I am so bad at this fitness blog stuff!

I promise I haven't fell off the wagon or even the face of the world. I am still continuing down the path of glory and fitness. I have decided to train for a half marathon! For someone who was never a long distance runner, this is quite the feat. I used to run in high school, but as a sprinter. I had what they call fast twitch muscle fibers. I am not having to train them to be slow twitch. It is a feat, let me tell you. But in 2 short months I have gone from running 3 miles in a 5k to running 12+ miles this week as my long run. I am pretty happy with that. I will try and keep this more updated.

Still around...

And still pushing through. New year came with 3 additional pounds but my clothes are not tighter. So I attribute the weight gain to hopefully some added muscle. My workouts have become "my time" and it's actually times I look forward to. I have my netflix ready and notes jotted down on exercises to do. I have accumulated enough that it has become a pick and chose which ones to do each workout. My workouts generally have a 8-16 minute warm up with 3-4 circuits done 3 times each, followed by a good stretch. My shortest workout is around 52 minutes and longest being right at 60 minutes so far. I recently had an idea to get all my exercise in one large list eventually, separated into types. I hope to add it to this blog all with example videos. This may be a growing list, because there are so many great exercises out there. A good circuit equips one cardio, arms, legs, and abs exercises. By the end of a workout you have equally worked your whole body.

So bare with me as I get this list going.

HIIT Workout 11.25.14

Some similarities with the one I posted the other day. What can I say I love certain exercises. I expanded and changed some things though. Trying a new way to post them too. Easier to copy and print for me. Can I also say how I love the weighted ball swing and what it is doing to the back of my legs and butt!

Enjoy!

Still here and kicking... HIIT workout supreme!

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.

9 months postpartum progress

Sorry it's been busy around here as usual and my blog has once again taken a hit. Progress is still continuing on the downward spiral, which in this case is a good thing. I have lost about 5 pounds this past month. I have increased my workout length to around 55-60 minutes each time, still only 3-4 days a week. I hope to start including some of mine and Steven's recipes on here as well as start making up my own workouts soon.

So here are the new pics for this month,

Well I said I wouldn't do this...

But after more thinking, I feel it's a great way to stay motivated and put my journey out there. There are many fitness blogs out there. Many are a great resource to myself and others. This is just my story and tips along the way.

Feel free to follow my personal pinterest for lots of fun stuff, tips, and more. http://www.pinterest.com/blazenglory/

Also, feel free to check out my journey here.