My quads and glutes are VERY sore today. I did six sets of deep squats yesterday, standing on blocks with a 44lb kettlebell. The soreness didn't bother me when I was working out this morning; maybe the Turkish Getups contributed to it! I'm trying to decide what I want to do tomorrow. I like a weights workout on Thursdays and I am enjoying how great I feel all day when I get up and get in a good workout first thing. It's taken me awhile to get used to that but it now sets the tone for my day.

Doing really well with my diet except that I'm sure I'm not eating enough vegetables!  ¶ 4:15 PM 0 Comments

  Excellent morning workout I feel great! Trainer tomorrow then Wed Thurs Fri I will do the stairs, Kb swings and squats, and an abs superset. if I add pushups I have to manage arm and shoulder fatigue. I will plan my abs sets tonight.

Wednesday
plank rows 10lbs/Swiss ball crunches

Thursday
Reverse crunches/Swiss ball jackknife

Friday
bicycles/hanging leg lifts  ¶ 7:10 AM 0 Comments

  I struggled through the week with a serious sleep deficit. I kept on track pretty well with my diet. I don't always eat everything I should. I'd have the protein and I just didn't feel like having any salad or vegetables and I need to improve that. I did feel pretty strong though! I benched the 45lb dumbbells which is the max weight of my adjustable PowerBlocks. It was not too long ago I couldn't handle 35lbs. I can easily do three sets at 45lbs. This isn't about just getting better at something with practice, I have to be developing more muscle mass! I've been able to swing 54lb kettlebells single handed. But I need more practice on that Turkish Getup on my left side!!

Tomorrow is cheat meal day! I will try not to feel guilty.  ¶ 7:08 PM 0 Comments

  A week later and oh man I have really been struggling! My work schedule has been extremely demanding. I was at a trade show all weekend and preparing for it the week before. Plus I finished a whole website for my company in about two weeks. I still have two extremely large projects looming over my head and it gets to feeling very overwhelming.

I am doing pretty good with my diet. Setting up my day's food the night before is working, being mindful of the times I need to eat is working. I am eating beef once a day; I just can't handle chicken for awhile!! Oats for my carbs in the early morning only. Salad and high fiber vegetables at one to two meals.

I was a little low energy at my training this morning and my knees were very sticky!

My Early Morning Workout for the next three days:

10 Turkish Getups, 5 on each side. 20lbs.

15 Sumo squats & 20 one-hand swings, 3 sets. 40lbs.

10-15 dumbbell curls 20lbs & tricep pulldowns with the band, 3 sets

5 push ups & 10 reverse crunches, 3 sets

Get out on the stairs for one lap of The Tower in INTERVALS, climb as fast as I can!  ¶ 9:45 PM 0 Comments

  I've developed a negative attitude about the stair-climbing cardio because it's just so darned monotonous! But it's the perfect cardio, I need to do it!! Instead of dreading four laps of The Tower I'm going to do one to two and add in about a half hour of kettlebell/abs work. So this morning I started out with four sets of swings (my heaviest kettlebell is not heavy enough anymore) and ten Turkish Getups with 20lbs. They are still a bit of a challenge, especially on my left side where I am a bit weaker and less coordinated. Three sets of planks lifting 10lb dumbbells and alternating with push ups, just because!

I was intending to do two laps of The Tower but I ended up doing just one. I started out climbing really fast. And I just kept going. I climbed really hard. It started to get to me in the 40s but by then I could talk myself into maintaining the pace, I was so close to the top. I think I did it in about 7 or 8 minutes! I was as sweaty as I am after three laps and really, really winded which I never am. So that was something a bit different. I'm thinking maybe I will see if I can get faster and faster and add in more floors as I improve. Gotta change it up SOMEHOW!!! I will continue to do a weights workout at home on Thursdays.  ¶ 8:31 AM 0 Comments

  My first week on this program did not get off to a good start. I had a HELLACIOUS work schedule including a day trip out of town and that never fails to throw me off severely. I am feeling hunger more often which confuses me a bit and I am experiencing some severe carb cravings that I found quite bothersome. I had trouble managing my energy level this week as I ended up running a serious sleep deficit that had me completely wiped out by Thursday. I made it out to the stairs only ONE MORNING last week and I am upset about that!!

I am working to bring everything back under control. I am home today and trying to convince myself it's OK to take the day off from working. I put in a full day at the office yesterday to get one project finished so that I could start a new one. TOMORROW. It's very difficult for me to set it aside. It's a gloomy gray day in Chicago and I think I should just poke around the house and do little, low-energy things, lay around and waste time, play Mafia Wars, go for a bit of a walk, whatever I want to for a break. I have such a hard time letting go of things, even for a day.

I am a bit sore across my chest today which is something new. Yesterday my trainer had me do a lot of "floor presses." Lay on the floor instead of a bench to do presses so that your range of motion is limited. Maybe that's what did it?

I have perfected crockpot steel-cut oatmeal after much trial and error! You know that stuff's hard to make but it's so great! Who has time to cook oatmeal for a half hour in the morning! I have a tiny crockpot from Target. Ten bucks, it's a quart and a half or something I think. Half-cup of McCann's steel cut, 2 cups of water. Crock it for four hours. I put it on a timer to be done and switch off at the time I will be ready for breakfast. It's more than I want to make but smaller quantities did not work well. This is the minimum quantity that's gotten the correct results. I add in a scoop of vanilla protein, a scoop of Benefiber, Sweet n' Low, cinnamon and a splash of milk as the powders thicken it up. Great, freshly made and super low effort!  ¶ 12:31 PM 0 Comments