Showing posts with label FWTFLVIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FWTFLVIP. Show all posts

Monday, August 27, 2018

Cape Cod Summer 2018 - Week 1

I don't know why, but working out at the Cape just feels more fun. It could be the cool temperatures, the outdoor workouts, or maybe because I had extra training partners jumping in.


At the start of our first week at the Cape we had to endure a couple of rainy days, but after that the weather was amazing. I kept up with my FASTer Way To Fat Loss VIP workouts and didn't go too off track with my nutrition (affiliate).

Here's what last week's workouts looked like:

Interval Training:
On Monday we had to wait out some rain before we could dive into a 4 circuit HIIT workout, but it was worth it. Since we were doing at home workouts, we changed up the planned sprints on Tuesday and did a Tabata workout. Cooler morning temperatures definitely make these workouts feel a little easier. If I could bottle up this weather to take back to Hong Kong, I would in a heart beat!

Tuesday afternoon we rode bikes along the Shining Sea Bikeway.


Strength Training:
The VIP of strength training on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday was my collection of resistance bands (Fit Simplify bands on Amazon). It took some ingenuity (mostly from mrC), but I was able to do the workouts without feeling like I was missing effectiveness. All of the workouts included a build-up format ---> take 3 exercises and do 1 rep each, then 2 reps each, then 3 reps each...until reaching the max number which was 7. Whoa! This method really tired out my muscles.


Saturday evening we had all three kids (plus one BF) with us and went for a sunset paddle on the West Falmouth Harbor. It was sooooo beautiful. Amy from Peace Love SUP showed us all the best spots in the harbor and took amazing photos for us. We love booking group paddles with her.


Active Rest:
I did some Feel Good Flow porch yoga from Yoga with Adriene on Friday while everyone slept in. Our neighborhood is so quiet and peaceful. I took a full rest day on Sunday but enjoyed an evening walk to the beach.


Sunday morning we took our first seal watching boat cruise out of Harwich Port to Monomoy Island. It was the perfect day to be on the water and the seals were so cute. We found a large harem sitting on a sand bar and when the captain turned off the engine we could hear them singing.


In the mornings, I spent time studying for my FASTer Way To Fat Loss coach certification. I am super excited to finish and coach my own groups ---> if you would like to join the waitlist for my first group go here)!

I'm so happy that we have another full week of Cape Cod fun coming up.

Until then, I'm linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!










Sunday, August 12, 2018

Weekly Wrap | New month, new week, new workouts, new goals.

New month, new week, new workouts, new goals.

This month I am back in the FASTer Way To Fat Loss®️ VIP program. While I like that I can 100% recycle my old workouts, I also like to shake things up. The VIP program offers FWTFL veterans new workouts every week, continued online group support and monthly health and fitness topics to expand my overall wellness.

Here's a wrap up of my week:

Interval Training
Monday's workout got a late start because I had a morning appointment. So between going to the gym in the afternoon and a seriously intense HIIT workout, I got my butt kicked. I posted my sweatiest #sweatyselfie on Instagram as #proof. On Tuesday it was sprints on the elliptical. These always get my legs burning.


Strength Training:
The workouts this week followed a format similar to drop sets: 2 short sets with heavy weight and 1 longer set with 50% weight. My muscles really liked this format and I know this because every workout left some part of my body feeling like jelly. Wednesday it was my shoulders, Thursday it was my biceps and Saturday it was my quads.


Active Rest:
I kept with my usual yoga session on Friday and did Side Body Flow from Yoga with Adriene. This really helped me stretch out my whole upper body after two good strength training workouts on Wednesday and Thursday. I was hoping for the usual SUP session on Sunday, but passing typhoons brought very rainy and unstable weather. Instead I took a power-walk to try to beat the rain and did some stretching afterwards.


NSV (non-scale victory):
Muscles. I am starting to SEE my muscles, especially in my left leg which is also the bad knee. My cranky knee has not made improving strength in that leg easy, so I am thrilled to finally start seeing some changes. It has been a slow process but I'm excited to know that the work is paying off. My goal is to keep working and make even more muscles pop!

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!




Monday, August 6, 2018

Weekly Wrap | As Many Reps As Possible

AMRAP, as many reps as possible. I've seen this fitness term tossed around my social media for years and always felt a little intimidated by that kind of workout.

When AMRAP showed up in all of my strength training workouts last week, I figured it was finally time for me to give it a try. And, you know what? It wasn't bad at all. My body and my mind were clearly ready for a new challenge.

This got me thinking. Timing is everything.


Last week things just seemed to be falling into place. The timing was right for a lot of things in my life and it felt really good.
  • I took on those timed AMRAP workouts like a champ 
  • my FASTer Way To Fat Loss VIP group monthly topic is MINDSET. We're talking about the power of positive thinking and how to avoid the self-sabotage trap (I do this A LOT)
  • I took a step toward learning something new (not quite ready to share what it is yet, but it is definitely something I have wanted to do for awhile and now is the right time for me)
It was a good week all around. Here's a look at my workouts for the week:

Interval Training
I loved the workout space for Monday's HIIT workout! "Up by 10" is a tough one ---> I may have cheated on the in & outs and the plank pushups, but I still got in plenty of the total 550 reps! Tuesday's sprint workout seemed tame in comparison, but I still felt a good burn.


Strength Training
Like I said, first time doing AMRAP workouts. I don't know what I thought was so intimidating in the past, but I liked this type of workout. I was surprised to see how many or how few reps I could do in the timed portions. I also tried my new weight lifting gloves...I like the fit, but I'm on the fence on how I feel about wearing them.


Active Rest Days
For my Friday yoga session, I did Yoga with Adriene's Stretch and Soothe. We had perfect weather for our Sunday SUP session. I am so grateful that I've learned to embrace my active rest days. I used to think that I needed to work out EVERY day hard. I didn't realize that I was actually hurting my body. Making progress means taking rest days and giving your body time to recover.



Have you ever felt like something was perfect timing?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Tabata Tuesday - My Bounce Back Workout

A twenty minute FASTer Way to Fat Loss® Tabata workout doesn't sound too hard, until you are right in the middle of it.


This was my first workout since Saturday. Sunday was a rest day. We made it to church before the Typhoon Signal #8 was raised and cancelled the rest of the Masses for the day. We have started a new weekly routine of going out to breakfast after church. One reason is that we like to share an order of banana bread French toast. Seriously good stuff (at Zaks in Discovery Bay).


Yesterday I was all signed up for my Monday morning Bodystep class and looking forward to running with the 5K night group. Instead I spent the day feeling pretty crappy. I slept a lot and started reading a new book that a former co-worker recommended All American Boys (affiliate).

So today was my bounce back workout.

I started my workout with a 5 minute walk around the crescent that surrounds the courtyard in front of our building. A few stretches and then I tapped start on my interval app: 8 sets of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest for 5 exercises. I take 30 seconds rest between exercises, mostly so I can stretch, but also so I can catch my breath.

squat jumps
mountain climbers on steroids
scissor jumps
burpees
toe taps

I've been a fan of Tabata workouts for awhile. I love the variety, the intensity, the length. They are great for those days when you don't really feel like working out, but want to get one in, kind of quick and dirty. Boom! They're also really good when you're coming back from a sick day.

When I was done, mrC joined me and we went for a low intensity walk to the beach and back.


I spent the rest of the day getting organized for our Hong Kong visa renewal appointment at the end of the week, tying up loose ends from the US Navy visit and making plans.

For dinner, mrC made us some Italian crock-pot chicken and green beans. My macros for the day were good, so I was able to have a little Chobani yogurt for dessert.


Tomorrow I'm joining the American Women's Association's hiking group for the first time since the spring.


What's your go-to workout after a sick day?



Thursday, October 12, 2017

A Thursday 5K & Strength Training

One thing I love about my carb cycling program (and I've said this A LOT) is the flexibility. I moved my days around to accommodate some plans that I have on Friday.

So instead of a fasting day, I did a strength training day.

But first...I woke up this morning and decided to run. Before waking up completely and changing my mind, I threw on my Mizunos and headed out the door. It was being able to run while the sun came up that convinced me to go.


By the time I got to the beach and took this selfie (about half way into my run) I was looking more awake. There were a lot of other people awake too: runners, walkers, bikers, commuters, students. In New Hampshire, I could go for a run and never see another person (besides cars). I love the constant activity here.


One of my safety measures is that I text mrC to let him know that I'm heading out (the other is the Wearsafe tag I'm wearing on my tank) and where I'm running. Today was easy since it was the route that he picked the last time we ran together except I added an extra part along the beach promenade.


Running in DB means you have to run some hills. This route is one of the easier ones. According to MapMyRun, this route gets a climb rating of 5 (the easiest). For any climb to be rated (receive a climb score/category ((by MMR)) it must be at least 500 meters in length with an average grade of 3% or more. Even though it is one of the easier ones (officially and unofficially), it is still hard.

The end is at the high rises

I felt pretty good about my run. My overall pace was 11:11 ---> not bad when you take into account that I walk every mile for my knee and more on the last uphill because it's hard. It also feels good to be doing longer runs.


The actual strength training: I did the at-home version - back, biceps, triceps and abs plus finishers. My arms were feeling sore from my Bodypump class yesterday, so I didn't push myself too hard today. The end was the killer. Holy cow! I'll just show you this video of one of the finishers: man makers x 20.


Off to the pool for a bit again as my reward. Ironically, mrC is flying the maker of this towel today. Small world. I didn't stay long because it is actually too hot ---> 90 degrees and feels like 97 is what I call Hong Kong Hot.


The contractor was back to finish the water damage repair. He did a good job; the wall looks brand new. 


It was a regular calorie day and I kept it simple: protein bar snack, turkey roll-ups and watermelon for lunch, grapes snack, and scrambled eggs with ham and rice cakes for dinner (again).


Do you before, during or after the sun comes up?
Ever done man makers before?




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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Move It Monday (and Tuesday)

Yesterday I finally returned to Bodystep class. I was a little worried about how it would go. It was not easy, my legs were still seriously sore from my return to strength training on Saturday and my instructor just does a good job of kicking everyone’s butt.


mrC went to the North Plaza with me. While I was in class, he got a haircut and then waited for me at the tables. I joined him after class and enjoyed a little cool-down while he went to get me more water.


Since Hong Kong was enjoying some breezy weather from a passing tropical depression, we walked to the main plaza later to run some errands ---> post office to mail off some protein to littleC, order water for the bubbler, drop clothes in the recycle bin (which was moved to somewhere else), look for vanilla Greek yogurt at the grocery (no luck) and pick up some new light bulbs for the kitchen at the hardware store. Our HK kitchen is tiny, but fresh bulbs make a big difference!


It was a low carb day so I had some eggs and ham for breakfast, left over chicken breast and green beans for lunch, and then more eggs for dinner. I ended up NOT going to the Monday night group run because my legs were just flat worn out. The last thing I need is to aggravate my knee because my leg muscles are fatigued and not be able to run.

If I couldn't run, I'd be a little lost and definitely sad, but I'd keep going. This has come close to happening a couple times  and over a year ago I actually blogged about my non-running back-up fitness plan. Now that things with my knee have improved to the point that I can run a 5k, I'm hopeful that I will never find out what life is like if I couldn't run (this is a Tuesdays on the Run topic - link below).

Today, I got up, packed my bag and basically headed right out the door for my sprint workout. Anything to avoid losing my motivation. I should probably get my bag organized the night before. I try to take just the necessities - water  bottle, body wipes (affiliate links), safety gear


It was pretty early so I had the promenade mostly to myself. I like to refer to it as my #tracktuesday spot. If it was cushioned like a real track, I would be in heaven. I make it work. It is flat (a rarity in Discovery Bay). Today’s FASTer Way to Fat Loss® workout: 20:40x18. 


The first 14 sprints went pretty well. This surprised me a little considering that after my warmup walk, my legs screamed a little during my stretches. By the time I got to the 15th sprint, I had slowed down a lot and was just focused on finishing. (Side note: I use the Nike Run Club app to track my run data but when I use my watch, it doesn’t give me the GPS data - even when I carry my phone with me. Anyone else have this problem?)


I walked back to the apartment and promptly forgot to do the ab portion of the workout - I got it in later: dead bugs, bird dogs and leg lifts.

Our agent came by with a contractor. We have some water damage in the bedroom from Typhoon Hato. They’ll be back tomorrow to fix it. Then mrC and I headed to Central for the afternoon. 


It was low carb day again - eggs and ham for breakfast and then turkey rolls up with left over green beans for dinner plus a few Cheez-its (very non-low carb ---> I'm a work in progress).

Finish the sentence If I couldn't run... (or join the link up below)
What's in your fitness bag?
How do you track your runs?


Today I'm going the link-up with PattyErika, and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run! 


Friday, August 4, 2017

That's Not the Fat Burning Zone!

That's what I thought when I looked down at my watch during my run.


This morning I set out to do an easy two mile run. My goal? Stay in my fat burning zone. My zone is between 108 and 126. I don't normally focus on my heart rate during a run, but on FASTer Way to Fat Loss® low calorie days our workout is supposed to be low intensity.

I did my usual loop which starts off with a gradual and mostly down hill but then ends with a giant climb up a hill to get back to our apartment. It was muggy (partly the stormy weather and because it is pretty much always like that here), but there was a small breeze (a little relief is all I need).

It took me a few tries to check my heart rate because I don't know how to work the screen on my watch very well. Turns out two clicks will toggle between apps. I found that out completely by accident. Maybe I should have planned a little better. Anyway, my heart rate was way above my fat burning zone. I made myself slow down, but it stayed too high. Once I hit the hill I knew it was going to stay up there.


Well, I tried. I'm thrilled that I was even able to get out for a run. This is what it looked like before and after. Torrential rain? No thanks.


In the end, I had a good run. Here's why:

1. I liked listening to my playlist on my wireless earphones (available on Amazon) which I hadn't done in a long time. It had been so long that I forgot how to connect the earphones to my phone.

2. My shoes earned another two miles and I'm still very happy with the way my knee feels since I started running in them.

3. No intervals! I totally ran by feel. I took breaks when I needed (or wanted for a photo). Once or twice I stopped to stretch my quad and hamstring because that is what makes my knee happy.

4. I didn't want to die, haha! Sometimes the two mile loop that I ran can feel overwhelmingly hard. There's a tunnel and if there's no breeze, it can feel like an eternity running through it. Then there's the hill at the end. Today it didn't feel that long. I'll be holding onto that for awhile!

5. I did it. It's not easy going out alone when I worry about my knee ALL the time. Add to that, I worry about the weather. Not because I'm afraid of getting wet, but because I'm afraid I will slip and fall and hurt my knee. So getting out there alone is a pretty big deal these days!


I used to stretch in the car on the drive home after a run. Now I'm multitasking in the elevator. We live on the 20th floor, so I have some time to kill. I figured I might as well make the best of it!


Low calorie day - the meals

Broke fast at 11:15 (while watching the USWNT defeat Japan) - scrambled eggs with ham and PB&J rice cakes.


Lunch - Left over cheesy quinoa and tuna plus a snack bag of Cheez-its


Dinner - shrimp carbonara and green beans!



Do you listen to music when you run/workout?
Strangest place you have ever stretched?
Are you a soccer fan?


I'm linking up with Lacey and Meranda and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0!




Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Strength Training and Breakthroughs

This morning I went to Bodypump. It was a strength training day and I have finally figured out how to match Bodypump to my carb cycling workouts. My workout plan for today focused on legs, chest, triceps and shoulders. I can do all of these on my own at the fitness center weight room, but Bodypump is a lot more fun.


In true Hong Kong weather fashion, as soon as I was getting ready to leave it started pouring rain. Instead of walking, I took the bus to stay dry. Ha! At least my shoes stayed dry. By the way, I'm loving these new Nikes for my indoor workouts. They're good for running too, but I like the simplicity of this shoe for cross training. It's actually the first running shoe I bought about a thousand years ago, just kidding. It was 2005.


Bodypump went like this: warm-up, legs/squats, chest, back/glutes/hamstrings, arms/triceps, arms/biceps, legs/lunges, shoulders/arms, abs, cool-down. Bam, bam, bam. It was a fast one today and it was good. 800 reps but it was over before I knew it.

Today's class was packed. Not a single piece of equipment left on the rack. And it was 100% women. It's amazing to look around the room and see so many strong fierce women sweating it out. I realize that many of us here in DB are traveling spouses and we don't work, but I still love it!


It wasn't raining when class ended so I took advantage and walked back to the apartment. Even with the looming storm clouds, I have a pretty awesome view no matter which way I look. I wasn't sure if I would make it without having to pop open the umbrella, but I was willing to risk it. I made it.


There goes my bus! No sweaty marks left on the seat today, haha ;)


Walking home lets me get in additional low intensity cardio. The goal is to keep the heart rate in the fat burning zone. I determined my zone to be between 108-126. I was powering up the big hill today (which felt easier than normal!) and probably spent more time above my fat burning zone, but during Bodypump my average heart rate was right in there at 114.


When it comes to fitness, I have had a few breakthroughs over the last year.

1. I'm RUNNING again! This is by far the biggest and best thing happening right now. I am so thankful that my knee has responded to the osteopath and chiropractor work and just me taking things slow and steady. I'm not running long distances, but I embracing the fact that I can run a 5K and a little more.

2. LISTENING to my body. I can honestly say that I do this. I have tried to do it in the past, but now I really, really do. If I'm not feeling it, if my knee is cranky...I don't do the exercise, the workout, the activity. I take time off. I don't let FOMO make me do something that will ultimately hurt me. I just finished this super funny book that makes fun of all the wild and crazy things people will do in the name of fitness. I used to be that person!

3. Working out SMART - this year I have learned not to push too hard. I'm following a workout plan and taking rest days. I warm-up and I stretch. I foam roll and do yoga. All the things the super smart people tell us to do. I'm finally doing it.

4. I understand the relationship between FOOD and WORKOUTS. When I was younger I didn't need to know any of this because my body was a fat burning machine 110% of the time. As I've gotten older and my fitness habits have changed, I've had to educate myself on how fuel and exercise affect my body. Through the FASTer Way to Fat Loss carb cycling program, I have gained valuable information that has become a lifestyle for me.

5. I've embraced STRENGTH TRAINING. I used to dread anytime a coach or instructor told me to lift weights. Now I know that my body will not burn fat without muscles and the muscles I used to have are, well, gone. I have to build new muscles, 46 year old muscles.


Regular Calorie day 1 - the meals

Broke fast at 11:00 - I was seriously craving the grapes today.


Lunch - I was feeling lazy and went for the Cheese-its.


Dinner - One of the recipes I make most often when mrC is on a trip, cheesy tuna and quinoa (recipe here)


Snacks - 1 cup of Chex rice cereal

What breakthroughs have you had recently?
Do you watch your heart rate during workouts?


It's Wednesday Word and I'm linking up with Deb. Today's word is breakthrough and I'm linking up with AnnmarieNicole and Jen for Wild Workout Wednesday!!





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