Okay--as I reported, last month I didn't meet my lofty goals of ellipticizing 4 times a week, but doing it 3 times a week really helped. Now though, I seem to be eating to catch up with the calories I'm burning, in addition to the cramping and dreams of desert thirst. I was burning flab and increasing lung capacity & energy, but my posture and build wasn't really improving. Plus, I seemed to be burning everything except for the fat that lives in my belly, which is refusing to budge, like a bad tenant who's fighting their eviction in a long, drawn out court battle.
Sooo, I'm switching gears and putting my abs through boot camp. And I'm hitting the weights again, after a month off. Last night, I did this for the first time. I thought I was good and broken in by the intense cardio of last month, but after my leg raises, crunches, and a couple of sets on the rowing machine, I felt like I was going to meet an unspectacular death right there on the floor of Anytime Fitness. I forgot how much the heavy exertion of working with weights taxes the body.
So today, I'm feeling good. I'm a little sore, but it feels like (and I hope) I'm going to be mega-sore tonight. I have to get to where it hurts to laugh (but not so much that I avoid laughter). I need to feel this way all March long, at least to where I feel like if my abs aren't sore, then something's missing.
I just read an article about how you need to change up your routine every so often to keep challenging your body, and keep from exercising the same areas to the point of diminished results. So I'm going to do this for about 3 weeks, then replace the weights with the elliptical. I usually always have 2 things going out of abs, cardio, and weights, and just rotate one out when it gets old. I was also going to start running the lakes, but I sprained my ankle during the Spanish Town parades (for trying to walk while drunk), and it's not healing right.
I'd also like to time it to where I get back on the elliptical during the height of March Madness. So I guess, more like two weeks. I just like to watch basketball while I do cardio, b/c I think, "those guys are still running up and down the court, and they've got to be exhausted. If they can do it, I can!" Which of course, is not based on any real world logic, but it works as a motivator.
To recap--week of 4 4o's=out
Ab Fab March=in
Wish me luck!
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2 comments:
Good luck! And it's true-mixing it up helps a ton. And doing weights and cardio together will create some major results! Here's something else to try when you are bored: Do 3 or 4 different cardio machines for 10 minutes each at high intensity. Like the elliptical, bike, stairmaster, rowing machine. Or something like that. Also, if you sneak cardio in while you are doing your weights (like jumping jacks or jump rope between each set or something) you get a good workout too and minimize your time in the gym. Which I am all about.
I hope this comes off as helpful and not know it all-y. I have just read several hundred magazines and articles on working out. OK. Maybe that is an exaggeration. But maybe it is not.
Thanks, Cristin! I LOVE nerding out on this stuff, I want all the info & fun tips I can get. I'd hate to see all that article reading go to waste. I am still in the dark, or don't know what to trust about a lot of stuff. I've been hoping I would know someone who could help me out with that--maybe you could post some random tips on here from time to time if you feel like it. Anyway, I like those ideas a lot, and will definitely try it sometime.
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