Keep On Keepin' On

All right, blog. I haven't forgotten about you. Quit nagging me. The past couple of weeks have been crazy. It's midterm season at school, so all the tests and projects came out to say hello! I did get all my workouts in, though I've had to adjust my cardio routine a bit. Jogging was taking a toll on my legs and feet. My calves and shins were hurting to the point where I could only walk during one workout, and I sustained a stress fracture in my right foot earlier this year, so I'm very conscious of wear and tear on my body. I tried to use a stationary bike to supplement the cardio but decide this wasn't for me. I then went back to my old friend, the elliptical. I like it because it's definitely lower impact for my legs and feet, and honestly, I feel like I'm getting a better workout than I did on the treadmill. I've cut my workout time down to 35 minutes for the elliptical, but I don't feel guilty because it's SO DARN CHALLENGING.

Last Friday, I had my second meeting with Bonnie, my trainer. She created a new strength training routine for me to do for the next two weeks. There's still a 1 minute plank and even more step-ups, but thank God, the walking lunges are gone. I'll post the full routine on the Workouts page. Bonnie was super nice as always, and she complimented me on my form again. :) I love that she is always changing up the routines to prevent boredom and complacency.

Here's a little side note on progress. I have gained about 5 pounds; however, when you're first starting to work out, this is normal because your body will gain muscle (which is denser than fat). I'm trying to avoid the scale and not get freaked out by the number because I know it won't help my motivation. Instead, I'm focusing more on the way my clothes are fitting. Jeans are still loose in the thighs and under the booty, and I feel like my shirts are starting to fit better too. We will see. I'm going home at the end of this month, and I'm curious to see if my family will be able to see any changes.

Oh, and I, you know, LOST 1.5" OFF MY THIGHS! It is working, and there is quantitative proof of it! More motivation for me! :D

xoxo

Katie

What a Week...And It's Only Thursday

I am back! It has been quite an interesting week so far. I  will start off by saying I HAVE been to the gym every day, but I've not had a very good few days. It's mostly just that I'm having crappy days but then my computer DIED. So I had to run to Wal-Mart last night and buy brand new one. So, woo. Workout recap of this week thus far:

Monday 

I went to the gym and did the strength training routine that Bonnie made for me. I will not lie; I was dreading this. Friday was hard, and I was still somewhat sore when I went in Monday. (30 step-ups will make you VERY aware of your quadriceps.) I was surprised to find it was a little bit easier. Definitely still a challenge, but I wasn't totally dying.

Tuesday

Tuesday is a cardio day. I went in and did my treadmill routine as per usual. It had been a long day already, so I was pretty worn out mentally. I normally enjoy my jog, but I felt like I had to really push through it. I DID get through it and was happy I did, but I was just feeling...off that day. So, not my best jog, but better than nothing.

Wednesday

Another day of strength training! This time was noticeably easier. I wasn't dying for the 1 minute plank to end. I finished all the step-ups with some semblance of energy left. The part that is still super hard for me is the walking lunges. 20 of those bad boys, and they are killer. But I'm already telling a difference in my strength and abilities, so I'm very proud.

I noticed the other day that my jeans felt a little baggy in the thigh/booty area, and that's VERY unusual for me. This girl definitely has some junk in the trunk, and that is the one place pants are never baggy. I sent a picture of my backside in the jeans to my boyfriend to confirm (I figured he pays more attention to it than I do :P), and he said he could tell a little bit of a difference. The trainer said not to focus so much on pounds for the first couple of months but rather more on how clothes are fitting, so this is encouraging. I think my face also looks slimmer. Even if no one else can see the difference, I can FEEL the difference. After yesterday's workout, I felt so good about myself. I was energized and proud, and I can't wait until I see Bonnie next Friday to show her how much hard work I've been putting in. :)

xoxo

Katie

Cardioooo!

Today I hit the gym again to do some cardio. My trainer, Bonnie, told me to do cardio on the days that I'm not doing weight training. I meant to go yesterday, but I confused the hours of my gym, and it was closed. :/ Oh well. I hit it hard today.

I did my treadmill routine and even amped up my jogging speed from 4.5 to 4.8 mph. It doesn't seem like much of an increase and who would think that 0.3 mph would even make a difference, but let me tell you, it does. It was definitely more of a challenge, and workouts should always be a challenge if you want to see results. I mean, the bends of my elbows were sweating! Ew. I did around 44 minutes of cardio and it resulted in 2.9 miles.

I've never been one for running or jogging. I joke that the reason I always played softball as opposed to any other sport was because I only had to run from base to base. Haha. But now, I'm just pushing through it and making it happen. And when I finish and step off that treadmill, I feel like a badass. Like, YEAH, I just did 2.9 miles! Woo!

The key for me is not to compare myself to others because that's not a healthy or effective means of measuring progress. If the girl next to me runs at 6 mph for 30 minutes, good for her. That's not where I am, and I can't hold myself to that same standard. Your workout is about you. Set attainable goals and when you reach them, make new ones.

Btw, I'm still super sore from Bonnie's workout on Friday. And I'm going back in to do it tomorrow. It's going to be rough; I can already feel it. I know it will be worth it though.

xoxo

Katie

Treadmill Routine

Hey guys! Here is my basic treadmill routine. This is something I came up with that works for me on the treadmill, so change what you need to best fit your workout. I like to do intervals on the treadmill because 1) umm, running is hard and 2) intervals are a more effective way of training.

Treadmill Routine 1

1. Warm-up walk for 5 minutes. I typically start out at 2 or 2.5 and work my way up to 3.5 or 3.6.
2. Light jog for 5 minutes. I jog at 4.5 because I'm still new to it, but I'm planning on amping it up soon.
3. Power walk for 3 minutes. I walk at 3.5 or 3.6. You don't want to slow down too much.
4. Repeat 2 & 3 for 3 times for a total of 4 intervals. 
5. Cool down walk for 5 minutes. I use the treadmill's cool down feature, but you can easily just decrease your speed on your own. 

This will give you a workout of approximately 42 minutes. I put my headphones in, blast Pandora, and tune everything else out. :)

And so it begins!

Yesterday I had my first meeting with my new personal trainer, Bonnie. I was beyond nervous. All day long I kept worrying about it. I'm always nervous to start new experiences and meet new people and worry about not being good at it, BUT as it turns out, Bonnie and I definitely "clicked". She's a really sweet girl. She's only 20, so I feel kind of old (even though I'm only 22!). We both have danced and played softball throughout our lives. I think things will work out.

We started off with a 5 minute warm-up walk on the treadmill then moved on to core exercises. Bonnie had me do a plank for 1 minute, followed by some sideways arm extensions on the cable weight machine (not sure what to call them). Then I had to repeat that circuit. I was proud of myself for holding the plank both times.

Then we started the real workout. Bonnie started me off with some basic moves so as not to overwhelm me and to kind of gauge my fitness level. Here's what we did:

Step-ups (on a weight bench)
Push-ups (modified, knees on ground)
Walking Lunges
Single Arm Rows (with cable machine)
Squats

I'm not sure of all the numbers here because she was counting and I was focusing on form, but I'll update this on Monday when I go back and see the card. We did this circuit twice. I did really well the first set, but the second set was definitely harder. I started to feel the burn about halfway through the step-ups. It reminded me of climbing the Great Wall of China (which I have done, and man, this was just as rough). The walking lunges just about took me out, but I finished the workout strong.

That's one good thing about this personal training business. With her there watching me, I KNOW I have to push through and do my best because she'll notice if I'm slacking. And she's not mean or a drill sergeant at all. Bonnie is super nice and very encouraging. She even high fived me when I finished. :)

The plan now is to repeat that same workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next two weeks. On the other days, I'm supposed to do 30 minutes to 1 hour of cardio, which I'm accomplishing by jogging/walking intervals on a treadmill. I'll post my treadmill workout too so you can see what I'm doing.

I am definitely sore today, BUT that's how you know it's working. If you don't challenge yourself, you won't see any change in yourself. I know I've got to keep it up because I don't want to disappoint myself or Bonnie when I see her again on October 5th.

xoxo

Katie

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