Insoles = Happy Feet

Hey y'all!

I know my last few posts have been kind of a downer b/c they have been focused on the death of my grandma but I said my good byes and she is in a better place so it is time for me to get back to rocking the blog. :) Thanks so much for all your thoughts and prayers.

So, after pretty much two weeks of no running from my foot, I called a recommended foot doc who couldn't see me for another week so I hung up the phone with him and picked up the phone and called my good friends Susan and Jason Zehner who have told me about their luck with supportive insoles. Jason worked for along time at an outdoor outfitter and worked in their shoe dept so I knew he would know the 411. After a long email/phone call chain involving a lot of me describing my foot pain much like you would describe a car to your mechanic - "it makes this weird clicking noise when I am in 5th gear" but instead I am saying "if I twist it to the right, it hurts really bad but in the stationary position it doesn't hurt at all" - he told me I should give inserts a shot and see if that helps.

I went to our local running store - Fleet Feet - and got a pair of Sole insoles (cute name huh) - they felt really weird when I just had them on in the store but she said I would get used to them - I just needed to give it some time to break them in. Breaking in requires you put them in the oven (yes, the oven) at 200 degrees for two minutes, place them immediately in your shoe and stand still, feet forward for 2 minutes and then wear them for 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours over the next three days before you run.

If you are still awake....:) here is the cool thing:

I NO LONGER HAVE ANY ANKLE OR HEEL PAIN!!

It is 100% gone. In fact, the circulation in my feet is amazing! I was barefoot today for a few minutes and normally (over the last couple weeks) I would have pain when I was barefoot but today my feet felt normal.

The key test will be when I take them out for a jog which I will try to do tomorrow. Will keep you posted. If any of you are having any foot/ankle issues, you might want to check them out. They are only $35 which is less than my copay to the doc. :)

And in other news, we joined the country club directly across the street from my office which means I will be reviving my lunch workouts again. I will literally walk across the street to workout. I am so excited! Watch out - who knows what will happen! :) The fire that has been burnt out it starting to light up again...I can feel it.

1 hour bike ride tonight - felt great! My cardio is crappy but I got out there and did it. :)
Keep on kicking ass everyone!
Jess

You Know the Saying....When You're On Your Deathbed....

.....you aren't ever going to wish you spent more time at the office.

Yes, I know you have all heard it - I have - in fact, I have said it to others 1,000 of times...and seeing my grandma on her death bed - literally - it forced me to sit back and look at my life and how I am spending my time.

Right now so much of my energy goes towards my job - and as my loving husband pointed out - I may be reaching a point of diminishing return...meaning the long hours I am working may not be paying off in the quality of my work output. I think I function best when I am very busy so that feels comfortable to me...but there is a point at which being very busy and being overwhelmed prevents me from doing my best work. Does that make sense?

I am not going to beat myself up over not working out last week as much as I wanted or even the week before - I injured myself and lost my grandmother. Which brings me to my next update....on Saturday, June 21st my Grandmother passed away and moved on to the next place...she is now with the friends and family members she has lost along the way. I am so happy for her in that she is no longer in pain or hurting and that her life was long and full of joy. She had 6 kids and 20+ grandkids! What a wonderful life! Thanks to all of you for your support and thoughts. I love you grandma and you will always be a special part of my life! Please celebrate her life and don't be sad - she is in a better place and I guarantee she is reconnecting with lost friends and family looking down on us all with love!

Outside of losing my grandmother and thinking about how I am spending my time, one of Visionquester's posts made a big impact on me this week and that was Stephanie's email to her about taking it one meal, one workout at a time. For those of you who missed it, here is an excerpt from her email:

do the work and the results will come. Don't concentrate on 'I have "x" amount of time' - just concentrate on your next work out - your next meal - your next cardio session... Keep it small - keep it simple...DO NOT CHANGE A THING when it comes to your thinking...Not too much pressure on any one certain day, any one certain meal, any one certain cardio session...It's just one more - that's all- one more"

I am terrible at trying to think too far in the future or think about the past and focus on those things instead of focusing on having my next meal be a good one or getting in my next workout. Stephanie wrote this in an email to Cynthia and yes, I knew this one too but sometimes things just hit you.

This moment, I am focusing on my next meal and making it healthy and good and to feed my body the nourishing food it needs and I am also going to focus on my next workout. And once I have my next meal and my next workout complete, I will focus on the next meal and workout. Little bites....baby steps. So much better than thinking I have to tackle it in one fail swoop.

A couple other things:

• Jody finished the Ozark Valley Triathlon a full 3 minutes faster than he did last year for a time of 1:46 minutes! I am so proud of him - he did amazingly well and he is my heart, my joy!
• A HUGE thanks to Jody for going to Louisiana with me and spending time with my grandma. This is one reason I am so thankful he is in real estate because he could leave and go with me and even though he was COMPLETELY out of his element and hanging out with a bunch of red necks :), he was there for me and I couldn't have asked for more.
• On our way home we had a flat tire on the Jetta at 10:30 at night in BFE. We got the flat right in front of someone's house so we pulled into their driveway to use the light from the street lamp to change the tire. Lo and behold, Jody has completely PIMPED out our car....so we have custom wheels. Wheels that require a special lug wrench that will fit through the holes in the wheel....well, we didn't know this until we got the flat at 10:30pm in Fordyce, Arkansas - population 4700. But where we blew the tire was about 5 miles outside of Fordyce. Luckily, the guy that lived in the house we stopped in front of - who was about 75 and probably wondering why a pimped out jetta and two honkey's with a dog had everything in their trunk on his driveway - was SUPER nice and called his neighbor who ended up ultimately having the proper tools to get the wheel off. An hour and a half later we were on our way!

WHEW! Funny stuff.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I am back at it kids!
Jess


Jess

Biofeedback, Intiuition and Common Sense

I utilized none of the things in the title of my post in deciding whether to run 9 miles with my hubby last Monday and as a result I am STILL paying the price. Foot hurts even when I am just walking around barefoot - the only time it doesn't hurt is when I have it elevated in a heel. Still very frustrated but what can I do??? Just let it rest. Right Cathy? :)

I did Day 2 of UFP today - just the first three sets four times through. My strength is low and I can tell the TOM is about to hit cause I am so tired....

Short post today.

Food for the week ON except for Friday where I had dinner at Bonefish - YUMMY!

Have a good one everyone!
Jess

Paying the Price and Motivation

As I stated on my Monday night blog, running 9 miles was not smart. I didn't and don't recommend it to friends or family. Or enemies for that matter.

I did 1/2 mile repeats last night and am now paying the price - majorly (which isn't a word btw).

Here is the math: 3 weeks not running + 9 mile run + 1/2 mile sprints (7) = tendinitis & a cranky me.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I should have worked up to the 9 miles. I have had his happen before so I know I need to just let it rest a little bit and it will heal - just stinks cause I had a mileage goal for the week and now it is going to be near impossible to get it in. :( Scratch that, it is impossible otherwise I will injure myself even more and be able to run even less. Bummer but I have no one to blame but myself.

But, did want to share with you what my nipples looked like after my run the other day:

For those ladies out there, running can cause chafing. If you run long distances you have to be careful of the more sensitive areas like the nipples and I didn't put on band aides. Rats. So when I did sprints last night my nipples were on FIRE!

Was also talking to the hubby about how I wouldn't be able to compete right now with my work load the way it is and he said "You were just on a different level then" and he is right. I had a goal, I had set my mind to it and I was going to do it. And I did. And what is weird it that my motivation for my workouts is now weak - weaker than it has ever been. I don't get it....but I need to figure it out because I think when I do it will be the key to me getting back into it. Don't get me wrong, I have little bursts of motivation and excitement about working out but then it seems to stall out - I am tired and working out just isn't what I want to do.

Again, I gotta figure it out. Once I get to the bottom of it you guys will be the first to know. :) Or maybe the second to my hubby.

Until then, I will keep on posting. Keep on sharing.
Jess

P.S. Food was ON today. Yeah!

P.P.S. Did you SEE Craig Ballantyne posted on my blog yesterday??? BRAG, BRAG, BRAG.

"Fat Loss Is Easy....Once You Realize How Hard It Is"

Happy Wednesday y'all!! I told ya I would be blogging everyday and HERE I am! :)

The above quote is a Craig Ballantyne special and I heard it this morning while listening to an episode of The Fit Cast and it really struck a chord with me. "Fat Loss is Easy....Once You Know How Hard It Is"....think about it....really, once you know how hard it is and how much work it will really take, it IS easy because you know what to expect and you know what it is going to take. You must recognize and appreciate how hard it is before it will become easy.

The other thing he says that if you want advanced results you must take advanced measures. Another awesome quote/idea. Think about it - there are no short cuts. This is life.

Couple things I have (I am into bullet points at the moment to bear with me :)):

• Worried about my family in Iowa who is getting pounded with tornadoes and flooding.
  
• My hubby is ROCKING it on his training for the Ozark Valley Triathlon in 11 days - he is really kicking it up a notch and even eating super good to lean up so he will be lighter and faster.
  
• This week I have been 100% on with my eating. I know, it is only Wednesday but it feels good.
  
• I need to incorporate weights more - I am getting in my runs, just not the lifts.
  
• Cynthia looks AMAZING and needs to keep working hard towards her goal.
  
• I am taking tomorrow off and I am FIRED UP! :)
  

Ran half mile sprints tonight - 7 rounds - 3.5 miles.

Happy hump day!
Jess

Tuesday.....Better

Hey y'all - I will make this quick (gonna try to shoot for every day this week) but had a couple things:

• Tuesday was NOT terrible. YIPPEE!! Got a lot done and didn't feel super crazy.
  
• I am SOOOOO incredibly sore. Let me just say that running 9 miles when I haven't been running in weeks - NOT SMART. So sore last night that I didn't sleep very well and am in pretty bad pain all day. Taking tonight off and will hit it again tomorrow. :)
  
• Eating: ON - two days in a row. Baby steps.
  

If you haven't checked out my blog and VLOG below, check it - its pretty funny.
Jess

Beginning of Week and NEW VLOG!

Hey y'all! Hope you are all doing awesome!

Yes, long, long LONG weekend and we recorded a VLOG but for some reason none of my computers are recognizing the USB device. So instead of posting vlogs or blogs, I was jacking around with my computer trying to show you the VLOG we did. UPDATE: Got it to work!! Check it!



Hope that was slightly entertaining - had no idea he was going to record it so totally had to wing it! And check out his walking while filming technique! ;)

As I said in my post on Friday, last week was a complete and absolute BUST. I didn't workout once. And this weekend I participated in the 48 Hour Film Festival project which is where you have 48 hours to produce a film. You can check it out at this link:48 Hour Film Link You are given the genre, a prop and a line you must use. Ours was a suspense/thriller, a pencil and the line: "What did he say? Tell me." I am not an actress, have never been an actress, but the lead creative guy thinks I look like a tough bit## so he cast me as the lead of a bank robber ring in the movie. So I got called in at 7am on Saturday and was there until MIDNIGHT! Holy crap. It was a LONG day. And I missed Jody's race which I felt TERRIBLE about. Terrible. But I had a blast on the shoot and the film ended up being pretty funny and campy.

Here is a couple of pics from the shoot of me in my "costume" and with the gun :) and check out the tattoo on my boob. Keep it classy bloggers. :)

Times Up! Charlie's Angels Pose

Check out the TATT!!!

Below is the log of my workouts from two weeks ago and since last week was a big goose egg I am just going to skip that recap. :)

Jody and I had a long talk this weekend and I am going to start running again. It is something I enjoy doing, I can do it anywhere and it is something we love to do together. That being said, I ran 9 miles tonight. NINE miles. WHOA! And I am wiped out. Legs pretty tight too - I am not sure if running 9 miles was the smartest thing in the whole world but I am shooting for 30 miles this week and I wanted to get a good chunk underneath me starting with Monday. So, Jody and I strapped on the running shoes.

Also, since I ate so crappy on Tuesday of last week (off site) and Saturday/Sunday weren't great either, I spent about 3 hours last night cooking food for both Jody and me. I cooked all my egg white waffles, measured my cereal, cut green peppers, measured broccoli. It actually worked AWESOME b/c when I got up this AM, I just threw everything in my lunch bag and was out of there. It was AWESOME!!! :)

I am not sure how to work the UFP into my running program. My guess is Scott would scoff at me doing any type of running AND UFP but oh, well. I am going to see how this week goes with running and some upper body UFP workouts and see what happens. My eating will be ON and sleep should be good.

Oh, and I am taking a day off this week - it has been so crazy lately, I have to put myself first. :) So, I will take Thursday off - and I am re-committing to blogging more frequently. I have a loyal following out there (I think :)) and I don't want you guys to give up.

Have a great Tuesday - I am gonna ROCK it. ;)

Jess

Week of May 26th through June 1st:

Monday:
Track Workout - 1 mile warm up, 5 quarter mile sprints
Day 1 of UFP - Lower Body Focus - 90 minutes
Tuesday:
Day of 2 UFP - Upper Body Focus - 85 minutes
Wednesday:
Day 3 UFP - Upper Body - Back Focus 90 minutes
Thursday:
OFF
Friday:
AM HIIT Intervals - 30 minutes - 400 calories
Saturday:
Day 4 UFP
Sunday:
Off

AHHHHH...End of Week

Thank goodness today was the end of the week. Now I can actually workout! :)

This week was a complete bust for me from a workout stand point. How many times did I work out Mon - Fri? That would be a BIG goose egg. Zero. Zip. Zilch. A totally crazy, insane week - probably easy 70 hours of work in after today. Yuck.

I think I am going to have to start working out in the mornings again just to ensure I get them in - which is ok, I will just have to plan my day differently.

Food was not ON so double whammy. But the good news is I have the weekend to make better choices and get back on track. Will do a VLOG tomorrow with the hubby who is doing the Xterra triathlon in Eureka Springs tomorrow. I am so excited for him and know he will kick ass. I am going to bring my running clothes and some weights and workout while he is off at the race. :) Gotta make the best of it!

On a sad and TRAGIC note, Amanda Savell has passed away in what appears to be a murder/suicide. There is more information on the Body Sport forums however I just wanted to drop a note about how tragic and wrong this is....and my thoughts and prayers are with Amanda's family. More information can be found here: http://www.bodysport.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=236

Have a great weekend everyone and if you aren't already, be grateful and thankful of all that you have!
Jess

MIA and Canoeing

So I have been MIA - sorry y'all. I ended up having a super crazier than normal Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday I had to go to a client off site meeting. I knew I was going to have to do the Tuesday thing but had planned on getting out of the Wednesday trip (canoing/float trip down the river). The client and the clients boss pulled me aside and asked me to be there Wednesday (today) so I went.

Needless to say, I am exhausted and have more work to do than I could imagine. But wanted to drop by and say hi.

My eating Tuesday and Wednesday was not good - not terrible - but not good. And I haven't worked out since Saturday. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Anyway, I will be back with another post tomorrow - just wanted you to know I am still around. :)

Jess

P.S. I was assigned a canoe partner who SUCKED. We flipped our canoe 7 times because he had no idea what he was doing and I will take a pic of my legs that are completely beat up from falling out of the canoe. Pretty scary.

TWO Weeks Weekly Recap & Catching Up (Plus 5K Today)

Hello my little friends....:) I am feeling pretty punchy today after a VERY long week. Brutal in fact. So, for those of you who don't know, I work for an advertising agency and work with P&G and Wal-Mart. I am currently an Acct Supervisor and am shooting for a Director position. So....I normally just manage one business (one retainer) and got asked a couple weeks ago to manage another business (that has two retainers) on top of that one. So, I am managing three retainers and my account service person is helping someone else.

So WTF does this mean for all of you??? It means I was completely MIA last week and pretty much got in two workouts last week (not counting today). My gal Cynthia made a pretty kick ass point and that is that directorship is something I might not have an opportunity for - fitness can always come back to me. And she is right. So I am being patient and not freaking out. My eating was ON all week except for this morning when I had 2 slices of bacon, 2 eggs over medium, a 1/2 cup of grits all mixed together and slapped on two pieces of toast. HEAVEN. That is my favorite breakfast in the whole world and I ran a 5k this morning (24 minutes and some change - 6th place overall female - not better than my last time BUT it had FOUR huge hills) so I said screw it, I am having a good breakfast. So now I will just make good choices the rest of the day and tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I am doing what I can with the time I have....next week is also going to be rough - I have Account Management College which means I will be in training from 8-5 for three full days of a four day week. Yes, I know I am whining but this means the rest of my work will have to get done at night or in the morning. So....how will I get in my workouts? And I am talking through all this crap because I know all of you go through this....trying to find the time to workout. So here are my options:

1. HIIT sessions (30 minutes or less).
2. Get up earlier (risk getting sicky).
3. Put me first and get the workouts in no matter what.

I think I will probably do a combo of 1 and 3. :) No more getting sick for me!

My workouts last week (week of May 12th):
Monday:
Legs - UFP 90 Minutes
Tuesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Wednesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Upper Body - UFP - 60 minutes
Saturday:
AM 5K - 23:40 :)
Yard Work - 3 hours
Sunday:
2.5 hour bike ride
Shoulders/abs - 45 mins

This week (so far):
Monday:
Off
Tuesday:
HIIT Running - 30 minutes (400 calories)
Wednesday:
Lower Body UFP - 80 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Off
Saturday:
AM 5K - 24:00 ?
Yard Work - 2 hours
Sunday:
2 hour bike ride (33 miles - 1200 calories)
Light legs (pathetic since I was so smoked) and abs - 45 mins

Hopefully tomorrow I will get in a bike ride and a lower body lift.

Hope you are all having a wonderful memorial day holiday! Remember to always be grateful in your life and remember what you have to be thankful for! Thanks for not giving up on me....just couldn't squeeze you guys in. But I still love ya!

Jess

Long Weekend

Hey y'all,

Had a long weekend - very productive but long. Got in a couple good workouts and a bunch of yard work done. Went to see Stomp with the hubby and went to a fun party...good times.

But I am super happy with how I ate this weekend - had a few opportunities to eat bad (restaurant meals) and I made good choices. Dinner tonight was salad and boiled shrimp. Yum. :)
I am noticing that the UFP program is great for me during the week but on the weekend, I really struggle to get these workouts in....with all of the activities we have going on, it is tough. I gotta figure out how to make it happen. And it also means that if I do Day 5 on Sunday, I certainly can't bike for 2.5 hours. :) But I am enjoying biking. And running. Especially with the hubby - I am getting bit by the bug.

Tomorrow I will have a new VLOG and also the weekly recap along with a stat update. :) You know you can't wait...YOU KNOW IT!

To all the girls out there who participated in the JR USA's - congrats! You all looked WONDERFUL!

Jess

Roses are Red....Violets are Blue....And It's Time to Rock the Competition Boat

Bad poem in the title but had to give a shout out to my hubby who sent me 12 GORGEOUS long stemmed roses today COMPLETELY out of the blue....no holiday, no special occasion - shocked the crap out of me actually. I am actually not a flower type person and I have made that clear to the DH so he has never sent them to me (at my request). Except for today:

This is what the card said:
"You are the sexiest woman I have ever met. I love you with all my heart. Your Cherub"

How awesome was that????? It might have had a little bit to do with a small melt down I had last night over how I am feeling about my body right now (hey, I am definitely feeling better but still have my down days!). Anyhoo, he took it upon himself to make me feel like the only woman in the world. I love that guy.

On to the rockin the competition boat: if you haven't already, check out Krissa's blog (check out the link on the right hand side of my blog) for her (and my) thoughts on competing. Overall, I am not sure why we do it with all of the negative side effects.

Like I said in yesterdays blog, it is about having FUN! Not obsessing. Enjoying life and not thinking about how you can rearrange your entire day (and others in it) so you can workout when you have already worked out that morning! Enjoying life and not passing on a meal with friends because you are afraid you can't make good choices.

For those of you who do compete out there - BE SMART and listen to your body. Do it because it is fun and you are healthy enough (mentally) to deal with the fallout of post competition. Do it because you love to compete and you are ok with going through the struggles you will have with how to adjust to "regular" eating again. I am still in the undecided camp about competing again but I do know if I do it again, I will do it a COMPLETELY different way.

In the interim I will train like an athlete, focus on looking like an athlete - YEAR ROUND.

The week has been good so far - took today off. Much needed. :)

This posting every day is kind of fun. I know it may just be worthless babble for you guys, but it is fun for me.

Oh, and I am tracking my food again. I didn't track it for about 2-3 weeks but here is the link if you want to check it out. I am staggering calories right now (1300/1600). Would love your thoughts if you wanna share them. :)

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=jess%2Ebutler%40gmail%2Ecom

Jess

WONDERFUL Wednesday, Weekly Recap (late) and Eats

Today is better...it always is.... EM, to answer your question it really isn't lack of sleep it is just a crazy day at work. I have meetings all day and I have a theory on why it is so crazy in addition to those meetings....so on Monday people come to work and they are all "hey, how was your weekend?" or "I saw Iron Man and it was awesome" or "Kids were sick" blah, blah, blah and then Monday afternoon they start to think through what they need to get done during the upcoming week and then Tuesday morning it is like: "HOLY CRAP! I HAVE TO CALL JESSICA TO GET EVERYTHING DONE!".

But, I survived. And I love you guys for all your kind words. :) You are all awesome.

As for solving the Terrible Tuesday conundrum (whoa - big word), I just need to reschedule all of my meetings on Tuesday to another day. This way I can spread the madness out over a few days. BAM! Problem solved. Now, perhaps you are saying to yourself: "Why wouldn't she do this before?" to which I would answer "It isn't as easy as just rescheduling these meetings - A LOT of people are involved. Duh." Although maybe I would say the DUH thing under my breath. Anyway, it is like anything - if is isn't working do the following:

• Step back to look at the situation.
• Determine why it isn't working and what are the pain points.
• Address the pain points.
• Review and revise if it still isn't working.

I feel better - do you?

Below is my weekly recap. I actually am loving the weekly recap - I need to do the same type of thing with my diet on macros and calories. I am finding that tracking things proves more difficult than one would think. :) Especially on Mondays and Tuesdays!

Overall I am feeling really awesome about my workouts but not so awesome about my food. My workouts are SUPER intense and crazy and I feel awesome after I complete one - partially I think because of how hard they are and partially because of how fully activated my entire body feels.

What programs do you guys use to track your food? I know I have asked this before - does anyone use anything OTHER than Fit Day that they like better and why?

I have also not been sick for almost 6 weeks! How awesome is that???? But yet how sad is it that I am saying that??? Anyhoo, I feel really good about my health and my supplementation!! And I love my new attitude. And my hair is growing out. And summer is here. And life is GOOD! :)

I am gonna vlog tonight after my workout - or maybe before hand so you can see me without a hat on and my hair down and sassy.

You guys rock by the way - THANK YOU so much for all the awesome comments!
Jess

Weekly Recap:
Monday:
5 Mile Run - 550 Calories, 42 minutes
Tuesday:
Day 2 of UFP (see blog) - with chest/back/core emphasis
Wednesday:
Day 3 of UFP (see blog) - with back/shoulder emphasis
Thursday:
Day 4 of UFP (see blog) - with additional shoulder/chest emphasis
Friday:
Day off - AHHHH
Saturday:
Hill repeats (massive HUGE incline hill) super sets with leg work - walking lunges with 50lb barbell and 40lb kettle bells for first 4 sets then 4 sets of step ups with overhead presses
THIS WAS SUPER HARD! Glutes/hams smoked.
Sunday:
30 mile bike - OWWWWWWW!
Day 5 of UFP - Crazy cardio intervals

AHHHHHHH! I Got a New Attitude!!

Blame it on finally getting out of my late onset post competition blues (LOPCB), Cynthia getting crazy with her not so subtle comments and/or blog posts involving ME and me finally letting go of the idea of competing this year.....and just when all of those things happen....BAM!

I mean....

BAM! Everything has changed for me.

I found Scott Abel (thank you Cynthia) and discovered his forum, a few of his products and A LOT of his methodologies and everything has changed for me. Most of all though, Scott's ideologies over training and dieting and metabolic damage are ground breaking and really speak to me.

Here has what has changed for me:

1. I no longer obsess over what I eat. I plan my meals and my calorie staggering but I don't feel guilty if I miss a meal or feel awful if my macros are off by 5%.
2. I no longer have to do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. I know that at some point in my day (usually planned) I will get in an awesome workout - 70-80 minutes of ass busting hard work. And if I can't, I know I will tomorrow.
3. I no longer have to lift a body part and then do cardio. My workouts incorporate both.
   
4. I no longer obsess over cardio with friends or family as too much, too little, not enough. I can run or bike with them and ENJOY myself. Who knew?
   
5. I no longer freak out over eating _____ before a workout or _____ after a workout. I do my best to have good pre and post workout nutrition however I no longer freak out over it.
6. I no longer freak out over planning my workout. I push myself hard and have a great workout. Nuff said.
   
7. I haven't been on a scale in 3 weeks but my muscles feel tighter and I feel leaner.

Here is what all of this really means and what I learned from my two figure comps last year:

I want to look like an athlete EVERY DAY. Not just for the 2 days I am stage ready.

I want to look great 365 days a year - not incredible for 2.

Scratch that:

I WILL look like an athlete EVERY DAY. Not just for the 2 days I am stage ready.

I WILL look great 365 days a year - not incredible for 2.

If I can compete considering all of these things...great. If competing means compromising my health, my attitude, my life - I won't do it.

That said....I think it is possible. No, I KNOW it is possible. But still don't know what the future holds for competing. HIGHLY considering a November contest. :)

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
Jess

P.S. Amber/Jessica workout reunion today. We did hill repeats (see the right side for my workout) 8 times and let me tell you, this hill is BRUTAL. Then we did a set of legs in between hill repeats - we did walking lunges and then we did a couple variations of step ups with over head presses. Then we did abs. TOUGH stuff. Always love the Amber reunion.

Weekly Recap, Test Results and Scott Abel Kicking My Ass

Howdy peeps!

So, as most of you have come to learn, Mondays and Tuesdays are TERRIBLE! Hate them, but at the end of the day, blogging here with you guys always makes me happy! :) I just feel bad you get very little love on Mondays and Tuesdays.

I got my tests back from my full nutritional analysis and here are the notables:
1. I am hypoglycemic.
2. Deficient in Zinc.
3. Deficient in Alpha-Lipoic Acid.
4. Deficient in Vitamin D.
5. Deficient in Oleic Acid (didn't even know that existed).
6. Deficient in Coenzyme Q10.

The results were very interesting - as I understood it from reading the lab reports, basically they take your blood and remove the nutrient they are testing for and then introduce it to see how it responds. Based on this, they tell you if you are deficient and if you have special needs. The only real surprise for me was the hypoglycemia. But it does make sense for how fuzzy I get and wacked out I get when I don't have food - good to know.

How do I correct?
1. Eat every 2-3 hours - CHECK!
2. Take a Zinc supplement or eat lots of oysters and wheat germ (there is more but those were the two funny ones).
3. Take a supplement - can't get this through a particular food source.
4. Get more sun. Duh.
5. Eat more avocados, use olive oil, canola oil, etc.
6. Take a supplement (note to self, high dosages = diarrhea which leads to FOF syndrome - fear of farting).

All of the things I was deficient in were immune boosters and protectants so the good news is if I can work on some of these deficiencies I can boost the immune system.

Cynthia (a.k.a. Visionquester and man-boob-lover) turned me on to Scott Abel and after perusing his website and reading more and more about his philosophies and credentials, I decided to purchase the Ultimate Figure Program DVD series (yes Jody, I know this drives you crazy - and I promise you this - if you are reading - that I will sell every non used workout DVD and make back double what these new DVD's cost - promise my cherub :)).

The DVD program focuses on MET training which stands for Metabolic Enhancement Training and is basically super intense conditioning and strength workouts all in one which for the 5 day series all focus on different body parts but those specific to what figure competitors need to focus on. Let me tell you it is bad to the bone! And I cannot imagine what my body is going to look like in a month of this training - seriously! I bought it for a number of reasons (my DH, please pay attention here): Scott has a very loyal following and everyone who uses him attests to massive transformations through his high intensity weight lifting and cardio combinations. And the other reason is our gym membership ran out and we are not sure if we are going to renew - we have a great home gym and this is a program built for the home plus our gym is almost a half hour from our house.

Check it out a video of the program:


It is INTENSE! I highly recommend it!

I will give more details on the program in my next post but the idea is to do high intense workouts 5 days a week with a focus on full body function and multi-plane movements. I LOVE IT and I am smoked after every workout. I started on Sunday (see below on weekly recap) and I can't wait to share with you guys where I in two weeks (that would be around May 15th). Can't wait - it VERY similar to Debbie workouts but even harder because of some of the full body core movements used.

Again, more details to follow. Also, see below for my week last week - another great training week.

As for my nutrition, I STILL haven't had time to add back in my food over the last week so I am pulling the link for now. I am staggering my calories for every other day and will also get you more details on that later in the week.

Have a great week everyone!
Jess

Weekly Recap:
Monday:
6 mile trail run - PM Cardio
Biceps/Triceps
Barbell curl - Olympic Bar Only super set with
Overhead French Press - 20lbs 4x12
Hammer curls (20lbs) super set with
Tricep push downs - 70lbs cable rack 4x15
Swiss Ball Preacher Curl (15lb slow reps) super set with
Tricep kick backs (10 lbs slow reps) 4x12
Tuesday:
Planned day off - SORE all over
Wednesday:
HIIT Intervals - 10 minute warm up, 20 minutes HIIT 1:1 intervals plus 10 min warm up and cool down.
Thursday:
Monkey Bar Gym Fit Class
4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off super set rounds of the following & then 2 rounds of 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off
Push up burpees (push up and jump up - power)
One legged dynamic hops - 5 each leg until 30 second mark
Around the world - planks with alt arm and leg in air
Medicine ball sit up and reach
In place sprints - high knees and arms pumping
Burned 600 calories in 1hr
Friday:
Monday Bar Gym Body Power Class
Prisoner reps - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of the following:
Alternating super sets of Renegade Rows using 40lb kettlebells - lean on kettle bells from a plank position (legs spread) and then row alternate arms - super set with one arm kettle bell chest press with 20lbs
Alternating supersets of Hamstring roll ins on stability ball with box jumps (16 inch box)
Ab roll outs on power wheel
WOW! 400 calories burned
Saturday:
Took day off with the sis - we walked around a bunch in Madison but no real workout.
Sunday:
Day 1 of Ultimate Figure Program (legs emphasis) - HOLY CRAP!

Monkeying Around with My Sister

Hey all...arrived in Madison to see my sister on Thursday morning. Had a non eventful flight - even packed good food like almonds, a Trio-plex bar, and protein powder. I always find if I can be prepared when traveling, life is so much easier. And drink LOTS of water.

You can see from my workouts on the right that I had another decent week of training and when I arrived here my sister and I went to the Monkey Bar Gym (www.monkeybargym.com) and we did an awesome workout on Thursday and another great workout on Friday. They are really focused on core and body weight exercises for your cardio and for weights, you use kettlebells and a lot of functional equipment - boxes, medicine balls, d-balls, etc. It was great. Reminds me a lot of the workouts Debbie does - but with even more focus on function and core.

Below is a video of Jon Hinds, owner of the MBG, taking you through some KB exercises. Basically, he uses KB's for weights in the gym - they do not have traditional free weights. Really enjoyed my workouts. Lots of fun.

Sorry about my Fit Day log...I have been writing down all my eats - just haven't transfered them over so I am about 5 days behind.

Starting Sunday, I am going to go up to maintenance calories (1800) for two weeks to reset my metabolism. More to come on this - kind of excited about it but the more I read, the more I am understanding how to manipulate the body into fat loss.

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! Peace out! :)
Jess

Vlogcap and Definition of Insanity :)

Happy Hump Day Everyone! I am posting this vlog even though I recorded it on Sunday night and it is kind of late. :)

AND I must tell you my hubby recorded it and thought half way through he would focus in on my tatas. Funny for him, but not so much for me and those of you watching who have no interest in my tatas. Plus because I knew he was messing around I was a little distracted. I am going to have to MacGuyver some type of stand up thing for the video camera so I can do it myself. :)

Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results.

I don't take my diet serious enough or approach it scientifically enough and I spend WAY too much time thinking and not enough doing. More to come on that whole topic. :)

Enjoy. I need to spice these up with something interesting and new...any ideas? :)



My weekly recap:
Monday:
Back and Biceps
Pull ups (assisted 3x6)
Chin ups (assisted 3x8)
Bent over barbell rows (4x8 at 60lbs)
Wide grip pull downs (4x8 at 80lbs)
Barbell curls (4x8 at 50lbs)
Twisting curls (4x10 at 20lbs)
Wide, elbows in curls (3x12 at 15lbs)
Preacher curls on ball (3x8 at 15lbs)
Tuesday;
Cardio - PM
Quarter mile repeats - sprint a quarter, walk a quarter 10 sprinting quarters - 55 minute total workout
Chest and triceps after cardio
Supersets of the following (repeated 4x)
Round 1:
Dumbbell chest press on ball (4x12 at 20lb each)
Close grip tricep push ups (4x10)
French press (4x12 at 20lbs)
Regular push ups (4x20)
Round 2:
Skull crushers (4x12 at 30lbs) immediately to close grip chest press to failure
Dumbbell unilateral kickback (4x15lbs)
Push ups (4x20)
Wednesday:
Planned day off (two long 20 minute doggie walks)
Thursday:
5 mile run - 9 minute pace
Friday:
Shoulders and Total Body Strength
Supersets 4x Through
Round1:
Deadlifts - 15 @ 100lbs
Overhead barbell press 10 55lbs
Crunches w/KB on ball 20 reps
Upright barbell row 12 @ 55lbs
Round 2:
Side Laterals - 15 @ 15lbs
W Presses - 8 @ 20lbs
Front Raises 15 @ 10lbs
Bent Over Rear Flyes - 15 @ 10lbs
KB Swings 20 w/20lb KB
SL Deadlifts 15 @ 55lbs
Saturday:
Run 5k
Back (had planned back and bis but ran out of time)
Supersets 4x through:
Round 1:
Pull ups, assisted - 10x
Bent over ball bell row (70lbs)-15x
KB swings, 15x w/20lbs
Round 2:
Pull ups, assisted - 10x
Reverse pull ups, body weight 10x
Pull overs on swiss ball with 20lb KB (this was tough!)
Sunday:
45 mile, 2.5 hour bike ride -WHOA!

Have a great day everyone!

First 5K In a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG Time

Just finished my first 5k in a long, long time. And since my running has SUCKED I was happy to pull off a 25:15. My hubby did AWESOME and finished 21:23!!! He is such a fantastic athlete - so proud. I also had the pleasure of running side by side with my friend Amber who has only done one other 5k and did great! Congrats Amber - you are awesome! The course also started on a hill and ended on a hill and had lots of other hills in between. :) The speed work I did this week and just general training had to help...and I was out there with my DH who I know was happy to see me cross the finish line. :) It felt good to dig deep.

I worked shoulders last night - I have decided that if me and the DH stay home at night I will put in some kind of lifting/MET training workout. I need to utilize my time better and make sure to get a good pump every day. Friday was CRAZY at work. My eats were awful. I didn't even have time to pee!! To pee people!! Which was pretty funny because like every half hour I said I gotta go to the bathroom and never did. :) But it was ok because I was so slammed I never went to fill up my water bottle.

And here is how awesome I ate on Friday (insert HUGE sarcastic tone here)...had my shake, had a 1/2 cup of Fiber one with protein milk and then didn't have anything else but two bites of a Trioplex bar and a mini Reese's PB cup until 6pm when I had an apple and some chicken breast on the way home. Then I had a turkey burger and rice cake post workout and downed a little protein before bed. But overall, bad timing and bad overall food consumption.

I am still updating my food log - hoping it is interesting to someone out there. :)

My vlogging has been terrible - I gotta apologize. I promise one this weekend. :)
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Jess

Carb Up - UGH!

Hope everyone out there in a$$ kicking fitness land is having a great week!! I am having an awesome training week and my eats have also been more consistent and higher calorie (in a good way) than normal.

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I wanted to start focusing more on my diet. So, looking at my fit day log, my macros have been 40% protein, 30% fat and 30% carbs and around 1300 calories per day (check out my public food log if you are interested). Today was a high calorie/high carb day (every 4 days I am gonna carb up) and so for my last meal of the day I ate all of this:

• 5 oz sweet potato
• 4 oz banana
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup bell pepper
• 1 TBS butter

And what is FUNNY is that when you are getting ready for this refeed you get really excited but then when you are half way through you are miserable. MISERABLE! You feel pregnant. And it is tough mentally - Noel, you inspired me with this! :)

I took the last few days off from lifting b/c my upper body is smoked from lifting so heavy Monday and Tuesday. Tomorrow morning it is shoulders and then tomorrow afternoon/night I am going to hit back and biceps again. Ran tonight with the hubby - my legs are smoked. Running a 5k on Saturday morning so I am off of the running until Sat morning. Just praying some of my carbs last till then! :)

Would love to hear in comments how many of you use a refeed, cheat day or cheat meal as part of your diet and how it works for you!

Have a happy Friday!!
Jess

Freedom

This is a quickie guys...happy Tuesday! :)

Had a GREAT workout tonight with the hubby. We went to the park and did quarter mile sprints alternating with walk/jog - 10 total sprints (ouch) for a total of 55 minute workout. WOW. My legs are screaming!!

And even though I was smoked and tired, when I got home I busted out a chest/triceps workout. And let me tell you how amazing it feels! Incredible. :) And I feel great! So for those of you reading this THINKING about IF you are going to workout - just do it. You will be glad you did.

The Freedom I speak of above is the freedom I feel of NOT getting on the scale every day. It is in front of my toilet so every time I use the bathroom I look at it. Now I don't worry about stepping on it, I KNOW I am working hard and I am excited to step on it - in 28 DAYS! :) And in the meantime I will work hard and know I am acheiving my goals.

Check out my food log (link on right)....I am trying to pick up my calories. Need to add another meal for sure...I am at 5 right now.

Be free...don't be a slave to any pair of jeans or scale or number. Love yourself. The rest will follow.
Jess