Weekend Wrap: LISS, Resistance Training, and Ab Carving

We had a busy weekend with lots of family time and plenty of fitness.

Saturday:

mrC and I eased into our day with a little 2 mile walk. The weather has turned so that mornings are comfortably cool under bright sunny skies. We did this walk as a low intensity steady state workout, aka LISS, a term that is new to me.

LISS is a great activity to use when you are trying to burn fat because fat needs oxygen to metabolize into energy. During low intensity exercise your body has the most oxygen available. This works most when your activity is 30 minutes or longer.

We hung out with my mother-in-law for awhile on Saturday afternoon.

For dinner we had cheeseburgers off the grill and my SIL brought another really good cookie, chocolate chip and caramel chunks.

Sunday:

We went to 10:30 Mass and ran into some of mrC's family. My brother-in-law was recognized for his volunteer time with CCD classes and I'm glad we were there to congratulate him.

After church we went to the in-laws to move around some furniture. This is the house that mrC grew up in and his parents still live here. I love that.

Back at my SIL's, I got in an afternoon resistance leg workout. It's mostly body weight exercises, but hand weights can be added on certain exercises to increase the resistance. I like the mix of static and dynamic moves in each high intensity circuit that you keep moving for 7 minutes.

My two favorite moves from today's workout ---> step up, knee ups. My legs and booty are probably going to be feeling these tomorrow.

---> sumo squats. My inner thighs really need toning and this is a great way to hit all the leg muscles at one time.

I'm pretty excited about the workouts offered in the Sweat with Kayla app and how many calories I can burn.

Did you notice the orange and black in my workout gear? Since my beloved Cincinnati Bengals played today, I had to support my team.

I received this Ab Carver Pro from Perfect Fitness as a prize for participating in the Fit Challenge and today I finally got it out of the box. Then I found a 21 day ab carving plan on their website and made today Day 1!

Are you familiar with the term LISS?
What were your weekend workouts?
Ever tried an ab carver?

30 Day Shred: The Results

This summer I signed up for Amanda Tress's 30 Day Summer Shred Program. I did a post about it, but here's a quick summary.

• Follows a 5 day carb cycling and intermittent fasting plan
• Uses customized IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) plan
• You choose your own food
• Workout plans available for gym and non-gym participants
• Workouts are a mix of sprints, interval running, and strength training (weights)

My goal was to strengthen up and gain some muscle in places that I could use it like my arms and quads, but also lose any weight/inches that I could along my waist, hips and butt.

Update: This program is now called FASTer Way To Fat Loss - learn more here.

THE RESULTS

I lost 3 pounds (I think)...the scale at the fitness center was a little questionable, but since I snuck a weigh-in while at my dad's I think this is pretty accurate. I'm pretty happy with this because I did this whole program while staying in Montreal with mrC while he was working and traveling to Florida and Ohio for two weeks.

I lost .75 inches on my waist and hips which feels true because I did buy a pair of shorts a size down from my normal. I gained .75 inches on my thighs and biceps and I'm hoping this is a result of the strength training and not bad measuring.

I will always remember Shred as the time I fell in love with lifting weights. Once I figured out how to use the different machines at the gym, I looked forward to the weight lifting workouts. It was my mission to build up muscle especially in my arms and in left quad. I worked hard and pushed myself to use heavier weights than I ever have.

I love that this program incorporated running workouts, even though I had to modify them for my knee. The sprints and interval runs were still doable on other equipment, but I enjoyed the runs when my knee was feeling happy and used the elliptical, bike and treadmill when it wasn't.

Yesterday's Workout ---> After taking a couple of days off and running a lot of errands, I was ready for a good workout. I picked a full body resistance workout from a new fitness app I found. It was a circuit workout: 2 circuits with 4 exercises and 7 minutes to complete as many laps of the exercises as you can. The workout ends when you complete both circuits 3 times. This might sound confusing, but it's really not.

This workout had a mix of squats, burpees, tricep dips, straight leg sit ups, ab toe taps, lay down push ups, step ups, and mountain climbers. It also followed up with a good stretching session. I burned 279 calories in 36 minutes and worked up a good afternoon backyard sweat.

It was just like old times when we went to watch our niece play high school soccer. I always enjoyed our Friday afternoons watching the girls play when they were still in high school.

My watch had an update and then this happened in the car when we were running errands. One minute of guided meditation. The watch vibrated when it was time to change from breathing in and out.

WIA - it was all good until mrC wanted Chinese food! Then my sister-in-law brought in some Kitchen Sink cookies? Have you heard of these? They're made of everything but the kitchen sink! Butterscotch chips, raisins, rolled oats, chocolate chips, white chocolate, coconut, pecans...SO GOOD!

This happens every time I open the refrigerator door at my sister-in-laws. Sydney also licks the plates as they go into the dishwasher. Funny dog. Since we can't hang out with Booney in Hopkinton every day, Sydney is a nice substitute.

Know any good online training/workout programs I should check out?
Are you an Apple watch user? Do you like the update? I love it!
Do you meditate? One minute is about all that I can do.
Ever had Kitchen Sink cookies?

Shred Day 29 & 30: Better Late Than Never!

Once again, the last couple of days have been a whirlwind and my blogging fell behind. The 30 Day Shred Program has ended and I will share my results in a future post, but today I'm just going to recap the last couple of days.

Day 29: low carb

I was all set to do my low carb day sprints on the elliptical (since I hd run the day before), but I woke up feeling not-so-great. After having a little breakfast with mrC, I ended up dozing off and on most of the day and staying close to the bathroom. I must have had some sort of stomach bug, but by late afternoon, I started to feel better.

WIA:

Day 30: low carb day

My stomach was feeling better, but my knee was feeling funny ---> this is not a pain, just a feeling of pressure that freaks me out because it feels like it might give out. I stretched out really good and decided to try to run the sprint workout with mrC. I was able to do about 10 of the 25 sprints (which was about a mile) before I called it quits. My knee was just feeling too weird.

Wrapping up in Montreal by the numbers: 30 day stay in Montreal, 5.5 hours in the car driving to Portsmouth, NH, 2 stops, 1 roadside yoga session to help sway some car sickness.

Best cure for car sickness? Seeing the girls! Both have new living spaces and we got the tour, dinner on the water and then youngestC had a soccer game on campus.

WIA:

Yesterday:

After a late night watching soccer and visiting youngestC's new dorm apartment, all I wanted to do was sleep in. I did visit the fitness center before we left and was thrilled to find a foam roller which I promptly used (and got a little back crack).

We did some errands in New Hampshire while making our way back to Springfield where we will be staying while mrC does some more work. I popped into Payless while he did some paperwork and found a HUGE sale. These cute sandals were only $8. Of course I had to wear them in the car for the remainder of our drive.

WIA:

We finally made it to Springfield around 8PM. After a quick visit with mrC's parents, we unloaded at his sister's house, our temporary home for the next few weeks.


How do you know when to bail on a run/workout?
Do you get carsick? Best non-medicine remedy?

Shred Day 27 & 28: Biggest Wins

This week the 30 Day Shred Program really kicked things up a notch and I loved it! We had a week of doubles: two feast day strength training workouts, two low carb sprint workouts, and two fast days. It was intense, so I thought I would share my biggest wins from the last two days.

Day 27 - Fast

This was the SECOND fast day of the week and I am not a fan. I have a really hard time reaching my feast day goals (higher carbs and calories) and that sets me up for a struggle on fast days. 

MY BIG WIN: I did better this time and did not over eat when I broke my fast. 

I also kept my activity to a minimum and only went for a morning walk with mrC before he went to work. It wasn't that hard to lay low because my muscles were seriously sore from the feast day workout the day before. I spent most of the day reading, blogging, and watching some TV.

WIA:

Day 28: Regular Calorie

The workout for the day was an interval run ---> 1 minute run, 1 minute walk, 2 minute run, 2 minute walk, up to 7 minutes. I set my Gymboss interval timer for what works for me and my knee: 25 intervals at 35 seconds run, 30 seconds walk. 

My legs were still sore, especially my left quad, so I again found myself feeling anxious about how the run would go. I spent a little time massaging my quad and doing some dynamic stretching before my run and that made me feel better. 

MY BIG WIN: It was my longest (time and distance) run so far and it felt really good! Side note: I hadn't used my Nike+ running app in months until last week and I'm loving the updates! 

Fun tidbit from my run: The weather was awesome! It was only 63 degrees and super windy. Normally runners don't like those headwinds, but since I run pretty slowly I can enjoy it ;) 

It takes A LOT of wind to blow my super thick hair!

Win or lose (they won today!), I will always be happy when I can watch a Bengals game. I'm hoping to see a few more before our return to China.

WIA:

Today and everyday, God Bless America.

What is your Biggest Win this week?

Do you use the Nike+ running app?

Shred Day 24 and More Plus Exploring Downtown Montreal

I may be slacking on my blogging, but I'm keeping up with the 30 Day Shred program and keeping busy while mrC finishes up his training.

Let's catch up a little ok?

Day 24: Fast

This was a scheduled rest day but I decided to do some "easy" pool running while doing laundry at the hotel. If you have ever tried to run in a pool, you know that it is not easy and is actually a really good low impact workout. It was also a good excuse to wear the new tankini I picked up on sale at Athleta.

I turned the shallow end of the pool into a loop and did 20 laps (both directions) 3 times. I took a break between each set to check the laundry and let my heart rate come down. It was awesome, but would have been nicer in an outdoor pool like when I was in Florida.

Later, I walked to the nearby mall to get my nails done. Don't pay attention to the time (I forgot to hit pause while at the nail salon), but it's a nice little walk there and back. My BFF gave me a pair of hand-me-down jean shorts when I visited in Ohio and I'm loving how comfy they are. There's a Rockport store in the mall, but they didn't have anything better than the sandals I already love for walking.

WIA: I broke my fast around 2PM (which is pretty typical for me) with a protein shake, rice cakes and a veggie burger. Unfortunately, I overate by the end of night, probably from being too active while trying to fast and because mrC ordered Chinese food.

Day 25: Low Carb

Since starting the carb cycling programs, I've loved low carb days for two reasons: the sprints are a killer workout and I can usually hit my macros pretty easily. I've been loving the sprints even more now that I'm able to run them out. I'm not speedy by any means, but being able to run/walk nearly 2 miles when I thought my running days were over is A-MAZ-ING!!

The workout was the usual 25 sprints using 20 seconds run/20 seconds walk intervals. I did a short walking warm-up and cool down, so most of the distance was from the sprints. I think I was a little faster this time. I wasn't worried about skipping the 30 minute recovery walk because we were going sightseeing again.

It was muggy and gray with a threat of rain (not like our last trip), so we went to downtown Montreal instead of doing the two hour drive to Quebec City like we had planned. We'd been told to check out the Underground City, a perfect place to go on bad weather days. After a quick walk around what is really just a huge mall, we decided to head back above ground and outside.

We had a great time exploring.

Christ Church Cathedral, Phillips Square, and St. James United Church

Museum McCord, Museum of Fine Arts, Archeological Garden

Rue Crescent, Chateau Apartments, Square Dorchester, Montreal construction!,
Clean City Campaign, Mary Queen of the World Cathedral

WIA: I have the easiest time with low carb days, a far cry from where I was when I first started carb cycling. We missed the breakfast buffet at the hotel, so we went to Chez Cora in Saint Laurent for a delicious made to order meal. We picked Dundees in the heart of downtown on Upper Crescent Street, a restaurant and entertainment hotspot, for lunch. Our night ended with a make your own meal in the hotel room.

Day 26: Feast

I was back in the fitness center for another serious strength training session. The 90 minute workout focused on shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, chest, and legs, legs, legs. On top of using heavier weights, this workout was a killer. I took some extra cool down time in the yoga room for stretching and restoring.

WIA: Add two strawberry daiquiris at dinner and my calories for feast day were just above my regular calorie goal. According to my customized IIFYM, I could have eaten more protein but did very well on carbs and fat. No complaints here. I even have room for a snack later!

Have you tried pool running?
Any big plans for the weekend?
How good are you at stretching after a workout?