Week 1

A week ago today I made a decision to start fresh. To go back to the basics concerning my diet and my exercise routines. What a week it has been. 

Monday - Wednesday I started changing my diet. I was eating lean meats plenty of veggies, and minimal carbs and fats.  I kicked up the workouts a notch or two as well. I was feeling pretty good by the end of Wednesday. However, I could tell that something else was needed. 

I am very skeptical about any diet that seems to be a fad. I hate the energy drinks you see lining the grocery store aisles. So, I did a lot of research before taking this jump.... 

I started the AdvoCare 24 day challenge.

It is a very strict diet, with a full line of supplements to go along with it. I have committed to sticking to this diet,100%. 

Did I mention that I normally HATE fad diets,or dieting in general? I am usually grumpy within 12 hours of the start of a diet. I hate the initial weigh in. I hate the hunger pains. I hate feeling drained, because I'm eating less. 

I woke up Thursday morning, and did the initial weigh in. I am sad to say that I am checking in at 155... A 20 pound gain in the 5 years since I went back to teaching/tutoring 5 days a week. After weighing myself, I drank my first Spark, and was pleasantly surprised with the taste. 30 minutes later, I drank my fiber drink. I knew it wasn't going to be delicious... And it wasn't. It is a fiber drink... But I didn't gag, so it could be worse. Lol. Then I packed my lunch box with my lean meats, veggies, and fruit. 

By noon I was sure I was going to regret this new challenge. However, I felt better than I have felt in years. I had energy, I wasn't hungry, my normal mid-day headache was missing, and I definitely wasn't ready to quit or regretting this challenge. By the time I made it to my workout I still had energy. I did Maxwell Doubles. I hit more reps each round than I ever have. In fact Clark was shocked... I was matching his numbers. 

It is now Monday. I am on day 5 of the 24 day challenge. I am still feeling great. I have only felt really hungry a few times in the past few days and that was when I made the mistake and had to go over 3 hours without eating. I still have more energy than I can remember having. I haven't come home from work ready to collapse. My workouts have all been stronger. My clothes already feel like they fit better. 

I won't weigh in again until Saturday, but I promise to report back my results. 

If you are interested in AdvoCare, let me know. 

My Journey

I started this blog 5 years ago to follow my training. Over the past 5 years my training has had many ups and down.  I went from being a stay at home mom to working part time as a trainer at a woman's gym to working 3 part time jobs that had nothing to do with fitness. In the process my personal training has come in waves. These waves have caused weight gain. 

In 5 years I have put on about 20 pounds. I lost my passion for fitness and training for a while. I forgot why I spent so many years stressing to women how important it is to take care of your own body. I forgot to take care of myself. 

Over the past month I have found my passion again. Today, I am stepping back on the path to continue my journey toward health. I will begin to daily blog about my journey. I am planning on blogging my workouts and food logs. I am doing this for a few reason. First, I want to be held accountable for my actions or lack thereof. Next, I hope to motivate people. Finally, I like having a record of what I am doing. 

So.... Here we go!!  Who else is ready to be healthy again? Who is ready to eat healthy and exercise regularly to create a healthy life for yourself? Let's do this...

A little of this, a little of that....

The Mason's are continuing to get ready for Metro Dash. We are mixing up the workouts and getting in a morning workout and an evening workout every day.

Monday, June 6 - Evening

Michelle worked on Interval Running. She ran a total of 2 miles by running 800 meters then breaking. After her interval running she did a core workout:

20 side bends each side with a 36# kettlebell in hand.
20 side twists each side holding a 36 # kettlebell by the horns at the belly button.
50 full body crunches
25 Supermans

Clark did a oldie... Maxwell Doubles. If you want to know more about it, check out an old blog post: MaxwellDoubles


Tuesday June 7 - Morning

Michelle did another oldie - Louder than 10
11 rounds
5 ball slams at 25#
10 pushups
15 kettlebell swings at 44#

Clark's morning routine will come son.


Tuesday, June 7 - Evening

Clark and Michelle did a strength workout together.

- 4 sets of Clean and Press - 5 reps each arm (Michelle at 36# and Clark at 53#)
- 4 sets of Snatches - 10 reps each arm (Michelle at 36# and Clark at 53#)
- 4 sets of Pistols (1 legged squats) - 5 each leg
- 4 sets of Pushups/Body Rows and Pushups -5 pullups/body rows and 15 pushups.

Wednesday, June 8 - Morning

Clark is at the fire department - his workout will come soon and he may not be able to get two workotus in today.

Michelle did the follwing
3 rounds of each exercise for 45 seconds each
- Crunches
- Front Planks
- Right Side Plank
- Left Side Plank
- Reach Throughs
- Situps
As many rounds as possible of the following in 15 minutes
- 5 Knees to Elbows
- 10 Pushups
- 15 Squats


Wednesday, June 8 - Evening

Here is what is planned for tonight

5 rounds
- 30 seconds of burpees
- 30 seconds of squats
- 30 seconds of jumping jacks
- 30 seconds of shadow boxing
5 rounds
- Full body crunches - 15 reps
- Russian Twists - 10 reps (each side)
- Back extensions - 12 reps
- V-Ups - 15 reps
- Bicycles - 25 reps

Training for Metro Dash

The Masons are officially registered for Orlando Metro Dash...now we have to get ready to race! We have decided to get in a morning workout and an evening workout every Monday through Friday for the next two week. Saturday will be a one workout day and Sunday will be rest day.

Monday's morning workout is done. Let us know if you give either one of these a try!

Michelle did a tabata heavy bag workout. That is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds each exercise. 1 miute rest between tabata rounds.

1-2's on the left.
air squats
1-2's on the right
pushups
hook-upper cut on the left
jump rope
hook-upper cut on the right
bag kicks left leg
bag kicks right leg

This is a good 45 minute high energy workout. It is sure to get your heart going, muscles burning, and calories melting!



Clark did a tough one.

8 sets of 8 accelerating front squats at 135 pounds (if you want to know what an accelerating squat is, just ask). There was a 1 minute break between each set.

6 sets of 4 lunges (2 each leg) with a 95 pound sand bag on one shoulder and a 53 pound kettlebell in the opposite hand.

6 sets of sled drags at about 300 pounds (3 forward, 3 backward). We don't have a sled, so in all our madness we drag tires with kettlebells inside them to get the correct weight.

This is one is a lot harder than it looks.

Take your pick

Today I am going to give you three different workouts. I forgot to post Clark's workout from yesterday. So we wills tart with that one. All three are from Gym Jones.

Workout 1:

Round 1 - 3 sets

Row for 20 seconds rest for 10 seconds 4 times
5 pushups + 5 pullups as many as possible in 2 minutes
2 minutes of rest

Round 2 - 4 sets
6 100 pound sandbag cleans to one shoulder - 3 each side
12 100 pound sandbag getups - 6 each side
Rest for 2 to 3 minutes

*** Sandbag get ups start with you on the ground on your back, sandbag is over your shoulder. Get yourself to a standing position, reverse the motion, switch sides, and do it again. We will post pics soon to help you understand. ***


Workout 2 (Clark's workout from today):

Warm-up: Row at an easy pace for 10 minutes
Workout: Row for 20 seconds rest for 10 4 times
Row for 2000 meters - equivalent of 8 minutes
Closing: 5 rounds - 20 sit-ups with feet anchored + 60 second plank hold


Workout 3 (Michelle's Workout from today):
This may look familar because it is the same workout Clark did Monday.

Warm-up: 10 minutes of lunges with varying weights and carries
Round 1: 10 tire flips + 10 step ups 5 times
Round 2: 1 rope pull at body weight + 25 GHD situps 5 times


Let us know if you try any of these or if you have any questions about the workouts! We would LOVE to hear from you!

5/17

Today's workout is from http://trainforstrength.com and is one of the workouts we used to do back in Korea. It is a great workout that we forgot all about. Let us know if you give it a try!

Swings and Sprints:

10 swings each arm
30 second spring
10 pushups
10 mountain climbers
5 pull ups (substitute body rows if you can't do pull ups)
30 second sprint

Repeat the above round 5 times. However each time you repeat add 2 more reps to each of the exercies with 10 reps. So you will do 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 reps.

Today's Workout - 5/16

Today both Clark and Michelle did workouts found on Gym Jones Website.

Clark's workout was -

Warm up:
10 minutes of kettlebell lunges with various weights and carries.

5 rounds of the following:
10 tire flips
10 kettlebell steps up

5 rounds of the following:
2 kettlebell rope pulls at body weight
25 GHD sit ups

Michelle has been battling a cold for the past week. This was her first workout back at it since last Tuesday. She decided to move at a slower pace, but still got in a great workout.

5 rounds of 10 Turkish Get-ups (5 each arm)

5 rounds of 12 Windmills (6 each arm)

2 minutes of clean and press

2 minutes of swings

2 minutes of snatches

2 minutes of free-f0r-all (keep the kettlebell moving doing various movements without putting the bell down for 2 mintues).