Month: December 2013

by

30 Days Squat Challenge

I saw somebody posting a picture about it on Facebook, so I decided to do it as well. The famous 30 days squat challenge.

Started out with 50 squats today, was a bit tougher than I like to admit, but at least I got good and warm on this chilly day. I’m going to do the 30 days plank challenge when this is over, and I have a feeling that’s going to be worse, but we’ll see. I’m not looking forward until day 30 and 250 squats.

30-Day-Squat-Challenge-Scheudle

I’m betting I’ll have a great looking bum in 30 days 🙂

Join the fun!

by

Sunday Training

I had such a great time at the gym, I just have to write about it! 🙂

I went there thinking it would be an average work out, at most, but it was so great, I’m so happy about it!

I started out with intervals on the treadmill (after warming up), and did 10×20 sec with 10 sec break at 16 km per hour, which would be 10 miles per hour. The fastest I’ve ever managed to complete a set of 10 intervals.

The, I did squats, 3 sets of 6, increased the weight a little bit to 32.5 kg (71.65 lb). Slow and steady is better than fast and ruining my back!
Then I went on to the dreaded plank: 2 times 40 sec, and once at 30 sec. Can never become proper friends with that exercise.
Then I increased my ‘single arm row’ from 10kg (22 lb) to 12.5 kg (27.5 lb) and did 3 sets of 7.
single arm row

And ended the weights portion of the training with some triceps extensions, did 3 sets of 6 with 5 kg (11 lb).
triceps extension
Then I was supposed to do some ab exercises, but there wasn’t any room in that area of the gym. So I figured I could jog while I was waiting, went on the treadmill and presses ‘quick start’. It started counting down from 20 minutes. So I ended up jogging for another 20 minutes at the end of my work out, and IT FELT LIKE A PIECE OF CAKE, I’m actually getting a lot better. I’m so happy. I jogged 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) and it felt like I could have gone on and on for at least another hour. Such a great feeling!! I just want to go back to the gym and run again, but I know my body needs it’s rest, especially since I ignored the inflammation in my wrist today (taped it), and have had leg day every day since I went to the doctor.

I just can’ t stop smiling, so I’m sending a smile to you too! 🙂

by

Injuries suck!

I planned for this post to be about my training program, but went to the doctor today and she could inform me that I have inflammation in my wrists. Since I still have one more exam (number 6) she told me to try to take it easy, but not take any medication unless I really had to. Because if I did, I’d probably just camouflage the pain and inflammation, and carry on in this matter which has lead me to this point, and it would just come back after a couple of days.

But, as the creative person I am (once a year), I’m not going to give up, but the focus will be on the legs and core, and the dreadful cardio. So I managed to drag my very lazy post-exam-ass out and to the gym where I ran a little bit longer than last time,

Imageit’s getting better every time, and I’m kind of enjoying it, which I thought I never would. Also, I need to keep the intensity a bit down, not do all the fast intervals I usually do, because I pulled my hamstring, again. Will try to find a physiotherapist to stick some needles in the muscle, usually helps.
I also did squats and the plank, and did better than last time at the gym, but I’m sticking with the heading saying injuries suck! 🙂

Regarding the food, I’m still managing to keep away from the carbs. It has been a bit harder than I thought, but I’m going strong. The past two days I’ve been under 85 grams of cardio, and that’s while cramming for an exam. I’m proud of myself, but tomorrow is weekend, so we’ll see how that goes, I do love my beer..

ImageBut this really isn’t bad at all!

Time for sleeps, it’s been a really long day.
Have a good one 🙂

by

Changes

Since I can’t sleep, and really should, I decided to write a post here about the changes I’m trying to make. These are changes in diet mostly. I have already changed a lot in my life, for instance I gave up nicotine 17 days ago, just a week before the first written exam. It is probably one of the stupidest and brightest ideas I’ve ever had. The first day without nicotine in 10 years was a nightmare, but I got trough it, and plan to stay this way 🙂

Anyways, that’s not what I was supposed to write about, the changes in my diet:
I have heard and read a lot about people loosing a lot of water weight by switching over to a low carb diet. So I have decided to give it a go sort of, I want to reduce my intake of carbs, but not completely. But to test the theory of loosing a lot of weight fast, I’m going to go proper low carb the first week (if I can manage it). So that means I should keep the carb amount to somewhere between 0 and 150 grams. The first day is the hardest, and especially when I’m needing a lot of energy for school, work and training, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.

The first day is over, and this is what I ate:
Breakfast: cottage cheese, half an apple, a few almonds and walnutsLunch: oatmeal with half an apple and raspberries (the meal with the most carbs)
In-between-meal at work: Cottage cheese, blueberries and a few almonds and walnuts
Late dinner: Baked chicken fillet, baked cherry tomatoes, steamed broccoli and salad

To know how much I eat in calories, and in form of how many of these calories are  from fat, proteins or carbs, I use an app I found a while back, names Fatsecret. It’s a bit of a hassle registering everything I eat, but it gives me a very good picture of what I have actually put in my body. And you can also access your account on the web site fatsecret.com (might be easier to see things on a bigger screen).

So the first day of the low carb diet, ended on 36% carbs, 43% fat and 21% protein (which is too low). The amount of carbs in grams is 111, which is okay for a first day I guess. Will try to increase the protein portion over the next few days.

Wish me luck, and I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂