Trainer Week 5

This is my final week of having a personal trainer!! I also found out I may have shin splints. They hurt really bad, but I thought I was just sore from going to the gym everyday and extra conditioning to get ready for softball. But besides that, today my trainer had me do a cardio kickboxing circuit.

First I had to jump sideways over the bars she laid on the ground. Forward two, backwards one.

Then I had to sit on this rolly chair and use only my legs to pull myself across the room and back. (4 times)

 Next was side kicks. I could touch my toe back down for only a second! It was very faced pace. Each leg for 30 seconds.

Next was step ups. But these step ups were cardio-style, at a super fast pace. It was more like constant jumping on and off, rather than stepping up and back down.



The last part of the circuit was front kicks. I had to raise my knee and kick straight on as hard as I could. It was each leg for 30 seconds. I was pretty proud I pushed it over a few times!!

I was tired after I finished that little circuit. But then I found out I had to do the whole thing 2 more times!! It was a really good cardio workout and it was much different than anything I have even done before!! I am so glad I had the opportunity to work with my trainer and get new workout ideas! :)

5 sessions, 5 weeks, complete at last! Thanks to everyone who followed my blog! I hope you got a few new ideas about food and working out from reading! :)

Spice up your salad

Who is tired of eating lettuce with a bit of dressing on it?? Well I am! It gets very boring, and rather tasteless. So I have made a Mexican style salad, that tastes much better!

So I started with a layer of fat free refried beans on the bottom. I heated it up in the microwave to they were warm. Fat free beans only have a 2 PP value. Then I dumped on the lettuce to make it salad-like. Lettuce has a 0 PP value. Next I added red and yellow pepper, jalapenos, onion, carrot, and cucumber.  All of these vegetables have a 0 PP value as well. Then I added 1/4 cup of cheese for 3 PP to top it off. Salsa also would have been a good no point addition.

The total Points Plus for this meal was 5 points.

This salad was rocking and was rather filling. I still needed to have some protein with this meal, like greek yogurt or a few slices of turkey. It was filling and very good! This salad is a great idea to be healthy, and not be forced to load tablespoons of fat filled dressing over plain lettuce.

Trainer Week 4

This week was a good week! I had a lot of fun and once again had a great workout. The plan this week was to do a combination of legs and arms. Here is what I did...

First was step ups onto (what seemed like) a GIANT platform. It took a lot of strength to lift my body plus my leg, without putting it down on the top. So basically, one leg needed to life me up and take me down without the help of the other.

Catching my balance...

Then I did sumo squats! They were rather painful, since I had to use a 65 pound weight!!! It was hard, but rather relaxing after the step ups.

I went through 3 sets of step ups and sumo squats. The step ups were 10 reps per leg per set and the sumo squats were 12 reps per set. Next was the arm machines. This one was a pull down type machine. I was instructed to use one arm, while the other wrapped around my side. I did 12 reps of these along with another machine for 3 sets.

Lastly I did elevated planks of off the bench press seat. Instead of just holding the plank, I had to put one leg down, touch it to the ground, and lift it back up 10 times. Then switch and do the other leg. It was painful on my core and leg at the same time! I did 3 sets of that as well!

After that, my session was over. 4 done, 1 to go!



Trainer Week 3

So far I have learned a lot from my trainer. When you go to the gym it is key to do strength training aka weights twice a week, or every other day. The other few days it is important to do at least 45 minutes of cardio. That's the schedule you should try to keep.

This week with the trainer, we did a lot of things that made me feel the burn.... like pull ups!! It was painful and I was sore for the next 3 days! But being sore is good! It means I am gaining strength.

First I did some lunges with weights. I did side kicks in between the squats.



Then there was squats with a medicine ball. I had to squat and touch my butt to the little stool. Then jump as high as I could, raising the ball above my head.



These are action shots....






Then I did step ups. I had to step up onto the red stool and once I was standing straight, lift the 10 pound weights above my head. 10 step ups per leg. It burned my arms more than my legs. Which may have been the point :)



After that I did a whole bunch of pull ups. (OUCH.)

There is a pull up machine, with three different grips. I had to do 10 of each grip. 2 times through. It was rather difficult!! After I was done with those, I did some leg lifts. (Thank god it didn't have to do with my arms!) After that was done I was pretty beat. So I went to my favorite stretcher machine and it was great :)

3 weeks down, 2 weeks to go!

Trainer Week 2

So this Monday I had my second work out with the trainer. I was really excited!! Every time I work with her, I have to warm up first. I usually do the elliptical or power walk on the treadmill.

So the first thing I did was hard. I didn't like it. I had to put the half ball on the ground and pull my legs out and in by jumping.

 Out in, out in, times 10. Two sets. Rather painful.

 After that it was time for squat kicks. I did a traditional squat, and then on the way up I had to kick my leg out to the side. This one was much funner! Squats are my favorite :)

At this point, my camera ran out of batteries, so I was spared the picture taking. This was probably a good thing, because I struggled to lift the bar from my feet to over my head. It felt like way more than 45 pounds!

Next is my FAVORITE MACHINE EVER at the gym!! It's the flexibility machine...it's basically a stretcher. I took a sweet pic of the diagram...with me in it (even though you can't see me) with my leg at a 96ish degree angle... it feels so so good!

For my cool down on Monday I decided to bike for a little bit. Little did I know...biking on spin bikes, is NOT as easy as a regular bike. It burns. But I did that and survived. I suppose I should do that more often, cause the more you do something the easier it becomes!

So that was my experience at the gym. I 've been realizing that I don't get as tired doing simple things. I am always ready to keep going. For example today, we had a little softball conditioning sesh. We traditionally do a "big loop, little loop" around the school for warm ups everyday. We did that today, and for the first time ever, I wasn't exhausted and ready to take a nap. It felt wonderful! :D This whole program seems to be working!

Better Food Decision- Spaghetti :)

Who here likes pasta?? Well I know I sure do! Most people dump on a giant mound of spaghetti and pour on the sauce. I'll admit I used to do it, don't be shy. I have learned a lot from Weight Watchers. One major factor has been portion control. Controlling portions can be rather difficult, and I have realized it helps a lot if you use a smaller plate so it appears like you are getting more food!

In this picture I have one cup of whole grain pasta, totaling a 6 points plus value. 1/2 cup of meat sauce, 4 points plus value. I put one slice of bread with some butter and garlic salt in the oven and it tastes just like garlic bread. With SaraLea honey wheat bread, it is only 1 points plus value per slice. To make the meal more filling, I added a side of steamed broccoli for a 0 points plus value. This meal has an 11 points plus value.

Last week at my Weight Watchers meeting, I had my leader take a look at my food tracker (where I write everything I eat). She said I am eating too many carbs. Little did I know, granola bars and cereal counted as carbs and I used to have both of those every day. Now in the morning I have eggs instead of cereal some days. For lunch I have the meat from my sandwich, minus the bread. (Ask anyone at my table...it was a great story the first day I showed up with a bread less sandwich.) Basically, I realized that a balanced diet is key. We need a balance of protein, carbs, dairy, fruit, vegetables, and even oil. Healthy oils can be found in sunflower seeds! So now I have 1 tablespoon on sunflower seeds at lunch to get my daily oils.

Trainer Week 1

So today is Monday the 21st of February. I went to WAC and got owned by a trainer. Fun...? ha sure! This is one of the two components in my project. It is a 5 week program and every week I get a new workout. After my Monday session I have to go back to the gym and repeat the workout she gave me at least one more time before our next meeting. Today was pretty tough. She made me so a lot of lunges and leg workouts! I wasn't a fan of it. But it will be good for me in the end!! Here are some pictures to prove I actually did this and I'm not making it up! :)

So the first thing I did was lunge across the ENTIRE hallway in the middle of the gym. It was quite the experience...dodging casual walkers.

After I lunged back and forth down the hallway I had to run down and back up the stairs.

I repeated this cycle 2 times. It would have been a lot easier without the 10 pound weight in each hand.

Next, I did a pull up. But instead of standing, it was doing it laying down! So I laid on the floor and pulled my self up to the bar using my arms.

This is what it looked like when I was at the top. I did 10 reps and once again 2 cycles.

Then she had me bench press 45 pounds for 10 reps, then 65 pounds for 10 reps. That was pretty difficult. I struggled at the end, but I pushed through it! I felt like a baby when my arms were quivering like a weakling!

While I was on the bench, I did a quick ab workout. Legs down then up, as you can see in the two photos. It was my favorite exercise of the day. Not too hard, but still effective! 

Next, I did one legged lunges. They were mighty painful! I felt it on my inner and outer thigh.

I did 10 reps, 2 sets on each leg.

Next was my LEAST favorite exercise. They are called step ups. I did 10 reps, 2 sets on each leg. They are super painful and tiring. But I'm sure since they are so hard, they must be good for me!

Lastly she had be hold a medicine ball above my head and lunge down the hallway again. But this time as I came up from the lunge I had to lift my knee and kick. Once again, pretty fun while everyone was watching...

One thing I am very grateful she didn't take pictures of was when she had me sprint on the treadmill, while holding that black medicine ball above my head. It was on the treadmill that you can see on the right in the last picture.

So overall that was my workout for the day! It was actually fun, and very good for me! I feel really good right now as I am typing this. I am very energized and ready to go!