2.26.10: Friday-FINALLY!!!!!!

I am currently enjoying listening to my boss multitask:
-he has someone in his office
-he is clipping his nails (barf barf barf)
-he has someone on speaker phone who he is screaming at and threatening to sue them.

I guess thats why he's the boss-he really knows how to multitask...

Tomorrow is the Stamp Camp-where we do a bunch of big projects, have lunch, there are raffles, and lots of fun stuff going on. Cant wait!!!! And Tammy got a babysitter so even better-good friends! Will post pictures of the projects next week.

Today's Workout:
-Firm Better Body & Buns
-Denise Austin's Ten 5-Minute Target Toners
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm: Better Body and Buns
Taber Bruner, Jennifer Paluso, Jen Carman, 2000 ****

This is a 50 min (40 min w/out the stretch) workout done in the mansion setting with a lot of various background exercisers. You will need a tall box, ankle weights, and a variety of dumbbells for this workout. This is actually all original footage-not a Parts workout!

This workout MOSTLY strength work. There is one set of plyo jumps led by Jen and two sets of tall box climbs led by Jen and Taber. The rest is strength work, with a focus on your buns so some of the lower body work will get your heartrate up. They do hit every muscle group in this but I alwasy add on some upper body work to it as I like to work all the muscles evenly.

Some of the strength moves include: 1 set of french press, 1 set of military press, 1 set of bicep curls, 1 set of lat row, 2 sets of leg press (16 reps, 2X on each leg), side lunges (unweighted), lunge dip combo, a few sets of squats, table work over your tall box, some unweighted lying floor work and an ab routine at the very beginning.

She does the side lunge series and one set of squats without weights-which Im not sure why-my muscles arent fatigued and I dont feel I need a break yet? I just grab the dumbbells and use those and dont use the dowell like they do. I also use ankle weights and/or a dumbbell on the outer hip for the lying floor work.

I really enjoyed this workout and should do it more often than I do. Its only 40 minutes w/out the stretch so its easy to add on to, to make it more well rounded. Though even in 40 minutes you do hit every muscle group. I would rate this a high intermediate. They go slow enough to allow for heavy poundage. As a matter of fact I used only 15's & 20's for the entire workout. I like Jen Carmen & Taber Bruner a lot, Jen Peluso is only ok. They all cue well.

Today's Tip: 8 Foods to Eat MORE of to Lose Weight-#4 (from Self Magazine)

4) Fat: Yes, you read that right! Despite its name, not all fat will make you fat. In fact, the healthy kind helps you feel full, so you'll eat less over the course of a day. It also aids your body's absorption of the vitamins in other things you eat. Add a bit of healthy fat to each meal and snack, such as almond butter on an apple and olive oil on your greens, to stay satisfied and head off cravings. Looks like we should start calling fat "slim!"

Today's LOL:

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2.25.10: One stolen picture & the usual

I stole this picture from my sister :) This is my dad with my nieces and nephew. So cute!!! My oldest 2 nieces are getting SO big and the "baby" girl looks so much older than when I saw her in August. And my baby boy is chubbier and rounder than he was last month when I visited.

Today's Workout:
-TLP: Dynamic Strength & Power

-Custom Fit (Power Yoga segment)

*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: TLP: Dynamic Strength & Power Cindy Thorp, 2003 ***** (5 of 5 stars)

This is a fantastic 45 minute functional fitness workout. By functional fitness I mean the exercises mimic moves that you would do in every day life: squatting, picking things up off the floor, dynamic moves, multi planer moves, etc. This was released with 2 other dvds by Tracie Long Productions- Tracie Long's 2nd set she produced on her own. You will need a med ball (she uses it alot!), one set of medium dumbbells, and a step bench.

This workout is mostly cardio and I actually use it as a cardio workout. I use my lighter dumbbells (3-5 lbs) and it works perfectly for a cardio day. It includes some power moves like jumping onto the step, jumping over the step, hops, power lunges, and other explosive movements. She uses the med ball alot so I do think its necessary and fun for this workout. She includes some pushups and ab work at the end. There is also some standing core work interspersed throughout and she focuses on the core throughout.

The set is really bad and the production value is not the best BUT its all tolerable! This was flimed in an airplane hanger or some other odd place (a big boat?, something strange) with black curtains hung around the sides and multicolored curtain in the back. Another interesting thing is the step bench magically appears and dissapears. So you must be quick w/ your transitions. The background exercisers are just so -so...All in all these things dont bother me though and I still really enjoy this workout.

I would rate this an advanced workout. Maybe low advanced by today's standards but there is definately some power moves that a beginner or out of shape person could not do. I really like this workout and dont use it nearly as much as I should.

Cindy is ripped! You can see every muscle in her arms! She is very toned but not sickly thin looking. Very inspiring! She is a great lead. Not too overzealous but friendly. Excellent cueing.

Today's Tip: 8 Foods to Eat MORE of to Lose Weight (from Self Magazine)

3) Veggies: Putting a generous amount of low-calorie, high-fiber fruits and vegetables on your plate before adding a smaller portion of carbs fills you up without bulking you up. In fact, by eating at least 34 grams of fiber per day, you’ll absorb up to 6 percent fewer calories. Toss 1/4 cup navy beans on your salad (5 g), add a half cup of raspberries to your cereal (4 g), snack on an apple with the skin (3.3 g) or pair a baked sweet potato (3.8 g) with your dinner. Organic local produce often has more nutrients, so opt for pesticide-free when possible.

Today's LOL:

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2.24.10: Hello Kitty Sandwich, Card, Etc.

Remember my Hello Kitty sandwich maker I got at the Goodwill for a few bucks? Well check out the awesome sanwiches it makes!!! I made Jay a breakfast sandwich in bed the other day! Lucky him. I got that tray at a thrift store too now that I think about it :) And thats tabasco not wine...Oh and note that the plate is Hello Kitty too...

Here is a card I made at stamp club a few weeks ago .


Today's Workout:
-Firm Bust & Butt
-Denise Austin HTH Core Complete (UB+Core segment)
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm Bust & Butt

Tamela Hastie, Carissa Foster, Dale Brabham, 1999 **** (4 of 5 stars)

This is a 45 min Firm Parts video done in the mansion set. There are 3 different leads and a large group of background exercisers. It is an all strength workout, no cardio, but some of the lower body work will get your heartrate up. For this workout you will need dumbbells, a short step, a tall step, ankle weights and an optional weighted ball and barbell.

There is some ab & pushup work on the floor along with a set of donkey kicks with ankle weights but the majority of the workout is done standing. The standing work includes squats, hover squats, lunges, dips, bicep curls, overhead press, tricep kickbacks, bunney lunges, french press, etc. There are at least 4 sets of pushups and a sufficient amount of ab work.

I like this workout and all the leads but its definately not my favorite. Im not really sure why. Maybe because this isnt my favorite group of Firm leads and also not my favorite genre of Firms (Post Classic). It is also really heavy on pushups (as the title would suggest) but does cover all the other muscle groups. It is light on upper body work-besides chest.

I would rate this as solid intermediate but it could go either way depending on the poundage you use.

Today's Tip: 8 Foods to Eat MORE of to Lose Weight (from Self Magazine)

2) Fish: Remember that corny joke about the "see food" diet? The vitamin D in fatty swimmers such as wild salmon may curb your appetite, according to research from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. Marinate your fave fillet in a mixture of lime juice, garlic and cumin; chill for 20 minutes, then grill for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, flipping once.

Today's LOL:

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2.23.10: Stamping Projects, Recent Workouts, Etc.

I went to Tammy's house this weekend and we made cards! I am actually proud of myself because I even 'designed' the bottom 4 cards-I actually thought of the ideas. Usually the ideas are presented to us and go from there. I improvised on the top cards from an idea from a catalogue, but the bottom four -all me!

Cute Chicks:


Trendy Trees:


Good Neighbors:

Today's Workout:

-UR Compelition #4 (Sports Bound & African Bound)

-Exercise TV Complete Cardio (Teri Anns core cardio section & some bonus ab sections)
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Monday's Workout:

-Firm Cardio Split

-Denise Austin HTS Core Complete (part of core challenge segment)

*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Sunday-Rest Day

Saturday's Workout:
-Prevention 3-2-1

*total w/o time 50 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm - Cardio Split * * * * * (5 of 5 stars)
Nancy Tucker, Allie Del Rio, Jen Carman, Carissa Foster, Dale Brabham, 1999

This is a Firm Parts video, approximatley 50 min long. It seperates lower body + cardio and upper body + cardio into 2 distinct sections so you can easliy seperate this into 2 workouts and use it every day if you so desiered. The upper body portion includes ab work and both have plenty of cardio in them! I love love love this workout but probably would have preferred a few more minutes of strength work and few fewer minutes of cardio just to really work those muscles. I would say this workout is 50%/ 50% cardio/ strenth. You will need dumbbells, short box, tall box, a weighted ball, ankle weights, and an optional barbell for this workout.

After a high energy warmup you move right into your 24 minute lower body workout. You do leg press, squats, and some standing hip extensions with ankle weights, box aerobics, floor aerobics and then move onto a quick stretch.

The 27 min upper body workout starts with Jens (fun) 4-limb cardio section from Super Cardio then moves into 2 sections of ab work (both led by Jen). Then you will do upright row, bent row, bicep curls, posterior flys (2 sets over the fanny lifter,not my fav move because the box isnt very comfortable to lean over like that), french press, tricep dips, pushups, good mornings (like deadlifts- which seem to work the thutt area? so Im not sure why they are in this section) 4 limb aerobics, ball aerobics, etc. You finish with a final stretch.

This workout is probably a high intermediate workout. You can easily heavy up and add plyos to make it even tougher. The pace is slow enough you can use heavy dumbbells and/or a barbell for alot of the moves. I really like this workout and should use it more often. No dread factor and lots of fun segements in it! I also like that the lower body is 1st-then its done and out of the way and my heart rate is up for the upper body portion.

 

Today's Tip: 8 Foods to Eat MORE of to Lose Weight (From: Self Magazine)

One per day:

1) Pasta

Practice that fork twirl! Turns out you can enjoy spaghetti, rigatoni and all the rest, and still drop pounds—as long as you opt for a 100-percent-whole-wheat version. Whole grains contain more fiber, so it takes a smaller serving to satisfy you than standard spaghetti would. Boil up a pot for a speedy supper—just stick to a 1-cup cooked serving topped with marinara and supplement with steamed veggies to keep a lid on calories. Check out these five recipes that'll help keep your noodles nutritious.

Today's LOL:

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2.19.10: Last Nights Fun & the Norm...

Here we are at dinner last night. My sisters husband had a layover in AZ so we stopped by to have dinner and catch up. We documented our adventure:



Today's Workout:
-Firm Ultimate Calorie Blaster
-Shape Up With Sharon: Yoga/Pilates
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm Ultimate Calorie Blaster
Stephanie Huckabee, 2005 * * * * * (5 of 5 stars)

This is a 45 minute cardio workout that was originally released with the 4th Body Sculpting System put out by the Firm. It came with the TransFirmer step. You will need a light set of dumbbells and the TransFirmer step for this workout. Stephanie leads with 4 background exercisers and Alison shows the beginner modificaitons. There is also an 8 minute bonus ab workout on the dvd that is led by Alison.

Stephanie really keeps things interesting and moving right along. As with many Firm workouts-you move from floor aerobics, step aerobics, tall box climbs, light 4 limb work on and off the step, incline step aerobics, and a lunge/ squat combo w/ light weights on the incline box. There is also a nice ab section at the end that includes plank & side plank work.

The music is good and basically I love this workout! Stephanie is an awesome lead! Her cueing is great and she has a pleasant demeanor. The set is bright white and open/spacious. I always work up a great sweat during this workout and get a good calorie burn.

I would rate this solid intermediate workout done as is. If you add some extra plyos, jumps on the step, more arm movements during the tall box work, and use the 8 inch section of the TF when they use the 6-you can get a GREAT workout. This workout would also be easy to modify down for beginners.

Today's Tip: Diet Blunders that Slow Metabolism. (From Prevention)

Learn essential eating rules to stoke your fat burn all day. Ignite your fat-burning furnace

1. You don’t eat enough
2. You avoid caffeine
3. Your carbs are white
4. Your water is room temperature
5. Your food is covered with pesticides
6. Your meal lacks protein
7. Your diet needs to pump iron
8. You’re missing this crucial vitamin
9. You’ve had one tipple too many
10. You’re not getting enough dairy
Sample calorie-burning day plan

Today's LOL:

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2.18.10: The Usual Suspects....Nothing Exciting Here

Down 7 lbs today on my new eating plan. I have gotten in a walk every day this week too!

Today's Workout:
-Firm Complete Aerobics & Weight Training
-Tae Bo 8 Minute Advanced Workout
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm : Complete Aerobics & Weight Training

Emily Welsh, 2003 * * * * * (5 of 5 stars)

This workout was released with the 2nd Body Sculpting System (BSS2) put out by the Firm. Emily leads with 4 background exercisers-Suzanne shows the beginner modificaitons. This workout is close to 50%/50% strength & cardio, probably a bit more strength training though. You can definately burn some calories in the cardio portions and a lot of the strength portions as well. You will need the Fanny Lifter, dumbbells, and the Sculpting Stick (optional IMO) for this workout.

Emily includes some heavy four limb, floor aerobics, step aerobics, and strength moves: leg press, lat rows, bicep curls, squats, pliets w/ bicep curls, dips & lunge variations, lying chest work (pec fly, bench press), a nice ab section, pushups, tricep pushups, overhead tricep extensions, tricep kickbacks, front raise. I think the strength work covers all your muscles pretty well. I would say its a bit light on shoulder work.

There are plenty of combo moves that can really get your heart rate up. She combines moves that are appropriate with each other and not awkward. The poundage works well for both moves in a set so you dont have to sacrifice one or the other.

They use the sculpting stick just to use it because they sold it with the set. Beginners could definately benefit by using it though. Its ilght enough for a beginner to feel. They use it for balance/ stability too, which is fine for beginners. She uses the stick in 1 hand and 1 dumbbell in the other for example. I just use 2 dumbbells to get a better burn. I actually didnt even use the stick this morning-just dumbbells

I like this wrokout a lot! Emily is a great lead and cues very well. She doesnt throw in any complicated or confusing choreo like she does in some of her later stuff. She also has some good form tips & pointers in this one. I would rate this an intermediate workout because of the overuse of the stick and resultant decrease in weights. Easy to modify up or down. This is a great workout that I always enjoy and feel the next day.Today's Tip:14 Ways to Make Veggies Less Boring(By Sarah Mahoney on this Prevention link) Each item below is also hyperlinked.
Revamp Your Veggies
1. Buy the Babies
2. Oil 'Em Up
3. Use Dip
4. Say Cheese
5. Start Blanching
6. Cook Brussels Sprouts Faster...
7. ...And Onions Slower
8. Buy Tomatoes Ripe
9. Store Produce away from Fruit
10. Avoid Bitter Eggplants
11. Shop the Farmers' Market
12. Sneak Them In
13. Brush up on Their Health Perks
14. Cave into Your Sweet Tooth

Today's LOL:

From Engrish.com, Nice shirt?

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2.17.10: Workout & Review, Tip, & LOL

I am down 6 lbs still, despite the crappy weekend so that is good. I guess technically I am only 1 lb below my "norm" but down is down :)

I had to cut my w/o a bit short today as I had a dentist appt.

Today's Workout:
-Maximum Cardio Burn + Abs (minus standing leg tune)
*total w/o time 40 min + stretch


Today's Review:
Firm - Maximum Cardio Burn Plus Abs
Allie Del Rio, 2003 * * * * (4 of 5 stars)

This is a 52 minute workout that uses the Fanny Lifter (FL) and Firm Sculpting Stick (SS), you wont need dumbbells for this workout, but you could use them instead of the stick IMO. The workout is mostly cardio but includes a standing leg tune and a long & quite tough ab workout at the end. This is from the 2nd Body Sculpting System released by the Firm (BSS2) and the set is white walls & floors w/ some colored glass in the background. There are 4 background exercisers with Suzanne showing the beginner modifications.


After a warmup and stretch you go into about 25ish minutes of moderate intenisty cardio. Allie does some tall box climbs using the SS for balance. To up the intenisty I use the SS for curls, overhead press, etc. She does some squats and pliets with the SS, you can sub plyos in for the squats to modify up. There are box aerobics, floor aerobics, a kickboxing-esque routine, and some four limb with the twigs (the ends of the stick come off and make 2 lb dumbbells)
After the cardio you do a "standing leg tune" that uses the stick. I usually add ankle weights to this section as the stick only weighs 8 lbs. Then there is some stretching before she moves into a tough ab series that includes lower ab, upper ab, obligue, and some plank work. This is followed by the final stretch


I enjoy this workout though it is definatley not all that challenging. Its good for a lower intenisty day or you can modify up (or down) pretty easily. I would rate this low intermediate as many of the cardio moves are pretty low intensity. Allie cues very well in this one and I like her as a lead.

Today's Tip: Healthy Dinner Choices (from Cindy Whitmarshes blog)

1. 4-6 oz. Chicken Breast marinated in BBQ sauce or Teriyaki sauce, grilled or broiled, cup Brown rice, 1 cup Asparagus, broccoli, green beans, or corn
2. 6-8 oz. Grilled Salmon, Halibut, Tuna, Albacore, Ono, Swordfish, Shrimp, or Lobster, 4 oz. Baked potato or Yam, 1 cup veggie of choice steamed or boiled
3. 4 oz. Turkey burger made with Lean Ground Turkey, 1 Cracked Wheat Bun, 1 tsp. Ketchup, 1 tsp. Mustard, 1 Dill pickle, 1 leaf romaine lettuce, 1 slice tomato, 1 cup green beans or small salad with fat-free dressing
4. 4 oz. Rotisserie Chicken, ½ cup Fat-free Refried Beans, 2 Corn Tortillas, ½ cup Romaine lettuce, 1 Tbsp. Salsa
5. 4 oz. Chicken Breast/white meat, 1 cup Asparagus, zucchini, or broccoli, 1 cup Whole wheat pasta, ½ cup Marinara Sauce, 1 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
6. 4-6 ounces of Chicken, pork, or fish grilled, 1 cup vegetables, steamed, 8-12 ounces of red or white wine
7. 6 oz. Boneless, Top Sirloin or New York steak, fat trimmed, ½ cup Sautéed mushrooms
1 cup Vegetables, steamed,
8. 4 oz. Chicken Breast, shredded, 1 cup low sodium Chicken Broth
¼ cup Garbanzo Beans, ¼ cup Corn, ½ cup diced tomatoes, 1 tsp. onion sautéed, 1 tsp. garlic sautéed, (makes a soup), 1 oz. baked tortilla chips on top or side

Today's LOL:

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2.16.10: My Shape Magazine!

Shape Bride Magazine: I say "my" like I own it LOL, well I am in it-close enough :)

Here is my article. Its on page 114 of the Shape Bride special edition that will be on shelves through May 2010.

Here is what the cover looks like.

Today's Workout:

-S.W.A.T. Ultimate Body Definition (and bonus 10 min cardio w/o)

-Firm Parts Lower Body Sculpting (10 min)
-Firm Ab Sculpt (10 min)

*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: S.W.A.T. Workout: Ultimate Body Definition
Commander Tom Stroup, 2008 * * * (3 of 5 stars)

This is a 35 minute all strength workout. Tom (an actual SWAT team commander) leads with a bunch of super fit "pretty" ladies working out with him. This dvd has an added warmup and cooldown that the TV release didnt. Tom and group only uses one set of LIGHT dumbbells but I would recommend a variety. There are police vehicles and traffic barricades in the background. There is aslo a 10 minute mostly cardio bonus workout on the dvd. Its basically an abbreviated version of the SWAT Fat Burning Workout.

The workout is not as well rounded as I would have hoped. There are lots of pushups and bicycle crunches-though I didnt feel it my abs by the end of the workout. There is more upper body than lower body work in this dvd and he only does one move for the back and its combined with a tricep kickback so the poundage didnt do much for my back muscles.

The warmup is not cardio-they are using dumbbells doing some of the same moves that are in the main workout. I just used my light dumbbells and went with it. Some of the exercises include: bicep curls & variation, overhead press, tricep kickbacks, overhead tricep extensions, lat raises, pushups, bicycle crunches. The only lower body work is: 2 sets of squats w/ tempo variation and 2 sets of lunges on each side with tempo variation.

This workout is hard to rate-I would say low intermediate. I heavied up as much as possible and did feel my muscles being worked. I wouldnt go w/ the 5 lbers Tom & group are using-I wouldnt have felt a thing. He does go pretty fast on a lot of the move so I did slow my pace a bit to accomidate my heavier dumbbells. This is a good workout but not one I see myself reaching for often. For me, it just didnt have anything special about it. I will probably keep the dvd though because I like the bonus 10 minute cardio portion on it.

Today's Tip: Principles of Clean Eating (from FirmDirect.com)

Eat 4-6 small meals/day

Eat every 2-3 hours

Combine lean protein & complex carbs at every meals

Drink 8 cups water, minimum

Eat all your meals, especially breakfast (carry a cooler, if necessary)

Avoid over processed, refined food, especially white flour &sugar

Avoid saturated and trans fats

Avoid sugar loaded sodas & juices

Consume healthy fats every day

Avoid alcohol

Avoid calorie dense food with little/no nutritional value

Fruits & Vegetables!

Today's LOL: I used to just love Peeps-who doesnt love sugar and food coloring. YUM

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