Fitness Challenge Update-Dakota

Hey undies lovers!  So it’s that time again to look back at the past week in fitness.  So I struggled in week #1 with being sick, sore and overly worked.  Week #2 came and I was determined to overcome those hurdles.  I planned and prepped well, writing everything in my fitness/nutrition journal.  On Monday I did Shaun’s challenge, repeating the circuits and exercises.  Having worked out with a trainer in the past and a dedicated guy to working out in the past, I was confident that this would be a breeze……..WRONG.  I felt like I was back with my trainer again pushing me to keep going, running back and forth between super sets of routines that targeted multiple areas at once.  I forced myself through the entire challenge, panting…having to stop the flow and take breaks for water and catching my breath.  My blood pressure was so high my ears were blood red and I was a mess for 1.5 hours after.  I immediately put up a wall and was mad at myself, shutting down all motivation to make this work.  If I were to to do this every time I worked out, I would not be able to do anything else (cardio, weights, etc…).  It knocked me down so much.

After two days of moping around and literally not working out at all, I realized I was approaching this all wrong.  My main concern was letting the challenge overtake my ability to do additional workouts that I want and need to do.  Finally, I decided to break it down and make it more achievable.  If I didn’t feel I could do that entire challenge on top of additional exercises, I could modify my workout to make it work for me while still incorporating the desired targets for the challenge.  I have been getting my cardio in, and then incorporating parts of the circuits into the end of my workout.  For instance on Saturday I did 45 minutes on the elliptical, and then did all of circuit B three times.  I chose to do only 3 sets, but challenging myself to do longer amounts of time.  This way, I was not pushing myself to hard to where I couldn’t make it and feel like I failed.  I ended up doing planks for a minute each time and side planks for 30-40 each.  I am trying to come up with an alternating schedule where I do say my cardio and the core/ab targeted circuit (B) on certain days and then maybe more weight training on arms/chest/legs and then the pushup/squat circuit (A) on the other days.  Doing this will keep me more motivated and working out more days a week.  Shaun, I would love your feedback on this plan to see if this seems to be a smart decision.

Overall, the good news I can report is that I lost 3 lbs. last week!  I really concentrated on my food.  I circled back to a book I had on my shelf called Body for Life and took lots of reminders on foods to eat and the whole six meals a day idea.  I have been much more conscious of what I am eating and when, trying to eat more veggies, fruits, and proteins.  I use protein shakes to supplement a couple of my meals/snacks each day while still getting the protein and nutrients that I need.  It has been working well, plus the protein shakes also have been satisfying my sweet cravings at the same time.  I love sweets–not that I ever kept a lot of cookies and sweets in the house, but its nice to be eating well and satisfying that desire at the same time.  I did the caloric equation suggested by Shaun, and basically need to focus on approx. 2600 calories a day.  With my initial wish to lose a few pounds to lean back down, I may take that to around 2200-2300 a day and then build back up in more calories the correct way once I have achieved that goal.  I remember my trainer pushing me hard 2 years ago to eat 3000 calories a day and it was so hard for me to do!  I am hoping to get back into tracking everything I eat and adding up calories daily.  There are so many apps out there for that now, I was using Sparkpeople about a year ago and it helped me stay aware of what I was eating and how to adjust accordingly.  The one thing I am doing as suggested everywhere I look, is having a cheat day. I do well and stay on track and then one day a week I let myself have what I want–extra carbs, a burger, a dessert.  It help satisfy cravings, keeps your body from feeling deprived, and mixes it up enough for you to go back into the healthy routine.  

So I have rambled enough, but hope that it shows that NO it is not easy but you have to figure out to make it work for you not against you.  Find your inner motivation.  I found this pic online this week and really was connected to it.  A. he’s hot. B. green is my favorite color.  C. this is the body I want.  D. I love the facial hair but smooth body.  I may not look like that for three more years, but it’s a way to make me want it more and something to shoot for.  I have never had abs period let alone anything like that.  It’s a challenge.  I love that he is well defined but not over muscular/beefy.  I love guys like that but with my body frame that won’t happen.  I have it as my desktop pic on my laptop so I see it all day long as a reminder of what I want and need to do to get there.

Here are a couple obligatory pics of me just for the fun of it….I shaved my chest hair for a smoother look…..easier to see progress that way, lol.  Greg sent these ergowear briefs to try out, so I thought I’d share a couple pics. I did wear these to the gym the other day and they are awesome 🙂

Good luck to all my challenge buddies this week–let’s rock it out!

Dakota 😉