SOMETIMES THE STARS

Just in case you ever wondered where my blog title came from..... I saw this stop motion animated video a while back and loved it! The music, story and animation is so incredible and beautiful. Enjoy....

I CAN & I WILL....

I'm doing an experiment for the last two weeks of this Transformation Challenge!!.... It's something I've never done so strictly before and that's writing down EVERY meal and snack I'm eating from now till the end. One week at a time though.... So Mon. 4th - 10th I'm planning everything, getting recipes, making a grocery list and looking at Clean Eating Meal Plans to give me all sorts of ideas!

Next challenge, I'm going to add running 3-4 miles at least two times each week. This will be interesting with the workout schedule I already have but I feel, adding in this cardio will help get those last 5 pounds off by my next weigh-in....

Final challenge! Fish Oil supplements. I've been given a specific one to take (not all are created equal) apparently. I'm wondering if this will help me with my protein, stay tuned....

I'll check back in on Wednesday the 6th after my Bootcamp workout : ) and let you know how I'm doing mentally and physically wise - - I know I'll be curious. It's a challenge to change life routines, I know I've done a few since this transformation and it's been awesome!

No Sleep Till Brooklyn!! ....It's DAY 32

I'm half-way with my Transformation Challenge!! I was weighed this morning before class and I've lost 5 lbs. My body fat is not moving, hahaha : / My trainer did sit down with me and explain how it can vary depending on the time of day. What really matters though is what I notice about my body and I feel that I'm loosing inches and getting definition for sure!! My body fat % isn't really that high, surprisingly....

Saturday Boot Camps are my favorite.... 1: I'm forced to get outta BED 2: The playlist at the Gym is killer!! - - Hence the Beastie Boys blog title : ) 3: Everyone is in good spirits and motivating.

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
40sec. 4x
Group A:

• Kettle Bell side lunges
• Hill Sprint w/ med ball (no thanks)
• Alternate rope slam

Group B:

• Lunge hops holding the TRX
• Bus Driver weight rotation (holding a 10 lb weight in front of you and steering like a wheel)
• Landline row (ask me if you wanna try this, too long to explain)

Group C:

• Push up, knee tuck (using the slide board)
• Cable pull side lunge
•  Side hop lung with med ball

If that wasn't enough.... Riley Athletics is so conveniently located on a steep incline. So our "finisher" -- Sprint up, walk down, sprint up, walk down, sprint up BACKWARDS, walk down....repeat. If you ever wonder what would be a good butt workout.... run up a hill backwards....


BEST workout song...circa 1986 baby!!

My Workout Music (right now)

We're making our own playlists to "bleed, sweat and cry to".....for Boot Camp. Here's my playlist, although - - I like to workout to these songs OR mostly dance to them. Not sure about bleeding or crying to them....

Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
Ratatat - Loud Pipes
White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Alex Clare - Too Close
Skrillex - Breakin' A Sweat
The XX - Islands
50 Cent, Eminem, Adam Levine - My Life
The Black Keys - Howlin' For You
JayZ, Kanye West - No Church In The Wild

"Empower Your Mind... and Your Mind Will Transform Your Body."

I got weighed today with the crazy scale that sends a surge of electricity through your body..... Yeah, you heard me. Probably the most expensive scale in the world - - but the most reliable : ) I lost three pounds since Jan. 22nd and my fat percentage is the same. Ryan (my coach) says I'm on track and everyone's body is different (obviously). According to him, I don't have much weight to lose and my goal is to get toned anyway. I will probably lose about 10 lbs after this is all over at the rate I'm going which is my end goal.

I'm okay with this but my next motivation is to step up my workout game, I mean these boot camps are awesome and I'm seeing some toning results after 2 weeks but it's a challenge for me to workout doing other things. I did good this week - - boot camp twice and gym twice. I want to add a run in on Sunday's and I think I'll be surprised at my endurance to run 3 miles. I should be doing this routine from here on out. It's HARD... But the more and more I start to change my routine into this it gets easier : )

Boot Camp Today:
35 sec. / 4x
1A - Pull Ups
1B - Kettle Bell Swing

2A - Cable Push
2B - Alt. Rope Slam

3A - Split Squat - Med. Ball Slam
3B-  Push Up / Weight Slide to Crunch (I'll show anyone who wants to try this, it's HARD).

4A - Bench Row
4B - Low Jump Squats

JOHN'S [workout till you puke] BOOTCAMP

IT'S DAY 15:
Our explanation for boot camp tonight was "I want you to workout harder than you ever have before, EVER, EVER before." Oh, great. Well, let me just say this. Doing stations for 30 minutes will be one of the hardest things you EVER do. And if you want to loose weight, do this a couple times a week.... all these in one form/another at home. Holla!

30 Min. / 6 rounds (most don't make it to 6, i made it to 5....crawling)

• Triceps on bench 10x
• TRX Bicep Curl  10x
• Jump Rope  50x
• Mtn. Climbers 50x
• Pull ups TRX/Bar 10x
• Burpees  10x
• Push ups 10x
• Split Squat (each leg) 10x
• Prisoner Jump Squat 10x

 I mostly just crawled out of the gym tonight and into my car.....

It's DAY 13 of Transforming into something....

When I put my mind to it I have a lot of control over food temptation! Yeah, me. This weekend I was put to the test, going out to eat with my family. No bread, No fries, 1 bite of cheesecake....etc. This Transformation Challenge has me really thinking about what I eat. I'm learning about how important protein is while building muscle. I am urged to eat 22 gm of protein with each meal! I rarely eat meat and little fish, so last week I ate a lot of egg whites... My trainer said I'm still not eating enough. This week, I'm including ground turkey and protein powder. I've also found how helpful it is to drink a protein shake after an intense workout. All in all, I'm proud of my eating habits. I have my first weigh-in this Wednesday - - this will be the test...

I've found this book very helpful for good clean eating habits:
http://www.eatcleandiet.com/default.aspx (thanks LAR for letting me borrow).

I accomplished (2) intense bootcamps last week and (1) Barre class. This week I'm going to try a hip-hop class, I've always wanted to do it - - another "Trying New Things" to write down : )