Cardio before or after lifting?

I have had this conversation with a couple of gym rat friends.. Cardio before or after you lift?  Granted these are guys I am talking too and the majority of them are like after..   (Side note, these guys are flippin hot.. Ascetically pleasing times 100.. All fit and buff.. They bust out their reps.. And can spot me with one hand...)  So I am thinking hey if they can get that awesome of a body with only a few minutes of cardio after lifting, surely I can do something with 20 minutes. I am not trying to get that ripped, I'm a girl, I want to be soft but strong, muscular but not to defined. 

I also read a few articles on the subject.  A lot of stuff saying do cardio after you lift.. So I tried it.. Yeah, NO..When I lift I tend to lift until I am totally exhausted. Lighter weights + higher reps= lean muscle. I really do not have the energy to do 10 minutes of cardio let alone 20..

So today after body pump today I asked Rhonda, a personal trainer that I have the pleasure of working with for the next 12 weeks.  Does it REALLY matter when I do cardio?   Her answer was... No, calories burned are calories burned. Whether you are burning them before weights or after weights. It's kind of like eating after 8pm. Calories in and calories out is the ONLY thing that matters not the time.  (Like I said I am just looking to shrink... If you want serious lifting advise, check another blog.. )

 And actually that makes total sense..  And in the end I turned to my all time fave resource, (seriously if they ever pull my internet history at work other than Facebook it's bodybuilding.com.)

And here is what I found..

Anytime is a good time for cardio! Seriously morning, noon, afternoon, it's all a good time.   For me I am NOT a morning person, so me waking up at the butt crack of dawn to workout.. NOT a good idea..   I will either hurt myself or do only a half workout which benefits really nothing..   Body has spoken and I listened. I am a lunch or evening workout person. 

Before I made the cardio change my normal workout was cardio first and then I would lift.. And for a lady who is NOT interested in gaining beefy muscle mass that is actually awesome..

So ya know what blog world.. I am back to cardio and THEN lifting.. It's what works for me and that's what this is all about. What works for YOU!


For more information see.. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek34.htm 

I know I know... Let's just move on..

It's been a while.. I have no excuses other then life just got crazy.. But I think I am back..

Hello Sunday!!

Hey Everyone
I am starting my week off right!  I have long talked about starting a morning fitness routine. But man do I love my sleep.. I don't like waking up early I would much rather curl up in bed and dream.   But I have decided that it is time I worked in a morning workout. Something quick and energizing to get me going.  My afternoon workouts will still be my "big" workouts.

 I had a training class today for work which was a little boring.. During breaks to stay awake I let my mind and my fingers run free and here it is Monday's workout!

Monday AM:  Kettleball Exercises.  I purchased these things a about ohh 11 months ago.. And I have NEVER used them.. Woman's Health has an awesome circuit.  Here is what I have selected for tomorrow morning.

30 Minute morning warm up.

Snatch and pull/push and press 10 x 3
Grab a kettlebell and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned out about 45 degrees. Place the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Stand up and lift the weight to chest height. Grab the sides of the handle and push the kettlebell straight overhead. Lower it to your chest and assume the original grip before returning to start.

Swing 10 x 3

Grab a kettlebell with both hands and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down until your thighs are nearly parallel to the floor. Then immediately stand back up, swinging the kettlebell out and up until it's at shoulder height. As the kettlebell begins to arc back down, bend your knees and squat, swinging the kettlebell between your legs.


Dead Lift 10 x 3

Grab a kettlebell and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned out about 45 degrees. Place the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Squat down and grab the handle with an overhand grip. Push your heels firmly into the floor and stand up, keeping your arms extended

Windmill 10 x 3

Grab a kettlebell with your right hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned out. Bend your right elbow to raise the kettlebell so it's next to your right shoulder, then press it overhead. Pause, look up, bend to the left, and try to touch your left toes as you slightly rotate your chest toward the ceiling. Pause, then come back up, keeping your right arm extended.



With my knee being iffy with the whole running thing, I did some research on interval training on an elliptical machine..  Found some good stuff!!! Here goes the evening workout..

Stretch- Muscle Roll Out

30 to 40 minutes Cardio
Elliptical
5 min warm up low speed
Interval
30 secs to a minute as fast as possible
2 minutes at steady pace
Repeat for 20 to 30 minutes
5 minute cool down. heart rate should settle back down to 120 bpm

I am making Monday a legs day!!!

Lunges 25 x 3
Squats 25 x 3
Side Lunges 25 x 3

Side Lying Hip Adduction with balance ball. 25 x 3

Side plank lifts 15 x 3

1 minute reverse plank 3

Seven days already??

I know, I know, I said I would post to my blog every day and it has been a full week without any posts..  But this week has been a little crazy for me.  With hurricane Sandy I ended up having to put in a lot of time in the office.


Friday was my appointment with my Orthopedic doctor.. It went for the most part ok.. I apparently have the knees of an old person.. They can see some deterioration in the bone which is an indication that I have cartridge wear.  They also noticed arthritis in both knees. Some of the damage can be attributed to the additional weight but also some of it is genetics and an auto accident from my teens, where my knee caps met a dashboard.  Because of my current symptoms they do not believe I have any soft tissue tears. My choices were either a shot in my knee or I could continue with taking things like Advil or aleve.  I chose the shot. Not to scare anyone but this shot HURT..  The nurse tried to prepare me for the shot saying that it's not painful it is nothing cortisone and a numbing agent.   Well it hurt.. I am guessing it was because my knee was sooooooo overly inflamed but the moment he stuck the needle in and the whole time he was injecting the solution in all I could think was holy cow this hurts!  Initially after all was good, a couple of hours later ie when the numbing agent wore off my knee was done!  Couldn't bend it didn't want to move it, I was a little sad.  To be fair the doc told me that I may feel discomfort because of the extra liquid in my knee for the next couple of days.. Right now, my knee actually feels pretty good.. It is still kinda stiff but I have one more day for the cortisone to finish absorbing into my body. As far as fitness well I maybe need to look at other options other then running on the treadmill. But this is going to be totally up to this knee.. Next week I will start seeing what my knee likes and what it doesn't. 

Knowing that I will not be down due to surgery really has helped calm me down a little.  But I am a little nervous about not being able to run..  Later today I am going to look for a good knee brace for when I am working out.. From what I have read this will help A LOT..

I am sooo hoping that I can run.. Because while I have been down nursing this boo boo a friend provided me with some links to an absolutely awesome 5k.   Here you check it out!

http://www.runforyourlives.com/

You have to watch that video..  I seriously want to do this next April...  It looks like too much fun..

Anyway blog community I am back!  Starting Monday I am back on schedule.. Gotta get back at it!

Happy Saturday!!!

What is up blog world!  I know I missed yesterday but life has this crazy way of getting in the middle of whatever I want to do!  Actually, I went shopping heh.. As I continue to lose weight I have found that I cannot handle the cold like I used too.. And it is getting COLD here in Kansas. 

The above picture made me smile..  And here is why..

In my backyard is a Japanese something tree..  It has the super pretty purple flowers in the spring and is short...  About twice year this thing needs to be trimmed. This past summer it was decided that we would cut off a problematic branch.  My cousin, his wife, myself were in my back yard with a gator (my style of chainsaw because its almost impossible to lose any digits) and a real chain saw (men like real power tools).   My neighbor came out and started talking and watching, I think he came out to make sure my cousin had help moving the heavy parts.    Branch came down, I grabbed it threw it up on my shoulder and walked it out of the way. Similar to how this chick is moving with the log on her shoulder..   The look of surprise on the face of my cousin, his wife and my neighbor made me chuckle...   And even as I type this I am smiling.. 

I worked out with Jessica yesterday.  Yes my knee is still really swollen and sensitive.  But this is one leg. It is not going to stop me from achieving the goals I have set for myself.  Jessica showed me an awesome muscle relaxing tool. Seriously awesome because I ran out and purchased one last night..
I picked up the Pro-Tec Foam Roller. There are several brands out there. This just happened to be the cheap one at the sporting goods store I stopped at. It came with a diagram that described other moves to relax various muscles.. I plan on having some serious fun with this...  Look it up, I was super shocked at how just a few minutes of rolling on this thing relaxed my leg muscles enough that I was able to complete my circuit with her.   It's not a miracle cure that is for sure!  But it helped me relax the muscles around my knee so that I could do what I needed to do..  Which happened to include jumping jacks  and continual knee movement with very little discomfort. 

I am noticing some serious changes in my body.  I feel.. hmm scratch that I AM a lot stronger and some fitness moves that were super hard are becoming a lot easier.. Do I like them all no. But what I do like is looking in the mirror at the gym and thinking "Hey, I am doing that! No way!"   Incline sit ups have long been a fear of mine. Seriously I feared them, I have no idea why... I did them yesterday, fear is gone.. 

So anyway blog world, I am going to get off here and go do something fun... What I am not sure just yet.. It's nice and chilly outside and the leaves are falling off the trees...  Maybe it's time to get that DSLR out and snap some photos..

Last thought... Am I still scared about my knee and gaining weight? Yes, but I got this.. If this was easy not just physically but emotionally everyone would have a goal to be fit and healthy.   I will run a marathon and put those stickers on my back window..  And I still cannot wait until Nov 2nd..  Have I told you guys I am soo impatient?? 

Ok so maybe... =)

Hello blog world.. I have some sad news, my right knee has decided that running is a bad thing... Seriously I am sad. But to top it off I am also nervous, scared and completely beside myself..   Not about my knee, but because I have a serious fear of gaining weight.  I fear losing control of my weight loss and taking either a step back or a break all together.  I know I am not the only one out there who feels this way... Don't get me wrong I am concerned about my knee. I don't want this to be anything serious. But in all honesty there is a part of me who wants to run regardless of the pain.  Is this dedication or just craziness?   I am dedicated to my body, to making her physically better.  And while I know running on an already damaged knee will only hurt my knee more.. Something in my gray matter says do it.  Because losing weight is way more important then anything else.  Fighting this urge to run only brings out other bad habits.  I am grumpy, stressed, and I have the tendency to grab for the wrong kinds of foods.. Which will only add to my problem if I see the weight on that scale go up. Sadly I like many other people have tied myself worth up in the number I see on the scale.  When the number goes down I feel better about who I am.. If it stays the same or goes up, well lets just say my days are not very happy.  I am my worst critic and I judge myself harshly.   I have allowed people who do not deserve to be apart of my life, either because of their actions or lack there of action to have some place in how I see my self worth.  At times I think to myself I will show them. When I am super fit then they will.. Wrong, if they cannot see it now, I shouldn't give them room in my life to see it later.  My own personal self worth has brought to my attention that they do not deserve to know me or have me in their lives.

I made a promise to myself when I started this I would type not only the good stuff but the not so good stuff and the sometimes painful stuff.  I am doing this because massive changes in anyone's life is scary and along with fear comes self doubt and sometimes self hatred before self awareness even begins to register with that gray matter.  I so want whoever is reading this to know that if you feel the same way you are so not alone.. 

My appointment with an orthopedic surgeon is on Friday Nov 2nd.. But until then I need to respect my body.  It has drawn the line and told me "YOU have reached your limit."  Now I need to be creative..  What to do tomorrow, what to do...

I am popping Aleve fairly regular and honestly my knee feels pretty good right now. I make no promises as to how long I will stay on my cardio equipment of choice. But I am going to try and do a nice 30 minute warm up. 

30 min warm up.. AMT or Elliptical...  It's my knees choice tomorrow.. Which ever one doesn't hurt is going to be the one I play with. 

Lat pull down 15x3

Chest Press on balance ball 20x3

1 min plank

Big Girl Pushups 15x3

Half Crow 20x3 

30 second side plank each side

bicep curls 15x3

tricep extentions on balance ball 15x3

Now this sounds like FUN!

Namaste exjunk food junkies!

Hello my friends!!

Hello followers!!  I have to say this weekend was just awesome.  I had more fun this past weekend then I have in a VERY long time.. It's awesome to have such good friends in my life.   People who see my silliness and love me anyway.    With all of the shenanigans and late nights this weekend I decided to take it easy today and use today as a free day.  A free day to me is a day that I do not go to the gym and workout but instead spend the time doing "other" things.  Today my other things was a trip to Barns and Nobles to grab a book recommended to me. 

Tomorrow however is another story! A friend of mine asked me a few questions about what to do to target some areas that all of us ladies have issues with.. That dang hiney, the thighs and abs.. I thought about it.. And here it goes.. A lower body workout to help get that hiney the lower half of our bodies in strutting shape. =)

I love a good warmup..

30 minutes of cardio of your choice. For myself I am thinking the AMT tomorrow.. Awesome way to get an all over cardio warmup.  Don't forget to PUSH. I know this is a warm up but you should start feeling you're body warm up pretty quickly.



 Lunges 30x3 - some days my legs are good with just my own weight other days. I need more.

Side Plank Dips- 15x3 each side-  For myself these are some of the hardest things I can do in a workout.. My whole body will shake as I get to those last few.. I push through it and they are sooo worth it!

Side Lunges- 30x3- watch those knees and get low,

Burpees!!! 15x3- I have a love hate relationship with burpees.. I hate them when I am doing them but ohh do I LOVE how they make my body feel and look.. AWESOME times 1000. =)

Medicine Ball Rows 15x3 each side- plant your hiney on the floor mat, if you can balance on your hiney with your knees bent and feet off the floor. Using the medicine ball for resistance tuck in your abs and twist from side to side. Kinda like you are on the US Olympic row team.. And not the person yelling.

Dead Lifts- 15x3- pick your weight. If you don't feel a burn add a little more weight.

Balance Ball lifts- 15x3 laying on your back with the balance ball between your ankles. Lift the ball slowly up until your legs and body create a 90 degree angle.

This is what I plan on doing tomorrow..  Anyone else?