October 2015

a crappy run is better than NONE

Hey all!

First off want to welcome the new members and encourage you to post some! We don’t bit– we actually are too nice around here!  Posting is vital for your accountability and really helps keep you FOCUSED!!

 

I got my run in yesterday despite feeling crappy during it It made me feel better afterward! Glad I did it!!

My crappy feeling is due to the lingering kidney pain I’ve been having since my UTI last month…I even had a slight fever. Thus, I’m back on antibiotics– YUCKY! But I gotta get rid of this infection– so gonna have to deal with the side effects of CIPRO for a week.

 

Anyhow, other than that I’m good, lol!  I’m super stoked to the FCH contest–

1.Goal Setting~ my goal is weight loss. Been “wanting” to lose weight for the entire year– but my ACTIONS have not met up with my “want”… so the goal is to lose 5 pounds in the 4 weeks.  I will take the proper actions to make this happen. No “empty cals” except for 1 off day/week (Saturdays).  Less fat, I was doing a ketogenic diet for awhile. Now I’m not, but with that you can’t eat as much fat and lose weight. So I need to keep my fat intake to 3 servings a day.

Extra cardio on bike– gotta get this in more often again…it helps me so much!

Also, no sitting behind computer. I have a standing work station and I need to use that in stead of being on my laptop.  My goal is to wear my wonder woman costume for Halloween and also be in great shape for a my trip to Omaha the first week of Nov.

 

2. Thoughts~ My thoughts are that truly I’ve been a lifeless boring unmotivated version of myself since May. I really have not attacked much of anything and it’s catching up with me. I really need this contest to make me accountable to myself and become the me I want to be!  I need to write up some clear goals for myself. Kinda get a head start on my New Years Resolutions

 

3. Commitment~ I am committed.  The timing of this contest is perfect. I truly think i’ll be able to finish it. I felt terrible that I couldn’t finish our last contest in August because I got horribly sick with a UTI.  Once I finish this round of antibiotics I should be truly healthy again.

 

There it is– I am ready to regain my FIRECRAKIN’ Hot Body for this fall!!

Let’s do this!!

-Michelle

 

p.s.

 

looked up my entry from last time (thanks Darcie for this idea). It doesn’t look like I have my stats, but here’s a final pic  and entry:

Final Submission Form for the “FireCrackin’ HOT” Contest:

Name: Michelle Berger

Rally Room User Name: BuffMother

e-mail:michelle@buffmother.com

Age:34

Number of children:4

Ages of children:9,7,6,6

 

What does having a“FireCrackin’ Hot Body” mean to you?

It means to be able to walk around my house, my front yard, my backyard…basically everywhere with a bikini on and care less about it!  I don’t want to have to feel like my butt or belly are unsighly and covered with fat.  I also want to feel that the shape of my body is better than it was a teen.  I want to be symmetrical and BEAUTIFUL!

 

Please summarize your performance in this contest?

I did well…not as well as I had hoped especially in the diet area, but I consistently got in 4-5 workouts a week.  I also got back into sprinting!! I love the results from running FAST!

 

Are you happy with the results?

I am happy with my results, I feel that I was able to maintain and even make progress with a rather lax diet and lax workout routine.  I have been to the gym fewer times this month than any other month this year…it’s been a good break to do more at home workouts and more running outside.

 

Who encouraged/inspired you the most during this contest?

As always everyone who posts in the rally room inspires me!!  But If I had to pick out a few individuals…I was VERY inspired by 2 of our newer members: Helen and Renda, I love their excitement to get after the contest and see some good changes in just 4 weeks.  I was also very, very impressed with Daphne!  She worked hard and got great results in the contest because of it!  Way to go ladies, you are so inspirational!!!

 

Please tell me one specific example about how your hormones affected you during the last 4 weeks?

I just realized this month that I don’t ovulate at the same time each month.  Being that I alternate ovaries with each cycle, my ovulation also alternates.  Last month I ovulated around cycle day 15 and this month it was cycle day 10-11.  I need to track my ovulation because I don’t like being suprised by the mini-pms issues it causes me!  For instance this week from my ovulation I had a zit out break, more back pain, and cramps! PLUS 3# of waterweight overnight!

 

Do you have anything else to add?

As always I am looking forward to continuing to see results…doing this questionaire has PUMPED me up to make some goals for July!  I really enjoy having some challenge to keep me on track to continued success!!

 

more fch 013 [800x600]

Day 1- FCH…SUPER detailed: “Lift lower body and abs”

Day 1- FCH…SUPER detailed: “Lift lower body and abs”

HI!!  It’s Day 1 of the 4 weeks…ARE you READY!!

Today’s workout is as follows…I am buffing so I will do 3 sets of 10 of each exercise.

*Please note, use whatever weight challenges you…it’s okay for you to even start with light DB’s or bodyweight for squats!  the key is to record it and try to progress over time*

 

Here is what my workout log looks like filled out~ Below that I’ll detail it for you:

Exercise   DATE      
  Leg Day   set 1 set2 set 3
10 min Warm up    r-bike  squats  stretch
#1 Squats lbs.  95 135  155
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10 10
abs between sets of squats 2sets  crunches  15 15
#2 Dead Lifts lbs.  135 135 135
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps  10  10  10
abs between sets of dead lifts 2sets  knee ups  25  15
#3 Leg Extensions lbs.  135  155 155
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  10
abs between sets of leg extensions 2sets  on ball  15 15
#4 Leg Curls lbs.  75  85  85
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps  10  10  10
abs between sets of leg curls 2sets  cats  5-5sec 5-5sec
BURN Walking Lunges lbs.  15#Db’s  15#Db’s  
OUT! 2x30steps reps.  15ea leg  15ea  
           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·

 

 

 

 

If the above spreadsheet looks like it’s written in a foreign language to you~ here is a SUPER DETAILED view of the workout from START to FINISH:

 

Start with a warm up~ I like to do 10 min of the Recumbent bike(r-bike).

 

EXERCISE #1- Then I head over to where I am going to do my first exercise.

 

SQUATS: I start by doing a warm up set that I don’t count as a real set. No Weight x20 reps and then stretch and maybe do a few more- It’s always good to be “lubed up”.

 

Slow and Steady weight increases are the smartest way to lift

·         Set 1 of squats: 95# on my upper back x 10 reps…then move right into doing my abs

·         Set 1 of ABS: The ABS exercises are up to you~ I’ll do crunches first: 15 reps slow and controlled….then go right back to squats. Remember “I am buffing”, so I want little rest between sets and I want to keep my heart rate up.

·         Set 2 of Squats: 135# on my upper back x 10 reps

·         Set 2 of ABS: 15 crunches

·         Set 3 of Squats: I feel good so I think I’ll ad another 20 pounds, 155×10

 

EXERCISE #2– Dead Lifts: I like doing this with a slight bend in my knees lowering the weight slowly while keeping the curve in my lower back—all the movement in my hips.

·         Set 1 of Dead lifts: 135# held with one hand over, one hand under x10 reps

·         Set 1 of ABS: Knee ups x25 reps

·         Set 2 of Dead lifts: 135# held with one hand over, one hand under (alternate which hands from previous set) x10 reps

·         Set 2 of ABS: knee upsx15 reps

·         Set 3 of DL’s: 135#x10

 

EXERCISE #3– Leg Extensions- An important tip for women when doing these are to keep your feet flexed up and toes pointed slightly out…if you don’t have access to this machine you can do stationary lunges here instead.

·         Set 1 of Leg Extensions: 135×10

·         Set 1 of ABS: Full crunches on the ball x15 reps

·         Set 2 of Leg Extensions: 135×10

·         Set 2 of ABS: on ball x15

·         Set 3 of Leg Extensions: 135×10

 

Exercise #4– Leg Curls…if you don’t have this equipment you can do leg curls with a Ball

·         Set 1 of Leg curls: 75×10

·         Set 1 of ABS: CATS arch up for 5 secs hold…repeat 5 times

·         Set 2 of Leg Curls: 85×10

·         Set 2 of ABS: CATS 5-5sec

·         Set 3 of Leg Curls: 85×10

 

BURN OUT EXERCISE! Walking lunges holding dumbbells

·         Set 1 of Walking Lunges: 15#DB’sx30 steps (15 each leg)

·         REST for about 1-2 min…do some stretching

·         Set 2 Walking Lunges: 15’sx15 (same as set 1, just written shorthand)

 

Then I am done….most leg days I don’t do any extra cardio or intervals. Leg workouts burn a ton of calories and use a ton of energy…to add Cardio on top of the workout unless I am in GREAT shape often makes me too tired to function the rest of the day.

 

The Key to your Motivation is to Encourage others!

FOCUS!

One of the biggest stumbling blocks toward success is LACK OF FOCUS! We have a tendency to simply FORGET our goals and mission.  You must not forget!

 

I encourage you to take steps to increase your focus in the areas of DIET and FITNESS during these 28 days!

 

Some tips–

  1. PRINT OFF and POST your workouts, your goals, motivational pics, etc…
  2. Write reminders- post it notes on mirrors, sharpies on your hand, notes on frig and cabinet, whatever it takes for you to remember you are on a mission
  3. Stay engaged- stay logged into the Rally Room– check in daily, post accountability pics on other social media
  4. Set alarms- use your phone to set alarms reminding you to eat, to drink water, to take supplements, to workout– don’t forget!
  5. Tell everyone! Tell your family, your kids, your friends, your coworkers– you have to let everyone in your circle know in you mean business!!

My plan is to do all these things…

Today’s to do list–

Get my FOCUS on!!

Get starting stats and pics done

Go for a walk with Cuji (just bought her a cute little harness)

Get in the FCH leg workout

Get my DESK cleared off

Fix Dishwasher– it flooded and made a huge mess in kitchen

 

Let’s rock day 1!!

I’m fired up~ I hope you are too!!

-Michelle

Day 2-FCH…SUPER detailed: “Upper Body, ABS and Intervals”

Day 2-FCH…SUPER detailed: “Upper Body, ABS and Intervals”

Hiddy HO!! I woke up singing this beautiful morning, “”good morning, good morning, good morning it’s time to rise and SHINE!!!!” 

Today it’s Day 2 of our FCH and time to attack our UPPER BODY!  I bet many of you are sore from your leg workout yesterday and I am too~ mostly in my upper butt/lower back/hip region.

 

Day 2-FCH…SUPER detailed: “Upper Body, ABS and Intervals”

 

Exercise   DATE 6-5    
  Upper body Day   set 1 set2 set 3
10 min Warm up    r-bike bench press stretch
#1 Bench/Chest Press lbs.  95 115 115
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  8
abs between sets of bench 2sets  Knee ups  30  25
#2 Pull ups lbs.  Under hand  20# assist  inverted
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  10
abs between sets of pull ups 2sets  Old school 60 45
#3  Flys  lbs.  30  30  30
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  10
abs between sets of Flys 2sets  Hanging  20 15
#4 Rows lbs.  10  10  10
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.   10   10   10
abs between sets of Rows 2sets vaccums 3 for 15sec 3 for 15sec
BURN Push ups   military    
OUT! 2x15reps or failure reps.  20  15+3

knees

 
   

 

Start with a warm up~ I like to do 10 min of the Recumbent bike(r-bike).

 

EXERCISE #1- BENCH :Then I head over to where I am going to do a little warm up for my first exercise. BENCH or Chest press: I start by doing a warm up set that I don’t count as a real set. Bar x20 reps and then stretch and maybe do a few more reps- It’s always good to be “lubed up”.

·         Set 1 of Bench: 95# x 10 reps…then move right into doing my abs

·         Set 1 of ABS: The ABS exercises are up to you~ I’ll do knee ups on the bench first: 30 focused in eccentric….then go right back to bench. Remember “I am buffing”, so I want little rest between sets and I want to keep my heart rate up.

·         Set 2 of Bench: 115# x 10 reps

·         Set 2 of ABS: 25 knee ups- 15 to the front 5 each side

·         Set 3 of Bench: 115×8…I died, so I didn’t make 10 reps. BUT that’s okay

 

EXERCISE #2– Pull ups: I like doing these a variety of ways… starting with the hardest way first- full body weight. Then assisted and then some inverted ones.

·        Set 1 of Pull ups: 10 reps..YAY!! that’s a good number for me!

·         Set 1 of ABS: Old School sit ups x60 reps

·         Set 2 of Pull ups: 20# assited x10…slow and controlled full stretch lifting my chest to the bar (think Proud Rooster)

·        Set 2 of ABS: Old School x45 reps

·         Set 3 of pull ups: Inverted x10 reps really focused on biceps—MY PIPES!

 

 

Exercise #3– FLYS: you can do them as flat bench, incline or cable

·        Set 1 of Flys (incline for me): 30 # dumbbells x10

·         Set 1 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x25 reps

·         Set 2 of Flys: 35’sx10

·         Set 2 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x15 reps

·         Set 3 of Flys: 35’sx10

 

EXERCISE #4– Rows- An important tip when doing these keep your chest lifted and squeeze your should blades together at the end of the movement…if you don’t have access to this machine you can do bent over rows with DB’s or a weight bar.

·         Set 1 of Rows: 100×10

·         Set 1 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

·         Set 2 of Rows: 110×10

·         Set 2 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

·         Set 3 of Rows: 110×9…I couldn’t do any more than 9.

 

BURN OUT EXERCISE! Push ups 15 reps or to failure

·         Set 1 of Push ups: 20 military style

·         REST for about 1-2 min…do some stretching

·         Set 1 of Push ups: 15 military style+ 3 on knees~ whew!! That burned!

 

NOW it’s time for intervals…doing your intervals RIGHT after a lifting workout is a good way to burn extra fat. You’ve used up most of your glucose stores from your lifting so your body is now set to burn more fat for fuel.

 

Here is a breakdown of my interval run:

I took my time warming up then did 8 intervals all recovery mins were at 7.5 and the incline was at 2% the entire time:

 

  • 4mins of warm up
  • 9mph for 1 min: 7.5 mph for 1 min- repeated 8 times
  • cool down by walking for about 3-4 mins.

Day 3-FCH “OFF” day, BUTT extras?

Day 3-FCH “OFF” day, BUTT extras?

Hello!!

 

Saturday is FCH contest Day #3 : your first day off!! I know you deserve it and will be extra good this weekend so that you keep your momentum toward your goals.  There are only 25 days left until the end of the contest!!

A little sacrifice and effort now will reward you with confidence, pride and a “FireCrakin’ Hot Body” for the FALL!!

 

 

As we go along through our 4 week program there are 16 days of workouts and 12 days off…On our OFF days I’ll be giving you more information and inspiration that will help you towards SUCCESS.

Today I want to talk about BUTTs…any EXTRA work you can do for them helps!

Here’s a link to my Blog post of BUFF BUTT SANDWICH VIDEO workouts http://buffmother.com/2013/05/29/10-butt-workouts/

 

— they are short fun and can be done virtually anywhere! (If you watch one, please like, comment and/or SHARE it!)

 

GET THAT Hot BOOTY!!!

-Michelle

Day 4-FCH… LEGS BABY !!!~”at home version”

Day 4-FCH… LEGS BABY !!!~”at home version”

It’s Day 4 of the FCH contest, meaning we only have 24 days lef~ time to Kick my FALL MOJO into HIGH GEAR!!!

 

On tap for today: test a few of the new changes that will roll out to the Rally Room in the next couple months– our service provider is doing a major overhaul of the site so it works better on mobile and get through my stack of BILLS and have a killer leg workout!

 

Today’s workout is as follows…I am buffing so I will do 3 sets of 10 of each exercise.

Here is what my workout log looks like filled out~ Below that I’ll detail it for you:

Exercise   DATE      
  Leg Day   set 1 set2 set 3
10 min Warm up    r-bike  squats  stretch
#1 Squats lbs.  135 155  155
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10 10
abs between sets of squats 2sets  crunches  15 15
#2 Dead Lifts lbs.  155 155 155
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps  10  10  10
abs between sets of dead lifts 2sets  knee ups  25  15
#3 Leg Extensions lbs.  135  155 155
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  10
abs between sets of leg extensions 2sets  on ball  15 15
#4 Leg Curls lbs.  75  85  85
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps  10  10  10
abs between sets of leg curls 2sets  cats  5-5sec 5-5sec
BURN Walking Lunges lbs.  25#Db’s  25#Db’s  
OUT! 2x30steps reps.      
           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve had a few questions about the “at Home” version for this workout~ so here’s a modified one for those of you working out with only DB’s

Squats= DB Squats

Dead Lifts= DB Dead Lifts

Leg Extensions= Stationary Lunges holding DB’s

Leg Curls= Leg Curls using a ball

Walking Lunges= Walking lunges holding DB’s

Hope that helps, Let’s work hard this week~ whoohooo!!!

-Michelle

So happy to be “HERE” today…

Hi ya ladies!! This week has been a busy one for me– the past 2 days I was out of the house/office all day.  Man that is exhausting and makes me so happy to just be HERE today!

You all are on fire, seriously it’s so fun to hear your focus and excitement for the contest!! I know if you stay FOCUSED you’ll amaze yourself with how much you can change in just 4 weeks!!

 

Monday turned out to be a super day– had the most energy I had in months!  Seriously, I was stoked.  I got work done in the morning and then in the afternoon, I got in my workout, cleaned up the back porch, cleaned out our shed, went to the store, attended my son’s football game and even had some extra curricular activity with the DH, LOL!!  The only thing I didn’t get done on my to do list, was to take my starting pics and stats.

 

Tuesday was not as productive, we went car shopping.  Can you say frustrating?!!  Everything for sale that was interesting seemed to be above our price range or below or hundreds of miles away.  We took the whole day to  drive around looking — it helped narrow things down, but still no car!  Hoping that by the weekend we can find something.

 

Yesterday was my pamper day– I got my hair and nails done. I also managed to squeeze Cuji in with the groomer for her hair cut! YAY, she was so furry!!

After the pamper time, I had to bring my DD to guitar, go shopping, and by the time I got home TOM decided to show.  YAY, cycle day 1!!  Decided to throw on my running gear and get outside for a run before it got dark.  It was a good one!! Ran 6 hill intervals and today my booty is sore, BONUS!!

 

So…today, I’ll be playing “catch up” with my online work and with my workouts.  I have upper body to do plus, I’ll get in some extra time on the bike and throw in some extra booty moves! Then I should be ready for legs tomorrow and another upper body on the weekend.  I love this plan– 4 workouts in 7 days is totally do-able!

 

On the hormone front, I am on cycle day 2. This month, hormones have been extra rough.  2 of my 3 tween/teen DD’s decided to switch up their hormonal cycle by 2 weeks to cycle with me. PLUS, I’ve had a cyst on my right ovary this month– making my hormones really extra fun!  So I am STOKED to be done with this past cycle.  I was up 4 pounds just yesterday too– insane how hormones can do that!!

 

I now plan to take my pictures/stats tomorrow.  That way they can double as starting my buffing phase pics.

 

Now, time to catch up on your posts!! Keep up the great work ladies!!

-Michelle

 

Upper body done

Bench press

Warm up 2 sets of 15 with bar

95×10

115×9

115×8

95×10

 

Between sets

Knee ups- 15/5/5, 10/10/10, 15/10/10

 

Inverted Pull ups

3 sets of 10= 1 underhand, 1 over, 1 close grip under

 

Between sets-

Old school sit ups 20+20 hands on hammies

30 hands on hammies x2sets

 

Incline flys

30’sx10x3sets

Hanging knee ups 10x3sets

 

Rows on bowflex

5 together, 10 each arm, 5 together x160#’sx3sets

Between sets- vacuums– these were amazingly painful today on cday 2

 

push ups as burn out 18+6knees, 15+5knees

 

Day 5-FCH- “Keeping MOTIVATED”- Upper Body ~(at home version)

Day 5-FCH- “Keeping MOTIVATED”- Upper Body ~(at home version)

I’d like to take a bit  of time today to talk about “Keeping Motivated”…or as I like to call it keeping your MOJO!!!

 

 

It is so easy for us to get GUNG HO about our fitness goals for 1, 2 or 3 days and then totally fizzle out…the #1 requirement for being eligible to win this 4 week FCH contest is meant to HELP-you, HELP-yourself stay motivated…If you missed it, here is the requirement….

 

To be eligible to win you must:
1) Encourage others to do their best in the “FireCrakin’ HOT” contest in the Rally Room…try to comment on at least 3 blog posts daily. “The KEY to your motivation is to encourage others!!” “

 

MY #1 solution for stayin MOTIVATED … is to take the focus off of me and give energy to someone else.

That’s why the motto of the Rally Room is “The Key to your Motivation is to encourage OTHERS!”

 

Just try it- give a little of your energy to
someone else and you will be amazed at the motivation
you get in return!!   The way to do that here is to COMMENT on other’s blogs.  Even just saying a quick “HI” or “AWESOME” does amzing things.

 

The Sole Purpose of the Rally Room is for you to have a place to GIVE your energy to others through Encouragement, Excitement, Love, Support, Help, Friendship, etc..~ I call it planting “energy seeds”!

 

The Rally Room is a safe place you can go where the main purpose is to use your gifts to help other women. The power that is released here because of that indescribable!

 

Everyone brings their own brand of positive energy to the team and they receive an explosion of positive energy in return. You can never out give this team! Many women in the Rally Room have tried every imaginable way to stay motivated. The mainstream fitness gurus have devised numerous methods to keep women motivated. However, the ladies in the Rally Room have discovered the SECRET.

 

The key to unlocking this mystery, the secret to staying motivated is to forget about yourself long enough to encourage someone else!

 

That’s right; All you need to do is plant “energy seeds” among the women in the RR in a sincere and genuine way. You will be amazed at what will happen when you make a habit out of doing this. Your motivation to stick to your own goals skyrockets!

 

Encouraging someone else doesn’t have to be saying only “you can do it.” It can be done in so many other ways. You can find a million ways to use your unique talents and communication skills  in the RR to help other women. The sky is the limit and everyone in there will welcome you with open arms. It’s awesome!!

 

 

~~~~~~~`

Now on to today’s workout– It’s the same as Day 2, but if you have access to only DB’s and an exercise ball…here is the “At Home Version” for you:

 

DB Chest Press on ball
3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

ABS between sets of presses

 

One arm DB LAT rows
3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

ABS between sets of

 

DB Flys on ball
3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

ABS between sets of Flys

 

Bent over DB Rows

3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

ABS between sets of rows

 

Push ups
2x15reps or to  failure

 

Then… Intervals:

 

20 min is always the goal here is an example for you:

 

4 min. warm up-marching in place or a short walk around the block

1 min. hard- jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

1 min. easy-march

1 min. hard-jump rope

3min. cool down-march or walk again

 

This is 20 min total: 7 hard min. total

 

Let’s all focus extra hard on GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT to others, you will reap the rewards!! “GO TEAM” 

Your Cheerleader,

Michelle

short legs today

Hi ya ladies!!

Just finished a really short leg workout today– I got in about 30 mins of bike too.

Kinda sore and feeling a bit tired, so opted to basically just do my squat portion of legs today.  Thinking that my body is recovering from the round of antibiotics I just completed and from my hormones– cycle day 3 today.

 

25 mins bike in am

5 min bike warm up

bulgarians, air squats, overhead squats

Dead lifts – stiff

95#x10x2sets

Squats

barx10

135x10x3sets

some calves in between and some ball ab crunches

 

I’ll plan to do a run tomorrow and finish the workout tomorrow (lunges, leg ext, leg curls) and put together my hyperextension machine!!  Then Sunday will be upper body again!

 

TGIF!! I’m off to shower, then the post office and grocery store!

-Michelle

Day 6 and 7- FCH… “off”~ Let’s talk FOOD!

Day 6 and 7- FCH… “off”~ Let’s talk FOOD!

 

Hello all on this WONDERFUL WEEKEND…

 

It sure looks like many of you have enjoyed a couple really, really good workouts so far this week, are you sore?  You need to be sure your diet is supporting your workout.  We need to eat and fuel our bodies to perform, Food is FUEL!!!

Here is a bit of info about how I’d like you to approach your realtionship with FOOD:

 

 

“The KEY to a successful diet is to make it a

LIFESTYLE.”

 

Expect a Learning Curve toward LIFESTYLE!!

The key to a successful diet is to make it a LIFESTYLE. As I alway preach regarding diet “Keep It Simple Sweetheart” (KISS)is the best way to do this. My mainfocus on my diet is to keep it simple and doable with my crazy schedule. I nowsimply count my portions as I go through the day. However, when I first was

learning to eat right, planning was a vital part of the learning curve. So get out

your journal and PLAN how you can fit in the proper portions of your diet in

each day. Soon you will be KISSing~

 

HOW To KISS…

follow these steps in order when making your meal plan for the day:

 

#1- Plan to Perform

As I mentioned in “Fuel your body to perform,”  timing your

main carbohydrate carb (C) portions around workouts will allow you to have strong,

effective and productive workouts.

 

#2- Proteins and greens

Fill up the rest of your daily meals with proteins (P) and greens (G) then

your left over serving(s) of carbs (C).

 

#3- Work with your body

Make sure to account for your natural body rhythms. Are you a big morning

eater or the opposite? I am a big evening eater, so I plan for that. I eat light in

the morning and early afternoon because I know I’ll easily get in the rest of my

calories later. Don’t ignore your natural tendencies if you want this to become

a lifestyle vs. a short-term DIET.

 

#4- Eat often

Shoot to eat every 3-4 hours in order to keep an even energy flow. Remember

the fact that food is FUEL…your body and mind don’t function well on

empty. Shoot for 4-5 meals daily.

 

#5- Fat can be GOOD

Make sure you are eating enough fat or you will be HUNGRY and be more

tempted to cheat. Fat is also very important for proper hormone production,

prevention of aging and maintenance of energy levels.

 

#6- Drink water like a fish!

Are you unsatisfied after a meal? Are you a bottomless pit? Oftentimes we

feel this way when we are actually thirsty. Water is also an important transporter

of both nutrients and toxins. Without enough, it is hard for your body

to lose fat. So drink up! To optimize digestion, try to limit water consumption

during your meals. Your main water consumption needs to be between meals,

optimally 30 minutes prior and 30 minutes after meals.

 

 

Food Choice TIPS:

  •          Choose natural foods over man-made foods (artificial sweeteners, low fat products, packaged/processed foods, etc). I would rather see youeat “whole fat” items than man-made toxins. They are not worth usingto “save” calories. Instead of helping your weight loss efforts, theywill leave you with toxins in your body. Toxins create all sorts of issuesanging from bloating, muscle aches, digestive issues, swollen glands,cellulite, skin blemishes, etc. Try your best to eliminate them from yourdiet. FLUSH those toxins out!! This is termed eating “CLEAN.”

 

  •          I highly encourage you to vary your food choices. For instance, my daily goal for my protein intake is to have one portion of red meat, one ofeggs, one of poultry, one of fish, and one of soy or whey. Variety isneeded both for you mentally and physically. The same thing goes for your carbohydrate, fat and green choices.

 

  •          Try to limit your protein supplements (powders, bars, etc.) to 1 (at most 2) servings a day; real food is always best.

 

I am off to eat something GOOD!!!

Love ya,

Michelle

My start FCH and buffing phase

Hi Ya, Finally got time to take my pics and stats.  I have the biggest waist measurement of my recent past…so excited to see these number go down!! I want my smaller body back!!

 

Anyhow, my goals are to lose 5 pounds in the next 2 weeks. That’s very agressive, but It can be done!!

 

Then on our final week of the contest, I hope to shed at least 1 more pound so I can finish the contest by getting back into the 120’s!! 129.9 would be a huge win!!

 

STARTING STATS and PICS~
Today’s Date:__10-11-15_______ height:____5-6.5_________     weight:___136.6________ age:_40______
Today’s cycle day- 5

Please list the following measurements-

Bust (around breasts the biggest part):37
Chest- relaxed (just under armpits above breasts with arms down at your sides):34
Chest- flexed back and chest (just under armpits with arms down at your sides):37
Waist- relaxed (the smallest part):29
Waist-sucked in (the smallest part):27
Hips (the largest part of your butt):37.5
Shoulders (around the outside of your shoulders with your arms at sides):41
Biceps (relaxed at midpoint of upper arm):10.25
Biceps (flexed at midpoint of upper arm):11.5
Thigh-mid (about 8” above knee cap):20
Thigh- upper (about 12” above knee cap):22.5
Calf (about 7” below knee joint):13.25

Ill- 10
Ab-20
Th-10
Tri-8

Run and Upper done

Hey Ya’ll…ended up taking yesterday off of workouts. DH and I finally bought a car! We got a Cadillac CTS- it looks about like this one:

 

And then went out on a “date” for the rest of the day.

 

Today though, I’ve got it done– so officially got in 4 lifting workouts this week and 2 interval runs plus another run and extra biking for cardio. The only thing I didn’t accomplish was a couple exercises from my second leg day. Overall I’d say week #1 was a GREAT start, but week #2 is going to be even better!!

 

Went for a hills interval run– did same run as on Wed but it took me 1 min longer today.  Felt cruddy!

Then I lifted…

Bench Press
3×10(buffing)

45×15

bicep curls during warm up- 45x10x3sets

95×10

115×8

115x

ABS between sets of presses Pump ups x10x3sets

 

One arm DB LAT rows
3×10 with 40#

ABS between sets = ball sit ups with 10#plate x3sets

 

DB Flys
3×10 x30#DB’s

ABS between sets of Flys= hands on hammie sit ups 3×20

 

Inverted Pull ups

3×10

ABS between sets of rows = knee ups on bench 15x3sets

 

Push ups
2x15reps or to  failure

 

Extras lateral raises with 10#x 3sets of 10

30#grip stregth lots of reps 2 sets of  30+

 

That’s a wrap!! Now for a great week #2!!

Day 8- FCH…LEGS again!!! Build your FAT FURNACES!!!

Day 8- FCH…LEGS again!!! Build your FAT FURNACES!!!

Day 8- FCH…LEGS again!!!  Build your FAT FURNACES!!!

See Day 1- FCH…SUPER detailed: “Lift lower body and abs”

 

and/or Day 4-FCH… LEGS BABY !!!~”at home version” for workout details~

 

 

This morning I commented on a blog about slow weight loss and that inspired me to talk more about MUSCLE today:

 

here is my comment~

“Weight loss is always hard, but I do agree it’s harder with age.  Do you know why? HORMONES~ not just the estrogens and progesterone ones, but the ones that are typically thought of as MALE hormones: testosterone and growth hormone.  Those are stimulated to be released when you do certain types of exercise= Lifting heavy and intense anaerobic or lactic acid cardio…and also through diet, for example when you go from a fasting state (buffing) to a higher caloric intake (boosting).  I know that in my own fitness when I focus on stimulation my body’s “anabolic” hormones, I can get LEAN!!!

 

Keep working hard and remember to work WITH your hormones and you will see you body respond!

-Michelle ”

 

And here is an EXCERPT from one of my articles about building muscle that BURNS FAT:

How do I go about building muscle?

Muscle in women deteriorates at almost every stage of life. This is why we must weight train!!!!

Weight training rebuilds your lost muscle and therefore rebuilds your metabolism. BuffMother!’s weight training philosophy is based on:

  1. The Basic Big three
  2. Challenge
  3. Change

 

The Basic Big Three:

What do I mean by the big three? There are 3 larger main muscle groups of the body and my lifting program is centered around them. Metabolism will be affected most if these 3 muscle groups are emphasized since they comprise the majority of the muscle mass on our bodies. The basic big three are your legs, chest and back.

1. Legs (and butt)

Leg muscles are the biggest strongest muscles of our body and in order to have a great metabolism you must not neglect lifting with these potential “fat furnaces”. The vast majority of women don’t realize how strong and powerful their legs can be without getting bulky. I understand that most women have a fear of lifting with their legs because they often carry a higher amount of fat in their legs and therefore fear adding bulk to their lower half through strength training. As women we don’t have the levels of testosterone necessary to build big bulky muscles! So don’t think that if you lift with your legs you will make them significantly bigger. Initially a small amount of muscle growth will occur and before you start loose your fat on top  and inside of this muscle, you may notice a slight size increase, but this is temporary. You will soon notice how your legs gain new shape, firmness and a leaner appearance. All of which is caused by these muscles becoming more active and therefore burning more fat!

Let’s talk about the area that all women are concerned about, your butt. It must be dealt with head on. Meaning you must make a huge concentrated effort to reshape the behind that inactivity and age has destroyed. Butts require squats and lunges!!! Lots of them and with weight. No amount of donkey kicks, step-ups, abduction or adduction exercises will do the significant work that must be done in order to reshape your butt. These exercises are great auxiliary ones and are helpful initially and in complementary sense to a leg weight training program, but on their own they will not do much. Legs and butts are strong muscles so in order to change their looks we have to challenge them. This requires using heavier weights and intense contractions.

Most modes of cardio or aerobic exercise utilize the legs. These exercises do great in toning the muscles of the legs that are used during these aerobic sessions. However, they don’t hit all the muscles of the legs and butt and for the most part they don’t build them. Instead they are what we call catabolic. This means they lead to the breakdown of these muscles. For instance look at a marathon runner. They look sickly. They are some of the most aerobically in shape people and they do a lot of working out with their legs, but there muscles are tiny and they have gross butts. So let’s take a lesson from this. Aerobic exercise is very important for health issues, for stress relief, for conditioning the muscles we have, but bad at building muscle! Strong, active leg and butt muscles burn fat!

2. The Chest

I don’t mean your mammary glands. I am talking about your pectorals. The muscles all women need to embrace. I’ve been there. Pregnancy and breast-feeding do nasty things to a woman’s breasts. The looks of a woman’s breast goes beyond the mammary tissue, it lies underneath in the pectoral muscles. Remember what I had said about pregnancy robbing our bodies of muscle. This means the muscle that once lifted our breast now is gone, and it too needs to be rebuilt. If you want to give yourself a natural breast lift, build up your chest! It will not only help those saggy boobs, but also Boost your metabolism! Strong ,active chest muscles burn fat!

3. The Back:

Oh, I forgot about you back there! Most women are absolutely unaware of the huge potential fat burning muscles they have on their back. Our backs are full of muscles. There are tons of them holding our spine, ribs and shoulders in place. These muscles are very important to our health. How often do we hear about back and neck pain? Unfortunately it is rampant. I truly believe that weak back muscles cause much of the pain. Lifting with your back requires proper form and extreme focus on the muscles you are working. Strong, active back muscles burn fat!

Challenging yourself:

Muscles are very smart. If challenged to the limits of their capabilities they realize that they need to rebuild themselves even stronger. Then when faced with that same challenge they will be able to perform at a higher capacity. This is the key to understanding your weight training program.

You must find a way to challenge your muscles. Lifting the same weight every time you perform an exercise will maintain what muscle you have, but not change them. I don’t know many people that like spending an hour in the gym to stay exactly the same. We all crave to improve ourselves. So we must challenge our muscles by lifting weights that are challenging. There is nothing complicated about it. Just make sure you find yourself slightly challenged by your lifting program. Challenge yourself.

Change it up:

Change is good. Your muscles get used to the same thing over and over again. They get bored just like you do. Boredom causes your muscle to not respond just as it causes you to not want to do your boring workout. Don’t be afraid to change:

  • Try some new exercises
  • Change the number of sets and reps of your exercises
  • Increase or decrease your rest time between sets and workouts
  • Change the order of your exercises

Just remember to keep the basic big three muscle groups as the foundation to your weight training program. Change will help you stay focused and your muscles will keep working hard to burn your fat!!!!

 

Here are some supplements that I have used in my quest to build fat burning muscles:

l-glutamine, l-lysine, l-tyrosine, creatine, NO2 (AKG) products, CLA, Gamma-O, DHEA, fish oil, St. John’s Wart, caffine, whey protein, casien protein, sugar free Red Bull, Lubriflex, Move Free, Gaba etc. Exactly what I take depends on how I feel, where I am at in my Hormonal Cycle and what I am trying to accomplish within my fitness goals. There is a lot of money wasted on sports supplements that are ineffective, so do your research before purchasing anything.

Day 9- FCH- New App Launched!!

Day 9- FCH- New App Launched!!

 

On tap for this 9th day of the FCH is another upper body workout~ I re-ingnited my desire to lift heavy from my own post about muscle yesterday!! I am excited to build up my fat furnaces!!!

 

The workout on tap is the same as Day 2 (click link for details)…

Now onto my APP!

I have a new app that just came out yesterday. It’s for IPHONES and brings you through an 8 week program based upon the workouts in my book “Hormonal Timing”.  You’ll love the accountability and how nicely it works~

Check it out here https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1031365903

 

And Here’s a short video about it!!

 

 

Have a great Tuesday!!

-Michelle

No carbs going well….

Yesterday I had a good day–
My workouts were fasted biking for 20 mins.
AND LEGS in the afternoon.

Warm up- bike 5 mins
Bulgarians 2 sets of 10 BW
Deads 95×10 (stiff leg)

Squats
45×10
135×10
155x10x2sets

Abs between= Standing hip twists 3 sets of 10

Deads- Romainian
135x10x3sets
Abs between= Hip ups feet on bar 2 sets of 10
Standing knee ups

Leg Extensions
115×10+burnout on vmo x3sets
Abs Between= knee ups on bench 20repsx3sets

Leg curls- bowflex
100x10x3 sets
Abs Between= one leg at a time knee ups and some bicycle about 3 sets of 30reps

1 Set Stationary lungesx10– just bodyweight

I’ve been eating virtually no carbs since Saturday and feeling pretty good except for a bit of neck ache.
My workout felt good– no issues with lack of fuel.

After my workout went to see my son’s JV game. For the first time in years he got the chance to play both Running Back in addition to LB. He had a few solid runs and hopes to get more practice time at RB this week.

Today is scheduled to be an off day for me since I just did upper body on Sun, but I’m going to go ahead and run out on my trail.  I’ll so some faster shorter hills during it– not sure how many. it depends on how dead my legs are after yesterday.

Hope you have a great TUESDAY!!

Day 10- FCH “rest day”

Day 10- FCH “rest day”

Day 10- FCH “rest day”…

If you’ve gotten in your 2 workouts this week on Mon and Tues, you deserve a rest day.  Resting and letting your muscles recover is key to rebuilding your body, metabolism and mind!

have a great day OFF!!

HuMp DaY oN!!

My workout yesterday has killed my energy for today– RUNNING out on a trail with 6 FAST sprints up a medium grade for a total of 28 mins, then 25 more mins on a stationary bike.
I am trying my hardest to lose weight, but my body has other ideas. I WILL FORCE IT TO SUBMIT.

Here’s a question I posted on my BodySpace status– wondering your thoughts….Honestly how many of you think about hormones in relation to your workouts?? I’m literally obsessed…on my run I was thinking these sprints are releasing testosterone and GH. “I can do 2 more!!!”

I’ve got upper body on tap and I’m supposed to do intervals too~ not sure about those?? I may have to hit BOB and do some bike again because I ran yesterday and this old lady body can’t run more than every other day.

Happy HUMP day, hope you get your HUMP ON!!

Day 11- FCH “LEG day”–START CHARTING NOW!!

Day 11- FCH “LEG day”–START CHARTING NOW!!

I believe in the power of your hormones! I am actually obsessed with HORMONES, lol! HORMONES control EVERYTHING!! I track mine daily, I analyze other’s daily, I research them constantly and I believe hormones can make you fat and have the power to make you thin. This belief is what has led me to build the body that won 5 figure titles the year after having my 3 and 4 children after a c-section and what has keep me buff ever since! This belief is how my client gain GREAT results so very quickly, and this belief is what the HORMONAL TIMING program is all about.

Many of you here in the RR know some about what I am talking about, but for those of you who do not, I encourage you to start by simply tracking your hormonal cycle. Day 1 is the first day of your period. Things you should note daily include your mood, appetite, energy level, motivation level, focus, stress level, strength, soreness, water retention (weight), pain, libido, etc… Even tracking for as little as one month WILL open your eyes to the affects your hormones have on EVERY aspect of your life.
As you track for 2 to 3 months patterns will emerge…you will see when you are just “off” or when you are “ON”, when you feel confident and days when you just want to hide in a cave, you will notice what days are GREAT for sex and what days you typically say NO WAY! KNOWING all of these things about yourself will open up a whole new understanding of how to plan your life, allow you to set realistic expectations for yourself on a day by day basis. WE as women are NOT the same on monthly cycle day 5 and cycle day 25! You must realize that!! And account for it in your life, your fitness, your diet and your supplementation.

So I implore you to start to chart NOW!!
And ladies that don’t have monthly periods~ if you have ovaries you still have a cycle~ chart your symptoms and you will “see” when your hormones are being nice and when they are being naughty

 

On to today~ Woohoo only 18 days left of our contest!!
And I am totally impressed with so many of YOUR Workouts!!  YOU ROCK!!!

Today is another LEG WORKOUT~ LET’s work it hard!! It’s the last Leg workout in PHASE 1…On Monday the workout will change.  So give this one your all!!

and don’t forget to start tracking your HORMONES!!

Your soon to be FireCrackin’ HOT friend,

xoxo~
Michelle

NO EXCUSES!!

hi~ feeling a little off today– some sort of a tummy thing is going around our house, just had to go pick up my 13year old, Gracie from school. And my tummy has been giving me pains all morning– Hoping it’ll settle down this afternoon!

 

Anyhow, I am so happy with my persistence this week. I almost forgo my workout yesterday, but did “something” despite being really sore and tired.

Here’s a video I posted~

 

So– my workout was short

warm up bike 5 mins

push ups- 20

Bicep curls 45×10, 55x10x3sets

paired with overhead press 45×10, 55x10x3sets

 

Situps, ball sit ups and 1 set machine bicep curls and that was it.

about 15 mins worth

 

Today, I plan to hit the upper body FCH weight workout and go for a run outside.  I’m off to eat something now and HOPE my tummy will cooperate.

 

have a terrific Thursday!

-Michelle

 

p.s.On Monday we launched a NEW BuffMother Iphone App!

I am beyond excitd about it !! It’s the first ever fitness App to teach my Revolutionary Hormonal Timing system!!

 

The workouts in the app lead you through 8 weeks of effective workouts based upon your natural hormonal cycle!

Get your App now to save $1 off thru Oct. 22nd!! Itunes Store

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1031365903

 

All you need to complete them are a set of dumbbells, a ball and a chair. You can get Buff virtually anywhere.

You deserve it!

Love ya,

Michelle “BuffMother” Berger

p.s. I also have an adroid app– more info here http://buffmother.com/shop/buffmother-app/

Day 12- FCH “Upper Body/Interval day”–why intervals ROCK!!

Day 12- FCH “Upper Body/Interval day”–why intervals ROCK!!

Day 12- FCH “Upper Body/Interval day”–why intervals ROCK!!

 

Quality over Quantity

You DO NOT have to spend much time working out to get results. If you

work hard, even 11 minutes can make a big impact. HOURS of cardio are often

a waste of time. Choose the most effective exercises and PUSH your body.

Focus on your BIG MUSCLES (Legs, Back and Chest) and on using BIG MOVEMENTS.

If you focus on HIGH quality exercise and keep active in life, you

don’t need much quantity.

 

Quality over Quantity is why…

I recommend doing most cardio in the form of interval training. A simple 2O-minute interval workout will provide optimal results in minimal time. It’s perfect for those

of us who have no time or desire to spend hours doing cardio.

 

Science has proven that interval training gives the following results:

1. INCREASES FITNESS- Interval training increases overall fitness (both Aerobic

and Anaerobic capacity) and efficiency of cardiac and lung function.

2. BURNS CALORIES- Interval training increases energy production (increased

metabolic rate) for up to 72 hours after a single session.

3. BURNS FAT-Interval training increases your body’s efficiency of using fat

for fuel (you will burn the fat off your butt and gut!)

4. INCREASE CONTRACTION-Interval training increases ability of muscle contraction

(great news for being able to build a great metabolism and move with

controlled ease).

5. BOOSTS BRAIN FUNCTION- Interval training causes an increase in mental

sharpness and clarity.

 

Interval Training “BuffMotherobics!” VS. Cardio – low intensity steady aerobics

 

Stimulating and Quick (20 min.) Boring and Lengthy (45-60 min.)
In the long term and short term increases your metabolism (Anabolic “Building up&rdquo In the long term decreases metabolism (Catabolic “Tearing down&rdquo
Energizing- increases energy output for up to 48 hours Energy Drain – uses up your extra
energy stores
Less wear and tear on joints and muscles due to shorter duration and less volume Leads to wear and tear on joints and muscles resulting in injuries
Increases muscle building/sparing hormone levels following session Does not raise muscle building hormone levels
The best method for lowering body fat Not the best method of lowering your
body fat

 

I choose intense BuffMotherobics! over traditional cardio for the following

reasons:

 

Time- I am busy and don’t feel I can commit more than 20 mins to my

cardio.

Results- I get better and faster results from a focused, 20-min session of

BuffMotherobics! than traditional long duration steady cardio. It energizes

me versus draining me.

Fun factor- time goes by faster when I play “games” with myself during

my session. Moving from one speed to another often adds a dimension

that keeps me from being bored.

Injury Prevention-I have had “overuse” injuries and joint pain in the

past from running too far, too long and too often. POUNDING adds up

on joints. I like intervals because in 20 mins only so much pounding

can happen and I can get great results with as little as 3 sessions a week.

It is short and sweet, allowing my joints to rest the other 23 hours and

40 mins of the day.

Day 13 &14- FCH “off”–halfway point~ BE RELENTLESS!!!

Day 13 &14- FCH “off”–halfway point~ BE RELENTLESS!!!

Day 13& 14- FCH “off”–halfway point~ BE RELENTLESS!!!

I’ve said it in the past and I’ll say it again~ I love the thoughts feelings and attitude that the word RELENTLESS brings to my soul!!!  It’s the halfway point of our 4 week contest~ time to get relenteless!!!

Let’s all chant “relentless”, “Relentless”, “RELENTLESS!!!!!”

NOW…Make your PLAN!

With the weekend of of official workouts day off of official workouts.

You should take at least 5 mins out of your day to look a the week ahead.  We are getting closer to the Halloween!!!  2 weeks are left for you to see results, are you making progress?? what do you need to do this week to keep your mojo going?

 

 

What is your plan of ATTACK?  POA~mine is to really kick it in regarding my workouts~ I am BUFFING~ I am going to lift hard, heavy and run often!!!  I am also going to focus hard on getting in at least 125g’s (because my goal weight is 125) of protein each day!

 

M-Lower body +ABS
T-Upper body +ABS+ Intervals
W- OFF~
Th-Lower body +ABS
F-Upper body +ABS+ Intervals
Sa- “off” day
Su- BONUS workout- run

Enjoy your Weekend!

-Michelle

Family time!

Had a good weekend with some quality family time.

Started off a little rocky with the tummy flu on Thursday…spent the whole day “waiting” for my stomach to feel better. It didn’t so I skipped my workout that day–

The GREAT news was that on Fri I was feeling normal! yay!! but I had a bunch of cleaning to do before company came, so I cleaned for a couple hours, hit the trail for a run and then cleaned for a couple more hours.

My BIL and SIL came down to see Gunner play in the Homecoming game!

It was great to have them come down from MN!!  Gunner’s team killed the opponent, so Gunner got to play a ton both at running back and linebacker.  It was fun to see!

here’s a Picture of Gunner with his Aunt Monica and Uncle Eric

Then, on Saturday Gunner had his first coaching job. He was one of three coaches for the 10th grade girls powder puff team. They won the first game so got to play the seniors for the Championship. They did well, but lost.   It was fun and raised quite a bit of money for charity.

 

After that Travis and I watched some football and chilled out the rest of the night. Then today we watched the Vikings win!! Ya!! Then ate a yummy roast. It was so good!!

 

Then I did a leg workout–

Leg curls 50×10, 60×10, 55x10x2sets

Leg Extentsions 90×10, 115x10x3sets

Foward Lunges 55×15, 55 ladder up to 5

Squats 135×10, 155x8x2sets, 135×10

Dead lifts 135x10x2

ABS-

Hip ups 2×10

Knee ups 2×15

Hanging knee ups 2×10

Hip swivels 1×10

Pump Ups 1×15

 

I’m off to hang with the family more~~ Love ya!

Family time!

Had a good weekend with some quality family time.

Started off a little rocky with the tummy flu on Thursday…spent the whole day “waiting” for my stomach to feel better. It didn’t so I skipped my workout that day–

The GREAT news was that on Fri I was feeling normal! yay!! but I had a bunch of cleaning to do before company came, so I cleaned for a couple hours, hit the trail for a run and then cleaned for a couple more hours.

My BIL and SIL came down to see Gunner play in the Homecoming game!

It was great to have them come down from MN!!  Gunner’s team killed the opponent, so Gunner got to play a ton both at running back and linebacker.  It was fun to see!

here’s a Picture of Gunner with his Aunt Monica and Uncle Eric

Then, on Saturday Gunner had his first coaching job. He was one of three coaches for the 10th grade girls powder puff team. They won the first game so got to play the seniors for the Championship. They did well, but lost.   It was fun and raised quite a bit of money for charity.

 

After that Travis and I watched some football and chilled out the rest of the night. Then today we watched the Vikings win!! Ya!! Then ate a yummy roast. It was so good!!

 

Then I did a leg workout–

Leg curls 50×10, 60×10, 55x10x2sets

Leg Extentsions 90×10, 115x10x3sets

Foward Lunges 55×15, 55 ladder up to 5

Squats 135×10, 155x8x2sets, 135×10

Dead lifts 135x10x2

ABS-

Hip ups 2×10

Knee ups 2×15

Hanging knee ups 2×10

Hip swivels 1×10

Pump Ups 1×15

 

I’m off to hang with the family more~~ Love ya!

Day 15- FCH PHASE 2 begins with “LEGS”!!! challenge=change~!

Day 15- FCH PHASE 2 begins with “LEGS”!!!  challenge=change~!

Well today is our first day of phase 2 for our FCH~ I’ve attached the workout program once again in case you missed it… and if you look at the workout, the exercises are basically the same just in BACKWARDS order!!  It’s amazing how doing a workout backward from time to time really creates some nice results.  Typically though it’s best to do the BIGGEST exercises first, but for these 2 weeks we’ll switch it up!  I call it “PRE-exhausting” your muscles

FUN, FUN!!!

 

“FCH” Workout Log~Phase 2 ( the second 2 weeks)

Exercise   DATE      
  Leg Day   set 1 set2 set 3
10 min Warm up        
Pre- Walking Lunges lbs.      
Exhaust 2x30steps reps.      
abs between sets of lunges 2sets      
#1 Leg Curls lbs.      
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps      
abs between sets of leg curls 2sets      
#2 Leg Extensions lbs.      
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.      
abs between sets of leg extension 2sets      
#3 Dead Lifts lbs.      
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps      
abs between sets of dead lifts 2sets      
#4 Squats lbs.      
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.      
           

As we head into the final 2 weeks REMEMBER:

 

Challenge=Change

Our bodies are master adapters. The more we challenge them the more they

change to accommodate those demands. The good news about this is that if

you continually challenge yourself, your body will change. The bad news is

that if you don’t continually challenge it, it will stop changing and may even

regress.

 

There are 5 main ways to change workouts to cause them to be

more challenging:

Intensity How hard are you pushing? Do you push yourself to the MAX

each workout? Do you only ever “go through the motions”—social exerciser?

Do you vary your intensity to get different results? Do you like to

take your time? Do you like to “get it done”?

 

Frequency How often do you work out? How often do you lift each body

part? How often do you do intervals? How often do you do other fitness

activities?

 

Duration How long do you workout at a time? How long are your lifting sessions?

How long are your intervals? How much other time do you devote

to fitness activities?

 

Mode What type of activities do you do? Do you cross train? Are you training

for a certain sport? What lifts do you do for each body part?

 

Rest intervals How many “rest” days do you take? How much time between

each lifting set/exercise do you do? How much time between hard intervals

do you “rest”? How much time do you “rest” each day? Do you purposely

take time to “de-stress”?

 

“The path of least resistance leads to a poor reflection in the mirror.”

Day 16- FCH “Upper/ABS/Intervals”

Day 16- FCH “Upper/ABS/Intervals”

Day 16- Tuesday today- or as I call it TEXT A LOT TUES~ so do your best to send out some texts that are extra charming, outgoing and FRIENDLY!! :hugs:

I got to do this workout with my son today~ he was such a trooper and so funny!!  He had a hard time wtih the bicycle sit ups so I taught him by moving his legs and singing “The Wheels on the Bus- go round and round” …it brought back some GREAT memories!

 

Exercise   DATE      
  Upper body Day   set 1 set2 set 3
10 min Warm up        
Pre- Push ups    PPU  PPU  
Exhaust 2x15reps or failure reps.  15  15  
abs between sets of Push ups 2sets  old school x15   old school x15  
#1 Rows lbs.  25’s  30’s  30’s
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  6  8  10
abs between sets of Rows 2sets  bicyles x30 bicyles x30  
#2  Flys on ball  lbs.  25’s  25’s  25’s
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps. 8  8  10
abs between sets of Flys 2sets  ball crunch x20  ball crunch x20  
#3 Pull ups- inverted lbs.  under  under  over
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  10
abs between sets of Pull ups 2sets  high knees x15   high knees x15  
#4 Bench/Chest Press lbs.  95  95  115;95
  3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting) reps.  10  10  4;6
   **extra abs- leg raises**    15  15  

 

 

SO I am loving the backward workouts, they seem to go by faster for some reason?!

 

Anyhow, let’s push hard and make today count!!

Love ya,
Michelle

Fall here has been beautiful!

Hey!! So far our fall has been nice, warm, yucky weather free and really easy.  Today is no different.  It’s sunny, 75 and enchanting!

I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already…

here’s a recap of my workouts for Mon and Tues.

Monday did a 20 mins bike and a very short upper body– push ups, bicep curls and rows

Tuesday hit the trail for a run of 23 mins– no intervals this time. But finished with 10 mins of trampoline! It was fun!!

 

Today, I’m torn on what to do– still SORE from my leg workout on Sunday. So I may opt to lift upper body and push legs to tomorrow.  REgardless, I will be get in some time on my bike.

 

Weight is holding stead at around the 134 mark. Hoping to see it go down a bit over the next couple days.  132 by Saturday would set me up for the 120’s by the finish of our contest!!

have a great HUMP DAY!

-Michelle

Day 17- FCH= REST DAY

Hey all!! It’s a REST DAY For the contest….meaning you can make up any workouts you’ve missed or simply take the day to recover.

In my case, I’ve seem to have been splitting up my workouts or missing parts of them, so I’ve typically not taken this midweek day off, lol!

 

Enjoy it!

Love ya,

Michelle

Day 19~ FCH…Plan to Succeed!!

Day 19~ FCH…Plan to Succeed!!

 

That’s my plan!  I am going to have a killer next 10 days and I will reach my goal for this contest!!!I have a trip to Nebraska planned for Nov. 3rd…so that’ll turn up my RELENTLESSNESS

 

My POA for the final 10 days of the contest looks like this:

Fri-Day 19~FCH legs/abs/extra cardio
Sat- Day 20~FCHupper body/abs/intervals(run outside)
Sun- Day 21~FCHOFF (activity day- yard work)
Mon-Day 22~FCH START Boosting!! legs/abs/extra cardio
Tue- Day 23~FCH upper body/abs/sprints outside
Wed- Day 24~FCH long cardio day…I’ll shoot for 40mins total (10 warm up; 20intervals; 10 trampoline)
Thur- Day 25~FCH off

Fri-Day 26~FCH LEGS/ABS/extra cardio
Sat-Day 27~FCH Upper body/abs/intervals
Sun-Day 28~FCH…final pics; measurements; write up final entry

 

Let’s all plan to kick it hard this final Stretch~ you will see great results if you work it!!

Day 20-FCH Upper body/intervals and extra cardio

Day 20-FCH

Upper body/ABS/Intervals/extra cardio

Warm up-  bike for 5 mins

 

Push ups 15x2sets

 

Seated rows
80×15
90x8x2
100×8
knee ups between sets- 2 sets of 20 (10 front; 5 ea side)

 

Assisted pull ups
30×10
20×8
20×8
roman chair knee ups- 20repsx2sets

 

Incline flys
35’sx7x3sets
ab machine between 2 sets until boredom

 

Bench Press
45×15 warm uo
95×10
105x8x2sets

 

Crunches and leg raises between sets

Intervals on the tredmill- 8 hard mins total

18 extra mins on the bike at the end I was good and sweaty!…I should sleep

Puttering

I’m puttering around these days…Feels like I am moving in slow motion or something?! it’s kinda been weird around here– I’ve been keeping busy, but feel a bit odd, lol

 

Wednesday was a really good day, I felt health and happy until I went outside to find that the neighbors dog killed one of my chickens. It was so sad and now we just have 1 lone chicken.  Poor thing!  We decided we’ll have to get her a rooster.

 

Thursday, I ran the same run I did on Tues, but 1 minute faster, yay! and then I worked out in the yard.  I set fire to my hay bales that I had used for my garden and also burned a bunch of old carpet. It was several hours of work.

So yesterday I was a bit worn out…

My leg workout was not as “killer” as i had hoped, but at least I did something.

 

Today, I’m going to go get the rooster and pick up my DD from spending the night at a friends…then we’ve got a dinner date with friends!  Should be fun!

 

Time to get my workout done now!!

Toodles!!

-Michelle

FCH- Day 22 photoshoot prep

FCH-day 22 photoshoot prep

If you are interested in losing a bit more fluff before your final photos~ Here’s a photo shoot prep for the last 4 days of the FCH contest!!!

 

FCH

Photoshoot – 4 day prep

 

Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Monday
PREP -Cut your carbs to only 2.

-Eat very salty foods. And if you find this to be a problem, drink a couple of cups of chicken bouillon. It is very important that you have a salt overload on this day

 

-No carbs, protein veggies and fat only

-NO SALT

Put a coat of tanner on b4 bed- Banana Boat tanner with bronzer in it is the best!

 

-No Carbs

-NO Salt

-No gas causing foods

-Take a water pill(diruex) B4 bed and -no water after 8(time so you have 12-16 hours without water b4 shoot)

-Put another coat of Tanner on

 

Photoshoot day

-NO Workout

-Do your measurments and stats in the am

-you can have a cup of coffee

-No water or carbs until after the shoot

-Put another coat of tanner on

-Do your hair

-Over do your make up make sure you have some that will make your face a little tanner looking. What I use is a face bronzer, and 1 shade darker makeup for photoshoots. You may want to practice with this before hand.

Have fun!!

Bring music

(have a glass of wine)

Afterward

Eat and drink a lot!!!

 

Eat up, drink lots of H20, and enjoy

your

FIRE

Crackin’

HOT

Body!

The Key to your Motivation is to Encourage others!

garage fitness

Well, I’ve been lax on posting, but I have been working out.  ACTUALLY I feel like I’ve finally turned the corner on my energy levels since being sick in August/September, YAY!!
I felt so good yesterday that I attacked my garage– 5 hours later I am pretty much at a half done point. Now I need to load up about 15 boxes of clothes and other items to donate. AND I also want to move my 80+boxes of supplements into my daughters closet so I can finally make some progress on getting my home gym moved into the garage!
I had no official workout on Sun or Mon but I am SORE.  My upper body especially from all the hauling and moving, etc…

Today it’s raining– the plan is to get some online work done and workout for sure. I am due for a run, but will choose to lift legs instead– gotta keep building my booty, ha!!

 

Oh and fun news…my movie is finally availiable to rent or buy

 

here’s the link to where you can rent or buy my movie download~ https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thephoneintheattic

Planning a NO EAT November, lol!

Oh my!! after a couple days of out of control in the food arena, I feel like NOT EATING all of November!

 

Not seriously, but seriously…I need to get serious!

 

Okay, so the FCH contest seems to be a BUST. I think we have about 2 or 3 people who’ve been engaged in it since the first week.  Not sure why?? But my guess is that no one seems to be able to login to the Rally Room on their phone??

 

Anyway…that really makes me question the future of this area??  BUT, I’ll hold off any decisions to change it until after the new year.  Our hosting company is creating a new mobile friendly upgrade and I may look into getting an app for simply logging into the area.

 

Now to recap my workouts–

Yesterday was a non-workout day

Tues- upper body- mostly back/shoulders/biceps

Monday- legs

 

and literally I have done no cardio all week. Not even a run, my last one was Saturday.  Had some rain and intentions to run on Tues, but time and BOOSTING hormones seem to have derailed those thoughts, lol!

 

Today, I feel like lifting– so I’ll lift- chest/tris and hit the trail for a run!! I can do it!!

 

I had a really fun day with my Layla yesterday…went to town shopping, got my nails done, went to the Wal-Mart, Then had her eye appt…she’s legally blind in her left eye even with glasses, but yesterday at her exam they lowered her prescription!! That’s the second time in a year they’ve done that!! So she’s seeing better all the time!! YAY!!

After the appt, we had pizza and then headed home.  We were both exhausted after the day.

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