Days 5 and 6 of S90D

Yesterday was day 5 and Shoulders/Arms workout.  Like the first workout, I need to increase the weight on some of the exercises.  I have a tendency to go too light when first doing a new exercise, not a bad thing just playing it safe.  Anyway, while I was good and tired afterwards no sore muscles today from it. So next time I'll go up a couple pounds.
Today, day 6, was Cardio Challenge.  Not as hard as Tabata Inferno, but still enough to make you sweat a lot.  It also has lots of shoulder exercises since it combines dumbbells with the cardio exercises.  My shoulders may be crying tomorrow morning, it'll be so worth it though.
Tomorrow I'll be doing the Legs dvd sometime after church.  What a great way to begin 2012.

Sweet Potato Muffins

I had a couple cups of mashed sweet potatoes leftover from Christmas dinner so I decided to put them into this recipe.  The potatoes had butter, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice already in them.  I don't remember the amounts.  So the nutrition info on these is off by a little bit.  These could easily be made healthier by substituting honey or stevia for sugar, applesauce for oil, etc.  I just thought it was okay for today the way it is.

Sweet Potato Muffins

makes 24-28 muffins

5 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup oil (I used canola)

2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk(any type will work I used 2% with a teaspoon or two of vinegar added).

you may need to add another cup of liquid to make the batter wet enough

1/4 cup wheat germ

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, wheat germ) in a large bowl
2. Mix wet ingredients (egg, butter, oil, milk, sweet potatoes) and add to dry ingredients.
3. Combine ingredients until just moistened, adding more liquid if necessary (I had to add a cup of water).
4. Fill muffin tins and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Nutrition info per serving:
Calories: 208.4
Calories from fat: 63.9 
Total Fat: 7.1g
Cholesterol: 24.7mg
Sodium: 245.6mg
Potassium: 88.4mg
Total Carbohydrate: 32.1g
dietary fiber: 1.2g
sugars: 9.0g
Protein: 4.1g

Day 4 S90D

Today's video was Tabata Inferno. I see why they schedule a rest day on day 3 as I was draggin' butt by the end of the video.  My form went to crap and I was barely lifted my legs for some of the exercise, but I finished.  In 7 days, the next time this video is scheduled, I'm hoping to finish stronger.  I was huffing and puffing, sweaty and red face with this, I loved it.  I did it later today then I usually work out, I finished at about 8pm.  I bet I sleep good tonight.
Tomorrows workout is Shoulders/Arms, ugh probably means more push-ups.  Tom Holland, the trainer for S90D, really seems to like push-ups.  For some trainers it's squats, some it's lunges, for him push-ups.  Have a great night dear readers.

Day 3, Rest Day

Today is a rest day according to the S90D chart. However, I didn't feel like resting so I've done a Hula Abs & Buns workout  that I bought from the Dollar Tree a few years ago.  I enjoy working out to this dvd every now and then for something different.  Your abs and thighs are burning by the time 30 minutes are past.  It's harder then it looks.  I also plan on going 30 minutes on my gazelle here as soon as I finish posting this.
Tomorrow is Tabata Inferno and I've heard some good things about this section of S90D, I plan on being good and sweaty when I finish it. Love getting sweaty and feeling strong. Have a good afternoon dear readers.

Day 2 of S90D

My chest and shoulders are good and sore from yesterday and all those push ups.  Today was a core workout, like I mentioned, with all the exercises using the ball. Hence the name Ultimate ball, duh.  Anyway tomorrow is scheduled to be a rest day. Which to me seems weird after only two days of working out, so I think I'll do some time on the gazelle or pop in on of my other dvds. Other then a few sore muscles I'm feeling great, like I can take on the world great.  I really needed to get back into working out I think.  I'm also planning out my race schedule.  Right now I'm looking at possibly a 5k in March, a mud run in April, a 5k in August and a 5k in October and maybe a turkey trot at Thanksgiving, oh and there's another 5k in December I'm considering.  I really, really want to do that mud run even though it's sometimes still a bit cool in April.  I don't think I'll mind being cold and wet as it looks like tons of fun.  That's about 18.6 miles of racing, so hey if I can successfully complete these this coming year maybe I can start training for a half-marathon soon. I'd love to run one.

Day 1 of Supreme 90 Day

Okay here's what I'm starting with

I added the date and a few measurements on the picture but here they are in case you can't read them

weight; 167lbs

chest: 37.5in

waist: 34in

hips: 41in

and yuck, back fat.  Though I have made a big improvement since I last posted pictures back in August. Also since my last stat update my weight is down a pound (actually it was down to 165 Friday morning, I've overindulged on Christmas goodies so I've got a bit of water weight going on at the moment).  My chest is up half an inch, my hips down 1 1/2 inches, my waist is down one inch.  Not bad at all since I've only done a handful of workouts in December.  I feel like I've somehow kick started my metabolism again and my body is working with me once more.  So here's to kicking it in high gear and looking super in a swimsuit this coming summer. Sigh, summer how I miss thee...can't wait to shake off winter.

Well today was/is Day 1 of Supreme 90 Day (which I will shorten to S90D to make for less typing).  Today's workout was chest/back.  It consisted of a lot of rows and push ups and I'm sure my muscles will be a tad sore tomorrow.  I used 5lb dumbbells for the workout, but I think I need to switch up next time for some of the exercises.  I feel like I just didn't push myself as hard as I could of, so I'll fix that. I also need to add some more air to my swiss/stability ball. Especially since tomorrows workout is called Ultimate ball...hmm sounds like a core workout coming up. Can't wait.

Merry Christmas and a new workout

I hope all you dear readers are having a wonderful Christmas day.  Ours has been lovely so far.  Even the weather is cooperating with being partly sunny and 55 degrees.
One of my gifts was a workout system called Supreme 90 Day.  It's similar to P90 or P90x without costing the arm and a leg that Beachbody charges.  Well I say it's similar, I'm going by online reviews since I've never actually seen the P90 series except for online and t.v. and I've not done this system as of right now.
However I've been reading reviews and they're very good for S90D and I'm looking forward to getting started in the morning.  My weight has been wonderful so far this break (I've actually lost a few pounds without trying).  I know I said earlier that I wasn't going to try to lose weight this break just try and keep busy. However, I saw this at the Dollar General and it was only 10.00 and so I nearly begged Hubby for it for Christmas.  I'm really looking forward to getting started.
Anyway my point is I know I said I wasn't going to try to lose weight, but if it comes off while I'm exercising then that's a wonderful side effect. Right? I've wanted to try P90x, but cannot afford the high cost. So here I have in my greedy little paws a perfect, affordable substitute.  It also comes with a nutrition guide written by Tosca Reno, who is wonderful.  I have two, or three, of her Eat-Clean books and am already familiar with her style.
So tomorrow I'll take a before picture and all my measurements and share with you all.  I'll also try to post daily on which workout I did and what I think of it.  So here's to a hopefully awesome 90 days.

Update on Operation Don't Gain Weight Over Winter Break

Well the good:

• I'm being careful about the treats I eat and keeping everything to a minimum.
• I'm making sure to get up and move around.  For example: I'll get off the computer and go do squats while watching Hubby play on the Xbox. I'll also do random dancing or jumping jacks, anything to get a few minutes of exercise in throughout the day.

Here's the bad, or the needs improvement:

• I've not been drinking enough water.  I've not been drinking too much soda (about one a day, which is still a lot but I don't think it too too much). I've been drinking way too much coffee (about 1/2 a pot or more a day).  The past two days have been some better, I've gotten about 40 oz of water both days.  Today I'm going to aim for double that.
• While I have been getting in random acts of exercise, I've not actually been working out.  Yesterday I spent the day cleaning my bedroom.  I cleaned out closets, moved dressers, vacuumed and cleaned carpet, and did a ton of laundry.  My thighs are sore from the exercise, and it's the most I've done since before finals week.  So I need to fit in my hour a day plus the random acts.  I'm not trying to lose weight these couple of weeks, but I do have to stay on top of the extra calories I'm consuming.
• I need to be eating more veggies.  Last night I made sure that half my plate, at dinner, was the veggie Hubby fixed. I also made sure to eat that first so that I wouldn't be too full to eat it all.  Breakfast was just eggs and we skipped lunch. Not intentionally, I was in a cleaning mood and worked through lunch.  The kiddies had sandwiches, I think.

So keeping everything in mind I'll start my day and make sure I pay more attention to what I'm doing. Keeping my goals in mind.  I probably won't post till after Christmas, so have a very merry Christmas dear readers.

Operation: Don't Gain Weight Over Winter Break

I'm still here dear readers, just a very busy time of year. With the holidays, finals, and finals and finals oh yeah and Christmas. It's just plain busy. I promise that I'll be posting more regularly soon.

Anyway I'm setting a goal and so I'll post throughout winter break, which is 12/16-1/11 for me. My goal, as the title suggests, is to not gain weight these 3 1/2 weeks. I'm not aiming to lose weight, which is great if it happens, just not gain any. I'm not going to torture myself with Christmas coming and all the goodies that comes with the season and not being able to indulge a little.

So how will I meet this goal? Well here's the plan:

1. Workout 1 hour per day aiming for 6 days a week. This should include 30-45 minutes of strength training/exercises and 15-30 minutes of cardio exercises.
2. Never sit still for longer then 30 minutes at a time. Get up, get a drink of water, do 10 squats, jumping jacks anything. Just do not sit still for long periods of time. Set a timer if I must.
3. Fill plate, at lunch and dinner, half full of veggies first then add meats and starches. Keep servings of sweets at a minimum. I can have that Christmas cookie/candy, just limit to one or two pieces. Be mindful of serving sizes.
4. Water should be main beverage, then tea (unsweetened), coffee, juice. No more then one soda a week and can have a small glass of eggnog once or twice during break (mmm I do love eggnog).

See simple right? Basic stuff I should be doing anyway, however if I write it down I'm more likely to follow it. Too easy to slip into old habits when at home. For some reason it's the hardest for me to get motivated at home. At the gym an hour flies by, at home it kind of drags. It's all mental I know, I don't worry so much what needs done at the gym. Working out at home I have kiddies asking when I'll be done, housework to do, and a million other things that is harder to tune out.