First, let me just tell you that I didn't end up having to go to the birth center until Friday evening, so it turned out that I was able to do my workout after all. A workout AND a baby, what an awesome day!
I thought that I would elaborate on my fitness plan. As I told you last week, I have come to realize that I'm ready to change gears, get lean, and really shape my physical form into the image that I see when I think of myself physically. I have always liked lifting weights, though I took a hiatus for many years from what I would call "real" lifting. What is real lifting? It's lifting heavy (not those silly little pink dumbbells), for 2-3 sets (not one set of a bajillion reps), with consistency (once a week won't a changed body make, my friends). What I did during my not-really-lifting years was the occasional check-in just to make sure that I hadn't turned into spaghetti arms. My asana practice was keeping me very strong and toned, comparable to a calisthenics program. Once I closed the studio and went back to school last summer, though, it became clear that in order to reach my goals I would need to add other activities back into my wellness routine.
Of course, everyone has different ideas about fitness, health, and what is physically appealing. We all have ideas of how we would like to look. Personally, I want to look strong and like I could pretty much engage in any physical activity I want without keeling over. I want my body to show my inner strength and approach to life. Taking into account my body composition (mesomorph), I am fortunate that all it really takes is some consistent, hard work for me to develop the body that I see for myself in my head: toned, strong, recognizably fit but not ripped-to-shreds. Because I have always been physically active, I've never tended toward skinny fat, which is the model that so many people seem to use to measure female beauty. Skinny fat basically requires a woman to be little (as in "skinny") as possible, even if she's basically bone and fat with hardly any muscle tone. Weak, but maintaining that all-important skinniness. Sigh.
Now, I'll be the first to argue that BMI calculations based on height/weight ratios are bogus. That said, I haven't scheduled myself a body-fat calculating appointment with a personal trainer (yet), so BMI is all I've got to go by right now. Currently I'm at the high end of healthy (at 24%). I'd like to get down to no higher than 20%, which is still a healthy amount for a female body to do its various jobs without not-enough-fat problems creeping in (dry skin, hair & nails, loss of menstruation, joint aches, poor recovery, low immunity, etc). I reckon I've got about 7 - 10 pounds to lose. I'm less concerned with what the scale tells me, though, than I am with how I feel, how my measurements are changing, and how my "thermometer pants" are fitting. People easily obsess over the scale, and I'm no different. This is why I refused to own one for many, many years. I bought one at the new year, though, and it has been useful in helping me see how my weight naturally fluctuates, what affects it from day-to-day, etc. It's become one component of how I measure my body's progress, not the end-all-be-all of whether I succeed or not.
When I decided to re-commit to the workout program laid out in The Female Body Breakthrough, I went ahead and skipped to the "Define Yourself" stage. That's because I'd already started (and stopped, unfortunately) the "Base Phase" so many times that I figured my body needed a new challenge. Also, I've been dancing two or three times a week as well as going to Zumba classes two or three times a week for months, so I really felt like my starting point (and knowledge base) was much higher than many readers'.
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To update last Friday's Fitness Round-up. Note that I'm starting on a Saturday because that's when I got back on the wagon. It works well, though, if we consider Friday the end of the week for the purposes of these round-ups. Also please note that we take a daily walk of about 30 minutes, but (a) I don't count that as "cardio" because it's more like a relaxing stroll and (b) I don't feel like writing it everyday. Just remember that I do it, whether I also do a dance class, Zumba, or strength training on that day. Even rest days are active days!
Saturday, 6/25: Strength Training - Define Yourself Workout A This was my first time, so it was very experimental with regards to how much weight I needed in order to fail at 8 reps. I did 2 sets of 8 reps for each superset listed. I did the warm up, of course, but for my body I prefer to do 20 jumping jacks instead of each of the lateral or one-legged jumps listed (I've followed the warm-up precisely in the past, and ended up with shin splints and/or foot pain). I stretch all major muscle groups after the workout and work out the kinks on a foam roller, and am out of the gym within about 50 minutes of arriving.
Sunday: rest For my purposes, "rest" means that I had my usual level of activities, including a daily walk of 30 minutes, either with or without the dog.
Monday: Strength Training - Define Yourself Workout B I continue with 2 sets of 8 reps, fine-tuning the weight as this was my first time doing this plan. I like this one better. I think that inverted rows and SHELCs are fun! :-)
Tuesday: Nomatitude night, which means that I danced for about 75 minutes. We meet for 90, but I'm not dancing non-stop for those 90 minutes, so I'm trying to be reasonable here. lol
Wednesday: Strength Training - Define Yourself A Will continue with 2 sets of 8 reps for this week and next. Plan to start 3 sets during week three.
Thursday: Dance Class night. Add another 50 minutes of dancing into the mix!
Friday, 7/1: Strength Training - Define Yourself B 2 sets of 8 reps
Results so far: My upper chest, neck and throat look noticeably thinner to me, which is good because I felt like I was a little poochy under the chin these last few months. My belly is also less padded, and my measurements are decreasing (I can't give specifics, because it was almost six months since previous measurement). Even though I'm pre-menstrual and feeling bloated, the scale says I've lost almost three pounds (not just this week, but since I started tracking at the beginning of June).
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Still to be determined is how much of my other activities I will list here, and how much of my asana practice. I haven't decided, as those are more like lifestyle components. Then again, what I'm sharing here are my lifestyle changes as I regain the level of fitness I desire. I'll think on it.
How much do you want to know? Also, are you following along with the book, too? Want to share your progress in the comments? Or are you doing other things to meet your goals? Please share! I'd love to have some virtual workout buddies!
Upcoming posts include "The Diet Plan" and "The Stress Reduction Plan", both invaluable components to losing fat and building muscle.