The Beginning

When I started working out, it was no easy task. I was committed though to doing whatever I could do to lose this weight. I had been doing Winsor Pilates for a little while, and while it was strengthening my core and made me feel great, I wasn't losing any weight doing it. I knew if I wanted to lose fat, I would have to do some cardio. I started walking on my treadmill 4 days a week for 30-40 minutes each day. (I decided on 4 days instead of 5 because I read that when you hit a plateau, it's easier to add a day to break the plateau. Besides, you don't want to burn out!) I didn't kill myself; I just did what I could at a speed I could handle. I started at around 2.5 mph. I couldn't do much, and that's OK because I knew it would get easier. I also knew that if I didn't start somewhere, I could never reach my goal and be in the shape I wanted. You see, I want to be that mom in the park you see who's running around with her kids, having the best time. I didn't want to be the mom on the bench who missed out on so many memorable moments with her kids because of her weight and fitness level. I was on my way to a new me!

My inspiration.

Fitness Tips

1. Start slow. Only do what you can. Don't kill yourself. The great thing about exercise is the more you do, the more you can do!

2. Do something you like doing! You don't want to quit because you're bored with what you're doing. If you don't like the treadmill, try swimming or kickboxing. Choose something that's fun for you.

3. Don't measure your fitness level with someone else's. (And don't compare your successes with someone else's either. Focus on what you're doing, and don't get destracted by others..

4. If you're too sore, rest! Don't make the mistake of working out when your muscles are strained. Take a rest day or two and get back up. But you must get back up!

5. If you don't feel like working out, do it anyway. I don't always feel like working out, but feel great after I do!

6. Take a break! This may not work for everyone, but every 10-12 weeks, I take an entire week off. Only do this if you know you'll continue your program. I find that it increases my motivation (I can't wait to start again) and it also gives my muscles time to rest (so when I get back to it, I can actually do more then before!). I also read that this helps break a plateau.

7. When weight training, do not work the same muscle group two days in a row. Your muscles need time to recuperate from heavy lifting. Your progress will actually be hindered if you overwork the muscle and don't allow it time to heal. If you work your upper body one day, work your lower body the next. Or if you workout with a video that has some upper body moves on a lower body day, go very light on the weights. Rest those muscles!!

8. Eat your AP's!! When you workout and earn AP's, eat them! Many people feel that eating them just cancels out their hard work. This is not true! When you exert energy during a workout, your body NEEDS the extra fuel. If you deprive your body of the extra points, you could actually hinder your weight loss, forcing your body into starvation mode.

9. Change your routine often. I tweak my routine probably every week or so, even if it's only changing up my treadmill routine. I tend to get bored easily, so I've found that changing things up a bit keeps it interesting. Not only that, but it also keeps your body from getting used to what you're doing.

Keep checking back for more tips!

Staying the Course

Now I had built up my endurance level to where I was able to maintain at 3.0 for a long while without getting too terribly winded. I had rarely used the incline up until then unless I was just playing around. I was on the internet one day when I came across an article about interval training. I read that you could burn a lot more calories when you vary your speeds and inclines. Not only could you burn more calories, but it would also make your workout seem to go by much quicker. I printed out the workout on the site, modified it to my fitness needs, and decided to give it a try. This was when my weightloss kicked into high gear, and my workouts were less boring, more challenging, and acutally, well, fun?!?!

I was still working out 4 days a week, as I didn't see the need to work out anymore than that if that was working so well for me. I had now built my time to three 50 minute days and one 40 minute day, with an occasional 60 minute day. I had completely stopped doing Pilates at this point, as I wanted to focus on my cardio. Interval training was challenging and just what I needed to boost my workouts and make them a little more exciting. I would warm up for 5 minutes, walk at 3.0 on 1.5 incline for 5 minutes, and then alternate periods of high intensity (usually 3.5-3.6 at 6 incline at this time), followed by 2 minutes of rapid recovery in medium intensity (back down to 3.0 at 1.5 incline). I did this until I cooled down for the last 5 minutes. I gradually built my strength and endurance to be able to jog for a minute then walk. I was winning the race!

This is the article I read about interval training: Click Here

Fit for Life

What do I do now, you ask? My routine consists of treadmill workouts and the Firm. The Firm is a series of workout videos designed to burn fat and sculpt your muscles at the same time. It's aerobic weight training. I am incorporating The Firm's new Body Sculpting System, the TransFIRMer, with my treadmill routines. I have recently been introduced to a type of training known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT is a short, powerhouse workout that even though it's half the duration as a regular moderate intensity workout, it's actually been proven to burn MORE calories throughout the day. Yep, that's right. You can burn more calories in half the time!! I've decided to incorporate HIIT twice a week along with my Firm workouts for the next twelve weeks. I will continue to post my current routines on this page. Here's my current one:

Monday: Treadmill HIIT 20 minutes

Tuesday: Ultimate Calorie Blaster and Upper Body Sculpt (from BSS2)

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Ultimate Calorie Blaster and Upper Body Sculpt

Friday: Treadmill HIIT 20 minutes

Saturday: Jiggle Free Arms and sometimes Jiggle Free Buns (I try to do JFB at least once every other week.)

Sunday: Rest

As you can see, I have added an extra rest day. I have done this because not only am I preparing myself for the maintenance phase, but since I have started doing HIIT, I do not want to overtrain myself. HIIT is only needed 2-3 times a week because it is very effective. Because I am continuing two FIrm cardio videos a week, I no longer have the need for the extra day of cardio. And less work is a good thing!!

I DO NOT recommend this routine for someone just starting out. This routine is personalized to my fitness level, and is the accumulation of months of exercising.

The Firm's Website: firmdirect.com

I wanted to give you an example of my HIIT routine. First, I want to point you to a couple great articles that discuss what exactly HIIT is and the benefits you can get from it:

http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/justin6.htm

http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp

http://www.oxygenmag.net/showthread.php?t=3365

Here is my current HIIT routine. I try to push as hard and as fast as I can, so these numbers are rough estimations. My actual speeds are determined by my intensity level. I also may only go for 12 intervals. Again, it all depends on my intensity level. I push myself as hard as I possibly can during these 20 minutes. The idea is to be completely exhausted when you're finished. :-)

3.5 mph, 4.5 incline - 3:00

9.0 mph, 4.5 incline - 0:20

3.5 mph, 4.5 incline - 0:40

3.5 mph, 4.5 incline - 4:00