Week #1

In order to better accomodate my schedule, I am blogging on Saturday this week. Tomorrow is going to be dedicated to homework, errands, wedding stuff, a long run, and, of course, prepping my food for the second week of the challenge.

Week one of the transformation went very well. In terms of workouts, I completed all morning cardio, lifting workouts, conditioning workouts,frequency method pushups, and burpees. Each day M-F I completed 5X5 pushups throughout the day. Also, between my conditioning workout on Tuesday and timed burpees on Thursday, I completed 150+ burpees this week.

Additionally, I followed my nutrition plan exactly. I added in more veggies, protein, and drank a gallon of water almost every day. I also had my 24-hour window of "free" time which was something I looked forward to! I feel great so far! Bring on week 2.

Workouts for Week 1:
Monday-AM elliptical/AM crossfit
Tuesday-AM run/walk/PM crossfit
Wednesday-AM elliptical
Thursday-AM run/walk/Lunch boot camp/PM yoga
Friday-AM swim/PM crossfit
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- 12 mile run

Winter, Maybe?

The week of January 16th brought snow and cold. Despite the weather, I was able to get most of my workouts done as my cold was finally going away. I will admit that I did not work to my maximum potential most likely because tomorrow starts my 14 week transformation challenge. I know that it is not going to be an easy 14 weeks (98 days), but in the end, I hope it will be worth the effort. We had our nutrition seminar on Saturday and that gave me some great ideas for food for the week. I stocked up on good proteins and veggies. Yesterday, I hard boiled eggs and cooked up a large quantity of brown rice. I have the supplies and tools to be successful, but the rest is on me. I'll be slightly adjusting my weight training, adding in frequency method pushups, and continuing to train for the half at Hampton.

Here's the recap of last week, for future weeks, I'll be labeling them #1-#14 for my 14 week challenge

Monday- AM crossfit
Tuesday- PM crossfit
Wednesday- AM run/ Lunch bootcamp
Thursday- Lunch boot camp/PM yoga
Friday- AM run/lunch boot camp
Saturday-AM crossfit
Sunday- 11 mile run

Transformation Challenge 2012

In a little over a week, I will embark on a 14 week transformation challenge with other members of White Mountain Crossfit. Today, I took my body measurements, BWT, and my first round of photos. It was not pretty, but it had to be done :) I am hoping to make some serious progress in my goal to look lean and fit in my wedding dress by September. But more than the superficial goals, I hope to become significantly stronger and maybe even complete a pull up or chin up. Our first seminar is next Saturday and I am ready for the challenge!

As a follow up to my blog posting two weeks ago, my workouts definitely did not follow the exact plan I had set up because, of course, I was overtaken by some sort of viral infection or cold just to make things interesting. Therefore, the week of 1/2 was modified to this schedule:

Monday- AM crossfit
Tuesday- AM run/ Lunch boot camp
Wednesday- Lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Thursday-AM run
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- Rest because I was sick :(

Then, the week of 1/9, I eased back into my workout routine:
Monday-AM crossfit
Tuesday-Lunch run/PM crossfit
Wednesday- Lunch boot camp
Thursday- PM run
Friday- Lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Saturday- 10 mile run (finally back to where I was at before the virus!)

As I am now getting ready for the transformation challenge, snowshoe races, and the Half at the Hamptons, I have a busy week ahead of me. In addition, I am taking a graduate course at SNHU that is quite a bit of work. Finally, I am trying to chip away at wedding tasks, so an organized workout schedule is important. My time is very limited, so I have to make sure I follow it as much as possible.

Here are my intentions for the week of 1/15/12:
Sunday- Rest
Monday- 9am crossfit
Tuesday- PM crossfit
Wednesday-AM run/Lunch boot camp
Thursday- AM cardio/Lunch boot camp/PM Yoga for Athletes at Quest
Friday-AM run/PM crossfit
Saturday-Rest
Sunday- Long run

New Year, New Goals

Hello 2012. I'm not sure how this year will go, but I do know that I have switched my goals in training. Last year was all about endurance training and putting in a ton of miles. I'm certainly not going to cut that aspect from my training completely, but my current area of focus is strength training and conditioning. After Pumpkinman, in October, I took a month and relaxed a bit. Then I tried out a short boot camp lunch workout in Manchester. I enjoyed this different approach to fitness and decided to take it a step further and check out Crossfit. Crossfit has earned both positive and negative attention due to the super intense nature of the sport. Additionally, if people are not doing the moves correctly, it can be very dangerous (as is any new fitness routine). Given some of the results I had seen, I was definitely willing to give in a chance. In late October, I wandered into White Mountain Crossfit in Concord, NH. I was uncertain if this warehouse style gym run by an intense, former U.S. army paratropper would be the right fit. I have never been one to enjoy getting dirty and sweaty. However, after doing the three week intro session (on ramp), I was hooked. With serious changes in my diet and exercise, I was already seeing results. Since starting in October, I have gradually increased my weightlifting, completed actual pushups, and pushed myself to new limits. In addition, I look and feel better than I have in years! 30 is the new 20 if you treat your body well :)

With 251 days until our wedding day, I plan to continue to up my focus on strength training and eating the right things. I have been following a modified paleo diet with some success. In addition, I will incorporate more yoga and will continue to run. If we ever get some snow, I'll participate in a few of the Granite State Snowshoe Series races. Also, I signed up to run in the Half at the Hamptons half marathon in February. However, after those shorter endurance events are over, I am all about the strength, yoga, and morning cardio.



The frequency of my blogging is undetermined at this time, but here is an rough look at what my upcoming week will look like:
Sunday- rest (aka working at Hermanos)
Monday- AM cardio/9am crossfit
Tuesday- AM run/NLP lunch boot camp
Wednesday-lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Thursday-AM run/lunch boot camp
Friday- AM swim/PM crossfit
Saturday-long run/light yoga