Fat Shredder Treadmill Workout

So I know I haven't updated in a while but this is a new workout I have started this week. I am one that prefers to run outside to get a variety of scenery but the weather doesn't always allow me to do that. I also am one that gets bored on treadmills unless I mix it up. I came up with this workout earlier this week and thought I would share. You can definitely feel the burn in your legs as well as will sweat like crazy.

A 130 lb individual will burn about 400 calories in the 35 minutes at using this speed and incline pattern. Obviously depending on your weight you will burn more or less. Additionally I like this workout because you can follow the same incline pattern but put it on a lesser speed if you are a beginner or a higher speed if you are more advanced. For example an individual who is trying to work up to a 10 minute mile could follow this speed pattern: 3.5, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 4.2, 4.5, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, & 3.5.

I promise you will feel the burn and feel very accomplished after this workout. I love it and will continue to do it in my treadmill workouts and work up to higher speeds and in the future greater inclines!

Weigh In Wednesday

You always here conflicting things, weigh yourself once a day, weigh yourself once a week, get rid of the scale and gauge your weight by your clothes. I have always been a girl (for as long as I can remember) that weighs herself multiple times a day. Multiple means anywhere from 3 to 10+. In my mind I know that your weight fluctuates throughout the day and that you are going to be heavier at the end of the day, after eating meals, after weight lifting, etc. but for some reason I still did it.

I read somewhere that Wednesday is the best day to weigh yourself because it is the middle of the week. I am not sure how true this holds, but I know I would rather gauge my weight on a Wednesday rather than a Monday after a weekend when I usually eat too much and drink alcohol. Maybe that is the reasoning behind weighing in on Wednesdays, maybe not. But I decided that I will do a "weigh in Wednesday" which will be the only time during the week that I weigh myself. All other days I hide my scale. Even though I know where it is, being out of sight helps me for some reason.

Some may be wondering why I don't get rid of the scale completely. Well, I probably should but there are a few reasons. One being when I don't weigh myself for long periods of time (i.e. 1 month) I always find that I gain weight in that time, usually around 6-10 pounds. This has happened every time I went for a month without weighing myself. Although some of you may think that is a good thing, and that weight doesn't matter (which to an extent it doesn't, as long as you are eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, etc.), it is a comfort thing for me. Also, this probably sounds completely ridiculous, but I like to know how much I weigh so that when I go to the gym I can plug in my weigh on the treadmill, elliptical, or bike. Although the calories burned are not completely accurate and neither would be my weight at that point in time, I would rather have a more accurate prediction on calories burned than not. I guess that is just a little quirk of mine.

So if anyone is a victim of the scale, but still wants to keep in check every once in a while, try a weigh in Wednesday. Other options would be weighing yourself every other week or once a month. If you are brave enough, get rid of the scale completely. I hope to get there one day, but right now, just weighing myself once a week will be the first step!

Full Body Workout

2013 is going to be my year. How? I am going to make it that way. 2013 is going to be the start of a happier and healthier me. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy with how my life is currently but I also know I do not take care of myself the way I should. I get stressed to easily. Do not exercise enough. My diet consists of mostly carbs. And even with eating mostly carbs and completely unhealthy I rarely make my daily recommended calorie limit. I have horrible sleeping habits. Drink too much caffeine and not enough water. But that is going to change this year and I will not have it any other way.

So today was day one of my exercise plan. Some of my resolutions this year included drinking 64oz of water a day (which I have managed to do so far) and exercise 5x per week. When I was visiting my parents I managed to exercise a couple of days (mostly consisting of Wii Fit or going on walks) but I also ate out every day. But that ends today. My plan is to do a full body workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and do light cardio Tuesday and Thursday. Weekends I can have off if I want, but it would be better to work out. However, I am not telling myself I have to work out 7 days a week because I don't want to be disappointed in myself if I do not make a 7 day work out.

So today I ran 3.04 miles outside. Not very fast but I am working up to my old pace again and aiming for longer runs. I am also going to try to run outside more rather than on the treadmill.

Side note: I absolutely love the Nike+ app.

Additionally, I did the following workouts. I am sure in the future I will mix it up a bit so that I am not doing the same exact thing every other day but for now it works for me.

Legs:
4x8 squats with 10 lbs dumbbells.
5 lunges each leg with 10 lbs dumbbell raised above head on one side in between each set of squats.
4x10 calf raises with 10 lbs dumbbells.
5 burpees in between each set of calf raises.
3x25 fire hydrants each leg.
4x8 inner thigh raises.

Arms:
2x10 dumbbell curls (10 lbs)
2x10 push presses (10 lbs)
2x10 tricep kickbacks (10 lbs)
2x10 push ups
2x10 tricep extensions (12.5 lbs)
2x10 butterflies (5 lbs)
2x10 front lateral raises (5 lbs)
2x10 side lateral raises (5 lbs)

Abs:
50 weighted side bends (20 lbs each side)
25 crunches
25 Indian style crunches
25 reverse crunches
25 scissors
50 side crunches (25 each side)
25 V-sit crunches
25 bicycles
25 reverse bicycles
25 hand supported V-sit crunches

So there it is. Here is to a happier and healthier me. Bring it on 2013!