Boot Camp Sunday: Workout of the Day

Hey! Check out today’s workout on the SPFit site:

http://spfitdet.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/wod-push-inch-die/

Come check out the Boot Camp class – your first class is free!

Only Your Best. No Excuses. Never Quit.

Weekend Warrior: Hill Sprints

Runners know sprint intervals can quickly burn fat. Super quick. Like, seven times quicker than “so-so-car-dee-oh”. If your sprint intervals are like…booooring…consider hill sprints.

Hill sprints are exactly what you think they are: sprints up a hill. They’re a little safer on the legs because the body is angled differently and strides are shorter. Loading is greater, and the lower arms learn to contract faster. If you have knee issues, hill sprints are not recommended (so, consult your doc before trying something that’ll put you on ice for days, or weeks).

Jason Ferrugia, strength coach and author, uses hill sprints as his favorite conditioning tool:

Be King (or Queen) of the Hill

• Leg Swings (30 yards): Walk forward & swing one leg up in front of you, touching it with the opposite hand. Repeat on opposite side.
• Walking Lunges (30 yards): Lunge forward with your right leg, bring your right forearm down until it touches the inside of your right calf. Your left hand will be on the ground for support.
• Ankle Hops (20×2): With your knees locked, use only your ankle calves to jump and down in place as fast as possible.
• Sprint Warm Ups (5): Build intensity from 50% to 90% of your maximum.
• Sprints (30 to 40 yards x 3): 95% of your max. Every week add one sprint, but never go past 95% of your maximum effort.

(from Men’s Fitness November 2012 issue)

Boot Camp Sunday: How to Modify Push-Ups & Squat Thrusts

I learned a few things today:

• Suntan lotion is ineffective outside if you miss your ears (oops).
• Leg lifts on a faux concrete table make the bum hurt.
• Gloves are helpful if one desires to not have little pebbles crushed into the palms of their hands while dong long armed planks.

Today’s Boot Camp Workout (insert loud “tad-daaaah!” here):

My warm up was a road cycle to the park with a 12lb back pack followed by 1/2 mile brisk walk (twice around the track).

Circuit One	Circuit Two	Circuit Three
25 Squats x 2	15 Table Squat Thrusts x 3	Jump in Place 45 Seconds x 1
15 Chest Push-Ups x 3	15 Walking Lunges x 3	Run in Place 60 Seconds x 2
25 Step-Ups (small) x 1	20 Leg Lifts x 3	Long Arm Plank 60 Seconds x 3
20 Step-Ups (tall) x 3		Lap the Track x 2 (1/4 Mile)
Lap the Track x 2 (1/2 Mile)

Chest Push Ups
These are modified push-ups that do not involve the knees (aka: “girl push-ups”). You can use a table at home, a park bench, anything that is off the ground. You then plant your hands on the edge of the table or bench about shoulder width apart, and straighten your legs. Your body should be at about a 45 degree angle. Your butt shouldn’t be high in the air, your knees should not be bent (like the faceless guy to the left). Once you are in position, lower yourself down and push yourself up. Do this for 15 reps.

Table Squat Thrusts
This is a modified version of squat thrusts. I’m certain someone somewhere has a name for it, but until I’m notified of it, it shall be deemed Table Squat Thrusts. Plant your hands on the the bench of a picnic table (the part you sit on) or the last riser of a bleacher, box, or whatever other object you would like to use. Draw your legs up under you in squat position (you’ll look like you’re going to do a leap frog move). With your hands on the bench, drive your legs back so they are straight and bring them back under you to squat position (this picture here demonstrates how a regular squat thrust is done, just add a table or a bench). You can bring yourself up to standing position or stay in squat position.There is some impact on the knees, so if yours are a little crummy adjust how hard you drive your legs back.

If you have an exercise you’d like to do but your body is saying “NO WAY”, drop a line to spdiaries@gmail.com. We can find a modification for you!

Tuesday Tip: How Not to Break Your Neck Standing Upsidedown Against a Wall

Today’s workout comes from Jillian Michaels’ Slim Down program (apparently that was an Ambien download in April…). I couldn’t do the circuits three times, but I did do:

-Static Lunge w/Reverse Cable Fly: I used a rubber tube and went as low as I could (knee damage). 20x each leg.
-Clock Lunge: Starting the 12 o’clock position, go around the clock. Again, as Low as I could go: 3 revolutions per leg.
-Standing Mountain Climber w/3# DB’s: 20 each side.
-Skaters: These were awkward because my ability to balance while in motion is a little off. 20x each leg.
-Plank Twists: Oh. My. G<>>>. 25x each side.
-Squat Swing w/8# Ball: 20x
-Plank Row w/3# DB’s: 20x each side.
-Mountain Climbers (floor): 60 seconds (almost ate the linoleum!).
-Side Plank: 30 second per side. By this point I had the market cornered on shaking arms.
-Cross Over Lungs w/Hammer Curls 5# DB’s: 25x each side.
-Jumping Jacks: 60 seconds (not quite sixty seconds. I had to stop twice to breathe.).
-Squat Jack: 20x. These were hard, only because I didn’t want to tear up my knees…which are already tore up.
-Oblique side Crunch: Someone had to be laughing their a$$ off watching that. 25x per side.
-Pendulum Lunge w/Hammer Curls 5# DB’s: 25x per leg.
-Hamstring Curls on Exercise Ball: Well…all I can say is I tried. Sloppiest thing I ever did. But I did 15×2.

I saved the best for last. Jillian calls this exercise “Shoot ‘Em Up” (she said she couldn’t think of another name). You’re supposed to crouch down, put your hands in front of you, have your feet a couple of inches away from the wall, then shoot your butt up to the ceiling. After, you kick your feet up onto the wall using your quads. Arms stay locked during this exercise. I couldn’t kick my feet up, but I did get them up and did 10 reps. I made the trainer who was in the building take a picture for proof. I’m seriously STOKED!

Monday Moves: Tread ‘n Crunch

I do not get how long distance runners can handle the humidity outdoors. I am all about (insert dramatic air-circle pattern here) AC.

Tonight’s workout consisted of not one, not two, but three (yes…three) treadmills. The first one had touchy/feely issues (kind of like my ex-husband…). I had to poke the icons in just the right places in order to make it to the next screen (rumor has it this could lead one to a new level in Candy Crush Saga…or straight into a bad joke). When the program finally started and the belt began to move, it was slooooooow. I was puzzled because it was set to start at 3.7. I tried to adjust the speed. The display wouldn’t respond. I tried to pause the machine, the display got stuck on pause and wouldn’t resume when I poked it do so. I had to wait for it to time out.

Because I’m incredibly stubborn determined, I went through all that up there a second time. And again the belt moved super slow, set at 3.7. I was totally puzzled. Another minute or two went by and I figured it out:

Kilometers. Seriously. Matchbox cars in the hands of three-year-old boys move faster.

Finally I’m on my way, the machine is going. I walked a quarter mile, bumped the speed and ran a quarter mile. Wash, rinse, repeat. BUT…(you knew it was comin’) – a message popped up on the display with “User cannot be detected, press “OK” to continue”. I’m RUNNING! Try to poke the icon when you’re zippin’ along at five miles an hour. After the third pop up, I moved to the next machine.

There are seven or eight treadmills in the gym I go to (it’s small), and they were all filled. There was a gal to my left, a tall guy on my right (the display worked for HIM) – and we were all into doing our thing when BOOM! Power cuts off. Our three treadmills just abruptly stopped. No slow down. No “Danger Will Robinson! Danger!” signpost/popup. Just. Stopped. Period.

I almost fell off. I don’t know where the little gal to the left went, I suspect she flew off her machine. The guy to my right says, “Your machine stop?” Really?? He had a big white pair of Dr. Dre Beats headphones on and I swear: Princess Lea came to mind.

That led to my third and final treadmill of the evening. 5.0 miles in a little over an hour. On my way out I got onto the Leg Raise Dip thingy and did 25knee raises (on the floor they’d be crunches). I was fairly impressed…even if I could only do five at a time with a 30 second suffocation-preventative break in between.

 

Boot Camp…Solo

If you got time to watch all the shows you DVR’d for the past week, cuddle a hangover, eat pancakes, watch cartoons, play video games, catch a movie, have kids to corral or dogs to herd, you got time to workout. I know this to be true…I used to weigh almost 400 pounds.

One day the excuses will run out…or you’ll get tired of the shrill sound of my voice. It’s a lot easier to chase your grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or your own babies when you aren’t tied to a 300 pound brick.

Today I had Boot Camp Solo. I invited 42 people, 1 said “yes”, nobody showed. Yay. 😦

My “gym” of choice was at Butler Elementary in Huntington Woods. A small spot with two baseball fields, short bleachers, a little play park, a track, trees, a water park (I did not go there). It was the perfect morning: sun out, in the high 60’s. Best part was when I rode my bike out into the middle of the baseball field. I didn’t see the sign about no bikes for a good 20 minutes.

Saturday Workout:

Road Cycle: 6.05 miles round trip w/10lb pack (72.2 & 98.4 gains)
Bleachers (run up & down): 25 reps x 5 (125 total)
Push Ups: 25 reps x 5 (125 total)
Squats: 25 reps x 4 (100 total)
Mountain Climbers (I used the bleachers for handles): 60 reps x 4 (240 total)
Track: jogged/walked 4x

According to my little body monitor: I moved 6,797 steps for 3.5 miles (not including the bike ride); I was active for one hour and fifty-six minutes, I was idle for 8 minutes. I burned 2,326 calories | active burn was 1,736 calories | resting burn is 590 calories.

Great…Greater…Tyler

I gave some serious thought early last week to cancel an invite I received for a weekend girls-get-away 244 miles north of my little space in Detroit. Part of the thought was tied into my current economic situation: I left a job several weeks ago I held for four years under the stupid belief I was part of something great. If great meant another four years as a life-sized mud mat for Napoleon, his pet rat, and the quiet guy with the Star Wars lunch box – then it would have been awesome!

(Insert hoarking hairball sound here)

The other part of the thought was tied into my date of birth. It fell over the weekend, and I mulled around the idea how I could have spent 72 hours in a fetal position on the floor with my Birthday Blanket of Death, mourning the the end of my second year of the fourth decade of my existence.

So up north with the girls I went!

There was an art fair on the beach off of Lake Huron. I took my digital camera with the hope I would find a cool memory to capture forever (and not buy stuff I didn’t need), and stumbled upon a few young people with skateboards.

My digital camera is the only piece of tech I own I know nothing about (my friends can close their mouths now). I am not a photographer. I know nothing about lighting, or lenses, or picture driven software. I do like old stuff, buildings, clean lines (i.e. piers), I did not expect to like the idea of capturing a body in motion.

I became incredibly frustrated with my camera because it is not an SLR device, so although it will snap images while the button is held down, there is a delay between frames of not quite a second. Still, I spent about half an hour in an attempt to get that perfect shot – which is how I met Tyler.  A very determined young man. He skated all over the place, attempted jumps, tricks and a few other things I know not the names of. Tyler was showing off – but he wasn’t competitively cocky like some boys (and most adult males) can be – he genuinely wanted to be great. He would say, “Hold on…I can do this…” an if he wouldn’t hit his mark, he’d give it another shot. Tyler concentrated on every move he made, and had a contagious smile.

I had a great weekend, which became greater after I met Tyler and his skateboard.

POW (Post-Op Whiners)

Somewhere across the country there’s a secret collective of post-op dairy farmers. They haven’t been clear on their target market, or the cost of their product to consumers when it officially hits store shelves. One thing is clear: confidential sources have revealed they’re milking it for all it is worth.

Ugh.

Piece of advice: if you fell off the post-op salad truck, STOP posting, ‘What do I DO???” all over the internet. If you are a weight loss surgery post op for any length of time (two seconds, two months, two years, two decades), you know what you are supposed to do…unless of course you were hit on the head with fried Twinkies. Then you could be suffering from WLSPOA (weight loss surgery post op amnesia).

To avoid becoming a POW, try the following steps:

1. Talk to someone. You have a primary care doctor, you have a surgeon, you have a nutritionist. If any of these professionals have mysteriously vanished out of your life (alien abduction?)…FIND SOMEONE NEW. If you’re unable to do so then my assumption would be you reside on an island in total solitude, which means you have no access to communications and will not read this anyway.

2. If you know you’re eating habits are bad, and you know you have consumed that which you probably are not supposed to (like a container of crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe’s), get over it. It’s summer. You can grow stuff. Even better, you can pay someone who grew it already.

3. If you have the phrase “I can’t afford to” flashing behind your eyelids in reference to item #2, hold your tongue. Chances are incredulously high you have, oh let’s see: all the cable channels, all the movie channels, a smart phone and a big ol’ plan.

I whine to a select few of my friends, none of whom give me one ounce of slack because they’ve been privy to my weight loss changes. I don’t complain online all that often. Usually I will talk to someone who puts me in my place. I also yell at people. Ask my friend Anne. I chased her bum back across the football field at boot camp a few weeks ago for short-cutting the track, later I made her do half leap frogs. My trainer gives me no slack at all-and it has nothing to do my picture he put on his car advertisement. It’s because he remembers when I was the fattest woman in the gym, how my stomach drug the ground during push ups, or how 40lbs made a world of difference in climbing 17 steps.

God, you have so much to celebrate. Don’t be a POW. Don’t focus on the prison and the chains…neither hold you anymore.

If that doesn’t encourage you, get stuck somewhere. I got wedged in that little space there between the bed and nightstand over the weekend to fix the carpet. I hadn’t laughed that hard at myself in a long, long time.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves

These are curves.

There’s two years and a 140 pounds between these pictures.

Friday Workout

Rode the bike: 5.57 miles to the studio w/20lb backpack

Boxing: Three 3 minute rounds

TRX back rows: 60 seconds

15lb dumbbells: Curls x 15

12lb dumbbells: Curls x 20

TRX back rows (again): 60 seconds

5lb dumbbells: Sides x 15; Fronts x 15; Overhead press x 15

15lb dumbbell: Tricep overhead press x 10

12lb dumbbell: Tricep overhead press x 30

Push ups: 90

Weighted sled pushes: 60lbs x 80 ft

Weighted sled drags: 95lbs, 140lbs across the back of the parking lot

Rode 5.34 miles on bike home w/15lb backpack.

FYI: I drug 140lbs…that’s how much weight I’ve lost.

Journey to the Castle of the Pastry King

I went with Bestie last night with L-Act and D-Tek to the castle of the Pastry King. They needed to check on a garden, Pastry King was visiting another realm, I needed to pick Bestie’s brain.

Any amount of time spent in the vicinity of teenagers who get along like brother and sister and not like dueling squires, definitely bound to be interesting. As the chariot rattled down the road of death (seriously…I bet an entire family was swallowed alive in their chariot by the craters chiseled in that road!), L-Act ended a sentence with: “…I can act gay.”

I promptly informed him he was in error. He replied, “I can too act gay.” Bestie and I both said, “You SO cannot act gay.”

The next few comments left us a in massive fit of laughter and Bestie overshot the entrance to the castle by a good 200 feet.

After we got wet and dirty dug holes and planted stuff, L-Act and D-Tek took care of a few chores in the castle. I was overwhelmed by MOC syndrome (Mud on Car)…”OMG Muddy” appeared out of nowhere on the rear door. I admitted to the deed…sort of…

Best part of the night was after we left the castle of the Pastry King. Bestie asked D-Tek about a place in town and if they had deserts. The next five minutes were filled with D-Tek’s tale of sugary sweetness, she had the same glee in her voice when the Pastry King speaks such wonders. She is her fathers daughter.

After a chai frappuccino, a mocha frappuccino with no coffee, a lemon pop, triple venti carmel frappuccino and a decaf (really???), L-Act popped out the playlist. We spent the next 30 minutes singing badly and laughing loudly (with tears). Bestie overshot the turn to take D-Tek to her palace because we were laughing so hard. Closer we got to D-Tek’s palace, the harder we laughed. Then the snorting. Then the laughter turned to squeals (that was me)….then Bestie shut us down for fear of what D-Tek’s mom would think (you know, that we were all nuts).

This has nothing to do with exercise (unless you want to count the 40lb bags of potting soil I helped drag around and four holes I dug). I’m disgustingly happy, and having so much fun just being alive.