Hi everyone! What.a.rough.week. After my last post I went to the chiropractor because things only got worse, it turns out I had a hip spike – my left hip was a full 2 inches higher than my right – very painful! I got adjusted and also got a short massage that day and it took a few days to get back on track – also I have come down with some sort of flu. For the last 3 days I’ve had a fever, congestion, body aches, and a horrible cough. And the icing on the cake?? Both my kids have this too – yay! un fact for all those non-nursing mommies out there – when your nursing you can’t take cold meds – the ingredient in them that dries up all the mucus and allows you to breath also dries up your milk. So I’ve only been able to take ibuprophine, which takes the edge off but I’m still pretty useless. What does all this mean you ask??? I’ve been useless! No gym, no blog, no cleaning, no laundry! So I apologize about not having anything new up lately I should be up and running here again on Monday. Just wanted to pop in and let you all know that I’m still alive- just not well 
trainermommy
I'm not sleeping, I might as well workout
I’m not old, my back is
Hi everyone! I took two days off because of my back – I spent the whole first day in the recliner with the heat sock on my left QL. The second day I felt better so I cleaned up the casa, which put me back on the couch 
Anyway I went to the gym yesterday and here’s what I did:
- 30ish min of low impact cardio (I went back to my walking with an incline routine)
- Arms super-duper-set Standing with my arms and my sides holding 10lb db’s I did 1) Left curl 2) right curl 3) left shoulder press 4) right shoulder press 5) left tricep curl 6)right tricep curl. Did I lose anyone there?? Instead of doing 10 curls, 10 press, and 10 tricep curls separately I mixed them all together so that the above mentioned sequence =1 rep (did this 4 times)
- Woodchops with cable – 10 each side 4 times
- Lat pull downs with free motion cables – I did 4 sets of 10 (I didn’t sit on the bench, instead I squatted while doing my reps)
- Stretch
I did go to the gym today as well, I just did my normal cardio routine as my back was still bothering me and I have to work tonight so I’m trying to stay active but make it so that I don’t have to take more time off. I onlt did 30ish min of carido (hoped for 45-60) because I picked probably the smallest sports bra that I have and didn’t pump before I went to the gym, it was actually a little painful! I came home, showered, and pumped – feeling tons better!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!! I’ll talk to you all again on Monday!
Hypertrophy Day 2
Hi everyone! Made it for my workout this morning! I did another day of hypertrophy, here’s how it went:
- 12ish min of cardio – I did 3 min cycles of low and hi’s – 3.5 was the low and 5.9 was the high
- Superset 1) Bench step ups with a jump(explation below) I did 10 each leg 2) bench jumps (see below)
- Superset 1) Hamstring curls on the ball – I did 10 2) Plank tucks with my feet on the ball – I did 10
- Stretch
Bench Step Ups with a Jump – I’d step onto the bench with one foot and extend my leg – I pushed through so that I ended up hoping at the end. I did 10 the same leg then switched.
Bench Jumps – Standing on one side of the bench I place my hands down on the bench for support – I jump from one side of the bench to the other keeping my hands planted – my hands don’t leave until I’m done with my reps.
I did 4 sets with all of these with the exception of the second superset where I ran out of time (daycare was closing)
I may skip my workout tomorrow – I tweaked my back today at the gym and it’s pretty swollen and sore. I’ve been putting my heat sock on it whenever I’ve had time. I’ll probably take some advil before bed and see how I feel in the morning. I’ve had some QL issues in the past (Quadtratus Lumborum = lower back) from after pregnancy. I’d hoped to strengthen my back to avoid these times moving forward but
Hi everyone! I DID make it to the gym after all – even had a great workout! (pinterest fitness pins totally motivated me) I decided to mix things up a little but this week. My workouts to date have had a focus on strength training and for this week (maybe next week too) my focus will be hypertrophy (building muscles)
FACTOID: A gain of 1lb of lean muscle will burn and extra 500 calories through out the day, yup that’s EVERY day!
So my plan for the next few months is to flip flop back and forth between strength training and hypertrophy. Not only will this keep by body guessing (and burning more calories) but it will make it so that I’m gaining a little bit of muscle and then taking the time to strengthen that muscle, and repeat
FACTOID: Just because someone has big muscles DOES NOT mean that they are stronger than someone with smaller muscles. bigger muscles=more muscle fibers=higher potential buuut if said person never took the time to strengthen those muscle fibers then he/she would be no stronger than someone that has less muscle fibers but had taken the time to make them really strong.
Everyone with me still?? Moving along…
So, instead of parking myself on cardio equipment as I have been dong lately – I will be doing less cardio *gasp* and parking myself in the weight room and studios. Now, when I say less cardio I’m speaking of the time I set aside for it – I will actually be doing more intense cardio for less time. HA! and you thought I’d be taking it easy
Here’s what I did yesterday:
- 18 min cardio – walking uphill on the tredmill (3.5mph at elevations ranging from 3-6) **not considered hi intensity but this is when I had the idea so hang in there!**
- Superset 1) bench press 45lbs (bar w/ no weights) 4 sets of 10 2)bench v-ups (just like on the BOSU but on the bench instead)
- Superset 1) dumbbell assassins (see explanation below) 4 sets 10 10lb dumbbells 2) bicep curls 10lb dumbbells 4 sets of 12
- Stretch
Dumbbell assassins: Ok so I absolutely made this name up - but not the exercise – I just cannot think of the name for the life of me so I’ll describe it here and if anyone knows the name send it to me! You start standing holding the dunb bells at your sides, now you slide the weights down your leg as you bend at the hips and go as far down as you can (the weights arn’t touching your leg, you’re just following close) and then come back up to standing – and you do all this one one leg at a time so as you go down your other leg swings back for balance. I feel like this is a variation of an exercise called a morning riser, or sunriser or something but I can’t remember! (mommy brain strikes again!)
With hypertrophy, it will appear that you are doing less exercises – which you kind of are. It’s just that you are doing more sets of each exercise, which takes up more time. So even though I cut 10-15 min off my cardio I still only got 2 super sets done – due to this I will probably start to split days between upper and lower body.
Talk to you all tomorrow!!
Hi everyone!! Yesterday I got all dressed and got the kiddos packed up and in the car, headed for the gym, only to find out that it’s closed – well the daycare is closed. Apparently Friday and Saturday they only have the morning session, and nothing in the afternoon. So I didn’t go (obviously, it’s not like Anabelle can use the treadmill next to me or anything) Now this morning I’m struggling with motivation. I know I should go, i know I’ll fell better for going, but drinking coffee and playing with the kids while they’re actually being good (gasp) seems like a great option right now, if I don’t leave in the next 2 hours then I can’t go and I”ll have to work out at home. I’m starting to tell myself that I will work out during naps but I just don’t know. So now I’m just wandering around on the computer, accomplishing nothing. I think I will wander over to pinterest and look at the fitness pins – that always is a motivator. Stay tuned and see if I can turn this ship around!
What do you do when you lack motivation???
Hi Everyone! Sorry for my absence, my internet went screwey over the weekend – but we’re all fixed now! I took the weekend off due to my work schedule but here’s what I did Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday:
Monday:
- 2 miles on the tredmill – walking at 3.5 – incline varying between 3 and 8 – I did 4 mins at level 3 then 4 min at 6, then 4 min at 4, then 4 min at 8 – you get the idea
- Super-duper-set – 1)burpees (10) 2) sit ups on the ball (20) 3)side situps on the ball (20) 4)other side situps on the ball (20) I did this 3 times
It was a short-ish workout – about 45 min. The burpees totally kicked my bootie! It’s been a while since I’ve done those.
Tuesday
- 2 miles on the tredmill – same way as Monday
- superset – 1)lunges with bicep curls (20 lunges w 10lb db’s) 2) side-to-sides holding a 10lb weight (30) I did this twice
- superset 1) jump squats on the bosu (12) 2) modified v-ups on the bosu (12) – I did this 3 times
- stretch
Wednesday
- rest
And, seeing as I’ve gotten almost 3 hours of sleep last night, it looks like today will be a rest day as well. I’m planning a super awsome workout for Friday! Stay tuned!
In the meentime, let’s share our favorite core exercise. Mine is superman snow angels. You go up into a superman and while you’re up you make the snow angel movement!
Me: I don’t think I’m going to make it to the gym today, it’s going to snow
Hubby: Go to the gym, it’s not going to snow till later this afternoon
Me: /looking at the clock/ yea but I missed my window – daycare is only open till 11am
Hubby: nope it’s open till noon – get your butt to the gym
Me: ok
*Back story* When Gavin was my one and only he was napping at 11:30am, so I’d always leave the gym by 11 to get him home, he’d eat lunch and then we’d do nap time. So I had it stuck in my head that the gym daycare closed at 11, turns out it IS open till noon – and because of that I got my workout done today (that and the hubs) Glad I went - I feel great!! I was pretty sore so it felt good to get in there and move around. Here’s what I did:
- 2 miles on the elliptical (25ish minutes – faster than yesterday)
- superset – 1) dumb bell bench press, 12lb db’s (did 12) 2) dumbbell chest flys, 10 lb weights (did 10) – Did this 3x
- superset – 1) pullovers, 12lb db (did 12) 2) skull crushers, 12lb db (did 12) – did this 3x
I worked out for about 50 min and then stretched for about 10 min
I realized about oooh 10 seconds into my cardio that my sports bra was not up to task today. So I want to talk about how to pick a good sports bra. New moms/nursing moms have huge boobs. period. So I am currently in the relm of a DD cup size – I have not been professionally measured. I did some research online and found out that the ‘normal’ sports bra that we’re all used to – stretchy, one piece that pulls over your head – are not reccommended for women over a C cup, and the C-cup is iffy. Here’s why, we rely on sports bras to keep the tata’s from flopping all over the place while we are active, which means that they need to be tight. If the sports bra is able to be stretched enough to fit around your sholders as you put it on then it is very likely not going to hold your tata’s in enough for any high impact exercise. So they make sports bras that strap on like our daily ones and those are the ones that are recommended for larger women or women with large boobs. The bad news?? They’re expensive. I’m sure there is lots of value if $50 sports bras and in the future I will probably invest, but what am I supposed to do for the here and now?? Here’s my trick: DOUBLE BAG THOSE PUPPIES! That’s right, just like wearing 2 hairbands at once makes your ponytail tighter, wearing 2 sports bras tames the tatas even for things like running and rumping rope. if I’m doing a long distance run I’ll even wear 3! Now there are downsides, the straps can dig a little due to overcrowding, and there is a higher chance of the dreaded una-boob. But I have a ton of not-so-good sports bras lying around and I do not have $200 to bo buy all new sports bras at this time, so for the short term I can continue double bagging and I can start sprinkling new awsome bras into the mix as time goes on. If you’ve got a couple hundred to plunk down on tata tamers then more power to ya, this is just how I’m coping.
What are your workout tricks??
Hi everyone!! Big props to my hubby for making sure I got to the gym this afternoon, I got a whole, glorious, kid-free hour at the gym during non-peak hours (My gym only has daycare during peak hours) Here’s what I did:
- 2 miles on the elliptical (26ish minutes)
- Superset – walking lunges while doing reverse flys (20) with a stretch band – and lateral arms lifts with 5 lb dumbbells (10)
- Superset – walking side squats while doing a side kick with the lead leg (20)- and tricep extensions with a 10lb dumbbell (10)
- Superset – superman snow angels (10) – and twisting trunk crunches holding a 5lb dumbbell (20)
My arms are super sore from yesterday so I focused more on legs and cardio today. Lately I’ve been feeling really tired, I can’t wait for the energy surge that comes with working out. Right now I feel like I’m just a zombie, I’m still not sleeping at night. I’m considering starting sleep training this week, something has to give.
Survey: What’s your favorite exercise???
Hi e everyone! I called it, I made it to the gym at 8:40 am – although I started heading towards the door around 8am. Here’s what I did:
- 7-8min on the Elliptical (warm up) on level 9
- superset 1) 30s jump rope 2) 30s pushups – I did this twice
- superset 1) bench press (just the bar) 2) v-ups on the bench – I did this twice
- superset 1) squat jumps (20) on the bosu 2) side to sides on the bosu (16) – I did this twice
- stretch- I did this once
Short workout. I could see on the daycare monitor that Anabelle was giving the girls a run for their money so I worked out for about 30 min total. I had intentions of doing an arms day but I am a lost cause out of shape with the upper body. You’d think carting two bowling balls kids around all day I’d not completely suck at it. And the thing is I know that I suck at it – and I am often easy on my upper body knowing that I have to take care of them rest of the day, and the next day, and the next. But I can’t ignore them forever. Today was definately a wake up call that I need to be working on them more. I had planned to incorporate more jumping rope as well but I leak sometimes (new moms I don’t have to explain this one to you!) After pregnancy the pelvic floor muscles are a little looser that they were pre-pregnancy. Pelvic floor muscles are the ones that hold ‘it’ in when you have anything in your bladder. Throught the day I’m fine but you get me jumping up and down for minutes on end and I leak. I plan on doing some extra Kegals from here on out.
Definitions:
Squat Jumps on Bosu: I stand with the bosu in front of me (about 1-2 feet away, but I’m tall) I squat where I’m standing and then as I’m comming up from the squat I jump onto the blue end of the bosu, landing in another squat. Yup that’s two! two! two squats in one! Haha I’m a nerd but this is honestly one of my favorite exercises.
Side-to-sides on the Bosu: I stand with the Bosu next to me, put one foot up on the center of the bosu keeping one foot down on the floor, and squat. Then I step over the bosu so that it is now on the other side of me and repeat.
Modified v-ups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfe2b88Zgo It’s kind
Boogers
Didn’t make it to the gym today, why?? Boogers, lots of boogers. I’ve watched enough peoples kids to know the hatred, feeling of someone bringing you a sick kid. So I try to be considerate. Gavin has yet to learn to cover his mouth when coughing or sneezing so he’s currently a wandering pile of yuck. Anyway, one bad decision leads to another. I ended up in the McDonald’s drive through at one point this evening, breaking 2 key rules for myself. One, obviously it’s not healthy food, it’s not like I went through and got a salad not that that would have helped. Two, I do not have not eaten ground beef in a really long time, probably close to a year. I, personally, have an issue with how many cows may or may not be present in my meal, along with their treatment while they were alive, along with the way the meat is handled during and after slaughter. I could probably write an entire blog about ground beef, today is not that day.
Anyway, I’d planned a workout during “Mommy’s Quiet Party” aka nap-time, but Mommy’s Quiet Party was cancelled today as the kids didn’t nap at the same time, apparently they didn’t get the memo. Then I thought I would pop out a quick workout after bedtimes, well it’s almost 10:30pm right now and it’s just now quiet in my house – sooooo I decided to have a glass of wine instead. Like I said one bad decision leads to another, hopefully tomorrow one good decision will lead to another, planning to be at the gym at 8am which means probably 8:45am.
In better times, I did make it to the gym yesterday for a 30 min session of cardio so at least I have some good news to report there! I’m hoping to write to you all tomorrow afternoon during mommy’s quiet party that I had an excellent workout – cross your fingers!!