Diet decisions ...

As promised, here's the diet post.

I got The paleo solution by Robb Wolf as a birthday gift from my boyfriend and it was literally THE BEST birthday present EVER! My heart was beating with excitement and I wass hugging and kissing him like crazy. It took only once to mention I wanted the book and that they have it in one of the bookstores and it was enough for him to remember and get me one copy. He's so sweet and caring I can't tell you enough. I consider myself a lucky bastard. :) This means I'll be reading this book for a while now and put my Whole30 aside. Let me explain this decision.

I'm not sure, if I mentioned that I'm currently going through an education process to get a personal trainer licence. I decided on taking part on this course, because I am cooperating with a training studio that literally adopted me and wants to continue working with me in the future. SO lucky to be in this position nowadays! People are extremely nice and willing to help where they can so that we could fully start our business partnership. So the owner of this studio offered me help with my diet. She knows about my paleo oriented ways of eating and I even lended her my copy of Mark Sisson's The primal bluepint. I'm now on a day one of writing down my diet schedule (it will take me a week before I can send her my notes) and when I'm done, she will analyze it and present me with some guidelines on how to achieve my fitness and health goals inside primal guidelines. All this free of charge! Yay! :)))) This is why I'm ditching my intentions to start this Whole30 programme - I want a proffessional oppinion and support to sort things out once and for all. I had a bit of a roller coaster with food in the past and since then haven't found the middle ground and struggled with it for several years. Since I'm starting a career as a personal trainer (and therefore a role model for all my future clents), I feel it's the right time to put things into perspective and prosper from the steps I'm taking. If anything, I want to set myself for a fruitful future. :)

I'll leave it here. There's a lot of things going on in my life right now and I haven't managed to reduce stress levels yet. Though I can't tell how I'll manage all the changes that are occuring, I'm optimistic about my nearing fitness journey.

Vivace #52

After a week end of celebrating my boyfriend's and my birthdays it felt so good to make a cut with Chelsea's latest Vivace workout. :) It was an intense one and had to take a few short breaks doing it just to catch my breath and concentrate on my form again and again. Here's the workout breakdown:

1. sandbag swing - 20 reps
2. elevated push up & diagonal knee tuck - 10 reps
3. high knees - 100 reps
4. woodchops - 20 reps
5. elbow plank reptile - 20 reps
6. high knees - 100 reps
7. pike press - 10 reps
8. pike foot cross over - 20 reps
9. high knees - 100 reps
10. side plank oblique turn (R) - 10 reps
11. squat jumps - 20 reps
12. side plank oblique turn (L) - 10 reps

There are two rounds in the workout and I did them in 18:28 min using 7 kg weight for every "weighted" exercise. I'm pleased with my result and am off to stretch myself and have a warm shower. :)

I'll make another post about my weekend and diet later today, but for now that's all, folks! :)

ZWOW #38

I'm so glad this moment, because I managed to beat Z's time for this workout! :))) All I can say is I used approx. the same weight as her and concentrated on proper form and at the same time pushed myself as hard as I could. Here's the workout breakdown and my scores:

1. 5 jump lunges & burpee - 8 sets
2. dumbbell swings - 20 reps each arm
3. side crunch - 20 reps each side
Managed 3 rounds in 14:48 min using 7 kg weight (a bit more than 15 pounds). I'm sooo happy, yeah! ;)

Now I have one more thing to "confess". Yesterday I tried a bit of buckwheat bread and had some sweet stuff (cake). Today I don't feel so good and my digestion is messed up. What is more, I had quite s lot of dairy product in my diet this week and a few bars of dark chocolate (my period is comming, sigh). I found out that dairy really isn't that good for me and grains are a big no no. A month or more ago I'd be sooooo angry with myself for eating something sweet and "forbidden", but this time I can easily say no to the stuff I tried yesterday and move on with my plans and with doing what I know is right for me. I consider it as a small victory and am quite proud of myself. :)

So, that's it, I hope I'll be back with another routine again soon, but it depends on my period (how nasty it will be). ;) Have a great weekend!

Body on fire

Today I did one of Bodyrock's older workouts ptu together by Zuzana. I've never done it before and I must say it was great fun doing it! :) I liked it so much I added an extra round at the end just to do six exercises six time through. Here's the workout breakdown:

3 rounds 40/40 intervals
1. over and under (left to right)
2. over and under (right to left)
3. happy dancing crab
4. tripple knee tucks
5. pistol & Kozaček
6. swimming push up
Repeat 5 times for a 20 min workout. Wit an extra round I completed 24 min routine and had fun with it. :)

One other thing - I'm thinking of doing Whole30 chalenge. I'll probably give this to myself as a birthday gift (it's on Saturday). ;) I find Mondays as great opportunities to start something new and this will most likely be it. I just have to gather as many info as I can before I start doing it. If anyone has any experience with it, please be welcome to write it in the comment section below any post.

Have a great day, everyone! :)

ZWOW #37

This was quite lovely today. ZWOW #37 followed by 12 min 30/30 skipping and jogging. Such a nice way to start a day and a new week. :) Here's the workout breakdown:

12 rounds 30/30 intervals
1. Santana push ups (managed approx. 8-4 per interval)
2. side hops (managed approx. 24-15 per interval)
3. Santana push ups
4. squat jumps (managed approx. 15-10 per interval)

Really nice burn and relaxing 12 min cardio afterwards. Aaaaahh, ready to kick-start my day! :)

Vivace #50

Ooooh, another 32 min one! Chelsea, you're nuts! :) I had a great workout, great cardio & strength routine that'll left you feeling like jello. Even though there were two exercises "missing", I was trully grateful for that. However I did consider doing two extra intervals of high knees, but I REALLY had enough. :) Anyway, here's the workout breakdown:

48 rounds 10/30 intervals
1. Ninja Tuck Jump - 8, 5
2. One Arm Pike Press - 7, 5
3. Bicycle Crunches - 12, 10
4. High Knees . 82, 71
5. 2 Forward/2 Back Squat Jumps with Ugi - 5, 4
6. Dive Bombers - 7, 6
7. Sde Plank Lifts (R) - 19, 15
8. Flying Jacks - 18, 16
9. Jump Lunge Kick Up - 8, 8
10. Elevated Push Up - 10, 9
11. Side Plank Lifts (L) - 16, 15
12. Jumping Jacks - 32, 28
13. Dynamic Jump Squats - 20, 15
14. Diamond Push Ups - 7, 6
15. Accordion Abs (substituted for knee hugs) - 14, 12
16. Wacky Jumping Jacks - 64, 57
17. Side Jump Lunges - 29, 28
18. Push Ups - 9, 10
19. Sliding Pikes - 8, 8
20. Pendulum - 37, 44
21. Crab Toe Touch - 20, 18
22. Dynamic Push Ups - 6, 7
23. Leg Lift Toe Touch with Ugi - 7, 8
24. Chair Hops - 30, 32
I used 4,5 kg weight for this workout and a cloth for sliding pikes. For elevated push ups I put my legs onto a chair. Again, great routine! Keep 'em comming! :)

ZWOW #36 & Re ZWOW #26

First let me appologise for not posting since friday. I was sick and had to lay down a bit to cure my sore throat and overall being. I'm OK now and decided to combine two recent ZWOWs. Here are their breakdowns:

ZWOW #36
1. 4-point hops - 10 reps
2. 4-point punches - 10 reps
3. supergirl plank - 10 reps
4. thrusters - 10 reps
Completed 3 rounds in 10:57 min using 2 x 4,5 kg weights for punches and thrusters. 5 min later followed, ZWOW #26 which I did once before and you can find its breakdown here. Although this time I did not do any skipping. :)

I also finished my first Primal Blueprint 21 day challenge. It was a pleasant experience, though I did not stick to it 100%. I did not eat any primal non-approved types of food, but on days I ate more fruit than recommended and this meant higher carbohydrate intake than desired. I also had two picnics during this time and I did not fall off the wagon once, I just had more wine than I should, especially since I was getting used to this kind of eating and living, actually. As the end result - did I become fat adapted? I couldn't say that, but to me I made an impressive start to someting ew and exciting in my life. I still have a long way to go - maybe the next 21 days will be the ones that I'll finally grasp and make the best out of them.
Most desired side effect was weight loss. It didn't happen and that made me angry and wanting to quit it alltogether. But my boyfriend said that he can see changes in my body composition, my skin got better and apparently this poses something I'm not used to - working to achieve my goals, be patient and believe in the process and myself to be able to achieve what I want. Wanting something RIGHT NOW is so modern-like attitude, but the truth is - I like my personal growth alongside physical changes and adaptations. Now I consider it as a journey, a marathon (yes, I still have some goals) and am looking forward to discovering what I'm capable of and what kind of person I can be.
So, thanks, Mark Sisson, for your primal advice and enthusiasm!

It's good to "be back", to harness yourself, take controll and go where you want to. And at the same time learn the art of patience and determination. It really feels good. :)