Week 1 Day 4 of RushFit

Week 1 Day 4 = Cardio + Stretching for Flexibility

Let me begin by saying, "I did SO NOT want to get out of bed this morning!"  The bedroom windows were open all night, the temperature dropped outside, and it was FREEZING inside! Plus I went to bed too late last night.  I hit my snooze button once, and 9 minutes later I was up.  I knew I had to get up, since the RushFit workouts are longer than the Body Revolution workouts.  I wasn't sure how long the Stretching for Flexibility would be.  It started with the same 10 minute Warm Up, which I didn't really need to do because I was already warm since riding my spin bike for 35 minutes for my Cardio.  After the Warm Up, there was 25 minutes of stretching.  This was exactly what I needed to help with the soreness in my body.  I was running out of time.  My alarm to wake up my son went off and I still had about 12 minutes to go.  I ran to his room and I told  him it was time to wake up.  Since I was out of time...I did skip the Cool Down on this one today.  It wasn't SO bad though, since I had just stretched out for 25 minutes already.  Next time I will make sure I wake up in time.

I am surprised I am not that sore through my core area from yesterday's workout.  So you know what that means...Push it harder next time through this workout.  I'll push the UP button.


Yesterday I told you about my obsession of notebooks(it's nothing serious...it's not like I need therapy for it or anything).  I also told you about the Stay Strong! Notebook that I made up for myself and about the Giveaway.  I asked you to spread the word to try and break the 50 Follower mark...and you have done it!  As of Noon today, there were 55 followers. Thank you!  Welcome to all of the new comers to my blog...I hope that I can help inspire and motivate you throughout your health and fitness journey.  If you have any questions or comments, please either leave a comment of my blog or email me at phatsoslim.staystrong@gmail.com Okay enough talk, here is the winner...

Jessica Faure is the winner of the first Stay Strong! Notebook.  

Congratulations!

I will giveaway another Stay Strong Notebook when I reached the 75 follower mark.  So if my blog(my jibberjabber) has inspired, motivated or helped you in any way, please tell a friend to check it out and maybe together WE can help, motivate and inspire them as well.

Today's food...

Breakfast: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffin/Red Grapes

This is my second last one from the first batch that I made from The Fat Burning Meal Plan recipe book(Body Revolution).  Once I eat my way through the all the other muffins I have made over the last couple weeks, I will make some more of these again.  I may alter the recipe so they are not so dry though.  I will post my results and my additions to the recipe.

I snacked on a few Red Grapes after the muffin this morning.
 

Lunch: Salmon Guacamole Burger with Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Soup

I had left over Guacamole, so I decided to throw it in with the salmon to make up these burger patties today.

     

I should have made the burgers yesterday to go with the Sweet Potato Fries, and ate the Salmon fillet with the soup today.  Oh well...next time.  I added a touch of fun and colour by adding 3 coloured GoldFish Crackers.  The burger was good, but I didn't really get to enjoy it, as it was kind of crazy at lunch today with the daycare kids.  So by the time I got to eat my food, it was a bit on the cooler side.  The soup was warm, so I dipped some of the burger patty in my soup. 

Snack: Sacha Inchi Seeds "Karmalized"

Dinner: Tropical Quinoa Health Bar/Raspberries and Potato Chive Bread

I know this looks like a crazy dinner and not my "normal" fair of food...BUT...we had a Fun Fair to get to, and I was a bit pressed for time.  It was the 3rd Annual Fun Fair at my son's school.  The kids had a BLAST!
     

Tomorrow is Fight Conditioning day.

Until then...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina
 
I saw this quote on Facebook today on a friend's wall, and just had to share it with you since...I WAS up too late last night, my body WAS sore, it WAS very cold in my bedroom and it WAS early...
BUT...I got up, I braved the cold, I got over the soreness and well I was tired...but I still did my workout.  No Excuses!


 

Week 1 Day 3 of RushFit

Week 1 Day 3 = Abdominal Strength & Core

I know I am going to feel this one tomorrow...and I will let you know tomorrow just how much.  I can still feel Monday's workout in my legs and butt.  It's like those lumps of fat, that I call my inner thighs, they are SCREAMING!!!  They don't want to leave my body,  BUT they MUST GO!  So scream away...away away. 

The Warm Up and the Cool Down are the same as in the Strength & Endurance Workout. I am assuming that that is the same for all the workouts, with just the 5 Rounds in between being different.  Each round gets harder as you go along.  Total length for this one is about 50 minutes.  The dumbbells I used were 8lbs.  These were only used for some of the exercises...One Legged Squats, Wood Chops(done a bit different than Body Revolution), One Arm Swings and there were more...however...It's been a long day and I am forgetting what many of the moves were called, but don't worry though, I will be doing this workout again next Wednesday.  I do remember though that one of the exercises is almost like the Wheel Push Up from Body Revolution...only with no Push Up, it's just a Static Hold in the Wheel position.  My arms were so sore though today, I couldn't get off my head.  There are more Side Planks in this one, so I was a HAPPY girl this morning. 

The last Round in this workout is tough, but I got through it, not perfectly and that's okay because I did the best I could do today.  Next time I know what to expect and I will push myself a little harder.

It's nice to see the Athlete, Georges St-Pierre (GSP)doing the actual workout in the DVD.  And even he struggles with some of the moves OR he does the modified version of some.  It definitely helps you get through the workout, it shows that even the best train hard, and that is how they become the best.  And so can YOU and I!  They work hard, improve their strength over time and work on perfecting each move.  As GSP states in this workout, "If I train hard, it makes the fight much easier". 

Train hard, make your life healthier and fit.  And rest too...I am really tired right now so I am going to talk about food now and then say good night and go to bed.

Today's food...
Breakfast: Multi-Grain Pancakes with Blueberries


The other day when I made these up, I used the pumpkin pie spice, the same as what I used in the Steel Cut Oats that I ate the other morning.  They were okay with the blueberries this morning, but as I was eating them, I thought..."these would taste nice with a dollop of Vanilla Greek Yogurt instead of syrup and berries"...next time I will try it.

Lunch: Salmon with Sweet Potato Fries



I was making the fries for the daycare kids today for lunch, so I put a few more in the oven for myself.  I know that it's not gourmet type of food that would go with salmon, but I LOVE sweet potato fries.

Snack: Protein Bar-Chocolate and Pumpkin Seed
I picked this bar up at the store the other day to try it out.  It was pretty good, but I still like making my own bars and snacks.

Here are the ingredients as taken from the Francine's Finest website... http://www.francinesfinestfoodproducts.com/

INGREDIENTS: RAW ORGANIC QUINOA SEED, RAW WHOLE GRAIN MILLET AND RAW WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE POWDERS, COCOA POWDER , RAW WHOLE PUMPKIN SEEDS, GROUND RAW DATES, DRIED UNSWEETENED COCONUT, UNPASTEURIZED HONEY, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, GRAPE SEED OIL, PURE VANILLA EXTRACT, SEA SALT, KELP POWDER.

*MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS, AND/OR ALMONDS.

Dinner: Chicken Barley Pilaf
I told you I would be eating this again tonight.  It's so good, even the next day.

I don't think I have mentioned that I have this thing for notebooks.  Blank or lined papered books with decorative covers.  I own lots of them, some of them used others never been touched by a pen, but that doesn't stop me from buying a new one if it catches my eye.

So with that being said...I decided to create my own...

Do you like it?

I will be using my new book for planning my meals and snacks, and recording my weight and measurements.

AND...

So can YOU!

Right now I have 49 followers listed on my blog.  So I was thinking...to have a Stay Strong Notebook Giveaway.  One more follower is needed to have the first giveaway.  So once there are 50 followers, those follower's names will go into a draw and pick out the winner and send that reader the notebook.  So spread the word, and help others to change their lives for the better, just like you and I have.

I know that there are many more who follow through Facebook, Twitter and My Fitness Pal and I will think of another way to get one of these notebooks to one of you.

Thank you all for following, and I hope I have helped you to Stay Strong on your journeys. 

Tomorrow I hit Cardio again + Stretching for Flexibility.

 

Until then...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina

Week 1 Day 2 of RushFit

Week 1 Day 2 = Cardio

My choice of Cardio.  There is no Cardio DVD with the RushFit workout.  SO...I chose to Spin of course.
Have I ever told you...How much I LOVE Spinning?  Below is a picture of my bike, with a starry background.
It is such a fantastic workout! If you have done it, you will know what I am talking about. If not, let me explain...

You are standing outside the cycling studio feeling a little intimidated by the bikes, the other participants heading through the doors, the instructor and the recollection of how hard you saw everybody working the last time you walked by the cycling studio. And now...today is the day you are going to try it out for yourself. Congratulations! You are in for a lot of fun, a lot of hard work and a lot of fat shedding with the calories you are going to burn. Don't be afraid of the instructor, they are there to help you. Since it's your first time, tell them that, so they can help you set your bike up...seat height, handle bar height and seat positioning. And DON'T sit at the back of the class where you can't see what the instructor is doing. You want to be able to see the correct positions and hear the cues as best you can. Remember to listen to your body...if you are getting fatigued, but everyone around you is still pushing hard...forget about them and take a little break. Each time you go into that cycling studio, you will get stronger and your endurance will improve and pretty soon you won't need any "Extra" breaks.

Once you get set up on your bike, you'll be ready to ride. Now...your first ride may feel a bit awkward. The instructor can help with the bike setup, but only you will know how it feels for you. So you may find that your seat could have be one notch higher or lower, eventually you will get it perfect. You butt will most likely be sore the next day from riding, give it a couple classes and the soreness will no longer occur.  Don't let this Pain in the A$$ discourage you though, you butt will get used to sitting on the saddle.  Make sure you have water with you...it a must.
Okay...the instructor presses the play button, and the music starts to flow from the speakers.  Feel the music and let your feet flow to the beat.  Listen for the cues the instructor is calling out, watch for hand signals as well.  Before you know it you are already at the halfway point of the class.  Are you having fun yet?  Of course you are!  The music is great and you are sweating hard and burning loads of calories.  The key to spinning is to HAVE FUN!  Use your voice too.  If the instructor asks, "How is everyone feeling?"...shout out a "WooHoo!"  It will boost your energy levels, plus you will burn extra calories too(when I used to teach spinning, every time I would give the cues or give a shout out(which was a lot of the time)I would look down at my HRM and it would spike up some beats)...so SHOUT IT OUT!  A couple more songs and you are ready to cool down.  Make sure you keep your legs moving until you have brought your heart rate back down to earth.  There you have it...your first spinning class under your belt.  Now go sign up for your next class...

Okay enough about spinning for now.  Let me tell you about the after effects of Day 1 of RushFit, OMG...I am sore in my butt, my inner thighs and arms...walking up and down the stairs and sitting down...ouch...I LOVE IT!  Only 1 day of the RushFit workouts and I am feeling strong again.  Over these last two weeks I have felt soft.  Not anymore.  I can already feel my butt lifting, my inner thighs shedding the fat and my arms toning up.  I'm ready for more!  I am really looking forward to tomorrow's RushFit Workout...Abdominal Strength & Core...Oh yeah!


Today's food...
Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Holy Crap & Raspberries

Lunch: Chicken & Spinach Cannelloni

I bought these Lasagna sheets a week ago wanting to use up some of the spinach that I had in the fridge.  Finally today I made the Cannelloni that I was wanting to make.  I cut up the Baby Spinach, green onions, chicken, added some garlic, sea salt and pepper.  Once this was mixed I added a light Ricotta Cheese and stirred it all together.  I then spooned some of the mixture onto a lasagna sheet and rolled it up.  I then repeated it with the remaining 5 sheets.  I had some of the Homemade Ketchup that I made ages ago in the freezer, I used it as a sauce.  I should have put a little bit of the sauce in with the ricotta mixture.

I cut each one in half to make a serving.  By seeing 2 pieces on the plate rather then just one, it seems like you are eating more.  One thing I forgot to do, was to cover the baking dish with foil, the edges dried out a bit.  I put the other 5 servings in the freezer for future meals.

Snack: Baked Garlic Pita Chips with Guacamole/Grapes

I had and still have some avocados in the fridge that needed and need to be used up.  So Guacamole was to be made out of some of them.

This snack is always good.

Dinner: Chicken Barley Pilaf

In www.MyFitnessPal.com food diary it states that I had Turkey Barley Pilaf.  Same recipe, only I used chicken tonight.  

You will probably see this as tomorrow night's dinner as well, as the kids have swimming.

After Dinner Snack: Poppers with Roasted Red Pepper Dip

 Just a little blogging snack to keep my energy up.

I am going to leave you with a picture of my Potted Garden...

I know that it doesn't look like much now...BUT...hopefully in a few days, I will see some sprouts of Carrots, Onions, Zucchini, Lettuce and Green Beans.

 

The plants that I had started in My Secret Garden in the house, I planted them outside today in the garden.  So now I have Basil, Parsley, Peppers and Tomatoes in the garden.  I also sowed some Radishes and Green Peas.  Hopefully the rabbits don't attack them.                                    

As I mentioned earlier, tomorrow's RushFit Workout...Abdominal Strength & Core...Can't wait! 

Until then...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina



Week 1 Day 1 of RushFit

Week 1 Day 1 = Strength & Endurance

This is a great workout. I was a sweaty mess by Round 2. The workout begins with a 10 minute warm up, followed by 5 Rounds of Work, and closes out with a 6 minute cool down. The warm up is more like a round in itself. Lol   Each Round is 5 minutes long. The first couple seem longer than 5 minutes. But I think that is because it is all new to me.  It was the same with Body Revolution, each time I did a new Workout, it seemed long, but then the next time I did it, time went by much quicker.  I'm sure next time I do Strength & Endurance it will fly by.  Strength & Endurance is a total of about 40 minutes long.  So it is close to the longest of the Body Revolution Workouts, but it's still longer.  If I am pressed for time with this one, I can always do a quicker cool down.  Now, I know the importance of the cool down and don't worry I am not one to skip it, and neither should you.

For those of you that have done or are working through Body Revolution, there are some of the same moves. Some new ones and some the same only different. Take for instance the Burpees in RushFit, you take it right down, do a push up and then jump it back up to a jump at the top, then do it again and again for a minute. These were tough. I would probably say that they were the toughest exercise in today's workout. I LOVE the Push Ups with a Side Plank...LOVE IT!   I have started using the Beginners Training Schedule.  The workouts are done in a different order during the week and for Intermediate and Advance, some extra workouts are added on some days.  If I finish Week 1 and don't see much of a difference, I may switch to the Intermediate Training Schedule.  The dumbbells I used for this workout were: 5 lbs, 8 lbs and 10 lbs.  For some moves I started light, but then went heavier and vice versa.  I am looking forward to doing this workout again next Monday.  I will see how I have improved over the first week.

Tomorrow is Cardio day.  There is no set Cardio workout for RushFit, so I will probably Spin in the morning.  And MAYBE do another day of C25K tomorrow night.  The Cardio requirement for RushFit is to do at least 30 minutes for the Beginners Training Schedule.  The 30 minutes will not be a problem on my bike.

After my workout this morning, I watered the grass seed and plants I had just planted over the weekend, and then this is what I saw when I entered back into my bedroom...

Notice her position of being at the top to the bed, crosswise with her little bear by her side.  This is how she sleeps some nights when my husband and I are TRYING to sleep too.  I'm just glad I was out of bed already.   I LOVE her to bits! 

Today's food...
Breakfast: Carrot Banana Muffin

 

Lunch: Salmon Sausage with Sweet Corn and Carrots/ Spinach Salad with Raspberries

Snack: Banana Blueberry Muffin
This muffin is made from the same recipe as the one I had for breakfast.  The difference...No carrots and no walnuts, I just added some fresh blueberries into the batter.  Sorry I forgot to take a picture.  I had one and put the rest in the freezer for in the future for breakfast.

Banana Blueberry Muffins
INGREDIENTS
2 cups almond flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup dates, pitted
3 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup fresh blueberries
muffin paper liners

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉.
ONE: In a small bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
TWO: In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil.
THREE: Transfer mixture to a large bowl and blend until completely combined.
FOUR: Fold in blueberries
FIVE: Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins.
SIX: Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

These are a DIFFERENT Banana Blueberry Muffin from the one in the Fat Burning Meal Plan recipe book.  I believe that one is called Blueberry Banana.  This recipe is a little higher in calories, most likely due to the use of Almond Flour.  Both recipe are really good.  The above one, I would say is more moist than the FBMP recipe book.  I love them both!
  
Dinner: Burger with Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

I have cut this post a bit short tonight.  Because of the nice weather and the things that need to be done around our home, inside and out, I have found my time to blog has gotten a bit shorter.  And I do need to get my sleep, my beauty sleep, my fitness sleep, my Stay Strong sleep.  So I wish you a good night, and I will talk to you again tomorrow.

Until then...Stay Strong!

Trina

Rest Day?

May 27, 2012

Okay...So it's ah...9:37pm and I am just sitting down now to rest.  It's been a busy day...cleaning, planting, organizing the kitchen, grocery shopping and more cleaning, and the house is still not totally clean.  But it is coming along nicely.  My trick now is to ignore the mess the kids have made, and clean up the rest.  Because if I keep cleaning up their mess, nothing else will get down.  The yard work is coming along too. 

Here is a beautiful clematis that finally bloomed this year...

Gorgeous!

Since today was a so called Rest Day, all that is left is the FOOD!

Today's food...

Breakfast: Steel-Cut Oats with Apples & Almonds

This morning I didn't have any cinnamon near by to put in the oats, so I used pumpkin pie spice instead.  It was nice.  It reminded me of the fall, not that I want to rush the spring and summer by, but I LOVE pumpkin pie and it was like having Pumpkin Apple Pie.

Lunch: Southern Style Chicken Burger
We grabbed some lunch before going grocery shopping.  I ordered my burger with no bun, sauce on the side and the bacon that was on the top of the chicken, I gave it to my son and daughter.  Instead of fries, I chose the side salad with a Greek vinaigrette.

The salad and the chicken hit the spot AND it was the healthy choice.

Snack: Tropical Quinoa Health Bars/Red Grapes/Cherries

It was a snacking kind of day again while cleaning and planting and organizing and shopping and cleaning

Dinner:  Churkey Chili
Yay!! For frozen home cooked meals.  It was later than I thought it was by the time we got home from grocery shopping, so it was nice to look in the freezer and pull out a prepared meal that only needed to be defrosted and reheated.

The Churkey Chili is made with ground Chicken and ground Turkey.

Tonight is the night before my first day of RushFit. 

I had my husband take some more pictures of me, in a bathing suit this time.  I will use them as my "Before" RushFit pictures and I will put on the same bathing suit and take some "After" shots at the end of the program.  I may be taking a week off from the program as we have some holidays coming up in July.  Don't worry though, I will replace it with something from the "Jillian" library.  I purchased about 6 of her programs through iTunes over the last year, so I can put them on my iPhone and do them anywhere. 

I will be putting a RushFit ticker on the side on my blog so that you can see my progress through numbers too.  I will update my weight and measurements at the end of week 1. 

In regards to meals and snacks, I will still follow some of Jillian's meals, from the Fat Burning Meal Plan recipe book, as well as Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Cookbook and Clean Eating Cookbook, meals from issues of Clean Eating magazine and my own creations as well.  It will be CLEAN and it will be GREAT!  I hope all of you, that have, or are going through Body Revolution, have learned HOW to eat clean and eat right.  I know it's hard sometimes to stay on track, but once you try it and stick with it over the 90 days, it just becomes YOU, it becomes the way you want to be...Clean and Great!  And you are!

Well, I must get off to bed now.  My first day of Week 1 of RushFit is Strength and Endurance.

Until then...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina

Getting Back to My Garden Workout

May 26, 2012

Today's workout...

Today I continued with C25K for my cardio.  I woke up at 7am and was out the door shortly after.  This workout today was Week 3 Day 2.  If you read last weekend's posts when I got back to C25K, you will know that my weeks have not been consistent.  I started way back in December, Week 1 happened all in December.  Week 2 took place over January, February and May.  Week 3, all in one week...wow.  After completing the 28 minute C25K, I did it again.  That's right!...2 days in 1.  My second go around this morning, I ran the whole way.  So I figure, I ran a total of about 8km's today.  I really enjoyed my time out running.  It was very relaxing and I felt strong.  I looked down at my legs and I saw STRONG legs, especially when running up the hills. 

If you are thinking of doing C25K...DO IT! It's a great program.  I downloaded the App for my iPhone, set my play list up and push the start button.  And today I pushed the UP button...with doing it twice while only on Week 3...crazy?...maybe...but I knew my body could handle it.  Push a little harder, get a little farther.

  

And this is why I enjoyed my workout this beautiful morning... 

Maybe this will be the Bridge to 10K???

This little bunny ran along side me for a bit.

Along with C25K...my other workout today was Gardening ALL day...

These are my favourite flowers...Blue Flax

These little flowers are SO pretty.  They bloom each day, and then by the afternoon, the petals fall off, and the next day, new flowers bloom again...and repeat.  I have 2 huge Blue Flax plants in the front garden.  These are perennials so they will come up each year if they survive through the winter.  I LOVE them!

After breakfast, I went out to the store to pick of some lawn soil and grass seed to reseed our backyard.  So, that meant lifting 10 bags of dirt several times until I got them all down into the backyard, dumped, raked, seeded, raked and then watered.  Gardening job #1...complete.    

The forecast is calling for rain for the next few days, so hopefully it will get watered well, and give it some time to sprout before the daycare kids get their little feet on it. 

I so want to have a nice green lawn to walk on and enjoy.

After the lawn seeding I moved on to moving some plants around.  The Dogwoods that are in the first picture, used to be in the area of the second picture.  That was a workout in itself, digging those two bushes out, dragging them up a hill and replanting them at the side of our house.  Gardening job #2...complete. 

I have been wanting to move these for years now and I always put it off...not today though.  

Today was the day I was going to dig, and...

NOW...I have this area to plant some new flowers and maybe some vegetable plants. 

It may not seem like a lot of work, but it was.  Because when I garden, I don't stop.  I will move something somewhere else, and then start working in that area...like pulling out weeds that may be there, or moving another plant from here to there...I love it!  Lots of walking up and down, lots of lifting and lots of digging.  Pulling weeds...Gardening job #3...sort of complete...there's ALWAYS weeds that need to be pulled. 

I will see what the weather is like in the morning.  That will decide whether or not I will be outside gardening or inside cleaning and organizing the house(AGAIN).  It's never ending really!(just like the weeds)

Today's food...

Breakfast:  Greek Yogurt with Honey and Holy Crap/Tropical Quinoa Health Bar and Blackberries

I had a half serving of each, so that I could enjoy ALL of them.

Lunch: Chocolate Protein Shake

I don't know when to stop when I garden, I just go, go, go, and that's not good.  I found myself getting tired and I knew it was because I hadn't eaten anything for awhile.  It was about 2:15pm when I went inside and made this shake up...QUICK!  I had to get back out to dig the other Dogwood out.

Dinner: Subway Club Salad and a Fruit Bowl

NO!  I am not on the Subway diet...LOL...It's just after working in the garden ALL day, I did not have the energy to make or even heat up homemade food.  We went out to Lowe's to pick up some potting soil...more dirt...LOL.  But with that dirt, I also picked up some vegetable seeds suitable for pots.  So I will have carrots, beans, lettuce, zucchini and onions all growing in pots very soon.  I will have salad ingredients in my own garden this summer.

Cherries, Red and Green Grapes and Blackberries(not shown)

After Dinner Snack: Sweet Cherries and Next Organics Apricots

I still prefer the Dark Chocolate Bananas from Next Organics, but I still can't find any!!!

Tomorrow is Rest Day...HA!!!  That's funny, because I don't see rest in my future for tomorrow.  It will be a rest day from a "formal" workout, but not from cleaning and cleaning and cleaning...Ugghhhh!

Until then...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina