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!!!

Lacking Motivation - And How I Resolved It

Ok, so last week I thought I was restarting Rev Abs. No motivation. MY TeamBeachbody coach sent me a text asking how I was doing, and I told him the truth – that even though I was eating healthy, I was not working out. What he wrote back blew my mind. He said, and I quote:
“I refuse to let you quit”.
THAT was an eye opener, it was a game changer, and completely caught me for a loop. I was excited, motivated, enthusiastic, and I couldn’t wait to workout.

However, instead of working out alone, we devised a plan that will work. He just got Rev Abs, and we’re now doing that together!

It was exactly what I needed to jumpstart everything, and kick things into a higher gear.

Not only did I restart Rev Abs, but I added a second program - Chalean Extreme. The question was, how was this going to work? So I did a little research. There were several programs that I wanted to do in 2010 – Rev Abs, Chalean Extreme, Brazil Butt Lift, P90X+, Insanity.

Rev Abs is 14 weeks.
Chalean Extreme is 17 weeks.
Brazil Butt Lift is 4 weeks (and it has an extended calendar for another 4 weeks).
P90X+ has three schedules, just like P90X, and is 13 weeks.
Insanity is 8 weeks.

How was I going to create a calendar putting all of those programs together? Answer – Excel. By putting the schedules of the programs side by side, I organized a calendar so by the end of 2010, I will complete all 5 programs.
In other words, DOUBLES.

To “see” what it will look like, here’s a quick overall:
Rev Abs – round 1/ Chalean Extreme
Rev Abs – round 2/Brazil Butt Lift / P90X+ Lean
Insanity / Yoga

The reason why I am excited about this schedule, even though it may look “insane” is because these are programs that I haven’t DONE before! I’ve tried two workouts from Chalean Extreme, one from Brazil Butt Lift, one from P90X+ - but I haven’t done their entire schedules yet.

Trainer Tony Horton said, “Variety is the spice of fitness.” In other words, you have to mix it up, change up the workouts – and as he described the principle of muscle confusion – keep your body guessing.

Honestly, I do not know what to expect from this schedule, but I can tell you this – it’s going to be one helluva ride!

RevAbs - week one

By restarting Rev Abs, I restarted from day 1. Not only did I restart the program, I also dropped the weight. Now I am changing things up. When I started on day one, I did not use hand weights. I used two 9-pound kettlebells (or KBs). I haven't worked with kettlebells before, so this was a challenge. I used the 9-pound KBs throughout the week, and they kept me challenged.

My meals have been healthy and nutritious. I have not "slid" or slacked in them at all. As far as what I ate, I ate oatmeal for breakfast every day and Shakeology for either lunch or dinner. The other meal varied between chicken or fish. Overall, I am feeling great, and I am very confident this round will deliver the results that I am seeking.

I did miss a few workouts this week, but that's alright. I intend on making them up in week TWO. I know that this hard work will pay off. As I begin week two, I will continue using the 9-pound KBs. If it gets too easy with the KBs, I will switch back to dumbbells and use 12.5pound dumbbells.

I will keep you posted on how it goes.