I wish every workout was like today's! For some reason, it was just one of those perfect gym days with few people, a great Pandora music selection, fantastic energy, and an all-around stellar lifting plan! Today was the first July Sunday workout and on the schedule was legs, core, and cardio. My legs were still a little sore from previous workouts this week but with both a solid night's sleep (thank goodness the humidity of the past few days has lessened!) and a little watermelon C4 mixed in with my Aminolast (two new supplements I bought at PNC last week), I was able to push past the soreness with ease.
I decided to do my cardio after my lifting today both to a) switch things up and b) use my greatest energy where it mattered most - legs! On today's plan was the following:
-Quad press machine
-SB plank toe taps
-Standing side & back cable kicks
-SB bench weighted leg lifts
-DB plie squats
-Standing side-to-side leg lifts
I had planned to do the elliptical for my cardio but while over on the quad press machine I noticed a competitor friend was doing the StairMaster backwards so I asked her about it. She said that doing it backwards helps a lot with the defined split-look between your quads and hams that the judges really like to see. Jeeze, why hadn't anyone told me that before?! That's one area that I seriously struggle with. My quads are solid rocks yet for some reason I just don't have that desired split going on. So anyway, I decided to switch my cardio to the StairMaster today and boy was that a good move!
First of all, rather than plugging into the TV and watching the news while stepping like I usually do, I switched my Pandora from the Buckcherry station to the Hip Hop Powerhouse Workout station. I'd like to take a moment and thank Pit Bull for making my 30 minute routine seem like only 10 LOL. Also, rather than speeding up every 10 minutes and slowing back down until the next 10 minute segment, instead I alternated positions front, backward, and sideways (both left and right) every time the song switched. This was a challenge at first as I had never done anything other than forward stepping before but boy was it fun and kept it interesting. You really have to pay attention when going backwards and sideways as it would be ridiculously easy to fall off! My only complaint is that I think this particular StairMaster has seen better days as it seemed to have a mind of it's own toward the end of my session and kept speeding up on me despite my turning the speed down. Yikes, that was a challenge! Got a really good sweat going though and I ended my workout feeling better than I have in a long time.
When I got home I threw my new favourite shake concoction into the blender: 1 cup almond milk, 1 scoop About Time cinnamon swirl whey protein, 4 ice cubes, and 1 tbsp PB2. PB2 is my new love. I had a little shopping spree over at PNC the other day and decided to try it out since I'd been hearing such great things about it. It's basically dehydrated peanut butter that you mix with water when you want a low-cal and low-fat peanut butter option. The first time I made it I thought it was only so-so but now I'm addicted. PB shakes, PB rice cake sandwiches, PB on celery sticks...Yum! So now I'm sitting here, drinking this delicious concoction debating whether it's a beach day or not. Who am I kidding, every day is a beach day hahaha! It's the last of my 4-day weekend thanks to the 4th of July and I need one more good douse of vitamin D before I return to hell tomorrow. I've been in a great mood these past few days despite being carb-deprived and now only 13 days out from the Yankee but I'm quite certain that will change tomorrow.
Alas, better make the most of today! I'm feeling great and totally ready for the Yankee physique-wise right now. Just gotta ride out the next two weeks, get in some much needed posing practice, and stick to the plan! I've been taking progress pics every week for the past 8 weeks. You can't really see a ton of difference as the pics are iPhone pics taken in poor lighting but I can definitely see and feel a difference myself. You be the judge:
Well I better go shower up and pack my food for the beach! I hope you all have a great Sunday Funday and kick some ass today whether in the gym or outside. 'Til next time gym rats, happy gymming!
I decided to do my cardio after my lifting today both to a) switch things up and b) use my greatest energy where it mattered most - legs! On today's plan was the following:
-Quad press machine
-SB plank toe taps
-Standing side & back cable kicks
-SB bench weighted leg lifts
-DB plie squats
-Standing side-to-side leg lifts
I had planned to do the elliptical for my cardio but while over on the quad press machine I noticed a competitor friend was doing the StairMaster backwards so I asked her about it. She said that doing it backwards helps a lot with the defined split-look between your quads and hams that the judges really like to see. Jeeze, why hadn't anyone told me that before?! That's one area that I seriously struggle with. My quads are solid rocks yet for some reason I just don't have that desired split going on. So anyway, I decided to switch my cardio to the StairMaster today and boy was that a good move!
First of all, rather than plugging into the TV and watching the news while stepping like I usually do, I switched my Pandora from the Buckcherry station to the Hip Hop Powerhouse Workout station. I'd like to take a moment and thank Pit Bull for making my 30 minute routine seem like only 10 LOL. Also, rather than speeding up every 10 minutes and slowing back down until the next 10 minute segment, instead I alternated positions front, backward, and sideways (both left and right) every time the song switched. This was a challenge at first as I had never done anything other than forward stepping before but boy was it fun and kept it interesting. You really have to pay attention when going backwards and sideways as it would be ridiculously easy to fall off! My only complaint is that I think this particular StairMaster has seen better days as it seemed to have a mind of it's own toward the end of my session and kept speeding up on me despite my turning the speed down. Yikes, that was a challenge! Got a really good sweat going though and I ended my workout feeling better than I have in a long time.
When I got home I threw my new favourite shake concoction into the blender: 1 cup almond milk, 1 scoop About Time cinnamon swirl whey protein, 4 ice cubes, and 1 tbsp PB2. PB2 is my new love. I had a little shopping spree over at PNC the other day and decided to try it out since I'd been hearing such great things about it. It's basically dehydrated peanut butter that you mix with water when you want a low-cal and low-fat peanut butter option. The first time I made it I thought it was only so-so but now I'm addicted. PB shakes, PB rice cake sandwiches, PB on celery sticks...Yum! So now I'm sitting here, drinking this delicious concoction debating whether it's a beach day or not. Who am I kidding, every day is a beach day hahaha! It's the last of my 4-day weekend thanks to the 4th of July and I need one more good douse of vitamin D before I return to hell tomorrow. I've been in a great mood these past few days despite being carb-deprived and now only 13 days out from the Yankee but I'm quite certain that will change tomorrow.
Alas, better make the most of today! I'm feeling great and totally ready for the Yankee physique-wise right now. Just gotta ride out the next two weeks, get in some much needed posing practice, and stick to the plan! I've been taking progress pics every week for the past 8 weeks. You can't really see a ton of difference as the pics are iPhone pics taken in poor lighting but I can definitely see and feel a difference myself. You be the judge:
 |
| 8 weeks out |
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| 2 weeks out |
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