Goal - Lose 15 pounds in September

What an awesome morning!!  The rain is letting up, and I had an incredible work out at Clayton Park Good Life before arriving at work.  I think I have my work out regime settled for the month of September with a goal of losing 15 pounds this month.  My diet is going to play a huge role in reaching this month's goal, and its going to mean some changes.  I have committed to a menu which will include 2 protein shakes a day as meals, and one low carb meal.  Snacks will include protein balls pre and/or post work out.  I am going to aim for 1300 calories a day, with one cheat day every 14 days.

I have decided to complete at least 5 high intensity training work outs at the gym each morning, and at least two outdoor exercise sessions.  I don't want to lose the opportunity of enjoying the Fall weather before the snow starts flying. In addition to daytime work outs, I am also committing to doing 25 minutes of hip hop abs EVERY  night before bed for the rest of September.

I am a bit nervous about losing some of the gains I have made with my legs from biking, so the stair climber machine at the gym is going to play a big role in my work outs this month.  This morning's exercise included 25 minutes of the stair climber incorporating interval training, followed with free weight training working my arms, back and shoulders, then a 25 minute steady run on the treadmill, 10 minutes on a stationary bike (I felt like it was a waste of time till I got off the bike and felt the impact), and deep stretching.

A positive of working out at the gym is the sauna post exercise.  I hear it is great for muscle recovery and I took advantage of it this morning.  A tip for the sauna, is make sure it is on prior to your work out!  It takes a good 60 minutes to heat up, and it is such a disappointment when you go to get in realizing it wasn't turned on.  Good thing I remembered today, as I was the only one using it and if I hadn't turned that dial pre-work out, I wouldn't have been able to use it.

You will have a good laugh when I post tonight when I get home.  Pete (behind my back) secretly taped me doing my hip hop abs last night.  I had no clue until I turned around and saw the sneak.  Let's just say dancing is not my forte!  Rhythm and coordination was completely off, but you can see the exercise I was getting in.  I was actually pleased with the height I was lifting my legs.  If I get the nerve I will post.  This blog stuff is TOTAL EXPOSURE!

Well folks, have an awesome, productive day!  Keep shakin' and bakin'!!!!!  (minus the bakin')........Cheers!!!!!   Tracey

2 Goals Reached - 100 k in day, and 1000 k by Labour Day

I am happy to share I reached my goal of 1000 km by Labour Day!  In fact, this goal was attained by August 31, following my 100 k ride on Saturday. So in short, from July 25th until August 31st I was able to bike 1000 km. If I can do this, trust me, YOU can reach this type of goal as well.  It was such a sense of accomplishment, and I was not only sore on but also emotional as I biked that last k.

The last hour of my 100 k was the most challenging of all. With 10 km left on the trek, I wasn't sure if I could keep going.  I actually grabbed my cell phone, ready to call Pete to pick me up because I didn't think my body could keep going.  Instead, I took a sober second moment and reminded myself that a "challenge" is actually "challenging".  If I didn't feel challenged, I wasn't working hard enough.  I visualized marathon runners getting sick following a run, and thought to myself, well if that's the worse that can happen, I can endure it.  10 more k wasn't going to kill me, and I could go as slow as I wanted, crawling if I had to, with no time restraints.  This helped me get through, and I actually had a final wind as I finished the last 2 k.  It took me 8 hours in total to complete the ride, a time I was happy with.

Now I have to think of an exercise challenge for September.  I am excited to change things up, and am putting an extra emphasis on my diet.  I am going to move towards a "slow carb" diet, with lots of protein.  My menu is going to include 2 high protein shakes for two meals, with one "slow carb" meal for lunch.  I am incorporating slow carb fruits and veggies with lean proteins.

I will be introducing my next exercise regime in tomorrow's blog!  I wish you all a great day and keep MOVING!  Cheers! Tracey