Are you ready for it? Okay, but don't laugh if you're an over-acheiver.
I started a 16 week challenge last week. If I remain consistent (and I fully intend to) my challenge will end on December 31. Right when the whole world is regretting their holiday binging and making their New Year's resolutions to become the perfect human being, I will be celebrating a personal victory. I'm looking forward to that.
So what am I doing for my 16 week challenge?
I am doing fitness training 6 days a week, and continuing to eat very clean and sugar free.
I alternate between strength training and interval training. On strength training days I do super sets. That means I slam out a set of exercises, and without resting go straight into the next set. After alternating the first two sets four times without resting, I take a 60-90 second break. Then I alternate two different sets without a break until I have done each set 4 times. Then I take a 60-90 second break before slamming out the next two sets. I do this until I have worked through the whole routine.
On interval training days, I am currently doing a couch to 5K running program. You can find out more about it here. Interval training means that you are alternating between a high intensity exercise and a low intensity one. For instance, you might choose jumping jacks, mountain climbers or burpees for your high intensity exercise and something like marching in place or toe touches for your low intensity one. That's it. You just alternate those two exercises. How long you do each exercise would, of course, depend on your fitness level. Some choices would be 60 seconds of high intensity and 60 seconds of low intensity, or 30-30, or 60-30. You alternate between the two exercises for 15-25 minutes. This form of on and off cardio actually burns more calories and fat than a traditional "go to the gym" cardio workout. I am doing the running program for two reasons. One of my fitness goals is to be able to run 2 miles without thinking I'm going to die, so I need to be training. And because I am still fairly early in the running program, I am doing a run-walk sequence that qualifies for interval training. I can kill two birds with one stone.
I am planning to add a push/pull routine to my strength training workouts starting next week. I already do push-ups, but I usually do the girly kind. I will begin training myself to do only the real kind. Also, I will begin training to do pull-ups because right now I can't do a single pull-up. Pathetic, I know. But there it is. By the end of 16 weeks I want to be able to do a respectable pull-up. I'd like to be able to do several. (I'd like to be able to do 50, but I've always been a bit of a dreamer.) Once I see how long it takes me to be able to do one I will have a better idea of a realistic goal.
The key to making this 6 day a week plan work is to keep the workouts fairly short, but the intensity high. Your body has to stay challenged to keep building and changing. So the workouts need to get increasingly more difficult as my strength grows.
If you need some help putting your workouts together or you need some help with motivation, you might want to buy the Fit Yummy Mummy ebook kit.. It is designed to help moms get their pre-baby bodies back and then some. I have to tell you, I was really put off by the advertising -- it screams cheesy-throw-your-money-away-scam. I had seen it before and turned my nose up at it. I never would have purchased the kit, but a blogger that I have followed for years posted her before and after photos with a review-- it was amazing. She is a real mom of 6 kids and very frugal. I knew her before and after pictures were real and un-retouched. I did some further research and liked what the actual program contained, even though the advertising was so overboard (it even has a "don't leave this page" pop-up. I hate those things!) The program was a bit spendy for me, but I budgeted it in and took the plunge. The Fit Yummy Mummy program is well researched and has exercises that really get the job done. She addresses how to eat healthy when you are too busy, how to shop, how to make your workouts happen when you have no time and what to do when you workout. The kit comes with a free one month membership to ClubFYM. Club FYM is a valuable resource with a new workout routine every month, fitness challenges that you can join to win prizes and a forum full of information, coaching, routines, eating advice, etc. You can post any questions, etc. to the forum and get answers, encouragement and help. If you are looking for a program you can do at home that really works (provided, of course, that you actually do the program), this one might be worth your time to check out.
So there you have it. My current fitness routine in all it's glory. And in just the first 9 days, my husband says he can already see more definition in my arms. Do you think anyone will recognize me in 16 weeks?
