Thursday, February 16, 2012

Disappointed in myself . . .

Wow, since I stopped working out three and a half months ago I've put on almost ten pounds (okay seven or eight), gained four inches around my waist and gone up 8% in my body fat percentage . . . wow! And I've noticed a big decrease in my strength. :(

So instead of sulking over it I'm using this as motivation to get back in shape. I'm going to be following the Lose Belly Fat Workout (www.losebellyfatworkout.com). I tried this last summer, but ended up with a heat rash from running in the heat and humidity so I've set my treadmill back up and I'll be working out indoors. The website is free. You just have to sign up and they will email you some very helpful information. Basically it's intervals training (google it or read the website for more info) and eating at you resting metabolic rate (for me it is 1725 calories a day). There is a calculator on the website for figuring out what your resting metabolic rate is.

So for my first work out I had a five minute warm up, 6 sprint intervals and 6 rest intervals, followed by a five minute cool down. The sprint intervals are gauged on a scale of one to ten. One is sitting on the couch and ten is being chased by a lion about to die. For the first week we're aiming for a seven. For me right now on my treadmill (which is old and the legs fell off so it's permanently on an incline ack!) is approx. six miles per hour. The rest intervals are walking at a normal speed. I did the first two intervals easily. The third was getting tough. By the forth rest interval I had to increase it to two minutes (which is allowed, the rest intervals can be however long you need so long as you keep your heart rate up). By the time I was finished my hips hurt (forgot to stretch and not used to the incline) and I was a bit shaky. It's a lot tougher than it sounds.

I'm going to give myself a week to get used to this, then I'll add in the strength training again because muscle helps burn calories. Besides I miss being strong enough to open jars and lift things at work. So wish me luck!! I'll update my progress every so often. I'll share my body fat percentage, but I'm not going into all the details (boring!) lol. My body fat percentage is 29% and my goal is 22%. :D

P.S. Oops sorry for the double post. Completely forgot I had one scheduled.

Also here is the link for the body fat calculator (you can find more of them by googling it) http://www.losebellyfatworkout.com/bodyfatcalculator/

4 comments:

  1. Good luck on your new program! I did the Couch to 5K last year and hope to restart this spring. I feel so out of shape now!

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  2. Sounds like you are on your way to a great workout program. How do you measure the body fat?

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  3. Darn, I cannot run, due to my hips issues. But have fun!!!!

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  4. Good for you. cheering you from here.

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