7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 7)

So I totally finished the Day 7 a couple of days ago, but I am just getting a chance to write about it:

Side Plank – 20 (10 each side)
Rest – 10 seconds
Side Burpees – 10 reps (5 each side)
Rest – 30 seconds
Plank – Hold 1 minute
No rest
Mason Twist – 50 reps (25 each side)

I was being ambitious with this day. I think it was because it was the last day, but I went through this 3 times. Planks for a minute --- whew....This was my first time doing Side burpees. If I didn't hate regular burpees, well, side ones have definitely topped that! I loved the challenge, but more importantly, this regime got me working out again. I had lost that somewhere, but I am back on the wagon and loving it.

For results from this challenge. Yeah, I probably should have been better about that. People want to know if they put themselves through this pain and suffering, will I get results. Well, I'm really not sure. For me, I was doing a couple of things like running and following a Special K diet, so I cannot truly say that this Ab challenge will make you lose "x" amount of pounds and inches. What I can report on is with the additional things going on PLUS this ab challenge, this is what I lost:

Weight - 1.5 lbs loss
Waist - 0.25 inches loss

This is definitely not a science, but I will say what this challenge did help:

1. Feeling motivated and getting back on track
2. Having a new ab routine
3. Setting a goal and accomplishing that goal

With those 3 things, the weight and inches are really the icing on the cake!

I think I found a new challenge. I received an email from Fitness Magazine containing this article:

Wow Abs Now: The Two-Week Ab Makeover Workout

I flipped through the slides, and wow. It looks like a challenge. But I'm totally down for challenges, and it's definitely swimsuit season, so why not?? Watch out for my posts for this 2 week ab makeover, and let's see if I have the balls to post my ab photos online. 

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 6)

Day 6 is the same as Day 2. Just as challenging.

The difference about this day was that Mommy A was doing it with me! She was awesome. I didn't do any other type of exercise since having a kid, you can't go to the gym together -- you have to take turns. So I stayed at home while Mommy A worked out. We will have to try out some system or days where she can work out and then I can work out.

No food to comment today because we went out for sushi. I heart sushi! It was great because usually at this new place, we order their 3 item bento box and an extra roll. So with our meal we are getting the following:

Edamame
Miso Soup
Salad
Rice
(1) 8 pc California Roll
(1) Mixed Tempura
(1) Teriyaki Chicken
Extra 8 pc roll.

If we didn't have our daughter with us, we probably would not get the chicken, but they come in little strips and they are great for her little hands and for her to chew.

Well this time, we decided to NOT get the extra 8 pc roll. The other times we have been there, we have stuffed our face and felt pretty awful leaving. This time was different. We ate our food, and we were totally satisfied. Even with those items, we were feeling pretty stuffed. It saves money and keeps the calories down. Now only if we didn't like mixed tempura so much...haha.

I'm excited to wrap this challenge up tomorrow. I can't wait to do a final review of this challenge.

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 5)

It was a pretty good day (5) back:

Flutter Kicks – 30 reps (15 each side)
Side V-ups – 20 reps (10 each side)
Push Through – 30 reps
Complete 3 times

Time: 8 min

It was a good coming back. It was weird because I usually take Fridays off from working out, but other than that, I thought I had a great workout. Before the abs, I ran outside. I was itching to get outside. I didn't care how cold it was. So I ran faster to get my body warm and also ran faster to try to avoid the rain. It never came (it's Southern California for crying out loud), but it felt good tackling 3 hills and running it a little bit faster. 

No additional food post. Just did leftovers. Saving money...

I only have 2 more days of the challenge! I'm excited to finish his one up!

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 4)

I love Day 4!

IT'S A REST DAY!!

But I did get up and have the intention to go running, but the bed looked so nice, and my body was tired, so I went back to bed. I can feel it in my abs though. It hurts to laugh or sneeze or cough. I don't know if it's actually doing anything physically, but mentally, I am definitely feeling better about myself and even if the pounds aren't coming off the scale, having self-confidence is even a bigger success!

Also I'm proud that I am half way through this task. It looks like I have a tough 3 days ahead of me, but I'm excited! I can't wait to get started on it.

Oh, last night, I made a chicken stir fry. Nothing too exciting or adventurous. It was easy and quick. I just used a packet of stir fry veggies and diced up some chicken. Made a side of noodles and tossed all those things in low sodium soy sauce and oyster sauce. It was very delicious and kept me full for most of the night.

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 3)

So Day 3 was whew... Haha

Routine #1
Mountain Climbers – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Scissors – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Knees In and Out – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
V-Ups – 20 seconds
Rest – 1 minute

Routine #2Toe Touch – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Air Bike – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
4 Time Abs – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Prone Plank – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds

Do each routine 2 times. 

Time: 10 min

I was exhausted by the end of this round. This was coupled with before this routine, I had ran 30 minutes on the treadmill doing the same speed routine that I did yesterday (which btw I felt better at doing). My legs were spent and all of these exercises require your legs to work out your abs. Haha. I made it through though. 

There won't be any additional posts about food from last night because we went out. Mommy A is a secret diner for restaurants and we rate them mainly on their service -- how fast do they greet and how fast does the food come out. After the meal is done, you fill out paperwork rating the service and food, send it to the rep with the receipt, and they will send you a check in the mail reimbursing you the meal. Free meal essentially. We have been doing this for the past 2 years, and we haven't ran into any issues. 

It was a learning sign last night. My pasta meal was bad. It was the special too: Pesto sauce with Pine nuts sauteed in your choice of pasta. I order the Pesto w/ fettuccine and for an additional $2, I get the grilled chicken. Totally excited about this dish. Pasta is over cooked and tough, and the chicken is dry, even sitting in the pesto. I took a couple of bites, and then tried Mommy A's meal since she, too, had fettuccine, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy. Nope. Not crazy. Her pasta was cooked to perfection, and my pasta was a total fail. I sat it at the end of the table and didn't take another bite. 

This was a HUGE kudos to me. In the past, I would have sucked it up and ate it because I would have been hungry. We bought an appetizer (which was stupid good), and our meal came with salads. Before the pasta was even there, I was already saying I was way too full. My old self would have ate that bad pasta because I would be hungry and wouldn't have said anything. The transformed me knew that if I was going to eat badly, the food needed to be good. Also, I was feeling really full, and I did not want to force myself to eat it. The manager was kind of enough to come over and ask if there was something that I wanted the kitchen to make, but I declined. It was very sweet, but I did not need ton and ton of pasta to come home to me. 

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 2)

Day 2 is always the hardest, right?

Oh man...it was a challenge. Here is what I did:


Foot to Foot Crunch – 30 reps
Alternating Curls – 30 reps
Recovery – 30 seconds
Push Through – 30 reps
4 Time Abs – 30 reps
Recovery – 30 seconds
Arm Reaching Crunch – 30 reps
Leg Up Touch Crunch – 30 reps
Recovery – 30 seconds
Cross On Crunch – 30 reps
Double Crunch – 30 reps

Time: 10 min

The rest/recovery was nice for the 2nd and last set, but the for the other two, it did not seem like I needed it, but I know that my abs did. I really suck at abs, so the fact that I'm even doing this is pretty awesome of me.

Here was the rest of my workout:
25 min on treadmill
5 min of stretching

I got a late start this morning. I set the alarm for 5:15am and finally got out of bed at 6:15. My first thought was, "I'm late. I can't go," but I knew I needed to go and that I wouldn't have anytime later today to do this. I really wanted to do 50 min on the treadmill, run through the ab routine twice and 10 min of stretching, but oh well. I was proud that I went to the gym and did it =)

For the treadmill...ugh. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Hate because I get bored with it really quickly, but love since I can train to keep at a particular pace and learn to focus on the music when I am getting tired. Usually when I am on the treadmill, I do interval work to help me keep focus and not get bored with what I am doing. Today, I was working as I was training for a sub 1:30 half marathon. Haha...I would never get to that type of time since that requires a 6:52/mi pace for 13.1 miles, but it doesn't hurt to try, right? So, on the treadmill, I ran my first mile at 8:30/mi, and then after the first mile, I ran 0.5 at half marathon pace (HMP). I was really surprised that I ran a half mile at that pace. I was only anticipating 0.25, so I surprised myself. Then I turned it back down to 8:30/mi until mile 2 and repeated. I only ran to 3 miles due to time, but I thought it was a great start. Maybe doing this speed work will help me get to a faster pace which would be awesome.

Anyway, can't wait to keep this ab party going with tomorrow's workout!

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 1)

I looked at the calendar and realized yesterday that I start training for the Long Beach Marathon in a month -----eeeek! I was able to find a 16 week - Marathon for beginners - training schedule. It is a similar training schedule that I used for all 3 half marathons.

But I do not just want to start the marathon training. I love lifting weights and doing drills, reps, and sets, so I was able to find these 7 Day challenges put together by Skinny Ms.

Skinny Ms. is a fabulous website with slow cooker recipes and weekly fitness challenges. The one that I started today is the Abs 7 Day challenge where it takes from top fitness trainers (i.e. Bob Harper) and other videos from online and put together a great workout. They have videos explaining all the moves, so you do not have to feel lost. I have to admit that this is my first 7 Day challenge, but I managed to get through the first one today, and it was a great workout.

Monday workout:
(25) sitted, straight arm body twists w/ feet on ground
(25) sitted, straight arm body twists w/ feet lifted
(25) in and outs
(30 sec) isolation
(25) bicycles
(10 sec) isolation of each leg
(25) crunches
(25) leg lifts
(25) body throughs

Total time: 8 min

For the feet lifted, I put my feet on the wall since it was uncomfortable for me to keep my legs up and still twist. I started to really feel it during the in and outs and then there is a sprinkle of isolation. And with the leg lists, slower IS better. It really works your abs. I'm excited for tomorrow and how I feel then, but I'm glad that I'm excited.

For the rest of my workout this morning, this is what I did:

(25 min) Sitting bicycle machine
(8 min) Ab challenge
(10 min) Free weights - interval circuit - Arms
(10 min) Stretch

Total time: 53 min

Not too crazy today. Just kind of getting back into the swing of things since I took a week off from the half marathon and then being too busy and tired to commit to working out, but now that I have a plan, I can definitely get back on track.