Cheerio! Pip, pip!

I am on my way over to England, so I will not blog again until Saturday at the earliest. My plans to keep on track as best I can are to walk in the mornings and/or evenings. Additionally, I am bringing a resistance band to do chest presses, reverse flys, arm rows and 'window washers'. I also am going to do my machine-free strength training, namely the core workouts: planks, lunge and twists, squats, etc... I went to Trader Joes and picked up some granola bars (carbohydrates), Larabars (fruit) and Luna Bars (protein). I can throw these in my purse and hopefully snack better than vending machines or whatever.

Today, in a final attempt to work out before I leave (at 6 tonight!), I went swimming at the gym. I swam laps for ~25 minutes. My average lap time has improved by 3 more seconds, a total of 28 seconds from when I began, April 21! It is really nice to see tangible improvements from all of my hard work! YAY!

I'll miss you all terribly! I get back on Saturday, then walk a 5K Sunday morning...look forward to my posting about it!

Regular Workout Day

No good stories. Just facts. I did strength training and a half hour of cardio on the treadmill.

Strength training lasted about a half hour. My HR monitor says I burned 234 calories:

Held 10 planks for 15 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 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I did cardio. I went 30 minutes at 3 mph:

Calories Burned: 228 (treadmill)
Total Miles: 1.59
Total Time: 32:29 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 112

FOUR MORE POUNDS!

This brings my total to 18! I am very excited for the 20, but I will take 18 in the meantime!!!

Today stanked a little bit. I am going to England next week so, of course, I feel way behind at work. On top of it, I had to pick up at a moments notice and drive into scary Baltimore to Hopkins to get a statement from my vascular surgeon for my oral hearing the week I return. ::sigh:: The drive in wasn't horrible, but the drive back to work...45 minutes to go TEN MILES. So I was high stress, irritated, and almost late to the gym. But! when I got there, I weighed in and happiness abounded! Then I went shopping with Amber, so all in all the day came to a great close!

My stats:

Calories Burned: 525 (treadmill); 575 (hr monitor)
Total Miles: 2.33
Total Time: 53:35 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 131

Making Friends...

At T.E.A.M. today, maybe I got a little...fiesty...with Zak the Trainer. I was tired and didn't want to be there. And in my defense, I think he likes a little attitude. So, throughout the workout at various times we jokingly went at it a bit.

At the end of class one of the women, who I thought was becoming my friend told me how worried she was that Zak the Trainer was going to punish the whole class for me 'running my mouth'. ... Burn? I smiled and told her that I could handle whatever he threw at me, but I guess I could be more careful for the rest of the class... Zing, zing zooo-ah! I can throw them right back, sweetheart.

Anyways...before I list my stats, I want to point out that I used the heart rate monitor for the first time (correctly) today and WOW! I burn way more calories than the treadmill says. To be able to continue tracking, I am going to list both in my stats for a bit:

Calories Burned: 573 (treadmill); 756 (hr monitor)
Total Miles: 2.44
Total Time: 59:10 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 127

Here's to hoping the rest of class doesn't feel the same way about me...

I Declare a Victory Today!

Ok. Today was a typical blah day. It's a Tuesday, but it's like a Monday. And I left my lunch at home. Not just at home, on the counter. So I had to throw most of it out because it is refrigerator food. And because of this, I didn't have my snacks. So I was really hungry. Then around 4pm I got a mild headache. So I decided to go home and eat. I was supposed to work out today, but knew it wouldn't be good with no energy, so I would just go home, eat, then reassess.

Weeeeeellllllllll, at home I talked myself out of going. I had a blah day. And I didn't feel like going back out. And I *do* work out 3 days a week after all. And I am going to London next week, so it's not like I am going to have any weight loss, I'll be lucky to break even. And, furthermore, planks suck. So I settled in to my computer and TV and got comfy.

Then Sean came home. And I started complaining to Sean about my day. And I hate it when I just complain. So I decided to go to the gym to stop complaining and to keep the goals I set for myself this week (also, I only lost 1 lb last week, I am steppin' it up). Hence, my victory! I went. I lifted. I walked. I conquered.

Today I:

Held 10 planks for 15 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 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes, stats:

Calories Burned: 238
Total Miles: 1.71
Total Time: 35:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 131

Some notes:

1. DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY. Dare I say that the planks are getting easier? I hate using that word because they are still EXTREMELY HARD, but a tinge LESS extremely hard. This is awesome!
2. I accidentally set the Chest Press to 30 lbs instead of 20 lbs for the first set of 12 reps. It felt harder than it should have but was doable. Yay, improvement!

No Work!...But Yes...Work Out... :(

Happy Memorial Day!

And, yes, it is Monday, aka Weigh In Day. I lost one pound. I am a little disappointed, but still happy that the number is decreasing. Also, I think I have actually lost more but my weigh-in was <close your eyes, gentlemen>thwarted by mother nature</close>. I will not weigh in next week as I will be tearin' it up in the UK, but look for amazingness in two weeks...hopefully...the whole UK thing may be rough on the weight loss...

Anywho...my stats:

Calories Burned: 555
Total Miles: 2.49
Total Time: 57:10 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 138

Zak the Trainer is away for the long weekend, so Liz filled in. Liz is all business. I miss you, Zak the Trainer...

This one's for Shannon...

Today, Shannon rethrew the gauntlet. Unbeknownst to her, I kicked some major work out tookus today. And I dedicate my day to Shannon. It was hard. It was painful. ... It was so totally worth it.

My favorite workout buddy, Amanda, joined me today at the gym on a guest pass! I wanted to try my new strength training routine and swim some laps with her.

So, today I:

Held 10 planks for 15 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 45 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

I also:

Swam laps in pool for approximately 20 minutes. My average lap time has improved by about 10 seconds (I have yet to calculate it exactly); and
Sat in the hot tub for 5 minutes (the allowed amount of time from my blood thinner specialist).

Whew! What a workout! Oh, Shannon, but I am not done. I also had my 1 1/2 cups of pad thai tonight, and per the negotiation, I had to:

Walk after dinner. Me, Amanda, Tom and Tony walked in the lovely neighborhood of Hickory Ridge down one of the pretty (and HILLY) Columbia paths. It lasted maybe 20 minutes.

Hmm. Strength training, Swimming cardio AND an after dinner walk--not too shabby for a Little-Miss-Perky-Poo-I-Work-Out-Every-Day-And-ALWAYS-Measure-My-Food-Like-A-Good-Little-Girl who has the full force of a personal trainer behind her, is single and has no children.