Cyndi: This Last Week and a Little Spoiler Alert!

Week 12

This is the last week and I am carb depleting. All of a sudden, everything I was eating during the challenge is now suddenly bad. It took away my oatmealL. While this is very doable for a short period of time, I can’t imagine doing this for a long period of time. I don’t usually eat a lot of meat. I had just gotten used to the chicken, turkey, and fish. But…it’s just for a week and totally worth it.

I was told that I would feel weaker and a little drained. At first I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right because I didn’t really feel too tired. Then I tried to lift what I usually lift and that didn’t work so well. I ended up having to cut my weight down and my reps. Ironically I felt good about it because it meant that it was working.

My final reading was really good too. That always keeps me motivated. I lost a total of 17 lbs. of fat and gained some 7 to 8lbs of muscle. My body fat index dropped 8%. Not only did I reach my goal, I exceeded it. I’m ecstatic.

I hope everyone gets the opportunity to come out and see what everyone in the competition has accomplished. Maybe you’ll decide to do the next one. If you see me around and have any questions, please don’t hesitate to approach me. 

Spoiler alert – I’m going to say DO IT!

Cyndi: The Road to Body-in-the-Works

Week 9

One of my favorite fall comfort foods is mashed potatoes. I could do red potatoes on my cheat day, but I figured it would be a good time to try mashed cauliflower. It takes less time than potatoes and requires no peeling. The recipe I wanted to try called for almond milk and mozzarella. I was out of almond milk so I used a suggestion from another recipe, which called for Greek yogurt. Not a great idea. The flavor of the Greek yogurt was not what I expected. Now that I think about it I am not sure I like the idea of the almond milk either. It’s a work in progress I guess….

I am still struggling with cardio, but am keeping up with the weights. Some workouts last longer than others. My back work outs seem to be over faster while arms, chest, and biceps take the longest. The introduction of negatives has also had some effects. My abs hurt for days after the pull ups with negatives. No joke – I sneezed and cringed. Guess that’s why they say, “No Pain No Gain”.

Week 10

This past week and a half has been extremely stressful. I was the maid of honor for my friend’s wedding, which has left no time for work outs. On top of that, I am also in the final stretch of a class for my masters and then there’s still chores so my house doesn’t fall apart. 

The wedding came first this week and even though I didn’t make it to the gym, I got a little lifting in with the 30 pumpkins we hauled, moving stuff from car to car, decorating, and general running around. I danced at the wedding and kept my diet up for the most part. I probably could have paid more attention to my macros, but I feel like I did a fairly decent job. My only regret is not making it to the gym, but I had a blast and looked pretty good too. ;-)

I will say, when I finally returned to the gym I felt behind. It’s like my muscles had lost some of their memory. It definitely took a few days to get back on track. 

Catching Up With Cyndi on the Road to Saturday's Physique Challenge Show

Thanks Cyndi for a view into the time leading up to the Physique Challenge on Saturday, November 15th!  

Week 7

It’s starting to be fall and this is my favorite time of year for food. Good timing; I know. Apple cider, apple cider donuts, apple pie, stews, and all the other good comfort foods. Thankfully I also enjoy apple picking and being outside this time of year. So far I have stuck to the picking and eating of just the apples. I did cave and buy the donuts and pies, but I didn’t eat them. Promise. My husband and friends have been helpful enough to take care of the temptations. 

Luckily I also like squash and have added spaghetti squash to my diet. It’s a great way to have some comfort food without too much “comfort”. I haven’t found a substitute for the pie and donuts, but it’s all for a good cause.

My sacrifices are paying off, which makes it easier to say no. Before this challenge, I wasn’t seeing results and it made it harder to say no. I’m quickly beginning to see all the faults of my previous “diet”. When I reach my goal I will eat a slice of pie now and then, but now I will know how to maintain and indulge now and then.

Week 8

Phase 3 workouts are pretty intense but I like the way they are structured. They are challenging and I can see how each phase has built on each other. I probably couldn’t have done this at the beginning. The leg exercises are my favorite because I know I am working big muscles. Big muscles burn more calories.

I am having hard time getting my cardio in. I know that is one thing that I am really having trouble with. In general I don’t like cardio, I have just always done it because it was necessary. It was always hard and the results were very slow. Since gaining more muscle, cardio has become so much easier. I have improved 100% on my run time and overall endurance with intervals. Before I dreaded cardio and now…it’s not so bad. Still wouldn’t say I love it. It’s a work in progress.

From the Training Studio, a Word from Jasmin: Two Exercises You are Not Doing but Should

Two exercises you are not doing but should

(Not all exercises are appropriate for all.  See a trainer for a specified plan that is appropriate to your needs)

Turkish Get Up is a compound exercise which works your entire body in all three planes of motion. Turkish Get Up re-introduces developmental movement patterns (rolling, bridging, kneeling, squatting, standing) which some of us have lost due to today’s lifestyle (too much sitting and spinal flexion).

It promotes:

a) Lower body stability (knee) and mobility (ankle and hip),

b) Lumbar (lower back) spine stability

c) Thoracic spine rotation and extension,

d) Shoulder closed (“unloaded” arm) and open chain (“loaded” arm) stability;

e) Shoulder stability

f) Balance and Proprioception

g) And yes it does make you Super Strong

h) And yes it does burn a lot of calories

Kettlebell Swing is a ballistic type of exercise which purpose is maximal force production. In addition to maximal force production it develops entire posterior chain musculature (hamstrings, glutes, lower and upper back) and abdominal wall. Kettlebell swing can be also used as a conditioning exercise. If you perform it for high reps (20 or more) it will increase your heart rate and burn about 20 calories per minute, which is equivalent to running at a pace of 6:00 min/mile (10mph)

To learn how to do these 2 powerful exercises sign up for our KB class on Mon-Fri at 7am

#flashbackfridayvideo 

Small Group Training!

Sandy: Lunchtime Fitness

Hi all, it's been a while, and I’ve missed you!  

I have had some incredible opportunities to meet some of you in person, slipping into classes here and there, and all I can say is that you are ALL crushing it! 

After speaking with many people, I would have to say that the general consensus is that there just isn’t enough time in the day to squeeze a workout in, then day after day goes by of having no time, then before you know it’s been weeks since you’ve seen the gym.

Well, did you know that you could get a very effective workout during your lunch break!  It’s true!  Even if you can squeeze in 15 minutes of time, it will help keep you on track.

If you only have time to stop in at the Works for a quick workout, check out the Expresso Bikes located in the "Keiser" room at the top of the stairs from the main entrance.  They have some short, yet challenging programs you can choose from that will really get your heart pumping as you climb hills and race the other riders on the screen. 

Are you more familiar with the treadmill or the elliptical?  Do some interval training.  Warm up at a moderate pace for 5 minutes, then do 5 – 8 minutes of intervals, increasing your speed or workload for 15-20 second intervals, and for those 15-20 seconds you give it your all, then rest for the remainder of the minute before you bring it up again, at the end be sure to cool down for 2 to 5 minutes.  All in all you are just doing 5 to 8 challenging, calorie burning intervals that will keep your body burning fuel long after you are done.

Want a full body challenge?  Try rowing on the Concept Ergometer, doing the same interval load I mentioned above.  Rowing utilizes all of the muscles in your body if you pay attention to form.

Time is no excuse for falling off the exercise wagon.  You don’t need hours to get the job done!   Give yourself 15 minutes  if you’re in a crunch for time. 

Rock on my friends!

Cyndi: Week 1, Physique Challenge

Week 1:

So I have just finished week one…well almost. I didn’t get to do my delt exercises or my DB or BB thrusts because I ran out of time. So far every day has taken me about 2 hrs. Hopefully once I start to understand the exercises more it won’t take me as long. I had a hard time with the front squats. I ended up doing a few extra sets once I felt like I had it down. Jason helped me…he also felt comfortable enough to call me out on it, because I was whining about my shoulders. It definitely worked. I pushed through and did my 4 sets of 8 with 75 pounds (including bar).

Other than that, the hardest part about this week was lunges and trying to control my protein. I eat healthy, now it’s about eating the right healthy stuff at the right time. Usually I would just have a bowl of cereal if I came home late, but now I have to make sure I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. So far I haven’t been that tempted. I did have to make a red velvet cheesecake for my friend’s birthday and I had to have a friend over to help supervise me…lol. She also licked the spoons for me like I would usually do.

I’m very excited about this program because of how much I’m learning, the support I am getting from other participants and the entire works staff. Also, the weight room “usuals” are also very nice and helpful. I haven’t met one person that wasn’t happy to help.

Let’s go week 2!!!!

Introducing Cyndi! Physique Challenge Participant's Journey Through Body-in-the-Works!

Hello,

I’m Cyndi and I struggled with the decision to start the physique fitness challenge. Mainly I was angry with myself because I felt like I shouldn’t need a program and I should be able to educate myself. Turns out - I can’t, but that’s ok. If I really think about it, the concept is ridiculous. Fitness is such a complicated concept between the food and exercise - it is a science after all. The first thing I noticed was the amazing support group. Not just the other challenge participators, but from the others in the weight room in general. I’ve only been made fun of once for my bench press weight…oh and once for my front squats…but it was all in good fun. Overall, all of them are super nice and willing to help.

My overall goal is to lose weight and tone up. Those may seem simple, but I have struggled with losing weigh for a while. I have tried for a while, but always fell off the wagon because I saw no results. I hoping that this program will turn it all around for me.

I hope that my success can be an inspiration for future challenge participants and that I can help motivate the current ones as they motivate me.

Cyndi

Jesse: Fall is in the Air!

Sniff, sniff, sniff…. is that fall in the air? It smells like pumpkin spice and everything nice. I love me some pumpkin spice coffee, don’t judge.

Fall is here but where did my summer go? Who knew that dedicating myself to creating a better life would also mean that time would fly by. Summer classes taking away most of my yearly adventure time I feel like I am just getting started and now I have to return back to the books for the fall semester.

It is a lot more quiet now that all the young kids are back in school (don’t pretend you didn’t just nod your head and say ‘Thank Goodness’) so we can all really focus on our health and physiques before the holidays get here and ruin everything.

If only it were that easy, right? I know I have several classes this semester and me being the dedicated student that I am means that most of every day is filled with blocks of study or class time. So full, in fact, that if I am not at the gym by 530 every morning this semester then I can kiss an opportunity to crush a workout goodbye.

Such is the sacrifice I have to make right now. There is no opportunity to say ‘eh, I can do it tomorrow’ and if there was I wouldn’t feel right taking it.

My goals this fall is to continue to lose body fat even in the face of upcoming holidays. My first attainable step for that goal is getting in my workouts even if I have to wake up at the crack of dawn to do it. With this step I know that I will have a good start to the day allowing my body to burn its fuel at peak efficiency thus helping me study/learn better and lower my bodyfat at the same time.

As far as strength goes I still have goals I am going to try and reach. Those still are a 500lb dead lift, 500lb squat and 350lb bench press. Although, I am slowing down the speed at which I reach those goals so I can focus more on the kind of lifting that will help me burn the most fat (that is what I am trying to get rid of after all). Devon (You all know who Devon is right? If not you may want to find her! ) and I have decided to go with a higher repetition, lower rest between sets type of routines. So I will reach these goals but at a slightly slower pace.

So I now invite you to harass, hound, poke, or ridicule me if you do not see me in the gym working out by 530 in the morning. You’re not up at 530? Well that’s ok feel free to find me on Facebook or twitter and ask me if I made it to the gym. 

I’ll be honest.

See you at the gym.

Jesse: Sometimes you Just Need to Stop and Climb a Mountain!

Wake up, gym, study, work, sleep, wake up, gym, study, work, sleep. That was pretty much the essence of my summer. I barely got a hike in. The to-do list kept growing, work that needed to be done at home was being put aside and work that needed to be done on my car had all but been forgotten. I needed to spend time with my family, I needed to spend time with my friends, but those needs kept getting pushed back as the size of my plate and the things being put on it grew.

                  To top it off, I had gotten a reality check when I did a body composition test at UNH. I was not as far along in my quest for fat loss as I had thought. The thought of all the hard work that I had done didn’t amount to as much as I thought. Now, I’m not discounting my achievements I just didn’t come as far along as I hoped. This little fact added to the stress of all the things that were going on in my life. I needed to press a reset button.

                  So I decided to take a challenge from my fellow blogger Sandy which was to do something spontaneous. So this morning (Monday August 18^th) I did just that. Instead of waking up and doing my regular routine I decided to go hit my reset button. I did my favorite hike up Mt. Major and hung out for a little while. I forgot about the whole world for just a little while and enjoyed the views and being out in nature. It was just long enough for me to regroup my thoughts, clear my head of nonsense, and be reminded of why I am doing all this in the first place.

                  So now I can continue my journey with full steam and even step it up a couple notches. Be prepared for some videos. Why? Because I’m a nerd.

I’ll see you in the gym.

(P.S. You didn’t think I’d hike all the way up and not grab some good pictures, did you?)

Sandy: Life Goals, Success- The Elusive Element

Success – the elusive element.

I know we need to measure success in small increments, less we get frustrated by the overall picture.  However, there are times when you reflect back and realize that you really haven’t traveled that far from the starting line.

I was looking through an old journal from about 6 years ago, and much to my dismay I am still running around in circles with the same life goals AND the same issues. 

The two major issues in my life?  My weight and my career.  You see, 6-8 years ago was the dreaded time that my weight bumped up over the 200 pound marker. And it has been stuck there, fluctuating up and down between 17 pounds, and yet never back under 200 hundred pounds.  I don’t know about you, but 200 pounds seriously messes with my brain, being a woman who stands at only 5’7”.

My career issue, well, let’s just say that over the years I have begun many stories and even a series of novels all of which remain unfinished and unseen by anyone.  Ultimately I would like to publish my books and become a writer, officially.

On both aspects of my life, I realize that FEAR is what is holding me back.  The fear of change and, ridiculously, the fear of success. 

I was doing great with FitWorks, getting into the gym 3 days a week consistently and working on my diet.  It was a structured commitment, and I wasn’t doing it alone, so “success” was easier to obtain because I always had someone challenging me.  It was fun.  Then, as it always does, life has gotten in the way.  My children have dominated my schedule, I got a couple of odd jobs to juggle around, and once again there is no time for me.  No time for me to work out, and no time for me to write, so I get frustrated and angry at my life.  My world starts to lose its flow and I fall into that negative space.

So I pulled out some of my old self help books and decided to start working on the exercises available to me.  I’ve started with figuring out my Life Plan.  The purpose of a life plan is to figure out your ultimate, long term, reaching for the stars goals. I first began with writing my long term goals, and for me, I have a lot of very large, yet in my mind, very doable long term goals.  Then I proceeded to break down my list.  What can I do within the next year to work toward my ultimate goals? Then I broke it down further to see what I can accomplish over the next month, the next week, and finally, what can I do today to take me one step further toward accomplishment.  Sounds simple, right? 

Well, I find it rather interesting that I could break it all the way down to what I can do over the next month, but when it came to breaking it down further to a week and then to a day I hit a road block.  

There was that fear again, rearing its ugly head.  You see the issue is, when you break it down that far, you reveal the real meat of the issue, and you can see the changes that need to be made. All of a sudden, I have to commit to change. I have to actually do it! 

What does that mean?  I have to make myself the priority and to get MY things done first before I cater to anyone else.  Herein lies the problem.  I’m a mom, a giver, and a healer.  It’s so much easier to solve everyone else’s problems and to put mine aside. 

I’ve been doing this for years and because of it, I never make that ultimate commitment to change or to take that pertinent step forward.  I hide behind my excuses allowing myself to never have to go through the pain and challenges of creating new lasting habits, breaking old deep set ones that have become such a normal part of my life. It is easy and predictable to stay in my comfort zone (although, how comfortable am I really when I am embarrassed to be seen in public?) because I know what to expect.  I know that outcome of my actions of over eating, and not working out.

I am sharing this, because I know that I am not alone.  Also, it makes me realize just how much I NEED accountability in my life, so I can’t wait for the next FitWorks trial to begin.  I feel very lucky and privileged to have so many trainers and programs here at the Works, just waiting for me to take advantage of them (I just need to take that step to schedule the time in).

I am also very lucky to have such a following of readers. People have approached me to thank me for “putting it out there” and sharing my real life experiences. I feel like a celebrity now when people ask me if I am “The Blogger.” It’s so good to know that I’m reaching some of you who may be suffering from the same issues, or perhaps who may need a little insight as to what your loved ones might be going through.   

I’d like to suggest that you also write up a life plan, then, more importantly, schedule in your time to make those important changes in your life.  Don’t let fear trap you, and if you need accountability to reach your goals, find a mentor.  Be it a success coach, a trainer at the gym, or a friend who has already succeeded in what you wish to accomplish. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, because fear will only leave you trapped, and there are so many super friendly people out there just waiting to help.   

Who knows, perhaps creating a life plan will get you excited about pursuing something amazing that you never thought you could accomplish before.  Dream big my friends, and as always, thank you for reading.  Wishing you all the best!