WEEK 1

WEEK 1
This week was week 1 of - Rev Abs AND Chalean Extreme. I have tried doing two programs simultaneously before, but I did not take in enough calories in the past. Hence, I would be sluggish and not have enough energy during the day or in the workouts. This time around, I compensated for that by planning accordingly. I organized my own meal based on a meal plan that trainer Brett Hoebel has posted, adding along snacks and healthy meal suggestions that I have picked up in the past few years. These meal suggestions came from other Beachbody programs, suggestions I have learned along the way, and things that I have tried. The combination created a healthy meal plan, which I have been sticking to and it works.

Here's a quick description of my meals:
Breakfast - 2/3cup whole oates, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop Beachbody chocolate whey protein, a sprinkle of cinnamon
Snack - 25 raw almonds
Lunch - grilled chicken over green salad
Snack - 25 raw almonds
Dinner - 1scoop Beachbody chocolate Shakeology, 8oz unsweetened almond milk, ice.

The advantage of this meal plan is that the meals are interchangeable, they can be shifted around. If I'm running late in the morning and don't have the time to make the oatmeal, I'll make a glass of Shakeology and drink that as I'm driving to work. Then I'll come home to cook my "breakfast" as my lunch. Then I would make my "lunch" as my dinner. It's a simplistic meal plan that can be altered, changed, and revised.

Another advantage is that I can eat out - and eat healthy meals. My girlfriend and I had dinner out on Friday night. For dinner, I had grilled salmon over greens. Doing this kept me focused and on track.

Throughout the day, I drink 6-8 bottles of water. In addition, I finish two bottles of water in my my morning workout, and another 2 bottles in my evening workout.

As far as my workouts, I completed 100% of the workouts this week for Rev Abs and Chalean Extreme.

My workouts are on schedule, my meals are on schedule, and everything is working according to plan.

Several mornings this week, before the workout, I would receive a motivational text message from my coach
"Good morning"
"I'm up, are you?"
"Time to push play"
By the time I've read the message, my heart is pumpin, I'm wide awake, and I've turned on my laptop. I just put on my workout clothes and I'm ready to go.

A while back, someone asked me "how many calories are you burning in these workouts?" That depends on whether it's a weight workout or a cardio workout. I've been wearing a Bodybugg during my workouts to track the number of calories I have burned. One morning, I did not wear the Bodybugg because it was a weight workout - so it's not a complete reading. After that morning, I wear the Bodybugg in every workout.

On the other side of things, I stopped wearing a heartrate monitor. I did wear a heartrate monitor when I first started Rev Abs in December 2009, and the jumping jacks increased my heartrate. I would complete the workout, and check the stats on the HR monitor - and my max heartrate was 224. I was surprised.

Now, I only wear the Bodybugg during my workouts and go by how I FEEL. As someone once said, "listen to your body", or be aware of how your body responds to intense workouts. Now, if I feel that I'm out of my zone and pushing too hard, I'll back off a little bit. But if I know that I can work harder, I will do it.
This mindset will drive me and help push me to the next level of my fitness.

One thing I have noticed is that my body adapts to the workout routines faster. For instance, the workouts for day one and day 4 of Rev Abs are the same. Day 1 I burned 445 calories, and day 4 I burned 413 calories - in the SAME workout. I will have to step up the intensity for the second half of the week to keep (or increase) the caloric burn.

Positive results for week 1 - I'm standing straighter, feeling stronger, more calmer, extremely positive, very focused - and determined to make this happen.

WEEK 1 TOTALS (caloric burn per program)
Total calories burned in Rev Abs: 1798
Total calories burned in Chalean Extreme: 1178
TOTAL CALORIES BURNED = 2976

Now I know that sounds extreme. But someone once said, that if you want to get extreme results, you have do extreme things.
Extreme workouts, focused nutrition, constant hydration.

Week 1 is complete. Today is a reat day, so I'll do a little yoga to finish off the week.

Tomorrow begins week 2, and I'm excited for it!!!