Workout for Sunday, November 1

For our workout today:

If you have a treadmill available, do the following:
Run as far as you can, as fast as you can in 15 minutes. Record the distance you made.

We did this last on Sept. 27

Workout for Saturday, October 31

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Perform the following series every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:

5 push ups
10 sit ups
15 squats

We did this last on Sept. 28

Workout for Friday, October 30

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

8 burpees
12 dumbbell swings (10#, 15# or 20#)
16 walking lunges (8 each leg)

Count number of rounds and partial rounds completed.

Last time we did this was Sept. 18

Workout for Thursday, October 29

20 sit ups each minute for 10 minutes

Workout for Wednesday, October 28

60 push ups in as few sets as possible. Try to do them from the toes, if possible, for as long as you can.

(Thanks CrossFit OKC for the workout!)

50-40-30-20-10

Double Unders
Sit Ups

If you can't do double unders, do 3x single under jumping rope. So...that would mean...150 single jumps, 50 sit ups, 120 single jumps, 40 sit ups, 90 single jumps, 30 sit ups, 60 single jumps, 20 sit ups, 30 single jumps, 10 sit ups.

Workout for Tuesday, October 27

150 burpees for time

Yes, that is a LOT of burpees. If you are new, do either 50 or 100.

My advice is to manage your time and efforts. The last time I did this, my goal was under 20 minutes. I did 8 per minute for the first 10 minutes, then 7 per minute for the next 10. This made it pretty easy for me. The time previous to this was several minutes slower and felt horrible. I had no plan--I just worked on getting through them. Managing the work was a much better solution. I think I could probably do 10 per minute now, and I would finish in under 15 minutes.

We did this last on Sept. 26

Workout for Monday, October 26

Sorry to be late posting this!

21-15-9

Push ups
Jumping sit ups

Workout for Sunday, October 25

Running day!

Run outside or on a treadmill--

4 intervals, 5 minutes each
Rest about 2-3 minutes between each interval
Try to keep a consistent distance for each interval

Workout for Saturday, October 24

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes:

5 tuck jumps
10 mountain climbers (10 each leg)
15 squats

Rest a bit, then...

100 sit ups for time

We did this last on August 8.

Workout for Friday, October 23

Complete as much as you can IN ORDER in 10 minutes:

50 squats
50 sit ups
50 walking lunges
50 push ups
50 tuck jumps
50 burpees
50 goodmornings

If you get this far--I guess just quit! Record how far you get in the list. We did this last on Sept. 7. If you are new, cut reps in half.

Scroll down for videos on all of these exercises.

Workout for Thursday, October 22

Supermans:
3 sets of 15, hold for 2 count each

V-Ups:
3 sets of 15

Not for Time
We did this last on Sept. 24

Stronger Core = Faster Running

From Shape magazine, July 2009:

"Researchers at Barry University found that runners who did a core workout every other day for six weeks shaved 30 more seconds off their 5k time than athletes who stuck to a running-only routine. 'Strong core muscles prevent you from over-rotating your trunk and swinging your arms out too far--two things that slow you down,' says Kimi Sato, the study's lead author and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Northern Colorado. 'They also improve your posture, which helps you run more efficiently."

Workout for Wednesday, October 21

Weighted good mornings...3x10

5 rounds, 15 seconds of work followed by 45 seconds rest of the following:

Dumbbell Thrusters (heavy!)
Burpees
Sumo-Deadlift-High Pull (45#bar or 30# dumbbell)

Workout for Tuesday, October 20

For Time:

100 sit ups
100 push ups
100 squats

Break these up however you want. Just get them all done!

We did this last on Sept. 14

Workout for Monday, October 19

For Time:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Dumbbell Push Presses (10-15 lbs. if possible)
Dumbbell Walking lunges (same dumbbells)
Dumbbell Squats (same dumbbells)

Do 10 of each exercise, then 9, then 8 and so on until complete. Let the dumbbells hang at your sides for the lunges, rest them on your shoulders for the squats.

Workout for Sunday, October 18

Running day--

Pick a distance that you consider pretty long. For instance: I typically run 5k (3.1 miles) every week or two and run some shorter distances in between. For today, I would choose to run 10k. If you haven't run at all in a really long time, try for a mile. Walk/run it if necessary.

You could do the same thing for biking or using a rower.

Some typical distances:

1 mile
2 miles
5k
10k
15k

Workout for Saturday, October 17

Run away!

Run away from your house for 8 minutes
Do 50 squats
Run back home
Do 50 squats

Try to get as far away as possible. Can you make it a mile? Or, if you walk, can you make it 1/2 a mile? If you can't run the entire way, try intervals--run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute, run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute, run for 2 minutes.

Workout for Friday, October 16

50-40-30-20-10

Walking lunges
Sit Ups

Do 50 walking lunges, then 50 sit ups. 40 walking lunges, 40 sit ups, etc.

Workout for Thursday, October 15

Planks!

This time go for as long as you can at each plank position.

Front plank
Right plank
Left plank

Workout for Wednesday, October 14

Warm up - Tabata

First 2 minutes with burpees
Second 2 minutes with squats

Workout

Run 400 meters
25 wall balls
Run 400 meters
25 box jumps
Run 400 meters
25 dumbbell push press

Because of the weather, we ended up doing a rotation of:

15 Sumo-Deadlift-High-Pulls
25 DB Push Presses
25 Medicine Ball cleans
25 box jumps
Run around the gym as many times as necessary until all other stations have finished work.

Thanks for helping me create this workout, ladies!

Workout for Tuesday, October 13

For Time:

21-15-9
Dumbbell thrusters
Burpees

We did this last on August 21

On the Menu--Pumpkin Turkey Chili

My friend Kim gave me this recipe today. Had it for dinner tonight--delicious--and completely Paleo!!!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili
4-5 Servings

1 T. Oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground turkey
2 cans Hunts diced tomatoes, garlic or onion flavored
1 can diced mild green chilis (optional--but I added them)
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
3 T. chili powder
1/2 t. pepper
Dash of salt
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional--but I used)

Heat oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion, peppers and garlic until tender. Add the turkey and cook until browned. Mix in remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 20 minutes.

Workout for Monday, October 12

For time:

30 Jumping jacks
30 Push-ups
30 box jumps
30 v-ups
30 supermans
30 walking lunge
30 DB swings (heavy as possible)
30 sit ups
30 squats
30 burpees

Workout for Sunday, October 11

Tabata--

Use a treadmill, set at 12% grade at 0-30 sec slower pace per mile than best 5k pace. Do not reduce the speed!

Remember, a tabata is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, for 8 intervals. 4 minutes total.

This workout is from CrossFit Endurance.

If you do not have a treadmill, run from home. I suggest you run the first 4 intervals away from home, as fast and as far as possible. STOP in place when you have your 10 seconds rest. Run back home for the last 4 intervals. This will give you a good indication if you were able to hold your speed for the entire 4 minutes.

Workout for Saturday, October 10

5 rounds for time:

5 burpees
15 broomstick thrusters
25 good mornings

We did this last on September 12. There was no video for broomstick thrusters, but I did find the barbell thruster video that follows. It is long. But the only difference we have is with weight.

Workout for Friday, October 9

Favorite/Least Favorite Tabata Mash up

Pick your least favorite and favorite of the following exercises:

Sit Ups
Push Ups
Burpees
Squats
Lunges
Box Jumps
Mountain Climbers
Tuck Jumps
Double Unders
Jumping Jacks
Good Mornings

The normal Tabata is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 8 intervals. The Mash Up is to alternate favorite and least favorite exercises for a total of 16 intervals (8 minutes total). If you choose Burpees and Sit Ups--you would do burpees for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, sit ups for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, burpees for 20 seconds, and so on. Your "score" is the lowest number you do in any 20 second period of each exercise (you will have two scores.) We did this last on September 11.

There should be videos for everything pretty recently, except double unders, which follows--

Workout for Thursday, October 8

Push Up, Sit Up Endurance

4 rounds for reps of:

Push-ups, 1 minute

Sit-ups, 1 minute

Rest 1 miunte

So, you will do as many push ups as possible for one minute, go directly to do as many sit ups as possible in one minute, then rest for one minute. 4 rounds. Count your total reps for push ups in each round and all rounds. Same with sit ups.

Workout courtesy of CrossFit OKC

Wednesday, October 7

Dumbbell Clusters

5 each minute for 5 minutes, as heavy as possible.

A dumbbell cluster is a dumbbell clean plus a thruster.

Rest for a few minutes, then...

400 meter run
50 box jumps
50 wall balls

For Time.

Workout for Tuesday, October 6

For Time:

50 jumping jacks
50 walking lunges
50 good mornings
50 box jumps (or step ups--record height)
50 dumbbell push presses (5-10 lbs each hand)
50 squats
50 tuck jumps
50 sit ups
50 burpees
50 mountain climbers

We did this last on September 4.

I have not posted ALL of the videos for today's elements. Go back several days to get the remainder if necessary.

Workout for Monday, October 5

Deck of Cards

Hearts--squats
Spades-push ups
Diamonds--sit ups
Clubs--walking lunge
Jokers--burpees

Values are as follows:
Numbered cards=their number
Face cards=10
Aces=11
Jokers=20

Shuffle the cards, start working through the deck and the exercises until completed!

We did this last on August 14.

On the Menu--Pot Roast

I'm not much of a cook. There. I've said it. Again. Anything easy is my favorite. So, at the grocery store I purchased a package for about $12 that had everything I needed to make a pot roast in the crock pot. I'm sure I spent 20% more than I would have if I had bought the items individually, but there it is.

Dinner tonight:
Pot Roast
Fruit

In trying to stay basically within a Paleo diet, is anything wrong with this?

To eat "Paleo", you need to eat the foods our bodies were designed to eat. This includes meat, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. One of the reasons to eat this way is to keep our insulin levels from spiking. From the "Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain, PhD:

Part of the confusion here is that all carbohydrates are not created equal. Some of them are good for us. But others promote ill health and disease, and this brings us to the glycemic index. Good carbohydrates have a low glycemic index. This means they cause a minimal or slow rise in our blood glucose (sugar) level. The "glycemic load" is the glycemic index of a food times its carbohydrate content. It is this high-glycemic load that elevates blood insulin levels in many people. High-glycemic carbohydrates cause large and rapid rises in blood glucose and have been implicated in a wide variety of chronic diseases--adult-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, elevated blood uric acid levels, elevated blood triglycerides (the building blocks of fat, which float around in the bloodstream), elevated small-dense LDL cholesterol, and reduced HDL cholesterol. This cluster of diseases is known to cardiologists as "Syndrome X."

So, my pot roast has meat and vegetables. All is well. But wait...

The vegetables in my pot roast are:

Onions
Celery
Carrots
Potatoes

Onions, celery and carrots all have pretty low glycemic indices. Carrots are higher than celery and onions, but let's not get ridiculous. They are still in the low range. Potatoes--more than double that of the others.

What to do?

Just pick out the potatoes, have a small amount, or just go ahead and eat them. Just don't kid yourself into thinking they are just like the rest of the vegetables.

As for my fruit? While fruit typically has higher glycemic indices than vegetables, they are still low compared to other carb sources (grains, pasta, rice.)

Workout for Sunday, October 4

If you are close to a track to use:

3x400 meter sprints
1x800 meter sprints

Rest between intervals, try to keep within 10 seconds time for each 400 sprint.

Or:

Run as far as you can, as fast as you can, for 30 minutes. Record distance, if possible.

Workout for Saturday, October 3

50 Standing Broad Jumps, for time.

Jump as far as you can for each jump. We did this last on August 24.

Workout for Friday, October 2

Two HORRIBLE Tabatas:

Knees to Elbows
Bottom to Bottom Squats

All you need for knees to elbows is a bar to hang from. If you do not have one, I guess just do a push up tabata. Bars that hang in doorways are very inexpensive and a good investment. Pull ups are an unmatched exercise, and need to be worked on.

Most people will not be able to get their knees all the way to their elbows from a hanging position. This takes an incredible amount of core strength. The important thing is to raise your knees up as high as possible, trying to "tip" the pelvis up while doing so.

Remember...a tabata interval is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 8 intervals (total of 4 minutes) Count the number of reps in each 20 second interval. Your score is the LOWEST number of reps in any given interval. Do the knees to elbows tabata, rest a few minutes, then do the bottom to bottom squat tabata.

Julie Bunton's Story

I have asked a few people to share their "success" stories for this blog. Julie has been coming to my class at church since the beginning in February. She has been faithful with the diet and exercise and has really seen great results. Her feelings on the diet almost mirror my own. This really has been the first time in my life that I have felt like a diet has worked and could be incorporated into a regular lifestyle. I really love how she has come around to wanting to be healthy and strong--not skinny. I believe this allows for a much healthier body image. Here's what she has to say:

"I have always considered myself an active person. Energetic, at times athletic and for the most part a healthy eater. That being said, I've struggled my entire life with my weight and physical appearance.

Never have quite felt "great" in my own skin. As far as diets go, I've done it all - low calorie, no fat (literally 10 grams a fat a day and less than 1000 calories), and Weight Watchers. They all worked in their own right, but nothing I could make a lifestyle out of. I've also done several fitness plans from growing up with dance lessons (although I was always the chubby one with big thighs - I hated tights!), cheerleading, sprinting in track, church softball, aerobics in the 80's, running, spinning, some weight training in college and pilates after my second child. Again, I found interest and results with all, but nothing that really stuck and worked EVERYTHING - all my trouble spots. Just when I was happy with one thing on my body - something else would pop up that would upset me and I would focus on that area - then back to the other problems once that fixed - a viscous cycle.

I realized that it has to be a balance of both. I can't just eat right and not work out and I can't work out and eat junk. That much is for sure. But what balance was the right one for me? Something that I could do in any situation, schedule, time of life and venue. I also realized my focus was changing on what I wanted and what I thought was a healthy look in women. I realized I wanted to be healthy from the inside out. Not just skinny. I wanted to be strong, focused, energized and happy with my choices - not holding a grudge with them. I didn't need to lose a ton of weight, maybe 5 -1 0 pounds, but I wanted to be slim and trim and not jiggle when I walked. I also wanted nice arms - something I have never had.

I watched Laura transform and really got interested in whatever she was doing. It looked like the kind of healthy I was looking for. After hearing all that she was doing - I wasn't intimidated with the work outs because I'm always looking for a challenge and I like the sense of competition (even if it is with myself), but the diet - no way. Cut carbs? I was born in the Bread Basket - are you kidding? I ate at least 2 forms of grains at each meal and for snacks. Even if they were low cal and fat free? Nothing? Well I thought I would give it a try for Lent at least. That is only 40 days and I should make a sacrifice, right? It was a sacrifice. A lot in my life changed. How I snacked, shopped, and prepared meals, but you know what - I didn't miss it. I really want you to understand - I didn't just eat grains - I LOVED them, craved them. Cereal was my absolute favorite food - anytime of day. So this was a BIG deal, but really after a couple of weeks of jumping right into it (I gave up all grains and anything that was on the undesirable list of the zone carbohydrate list) and went for the added protein, fat and carbs from veggies and limited fruits. I should say also I used to be a vegetarian until I got married, and still ate limited meat - no beef. I watched fat like a hawk and didn't usually eat more than 10- 15 grams and I ate a lot of fruit. All that changed. I added nuts to my diet - always thought it was a no-no, I eat protein at every meal - and snacks - and like it.

My family is also eating more veggies because of it - and that is great! I love my protein shakes in the morning and not that fruits are bad, but I've learned which ones are better and have made that switch also. I'm still working at not eating sugar as much. I do like some candy every now and then! With all that being said - I have to tell you I feel GREAT! I feel satisfied longer (not needing to snack as much- and when you take out grains, the typical snack items aren't an option, so it makes it easier to stay on the diet - I have sting cheese and almonds with some jerky or pnut butter with apples - I love snack time!), I have more energy, I feel stronger, but more importantly, I feel good about myself.

I feel like I accomplish goals with each workout - I really feel I get a workout and it changes everyday so I don't get bored with it - AND it takes no time at all - which is good for me because my schedule is varied and hard to get to a gym. I feel horrible when I miss a workout and so will make it up and do two the next day - I love it so much! I also feel very disciplined. Staying within the no grains thing is such an easy thing now, but I still feel good when I turn it down - knowing that it helps MY body to not have that. I will say - what I noticed first with the no grains thing is the immediate slimming and trimming in the muffin top area and abs. I have struggled with this area in later years and that zapped it. I feel comfortable in whatever I wear now. I feel very comfortable in my own skin, now and know that I am taking care of it for the long term - not the short fix - and that makes me feel GREAT!"

Thanks Julie!