Roni's Weigh » workout

My Pregnancy Training Plan

roni — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:29:00 +0000

I mentioned a lack of motivation in this week’s pregnancy video update and you guys totally gave me a shot of motivation in the comments…

One thing I have to mention on having a goal to keep you motivated: you a training for delivering a baby. Every little bit you do now will help with labor and recovery.
-Jenn

You mentioned what motivates you in terms of exercise is training for the next thing… You’re training for the ultimate endurance competition known to man… labor and delivery!!! Does that help to motivate you? The only time I’ve ever been consistent with exercise was while pregnant because I knew labor and delivery was going to be hard work! :)
-Valerie

-As far as the exercise goes, think of it this way–you ARE training for something–Labor and Delivery! The ultimate event to train for.
-Amanda

You guys are totally right! I just needed to look at it in a different way. So just like when I start to train for an event, I’m creating a training schedule for my pregnancy! Nothing too crazy but something just to keep me motivated over the next 4 months, because honestly, I really lost almost all my desire to get out there. It’s all mental for me. It really is.

So here goes.

Sunday

Break. I try to be super active on Sundays in other ways so my goals is simply to make it Sensational!

Monday

Gym Day. There are two classes at the gym that I like. Power Flex and Step. They are back to back. Not sure I’ll do both each week but my goal is to at least one. I’ve scheduled the block of time in my calender and set it to repeat. This helps seal the deal for me.

Tuesday

Rest Day

Wednesday

Run/walk. Or maybe I should call it a jog at this point. ;) My plan is just to get out there. Cover 3 miles, whether I walk, jog or run. It really doesn’t matter. I realize it’s going to be getting colder and colder but I like the time outside. I almost feel I NEED the time outside.

Thursday

Home Routine. See below schedule.

Friday

Rest Day

Saturday

Boot Camp! It’s a pretty strenuous workout but I’m invested in this class. I love the other members. They all know I’m pregnant and I just go at my own individual pace. I look forward to starting my weekend with this workout every Saturday. Plus it’s right next to Trader Joe’s! So I get to grab a few staples while I’m there. :)

The Home Routine

I’ve come up with 3 excercies that I can easily do at home. I’m thinking of doing it like a circuit. 3 sets of 15 each.

Kegel Bridges

A Kegel is the exercise most recommended for pregnant women. It strengthens the pelvic floor muscles easing some discomforts of late pregnancy.

Kegels are done by contracting the pelvic floor muscles (like you are trying to stop the flow of urine.)

A bridge is a completely different exercise that strengthens your core and gluts…

My plan is to combine these two exercises. I used to do a LOT of bridges. It’s an exercise my old trainer loved. They are non-impact and easy for me to do with my growing midsection.

Squats with Biceps and Shoulders

Squats work your glutes, calves and thighs and are helpful during labour as squatting opens the pelvic outlet an extra quarter inch. I’m not sure I’ll be squatting in the hospital but I’d rather be prepared to do so if I have to.

Combined with the basic squat I will be adding some basic arm exercises. Bicep curls and shoulder raises with 5 lbs weights. I like to kill two birds with one stone. :)

Here’s the basic squat…

And a basic bicep curl with Shoulder press

Counter Pushups

I can still do a few pushups but as my mid section grows I’m not sure it’s a good idea. So I’ll be switching to counter pushups.

That’s it! I’m already motivated just writing it all out! I just ate my yummy oatmeal breakfast (this to be exact,) put little guy on the bus and now it’s time to give my home routine a go!

Resources: Parents.com & the YouTube videos I found as demos

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Ask Roni _v39 – Weight Loss and Relationships, Bored While Working Out, FLORE, My Fast Weight Loss

roni — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:06:16 +0000

I had ALL intentions on posting this yesterday however my body had a different plan. I totally crashed at 8:30 PM. Sad, I know but I put little guy to bed and then fell asleep. My body must have needed as I slept soundly until 6:30 this morning and now I feel FABULOUS! :) Anyway.. sorry I’m a little late.

Topics covered in this weeks video….

How did losing weight effect my relationship with the husband
Getting into the mindset to workout and not getting bored
What the heck is FLORE?
What kind of exercise did I do to lose 30lbs in 30 days?

Podcast Version/Audio Only

Links Mentioned in the video…

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My Motivation Turn Workout Partner

roni — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:36:03 +0000

Those that have been reading for awhile know how much having "the toddler" changed me. Giving birth was eye opening on so many levels. It affected how I look at my body and how I choose to live my life. It changed my career path and even made me, ME, a morning person. I’m not sure I’d be the same today with out my little guy. Actually, I am sure of it… I wouldn’t be.

Well I’m coming to the realization that my ultimate motivation is growing up and as mom learns how to deal with losing her toddler, he is enthusiastically following her healthy lead. From telling the husband he drinks too much soda to asking me if his graham crackers are a healthy choice for snack, he’s aware, before the age of 4, that some foods are "treats" and others give you energy to be healthy and happy.

Don’t worry. He’s is far from being obsessed. With his love of candy and fathers influence I’m happy to say his diet is not perfect. It’s a lot like mine, overall good healthy whole foods with a dash of processed sugar laden treats. Everything in moderation, right? :) What can I say when you have a child who eats like this…

and this…

(both pics taken May 2007)

…you don’t mind saying yes to a Sweedish fish now and then. Not to mention our occasional trip to the local candy store were we each get to pick out one thing. :)

But his diet isn’t what I’m most proud of. Nope. It’s his love of activity and interest in exercise. Today after my morning run he asked for the iPod and then proceeded to run laps around the house for 20 minutes. I can’t help but think my involving him in my runs, bringing him to races and celebrating my accomplishments has had a *wee* bit of influence. ;~)

He also loves taking walks, enjoys his sports class and, when I brought home a new yoga mat the other day, was SO excited I had to show him a few moves.

Again, those that have been reading awhile know I have a tear writing this. I have 3 more weeks until the toddler turns 4. People told me it would go too fast, and I listened. I soaked up every possible moment of baby and toddler-ness I could and as my motivation turns into my workout partner I can’t help but look ahead with curious anticipation as we continue to grow, learn and live a healthy life together.

P.S. YES I know I can’t call him “the toddler” anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll be having a poll on his birthday as to what his new title should be. Whould you expect anything less? ;~P

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Beginner Treadmill Workout (with a detour)

roni — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:51:13 +0000

Most of you know my workout history, right? I mention it on my Workout Progress page (which I’m not updating as much as I should). It’s a very summarized version of my personal workout history but if you look at a stream of old posts since starting this blog you’ll get a pretty good picture of my progression these last 3 years.

If you look at my oldest archives (2005-2006) I never mention the "E" word as I wasn’t really exercising. However you can see it old comments that people were curious.
Then October 10, 2006 I recognize the need for more structured workouts. That’s over 6 months after I reached my goal weight.
December 31, 2006 I finally answered the workout question. Didn’t I have anything better to do on New Year’s Eve??? :~P
By July of the next year I was "Thinking About… IT". Is it bad that I crack my self up? ;~P LOL
Within 2 months I was calling myself a Gym Rat!
By November 2007 I was starting to really notice changes in my body from working out and I talk about my stamina increasing.
In March the Running started and I shocked myself with my nre love of long workouts.
Unbelievable, by April of this year people were asking me about Exercise Motivation. ME?!?
June I ran my first ever 5k race!
In August I proclaim my love for Weight Training and dispel some myths.
And of course, most of you know about my recent relay run and pull up brag.

I didn’t plan on sharing all of this with you but when I sat down to write up a simple treadmill routine my trainer had me do the other day I was inspired. Not by the workout itself as much as my mindset while doing it.

Let me explain.

The trainer plops me on the machine and tells me what to do. Then he walks away. At first I was like… "NOOO Don’t leave me. I’m going to be bored. There’s no way I can finish this alone. Especially without my iPod!" Then I realized that was "Old Roni" talking. I could SO do this. I’ve done it and I’m doing it! Then I start thinking (you guys probably hate it when that happens ;~P) Thinking about how far I’ve come and how much I used to LOATHE getting on this stupid gerbil wheel. How a year and half ago I’d be lucky to walk for 5 minutes before wanting to kill myself out of boredom.

Now look at me. For Pete’s sake, who have I become?!? Some crazed workout obsessed women that almost had a cow because she had to move her gym date to meet with a client. (I’m serious, that just happened and I’m pissed). LOL

In all seriousness, I want to shake everyone who wants to lose weight and get fit and tell them it IS POSSIBLE! You just need to do the work and make it a priority. For me it was a slow progression. I think that’s key. You can’t expect to be MizFit overnight! It takes hard work and dedication (I’m sure she’ll tell you the same ;~P). It takes doing what you can, when you can and recognizing that perfection isn’t worth it. But being good to your body and your soul is.

Ok, I TOTALLY took a detour from the point of this post. Sorry. You guys probably think I’m nuts. Who am I kidding, I am. :~)

Finally here’s the workout! This is for the beginners out there. All the "Old Roni’s" who think they can’t do it. The ones who can’t last more the 5 minutes on the treadmill without getting bored.

The idea is to change it up every minute by increasing the incline and speed and then stepping back down. For me, the fact that every minute I’m changing something seems to help. Although it has you looking at the screen all the time which can make it seem slow. I guess it depends on the type of person you are. :~) I like to be "doing something".

By the end of this you’ll get a nice 25 minute walk in. Try to lose yourself in it. Reflect on your day, jam out to your favorite tunes, watch a little TV. Whatever it takes! You deserve 25 minutes to do something nice for yourself, don’t you?

Time	Incline	Speed	Notes
0	0	3	Start by just getting up to speed.
1	1	3.1	Every minute we’ll be upping the incline and the pace (just by a tiny bit)
2	2	3.2
3	3	3.3
4	4	3.4
5	5	3.5
6	6	3.6	You made it past 5 minutes.. WHoo HOO! LOL
7	7	3.7
8	8	3.8
9	9	3.9
10	10	3.9	Once you get to 10 keep speed the same, this is a walking routine, you don’t want to go much faster – unless you want to that is!
11	11	3.9
12	12	3.9	Once you hit 13… start backing it back down.
13	11	3.8	Notice the speed will always equal the incline 11 = 8 + 3 — These are they types of things that my brain get’s preoccupied with. LOL
14	10	3.7
15	9	3.6
16	8	3.5
17	7	3.4
18	6	3.3
19	5	3.2
20	4	3.1	20 minutes already! You just need to cruise to the end now. :~)
21	3	3.0
22	2	2.9
23	1	2.8
24	0	2.7	Your DONE! Lasted 25 minutes, NO?!? Now pat yourself on the back! You did it for YOU! :~)

Note: I’m not a trainer, a doctor or a even a nurse. If you kill yourself by doing this routine it’s on you. ;~P Maybe that’ll teach you not to listen to crazy people on the internet.

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Wacky Wednesday Workout Day

roni — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:15:10 +0000

Call me crazy. Go ahead, but man I feel great! Two boot camps, a weight training session and I climbed the wall, twice (once alone and then again after the toddler asked if he could watch.)

The real wacky part of this… I LOVED every minute of it! I’m really starting to subscribe to a "body in motion tends to stay in motion" mind set. The more I move the more I want to move! It actually kind of makes sense. When I was at rest I tended to stay a rest, now didn’t I?

Anyway, now I need SLEEP!

Food	Points
100% Whole Grain Pancakes made with blueberries	3
Poor Man’s Egg “Salad” Sandwich and a slice of leftover ham	5
banana	2
Fit & Active yogurt	2
granola bar	2
Kid Size Frosty with the toddler at Wedny’s	3
homemade chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun with a slice of provalone and a side of sugar snap peas	7
homemade nachos with baked blue corn chips, 1 oz cheese and salsa	5
dry cinnamon toast crunch knock off – I wanted something sweet and I grabbed the box – BAD idea (guessing 2 servings)	6
Total :	35
Activity
2 boot camps and 2 wall climbs an upper body weights

Want a food journal like this for your blog? Try the table generator.

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Do you Workout on Vacation?

roni — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:23:25 +0000

For some of us that concept may seem like an oxymoron. At least it did for me for YEARS! Working out is work so NO I don’t workout on vacation. Right?

Not any more, now, I actually look forward to checking out the workout rooms at my hotels or jogging on a new terrain, even doing lapse in a hotel pool. These things have become part of my way to unwind and relax! Even giving me, ‘me’ time on vacation when I’m with the family. Because all of us moms know, you never get a vacation from being a mom. ;~P

So I’m curious. Is my new found love of exercising while away common? Do you workout on vacation and if you do, have you always?

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My Favorite Bootcamp Workout (so far)

roni — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:14:40 +0000

I think I mentioned this last week, but I’ll say it again, my new favorite gym workout is BOOTCAMP! Seriously, it’s fun. We do a variety of activities, it’s different every class and the girls there are so nice.

So far out of of all the things we’ve done (I’ve only been to three classes mind you) I found the push/crunch routine the coolest. Here’s the deal…

Start with 10 push-ups (any way you can do them – Challenge yourself!)
Then do 10 crunches
Then 8 push-ups
8 crunches
6 push-ups
6 crunches
4 push-ups
4 crunches
2 push-ups
2 crunches

The fact that you do less and less each time gives you a such a sense of accomplishment because it gets easier and easier but at the end you’ve done 30 push ups and 30 sit ups! Too easy? Start at 14, or 20! Want even more variation? do different types of crunches each time it’s “crunch” time.

Try it and let me know what you think!

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Killer Ab Workout

roni — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Tonight (after mustering enough energy to get out of the door) I hit a cardio kickboxing class. The instructor always ends with 15 minutes of ab work and tonight she did such a simple effective routine I have to share. I still feel like I have a rock in the pit of my stomach!

Ok so here’s the routine… (I’ll link to the a description of the exercises as they do a much better job of describing and illustrating then I ever will!)

Start with 10 Reverse Sit Ups
Then 10 Basic Crunches
Then do 10 of them together (aka a Full Crunch)
The end with a Modified Plank for as long as you can hold it (at least 10 seconds)
Rinse and Repeat 3 TIMES!

It’s so simple and the exercises varied enough I didn’t get board. Midway through the second set my stomach muscles were on fire! Try it and let me know what you think.

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Aren’t You Worth It?

roni — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:14:00 +0000

It’s Sunday isn’t it? That’s right, a Sensation Sunday!

I finally dragged my butt to a meeting. My schedule has been pretty tight the last few weeks and the meeting times weren’t jiving with my schedule. But that’s no excuse. I need to go. I like to go. So I’m making a commitment to go Sunday mornings before I hit the gym. That means getting up a but earlier but it’s worth it. I’m worth it.

I’m also worth my trips to the gym and boy am I LOVING the gym right now. I had a NSV (Non Scale Victory) today on the treadmill. First, I’ve graduated to jogging a bit. I’m not saying I’ll be running any marathons anytime soon but I’ve upped the intensity of my walking workouts and now I add a few minutes of jogging to the routine. It’s tough but I can feel my stamina increasing every time I try it. The first time I tried, I only lasted about 2 minutes. Today I did 2 – 4 minutes stretches. Not too shabby considering 3 months ago I could hardly walk for 5 minutes without wanting to blow my brains out of boredom. What happened in those 3 months? I changed my attitude around. Instead of considering exercise a chore I now realize it’s a my gift to myself and guess what? I’m worth it!

Back to the NSV (although I guess that’s one too!) while on that treadmill I happened to look down at my legs. I was wearing shorts and I noticed something, something quite shocking to me. My upper thighs were jiggling a lot less! I mean they was still jiggle there but behind the jiggle, I can see the definition of muscle. I CAN NOT BE-LIEVE IT there is muscle under there!My workouts are paying off!

All right, that was all the good news but I do have some bad. My eating has been a bit on the over indulgent side. Not out of control just a bit over points on the unhealthy stuff, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookies, chips, leftover Halloween candy. . I think this coupled with my lack of attending meetings is to blame on my small gain this week. What am I saying, of course it is! I updated my weight progress and if you look at this years chart, it’s a bit of incline. That’s a little scary for me especially considering the holidays coming up.

I feel like the eating thing is still a struggle and I’m sure it always will be. There are still times I feel a little out of control but I know what I need to do to and I know I’m worth it. So my question to you is…

Aren’t you worth it too?

Other quick news points I need to tell you…

I’ve been working my butt of on my new food blog and I may be ready to go live soon. I have 2 new food ideas to post from this weekend but I may save them for the new blog if I can work out the last few bugs this week.
I’ve posted a few times on my DietDetective blog and forgot to tell you.
I had some friends over for a playdate/dinner tonight and made them my Roni’s Homemade sauce with Meat. I love cooking for other people. The funny thing is I never realize how “overly healthy” I try to cook until people start asking me questions about my food. Is this turkey sausage? You used pumpkin is this? It just makes me laugh as I assume everyone cooks like me. LOL
I just want to give a shout out to my Aunt Helen and Uncle Al. Mom said you’ve been reading!

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The Making of a Gym Rat

roni — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:34:00 +0000

I thought I would take some time to write about my newfound hobby, working out.

I can’t stress enough how much I loathed working out in the past. I mean it, really, I hated it. Nothing gave me less pleasure them exercise. Nothing. Of course, I went through all the cycles of motivation and set unrealistic goals for myself in the past. I remember saying I would get up an hour early every morning and jog. I would do it once and then decide I had enough. I would get all gung ho, join a gym, waste the money and never go. I bought exercise equipment that became permanent fixtures and drying racks for my clothes.

Fast forward to today…

Tonight I went to the gym, brought my book, set the bike for 25 minutes, and when time ran out I actually kept going. After 30 minutes on the bike, I hit the nautilus machines and worked out my lower body. Then the wall, that large confidence-building monstrosity was calling my name. I attempt the inclined side, fell flat on my face, and then got back up to climb the easy side for practice (mark my words I WILL climb that incline and make it to the top to ring that stupid bell, it’s a personal goal). I left with my head held up high, my arms shaking and a sense of accomplishment.

So how did this happen? How does a self-proclaimed exercise hater become a gym rat?

The answer might surprise you.

S-L-O-W-L-Y

Seriously, it’s a journey, just like dieting. You can’t expect to lose weight overnight. You can’t expect to change all of you eating habits overnight. And you can’t expect to change your views of exercise overnight. It’s just not possible. It takes small consistent changes that you can live with and incorporate into your life easily.

I started by making a commitment to shut off the TV on weekends and get outside. That soon turned to taking after dinner walks. I made my stay active “rules” like taking the stairs, parking far away and dancing with the toddler. Soon my dance sessions increased and my walks became more frequent. Then I started doing some organized exercise routines before bed using small hand weights. Finally, I joined the “Y” and now I’m at a point that can’t live without it. The gym is my escape, my time. Two years ago if you have told me that my free time would be spent at a gym I would have said you were crazy. I started my weight loss journey (this successful one, at least) June 2005, that is over 2 years ago and I just started going to the gym 6 weeks ago.

All right, I didn’t plan on such a long post tonight. I was inspired by my awesome work out tonight and I wanted to reflect. I still can’t believe I love the gym! I just can’t believe it!

Food	Points
Morning Scale Reading: 144
Cheerios with 1/2 banana and 4 oz of skim milk	4
Kashi Granola Bar	2
bowl of stuff I made for lunches this week – whole wheat pasta, ground turkey , peas in "They don’t know what’s in there" Pizza Sauce (estimate)	5
small bag of popcorn	2
Crispy Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with a side of 1 Point All Purpose Veggie Filling and some brown rice	9
8oz light flavored yogurt	2
Totals	24
Daily Activity Log
30 minutes on the bike – lower body circuit – Climbed the WALL!

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