Becky's Body Challenge: From Puff To Buff Through Food & Fitness: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 35 of 84

132 today - I am back down that half a pound I was up last week. So that makes 5 pounds down for the year, but still up 5 from December's low. I know it's slow coming back off, but I'm patient. I absolutely do not want to go back to counting calories, and I'm still in the adjustment phase of Weight Watchers Core/SFT. I'm still feeling my way around this whole "eat until satisfied" thing, so if this is my pace, so be it!

I forgot to give myself KUDOS yesterday. My son wanted to go out for lunch yesterday, to the buffet down the road. I wanted to go so badly but I knew I would overeat. So I stayed home while my husband took him.

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

eggs w/ cheese [2 pts] & light English muffin [1 pt]

apple & cottage cheese

chicken breast & sweet potato w/ dijon vinaigrette dressing [1 pt]; OMG, I am so hungry!! I hope the protein from the chicken breast will hold me over until dinner. I wonder if I have to drop bread & cereal from my diet for a while, and try to get more protein and fat.

carrot sticks & green pepper slices; Okay, the protein did not help. I am so mother frakking hungry today, it's pissing me off.

venison & mixed vegetables

microwave flourless chocolate cake w/ sugar-free/fat-free pudding; I was DYING for chocolate. I wanted to eat every piece of chocolate in my freezer. Instead, I spent an hour searching the web site linked above for something Core friendly. I picked it because it was single-serving, I had the ingredients, and it got good reviews. I'd made flourless chocolate cakes when I was low carbing, and it didn't go well. But this hit the spot as well as a fake cake can. I'll make it again, for sure.

Four cups of coffee and two cups of tea. 7 activity points unused.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 34 of 84

After I blogged last night, I had a homemade pretzel [2 pts]. It was either that or chocolate. I knew if I had chocolate, I'd "lose track" of how many points I was eating.

I woke up this morning with a stuffed up head - this means 4 to 6 weeks of being unable to breathe and cursing at my useless netipot. Then our power went out and I didn't have any coffee - all I had was cold water in a house that was dropping in temperature. Thankfully, it only lasted a few hours. I did Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 to warm up (364 calories) and followed up with ChaLean Extreme Recharge - 4 activity points in all.

omelet w/ cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

grilled turkey sandwich [2 pt], cauliflower & broccoli w/ dijon vinaigrette dressing [1 pt]

homemade pretzel [2 pts]

Mexican chicken & corn soup [1 pt for light cream cheese]

Four cups of coffee, two cups of tea, and 40 ounces of water. 11 activity points remaining.

Mexican Chicken & Corn Soup - Recipe

I am pulling from 3 different recipes here.

12 oz cooked chicken, chopped up (I used all dark meat from a roasted chicken)
2 tsp oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cubes chicken bouillon, dissolved in 1 cup hot water
2 cup skim milk
2 oz light cream cheese, softened and cubed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional, for heat)
2 cups fresh or frozen corn (you can pre-cook this if you want)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a good sized stock pot, sautee the onion and garlic in oil until tender.

2. Add water with bouillon and milk. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in cumin, oregano, chipotle peppers, and tomato. Add salt and pepper.

3. Add corn and chicken. Heat until chicken is warm and corn is cooked through.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Using the numbers from my labels and SparkPeople.com's nutritional database, I got the following for 4 servings:

290 calories, 9.6 g fat, 26.8 g carbs (1.8 g fiber), 24.5 g protein, 6 WW points/Core+1

This was pretty darn good, with just enough spice. I'll make it again, but I might try to thicken the broth up a bit with cornstarch.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 33 of 84

I'd planned on getting my workout in at 5 AM, but a sick kid changed that plan. I had to wait until my husband got home from work to exercise.

Warm Up

T-squat - 10 reps

off-set push up - 10 reps

prisoner siff squat - 10 reps

stability ball rollout - 10 reps

repeat

Workout C - rest as little as possible

A1) hang clean (1x6x45 lbs, 2x6x40 lbs)

A2) db incline press (3x6x20 lbs)

B1) db split squat w/ front foot elevated (3x8x20 lbs per side)

B2) Spiderman lunge (3x20)

C1) pull up (6/4/4)
C2) Spiderman push up (3x20)

D1) db siff lunge (3x12x10 lbs per side)

D2) mountain climber (3x60)

D3) jumping jack (3x60)

No cardio today! Yay! My legs are sore. I could barely do my lunges. By the way, don't let Spiderman "lunge" fool you. This particular move killed my shoulders. Between those and mountain climbers, my shoulders are quite angry with me. I'm also having wrist issues today. I had a hard time hanging on to the barbell, and the push ups were a tad bit uncomfortable. I couldn't go down super low. Lots to aim for with this workout! It took about 30 minutes and was quite exhausting - 2 activity points.

cereal w/ skim milk, orange

oatmeal w/ peanut butter [2 pts] & sugar-free DaVinci chocolate syrup; I'm ravenous, and I haven't even worked out yet. This is the best oatmeal version I've tried, but I hate using the points on so little peanut butter!

omelet w/ cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & tomato, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

venison steak, potato slices w/ jicama, onion & green pepper, mixed vegetables

yogurt [2 pts] & banana

homemade vegetable soup w/ salsa & light sour cream [1 pt]

Five cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. 6 weekly and 12 activity points remaining.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 32 of 84

I did Turbo Jam Fat Blaster again today (191 calories - 2 activity points). My hamstrings are a bit sore from yesterday, but it was still fun. I'm thinking of making a mix of all of my favorite Turbo Jam segments (because I'm really missing some things from Cardio Party 2 & 3!) and making a custom workout dvd. I wonder if I could somehow make it into intervals. Or, I could just learn the routines and do them to music. But I don't think I'm quite coordinated enough for that. However, I am sort of feeling like trying Shaun T's Rockin' Body or Hip Hop Abs. Maybe I will try it Saturday, if I can get my husband out of the house. It's one thing for him to see me Turbo. It's something completely different to have him watch me try to dance like someone who knows how.

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

omelet w/ cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper, tomato & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

salad w/ raw vegetables & dijon vinaigrette dressing

grilled chicken breast sandwich w/ light chipotle mayonnaise [2 pts]

grilled chicken, whole wheat pasta & mixed vegetables w/ sweet & sour sauce [2 pt]; I am really proud of myself. The original plan was to have sweet & sour meatballs, but when I pulled the meatballs out of the freezer, one serving (6 meatballs) was 7 points. Screw that! I had the rest of my chicken from earlier in the day.

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. 14 weekly and 10 activity points remaining.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 31 of 84

Warm Up

T-squat - 10 reps

off-set push up - 10 reps

prisoner siff squat - 10 reps

stability ball rollout - 10 reps

repeat

Workout B - rest as little as possible

A1) push press (3x5x45 lbs)

A2) db Romanian dead lift (3x6x20 lbs)

B1) db row (3x8x20 lbs)

B2) 1-leg squat (3x8)

C1) glute-ham raise on ball (3x12)

C2) stability ball ab curl (3x15)

To help with the 1-leg squats, I threw a resistance band over my Iron Gym, so it was like the TRX Suspension System (which I would KILL for!!). I was able to squat lower than when I just tried to balance on my own. I wish I'd thought of doing them this way last phase! The workout is so much more challenging when you can squat low, plus there's the "advantage" of a prisoner-type movement because the arms are over your head.

I'm not sure what to say about the glute-ham raises. They are freaking hard and I couldn't quite get the positioning right on a stability ball. I'll keep working on that, but it felt like my calves were worked much more than my hams & glutes.

But overall, this workout is fantastic! I love it - probably my favorite TT workout so far. It took about 30 minutes, and I gave myself 2 activity points.

Interval Workout B - 3 min warm up, 30 s very hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 3 min cool down - at just under 15 minutes, this interval routine is perfect. The short work pace lets me go really fast, but it doesn't burn all that many calories and my heart rate doesn't stay high very long. Still, it was the most enjoyable of the intervals so far.
Distance: 1.10 miles
Calories: 102 (1 activity point)

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper, tomato & avocado, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

homemade whole wheat pretzel [2 pts]

grilled chicken breast w/ pinto beans & dijon vinaigrette dressing

apple & cottage cheese

venison steaks, broccoli & cauliflower w/ homemade barbecue sauce [1 pt]

apple & cottage cheese; Yes, again.

Two cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. 21 weekly and 8 activity points remaining.

Spanish Quinoa - Recipe

This is a scaled-down version of this recipe, that I used to make stuffed peppers.

1/2 cup quinoa (I never rinse mine)
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 oz onion, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup vegetable broth

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the chili powder and mix. Stir in quinoa, and keep stirring for a few minutes.

2. Add broth and tomato sauce, and stir occasionally until it begins to boil.

3. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until liquid is just about completely absorbed.

4. Remove from heat and let the dish sit for 5 minutes. Before serving.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 30 of 84

Since I need to do intervals four days a week, I've decided to do Turbo Jam Fat Blaster two of those days. I forgot how much this workout rocks!! It's has about 20 minutes of actual intervals, with a warm up, a cool down and a stretch for 30 minutes in all. I think I will love this workout when I don't have time to do Cardio Party 3. I burned 199 calories (2 activity points).

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper, tomato & avocado

pork loin, raw vegetables w/ tangy garbanzo dip

homemade whole wheat pretzel [2 pts]

BLT w/ light chipotle mayonnaise [5 pts] and tomato soup; I used turkey bacon, and I added some avocado and onion slices. So technically, it was a BLATO. For the soup, I left out the heavy cream, used skim milk instead, and used just a little bit of EVOO.

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. 25 weekly and 5 activity points remaining.

Whole Wheat Pretzels - Recipe

I just pulled these out of the oven, and they are awesome! Sebastian gobbled his right up!

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 pk (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
1 1/3 c warm water (125-130 degrees)
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs honey
1 egg white
coarse salt

In a bowl, mix 2 cups of flour with yeast and salt. Stir in warm water, oil, and honey. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until it is all incorporated. Knead on a lightly floured surface until a smooth ball forms. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 2 large cookie sheets with nonstick spray.

Divide dough into 16 balls. Roll each ball into a 10-12 inch rope. Loop each rope into a pretzel shape on the cookie sheet. Brush each pretzel with the egg white and sprinkle on coarse salt.

Bake for 15 minutes.

105 calories, 3 g fat, 17.7 g carbs (2.8 fiber), 3.3 g protein - 2 WW points

Monday, January 25, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 29 of 84

Meatless Monday Guidelines - still going strong! I didn't plan as well as I should have, so my food wasn't all that creative (or satisfying, if I'm being honest). I made a large pot of vegetable broth yesterday but it was too warm to eat soup today.

I do have to toot my horn a bit. I had the worst time trying to sleep last night. It was almost 1 AM before I finally fell asleep, only to have my son wake me up a short time later. Then I couldn't get back to sleep, and I could think about was chocolate. There's chocolate in my freezer (M&Ms I've had for almost a year and haven't touched) and it called me. I really, really wanted to go have some, to hell with the consequences. But I didn't.

I started a new set of Turbulence Training workouts today. These are from the Fusion Fat Loss set. Good stuff!

Warm Up

T-squat - 10 reps

off-set push up - 10 reps

prisoner siff squat - 10 reps

stability ball rollout - 10 reps

repeat

You're supposed to do a specific warm up (2x8 of each exercise in the first set, first with 50% weight, then 75% weight) but I don't. I know I should but I'm lifting so little that I'd fatigue before I even got to my work sets. But I know I really, really should so specific warm ups. And I will, after Insanity and I am doing super heavy lifting. But really, I can't do them now, when bodyweight sets wear me out. How do I do 50% of my bodyweight? I know, that's not really how it works LOL

Workout A - rest as little as possible

A) clean & press (4x5x40 lbs)

B1) db row (3x8x20 lbs)

B2) Bulgarian split squat (3x15x5 lbs per side)

C1) db forward lunge (3x8x20 lbs per side)

C2) elevated push up (3x12) - 7 on my toes, 5 on my knees in each set.

This is a great workout. I love the clean & press! I hate the Bulgarian split squat. Ugh, they suck. But it's a good workout. It took about 30 minutes and I was whooped! (2 activity points)

Interval Workout A - 3 min warm up, 60 s very hard pace, 120 s moderate pace x 4, 3 min cool down - I liked this interval pattern much better than the one I was doing last phase. I could run faster and it didn't feel as dreadful.

Distance: 1.30 miles

Calories: 132 (1 activity point)

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

baked polenta crisps, pinto beans w/ dijon vinaigrette, carrot sticks w/ tangy garbanzo dip

raw vegetables w/ tangy garbanzo dip

pinto bean burger w/ avocado slices on red leaf lettuce

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. See that? I got my 80 ounces. I need to stop using the cold weather as an excuse. I know I sucked it up last year. 32 weekly and 3 activity points remaining.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 28 of 84

It's been four weeks since I started Turbulence Training. In those 4 weeks, I've lost 4.5 pounds. I'm up half a pound from last week and still up 5.5 pounds from my low last month. My goal for the next 8 weeks is to get back to 127 pounds. I know I really, really need to work on my eating, stopping when I'm satisfied. I also need to work on my water and get back to the 80 ounces a day. I wish it would hurry and warm up around here.

cereal w/ skim milk

chicken breast salad w/ salsa & light sour cream [1 pt]

chicken breast salad w/ mandarin oranges & light balsamic vinaigrette dressing [1 pt]

curried pork stir fry; This was so good (just some trimmed pork loin and frozen stir fry vegetables w/ some ginger & curry powder, oh and some jicama) but I couldn't finish all of it. Well, I could have, but I felt satisfied and didn't want to keep going. It sucks.

WW vanilla yogurt [1 pt]

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee. 4 activity points unused this week.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 27 of 84

No exercise today. I'm resting my legs for 4 days of intervals next week.

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt], venison tenderloin

grilled turkey w/ Spanish quinoa & carrot sticks

apple

chicken breast w/ light barbecue sauce [1 pt], corn bread [3 pts] & mixed vegetables.

egg, venison & toast [1 pt]

Four cups of coffee and one cup of tea. 7 activity points remaining.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 26 of 84

I don't know what it is about the last workout in a particular phase that makes me want to skip altogether. You'd think that I'd want to push as hard as I could, but I'd much rather fake it and be done.

Warm Up:

body weight squat - 10 reps

plank - 20s

push up - 6

repeat

Workout B - rest as little as possible

A1) 1-leg dead lift 3x15 per side

A2) chin up 3x4

B1) step-up 3x15 per side

B2) slow push up 3x8

C1) prisoner lunge 3x15 per side

C2) side plank 3x30s per side

D1) close-grip push up 3x30

D2) plank 3x60s

My body just did not want to cooperate today. I am so glad to be done with this workout. 2 activity points.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - I wasn't sure I was even going to do this today. My legs were so exhausted, I wanted to do it tomorrow. But I really want to take tomorrow (and Sunday) off to rest my legs before next week's new workouts (with intervals 4 days a week - I missed that little tidbit in my first pass through the information).

Distance: 1.58 miles

Calories: 162 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk & banana

Paradise Chicken Salad & ice cream from Applebees; The salad is 6 points, though a lot of the ingredients are Core. I'm counting it all, to be safe. I split a small bowl of ice cream with my son, but to be safe, I'm going to count it as 8 points (all the weekly points I had left). My indulgence cost a ton of points, but to make myself feel better, I tipped the waiter 50%.

mandarin oranges & carrot sticks

beef stew meat w/ brown rice & mixed vegetables

oatmeal; I tried a new recipe and it was pretty good, probably the best recipe I've tried so far.

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. 15 activity points remaining.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 25 of 84

I am having math problems again - I had 21 points coming into today, not the 18 I posted in my blog last night.

Today's workout was Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3. I forgot to properly prep my HRM strap and I lost the transmission for a bit, but my final burn was 367 calories (3.5 activity points). I actually had to hold back a bit because I have some soreness in my right glute. I need to do some stretching.

banana

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green peppers & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

chicken breast salad w/ salsa & light sour cream [1 pt]; I tried jicama for the first time. It was okay.

carrot sticks & green pepper slices

homemade crab ravioli in creamy tomato sauce; I had a hard time categorizing this one as Core/SFT or not. On the one hand, it's whole wheat pasta, of which I can have one serving without having to count the points. On the other hand, it's made from scratch with whole wheat flour, which is not a Filling Food and therefore, one must count the points for it. It's a 6 point dish - I guess I'll split the difference and count 3 points. In the bigger picture, I don't think it matters much and I'm certainly not going to stress over it.

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. 14 weekly and 11.5 activity points remaining.

Crab Ravioli in Creamy Tomato Sauce - Recipe

Okay, I know it's not my usual day for trying new recipes but I was feeling adventurous. Last night, I decided I wanted to try making homemade chicken ravioli. I was going to make a creamy garlic sauce for it. Then I remembered that crab legs were on sale this week, so I decided to go that route.

I couldn't find a good recipe for what I needed, so I've pulled from a few different places. I'll post the recipe in stages.

Ravioli

1 c whole wheat flour
1 large egg
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs water

For egg wash:
1 large egg
1-2 tbs water

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix the egg, olive oil, and water.

2. Put the flour in a separate bow, and make a deep crater in the enter of the flour. Pour half of the egg mixture into the crater and mix it into the flour. Slowly add the rest of the egg mixture in and continue mixing until it holds together.

3. On a floured surface, knead the dough until it forms a smooth bowl. Wrap with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.

4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes. Divide it in half. Roll each half to about the thickness of a nickel.

Crab Filling

6 oz cooked crab meat (I used the meat from the crab legs. Okay, who am I kidding? My husband cooked and separated the crab stuff. That's just too much work for me. Now I know why lump crab meat is so expensive.)
1/2 c low fat ricotta cheese (or fat free)
1 tsp Italian seasoning

5. Mix the crab meat, ricotta cheese, and seasoning in a bowl.

Here is a good site with the procedure for making & filling the ravioli, but the recipe is different.

6. Place 1 1/2 tsp of filling on the strips of dough, leaving enough room between spoonfuls to close off the dough. Make sure your line of blobs is on one half of the strip of dough, so that you'll be fold the other half over later.

[NOTE: The dough doesn't make a whole lot of ravioli. I got 8 individual raviolis out of it, and still had about half my filling left over. I added it to the sauce.]

7. Brush the egg wash over the exposed dough that will make up the inside of the ravioli. Fold the other half of the dough over the blobs of filling and press the dough together along the edges, and in between blobs. Make sure there is no air in the pockets.

8. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut in between each blob. Press the individual ravioli edges together tightly.

9. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop the ravioli in (you may need to do this in batches) and boil 4-8 minutes, or until tender and floating near the top. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the pan.

Creamy Tomato Sauce (not fancy, I assure you!)

1/2 c tomato sauce
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 c Parmesan cheese (I used canned)
seasonings as desired (salt & pepper, garlic/onion powder, whatever)
remaining crab filling, if there is any left

10. Heat the tomato sauce and milk, but do not boil. Add in cheese. Pour sauce over cooked ravioli.

Makes 4 servings. 296 calories, 10.8 g fat, 28.5 g carbs (4.1 g fiber), 22.6 g protein - 6 WW points. Whether or not it's Core+1 (for the cheeses) depends on how you interpret the whole wheat pasta rules. One serving of whole wheat pasta is a Filling Food (more than 1 per day, you count the points), but being homemade with flour (not a filling food), I'm not sure if it's still technically Core.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 24 of 84

After I blogged last night, I had some Frosted Mini Wheats [3 pts]. My husband and I are complete opposites when it comes to cereal, especially this stuff. He likes his soaked with milk and soggy. I can only eat them completely dry. They are a great snack.

After lots of back and forth, I finally have a start date for Insanity. I was going to start immediately after completing Turbulence Training (March 22) but I've decided to take my son up to New York to see his grandparents. If we wait until the end of June for my step-daughter's graduation (HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY, B!!), it will have been over a year since they've seen each other. And it would just make my mother-in-law's Easter to see Sebastian. So I'll start Insanity when we return. I'll have enough time to do the whole program, with an extra Recovery Week, before we head back up. After that, I have no idea what I'm doing. I was going to do P90X+ and New Rules of Lifting but I'm not sure.

I ate much more protein than I have been lately and I haven't been as snacky, so I think I'm going to have to suck it up and eat more protein. I'm still worried that I will overeat though.

Warm Up:

body weight squat - 10 reps

plank - 20s

push up - 6

repeat

Workout A - rest as little as possible

A1) push ups 3x10

A2) inverted row 3x8

B1) 1-leg squat 3x7 per side

B2) bicycle crunch 3x32

C1) Bulgarian split squat 3x12 per side

C2) elevated push up 3x8

D1) reaching lunge 3x12 per side

D2) mountain climbers 3x20

I managed 2 of the 3 sets of Bulgarian split squats without rests. It was just the first set that messed me up. It was a good workout - I'll miss it. 2 activity points to this one.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - I actually looked forward to this. Kind of. I still hate running.

Distance: 1.60 miles

Calories: 164 (1.5 activity points)

banana

omelet w/ avocado, onion, green peppers & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

chicken salad w/ avocado, salsa & light sour cream [1 pt]

grilled turkey & sweet potato

crumb-coated [1 pt] tilapia w/ mixed vegetables

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. One of these days, I will get back on the 80 ounces train. 18 weekly and 8 activity points remaining.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 23 of 84

I had nothing scheduled today, so I did the Fountain Of Youth Yoga workout from Tony Horton's One-On-One series. It's very good - 40 minutes, though I only did the first 30 because I didn't want to do any ab work (1 activity point). It's a bit faster paced than Yoga X from P90X and Tony is not nearly as annoying. The only issue I had was about halfway through - the video zooms in on Tony's pelvis while he's in crescent pose and his shorts are so tight, you can see the outline of his schlong. It was really, really distracting and it totally blew my focus. And I'm not talking about just hint of the man muscle. It was very clearly THERE! On a 55-inch HDTV, it's quite the image. It was like "When Elephants Attack" in IMAX 3D. Not only that, in Fountain Of Youth Yoga, we get to see exactly how flexible Tony Horton really is. You do the math...

banana

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

Spanish quinoa stuffed pepper & chicken breast w/ light barbecue sauce

apple & cottage cheese

homemade venison sausage, French toast made from Core'N bread w/ light syrup [1 pt], half a Fiber One pancake [1 pt]; I do not care for French toast made with cornmeal.

banana

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. 24 weekly and 4.5 activity points remaining.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 22 of 84

It's Meatless Monday and I promised my son I'd take him to Applebees for lunch. However, I had to beg and plead to do it on Friday so I could actually enjoy my lunch. I looked at the menu online and there wasn't really anything I could eat that would fit in with Weight Watchers Core and be meatless. Thankfully, he was a really good sport and agreed to switch days.

Warm Up:

body weight squat - 10 reps

plank - 20s

push up - 6

repeat

Workout B - rest as little as possible

A1) 1-leg dead lift 3x15 per side

A2) chin up 3x4

B1) step-up 3x15 per side

B2) slow push up 3x8

C1) prisoner lunge 3x15 per side

C2) side plank 3x30s per side

D1) close-grip push up 3x30

D2) plank 3x60s

Seriously, having 30 close-grip push ups followed by a 60 second plank is cruel and unusual punishment. I'm able to stay up for the entire plank but it's brutal. BRUTAL! 2 activity points.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - this is the last week of this particular interval format. Next week, the work paces are harder and the recovery paces are longer. The arm up and cool downs are shorter, too, and that makes a big difference, psychologically, even it it only shortens the workout a couple minutes.
Distance: 1.57 miles
Calories: 165 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green peppers, mozzarella cheese [2 pts] & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt], apple

grilled core'n bread; I couldn't toast it, so I sliced it and threw it on my mini grill. Awesome! I skipped the butter but if I had any points to spare, I would have gone there for sure!

green pepper slices, baked polenta & acorn squash "fries"

Spanish quinoa stuffed peppers; I only ate half of what I made for myself. It hadn't been that long since I'd last eaten, but my boys were hungry so I cooked. There's another half a pepper full of quinoa, plus extra quinoa for tomorrow. This recipe was really good.

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. 32 weekly and 3.5 activity points remaining.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 21 of 84

I weighed in at 132 this morning - that's down 2 from last week but still 5 over my December low.

omelet w/ cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced sugar jelly [1 pt]

banana smoothie

grilled turkey with Core-friendly bread, carrot sticks & green pepper slices; I made the bread that's made with all Core ingredients - it's basically a cornbread

mandarin oranges

pork w/ pineapple chipotle sauce, mixed vegetables

apple & cottage cheese

yogurt & Hershey's kisses [4 pts]

Four cups of coffee today. I used up all my activity points.

Pork with Pineapple Chipotle Sauce - Recipe

This is a variation of Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Chipotle Sauce.

1 cup pineapple juice (I just used the juice from a 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks packed in juice)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tbs chipotle in adobo sauce, minced
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbs fresh oregano)
pepper to taste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbs coarsely ground pepper
1 tbs chili powder
12 oz pork (I used a lean cut, cut into 1" chunks)
1/2 tsp olive oil (or use nonstick spray)

1. Combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, and chipotle in a pan. Simmer, stirring often, until the mixture is thick (to coat the back of a spoon). Remove from heat and add lime juice, oregano, and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, and chili powder. Mix/rub into the pork.

3. Heat the olive oil/nonstick spray and brown the pork. In the oven or stove top, cook the meat to 160 degrees F. Remove from heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Stir sauce over the pork and serve.

This makes 3-4 servings.

It was really, really good but way too spicy for me. My husband loved it. I would like to make it again, but cut the chipotle in half.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 20 of 84

I'm having major hunger issues. I think I'm eating too many processed carbs and not enough fat & protein. Doing Core, it's easy to overeat on the protein so I've really been trying to limit myself. At the same time, I'm extremely sensitive to carbs, even good carbs, and I retain water like crazy when I eat them. And I can only handle so many vegetables. Vegetables do nothing for my hunger. But I will say, I think I'm eating better now than I really ever have (Hershey's Kisses aside). I really hope this is the year I get things under control and really learn when I'm hungry and when I'm not.

"fried" eggs w/ light English muffin [1 pt]

salad w/ chicken breast & homemade dressing

polenta crisps & acorn squash "fries" w/ chicken breast

chicken pot pie [5 pts]; I mixed some cooked chicken with mixed vegetables and put it in a pie crust, then topped it with light cream cheese. It was delicious but not very filling. I'm disappointed.

apple & cottage cheese

pineapple; I think I may be eating too much fruit.

I think I had four cups of coffee - it might have been five. It was a long day and I lost track. 7 activity points remaining.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 19 of 84

Again with the Hershey's Kisses [10 pts worth!!] but I don't feel guilty. I accounted for them, at least.

Warm Up:
body weight squat - 10 reps
plank - 20s
push up - 6
repeat

Workout A - rest as little as possible
A1) push ups 3x10
A2) inverted row 3x8
B1) 1-leg squat 3x7 per side
B2) bicycle crunch 3x32
C1) Bulgarian split squat 3x12 per side
C2) elevated push up 3x8
D1) reaching lunge 3x12 per side
D2) mountain climbers 3x20

2 activity points for this mess.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - this is definitely getting less horrible but I'm glad next week is the last for this particular interval set.

Distance: 1.58 miles

Calories: 167 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk & banana

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

grilled ground turkey patty w/ baked polenta crisps

carrot sticks & green pepper slices, apple

venison (not ground) chili, salad w/ homemade dressing - I had just a little bit of chili and a very large salad with lettuce, spinach, green peppers, onion and carrots. I made some of the dressing that I used in my 3 bean salad (1 tbs dijon mustard, 1/2 tbs dried parsley, 1/4 c red wine vinegar, 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil) and used just enough that it counted toward my 2 tsp of healthy oils for the day. Yay for a completely Core meal!

yogurt [2 pts]

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. I need to get back to my 80 ounces. If my fingers ever thaw out, I'd be able to hold my water bottle. 13 activity points remaining. I've been eating too much, and making some poor choices this week. I hate this.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 18 of 84

After I blogged last night, I had some Hershey Kisses [5 pts] and I really, really felt guilty about it. I managed to not binge but I still felt stupid for even having them. I'd been doing so well this week. On top of that guilt, I had no workout scheduled for today, and I didn't bother to try to come up with something.

banana

oatmeal w/ cinnamon & Splenda

apple

chicken breast w/ carrot stick, green pepper slices & sweet potato; I finally got around to eating the other half of my sweet potato from the other night's dinner.

Flat Out bread w/ salsa [3 pts]

apple & green pepper slices

tilapia w/ baked acorn squash & mixed vegetables

Four cups of coffee. 14 weekly and 10.5 activity points remaining.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 17 of 84

I managed to get myself up at 5 AM. Since we started leaving the bedroom doors open, it's not as dreadfully cold in the rest of the house. I don't dislike working out as much. Still, it's no spring, summer, or fall.

Warm Up:
body weight squat - 10 reps
plank - 20s
push up - 6
repeat

Workout B - rest as little as possible
A1) 1-leg dead lift 3x15 per side
A2) chin up 3x4
B1) step-up 3x15 per side
B2) slow push up 3x8
C1) prisoner lunge 3x15 per side
C2) side plank 3x30s per side
D1) close-grip push up 3x30
D2) plank 3x60s

My legs were exhausted before I even started this workout. For the 1 leg dead lifts, I did 1 leg Romanian dead lifts instead of the conventional type. My quads were just hunks of lead.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - I was slower than usual today because of my legs just being dead.

Distance: 1.52 miles

Calories: 164 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

banana

3 bean salad w/ tuna fish

rice cakes & mozzarella string cheese [5 pts]; I am hungry as heck today.

roasted chicken w/ mashed cauliflower [2 pts for cheese]

Five cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. 22 weekly and 10.5 activity points remaining. I feel like a pig today. I definitely overate, even on Core foods.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 16 of 84

Today was a "rest" day so I did Turbo Sport for the first time. It's on Volume 3 of the Turbo Kick Fan dvds, and Chalene's sister Jenelle leads it. It. Is. Awesome!!! Unlike the other TK Fan dvds, this one works both sides of the body evenly, instead of showing beginner moves on the right and advance combinations on the left. I loved it. It was exhausting - my legs may just have been tired because I worked out last night instead of yesterday morning. I will definitely do this one again. I did skip the legs and ab sections at the end, and went to the cool down. I find the legs & abs annoying, since I do those separately. It was a 45 minute workout, and I burned 363 calories (3.5 activity points).

cereal w/ skim milk

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt]

banana

chicken breast, 3 bean salad

apple & cottage cheese

venison roast w/ mixed vegetables & jasmine rice; I didn't eat all of my venison (and I didn't even put that much on m plate). I'm kind of worried how little it takes to satisfy me. I don't want it to be all in my head, but have my body really needing fuel.

oatmeal w/ apple, cinnamon & Splenda

Five cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. 32 weekly and 7 activity points remaining.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 15 of 84

Meatless Monday Guidelines - I planned again so I felt confident I'd nail it today.

I got up this morning and was going to work out then I changed my mind. Then I went back and forth all freaking day, finally decided that I was absolutely going to take the day off, then changed my mind again at the last minute.

Warm Up:
body weight squat - 10 reps
plank - 20s
push up - 6
repeat

Workout A - rest as little as possible
A1) push ups 3x10
A2) inverted row 3x8
B1) 1-leg squat 3x7 per side
B2) bicycle crunch 3x32
C1) Bulgarian split squat 3x12 per side
C2) elevated push up 3x8
D1) reaching lunge 3x12 per side
D2) mountain climbers 3x20

I'm getting tired of bodyweight only exercises. I'm looking forward to the next et of workouts. 2 activity points for this.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - I felt pretty darn good during this. The music was rockin', I was flying, then my damn headphones quit working. I only had sound in one ear and it bummed me majorly. This was my favorite pair of ear buds. It's hard for me to find ear buds that fit my ears. I do have a back up, but it's one of those noise reducing types and has a small plastic case on it that makes it not so good for running. So I guess I'm going to buy new headphones tomorrow.

Distance: 1.57 miles

Calories: 167 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk

oatmeal w/ apple, cinnamon & Splenda

broiled polenta chips & vegetable soup; I used the vegetable broth I made last week, some salsa and some frozen vegetable soup veggies. I sliced up some polenta (I may start making that from scratch), spayed some olive oil on it and sprinkled rosemary & garlic powder on it. I'm addicted.

carrot stcks & green pepper slices

monster cookie; This was really, really good. I ate half and saved the rest. I can see dozens of different variations for it. I made one for my son with chocolate sprinkles (well, a shaved Hershey's Kiss) and he absolutely loved it!

3 bean salad & sweet potato w/ rosemary & garlic; I ate about 3/4 cup of beans and half a medium sweet potato. I wasn't sure whether or not I was satisfied, still hungry, or just trying to talk myself into eating less.

the rest of my monster cookie; I decided I was still hungry, after thinking about it for an hour. I still feel hungry.

Four cups of coffee, three cups of tea, and 20 ounces of water. 35 weekly points and 3.5 activity points remaining.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Three Bean Salad - Recipe

I just finished making my salad for Meatless Monday and it's really freaking good! I wasn't expecting to post it here, but it came out so great, I had to share.

Note: I used dry beans and I have no idea how much cooked beans it actually produced. I measured out the red beans I had left then used an equal amount of dry pinto beans. I did, however, use canned garbanzo beans (chick peas).

242 g dry pinto beans

242 g dry kidney beans

(you can use any kind of beans, really)

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained

1 tbs Dijon mustard

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 tbs dried parsley

1. Cook the dry beans until they are soft, but not mushy. Drain well and rinse. Mix all three types of beans together.

2. In a small bowl, mix mustard, vinegar, oil and parsley. Stir into bean mix. Refrigerate or eat immediately!

This makes 16 servings. I'm not quite sure how big they are, though. I'd have to weigh the entire batch, and we've already been picking at it, so I'll have to do it next time. And, there will be a next time.

134 calories, 3.6 g fat, 24 g carbs (13.9 g fiber), 7.1 g protein - 2 WW points, and good for Core, I believe.

Tomato Vegetable Risotto - Recipe

For some reason, I've been craving risotto with tomato in it, something I've never had before (so I don't know why I'm craving it). I tried finding an easy recipe using ingredients I had on hand. I did not want to go back to the store because it's freaking cold out there. And I couldn't spend too much time looking because I'm still working on getting all my recipes into Living Cookbook and my junkputer can't handle too many things at once. I married a guy like that. So I just modified the Easy Risotto Recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens 75th Anniversary cookbook (p 82).

2 oz chopped onion

1 clove garlic (not in the original recipe)

1 tbs butter (I used 2 tsp olive oil)

2/3 c uncooked arborio rice

1 cup broth or stock

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

(the original recipe calls for 2 cups of water, but I almost always use stock or broth)

1 tsp chicken bouillion (optional - I left it out for this recipe)

dash pepper

1 cup mixed vegetables (original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of peas, if I recall correctly) - if frozen, warm them a bit

4 tbs Parmesan cheese (yeah, I use the crap in the can)

1. In a medium sauce pan, cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender. Add the rice, stir, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, then add the broth a little at a time. Bring to boil, then reduce to low-medium heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. You'll need to keep an eye on it and stir often. Unlike the original, which you just cover and leave, this one needed babysitting.

2. Remove pan from heat. Stir in vegetables and cheese. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

This makes 6 servings.

132 calories, 3 g fat, 21.4 g carbs (1.6 g fiber), 4.2 g protein - 3 WW points/Core+1

I was really surprised how good this tasted. I thought it was toast when it started sticking while I cooked it, but it came out beautifully. I threw in some basil, too. Very good, and I'll be making it again. It would also make a great filling for burritos - leave out the vegetables and put some beans in.

Turbulence Training - Day 14 of 84

Weigh in day - 134. That's down half a pound from last week, but still up 7 from my post-P90X low.

French toast w/ light syrup [2 pts], venison, mandarin oranges

cereal w/ skim milk

grilled chicken breast w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], green pepper slices & carrot sticks

3 bean salad; Well, right now it's just a 3 bean mix (pinto, kidney, chick peas) that I'm making into a salad for tomorrow's Meatless Monday, but I couldn't resist stealing a small bowl.

tomato vegetable risotto [1 pt for Parmesan cheese not being Core, but I really doubt I had even that much], venison steaks; I didn't eat the whole steak. I wanted more risotto but I would have had to count the points since I had my serving of rice for the day.

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and two cups of hot chocolate [3 pts]. 6 activity points going unused this week.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 13 of 84

Today I did Craig Ballantyne's Beginner TT Abs 300 Workout. It was my first 300 workout. I've done a 100 before, just once, and though this one is 300 reps, the moves are fairly simple and not overly taxing. Some are challenging for sure, but not using weights helps a lot. I completed the workout in 19 minutes, exactly. I did, however, make a huge mistake. I assumed that "beginner" in the title would mean it was easy, so I did not wear my workout clothe or put my hair up. I'll know better when I do it next weekend! I did not wear my heart rate monitor, and the WW slider gives me 1 point for 20 minutes of moderate activity, so I will agree with that and take 1 activity point.

oatmeal; I have never been a fan of oatmeal. I've tried it a few times and it's not my thing. But it warms the belly on a cold day and is filling. And it's Core, so it's an eat-until-satisfied food. So I figured I'd give it a shot. I added a banana and some sugar free DaVinci chocolate syrup. It wasn't horrible. I'm going to look for some more recipes. I had some, but they were time consuming and I needed something asap. I was quite shocked to find myself wanting to eat more oatmeal later in the day.

omelet w/ Swiss cheese [2 pts], onion, green peppers & salsa, toast [1 pt] w/ reduced-sugar jelly

chicken breast w/ baked butternut squash

pork loin & mixed vegetables w/ baked sweet potato; I only ate half my pork, and I didn't have much to begin with. I wasn't all that hungry, and I'm pleased that I was able to step away from my plate.

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee. 12 activity points remaining.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 12 of 84

Halfway through Month 1 now! Tomorrow, an "off" day, I am going to do the Beginner "TT Abs 3oo Workout" that Craig Ballantyne posted the other day. I'm looking forward to it.

Warm Up:
body weight squat - 10 reps
plank - 20s
push up - 6
repeat

Workout B - rest as little as possible
A1) 1-leg dead lift 3x15 per side
A2) chin up 3x4
B1) step-up 3x15 per side
B2) slow push up 3x8
C1) prisoner lunge 3x15 per side
C2) side plank 3x30s per side
D1) close-grip push up 3x30
D2) plank 3x60s

I think I'm ready to increase the chin ups next week. I'm not going to increase the slow push ups, but I may try to go just a tad slower. The "D" superset is freaking brutal on the shoulders. I'm still doing the close-grip push ups on my knees (with breaks, even!) and I have to go to my knees for part of the plank. I have two weeks of this workout left - my goal is to be able to do the planks without using my knees. 2 activity points for this.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down - I didn't realize that the treadmill was not flat. It has a manual incline and it was set on the second slot. That may be why it felt so hard to begin with. It's getting easier. I still don't love it, but I don't want to chew my legs off in order to avoid it.

Distance: 1.53 miles

Calories: 149 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk

omelet w/ cheese [2 pts], onion, peppers & salsa, toast [1 pt] w/ reduced-sugar jelly

chicken breast on Flat Out bread [1 pt], carrot sticks

whole wheat pumpkin carrot muffins [2 pts]

goulash (whole wheat pasta, venison, no sugar added pasta sauce), mixed vegetables, bread stick [2 pts]; I went back and forth on the bread stick. I really wanted it (because what's goulash without bread?) but couldn't justify 4 points for it. In the end, I decided I'd have half. And this meal was so weird. I used a small plate for my pasta and a cereal bowl for my vegetables. I knew it was "enough" but I really wanted more. When I finished, my body felt satisfied but my mind and mouth wanted more. I hate that battle that goes on in these cases. Usually, mind and mouth win out.

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and 20 ounces of water. Winter can bite me. 4 weekly and 11 activity points remaining.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 11 of 84

I'm having problems with my math - I should have 7.5 activity points going into today, not the 5.5 I listed yesterday. I won't be gaining any points today, either. I planned on trying Turbo Sport, but I feel like I've had a sumo wrestler jumping on my lower abdomen. [GIRLY TALK ALERT] It's my second cycle since my tubal and the cramps are unlike anything I've ever experienced. With my Paragard, I'd get horrible pains when I ovulated but I haven't had those since the tubal. However, normal cramps have gotten worse and I am a week early this month. Last night, the pain was so bad, I wanted to throw up. I finally took some ibuprofen and felt a little better but all I want to do is roll around in a ball. Someone should invent an exercise like that. [/GIRLY TALK ALERT]

Speaking of last night, I had the WORST EVER CHOCOLATE CRAVING. There are some Hershey's Kisses left over from my Christmas baking (no, I'm not getting rid of them) in the freezer and I wanted all of them. Every. Single. One. I didn't care if I used up all my points for the week and then some. It was two agonizing hours before I finally went to bed without having any. You'd think I'd be happy about it. No, I wanted them. No other substitute would do.

banana

omelet w/ onion, peppers & salsa, toast w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt for toast]

apple & yogurt [2 pts for the yogurt because it was flavored]

chicken, baked butternut squash fries, red pepper slices

cereal w/ skim milk, half a banana

tilapia w/ carrot sticks & mashed cauliflower [1 pt]

whole wheat pumpkin carrot muffins [2 pts]

Four cups of coffee. 12 weekly and 7.5 activity points remaining.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 10 of 84

2 activity points for the workout. I was better about not rushing.

Interval Workout: 5 min warm up, 60 s hard pace, 60 s moderate pace x 6, 5 min cool down

Distance: 1.54 miles

Calories: 158 (1.5 activity points)

cereal w/ skim milk, banana

baked butternut squash, chicken breast w/ pepper slices on Flat Out bread [1 pt for bread]

pumpkin carrot mini muffins [3 pts]

celery, homemade venison jerky

roasted potatoes, crumb-crusted chicken [1 pt for the breading]

leftover chicken w/ mozzarella cheese [3 pts]

Four cups of coffee, three cups of tea and 20 ounces of water. 18 weekly and 5.5 activity points remaining. I think I'm overeating. I really, really need to start paying attention to how I feel when I eat, because I'm not. And I know I'm eating when I'm not hungry.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Turbulence Training - Day 9 of 84

Craig Ballantyne has a great blog up today, 27 Alternative Bodyweight Exercises. Also, on the Turbulence Training Fan Page on Facebook, a Beginner TT Abs 300 workout - 300 reps of bodyweight exercises. I love these. I have 26 different versions of this workout structure, and I add them to the list as I find them. I call them "Spartan" workouts because I became interested after seeing the movie 300, and hearing of the fitness challenge the actors had at the end of their training. Craig Ballantyne posted a video on YouTube demonstrating the "original" 300 Workout and it's way too challenging for me. I doubt I will ever be able to do the original because I can't even dead lift 135 pounds once, much less 50 times.

By the way, here is the original 300 Workout, developed by Mark Twight:

Pull ups (25)

Deadlift with 135lbs (50)

Push ups (50)

24-inch box jumps (50)

Floor wipers (50)

One arm clean n press with 36lbs kettlebell (50)

Pull ups (25)

No workout scheduled today. I find it SO HARD to be motivated to work out on an "off" day. This is why I need a program that has more scheduled. Technically, I could do my intervals on my off days, but that doesn't get me any more exercise. I know I'll Turbo on Thursday. Tuesdays suck though. I should be doing Spartan workouts!

I ended up making it Tabata Tuesday! I did it on the treadmill - warmed up for 3 minutes, did 8 cycles of 20/10 sprint/walk intervals, then cooled down for 3 minutes. NEVER AGAIN! Not on the treadmill. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat and then punch me in it!

Distance: 0.71 miles

Calories: 69 (0.5 activity points)

banana

omelet w/ peppers, onions & salsa, toast w/ reduced-sugar jelly [1 pt for toast]

pepper slices & homemade venison jerky

pumpkin carrot muffins, homemade hot chocolate [3 pts]

chicken breast, mixed vegetables, avocado

apple & cottage cheese

Four cups of coffee and two cups of tea. I didn't even try to get any water. I'm so tired of this cold weather. 25 weekly and 4 activity points remaining.

"Spartan" Workouts

Has anyone seen the movie 300 with Gerard Butler and all sorts of other abs? The actors in the movie had this crazy training regimen and when they were nearing the end of their training, their trainer (Mark Twight) put together a challenge for them: complete a 300 rep series in 20 minutes or less. Here is what the workout looked like:

Pull ups (25 reps)

Deadlift with 135lbs (50 reps)

Push ups (50 reps)

24-inch box jumps (50 reps)

Floor wipers (50 reps)

One arm clean n press with 36lbs kettlebell (50 reps)

Pull ups (25 reps)

After the movie came out, everyone wanted the Spartan physique and muscle-heads everywhere were jumping on the 300 Workout bandwagon. I looked it up and about shit myself. I wasn't ready at the time (I'm not even ready now), so I looked up other variations and started keeping a list. I've only done the first one on the list (2 minutes 46 seconds was my time), but I want to start doing them again and work my way up to the Bodyweight 1000.

I'm not sure all the links still work, but they are the sources I took the workouts from.

100 Workout

Bodyweight rows (5)

Bodyweight squats (15)

Push ups (5)

Jumping jacks (50)

Mountain climbers (10)

Lunges (5 per leg)

Bodyweight rows (5)

Bodyweight 100 Workout

Prisoner squats (20)

Push ups (20)

Jumps (10)

Inverted rows (10)

Forward lunges (10 per side)

Close grip push ups (15)

Chin ups (5)

150 Workout

Bodyweight rows (15)

Bodyweight squats (25)

Push ups (15)

Jumping jacks (50)

Mountain climbers (20)

Close grip push ups (10)

Bodyweight rows (15)

200 Workout A

Prisoner squats (30)

Push ups (30)

Jumps (10)

Swiss-ball leg curls (10)

Swiss-ball pikes (10)

Step ups (20)

Pull ups or chin ups (5)

Forward lunges (30)

Tucked-elbow push ups (20)

Inverted rows (15)

Prisoner squats (15)

Chin ups (5)

200 Workout B

Inverted rows (20)

Dumbbell squats (25)

T-push ups (10 per side)

Ball leg curls (20)

Ball jackknifes (20)

Dumbbell rows (15 per side)

Stickups (15)

Rope skips (50)

Bodyweight 250

Jumping jacks/jump rope (30)

Close grip push ups (20)

Jumps (10)

Pull ups (10)

Squats (40)

Push ups (25)

Walking lunges (10 per side)

Underhand inverted rows (15)

Bicycle crunches (30)

Squats (25)

Jumping jacks/jump rope (25)

300 Workout (the original)

Pull ups (25)

Deadlift with 135lbs (50)

Push ups (50)

24-inch box jumps (50)

Floor wipers (50)

One arm clean n press with 36lbs kettlebell (50)

Pull ups (25)

2009 Version of a 300 Workout

Perform 10 reps of each exercise, three times

Bulgarian split squats (10 per leg)

Close grip push ups

Alternating lunges (10 per leg)

Inverted rows

Decline push ups

Jumps

Chin ups

Mountain climbers (10 per leg)

Prisoner squats

Dumbbell swing

Rest 30-60 seconds

Spartan 300

Pull ups (30)

Jump squat (30)

Explosive push up (30)

Alternating bicycle crunches (15 per side)

Close grip pull ups (30)

Alternating split squat jump (15 per side)

Hanging knee raises (30)

Diamond push ups (30)

Calf raises (15 per side)

Good mornings (30)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 1

Jump squat (30) [jump, then alt split squat]

Staggered push ups (30)

Alternating split jump (15 per leg)

Explosive push ups (30)

Prisoner squat (30)

Hindu push ups (30)

Kneeling band row (30)

Burpees (30)

Pull ups (30)

Double crunch (30)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 2

Elevated push ups (30)

Dumbbell swing (30)

45* lat pull down (30)

Jump squat w/ dumbbells (30)

Elevated push ups (30)

Alternating split squat jump (15 per leg)

Seated band row (30)

Shoulder press (30)

Stationary lunge (15 per leg)

Russian twist (15 per side)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 3

Bench press (30)

One arm dumbbell squat (30)

Barbell row (30)

Deadlift (30)

Military press (30)

Dumbbell swing (30)

45* lat pull down (30)

One arm dumbbell snatch (15 per side)

Elevated push up (30)

Double crunch (30)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 4

Band push ups (30)

Jump squat w/ dumbbells (30)

Kneeling band row (30)

Dumbbell swing (30)

Band press (30)

One arm dumbbell snatch (15 per side)

Alternating split squat jump (15 per side)

Arnold press (30)

Hip thrust on ball (30)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 5

One arm band press (15 per side)

Squat & press (30)

One arm pull down (15 per side)

Stationary lunge (15 per side)

Band punch (15 per side)

Band deadlift (30)

Reverse Y fly (30)

Squat hold (30 seconds)

Upright band row (30)

Band crunch (30)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 6

Perform 15 reps, rest 10 seconds, repeat

Bench press

Barbell split squat

Weighted pull ups

Deadlift

Barbell row

Stationary barbell lunge

Military press

Dumbbell calf raise

Band crunch

Plank (30 seconds)

Spartan 300 – Home Version 7

Perform 15 reps, rest 10 seconds, repeat

One arm push up

Jump squat

Weighted pull up

Back pack squat

Explosive push up

Alternating split squat jump

Recline pull

Reverse lunge

Shoulder press (handstand push up)

Double crunch

Spartan 300 – Home Version 8

Perform 15 reps of each set, rest 45 seconds, do 2nd set

Staggered push up

Decline press

Squat & press

Stationary lunge

Band row

Band pull down

Upright band row

Preacher curl

Triceps extension

Band crunch

Spartan 300 – Home Version 9

Perform 15 reps of each set, rest 45 seconds, do 2nd set

Dumbbell press

Band press

Barbell squat

Jump squat

Band row

Reverse band fly

Arnold press

Bicep curls

Hip thrust on ball

Russian twist

Spartan 300 – Home Version 10

Perform 15 reps of each set, rest 45 seconds, do 2nd set

Incline press

Alligator walk

Alternating dumbbell squat press

Hip bridge on ball

Band row

Band pullover

Band squat & press

Walking lunge

Preacher curl

Dumbbell crunch

Spartan 300 – Home Version 11

Perform 15 reps, rest 10 seconds, repeat

Spider push up

Squat & press

Band press from ball

Jump squat

Chin up

Stationary lunge

Y fly

Hip bridge on ball

Calf raise against ball

Russian twist

Beginner Turbulence Training Abs 300 Workout

Do circuit twice times resting as needed

Cross crawl (10 per side)

Plank (20 seconds)

Prisoner squat (10)

Side plank (15 seconds per side)

Mountain climber (10)

[Beginner] Inverted row (10)

Stability Ball Rollout (5)

1-leg hip extension (10 per side)

Spiderman climb (5 per side)

Chop (10 per side)

[Kneeling] Pushup (15)

Bird dog (5 per side)

Stability ball leg curl (10)

Plank with arms on ball (10 seconds)

Bodyweight 350

Prisoner squats (45)

Push ups (40)

Jumps (30)

SHELC (20)

Ball jack knives (20)

Step ups (20 per leg

Pull ups (10)

Lunges (20 per leg)

Close grip push ups (40)

Inverted rows (20)

Squats (40)

Chin ups (15)

Bodyweight 500 Workout

Prisoner squats (50)

Push ups (50)

Straight jumps (25)

Leg curls (25)

Ball jackknifes (50)

Step ups (25 per leg)

Pull ups (25)

Alternating lunges (25 per leg)

Close grip push ups (50)

Bodyweight rows (50)

Bodyweight squats (50)

Chin ups (25)

Bodyweight 500 Challenge

Jump squat (20)

Spider push up (20)

Alternating split squat jump (10 per side)

Pull up (15)

Prisoner squat (25)

Push up (20)

Reverse lunge (10 per side)

Recline pull (20)

Hip thrust (20)

Toe touch (20)

Jumping jacks (50)

Repeat

Fitness Band 500 Challenge

Band squat & press (20)

Band push up (20)

Stationary band lunge (10 per side)

Kneeling lat pull down (20)

Band step up (10 per side)

Band press (20)

Bulgarian band squat (10 per side)

Seated 45* band row (20)

Resisted ab crunch (20)

Resisted toe touch (20)

Jumping jacks (50)

Repeat

Bodyweight 1000

Jumping jacks/jump rope (100)

Close grip push ups (100)

Jumps (25)

Pull ups (25)

Squats (100)

Stick ups (25)

Bicycle crunches (50)

Push ups (100)

Walking lunges (25 per leg)

Overhand inverted rows (50)

SHELC (50) [supine hip leg extension w/ leg curl]

Bicycle crunches (100)

Decline push ups (50)

Underhand inverted rows (25)

Mountain climbers (50)

Squats (50)

Chin ups (25)

Jumping jacks/jump rope (100)

XOF 300
Turkish getups (30 per side)
Snatches (30 per side)
Windmills (30 per side)
Body Blasters (30)
Swing, catch, squat, thrust (30)
Sling shots (30)
Atomic sit ups (30)

Kettlebell Meltdown 300
V ups (25)
Snatches (25 per side)
Push ups (25)
Swings (50)
Burpees (50)
Clean & press (25 per side)
Mountain climbers (50)

Beginner TT Abs 300 Workout
Do circuit twice times resting as needed
Cross crawl (10 per side)
Plank (20 seconds)
Prisoner squat (10)
Side plank (15 seconds per side)
Mountain climber (10)
[Beginner] Inverted row (10)
Stability Ball Rollout (5)
1-leg hip extension (10 per side)
Spiderman climb (5 per side)
Chop (10 per side)
[Kneeling] Pushup (15)
Bird dog (5 per side)
Stability ball leg curl (10)
Plank with arms on ball (10 seconds)