Back to Strength Training

It's time to do some heavy lifting.

Did you know that strength training does more for you than make you strong? It increases your metabolism, helps your body burn calories more effectively and improves bone strength.

Despite struggling out of bed with DOMS from my first two days on the FASTer Way to Fat Loss program (see posts here and here), I was pretty excited to get to work building muscles.

Regular Calorie Day 3 - the workout

Warm up - we walked to the fitness center

Weights - I'm pretty sure mrC and I learned how to use every single leg machine today. Considering my legs are feeling sore from Monday's HIIT workout, I managed better than I thought I would. My favorite machines were the adductor and abductor ---> 1) I need to seriously tone up the inside of my thighs and 2) ooh, the stretch. The rest of the workout focused on chest and shoulders using dumbbells. Some of these exercises bothered my shoulder, but I did ok. It felt good to hit the weights again.

Cool down - we walked back to the apartment

Regular Calorie Day 3 - the meals

Broke fast about 12:30 - This was later than our planned time to break fast at 11, but after our workout we headed into Central to run some errands. One stop was to our favorite juicery. Acai bowl topped with peanut butter, apple granola, and kiwi ---> perfect on a warm day!

Snack - three crab cakes from the CitySuper takeaway counter on the ferry back to Discovery Bay

Lunch - two turkey and swiss rollups, red grapes, celery and hummus

Dinner - Quinoa penne pasta with pasta sauce and green beans

Snack - I thought I would have something for dessert, but I couldn't think of anything that is a good carb and low in fat and a little sweet. Not asking for much, am I?

The goal today was to follow the IIFYM: 50% carbs, 30% fats, 20% protein. It was difficult to keep my fats down (over by 5g), but I think I did ok overall.

Do you strength train at home or the gym?

What's your favorite exercise or machine?

7 Up 7 Down Sprints plus Top 3 Reasons to Use Burst Training

When I woke up this morning, I immediately had two thoughts: I'm hungry and I'm sore! These are two messages I don't mind getting from my body. Feeling hungry tells me that my metabolism is working and being sore tells me that I had a good workout (like yesterday).

One of the key parts of the FASTer Way To Fat Loss®️ program is matching workouts to the daily eating plan. Low carb days mean burst training aka HIIT (high intensity interval training) or Tabata followed by LISS (low intensity sustained state) cardio. Burst training causes the body to move fat to be used as energy. LISS cardio prevents the fat from returning to where it came from.

Low Carb Day 2 - the workout

Warm Up - 10+ minutes walking to our workout location.

Speed Bursts - we did 7 Up 7 Down sprints ---> this is a basic pyramid workout of burst training. Using a pre-set distance (like a basketball court) sprint that length 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, taking rest breaks between the bursts. Then work back down.

We found a straightaway on the promenade that doesn't have a lot of pedestrian traffic in the morning and eyeballed a good distance (see orange life ring in photo) for our sprints. This was a quick and dirty workout. It only lasted about 15 minutes, but it was tough. Tough, but good. I love the feeling that comes after finishing a challenging workout.

Top 3 Reasons to Try Burst Training:

1) You don't need any equipment! It can seriously be done anywhere

2) Since you are working at 90-100% effort, the workouts are short

3) Burst training depletes your glycogen which forces your body to burn fat for energy

LISS - 30 minutes of low intensity cardio. We walked back to the apartment. It wasn't quite 30 minutes (we had a hockey game to watch), but we made sure to stay in the fat burning zone.

Low Carb Day 2 - the meals

Broke my fast at 11AM - 3 scrambled eggs and two sausage patties ---> this was not too much food today. Yesterday I thought it was too much, but today I was hungry and I was thinking about the calories that I didn't eat yesterday.

Snack - Chocolate protein shake (best prices on Designer Whey protein on Amazon) and handful of peanuts. Added 1 tbsp almond butter to my shake recipe and it was so good.

Lunch - 4 turkey breast rollups and pb&j rice cake

Snack - nothing ---> I need to find a sweet low carb treat that I can eat as dessert after dinner since I'm not feeling hungry at this time of day.

Dinner - bbq chicken breast and steamed broccoli

I'm excited that I had another solid low carb day and improved my calorie intake (354 remaining).

Do you use burst training?
What are your favorite sweet snacks?

Speed, HIIT, LISS and Swim

I signed up for another carb cycling intermittent fasting program and we started today.

I say "we" because mrC is doing it too. This time he is in the men's group. Previously he followed along with what I was doing and eating. We were thrilled with the results the first time we did the program a little over a year ago and we're hoping for a repeat performance.

Some rules for the program: do the daily workouts, track your macros using My Fitness Pal and post in the Facebook group, try to be gluten free and dairy free, and have a positive attitude.

Low Carb Day 1 - the workout

Warm Up - We walked about 15 minutes from our apartment to the fitness center.

Speed Bursts - We choose the 4 Cone Drill. Since we don't have cones, we found a space outside the fitness center and made an imaginary square. Sprint, shuffle, backpedal, shuffle. Repeat for 10 minutes.

Circuits: HIIT and ABS - We did these in the fitness center. We made modifications because honestly, these workouts are tough! We could only do 20 out of 40 in and out back kicks and we only did the HIIT circuit 2 times instead of three. The fitness center does not have an ab machine, so we had to modify the ab machine set to crunches. And I could only do sets of 5, not 10, on the leg lifts.

Cool Down - (low intensity cardio) walked 15 minutes back to the apartment up the big hill.

Low Carb Day 1 - the meals

The goal on low carb days is to keep our carbs below 50 net grams but consume your normal daily calories. Net grams means carbs minus fiber.  

Broke fast at 11:00 - 3 scrambled eggs and two sausage patties. This was too much food for me.

Snack - lid full of peanuts (about 30) and chocolate protein shake made with almond milk.

Lunch - 4 turkey rollups ---> should have had more to eat here

Snack - nothing ---> should have had another protein shake

Dinner - bbq chicken breast and steamed broccoli. Delicious! 

Overall, I nailed the low carb goal, but left about 500 calories on the table. 

One thing I like about this program is the flexibility. Each day there is a workout to match what day of the carb cycle you are in. You can choose the workouts that fit your lifestyle: beginner, gym, at home. The program also implements an 8 hour eating window, but you can choose your window. Most people go 12-8, but mrC and I are doing 11-7.

Today I also had a bonus little workout - swam 6 laps. It was such a pretty day that I went to the pool while mrC went to the airport. He met me there later.

At the end of the day, it's good to feel sore, right?

How do you feel about carb cycling/intermittent fasting?

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Weekly Recap: A Taper Kind of Week

Last week feels like it was a taper type of week. I was gearing up for another carb cycling program, so it felt like I had a little bit of go ahead and eat it now and enjoy it now mentality going on.

The week wasn't a complete wash or anything. I got to work out a lot with mrC, but I felt a bit lazier than usual.

Monday - Back for another 60 minutes of Body Attack Aerobics and killed some major calories.

Tuesday - Just a little foam rolling today.

Wednesday - Took my run indoors after a serious rainstorm.

Thursday - Basically a rest day before heading off to my first Bunco Happy Hour.

Friday - We spent the day in Shenzhen visiting friends and enjoying cheap massages.

Saturday - Great early morning run and some relaxing pool time.

Sunday - Another day at the pool after watching some Dragon Boat races. This time I did some laps.  I did 5 laps in about 10 minutes. I find it hard to pace myself in the pool.

Can you taper when you're not training for anything?

Linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!

Workouts are Better Together and Life Lately

One thing I love about my relationship with mrC is his willingness to workout with me. I tease him about being a crabby runner and make fun of his squat form, but I'm completely thrilled when he wants to join me.

Today we laced up our Mizunos (I wear Wave Horizon) for our version of a long run. We eased out the door just before 8:30 which is normally scary late around here. Scary late meaning that it would already be uncomfortably warm and humid. Instead we found 75 degrees and lower humidity.

 
I love when the weekend weather cooperates for run day. When we first headed out it was cloudy, but about half way through our 4.5 miles, the sun peeked out. Normally this would make us start melting, but the weather was so nice today, it didn't bother us at all. We even had our best hill runs!

After our run, we packed up our pool bag and hung out at Club Sienna until lunch time. For a beautiful Saturday, it wasn't crowded at all while we were there. We had views of Central (and part of our running path), watched SUPers and Dragon Boaters in the water, and kept cool in the pool.

It felt good to sit back and relax after a couple of busy days.

On Thursday, I headed into Central for Bunco Happy Hour hosted by the American Women's Association. I had never played before, but it was super easy and I earned the Bunco crown three times! I also won a prize for having the most Baby Buncos. Someone told me my ladybug tee brought me good luck! I don't know, but I had a ton of fun!

On Friday, mrC and I took the ferry to Shenzhen for the day. We said farewell to some friends who are leaving China and returning to the states. We walked around our old neighborhood, Shekou, to see what has changed. Since an hour long massage is only about $25USD, we took advantage before meeting some friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Tomorrow is Dragon Boat Race day at Tai Park Beach here in Discovery Bay, kicking off Dragon Boat Festival which is Tuesday. We're planning to see the action up close for the first time, so check back to see how it went.

Do you run/workout with you spouse/significant other?
Have you played Bunco?
How often would you get a massage if it was only $25?






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