Total Warrior training...

Tonight I have done a nice little upper body session. I was quietly pleased because I've been able to do isolated but unassisted wide grip pull ups. I only did 3, then into 20 push ups, 10 suspension pull ups, and then 10 suspension tuck-push ups. I switched to 10 bungee assisted wide grip pull ups for the next two sets. I went onto bench presses with 14kg dumbbells, 10 reps then straight on to 8kg dumbbells for 20 reps. I did that twice. I then did a little ab work out, 3 sets of 50 sit ups supersetted with 30 6kg dumbbell raises with my legs half raised, kind of like a reverse plank but without having your arms and legs to fall back on when your abs get tired. Then I half heartedly did 3 sets of 10 reps converging shoulder presses with 14kg. And finally, I finished it off with 15 minutes on the cross trainer.

Yesterday I ran around Delamere Forest for 60 minutes. Last week I did hill sprints in Delamere in just one spot, so it was quite nice to run around the forest. I did two rounds of the route, I've no idea how long it was but it was hard running and that's enough for me. Except that if it wasn't at least 4 miles I'm in big trouble for Total Warrior. Shameless plugging, but if you're reading this, maybe you might consider sponsoring me for this little slice of Hell I'm putting myself through....http://www.justgiving.com/Tilly-Mint

Anyway.

I have been monitoring my carbs a lot over the last few weeks. Vinnie wanted me to keep below 50g, but that wasn't ever going to happen - my All Bran is 25g! I've cut down my fruit though, and sweets are pretty much a no-go. So I've been consuming around 150g carbs, which includes rather a lot of veggies, salad and the best thing is, I've been able to eat nuts! I love nuts but I've deprived myself for years because I've always focussed on calorie counting and nuts are through the roof in terms of calories. I've been measuring my portions though, so I don't get carried away. Got a smart new digital scale - everyone who watches their weight should own one...for their food, not for them. Mine has a 5kg limit so that might not work. I have noticed a distinct difference, my weight has stabilised - I'm still around 11 stone, but I really don't think that's likely to change unless I took my diet to the next level, that is, down to sub 50g carbs, less calories, blah blah blah. But I have a day job which involves talking to the public so I can't afford to be like a bear with a sore arse. So an extreme diet is out of the question. I'm starting to feel more defined and feel more secure though, and my training is right on track.

Perhaps a happy medium has been achieved?

Protein for summer! And a bit of a rant.

I did a nice run in Royden Park today, felt proper good to just splash through the mud after yesterday's (and the day before, and the day before that...) rain. I did some hill sprints as well, found a nice incline in the woods. I'm desperately trying to add loads of inclines and intervals into my training for this Total Warrior 10k. I might not even be doing it because no one else is actually running it with me, and it has to be a team event. But, I'm looking into alternatives and am going to train as if I am actually going to do it.

I'm not losing weight yet, which is still driving me to distraction, in fact I'm still gaining, then losing, gaining, then losing. I can't figure out what more to do. I keep looking at old photos of myself, on holiday in the States last year and mourning the body I used to have. But when I was in the States last year, guess what I thought? 'FAT FAT FAT'. The mind is a hideous beast, it really is. So here I go, headlong into egg white omelettes and greens, cutting out all the crap. If I can do that and the scales still read that I've gained weight, I won't beat myself up too much because it must be muscle mass, as I mentioned in my previous post. There are some interesting thoughts on fitness sites (http://blog.shareitfitness.com/2012/why-scale-doesnt-matter/), whereby the reading on the scales doesn't actually matter at all. There are some good case studies of women who, according to the scales haven't lost any weight at all, but look three hundred times better than they did before they started. I'll be completely honest with you. Before I started training at all, I was over 13 stone. I can't remember the exact figure, but it wasn't 13 stone 1lb, for example. It was a definite 'over' 13 stone. Then I started to diet and train, but not very hard, so my weight went down and plateaued at between 11 stone and 11 stone 4. Then I hit the cardio hard and went down to 10 stone 10 (fully clothed - I'm not one to mince around the gym changing rooms wearing nothing but a smile). That weight didn't last long because then I started doing some pretty hardcore strength training for a powerlifting competition that I never actually entered. My weight went up to over 11 stone again, but then I stopped strength training (to a degree - I still lift weights, but not as heavy), and started looking slimmer because my muscles had chilled out a bit. However, now I'm in a weird phase where I've got some muscle tone, some curves, a fairly low fat percentage but a fluctuating weight on the scales, between 11 stone and 11.5! I'm just a bit lost. I don't want to be in denial about weight gain, because that's how I ended up being 13 stone. So where to go from there?
Measurements are:
waist - 30.5ins (and I do mean around my belly button, not further up where most people measure their waists)
hips - 37ins
thighs (thickest part) - 22ins
upper arms - 11.5ins
bust - 39ins
Anyway, I came on here to document a wonderful little concoction I just made and enjoyed. It's hardly anything Heston Blumenthal would do...but I thought I'd tell you anyway. I always get really jealous of people who can enjoy ice cream and frappucinos without guilt or weight gain, so I'm always looking for an alternative that I can have. I used a scoop of strawberry cream 90% protein powder, 200-300ml almond milk, 4 big spoons of natural yogurt, lots of ice cubes, whizzed up in a blender. Serious yum. That actually made 2 and a half large glasses worth, which is just under 300 calories for the whole lot, and 36g protein. Winning!

Fat Attack, episode 1

I'm back! I've had a few people ask me if I've stopped my blog, and the answer is absolutely not! My laptop caught a trojan horse virus and has been out of action for a little while. Hence, no blogs!

Anyway, where was I? I was musing over the program. It's gone. Done. Finished. I called it quits 3 weeks earlier than scheduled partly due to having a few bad weeks health wise, when I couldn't train as regularly as I needed to and partly because I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't feeling the benefits and it was taking up all my time, but boring me to death. So, I believe I mentioned I've recruited Vinnie at Klick, and am undergoing a few weeks of fat attack. I'm training with him in the morning when I can get in before work which is supposed to be good for fat burning, or the evening if not, two sessions a week. On top of that I'm doing my own workouts, lots of cardio and weights. I've been advised to stop eating as much fruit, which is a real bummer because I have a sweet tooth. Instead I'm crunching on celery with very low fat cheese spread and chugging protein shakes like they're going out of style. For my evening meal I'm having brocoli with some form of protein, be it fish or meat. I'm also drinking a large glass of water before each meal, and am experimenting with a lemon and mint infusion, which is surprisingly palatable! All in all, the diet's unexciting but I'm hoping the outcome might be the opposite.

So, my stats are pretty unaltered, except that my fat percentage did decrease by 1%, but apparently fat percentage on scales is very unreliable. You have to eat and drink exactly the same to have any real way of measuring it accurately. I've been told to go by my weight and how my clothes feel, which is really not ideal because I'm desperately unhappy with my weight, and the only thing that makes me feel better about it is the fact that my body fat percentage is so low. I'm sure you understand my situation! But, let's see how it goes. I will post progress photos if, in fact, I see any progress.

Oh, calories today 1829.

Week 1 of part 3

I dragged my backside to the gym a few times last week and played around with these workouts but the commitment wasn't quite there due to one thing or another. I did do a fantastic session on Wallasey beach on Sunday, which involved a hellish number of sprints up a sand dune, and jumps onto a picnic bench, supersetted with dips and squats.

I have hit it properly this week. Monday I did the following: (2100 calories in case you're interested)

• 3 x 8 Lat pulldowns (80kg)/3 x 12 burpees/45 second rest
• 4 x 10 reverse pushups/4 x 20 mountain climbers/30 second rest
• 3 x 8 barbell curls (15kg)/3 x 15 side squat jumps (squat, jump as far as you can to one side, repeat)/45 seconds rest
• 4 x 8 bentover barbell rows (20kg)/4 x 30 twist jumps (squat, jump and do a 180 degree twist, repeat)/45 second rest
• 3 x 10 close grip rows (20kg)/3 x 20 box jumps/30 second rest
• 3 x 25 crunches, 3 x 25 bicycle crunches, 3 x 25 dumbbell crunches (hold dumbbell over head with straight arms and crunch up). What a grueller that one is.

Tuesday (2250 calories)

• 3 x 10 bench press (14kg DBs)/3 x 30 flutter kicks/45 second rest
• 4 x 8 barbell skullcrushers (10kg)/4 x 50 jumping jacks/30 second rest
• 3 x 10 dumbbell military press (8kg)/3 x 30 med ball (7kg) woodchoppers (15 to each side)/45 second rest
• 4 x 15 bench dips/4 x 15 dumbbell bench step ups (15 each leg)/30 second rest
• 3 x 10 barbell clean and press (20kg - some turned into push presses though!)/3 x 10 burpees/60 seconds rest
• 4 x 10 incline bench press (8kg DBs)/4 x 30 mountain climbers/45 second rest

I've also put that pesky 4lb back on. I think it might be a 'cyclical' thing so I have no doubt they'll disappear again. Not that this means they're welcome. I intend to permanently lose at least 6lb before I get married in November so that I can be confident that any fluctuations won't affect my mindset. I want to feel the best I can and I can't do that with an extra 4lbs sitting around my waist line. With this in mind I've recruited Vinnie at Klick to help me out a bit, I'm going to do two sessions a week with him and see if I can get fat burned off. I don't expect miracles, but maybe a swift kick up the backside will do the trick.

Gina is a poorly Ribena berry...

This week's program has been much more stimulating than the last 4 weeks. I did a coastal run in Barrow on Saturday morning which was hideous. Just awful. The heat was great, don't get me wrong, and the sun beaming down, beautiful views to take in...but also quite a breeze which consequently caused quite a sand storm. I've had road rash, grass rash, rain rash and now I've had sand rash as well. I'd say sand rash was the worst, especially when it's combined with heat and sweat. My face was nearly purple by the time I'd finished. Not a good look.

I have only been able to complete Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's workout this week though due to ill health, and I am trying to get back on track with it but have not had the energy. I am hoping to do Friday's workout tomorrow, which is Sunday, but if not then I may have to take a hiatus. I will continue the blog though, but will commence training for the Total Warrior instead of finishing the program. I'm hoping to ultimately finish the program, but we'll have to see if I can actually make the commitment - health dependent. My last post disclosed my weight gain, but for the record, those 4 pesky pounds have vanished again, as quick as they came. And hopefully they've taken the hint that they're not welcome on this busy body of mine!
So this week has gone down as so...

Monday

• 3 x 8 Lat pulldowns (36kg) /3 x 12 burpees/45 second rest
• 4 x 10 reverse pushups/4 x 20 mountain climbers/30 second rest
• 3 x 8 barbell curls (10kg then 15kg)/3 x 15 side squat jumps (squat, jump as far as you can to one side, repeat)/45 seconds rest

What a wonderful little workout this was! I really enjoyed the dynamic movements, and felt I was actually accomplishing something too.

• 4 x 8 bentover barbell rows (first two sets 20kg, then last two sets 25kg)/4 x 30 twist jumps (squat, jump and do a 180 degree twist, repeat)/45 second rest
• 3 x 10 close grip rows (15 kg)/3 x 20 box jumps/30 second rest
• 3 x 25 crunches, 3 x 25 bicycle crunches, 3 x 25 dumbbell crunches (hold dumbbell over head with straight arms and crunch up). This was a brilliant ab workout, I actually felt my abs the following day which was most unusual.

Tuesday

• 3 x 10 bench press (16kg DB, 12kg DB then back to 16kg, nearly killed me)/3 x 30 flutter kicks/45 second rest
• 4 x 8 barbell skullcrushers (10kg, then up to 12.5, then back down to 10kg)/4 x 50 jumping jacks/30 second rest
• 3 x 10 dumbbell military press (10kg - although on 2nd set only got to 8 reps then complete failure until the next set)/3 x 30 med ball woodchoppers (15 to each side) (6kg)/45 second rest
• 4 x 15 bench dips/4 x 15 dumbbell bench step ups (10kg)/30 second rest
• 3 x 10 barbell clean and press (15kg, this was quite easy but any heavier and I'd have had to push press) /3 x 10 burpees/60 seconds rest
• 4 x 10 incline bench press (10kg)/4 x 30 mountain climbers/45 second rest

Wednesday

• 3 x 10 barbell or smith machine squats(30kg)/3 x 45 second jump rope/45 second rest
• 4 x 10 deadlifts (50kg)/4 x 20 horizontal jacks (In plank position, jump your feet off the ground and spread feet wide, jump feet off the body and bring your feet together so you’ve returned to plank position, repeat)/60 second rest
• 3 x 10 dumbbell lunges (8kg)/3 x 25 lunge jumps (lunge, jump up, and switch legs in mid-air and land on other foot forward)/45 second rest
• 4 x 10 reverse dumbbell lunges (8kg)/4 x 45 second jump rope/45 second rest
• 3 x 12 box or bench jumps/30 second jump rope/3 x 20 mountain climbers/30 second plank/60 second rest

Most of you who know me will remember that I have severe OCD, and in particular a fear of...well, for want of a better word...poo. There's been some blocked drains at the gym and indeed an overflow of sewage which has struck cold fear into my heart, and after spending a number of hours sanitising my entire gym kit, following that up with two showers, I am reluctant to return. With this in mind, I am going to do the best with what I've got, which might include interval training with hill sprints, or working out with our limited equipment at home. Either way, this week could prove challenging on many fronts.

Week 8

Friday's workout was good fun - the exercises were diverse and interesting. I particularly liked the Arnold presses, not that I could do them with particularly heavy weights but mastering the technique was good.

Look at me, trying to be positive! Honestly, this program sucks, as does the fact I've put on 3 lbs. I shan't blame the program, I will blame an amendment in medication. I am so ridiculously tired of working my bum off only to have my bum...expand.

Monday I didn't do anything. Tuesday I did 4 out of 5 sets of Cross Eyes, the 5th was abandoned because of the boxing class but I made up for it by doing 20 minutes of HIIT sprinting at the end of my session.

Wednesday I did 3 sets of 12 reps with 40kg narrow stance leg press, then the same with a wide stance. I did the DB squats with 12kg, but got confused about what to do with the weights as I squatted - I mean, I hung my arms at my sides but then they bumped into my knees on the way down so I ended up propping them up on my shoulders. Then I did 150 box jumps in 5 sets of 30, on a high step. After that I did 50 step ups (each leg) and then 50 reverse step ups. But, I can't tell the difference between normal step ups and reverse step ups. They feel the same to me.

Today is Thursday and I was meant to be doing Wednesday's workout because I'm a day behind myself. Well, now I'm two days behind myself as I didn't go. Life has well and truly gotten in the way this week, and whilst I was reluctant to skip the workout today, I felt it was for the best. So tomorrow I will try and get 45 HIIT running in plus 15 minutes of backwards walking (looking forward to that...), and then Saturday will be Thursday's arm workout as well as further HIIT. I won't pretend I'm going to do 30 minutes of HIIT rowing or cycling, because I'm absolutely not. I'll find an alternative, whether it's HIIT sprinting (I'll incorporate a little Total Warrior training and do it on a hill somewhere), or skipping. HIIT sitting activities kill me, I end up limping for days because my hips seize up. Blame the hypermobility again.

As I'm sure you can tell, I hate this program at the moment - I've lost momentum with it, and am consequently bored. I want to get back to muay thai and doing my own thing. But, I'm trying to finish it. Please don't think I've abandoned workouts easily - it takes a lot for me to skip one, but this week it really has been necessary. Hopefully next week I'll find my second (third?) wind, when I start the third and final stage.

Week 7

My 10k was uneventful, I started super slow to make sure I finished but finished quite fast. Unfortunately due to the slow start, I did it in an hour and 10 seconds. I reckon I've got sub 50 minutes in me. Somewhere.

So back to the program. Today I've had 2200 calories, mostly good calories but the pistachios sort of pushed me over the 2000 mark. Boo.
Monday
3 x 12 reps bent over rows with 15kg. Still doing the wretched TUT technique for the whole workout. It's really getting dull now, I can't lie.
3 x 12 reps with 12kg DB bench press
3 x 12 reps 8kg DB incline bench
3 x 10 reps with 4kg lat DB raises
3 x 8 reps with 6kg incline bicep curls. They're hard. But quite good.
3 x 10 reps with 4kg tricep kick backs (each arm)
3 x 10 reps with 31.6kg rope pushdown
started to do the upright barbell rows, but then something in my right wrist popped out of place and continued to pop out each time I did a lift...so I reluctantly called time on that one.
This was ultimately an incredibly tedious work out and took me hours. I came home in a stinking mood, and had a big ol' rant about this program. At this stage of the operation, I don't think it's worth the time and trouble. I'm sure there are more effective workouts that can be done in two hours.  But I'm far too stubborn to toss the towel in at this late stage.

Tuesday
20 minutes HIIT cycling (:30/1:30), 30 minutes skipping (2 mins jump, 30 seconds rest). Then I did my boxing class to add a further 30 minutes to the cardio for the day. Got to burn those calories somehow!

Wednesday I had a gut ache the size of Russia so I swerved the gym, knowing I would force myself to do two days' worth of training on Thursday instead. Which is what I did today.
3 x 12 reps 50kg leg press
3 x 10 reps 40kg deadlifts
3 x 10 reps 40kg squats
I started to do the side barbell squats but couldn't get the technique quite right so I'm going to study that one a bit more before doing any. 3 x 8 reps with 30kg sumo squats.
And then I did the Black Diamond Challenge. Oh it looks like a nice, steady, low key workout.

It's not.

400metre run, 30 box jumps (I used a box taller than a standard step - but I don't think it was 24 inches, that would have ended badly if I'd attempted that), then 30 wall ball shots with 7kg ball. Klick is a new gym, and they're rather protective of the fresh paintwork so they don't like people abusing the walls too much. With this in mind, I threw the medicine ball as high as I could, caught it and then went into a squat - 30 times.
This you're supposed to do 5 times. I got to the end of the first set and had serious doubts about making it to the second, let alone the fifth. But then this occurred to me...

The guys at Share It Fitness write that their challenges are 'very strenuous workouts, so don't feel bad if you can't make it all the way through.' But I did make it right through, in 29 minutes and 54 seconds. It was hard, especially straight after quite a tough leg workout. This is the price I have to pay for having a day off on Wednesday.

I didn't feel good in the gym today, I felt like I'd put weight on, and I felt self conscious, as though people would notice I'd put weight on...since Tuesday. I hope this is a temporary thing because although the results I have had from this program have not been dramatic, I would hate to actually go backwards.

Tomorrow I'm  off to the beach for a training session, and then Saturday I'll have to do what I was meant to do Friday, so I'm not getting as much rest as I should be, but I feel ready for it.