No Seriously, I REALLY ::heart:: Weigh-in Day!

Five. More. Pounds. WHAT?!?! I know, I am a maniac. That brings me to 25. I am EC-STAT-IC. My goal for the first session of T.E.A.M. Weight Loss was 25 pounds--a bit of an ambitious goal, but I went for it....and I achieved it! And class is not officially over until Friday, so maybe I'll lose another one...or two... :) The 2-pounds-a-week goal would have been 18 pounds. Way to go, Me, for 139% success!

Today, Zak the Trainer switched things up. He is really having fun toward the end of this session. I like how things change up...but it can get rough at times. Not too bad though. We started a few minutes late due to the weigh-ins. I think the whole class was only 50 minutes instead of the hour. We spent the first 10-12 minutes warming up. Then we ran at an incline of 2.0 for 5 minutes. After that we left the treadmills and went to the stairmasters. Booooooo. We did the stairs for 8 minutes, then we did the special treadmills (they simulate a track environment, spongier...) for 8 minutes (4 minutes at an incline of 10.0, 4 minutes at 12.0). At this point, we trekked back over to the treadmills to finish the class off with 10 minutes of interval training: fast speeds at inclines varying from 4.0 to 8.0 every minute. I burned 507 calories. Hot.

Zak's Birthday TShirt!

So I made the Tshirt. I, of course, think it is super cute!



And check out the little trainer guy...Love it!


I'll wear it Wednesday (his birthday) and post all about how much he LOVES it. Because he will...

Ten Whole Minutes!

Today was not a scheduled workout day, so I didn't want to do too much. I ended up just doing inclines and speeds on the treadmill. After 13 minutes of varying the inclines to get my heart rate into zone 3, I attempted to run. I was originally gonna go for 2 minutes, then decided to try for 3, then 5, then, heck! why not 10, right? It may not seem big to some people, but I have only run three times since 2006 and they were for 1 minute, 2 minute (intervals) and then 3 minutes. So the fact that I could do ten minutes without working up to it is huge for me. I am MUCH more optimistic about potentially running the entire 10K in October... Here's to hoping!

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 256 (Treadmill)/309 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 1.81
Total Time: 33:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 114

Working Out with Friends is the BEST!

As I have learned before, working out with friends is awesome! Today, my friend, Rebecca, from Virginia came up and we worked out. She totally held her own and did my entire strength training routine! Even though I had worked up to it, she busted it out like a pro. Very impressive!!! Then we swam laps in the pool and ended things with some nice relaxing hot tub time.

The strength training routine:

Held 5 planks for 30 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then we swam laps for about 20 minutes. My fast lap improved by 5 seconds, but my average lap improved by only 1 second. Whatever! I will take any improvement!!! :)

Extra Spunky!

Zak the Trainer called me 'Extra Spunky' today. And I was. It's Friday. We had our work picnic today, so I was already in a relaxed state and the sun tires you out, you know? And everyone else, including Zak the Trainer, was tired. Zak the Trainer kept telling us we had to be more talkative and energetic because he needed it. So I was. And today, everybody was laughing. It was really fun. And you know me, I love being the center of attention. ::grin::

Here are my stats:

Calories Burned: 635 (treadmill); 598 (HR)
Total Miles: 2.98
Total Time: 62:41 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: Forgot to take it...

And there's another thing... Soooooooo, for about three weeks now I have been curious about something. You see, for three hours a week, I have nothing to do on the treadmill but look at Zak the Trainer. And as his profession is one of fitness, I am curious as to the muscular make-up of Zak the Trainer. In particular, I am quite curious about his pectorals. Depending on the shirt he wears, he looks cut or flabby. So I have been debating the following options: 1) letting it go (not likely); 2) tripping and falling onto his chest, palms facing out (a la Sam); 3) flat out asking him (my idea); or 4) just walking up, poking his chest, then walking away (a la Steve). Today, at the end of class, I opted for option 3). It went something like this:

Me: Hey, Zak! So, we're close right? Could I ask you something that could potential ruin our trainer-trainee relationship forever by making it very awkward???
ZTT: <look of terror on his face> Okaa-a-a-a-aaay.
Me: So...in class we cannot have headphones and the TVs are so far away, I have a lot of time to stare at you. And I have been pondering how physically fit you are. I mean, don't get me wrong, when you workout with us, I am impressed, so I know you are strong, but like, your chest in particular. I just cannot tell if it is rock hard or if the muscle has a little....padding?
ZTT: <gasps in horror and covers his chest with his arms> I feel so violated!
Me: No! No! it's not like that, I am just curious... <bright red face with innocent smile>
::I should note at this point that our entire class, and another trainer were watching this::
ZTT: <walks over to my treadmill and sticks his chest at me and says...> Go ahead, touch it.
Me: What? No. OKAY! <poke> Hmm, what I expected. (there's some padding, but impressive nonetheless) So, me and some guys at work have been discussing this and well, we had three scenarios. (At this point I outline the trip and fall, the random poke and my chosen method)
ZTT: You should have just come up and poked me.
Me: You'd have been okay with that?!?! Good to know for next time...
::At this point, I zone out of the conversation in embarassment for a few seconds, only to be sucked back in by the following comment::
Melissa (the other trainer): I would have guessed half and half?
Me: What are we talking about? Zak's man boobs? Yeah. That's accurate. They were a bit doughy.
ZTT: <face goes from smiling to sadness> Guess I know where I'll be this weekend: on the machines working my chest.
Me: <run away>

And! One more thing. Zak the Trainer's birthday is next Wednesday and I have been wanting to do something cheap and funny for him and I just had no inspiration. Until today! When it struck! I am going to make a t-shirt to wear that day (a la Meghan's 27th birthday - picture below) saying something about his birthday to embarass him. He'll love it!

Mid-Week Boringness.

Hello readers! I had a standard day today. I did have a lot of energy, never felt tired during the workout. I really feel like this is a momentous week all around. I felt stronger with the strength training and now during the T.E.A.M. class, I went faster and didn't feel tired. My body *must* be doing something good... It has been exactly 2 months since I began this process...maybe that is significant. Whatever the reason, I like it!

My stats today:

Calories Burned: 619 (Treadmill)/593 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.94
Total Time: 62:08 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 119

Also, we got a handout at the end of class with upcoming events. There is a 5K on the 28th by the gym. I have the Baltimore Women's Classic, so I will not be attending that. Also, they are having a special TEAM night at Let's Dish. I am torn about this. I have always wanted to go there, but it is $100 (worthwhile when you break it down per meal) and I am unsure of the dietary breakdowns, so what if I get a bunch of meals that do not align with my plan? Although they have been selected as healthy options by the trainers...I am still thinking. Finally, we are having a recipe exchange and making a TEAM cookbook. Fun times!

Oh! And next week is Bring-a-Friend week. If you want to come it is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-7pm. If one of those times works well and you want to join me, give me some notice to get you a guest pass and you can come!

I guess mid-week may not be as boring as I initially thought. :)

Steppin' it Up

Today is the first day I was supposed to up my strength training stuff. I should be doing five 30 second planks instead of ten 15 second ones and do 3 sets of everything instead of 2. I was a little anxious about it, but surprisingly it was not too bad. I mean, hear this: I will be sore tomorrow. But it was not so tough I felt like I couldn't do it. It actually felt quite natural to be doing it. Also, for the first time I really felt stronger today. Maybe it was a mental thing, but the planks seemed more reasonable, my balance was flawless (and I felt really strong on one leg), and I just felt overall stronger. Love it.

So, here is my new routine that I did today for the first time:

Held 5 planks for 30 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I did cardio. I went for speed today and went faster than I have before. I was at like 3.5 mph for most of the workout:

Calories Burned: 272 (Treadmill)/301 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 1.91
Total Time: 35:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 119