I am still here and not falling off any wagon. Life and sick kiddos have done their work. But through it all I have maintained my continued getting stronger and healthier lifestyle. I have officially gotten back comfortably into my 3's. I was telling my husband yesterday that the last time I wore them I was actually around 5 pounds lighter. I attribute this to more muscle mass. And this is compared to when I was in derby. I see far more definition than when I was in derby as well. Granted at the time my legs were pretty defined, but my arms looked more normal. Right now it is an even distribution. I am especially loving my arms.
This week I transitioned into integrating some of my own workouts. I must be doing something right as I am far more sore than I have been in a couple of weeks. I have been reading more and more on HIIT (high intensity interval training) as well as weight training in general. One site I have taken to lately is t-nation. A lot of it pertains to competitive weight training, to which I am not, but it has a lot of great information on HIIT and training for women in general.
This article in particular I found very interesting in regards to how regular cardio can actually make one fatter. Since there is so much contradictory information out there it's hard to differentiate which articles are more based on science and which ones are more "spiced up". This one answers a lot of my questions as to how some people can be in such good shape with the amount of cardio they do, but appear to gain weight. And I don't mean muscle. One reason I love HIIT is that it is considered muscle-building cardio.
Here is an example of the HIIT workout I did a couple of nights ago. Some parts incorporated from insanity and Slim n 6.
Sorry for some of the example videos, I tried my best to find ones close to how I did them.
Equipment needed: resistance bands, dumbbells, weighted ball or kettle bell
Warm Up
9 minutes total
* 30 seconds running in place
* 30 seconds jumping jacks
* 30 seconds
Heisman
* 30 second jump rope (motion without rope)
* 30 second
stance jacks
* 30 second
belt kicks
Repeat 3 times = 9 minutes
Rest 90 seconds
Interval 1
* 16
dumbell clean and press squats I use 10-13 pounds starting out
* 16
Kettle bell or weighted ball swing I use weight 8 lb. ball
* 12
Level 1 drills
* 12
Power jumps
Rest 30-45 seconds
* 12
dumbell clean and press squats increase weight if you can
* 12
Kettle bell or weighted ball swing
* 10
Level 1 drills
* 10
Power jumps
Rest 30-45 seconds
* 10
dumbell clean and press squats increase weight if you can
* 10
Kettle bell or weighted ball swing
* 8
Level 1 drills
* 8
Power jumps
Rest 90 seconds
Interval 2
* 30
tricep dips
* 30 second
hit the floor
* 20
forward to reverse lunges
* 20 second
high knee oblique twists
Rest 30-45 seconds
* 25
tricep dips
* 25 second
hit the floor
* 16
forward to reverse lunges
* 16 second
high knee oblique twists
Rest 30-45 seconds
* 20
tricep dips
* 20 second
hit the floor
* 12
forward to reverse lunges
* 16 second
high knee oblique twists
Rest 90 seconds
Interval 3
Resistance bands
*
Bent over row. 16 slow, pause/hold isometric, 16 fast, pause/hold isometric, 16 slow
*
Bicep curl, 16 slow, pause, alternate arms 8 each, pause/hold isometric, 16 slow together
*
Shoulder press. 16 slow, pause/hold isometric, 16 slow again
Stretch for 3-5 minutes, make sure you get your arms good and legs and hamstrings
This workout was about 65 minutes for me. It can be less or more depending on your breaks in between. You can also take out the resistance band portion for a shorter workout. Most HIIT workouts are much shorter. Mine are usually around 30-45 minutes. This was a long one as I was also catching up on Supernatural episodes and had to keep hitting pause a bunch. I am paying a bit for it today. The backs of my legs are super sore. I attribute the weighted ball swing to that. It's a great one for the hamstrings.
