as though I've been hovering around 30-35lbs FOREVER! Seriously, before I got a weight bench I was using 15 pound dumbbells for my curls. Granted, I was easily getting all 10 reps, it seems like pushing it higher isn't producing gains in strength. Maybe my biceps have plateaued. In that case, I better come up with a plan for those little buggers!!
Lying Tricep Extensions 20lbs - this is different from my original workout also. I read that these are great for building triceps (which are the biggest muscle in the arm). It reminds me of skull crushers except with the bar instead of dumbbells. Same principal of keeping elbows up straight and bringing the weight to the forehead. These are TOUGH! Could only get 5 (with shaking arms). I attempted a 6th but had to drop the weight behind my head.
Donkey calf raises - with Eden on my back, she's a bit light though. Maybe I'll try with Hanna next time. She almost weighs as much as me now, I'm only 15 pounds heavier! And she's 12! Told you I was little! Hence, the weight lifting. Hoping it will help. I want to gain muscle though, NOT FAT!
Abs - crunch 25lb plate, lower ab leg lift, bicycle

And that is the "new" workout. I'm sticking to what should be the "bread and butter" of a workout. Compound movements (and yes, I know I have some isolation in there too).

Tuesday & Wednesday

Rest days from weights. But I did do some interval training (HIIT) - which is 20 minutes on the treadmill, alternating between high and low intensity. And, in addition to the HIIT, I did a butt blaster (Wednesday). It's a series of 4 moves which are supposed to build a nice round butt ;) just twice a week. Not sure the point at which you are supposed to notice a difference tho...3 months maybe?? Anyway, I did 3 sets of each exercise and 8 reps of each.

I just felt the need to get some cardio in. It really felt wonderful, to tell you the truth. I couldn't help but smile the whole time I was doing it. I LOVE the way exercising can just lift your mood from good to GREAT!

So far I have successfully completed 2 solid weeks of training. I haven't noticed any gains in muscle size necessarily, but that will come eventually. I just hope I'm eating enough! I always worry that I'm not eating enough to fuel my muscles but when I do eat more (clean food, mind you) I'm worried I'm eating too much and will gain fat!!! It's such a double edged sword, this eating thing!

Monday 2/1/10

Workout B

Lunges 60lbs
Extensions 95lbs
Deadlifts 90lbs
Leg Curl 55lbs
BB Incline Press 45lbs
BB Row 45lbs
DB Pullover 2-12lb dbs
BB Shoulder Press 35lbs
BB Bicep Curl 35lbs
Skull Crushers 2-12lb dbs
Abs-Side Bends 20lbs

OK, two full workout weeks done already! Wow, that went fast! Now I get to look forward to 2 days of rest before I hit it hard again on Thursday.

Thursday

Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days. I work out 3 days per week, with one rest day in between and 2 after the 3rd workout. Just FYI.

Thursday 1/28/10

WORKOUT B

Lunges 45lbs too easy
Extensions 85lbs
Deadlift 90lbs
Leg Curl 55lbs
BB Incline Press 40lbs
BB Row 40lbs
DB Pullover 2-10lb dbs
BB Shoulder Press 35lbs
BB Bicep Curl 35lbs
Skull Crushers 2-10lb dbs
Abs - DB Side Bend 15lb db

It's so exciting to progress at every workout! Whenever I know I have a hard lift ahead of me, I take a couple of nice deep cleansing breaths and go for it. I know it's going to be hard but I also know that I can do it. I can do it because I'm getting stronger every day.

The 90lb deadlifts are a challenge. The biggest challenge, though, is mental. I am constantly worried that I am not doing them with proper form. I think, "Is my back straight enough? Am I really using my hamstrings to lift this weight or am I putting too much strain on my back?" I need to quit that! I guess if I weren't lifting it right, my back would hurt the next day, and my back never hurts! (knock on wood!) Another thing that I think about is "Are my hamstrings sore enough from lifting that weight?". I mean, sure, I get sore, but not as sore as I think I should be. Oh the mind is a funny thing! And I am always the most sore 2 days after a lift.

My arms are pretty small, so my progression seems small but I WILL be patient. I will persevere.

By the way, I am reading a book called "Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude" and it's a GREAT book for me. I had noticed that I was starting to become a bit negative about things, complaining too much. I wanted to turn that around before it got to be too bad and my husband couldn't' stand to be around me anymore! I was cutting myself down too much. Now, I am telling myself every day how beautiful I am, inside and out. I am consciously making a great effort to ALWAYS see the positive side of things. I am making an effort to be the most pleasant person I can be. Because no one likes to be around a crabby negative person!

Tuesday, Day 17

Epic fail.

Thaaaaaaat's right. You heard me. I'm a cheater. I can't be trusted. Well, in the kitchen anyway.

Here's the food log for today.

Breakfast: fruit, yogurt, granola parfait

Snack: white bread w/nutella, 1 egg, 2 turkey links (380 cal)

Lunch: Pizza for one (420 cal)

Snack: none

Dinner: Homemade pizza (pesto sauce, roasted stop light pepper, onions, mushrooms, cheese)

Oh, but I didn't stop there....

6 mini tacos (300 cal)

Dessert: smart ones (170 cal), Swedish punsch roll (190 cal), gingerbread cookie

WORKOUT: Turbo Jam turbo sculpt 40 minutes ... at least I did ONE thing right today

OVERALL: I'm not even going to get into it...today was bad. I have these days from time to time. I'll consider it a "cheat day" and move on. It's embarrassing, and this accountability thing is a good eye opener. Sigh...

I just have to keep reminding myself that the more days like this I have, the farther away my goal gets.

Better luck to you all today!!

Monday, Day 16

16 days into my calorie zig-zagging and cardio party...

Breakfast: scrambled eggs (1 whole, 3 whites)

Snack: none

Lunch: Turkey, bacon, cheese flat bread melt (calories 300?), Fiber One cereal, 1% milk (I was a hungry girl because I had a tiny breakfast and no snack...I know better than to do this)

Snack: Fiber One cereal, 1% milk, 1 oz. 60% dark chocolate

Dinner: brown rice and sirloin stir fry (yep, I had carbs. But I didn't stop there...) 2 slices whole grain bread w/apricot preserves and farmers cheese

WORKOUT: none

As you can see, I'm having a hard time getting off the carbs again. This is a common occurrence for me when I have a slip up. BUT, tomorrow is another day. I can say with confidence that I'm back to exercising (and I can say this because I always blog about the previous day...so it's actually Tuesday as I write about Monday....and I've sculpted my body for the day. More on that tomorrow)

Not much time left for carb cycling and cardio fanatic-ness. I can manage to get about 3 more cycles in.

Day 12, Thursday

HIGH DAY

Breakfast: 1/2 protein shake w/oatmeal & strawberries

AM Snack: 4 egg white omelet w/scallions & Havarti cheese

WORKOUT: 45 minute yoga session

Lunch: 12 shrimp w/cocktail sauce

PM Snack: Fiber One cereal

Dinner: 1 beef enchilada, glass red wine

WORKOUT: 30 minute walk at incline

OVERALL: It was a high day but I didn't want to go overboard since I technically treated yesterday as a high day. But since it was already in our menu plans to have enchiladas I just ate it. The carb obviously was the tortilla but it was a multi-grain tortilla with Omega-3 and 3 grams of fiber. And it was home made, not processed.

As far as exercise goes, I felt kind of like I was hit by a bus and not sure why. My back muscles were sore, my legs muscles were sore and it hurt to move! I thought I might be getting sick because it couldn't have been from working out. I haven't changed a thing in my workout routine for the past almost 2 weeks, I couldn't be sore from that, could I? Well, I never did get sick so I guess I must have just worked really hard. Still odd to all of a sudden get sore like that. Anyway, I thought I better take it a little easy today without taking a rest day so I did yoga (which felt great to stretch my sore muscles) and then after dinner I was feeling more energized than normal so I got a hill walk in too. Worked up a nice sweat during both sessions.

Also, my right shoulder has been "grinding" a bit lately when I do front lat. raises and windmills and such. I'm SO AFRAID of injury, that would be devastating. So I have omitted the shoulders exercising for the most part. I think I'll give it some rest for a good couple days. Maybe I need to take some joint lubing supplements.

We are off to Minneapolis for the weekend. That will be a challenge for me. I have to keep up with my exercising (at least the hotel has a fitness room) and diet. It's always hard for me to stick to a strict plan when we eat out. Of course the hotel has an awesome breakfast sitting out every morning (donuts and sausage are among the choices), but they have healthy options so I will still be able to eat sensibly. Still, it's a BIG challenge! But I'm committed and I know I can do it. I'll try to keep up with my posts but I might not get to it every day. I'll still post what I ate each day, even if I do it all Monday when we get back.

Tuesday, Day 10

LOW DAY

Breakfast: Fiber One cereal

AM Snack: little popcorn, 2 whole eggs, 3 whites, Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bar

WORKOUT: 30 Day Shred, 20 minute walk at incline

Lunch: 5 Boca meatless nuggets, sweet potato fries

PM Snack: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bar

Dinner: Lentil Soup

Pre-bed snack: Fiber One cottage cheese, 1 tsp Natural Peanut Butter

OVERALL: could have done without 2 of the sweet and salty bars since they have 11 grams of sugar...that was a bad. But still, the day could have been worse. In fact, when I'm not consciously watching my calorie intake, I am positive that it looks much worse. I should actually write down what I eat on one of my "don't give a S*#t" days in the future (hopefully it's WAY into the future) just to compare. I think I'm used to eating a lot.

WEDNESDAY MORNING....

I weighed myself this morning. I try to weigh myself once a week, preferably the 3rd morning after a high carb day. I wasn't overly enthused about the result of over a week of pretty restricted diet and daily exercise but it is going in the right direction so I guess I shouldn't complain. I was down almost a pound. After the Christmas gorge and barf-o-rama fiasco I weighed 115.8 and this morning I was a solid 115.

I don't really have a weight loss goal, but I do have a fat loss goal. And if I lose fat, I'm assuming the scale will go down. I don't expect to be adding muscle with the puny 3 and 5 lb dumbbells I'm using with 30 Day Shred. (that comes next month!!) My goal isn't about weight, it's about measurements. I would LOVE to shave an inch off my thighs. An inch of fat of my thighs would TOTALLY make me happy :)

Don't you love our diet?

-PART ONE-



Mmmmmm......homemade chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. HEAVEN!



Oh, and we had pizza for supper. "So how the heck is she gonna lose the weight", you ask? Wouldn't YOU like to know ;)

-PART TWO-

proof...



G-ma has been SUCH a good sport. We don't "officially" start our training and nutrition program until Monday but I wanted her to be firmly in a groove by then. She's been on the treadmill every morning and night. Up to 6 minutes 30 seconds each time and I decided we're going add a noon hour session as well. PLUS....she worked out with weights again today. The lady did deadlifts....kid you not....WITH WEIGHTS!! WHOO HOO!! We're gonna rock this fat loss THANG!

Small Steps

Today I got g-ma on the treadmill. We started her out slow.....veeeeeery slow. But she did 5 minutes without breaking a sweat so tonight we are going to do 5 minutes again, just a tad faster. I am hoping we'll be able to add a minute every day but we'll see. Slow and steady is our plan because we don't want to risk injuring her since she isn't the most stable on her feet.

At least we are off to a start, preparing her for Sunday (which, by the way, is Boot camp Day 1).