This week is a shiny new week and I have spent the last couple of weeks formulating a plan for success. And a strategy for getting the most out of my workouts.
Cori's Realities of Strength Training
1) I need strength training
2) Strength training is not going to happen at home...I do not have enough hours in the day.
3) Strength training needs to happen at work but I cannot bring all of my equipment in
4) It needs to be basic and straightforward so I can actually DO IT without getting frustrated.
Cori's Realities About Diet
1) My summer has consisted of too many high-fat foods which, while they did wonders for my skin, did not work those same wonders on my ass
2) I've been eating out too much
3) I've been making too many snack trips down to the cafeteria in my office
4) I need to clean things up
5) I need to follow a plan that will work for vegetarians
I have a coworker and friend who has been following Tim Ferriss's "The 4 Hour Body" for the past couple of months. She started around the same time as I started Whole 30 and has been raving about it ever since. She described the eating as being "like Whole 30, but with beans" She finally got inside my head with it and I picked up the book to give it a read myself and it's been an interesting read so far. Inspiring enough that I actually want to try it out. I like that he doesn't discount vegetarians and, instead, has written a plan that will work for them.
and then I had perhaps the luckiest strike in my journey so far...I was at Value Village last week for a little thrifting with my twinners and we checked out the DVD section...where I found a whole set of Kettleworx DVDs! Brand new - never been opened. Not the beginner ones, but those were easy to find on ebay to round out the collection.
A plan was starting to come together and I am actually feeling really good about it.
1) Eating - Follow Tim Ferriss's Slow Carb Diet as outlined in The 4 Hour Body. Drink far more water than I have been.
2) Strength training - my collection of workout buddies at work are actually willing to tackle this one with me and we have officially dubbed ourselves the Kettlebelles ;) (Much easier to remember than "The Super Secret Jillian Michaels Workout Society"). One of us is away on her honeymoon for another 3 weeks so we won't start the actual video rotation until she is back, but we are going to fill the next 3 weeks with a hybrid workout from the 4 Hour Body. So, strength training will be 3 days a week - Mon/Wed/Fri
3) Cardio - Uh, RUNNING, of course. Tues/Thurs.
and I kicked it all off this morning. But, of course, because of my busy weekend, I hadn't had much time to prep anything. I had just bought veggies and beans and eggs so I had everything I needed and I threw together an identical breakfast and lunch to eat at work.
Whole egg rolled omelet on a bed of baby spinach with kidney beans...and smothered in salsa. Tasted so much better than my half-assed photography attempt makes it look
If I prepared this the night before, I might actually be able to eat before I leave the house in the morning. Ferriss advocates eating within half an hour of waking so I will need to work on that. Normally, I am up 3 hours before I get a chance to eat - and that can't be helping my cause.
And, since it was Monday today, I packed up my workout bag and hauled my kettlebell into the office for the first strength workout of the rest of my life. Given how sore I am from my weekend races, I am not sure I was being very bright...but I NEED to start so am just going with it.
15 mins later, the Kettlebelles were done our first workout. We followed a hybrid of a couple of the workout routines in 4 Hour Body and it was, as my friend said "the shortest, weirdest workout of your life". It was easy and tough at the same time. There was only one small part of it that was kettlebell - 50 swings of it. An hour later, I am sitting here with decidedly sore triceps. Now my upper body matches my race-sore lower body.
The only thing I hated was doing this in the office gym. We went at 11am to try to do it while the gym was deserted, but it was surprisingly packed. Today must be a "start over" day for a lot of people. I found it very self-conscious to do this in front of people. It's one thing to work out with my friends...it's quite another to flaunt this body around a packed gym with full length mirrors. I think we need to find someplace more private by Wednesday...
Consider me started...now I just need to keep going.
257 days til Punta Cana.