Saturday Fun

Yaaayyy taking Nolan to his first hockey game.   His elementary school's chorus is singing at the Islander's game tonight (he's not singing though, he's not old enough for chorus yet).  Usually I would tailgate and drink, but since it is a family event and I am running a 5k tomorrow morning, I'll be abstaining tonight.  Hubs and I actually went to an Isle's game last Saturday and I drank wayy wayyy too much, so I'm happy I have the 5k tomorrow to keep me in check :)  I am super nervous about the race though!

Edited to add: 

Islander's Goalie Rick Dipietro gave Nolan a practice puck during pre-game warm-ups :)

Bikini Body Move #3 - Bodyweight (Air) Squats

Since I am determined to have a "Daisy Duke Booty" by summer I figured I'd better add squats to my routine.  I have in the past avoided them because I kinda lack the flexibility to do "pretty" full-range of motion squats and I've stuck with lunges where I have much better form.  Buttt . . . the only way to get better at something is to work on it, so I am committing myself to perfecting my squat.  Aside from giving me a boootiful behind this should also help increase my flexibility.  I'm not even going for high reps or weighted squats right now, I'm working on getting lower into the squat and keeping my back straighter.  Besides if I'm going to fulfill my goal of personal training I best be able to perform a good form squat! How can I show others how to do it if I can't do it myself :?

So I took A LOT  of video of me squatting :D and I looked up some professional videos, critiqued myself try to improve my form, more video . . .   First I am going to post a seriously awesome video I found plus its got some eye candy :)  Then there is my best squats which aren't so pretty, and that should tell you a lot about the previous ones I taped =X.

If you want really good instruction on how to do a bodyweight squat watch this:



That one guy makes them look soooo easy, gaahhh I'm jealous but also motivated :)

And below is my video:



Song: "Memory" by Sugarcult

My critiques: I am leaning wayyy forward and I am not getting low enough, but with my current flexibility level that's about the best I can do.  When I try to go lower I get totally off balance and fall over.   I'm going to tryout squats while being supported by a medicine ball against a wall, maybe I can get deeper into it that way.  I would like to add some weight to these once I am comfortable with the basic bodyweight squat.

Hopefully this post will help you improve your squat form and/ or inspire you to add them to your repertoire :)

End of Week #3 Stats~

I think I could have done a bit better this week, but the past two days I did very well with eating/exercise.  I'm down half a pound, I would have liked a full pound, I am very excited to be below 124 though.  That's kinda my comfort zone, over 124 and I start to feel less confident in my body and my clothes get tight.  Also 1/2 inch of my waist :D and 1/4 in from my upper thighs, all in all not bad.  

Overall i've lost 2 lbs in 3 weeks, not earth shattering but I am only 5-7 lbs away from goal now. Once I get there I am going to concentrate on getting a bit more cut.  Actually I may try to lose more body fat at goal weight first so I might go below 116 at first but then put a little back on as lean muscle.

  

Week 3:

                       

                       Height   ~ 5'4"
                     Starting  ~ 125.5

                 Last Week   ~ 124

                      Current  ~ 123.5     

                         Goal   ~ 116-118

                      

                         First Week     Last Week     This Week

              Waist ~      27 in           26.5 in          26 in

                Hips ~      36 in             36 in           36 in 

              Thigh ~  20.75 in        20.75 in         20.5 in 

This Sunday is my 5k race, I'm nervous because I want to run a good time but I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself.  I haven't run a race in over a year and the one I am running is very hilly so I'm trying to get into the mindset of enjoying the race and giving my best effort without the emphasize of a goal time.  Honestly I have no idea of what I am capable of running right now so setting a goal time is kinda pointless.  I will see what I can run now and use it as a baseline to improve upon throughout the year.  

Ran for 35 mins. today, but I was super sore/tired from yesterday's hour run and resistance training.

Motivational Song Quote of the Day:  "Keep your head up, the colors are beautiful. When they say give up, turn up your radio"  ~ Head Up by Sugarcult

Song below:

"Your dreams are more than worth defending"

That was a quote from one of the songs on my run today, which was an hour long!  I haven't run for an hour in over a year, it felt great :D  It's another gorgeous fall day so I ran to the park, explored for 40 minutes and got my head straightened out.  Suffice to say I am feeling majorly de-funked today.  I'm planning to do some good resistance training in a bit.

I found a new motivational (goal) picture:

I know Daisy Dukes Jessica Simpson is kinda cliche, but there is an obvious reason for it, she looks smoking hot!!  She had the perfect amount of muscle tone, you can see it but it is not over done.  I think this is a do-able goal for me since we are approx. the same height/shape (ie: I wouldn't aim to look like a 6 ft supermodel) and she does not look too thin just really fit!  I don't quite have her chest but if I can achieve the rest of this look I don't even care ;)

My next bikini body move is going to be squats I believe, b/c that is an essential exercise to getting Jessica's Daisy Duke booty!

Updated stats tomorrow. . .

Edited to add: I wrote this post before I read another blog with a similar idea today.  Her post asked us to find a picture of your inspiration and then link up with it.   Sooo. . . here is the post and now I can link up :)

Also I posted these pics in my very first post, they are pictures of myself at a time when I felt that I was in good shape/at a good weight and they are also part of my inspiration.  Although at this point I  think know I can surpass that and get a bit more muscle tone by bikini time :D

Ehhh...

I'm in a funk. . . I can't quite describe it.  I'm just not feeling good about myself and it is leading me to be very unproductive.  I just uploaded some summer pics today though and maybe they will cheer me up. . . or maybe they will just make me miss summer more :/

                                          Nolan standing in for the wooden post

Finally getting brave enough to go in the ocean

Why can't every day be like this??? 

End of Week #2 Stats~

This week I ate good (aside from the wknd) and had some really great workouts and it showed in my weigh-in and progress pics today.  I dropped 1lb, lost 1/2 inch of my waist, and I feel great :)


                        Height ~ 5'4"
                     Starting  ~ 125.5
                 Last Week  ~ 125
                      Current  ~  124     
                         Goal   ~ 116-118

                      
                       Last Week     This Week
              Waist ~ 27 in             26.5 in  
                Hips ~ 36 in                36 in
              Thigh ~ 20.75 in        20.75 in


Pictures:

I'm noticing a nice little line forming (thank you planks!)

I'd like to lose a little bulk from the side.

Other progress: I looked up some personal training certifications, I think I am going to go for the ACE certification(s) first. Anyone with a training background have any advice on this?

Workouts for 10/5 & 10/6

Tuesday's Workout:
I've been so into my interval workouts that I've kinda neglected longer runs.  I realized that since I am running a 5k in two weeks I should at least run a few 3-4 milers.  Yesterday I ran on the treadmill and I always have trouble running any kind of distance on it because I don't pace myself well.  I will think a certain pace feels too easy and I want to push myself more, than I end up running at a speed that I can't hold and tire myself out quickly.

Sooo I made myself run the first mile at 9:00-9:30 pace, which did feel very easy. As soon as mile #2 started I bumped it up to around 8:30 and increasing to 8:00 by the end of the mile .  At this point I was getting a little tired not having run much distance lately but I held 8:00 pace sometimes pushing it under  and even under 7:30.  I was really dying at the end but I kicked the last 1/10th of a mile in at 6:50ish pace, if only to get to 3 miles sooner  :)  My total time ended up being 25:30 but I that includes the first minute when I was walking to warm-up and gradually increased to a run.  All in all not bad but it did feel harder near the end then I would have liked.  Negative splits make me happy though :D

At night did a few planks, some push-ups, played around with a light (5lbs lol) kettlebell my bro got me for christmas (I think i'm going to purchase some heavier ones soon).



Wednesday's Workout:

Today I decided to take a little pressure off myself, since I get so caught up in the #'s on the treadmill.  It was absolutely gorgeous out today, perfect fall weather, which always reminds me of H.S./ college XC.  So I took to the street and ran outside with no set distance, I just planned to run for 30-ish minutes.  I ran 10 mins. to a nearby state park, 10 mins. in the park and 10 mins. back.  It was such a peaceful, stress reducing run, it has been raining a lot the past week so today was a very nice change.

When I got back I threw in 10 mins. of jump roping, not consecutive though, i'm working my way up jump roping is hard!  Going to do some bodyweight exercises later on.

Getting a decent jump rope shot is hard, especially with no photographer :p 

Weigh-in and measurements tomorrow plus progress pictures, I think it's going to be a good weigh-in :D