The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tonight before The Biggest Loser I ran 2 miles @ 7mph on the treadmill (1.5 degree incline, 18 minutes) and did 15 minutes @ level 5 on the stairclimber. I burned 404 more calories, making the total for the day 686.

..and speaking of The Biggest Loser, way to go, Ali! She's the first female contestant to win the big prize. We were pulling for her the whole way.
That 5k seriously boosted my mental state. I wasn't expecting that, and certainly didn't do it on purpose. It wasn't even a conscious thing.

Yesterday I started back on the Making the Cut program, this time without the math error I had before. My first workout went FABULOUSLY well, I made it through the circuit faster than before. My mood all day long was better than it's been in months. Things just weren't getting to me, not my job, my boss, the kids being fussy (which never changes, they're 2, 3, & 6). I wasn't able to do cardio last night and even that didn't bother me too much.

So then today I'm experiencing the same thing. Nothing's getting to me, I'm not on edge with people on the phone. My workout was great, had my heart rate wayyy up as it needed to be (at one point doing sprints I was at 202). This means that I was at the right intensity, whereas before I wasn't up there.

I don't know how long it's going to last, but I'm not complaining. Here's today's workout (I'll not post yesterday's, don't want to bore people too much):

Circuit 1
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns (pyramid weight), 20 @ 80lbs; 12 @90lbs; 8 @ 100lbs
Dumbbell Row, 15 @ 35lbs
Lunges, 50 reps, alternating (25 per leg)
Hill run, incline 10, 8mph, 1 min

Circuit 2
Low Dumbbell Rows, 15 @ 35lbs
Seated Hamstring Curls, 15 @ 90lbs
Step-ups 40 reps, alternating (20 per leg)
Hill run, incline 10, 8mph, 1 min

Circuit 3
Crab Walk, 10 steps forward
Reverse Plank, 5 leg lifts on each leg (10 total)
Crab Walk, 10 steps backward
Reverse Plank, 5 leg lifts on each leg (10 total)
Supermans, 20 reps, then hold midpoint 20 secs
Reverse Crunches, 25 reps
Mountain Climbers, 1 min

Circuit 4
Pendulum Lunges w/Hammer Curls, 10 reps on each leg (20 total) @ 20lbs
Hammer Curls, Reps to bicep failure @ 35lbs
Static Lunges w/Reverse Cable Fly, 10 reps with each leg forward (20 total)
Hill run, incline 10, 8mph, 1 min

Circuit 5
One-Leg Pelvic Thrusts, 15 reps per leg (30 total)
Toe Touch Crunches, 25 reps
Mountain Climbers, 1 min

36 minutes, 282 calories burned