Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Endings & Beginnings

Today was the last Group Personal Training session. It has been an intese and fun 12 weeks and I'm sad to see it come to an end.

Here are the results from the fitness testing. Start are the results of the testing at the start of the class, the seconnd set from the last day.

1/2 Mile run: start 6:03 end 5:16

Each of the following were done in during a 1 minute timed test.

burpies: start 7 end 20

squats: start 38 end 58

push ups: start 32 end 50

sit ups: start 21 end 38

lunges: start 32 end 34

plank: start 1:31 on knees end 1:30 on toes

Weight: -10 lbs
Resting heart rate has dropped 20 points.

The interesting thing is age does not really matter in strength. We have 20's, 30's and me who was twice the age of most of the group and our results were similar. I was within 5 reps of them on the beginng and ending numbers. So we all progressed equally during the 12 weeks.

So it's never too late.








Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Group Personal Training update

I never would have imagined that I would do 300 squats, 200 push ups, 100 burpies in about 20 minutes but that's what we did today. That was after running 1.5 miles.

It started innocently enough. 4 squats, 2 push ups, 1 burpie. But you work up to 30 squats, then back down. If we had tried that earlier I wouldn't have made it.

Today 11 weeks into the session wasn't an issue. In fact I found myself dancing in the shower to the music over the pa system. There have definitely been some changes. I'm going to be sad when the 12 weeks are over.

The key to these workouts has been interval training, intensity, variety. Variety has made it fun because you know you are doing something new each day. The intervals give you a bit of a rest it's like a reward for getting through that last set. Intensity, we started out at a high intensity and have gradually increased.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Trailer | Forks Over Knives - The Official Movie Website

This link will take you directly to the FOK web site.
Trailer Forks Over Knives - The Official Movie Website

You won't want to miss this. If you have read the China Study, Engine 2 Diet you will want to see this and share it. The movie opens March 11-2011 but there is more information on the website. I hope this will catch the attention and open some eyes to the easiest approach to disease prevention.

Check it out.

The Vegitarian meat & Potatoes cook book

Now here is a fun cookbook. Usually I like cookbooks that have lots of photos but this book doesn't need them. All of the basics are here pot roast, soups, stews, pot pies. The variety is amazing, there is even a recipe for scrapple. Your mouth will water just reading the recipes.

I shared the book with a friend and her comments was "look there are only 2 steps to most of the recipes". I think I found one with 5 steps. These would be great recipes if you have kids that want to help in the kitchen. I want to try the pot roast.

I've also been looking at vegan cheese. The vegetarians in paradise website had a review on many of the vegan cheese products. The ones with good review are not easy to find. I did find Sheesh in Whole Foods last week. I bought the strong cheddar and a Mexican creamy spread. The cheddar wasn't bad, we put it on boca burgers. The Mexican creamy spread was too sweet, it really tasted like a spiced cream cheese but with a really over powering sweetness. I still like my cashew cheese best but I'll keep trying.

I'll keep you posted.